CRITICAL COMMENTARY 4: Carlos Celdran & Post-Colonialism

Carlos Celdran

Changing the way we see Manila

My first Carlos Celdran tour, back in 2007 with "Assumptionista Manindigan" Club

Of the many MANY things that Carlos Celdran was able to say with the few hours that i got to tour Intramuros with him, it was one thing he said that never left my mind, he said: 

"I cannot change the way Manila looks, but i can change the way you look at Manila"

Beyond the sarcasm and theatrics, I can personally attest to the fact that Carlos Celdran is not like any other tour guide i've encountered, both here and abroad. His choice of area and method of theatrics alone suggest that he was not like any other tour guide, and the fact that he is able to captivate and surprise even his own fellow Filipinos.  What is different about him is the fact that his tours do not showcase the latest developments or typical tour spots (now that he has become an icon, his tours are almost considered default to most Manila tourists), but chose a historic spot, one that (at the time he began his tours) was almost completely forgotten by the Filipinos themselves. He highlighted the Filipino colonial experience and helped explain why the Philippines is the way it is in status quo, dating everything back to its colonial roots.

In class, we discussed that "žžOne of the central features of post colonial theory is an examination of the impact and continuing legacy of the European conquest, colonization and domination of non-European lands, peoples and cultures" and that "decolonization process includes the reclamation and reconstruction of history and culture as the basis for the new post-colonial forms of nation and national identity" 

I believe that Carlos Celdran exhibits these perfectly because he reminds us that what we are is a major product of who has colonized us in the past, and he is a living example of one who continually attempts to establish that genuine Filipino identity through his tour guides, and in the process of such constant pursuit to find the true meaning of becoming Filipino, Carlos Celdran is becoming among those who are shaping the post-colonial identity and culture of the Philippines.