ARTS DURING THE AMERICAN AND JAPANESE OCCUPATION.

 The Treaty of Paris in 1898 transferred control of the Philippines from the Spaniards to the Americans.
At first, this was fiercely resisted by the Philippine army, which was under American military
occupation. Aguinaldo finally surrendered to the American forces in 1901, after the Sedition Law of
1901 resulted in the deportation of Rican forces.

ARCHITECTURE
 The American colonial government required the construction of new buildings to house the various
services of the new government, as well as civic buildings, schools, hospitals, commercial and semi-
industrial buildings, and more residential houses. American influence is evident in the introduction of
new materials such as reinforced concrete, glass, and steel, in the neo-classical architectural style then
fashionable in the United States, and in city planning.

SCULPTURE
 In 1903, after their victory in the Philippine-American War, the Americans ordered the erection of
monuments to Jose Rizal in all the public squares of the country. However, it was only in 1913 that a
Swiss national created the prototype for these monuments, which showed Rizal in a topcoat and with a
book in his left hand. These monuments are stiff, formal, awkward, and mass-produced cement
figures.

MUSIC AND DANCE

 The first Filipino-written opera was San dugong Panaginip, with the libretto written by Pedro Paterno
and music composed by Ladislao Bonus. It was performed five times at the Teatro Zorilla in 1902,
with the then-Civil Governor of the Philippines, William Taft, as a patron. The opera reflects the
attitudes of Paterno and the Filipino people towards the Americans, who were then in control of the
country.

CINEMA
 The early history of the cinema in the Philippines is marked by the creation of a national audience,
technical developments, and social consciousness. The first motion picture exhibition was held in
1897, but it was in 1903 that American cowboy movies began to be shown to mass audiences for free,
thus acculturating the Filipinos to Hollywood values and ideals.

THEATER
 During the early years of American rule in the Philippines, zarzuelas were popular vehicles for
expressing nationalist sentiments. Playwrights wrote about the anti-Americanism of the Filipino
people as well as their anti-Spanish and anti-friar sentiments.