ABSTRACT
I would like to start with what seems a very basic observation, and perhaps this can serve as a premise for the points we will be taking up later. Let me go back very briefly into the history of the Philippines, as a way of showing that cross-cultural exchange — artistic, cultural, social, political — has always been a way of life in my country. This will explain a lot, especially in comparison to countries like Japan and China. The history of the Philippines is such that we have been exposed to many cultures, even prior to the arrival of the Spaniards. I say “arrival of”; they would say “discovery by.” I don’t agree with the point of view that the Europeans discovered the Philippines; there were already many societies functioning in the Philippines when the Spaniards arrived. They were indigenous and had their own culture, theirown language, their own art. The Chinese, the Indians, the Malays, and other Asian people came to settle or trade, and each of those subsequent exchanges left its permanent mark on how we think, speak, and act. So cross-cultural exchange really began even before the Spaniards. Then there is the fifty years of American colonization, which has had a greater impact than the 400 years of Spanish influence, because the Americans modernized our country’s education and communication systems, among others. Even the Japanese, who occupied our country for only five years during the war, left a mark on our society.
