LAPULAPU GETS A FACELIFT

...er, so to speak

Most of us are now eager to get 2020 over and done with, right? Well, here’s another reason to look forward to 2021. On April 27 next year, we will be commemorating the 500th anniversary of one of the first lessons we learn in our history classes growing up—the Battle of Mactan.

In a countdown to the celebration of what has been considered as the first clash between Filipinos and the West, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) released a new portrait of the hero of Mactan, the island’s chief Lapulapu. But this isn’t the usual Lapulapu you’ve seen in other paintings, monuments, or even films (no offense, Lito Lapid).

The painting, which was made by Bulacan-based artist Carlo Caacbay, shows a much older Lapulapu and not a buff, superhero-looking one. It follows the descriptions of Pinoy historian Danilo Gerona who researched Lapulapu anew in preparation for the quincentennial commemorations of the Mactan Battle. Gerona wrote the book Ferdinand Magellan: The Armada de Maluco and the European Discovery of the Philippines (2016).

His basis was Portuguese historian

Gaspar Correa‘s 1563 book Lendas da India, where Lapulapu was described as really old, probably in his 70s. Correa got his info from survivors of the expedition by Ferdinand Magellan.

This new photo-realistic Lapulapu portrait shows the Mactan chief covered in tattoos reminiscent of those in the drawings of Visayan pintados that appeared in the Boxer Codex (ca. 1590). Also inspired by the same documents are the gold ornaments he is wearing. These are similar to those that have been excavated in various parts of the country (some have been on display at the Bangko Sentral Museum and the Ayala Museum). His lower body is draped in regal red vestments. With a beach in the background to symbolize the Battle of Mactan, Lapulapu stands proud holding a Visayan weapon called kampilan.

While I have reasons to argue that Lapulapu is not the hero we have always been told he was, this painting is a refreshing portrayal of Filipino heroes—figures that have been put on so high a pedestal over the years, so much so that it has become nearly impossible to emulate them. It’s a portrait based on research and not on misplaced notions of patriotism.

And it seems like it won’t be the last. The NHCP is doing a series of portraits of heroes to be displayed at government offices and schools, following a circular in 2017 that instructs these public institutions to display images of historical figures instead of incumbent government officials.

This isn’t the buff, superhero-looking Lapulapu you’ve seen in other paintings, monuments, or even films (no offense, Lito Lapid).The painting shows a much older Lapulapu.