SF PCG and Philippine Folklife Museum Launch Bonifacio Exhibit

January 28, 2014 · Museum story

SF PCG and Philippine Folklife Museum Launch Bonifacio Exhibit

Deputy Consul General Jaime Ramon T. Ascalon leads the ribbon cutting at the Social Hall of the Philippine Center in San Francisco during the Andrés Bonifacio Exhibit Launch. Joining him are (left to right) Philippine Folklife Museum President Dan de la Cruz, Operations and Development Chair Lydia de la Cruz, and Dr. Soledad Manaay-Hayden.

In commemoration of the 150th birth anniversary of the Philippine national hero Gat Andrés Bonifacio, the Philippine Folklife Museum Foundation, in cooperation with the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco and the Philippine Center Management Board, launched a permanent exhibit on his life and accomplishments. The event was held on January 23, 2014, at the Social Hall of the Philippine Center in San Francisco.

Aimed at “capturing the intensifying spirit of Andrés Bonifacio after the arrest and banishment of Dr. José Rizal in 1892 by forming an underground society called the Katipunan,” the exhibit was highlighted by the unveiling of a replica statue of the famous Balintawak Monument by one of the Philippines’ greatest sculptors, Anastacio Caedo. The exhibit likewise featured a black-and-white portrait of the Philippine hero beautifully framed in wood and glass, centered with his biography printed and mounted on a 14-by-24-inch foam board. The sponsors of these exhibit pieces, Drs. John S. Hayden and Soledad Manaay-Hayden, were present during the event.

L-R: Dr. John S. Hayden, Dr. Soledad Manaay-Hayden, Ms. Lydia de la Cruz, Mr. Dan de la Cruz, Consul Leah Rodriguez and Deputy Consul General Jaime Ramon T. Ascalon posing by the 18-inch replica of the Bonifacio Monument at Pugad Lawin. The statue is displayed on a 42-inch pedestal stand and enclosed in clear flexible glass. Also on display is a Katipunan flag bearing the symbol of the sun and the letters KKK, which stand for Kataas-taasang, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (Supreme and Venerable Society of the Children of the Nation).

Displays on The History of the Katipunan, The Initiation Rites of the Katipunan, The Kartilya ng Katipunan (Primer of the Katipunan), Katipunan Recruitment Methods, The Teachings of the Katipunan, and the Katipunan Organizational Structure, all individually printed and mounted on foam boards, were also part of the exhibit. Completing the exhibit is a photo on canvas by photographer David Fabros based on the original Bonifacio Mural more popularly known as the “Cry of Balintawak” or “Cry of Pugad Lawin.” It depicts the beginning of the Philippine Revolution led by Andrés Bonifacio against Spain in 1896.

The original mural was done in 1964 by the famous Carlos “Botong” Francisco, Philippine National Artist for Visual Arts in 1973.

The Bonifacio exhibit is elegantly displayed on movable walls donated by Dan and Lydia de la Cruz. Other permanent exhibits in the museum include a series of 15 bas-relief wooden sculptures highlighting events throughout Philippine history. Also on display are pineapple (piña) cloth items, including three elegant gowns from about 1936, gifts from First Lady Aurora Quezon, wife of President Manuel L. Quezon, to her friend, the late Mrs. Ann Schinazi.

As part of her closing remarks, the Museum Operations and Development Chair, Ms. Lydia de la Cruz, thanked everyone and encouraged them to make the museum a destination with family and friends, as it is “an opportunity to view works of art by famous Philippine sculptors and painters, and learn the history of the Philippines right here in the City of San Francisco.” The museum is open Mondays through Fridays from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. Exhibits may be viewed at the Social Hall, on the 5th Floor of the Philippine Center at 447 Sutter Street in San Francisco.

Originally posted here:

http://www.philippinessanfrancisco.org/news/3813/301/SF-PCG-and-Philippine-Folklife-Museum-Launch-Bonifacio-Exhibit/d,phildet/