#chichai

Being high up in mountains, the Cordillera region of the Philippines was inaccessible to Spanish and American imperialists. And, because the Cordillera region is less exposed to the country’s colonized past, Cordillera cultures continue to thrive today.

Despite being a major city, Baguio stays true to its Cordillera spirit.  For instance, Baguio’s Mayor Mauricio Domogan prioritizes the preservation of the region’s culture. He stated, “Our culture and heritage are the identity we have as people of the Cordillera region. With the influence of outside factors in these modern times, if we do not preserve our culture and heritage, these will be lost.”  

You can see the preservation efforts throughout Baguio. And it is beautiful.

Last month I wrote about how I fell in love with Baguio partly because of the food. This time, I’ll share with you the other side of Baguio I fell in love with: its art.

My friends Karen, Monica and I spent most day one roaming around Tam-Awan village and most of day two in the Ben Cab Museum. I believe these photos will explain why we dedicated that much time in only two places…

Tam-Awan Village

Clouds swirled around us as we explored Tam-Awan village.

It felt as though we were admiring an art gallery in a forest that floated in the sky. Tam-awan, after all, translates to vantage point.

Tam-awan Village in Pinsao Proper, Baguio City uniquely blends indigenous aesthetics and exquisite Cordilleran craftsmanship with an artist’s concept for a village adapting to Baguio setting.

– tam-awanvillage.com

In keeping with the spirit in which the village was originally conceived, Tam-awan Village has become a venue for art exhibits and workshops envisioned to foster a deeper understanding, respect and pride in the cultural heritage of the Cordillera people.

– tam-awanvillage.com

Tam-Awan Village, staying true to its Baguio setting, is steep. You climb one set of sharply angled stairs and you’re surrounded by a large array of artwork.

You continue to climb, you are suddenly immersed into a garden…

… then deep into a forest.

As we climbed higher and higher,  more and more variations of plants greeted us.

Visiting Tam-Awan village was — to simply put it– enchanting and…

… truly a vantage point.

BenCab Museum

Contemporary artist Benedicto Reyes Cabrera — aka BenCab– may not originally be from Baguio but this renowned Philippine artist chose it as his home and source of inspiration since the 1980’s. His museum is now a must-see destination for tourists.  The BenCab museum not only provides a home for BenCab’s artwork but also the artwork of indigenous peoples and up and coming contemporary artists today.

The exhibiting contemporary artists shared work that ranged from critiquing society to embracing human sexuality.

The galleries of indigenous peoples showed the BenCab visitors how beautiful and important it is to preserve these cultures.

BenCab’s own exhibits display his work from his 50 years active as an artist.

Through BenCab’s paintings and sculptures, you can see how he explores what it means to be Filipinx in its infinite complexity and diversity.

He even dove into the Filipinx-American dream and its harsh realities of American racism.

Art expands beyond the museum’s walls…

…and into its surrounding mountainsides.

The Farm & Garden below the museum showcase organic farm produce and the typical indigenous architecture of the Ifugao, Kalinga and Bontoc. A river meanders through the property, with cascading waterfalls on one end. The hill and mini forest across, which features an eco trail, is also the source of fresh spring water used in the museum and farm. The artist, assisted by native coworkers, grows seasonal vegetables, herbs, strawberries, sweet potatoes, coffee and ornamentals.

– bencabmuseum.org

Throughout Baguio

Although Baguio is a major city, the regions’ indigenous cultures continue to shine but in more modern ways.

For example, as I mentioned in the “Hella Sarap” post, a brewery’s draft beer handles were inspired by Cordillera-styled wood carvings:

Also,  the Farmer’s Daughter created a nipa hut for its restaurant.

You can find more indigenous-inspired craftsmanship roaming around the streets of Baguio on the city’s jeepneys. Jeepneys are already known to be the most colorful means of public transportation throughout the Philippines but never have I seen any as vibrant as the ones in Baguio.

