Life & Legacy
Inspired by woven textiles, printmaking, and storytelling, I decided to create a design that shares a story about life and legacy. There is a long history with Filipino culture in Salinas, CA. A lot of it is blurry, sad, and disheartening, but there are a lot of glimpses of hopefulness, positivity, and resilience. Filipinos helped forged a path for a better environment, and I want to honor them with this mural. By depicting the values of a thriving, positive community using Filipino-inspired symbolism, I’ve created a design where each viewer can engage with each element and find truth, fairness, respect, strength, spiritual growth, unity, love, harmony, and resilience.
Filipino Symbols and Motifs
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Holding Hands
Represents a the strength of your ancestors and those you have strong bonds with in your life.
Kalinga / Luzon
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Banig or Weaving
Represents woven designs to symbolize the strong bonds between families and clans needed to hold society together.
Luzon / Ilokano
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Lightning / People Praying
Represents a humble and reverent attitude toward the divine, connecting with a higher power, and overcoming struggles through unity and faith.
Buscalan / Kalinga
Balance, Fairness, Justice
A scale with a moon and sun represents fairness, balance, and justice. When there is an action there is a response. Being fair creates the kind of balance that instills and fortifies a positive, safe community.
The sun and moon represent the light and dark sides within ourselves and the communities we're apart of. We bring light to the darkness and learn from our collective history. By balancing the yin and yang energies and honoring the duality of our lives, we can find harmony.
Tenacity, Resilience
The Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) is the national bird of the Philippines. Critically endangered, this majestic bird represents tenacity and resilience in overcoming the odds to achieve its goals. Let's soar as high as our eagles amidst all adversities.
Respect, Honor, Ancestral Connection
A child greeting her lola (grandmother) by gently placing her right hand to her forehead represents respect, or "Pagmamano," a Filipino gesture often done by young people to the elders as a sign of respect.
Connecting with our elders is incredibly important. Their wisdom and insight will always be our guiding light.
Faith, Sincerity, Spiritual Growth
Praying hands represents faith, sincerity, and spiritual growth. By nurturing a connection with our higher selves, we can connect with the collective consciousness. Through faith, we can look beyond our individual perspectives and see how strong we are as a united front.
Love, Harmony, Growth, Wisdom, Care
The Golden South Sea Pearl (Pinctada maxima) is the Philippine national gem. This symbolizes the importance of caring for the environment. Also as a symbol for love, harmony, growth, and wisdom, the saltwater pearl offers insight to the health of the planet and the importance of taking care of it.
Resilience, Strength, Healing, Strong Foundation
The Narra Tree (Pterocarpus indicus) is also a sign for resilience. This tree signifies toughness, durability, and strength. It is the national tree of the Philippines, and its leaves, bark, and roots can be used to heal a variety of ailments.
Devotion, Integrity, Honesty, Divine Hope, Purity, Connection
Sampaguita flower (Jasminum sambac) and bumble bee represents many things: love, devotion, fidelity, integrity, honesty, purity, divine hope, and healing. As the national flower of the Philippines, a bumble bee pollinating it is a sign of a mutualistic relationship, meaning both parties benefit from the interaction.
Unity, Power, Collective Consciousness
Hands embraced and cheering represent unity and meaningful relationships around us. Once we stand up together, there is nothing we cannot achieve. There is beauty in unity, and people should be able to feel safe in these large gatherings.
Family, Hope, Education
In the center of the design, a mother waters a sapling with her daughter, and the landscape is of Salinas, with rolling hills, distant mountains, and fertile farms. You can see the roots venture deep even if the sapling is still so little.
This represents how our adult actions take root in the younger generation at a very early age. By allowing our children to play in nature, they can development an appreciation and meaningful connection with the world around them.
Final Words
Thank you, United Way Monterey County, for the opportunity to dive into a concept I've been wanting to bring into reality. Being a part of the Monterey County Community has given me insight on the values that continue to guide me today. Salinas is rich with Filipino history, and as a descendant with indigenous Filipino roots, I was able to connect deeply with this California community. It was an honor to highlight Filipino culture and values.