Ken Tatlonghari
7 March 2021
At first glance, Manila’s demise might be corollary to the plot of a Greek tragedy or opera. But just like the original intent of a Greek drama which is to invoke a catharsis for the audience, Manila can also awaken that feeling for the explorer.
Are there no traces left of its genteel and vibrant past?
Of course not.
That’s why whatever is left should be preserved and cherished.
What about its theaters?
Many of them are gone, attributable to the rise of television and other causes, both man-made and acts of God.
So how did Manila become a hotbed for theater?
Rise of Theater in Manila
According to Jose Ma. Rivera, the Teatro de Tondo was already operating before 1829, while Wenceslao Emilio Retana y Gamboa had written that the primitive theaters of Arroceros and Tondo were first built in 1834. Juan Atayde in his Los teatros de Manila cites a coliseo or theater in Arroceros with a roof made of nipa, which presented Tagalog works as well as some Spanish productions around that time period.
When diplomat Sinibaldo de Mas came to the Philippines in 1841 to assess the country, he proposed even more theaters for natives and mestizos. The natives already had teatros al aire libre (open air provisional theaters) at that time. But coliseos tagalo, which were made of light materials such as nipa and bamboo, came before coliseos castellanos.
Other forms of theater were present in the streets of Manila for the natives. Pantomimas and panchitos were held during the holidays in the capital. Pantomima players carried a drum and a prop and performed battle scenes like a moro-moro in front of residential areas, while panchitos had giant pasteboard figures called mojigangas gigantones which danced and sung to an accompaniment of two small guitars and a larger one. This provided the comedy after the fight.
The Spanish-speaking populace on the other hand would have its first theater constructed in 1846 — the Teatro de Binondo. It stood out from the others as it was finally made of brick, stone and wood. The theater struggled in the beginning because it needed a competent theater company which they were able to put together eventually.
Another important theater, Teatro del Principe Alfonso came into existence when a group of military officers and government workers devoted to theater formally requested in 1861 that a theater be built on Campo Arroceros. Aside from Spanish theater companies, others were featured in it as well. A French operetta company transferred there from a little theater in Quiapo. Theater fever grew and it also became a home for Italian opera. By 1869, the theater was renamed Teatro Español.
It had several outstanding presentations there like La conquista de Jolo by D. Antonio Garcia del Canto. This three-act play with an almost all-Filipino cast premiered on June 11, 1865.
There was also La vuelta del marino by Enrique Tovar which honored the victory of the Spanish armada’s Pacific squadron.
Una pagina de gloria was another which was based on the conquest of Jolo under General Malcampo. Its authors seemed to have predicted the Spanish victory in Jolo since the campaign ended on April 18, 1876 while the play was shown on April 23.
One of the last significant plays of the theater was Republica…domestica. Featuring an all-male cast, it was about 3 Manileño bachelors who got themselves into all sorts of trouble until their landlord suggested that they get married in order to set themselves straight — which they did. It is significant in that they chose to marry native women, implying Filipino womanhood to be desirable.
With the curtains coming down for the Teatro Español, we move on to the Teatro de Sibacon, another interesting theater which was located near Plaza Sta. Cruz and Ongpin St. It was originally one of those crude nipa and bamboo theaters but because of the variety and popularity of productions there, it became a household name for hosting comedias, European dances, choreographic shows, and even bullfights.
Maestro Appiani, a renowned Italian dance teacher in Madrid, became a fixture at this Teatro. He set up a dance school in Manila and taught the aristocrats the gavotte, the schottische, the redowa, and other dances. It was because of him that the minuet was performed at some upper class homes.
igavott001p1 
He also organized a Compañia Infantil de Baile and collaborated with Lopez Aria to present some comedies and dances at the Teatro de Binondo. He then had a short gig at the Teatro de Tondo, after which he established a little theater in Barrio Sibacon called Teatrito de Sibacon. There, he taught his students for free in return for dancing in his shows without pay.
Then after the Teatro de Sibacon, we have the Teatro de Variedades which also made its way into Rizal’s El Filibusterismo. A French company under impresario D. Zacarias Deplace was its first featured company.
Many other theaters in Manila gave life to the city such as the Teatro Lírico, Teatro Español, Circo Teatro de Bilibid, Teatro Filipino, Teatro Popular, and Teatro Calderon. Other foreign opera companies such as the Juan Barbero Company, Pompeii Company and Assi-Panades Italian Opera Company developed regular opera seasons in those venues.
