AMERICAN

COLONIAL PERIOD
Reporter: Sam Filipinas
American Colonial Period(1898-1940)
To The Postwar Republic(1946-1968)
◦ Major Art Movement
The elusive independence that the Philippines gained after the revolution of 1896 was cut short with
the establishment with the American Colonial Government in the Philippines. Bound by the treaty of Paris in
1898, Spain “surendered” the Philippines to the United States, 1899-1913, the bloody Philippine- American
occurred, claiming the lives of many Filipinos.
What Were The Changes Brought By
The American Colonization? How Are
They Different From The Religious
Forms Introduce By Spanish
Colonization
◦ Filipino playwright who had just undergone the Philippine Revolution of 1898 against spain now found
themselves confronted by censorship with the issuance of the “Sedition Law” which banned the writing,
printing and publication of materials advocating Philippine independence, and engaging in activities
which championed this cause.

◦ Sedition Law – is legally defined as ‘’the criminal act of revolting against an established authority,
usually in the form of treason or defamation of a government.’’ In other words, if you’re conspiring or
plotting to overthrow by violent force, harm in any way, or more specifically, kill any authority figure in
government, you have committed sedition.
Juan Abad
• Juan was a Filipino printer turned playwright and journalist.

• His main contribution to the Filipino theatre was his patriotic plays:
the zarzuela Ang “Tinakalang Guinto”(golden chain), and “Isang
punglo ng kaaway”

• The former which, caused his arrest and trial. Some authors credit
Abad with the introduction of symbolism to Tagalog drama, a claim
which is still to be proven; although he may have been one of the
first Tagalog dramatists to use symbolism in their plays.
 Juan Matapang
◦ “Hindi Aco Patay” (Iam Not Dead) a full-length play drama simboliko written by Juan Matapang Cruz in
1903.
◦ First staged at the Teatro Libertad in Singalong, Manila then at the Teatro Nueva Luna in Malabon.
◦ In 1981 staged at the Puerto Real Gardens in Intramuros Manila by the University of the Philippines
(UP) Repertory Company.
◦ The play invited strong reactions from the colonial authorities during its time.
◦ It was banned in mid-performance at Teatro Nueva Luna in Malabon, and the troupe including the
playwright’s wife, was arrested and imprisoned. In court, Cruz testified that he organized the Karangalan
Dramatic Theartrical Company for the purpose of presenting the play which seems to have been
presented many times-even advertised under different names-and won enthusiastic audiences.
◦ In 1915 a modern Filipina, the first filipino play written in english would be authorized by “Lino
Castillejo” and “Jesus”.

◦ “Vaudeville” which originated from France, was another form of theater which the American introduced
that became popular in the Philippines. During the 1920s.

◦ This motley collection of slapstick, song, dances, acrobatics, comedy skits, magic act, and stand up
comic act would be known as “Bodabil”.

◦ Vaudeville in the Philippines, more commonly referred to as bodabil, was a popular genre of
entertainment in the Philippines from the 1910s until the mid-1960s. For decades, it competed with film,
radio and television as the dominant form of Filipino mass entertainment. It peaked in popularity during
the Japanese occupation in the Philippines from 1941 to 1945.
Daniel Burnham

• Daniel Burnham was commissioned  by the American

government to design Manila and Baguio.

• While Architect “William Parsons” implemented the

Burnham plan inspired by the “City Beautiful Movement “.
William Parsons
Tomas Mapua
◦ Was a Filipino architect, educator and businessman from the
Philippines.

◦ He was the founder and first president of the Mapúa Institute of

Technology (MIT) together with Civil Engr. Gonzalo T. Vales as
co-founder and founding dean of school and co-founder and
founding president of Central Colleges of the Philippines, after he
established the school on February 25, 1925.

◦ He was the first registered architect in the Philippines and first

worked at the Philippine Bureau of Public Works.
Juan Arellano
◦ Was a Filipino architect, best known for Manila’s Metropolitan Theater (1935),
Legislative Building
◦ (1926; now houses the National Museum of Fine Arts), the Manila Central Post Office
Building
◦ (1926), the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex
◦ (1934), the Central Student Church (today known as the Central United Methodist
Church,
◦ 1932), the old Jaro Municipal Hall
◦ (1934) and the Old Iloilo City Hall
◦ (1935) in Iloilo, the Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol
◦ (1936), the Cebu Provincial Capitol
◦ (1937), the Bank of the Philippine Islands Cebu Main Branch
◦ (1940), Misamis Occidental Provincial Capitol Building
◦ (1935), Cotabato Municipal Hall
◦ (1940) and the Jones Bridge during the pre-war era.
Andres Luna De San Pedro
◦ A Filipino architect who built the first air-conditioned
building in the Philippines, the Crystal Arcade one of the
popular tenant of Manila Stock Exchange (previous site
of Paseo de Escolta) Building (now present site of City
College of Manila-Escolta Building, demolished in 2016)
that was once located on No. 71 Escolta Street, Binondo,
Manila.
Antonio Toledo
◦ One of the filipino architect who designed buildings.
◦ The new patrons of the art included the Americans who engaged in governance And education, business
or tourism.
◦ The demand for artist who could do illustrations in textbook or graphics design for product label does
emerged
◦ Landscape on the other hand became cherised as travel souvenirs
◦ In 1909, a year after the establishment of the university of the Philippines it’s school for fine arts was
opened.
◦ It also offered a course in commercial design to fulfil the aforementioned demand
◦ Fabian Dela Rosa and his nephew national artist Fernando Amorsolo succeeded the peninsulares. Rafael
Enriquez as dean.
◦ Peninsulares is a term used particularly during the colonial period.
◦ De la Rosa was known for his naturalist paintings characterized by restraint and formality in brushwork
Planting rice 1921 El Kundiman 1930
◦ The Philippine readers as well as illustrations for The Independent Amorsolo’s logo design for Ginebra
San Miguel depicting the saint trampling on a devil, won for him a grant that enable him to study fine
arts in spain.
◦ During Amorsolo’s term as a professor at the UP School of finre arts he gained among a following peers.