Ang Lipi ni Lapy Lapu
90′ x 25′
1984
with Vicente Clement and Presco Tabios
The first mural on Filipino immigration to the United States. Here is the entry on the experience of painting is from my book Wall Stories:
Pigafetta’s eyewitness account of the 1521 Battle at Mactan
“He then, in order to disperse this multitude and to terrify them, sent some of our men to set fire to their houses, but this rendered them more ferocious. Some of them ran to the fire, which consumed twenty or thirty houses, and there killed two of our men. The rest came down upon us with greater fury; they perceived that our bodies were defended, but that the legs were exposed, and they aimed at them principally. The captain had his right leg pierced by a poisoned arrow, on which account he gave orders to retreat by degrees; but almost all our men took to precipitate flight, so that there remained hardly six or eight of us with him…This fatal battle was fought on the 27th of April of 1521, on a Saturday; a day which the captain had chosen himself, because he had a special devotion to it. There perished with him eight of our men, and four of the Indians, who had become Christians; we had also many wounded, amongst whom I must reckon myself. The enemy lost only fifteen men.”
This morning as I lay in bed reading I came across the latest FB post by Vicente Rafael, professor of history and Southeast Asian studies at the University of Washington. Vince is a friend from my extended family days in Manila and we had reconnected through academic projects. The post discussed a passage on the Battle of Mactan by Pigafetta, Italian scholar and explorer who traveled with Ferdinand Magellan, keeping a journal and surviving the first voyage that circumnavigated the world, began the Manila Galleon Trade and centuries of colonization of these islands that Spain named the Philippines.
My first history lesson. Lapu Lapu was a glorious Datu, a chieftain frorm Mactan who killed Magellan by wounding him on his exposed leg with a poisoned arrow. Well it turns out there is no real evidence that he existed and even if he had that he actually killed Magellan. More likely the armored Spanish soldiers were swarmed by the warriors and defeated in communal defense effort. And what about the Babaylan (women leaders) who probably mixed up that poison? Nevertheless heroes must be made, history written, culture cultivated, colonialism absorbed and resisted and myths kept in tact.
I have a Lapu Lapu street sign above the door of my studio. Presco Tabios found it lying on the ground next to the scaffolding of my mural Ang Lipi ni Lapu Lapu (The Descendents of Lapu Lapu), a history of Filipino Immigration to the Americas. The site is a narrow 90-foot wall that stood like a shield on the side of Dimasalang House, a senior citizen high rise in the South of Market. The mural wall faced on to Lapu Lapu Street between Rizal and Bonifacio Street, anti colonial revolutionaries in a long history of resistance. It was a 1970’s victory for the Filipino community to have the streets around this block named after their heroes and this low income housing built for their elderly in one of the hottest real estate properties in downtown San Francisco. That summer of 1984 the Democratic National Convention was held at The Moscone Center. The big media buses were parked around all the surrounding streets as a staging post. They were packed in and couldn’t fit underneath the street signs so they just took them off. A free for all if you will. Everyday Presco, a poet and Vietnam vet, who was working with me on the mural put flowers and a bowl of water on the lowest plank of our scaffolding, an offering to the painting.
I had been scoping out SOMA since regardless of being 40 % Filipino there were no murals about their history in sight. The nearby Mission District was rich with visual energy drawing from the Mexican and Latin American political history, social and spiritual traditions, the Tres Grandes Rivera, Orozco and Siqueros inspiring a vibrant muralism. I came across Dimasalang House and saw that tall wall and made a trip to the SF Mayor’s Office of Community Development to see about funding. That day I met Marivic Mabanag and the project was quickly set in motion. I made an appointment with the manager of Dimasalang House, Tony Garcia. He sat me down in his office for a long history lesson on the waves of immigration starting from the 300 year old Galleon Trade that went from Manila, Acapulco down the California coast. Filipinos, very likely the first people from South East Asia to jump ship in the Americas had a town in Louisiana. Then came the agricultural and fish workers, nurses, doctors, teachers. Carlos Bulosan told their story in his novel America is in the Heart. Larry Itliong organized labor. Boxer Pancho Villa and Olympic gold medalist diver Vicky Manalo Draves are at the center position midway up the wall. Manong Benny took his place next to Lapu Lapu looking sharp. I wove the famous Banawe rice terraces with textiles patterns from Mindanao. Jumping off at the top is a motherland figure posed for by Alleluia Panis, dancer, choreographer and cultural activist who is a treasure to the cultural life of the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1985 she founded and currently directs Kularts, the premier presenter of contemporary and tribal Pilipino arts in the United States.
I was young and poor in those days so I skimped on planks for our scaffolding making the climb to the 9th level extra exciting. Vic Clemente, a Marcos era political prisoner and artist, joined our mural team. Marcos was still in power and his self exiled opponent Ninoy Aquino had just been killed the year before, shot in the head at Manila International Airport just as he returned home. We painted a small figure of him surrounded by the portraits of Rizal, Bonifacio, Aguinaldo and Tandang Sora, the Mother of Balintawak who provided care and refuge to the revolutionaries. Presco is stretched out in her arms. A video was produced about the mural and the grand opening included traditional dances, Kulingtang gongs and lots of food. My BFF Carol Murashige, in an early career as a fashion designer, dressed me in a red silk pants and shirt with red lace hankies attached to each front pocket with rhinestone clips. Bleached blond in red it was quite a look. I answered the question as to why this tall white girl had brought this mural to the community. The words still ring in my memory
“Ang kanilang kasaysayan ay malapit sa puso at isip ko”
Their history is close to my heart and mind.
It was new history to me, the history of Filipinos in America. I was more familiar with the capitals of all the provinces and the sins of my country in Subic Bay, an American military base well known for its accompanying prostitution. A local Fil Am association invited me to join their Balikbayan trip back to Manila to show their appreciation. It was a sweet trip home. Nene, my high school classmate, and her mother, daughter of Quezon, the first president of the Philippines, pick me up from the Manila Hotel for a visit to their house and some merienda.
Over the years students have been taken to the site to study the history portrayed in the layers of paint. In 2007 Jenifer Wofford organized the Galleon Trade Expedition, an international artist exchange focusing on the Philippines, Mexico and California. The 300 year global trade had profound effect on the people and cultures along the ship’s route. Galleon Trade history and its relationship to today’s Global Trade took new form in my installation Factura Jurada (list of goods) which included three paintings: OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers) Resigned, Hopeful and Drowning representing the ongoing diaspora of Filipino people.
Today the mural is on the tour of the neighborhood led by SOMA Pilipinas, a movement that has mapped out this Cultural Heritage District and is actively involved in the celebration of the Pilipino community in SOMA while addressing the issues that affect it in Tech 2.0 boom. The rapid gentrification has meant the loss of 50% of the Filipino population, displacing families, artists and contributing to the growing homelessness problem. There has been a push to restore the old faded beauty so stay tuned…