Not only did some have the signature brightness, some also had paintings celebrating those who continue practicing the region’s traditions.

I was so inspired by Baguio’s art scene, I wanted to create my own piece.

Found some time to work on concepts inspired by these past couple weeks in the Philippines. Here's a peek at my brainstorm for a Baguio-inspired painting. • Like my last painting posted here, all colors used are made from my palette by @lifeafterbreakfastph

A post shared by ChiChai@Empire (@chichai.empire) on Dec 21, 2017 at 2:51pm PST

I noticed that while we drove up and down its mountains, sunflowers speckled yellow across the greenery. It turns out that wild sunflowers bloom after November’s storms. If you know me well, you’d know that sunflowers are my favorite. Thus, of course, these lovelies would be part of the piece I was brewing up.

I also wanted to capture how the homes loomed up and down and across the city.

And, lastly, I wanted to give a bit of a shout-out to BenCab. Never have I ever gotten so stunned and in awe by a painting until I encountered BenCab’s “Sabel.”

Using Sabel’s positioning and intermixing the city’s landscape, I created my interpretation of Baguio’s spirit:

You know how I fell in Baguio last month? This painting is the result of that love. @moniknik @withlovekarns and I happened to be there when the wild sunflowers were fully bloomed– and if you know me well, you'd know that sunflowers are my favorite 🌻

A post shared by ChiChai@Empire (@chichai.empire) on Jan 12, 2018 at 5:49pm PST

I can’t wait to share with you more of my travels and how my travels influenced my art. Up next on ChiChai’s travels: taking it back to Osaka and Kyoto. Stay tuned.

I feel like I’m bringing Chris@Empire on a tour of the four elements *Avatar reference*: 

We got Air Photo taken while flying to Coron, Palawan

Water

Click here to view more from Coron, Palawan

Earth

Click here to view more from Pampanga

And lastly, Fire.

Okay, I’m having too much fun with the Avatar references. But seriously, if the Fire Nation existed, it may have had territory in the Philippines. There are nearly two dozen active volcanoes in the Philippines and all of them are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. (Read more about the Ring of Fire here.)

We spent our last day in my motherland by making our way to the top of Taal Volcano, the second most active volcano in the Philippines.

Christopher, my mother, our friends Emi and Karen and I left Manila at sunrise to head to Tagaytay. This drive alone is 2-3 hours depending on traffic. Once we reached Tagaytay’s shoreline, we road a boat across Taal Lake to reach Taal Volcano Island.

About twenty minutes later, we finally reached Taal Volcano. When traveling to the volcanic island, you have the choice of hiking or horseback riding. We chose the horses. Because, I mean, why not?

Kidding, kidding. This is us.

My heart-raced as we made our way to the top. For one, my horse kept getting distracted by plants he wanted to eat and continually went off course. My guide even asked the horse lasing ka ba? (Are you drunk?) Secondly, you can sporadically see steam coming out of the island’s earth. The steam felt like Taal Volcano’s reminder that we’re trekking in a potentially disastrous area.

But, once we reached the top, those worries went away. (Or I should say, worry. That horse still needed to chill lol.)

Taal Volano truly is beautiful.

But… It is also confusing. As written by SinoPinas:

Taal Volcano and Lake has one of the most picturesque and attractive views in our country. Inside it is Vulcan Point Island that’s within the Main Crater Lake within the Volcano Island within Taal Lake within Luzon within the Philippines within the Pacific Ocean.

In other words, Taal Volcano is within a lake that’s within the island of Luzon. And, within Taal Volcano itself, is its own lake… And within that lake is another island. It’s a volcani-ception.

Can you see both lakes?

To get an idea of how massive Taal Volcano is, check out a couple of Christopher’s aerial photos:

In one week in the Philippines, we travelled in Manila’s urban-scape, island-hopped in Coron, ate farm-to-table food at a farm, and trekked up a volcano. I can’t wait to share with you what Chris and I did during our ten days in Vietnam!

But, in the meantime, one last Avatar gif for you: