Lecture: Repositioning Misa Balintawak: Articulating Anti-colonial Resistance in early twentieth century Manila（Speaker- Arwin Quiñones Tan）

Time: 2023/6/2（Fri.）14:30

Location: Lesuye Bld. R105

Speaker: Arwin Quiñones Tan (University of the Philippines)

Topic: Repositioning Misa Balintawak: Articulating Anti-colonial Resistance in early twentieth century Manila

ABSTRACT
In this paper, I explore the symbolisms and representations used by the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) in its early years of existence, as various forms of legitimation to affirm its ambivalent position as the national church of a young Filipino nation. In particular, this paper talks about music as a symbol of political resistance in relation to the tumultuous turn of events at the turn of the twentieth century as the Philippines grappled with the effects of successive colonial entanglements with Spain and the USA. The examination centers on a musical setting of the IFI Mass in Bonifacio Abdon’s Balintawak, Misang Tagalog (a.k.a. Misa Balintawak), to see how it is indicative of the precepts and ideologies of the political struggle of the Filipino people, and to explore the piece’s indexical relation to important events in the fight for freedom. These symbols legitimated the quest for independence from the grips of American imperial domination in the early twentieth century.