Knowing  the Philippines at EXPO

Among the various pavilions in the World Expo Park in Shanghai, China, there is a unique rectangular building featured with a façade showing “hands”. This is the Philippine Pavilion, which any visitor coming to the World Expo Park can not miss.

Why is the Philippine Pavilion worth visiting? Mr. Daniel Corpuz, Secretary-General of the Philippine Organizing Committee (POC), gave out the answers, as well as the Filipinos’ expectations and visions for the Expo.

The “Performing Cities”, the Prominent Pavilion

According to Mr. Corpuz, the Philippine Pavilion, which occupies 2,000 square meters in the Asia Zone, Southeast Asia and Pacific cluster, features a façade with a complete wrap-around photographic montage depicting variations of a single iconic image: the hand. This will communicate to the public the Philippine theme of “Performing Cities”, by showing Filipino hands in the many skilled activities and performances that exemplify the dynamism of Philippine cities. “The hands are portrayed playing the violin, performing in a dance, wrapped in a boxing glove, and other functional or artistic gestures associated with the creative and productive hands of Filipinos who are engaged in various forms of livelihood or pursuing different professions and artistic fields, all these activities serving as meaningful contributions to a progressive and productive existence in modern urban society,” Mr. Corpuz told the CBF reporter.

The concept and design of the interior of the Pavilion reflects a traditional Philippine motif – a wedge or half-diamond with soft edges. This triangular form draws from extremely deep layers of Philippine culture: the recurrent motif of traditional tattoos, beaten bark materials, jewelry markings, and so forth. The wedge recurs everywhere in the pavilion, notably, the boxes the performers use as platforms and temporary stages, the sail-shaped murals depicting Philippine scenery, and other manifestations.

When asked about the uniqueness of the Philippine Pavilion, Mr. Corpuz said: “Our concept of ‘Performing Cities’ – targeted towards the main Expo theme of ‘Better City, Better Life’ – bears some uniqueness in the sense that we want to give emphasis to the Human Factor in urban development not only in terms of Performance as good governance and management and positive economic indicators, but also in terms of Performance in ritual and celebration as the basic cultural ingredient of social and interpersonal dynamics. The façade of the Pavilion expresses this theme forcefully in the montage of images of Filipino hands, embodying a culture of kindness and sympathy, virtuoso craftsmanship, and intelligent labor. We want to convey the simple but dramatic message that this is a country whose people understand and value the work of hands. This ethos we have spread abroad, where Filipino skilled labor is very much in demand in hospitals, in factories and shipyards, in construction sites and military bases, on cruise and container ships.”

Enjoy Yourselves in the Philippine Pavilion

Visitors to the Philippine Pavilion at the World Expo are assured, first of all, of a very warm welcome from a group of highly trained English- and Mandarin-speaking Pavilion Guides. They will answer any and all questions from visitors, and usher them to the various areas in the Pavilion, which include the following: a) the Philippine Travel Café that features the best of Filipino coffee and cuisine, b) a spa area for health and wellness where guests will be treated to complimentary massage using an ancient Filipino healing technique called hilot, c) a permanent exhibit of musical instruments from the Philippines, d) a boutique shop where the visitors can purchase world-class handicrafts and other souvenir items, and e) a performance area where there will be daily presentations showcasing the world-famous Filipino artistry in dance, music, and song. The visitors will also be treated to continuous video documentaries as well as mural-sized images of the most attractive Philippine scenery and natural wonders that are guaranteed to interest them in visiting the Philippines.

Mr. Corpuz said that the exhibits inside the pavilion focus on three major themes associated with Philippine cities:

1. Live Performance.

The pavilion will stage daily presentations of pop vocals, classical chamber music, operatic solos, folk dances, jazz, neo-ethnic, orchestral music, street dance celebration, choral singing, among other genres. The aim is to demonstrate how music, dance, and celebration create the livable qualities and distinct characteristics of Philippine cities.

2. Artifacts of Celebration.

On exhibit, for the first time internationally, will be a full selection of Philippine musical instruments from the most traditional, to the newly invented or improvised for street celebrations. Many of these instruments are from the interior highlands of the country, and while belonging to the cultural heritage of indigenous communities, they have been borrowed or adopted by contemporary performers.

3. Digital Media.

Eleven Philippine cities and urban projects will be highlighted in a sequence of three video installations which will feature tourism destinations and Unesco World Heritage Sites, environmental initiatives, compliance with millennium development goals, and competitiveness in the field of business process outsourcing.

Various cultural activities will be lined up for the Philippines at the Expo. In addition to the live performance mentioned above, there will also be a showcase of world-class Filipino artistry during the Philippine National Day Gala Show on June 9, which will celebrate not only the 112th anniversary of Philippine Independence, but also the 35th anniversary of official diplomatic relations between the Philippines and China.

Moreover, the Philippine Pavilion is also hosting a series of fora on the topic of “Urbanization with a Human Face”, in order to add a higher and policy-related dimension to our Expo experience.

Therefore, there are delicious food, comfortable spa, fair-sounding songs and wonderful performances. Visitors can get engaged in a variety of activities and enjoy themselves in the Philippine Pavilion.

Filipino’s Expectations for the Expo

The Philippine government hopes to capitalize on the Expo to attract more investments from China in the Philippines as well as a larger number of Chinese tourists.

“Our Department of Trade and Industry – through its export promotion arm, the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) – will manage an Expanded Trade Zone area allocated for the purpose of trade and investment meetings and consultations within the Pavilion,” said Mr. Corpuz. “This will take the form of the usual face-to-face meetings we feature in all our tourism and trade fairs abroad. In this instance, we have a lot of information to offer the prospective Chinese investor in the Philippine travel and tourism industry, as well as other economic areas. This Zone will also display products of the country’s sunrise industries.”

“Our Department of Tourism people as well as tourism industry representatives will also be on hand to discuss travel and holiday packages, and opportunities for tourism investment in the Philippines in the following areas: tourism infrastructure, facilities and services, hotels, hostels, condominiums, resorts and other types of accommodation facilities; air, water and land transport operations; tourism estates, historical and cultural heritage projects; and eco-tourism as well as agricultural tourism or farm-resort projects, which includes health and wellness spas,” Mr. Corpuz added.

Mr. Corpuz also told the CBF reporter his personal expectation for the Expo. “World Expo 2010 can serve as a huge bridging mechanism to bring countries and cultures closer together in dialogues, as well as through a mutual realization that countries and cultures are faced with the same, fundamental problems: how to diminish the widening gap between the rich and the poor, how society can raise a crop of political leaders who will always put the public interest above self-interest, how to bring about a peaceful conclusion to internal armed conflict, and how to resolve the contradictions between economic development and ecological integrity. Let us hope that the Shanghai World Expo 2010 will long be remembered not only for the spectacle that it promises to be, but also for the heightened perspective on the improvement of human life that it proposes to bring about.”