Public spaces are more beautiful and infinitely more interesting with a splash of art and color.
On Mon, Jun 27, local street artist group Ang Gerilya posted a picture of a five-story mural of Datu Lapu-Lapu called “Pinuno.”
It bears a colorful image of the pre-Hispanic hero, with the caption “Sino ang may galing, sipag, tapang at puso? Siya ang dapat mamuno! (“Who has the skills, determination, courage and heart? He should lead!”).
It also show’s the Datu’s kampilan (a weapon similar to a sword) and a Babaylan spirit-bird.
The mural may be found on an apartment building on the corner of San Andres Street and Osmeña Highway.
The mural took a week to finish. This is how the building looked like without the artwork.
Along with buckets of paint, the artists used a scaffolding and harness to finish the project.
According to the group’s Tumblr page, “Gerilya is an artist collective formed in 2008. Its three original members, Jano, Kube, and Zap, hail from the College of Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines.”
“Their work is inspired by Philippine culture and history, exploring socio-political issues and national identity. They seek to make their art as relevant as possible and draw influence from Philippine popular and mass culture.”
Lapu-lapu was warrior chief and the first to resist Spanish rule in the island of Cebu about 300 years ago.
Earlier this year, Duterte announced that he wants to make Lapu-lapu a “proper” hero by changing the name of the fish named after him to Magellan, the Spanish conquistador that he defeated.
