Escuela Taller Magazine - Issue 1

Protectors of Built Heritage
Protectors of Built Heritage
He was born in Zaragoza,
Spain, in 1970 and
studied Photography
at the Kensington and
Chelsea College in
London. Afterwards, he
devoted himself to travel
and make documentary
photography essays
in Latin America,
progressively combining
social documentary work
with a more intimate and
personal approach to
photography.
In 2010, he began working
for the Communications
Department of the
Spanish Agency
for International
Development Cooperation
MIGUEL LIZANA BARCO
(AECID) focusing on
social projects such as
the one shown on this
digital magazine.
He has published two
books: El tubo: historia
de un abandono y Vidas
y Tránsitos, and some of
his pictures have been
included in a variety of
books and catalogues of
International Cooperation
agencies (United Nations,
UNICEF, AECID, etc.).
He has also had solo and
group exhibitions.
Miguel Lizana/AECID.
In the 1980s, one of the most
significant migration flows from
the provinces to the city in the
country’s recent history took
place. Thousands of people
moved from the entire Philippine
countryside to the capital in
search of opportunities --those
which could not be found in the
country’s rural areas which were
still waiting for agrarian reform, and
were characterized by the lack of
infrastructure, basic services and
jobs. A lot of these migrants ended
up in BASECO, building their houses
along the muddy banks of the Pasig
River, where the hustle and bustle
of the port could offer them a few
pesos working as porters or doing
some other job.
People from other marginalized
areas of the metropolis also
arrived at BASECO, having had their
shanties demolished or destroyed
in a fire. There were also Filipino
Muslims and Christians fleeing
from the conflict in Mindanao,
relatives from Pampanga, Batanes
or Zamboanga following the suit
of their family members who
first settled there. They all came
with the usual problems which
accompany poverty in areas such
The preservation of their country’s
historical legacy is in their hands.
Despite coming from the peripheries,
they have become protectors of the
physical memory that is part of the
social identity to which they belong.
as this one -- forgotten, brutally
lacking in structure, and the seed
of the underclass: delinquency,
weapons, crime, drugs, organ
trafficking.
It was here where a lot of the
students of the Escuela Taller de
Filipinas Foundation, Inc. (ETTFI)
were born. Some of the stories of
of these men and women – those
of the latter being twice as hard -
are examples of each one of the
chapters of the consequences of
marginalization: abandonment,
mistreatment, addiction, rape, and
exploitation. Nevertheless, these
stories also serve as an example of
improvement, of the desire to move
forward and seek a better future.
Having the opportunity to study
and acquire some technical
skills – in this case, those related
to traditional techniques of
construction and methods of
restoration – allow these young
men and women to have a greater
access to the labor market and to
attain better living conditions for
themselves and their families. This
also leads to social participation,
interaction in the public sphere,
and recognition as skilled persons
with the power to decide and
exert a positive influence on their
surroundings.
Given this description, the Escuela
Taller de Filipinas would be just
another training center for young
men and women at risk of social
exclusion. However, that is not the
case. The students of the Escuela
Taller have as their classrooms the
adobe walls of a historical church
in Santa Ana, the choir seats made
of narra in the San Agustin Church,
a structure that is considered
a World Heritage site by the
UNESCO, or the most emblematic
fortification of Intramuros – Fort
Santiago. That was how it began
in Spain and is being continued in
other Escuela Taller centers in Latin
America.
The preservation of their country’s
historical legacy is in their
hands. Despite coming from the
peripheries, they have become
protectors of the physical memory
that is part of the social identity to
which they belong. This symbolism
is a fundamental pillar in the
empowerment of these girls and
boys who wake up between the
tarpaulins of a house without
running water, and who end
their days painting the ceiling of
the house of the heroes of the
1896 revolution. As participants,
they become visible and redeem
themselves.
These are the trainees of the
Escuela Taller de Filipinas,
the protectors of the tangible
Philippine legacy.
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