DFA Collaborates with NHCP, GMA to Exhibit Philippine Traditional Costumes Used in “Amaya” in Vietnam
MANILA 05 October 2020 – The Department of Foreign Affairs, through a partnership with the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) and GMA Network, will exhibit Philippine traditional costumes used in the 2011 television show “Amaya” in the ASEAN Traditional Costumes Exhibit 2020 on 23 October 2020 at the National Museum of Vietnamese History.
The Philippine participation at the exhibit, through the Philippine Embassy in Hanoi, will feature the attires and body ornaments used in the historical epic-fiction drama series of GMA Network, particularly those of the pre-colonial noble couple characters of Datu Bugna and Dian Lamitan, portrayed by actors Raymond Bagatsing and Gina Alajar, respectively.
The items were based on the documented attires and ornaments in the c. 1590 Boxer Codex, as well as the gold ornaments discovered in various places in the country on display at the Ayala Museum and the Museo ng Bangko Sentral. The pre-colonial attires were chosen as the Philippine entry to the said ASEAN exhibit which is held in time for the country’s commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Victory at Mactan, the Philippine part in the first circumnavigation of the world, and other related events in 2021.
The NHCP, which entered into a memorandum of agreement with GMA Network for the purposes of this exhibition, acknowledged the research poured by the latter on the attires in “Amaya.” Among the consultants of GMA for Amaya were award-winning costume, set and production designer Gino Gonzales who produced the costumes using natural fibers; as well as Dr. Vicente Villan and Dr. Neil Marcial Santillan, history professors from the University of the Philippines Diliman and noted scholars of Visayan and pre-colonial history.
The NHCP Material Research and Conservation Division conserved and documented the items prior to its turnover to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Philippine Embassy in Vietnam. After the exhibit at the National Museum of Vietnamese History, the items will be displayed at the said embassy in Hanoi before returning to Manila.
The ASEAN Traditional Costume Exhibition 2020, which is organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Viet Nam and the ASEAN Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is co-organized with the Embassies of ASEAN Member States in Viet Nam, including the Philippine Embassy in Hanoi.
The exhibition will feature traditional costumes and photographic works from 10 ASEAN member states which includes the Philippines. END
