History Cultural Center of the Philippines

imelda marcos john rockefeller iii in 1966.




ninoy aquino

california gov. ronald reagan , first lady nancy reagan accompanied president marcos @ opening of ccp.

before turn of 20th century, artistic performances held in plazas , other public places around country. in manila, manila grand opera house, constructed in mid-19th century, served primary venue many stage plays, operas , zarzuelas , other notable events of national significance. conditions improve construction of metropolitan theater in 1931 , smaller adequately equipped auditoriums in institutions meralco, philam life, insular life, ateneo de manila university , far eastern university. in 1961, philippine-american cultural foundation started raise funds new theater. structure, designed leandro locsin, built on 10-hectare (25-acre) lot in quezon city. in meantime in 1965, imelda marcos @ proclamation rally in cebu husband s bid presidency, expressed desire build national theater. marcos win election bid , work on theater started issuance of presidential proclamation no. 20 on march 12, 1966. imelda, first lady, persuaded philippine-american cultural foundation relocate , expand plans still-born theater new reclaimed location along roxas boulevard in manila. formalize project, president marcos issued executive order no. 60, establishing cultural center of philippines , appointing board of directors. board elect imelda chairperson, giving legal mandate negotiate , manage funds center.

prior husband s inaugural, marcos started fund raising cultural center; initial half-a-million pesos made proceeds of premiere of flower drum song in university of philippines, , ninety-thousand pesos turned on filipino arm of philippine-american cultural foundation. was, however, insufficient cover projected cost of ph₱15 million needed construct theater. of theater s funding came war damage fund education authorized congress during president marcos s state visit united states. in end, theater receive us$3.5 million fund. make rest of construction costs, imelda approached prominent families , businesses donate cause. carpets, draperies, marble, artworks decorate interior of theater , cement donated. despite success of first lady s fund raising, project cost ballooned ₱50 million, or 35 million on projected budget 1969. imelda , ccp board took us$7 million loan through national investment development corporation finance remaining amount, move heavily criticized government opposition. senator ninoy aquino objected use of public funds center without congressional appropriation , branded institution elite. unfazed criticism, marcos went ahead project , theater of performing arts (now tanghalang pambansa) of cultural center of philippines opened on september 8, 1969, 3 days before president s 52nd birthday, three-month-long inaugural festival opened lamberto avellana s musical golden salakot: isang dularawan, epic portrayal of panay island. among attended inaugural night california governor ronald reagan , wife, nancy, both representing united states president richard nixon.

early 1970s, center in red due costs of constructing theater of performing arts. in 1972, board of ccp asked members of congress pass house bill 4454, convert center become non-municipal public corporation , allow use principal of ccp trust fund pay off of debt. bill continually support center through government subsidy amounting equivalent of 5% of collected amusement tax annually. proposed piece of legislation met strong opposition , never passed. however, declaration of martial law on september 23, 1972, congress dissolved; , president marcos signed proclamation no. 15 s. 1972, modified version of proposed bill. proclamation expanded center s role, of being performance venue agency promoting , developing arts , culture throughout country. other notable developments during year included institution of national artist awards , foundation of ccp philharmonic orchestra, center s first resident company later become philippine philharmonic orchestra.

the tanghalang pambansa @ night.

during period of marcos presidency, ccp complex played host major local , international events under guise of bagong lipunan (new society), mark start of series of major construction projects in area. when filipino margie moran won 1973 miss universe pageant, philippine government agreed stage succeeding year s contest, , plans amphitheater commenced. weeks of planning , discussions resulted commissioning of folk arts theater (now tanghalang francisco balagtas), open-air roofed structure seat 10,000 people. construction of new theater, designed leandro locsin, completed in record 77 days , inaugurated on july 1972 grand parade, kasaysayan ng lahi ( history of race ). right after inauguration of folk arts, ground broken philippine international convention center , philippine plaza hotel, both country s hosting of imf-world bank annual meeting in 1976. although not owned cultural center, these buildings nevertheless built @ complex , designed locsin. 1 of more infamous additions center manila film center, built in 1981 manila international film festival. designed froilan hong, structure built on strict critical path schedule requiring 4,000 workers working in 3 shifts across 24 hours. accident occurred on november 17, 1981, when scaffolding collapsed , sent construction workers quick-drying cement. despite this, construction proceeded, , finished 15 minutes before opening night of film festival. building s ownership transferred ccp in 1986, when experimental cinema of philippines dissolved. straying brutalist style typical of buildings in ccp coconut palace, showcase on versatility of coconut export product , construction material, designed francisco mañosa. financial , human costs of constructing these buildings, in time of widespread poverty , corruption, seen symptomatic of first lady s edifice complex, charge imelda has nevertheless welcomed in later years.

ccp complex air.

1986 saw end of marcos regime through peaceful people power revolution. consequently, ccp underwent period of reform , filipinization . president corazon aquino appointed maria teresa roxas first president of cultural center in post-marcos era; , once critic of center promotion of elitist culture, nicanor tiongson, accepted position new artistic director. vice president, florendo garcia, new leadership consulted various stakeholders formulate new direction ccp , officially redefine mission , objectives in pursuit of filipino national culture evolving , people . set decentralization, center formulates guidelines setting-up local arts councils in local government units , establishes ccp exchange artist program provide opportunities regional groups showcase talents across country. first time in presidency, aquino visited center on january 11, 1987 confer national artist award atang de la rama, marking first time awards conferred through process of democratic selection in addition rigid criteria. aquino later confer same award leandro locsin in 1990, in recognition of contribution field of architecture in philippines , in spite of many contributions marcos regime s architectural projects. in 1987, 3 groups joined roster of cultural center s resident companies: philippine ballet theatre, ramon obusan folkloric group , tanghalang pilipino. part of outreach , research programs, ccp produced number of notable publications, including: ani (english: harvest) (1987), arts journal; tuklas sining (english: discover arts) (1989) series of monographs , videos on philippine arts , landmark 10-volume ccp encyclopedia of philippine art (1994). despite attempt @ reforms, people still see center in less positive light. instance, former president gloria macapagal-arroyo said finds ccp imposing, unapproachable, , elitist filipino masses.