, a reaction paper

GERALD C. DOMINGO, MARCH 2019

Our history and culture in the 1900’s

was engraved through the presence of
different arts and literature which
depicts the situation and hardships,
culture, belief, lifestyle and community
of Filipinos. Arts and literatures become
the key for the Filipinos to raise their
resentment and principles against their
colonizers. Some of which have
succeeded in portraying one’s
intellectual capability to send
awareness to the future generation about the true significance and principles of the Filipino
community at their time. This includes some of the books of Dr. Rizal in the field of literature and
Spolairium painting of Juan Luna that is now displayed at the National Museum.

Spolairium is now situated in the main gallery at the first floor of the National Museum and is the
first work that greets visitors upon entry in the museum. Juan Luna made this painting for about
8 months and fortunately garnered first gold medal in Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes on
1884 in Madrid. According to our Dr. Jose Rizal, “Spolairium… embodied the essence of our
social, moral and political life: humanity in severe ordeal, humanity unredeemed, reason and
idealism in open struggle with prejudice, fanaticism and injustice.” According to some, Rizal’s
book Noli me Tangere is the ‘Latin echo of the Spolairium’.

Spolairium refers to Roman Colosseum basement where fallen and dying gladiators who fight to
the death against Roman oppressors are dumped and being robbed of their possessions. It
(a)
focuses on the three subjects: the fallen gladiators being dragged by the Roman soldiers who
signify the oppressors and the oppressed which can be synonymous to us Filipinos and the
(b)
Spaniards; people at the left side who is greedily waiting for the material possession of the
gladiators as they are being dragged on which symbolizes the greediness of the priest/friars, in
the colonization of the Spaniards, to the Filipino farmers’ land; (c)
at the right side is a man with
torch who is searching for his love one and a woman who is crying who can be likened to us
Filipinos.

As you came to see the Spolairium painting in the National Museum, you can realize that lives
of the Filipinos aren’t easy on time of the colonization of the Spaniards. Of over 300 years, we
become more likely to be slaved under the Spanish government where freedom and justice is
denied on our own country. Of the God, Glory and Gold (3G) motives of the Spaniards, we are
blinded with real patriotism towards our country that we get to be colonized by the Spain. Our
old tradition and culture has been changed to the extent that we gave our own identity in the
hand of the Spaniards giving them permission to go beyond their motives, to be immoral toward
us.

Of the gladiator being dragged by the Roman soldier, we become the gladiators who come to
exist as a mere entertainer who filled up the greediness of the Spaniards through being under
them and following their abusive and immoral action that makes them over us. We are such
being a server and slave in whom we come to offer ourselves to them by being an aliping
saguiguilid or uripon in which Spaniards are given the freedom socially, politically and
economically in the Philippines. Can you dare imagine how immoral Spaniards is? Or should I
say how pity we are to give the management to others in our own land. We have all the choice.
Either we all become Lapu-Lapu of Mactan, the noble Jose Rizal or the brave Andres Bonifacio.
But only few stand against this government and colonizers. We waited for over three hundreds
of years to be freed on. Only after that that we come to be conscious of the mismanagement of
Spaniards, come to wake from our own-made nightmare. It was us gladiators from yesterday
but today, we have the voices to stand for freedom as we come to go against what is wrong and
fight for our own sovereignty against all our oppressors. It may not be on the best way, but we
are possibly on our way to have the best as one united Filipino community.

On the left side of the painting are the people who are greedily waiting for the materialistic
possession of the fallen gladiators. Before the Spaniards came, we, Filipinos, own our country.
After the colonization, we have nothing but our own clothes. On the book of Dr. Rizal, Spanish
priest oppresses farmers through over taxation and stealing our farmer’s land. It is what the
‘Gold’ motives of the Spaniards stand for, to take what they do not own. Our lands are being
stolen from us through colonization of Spaniards. In fact, our land has been sold on through the
Treaty of Paris to United Stated of America. Into this day, we are continuously fighting for some
of our territory especially on the Scarborough Shoal area against the China’s claim to this land.
We do hope that history will not repeat itself.
On the right side of the painting are a man with torch and a woman crying. This can be
synonymous to us for we failed to stand as a community against our oppressor. Every day of
our lives back then in the Spanish colonization, we come to suffer from the abusiveness of the
Spanish government. From their wrongdoings to injustices, we came to suffer from all of those.
Today, we have taken our own sovereignty and freedom. We have all the capability and rights
to stand from the injustices and wrongdoings of our government and to our oppressors, if there
is.

This is the content of Spolairium of Juan Luna; we are oppressed by the time of colonization of
Spaniards. We we’re never given freedom to act on our wants and needs. We are all under their
government even to their immorality and abusive actions. But the painting right now reminds us
that those were yesterday, time has changed. We are living in the second millennium. Even the
weakest one can be a voice against the strongest oppressor, a poor who can stand against
inequality and a Filipino who fight as a community to safeguard our territory, freedom and
sovereignty.