Today, October 12, 2026, we celebrate the renewed Philippine Folklife Museum website—a new chapter in sharing our heritage with friends, families, and visitors around the world. More than a new look, it offers new ways to explore the stories, art, and traditions that connect generations.
For eleven years, the museum’s first website carried our exhibits, events, and news far beyond the Philippine Center in San Francisco. Launched on June 24, 2015, it remains part of our story. A collection of screenshots in our First website archive lets you revisit the original and see how the museum’s online home has grown.
Every exhibition, narrated
Each of the museum’s eight exhibitions now opens with a narrated summary, and every work in the collection has its own audio story: 104 recordings in English and Tagalog in all. Visitors can listen, read along with a transcript, or switch languages at any time. The narration was written from the museum’s descriptions and checked against published histories, so it tells the story of each work rather than describing the page.
The José Rizal manga, performed
One of the most exciting additions is listening to the ten-volume José Rizal manga by Takahiro Matsui and Ryo Konno while turning its illustrated pages. Distinct character voices, music, and sound bring the comic’s telling of his life closer to readers of every generation.
The reader offers four spoken-language choices: English, Tagalog, Spanish, and Japanese. English, Tagalog, and Spanish narration cover the full series; Japanese narration is available for part of the series, with more to come. Choose a language, read along, and pause whenever you want to linger over the artwork.
History you can trust
Moving the museum online was a chance to make it more accurate. We checked the public text against the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, the Official Gazette, the National Museum, and primary sources, and made 84 sourced corrections, from the date of the Noli Me Tangere to who wrote the Kartilya of the Katipunan. Where historians still disagree, the site says so.
New ways to explore
Follow José Rizal’s travels on interactive maps, from Calamba to Europe and back. Select a stop to discover the places, experiences, and writings connected with that chapter of his life, then explore illustrated milestones and his family’s story.
Discover the Katipunan and its Kartilya in Tagalog and English, listen to Rizal’s poetry, or settle into the library’s complete editions of Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. Explore piña clothing, carved wood reliefs, basketry, and photographs of Old Manila. There is no single route: follow whatever sparks your curiosity.
Seen in full detail
The collection was rebuilt from the original photographs at high resolution, so the carving of a relief or the embroidery of a piña gown can be studied up close. Pages adapt from phones to large 4K screens, offer a dark mode, and work with a keyboard and screen readers. Every image carries its copyright and credit in its own file.
Respectful of your privacy
The site does not track you. Narration plays only when you ask, and videos load from YouTube only after you press play.
Come and see
Whether these stories are familiar or new to you, we invite you to explore, share a favorite discovery, and introduce the museum to someone you love. This renewed website is a way to keep our heritage within reach—and an invitation to experience the collection in person.
The collection is on view at the Philippine Center, 447 Sutter Street, 5th Floor, San Francisco, Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. We hope to see you there, and online.