By the late 1890s, a theater called the Teatro Zorrilla was gaining prominence. The Teatro Zorrilla was named after José Zorrilla, Spain’s national poet and dramaturge. It was situated at Calle Iris (Azcarraga/C.M. Recto) and the corner of San Pedro, and inaugurated on August 17, 1893. The Zorrilla hosted a wide variety of acts, such as the Polish concertist Antonio de Kontski who performed in an instrumental and vocal concert in 1895. Two weeks after his concert, the theater had a unique variety show which included a symphony, songs accompanied by harp, sleight-of-hand acts, a monologue and other magic acts. The zarzuela Los Sobrinos del Capitan Grant, whose cast of characters included dancers, mariners, priests, gauchos, Chileans, natives and crocodiles was shown there as well.
The Teatro Zorrilla became the grandest theater of them all, surviving through to the American period where local zarzuela groups such as Compania Ilagan, Gran Compania de Zarzuela Tagala and the FERSUTA (Fernandez, Suzara, Tagaroma) performed with their acclaimed singers Maria Carpena, Yeyeng, Venancia Suzara, Patrocinio Tagaroma, Victorino Carrion, Alfredo Ratia, and Atang de la Rama.
Image of Interior of Teatro Zorrilla from Philippines, My Philippines
It is important to note that the “First Filipino Opera” Sandugong Panaginip (Dream of a Blood Compact, libretto by Pedro Paterno, music by Ladislao Bonus), and the zarzuela Walang Sugat (Without a Wound, libretto by Severino Reyes, music by Fulgencio Tolentino) was first staged there in 1902. The success of this zarzuela established the genre as the preferred form of theater from 1902 to the 1930s, edging out the the comedia as the standard form of theater back then.
From Zarzuelas to Bodabil
Dalagang Bukid was another immensely popular zarzuela (Country Lass, libretto by Hermogenes Ilagan, music by Leon Ignacio) which had its premiere here in 1919, on the eve of the “Roaring 20s” to a packed audience. Starring Atang de la Rama, it became the first full-length Filipino feature film/silent movie in 1919. Dalagang Bukid was a reflection of society at the time, addressing the conflict between country and city values, and morality and vice. It depicts a cabaret (dancehall) playing American music and a young provincial lass who becomes the toast of the men and the crowd. The song Nabasag ang Banga (The Clay Pot Broke) has a foxtrot rhythm and with its double entendre, became the hit song of the time.
When vodavil/bodabil (vaudeville) and the cinema arrived in the Philippines during the American period, the Zorrilla adapted and became a screening house for
five Hollywood movies.
The Manila Grand Opera House was another venue nearby on Avenida Rizal, and it provided the stage for many performances as well as events of historical import, like the inauguration of the First Philippine Assembly in 1907.
Other show houses popped up alongside these theaters like the Lerma Cabaret, Quiapo Saloon, Orpheum Vaudeville, Rivoli, and Savoy. The last haven of American vaudeville Filipino-style, the Savoy was later renamed Clover Theater on Echague (now Palanca) and occupied the site of the current City College of Manila. Its list of entertainers included Pugo and Tugo — famous for lampooning the Japanese in World War II, Patsy and Lupito, Aruray, Dolphy, Panchito, Jose Cris Soto, and the one and only jazz singer and “Queen of Bodabil” Katy de la Cruz.
But there is another person who breathed life into the city of Manila up until our current era, and that was the artist, tour guide and cultural activist — Carlos Celdran. He used his talents, including his performing arts background to help Filipinos themselves understand and appreciate the great city of Manila, and encouraged us to do our part in ushering in its revival.
We at Renacimiento Manila echo the same call for everyone to uplift the city even if Arts Month has already ended. Because despite all the adversity that comes its way, its people — the Filipino people — have never run out of artistic talent. In fact, the country is brimming with it. We will continue to feature works dedicated to the city that have been submitted to us — be it visual, musical, literary, poetry or performance related. Viva Manila!
References:
- Tragedy, via Wikipedia. Retrieved 7 March 2021
- Lacónico-Buenaventura, Christina. “The Theaters of Manila: 1846-1896”. Philippine Studies, Vol. 27, No. 1 (First Quarter 1979), pp. 5-37
- Brillantes-Silvestre, Ma. Patricia. “Music in The Heart of Manila: Quiapo from the Colonial Period to Contemporary Times: Tradition, Change, Continuity”. Journal of the Center for Iberian and Latin American Music, April 25, 2008
Article by Ken Tatlonghari . Art by Diego Torres
The Renacimiento Movement. What, then, is the Renacimiento Movement? The movement is the core philosophy of the organization. It is founded on the reality that heritage is a cornerstone of holistic development and that it is indispensable in ensuring quality of life. As such, cultural revival is necessary for the promotion of heritage in the national agenda. Heritage should be driven by the people, regardless of race, gender, creed, or religion. This cultural revival can be achieved through the following ways: government support, the advancement of private initiatives, and the engagement of the people.
Manila Weekly 