00:00It looks like a rosary from afar, but it's actually made of ginto.
00:08This is the quintessence of the Filipino version of Maria Clara.
00:13But this adornment is not just an old adornment.
00:19Each piece of this adornment is also a testament to the history of the Filipinos.
00:30Even if you look at it from a distance,
00:45you can see the ancient items in the house of the collector and designer Maria Angelica Santos Bermejo,
00:52also known as Gigi.
00:55She has been collecting for 39 years.
00:58She was a child when her mother gave her this adornment as a gift.
01:01The adornment is important.
01:03Remember gold?
01:05Even before pre-colonial Philippines, gold already had value.
01:10It was a medium of exchange.
01:12So aside from being an adornment, it was used as a currency.
01:17Gigi had an interest in heirloom jewelry.
01:21Adornments that were worn during the time of the Spaniards.
01:26And her favorite item in her collection is the tambourine.
01:33The tambourine derives from the word tambur,
01:36a frame used in needlework to guide the sewing instruments through the looping and twirling of thread-like wire.
01:47This is the very first kind of tambourine bead from the 1700s.
01:55And then it became more and more intricate.
02:17This is my first tambourine.
02:20Look at how beautiful and long it is.
02:23So this is about over a hundred years old.
02:261900s to 1920s.
02:28So it's over a century old.
02:31This is an original piece.
02:33The color is very consistent.
02:35From the reliquary to the butterfly,
02:39and even all of its beads.
02:42When you make the reliquary or the butterfly,
02:46you're going to see the filigree design or jewelry technique.
02:51The wires are very flowy and they're very romantic in style.
02:59Very intricate.
03:02The wires are very flowy and they're very romantic in style.
03:10Very intricate. Very detailed.
03:13That's what tambourine jewelry is all about.
03:18The design of the tambourine was inspired by the Catholic prayer for Mary,
03:23the mother of Jesus, the Rosary.
03:26They started as prayer beads.
03:28They started as rosaries.
03:30So it started from faith and in the end it turned into adornment.
03:35The Spaniards tried to make us very submissive
03:39by introducing to us the Mama Mary,
03:42who's very meek and kind, all the saints who are good.
03:46So the Spaniards didn't want us to elaborate.
03:50How did the Filipinos circumvent that?
03:53Using the tambourine as a medium to express themselves.
03:59So you notice that the tambourine is very intricate.
04:04The tambourine is very elaborate.
04:07It shows the quiet defiance of the Filipino.
04:13Look at this.
04:15It's beautiful.
04:16These are the different ways of designing the pieces of tambourine parts
04:25that we receive loose.
04:28Because sometimes it comes to us that it's already loose.
04:31Maybe it's already split in the ears.
04:34So like this one are different kinds of relicario.
04:39See?
04:40I just put them together.
04:43Then this one, this is what I call kilabot.
04:48It has a kilabot design.
04:50Goosebumps.
04:52This is a modern way of interpreting the tambourine.
04:57These are all 1800 tambourines.
05:00Now this is a very special alfajor piece.
05:03Look at how fine it is.
05:05Most of the 18-carat gold tambourine pieces are very fine.
05:13J.G. has a story.
05:14When he was young, the Filipinos looked down on him.
05:19I find it funny because back then,
05:22we didn't pay attention to the locally made.
05:25Oh, that's Bakya.
05:27But now, my God, there is a resurgence.
05:31And well and good, because of this resurgence,
05:35you get to search yourself.
05:37Who am I?
05:39What are my roots?
05:41That's what Filipinos are asking.
05:44In Maycawayan, Bulacan,
05:46the production of heirloom jewelry like the tambourine is still alive.
05:51Maycawayan Jewelry Industry Association, Inc. was established in 1985
05:58to support the jewelry industry in the country.
06:02Actually, the jewelry making was brought here by the Chinese in Binondo.
06:09What happened was that they found a place where they can make jewelry
06:14that is not too much of a hassle by the BIR.
06:17At that time, Spanish time,
06:19they arrived here in Maycawayan, which was called Kawayan before,
06:24that the people, their livelihood was blacksmithing,
06:28making panday.
06:30So, they taught the people here how to make jewelry
06:37and this became the center of jewelry making in Maycawayan.
06:43It's long.
06:46But as time went by, the industry became weak.
06:51No, it's not like that.
06:54It needs to be stretched.
06:57They are trying to revive it and are helping to make Maycawayan the fine jewelry capital of the Philippines.
07:03It's a waste. The industry is a waste.
07:06We have a lot of gold.
07:07And the Filipinos are good.
07:10They are good.
07:11You are not the same as other nationals.
07:14The Filipinos have their own art.
07:16In the mangas, I know in Ikacabet,
07:19the Filipinos have their own art.
07:25Cecilia Ramos is only 26 years old when she entered the jewelry business.
07:29Now, she is 75 and still in the industry.
07:34In the 80s, it was stronger.
07:36Of course, gold is cheaper.
07:39More people are making it.
07:41When I started, gold was only 500 pesos per gram.
07:45Do you know how much it is now?
07:47It's 5.5 per gram.
07:50Because of the increase in gold prices,
07:52the platterias are not getting new workers.
07:59That's why the workers are forced to look for other jobs.
08:07Platero is the name of the artisans who make jewelry.
08:12From 40 plateros,
08:14only 4 are still making jewelry in Cecilia's platteria.
08:19Labor is more expensive when it comes to tambourine
08:22compared to other jewelry.
08:24Because it cannot be made in days.
08:27And depending on the design,
08:29one week is the longest.
08:31It's simple.
08:33If it's not simple, it's two weeks.
08:35If the design is more difficult,
08:38you can see the alpahor,
08:41it was made in one month.
08:44Machines cannot do it.
08:46Only human hands can do it.
08:51The importance of making tambourine
08:54is our design.
08:57If only modern people can make it
09:00and no one can make tambourine,
09:02what else can the Philippines do?
09:05This is the tambourine.
09:15From the old tambourine,
09:17now it's a silver tambourine.
09:19This is what the plateros in Cecilia,
09:22like Mang Wiley, are passionate about.
09:24This is the piece of the tambourine.
09:28This is the tambourine.
09:30This is the tambourine.
09:33This is the wire,
09:35to burn it so it won't break.
09:42Acetone.
09:44Water.
09:48If I can do this,
09:50I can make a medal.
09:53The tambourine I'm making now
09:55is not enough because
09:57I used to make a lot of gold.
10:01The Filipinos are good at making
10:05abuses.
10:09The Filipinos are strong.
10:19Sometimes, making a tambourine
10:21can be a life-threatening task.
10:24Sometimes, the tambourine
10:26will suddenly break
10:29because it's too strong.
10:33Sometimes, it will bleed.
10:35Sometimes, the metal will leak.
10:38Sometimes, it will break.
10:43Mang Wiley's vision is blurred,
10:45so he wants to pass on
10:47his knowledge to the platero.
10:51I want to teach something,
10:54even if it's free.
10:59I don't want to die here in Alahas.
11:01I know how to make tambourines,
11:03so I want to pass on
11:05my knowledge to the platero.
11:08I want to pass on my knowledge to the platero.
11:17Gigi's niece, Sam,
11:19is not waiting for a special occasion
11:22to wear a tambourine.
11:24Tambourine jewelry is my aunt's favorite.
11:27When I first saw it,
11:29I was impressed by its craftsmanship.
11:31It's unique.
11:33Like I said, it was so reminiscent
11:36of what I'd seen only in photos,
11:39what I'd seen only in museums.
11:42Nothing that I'd ever seen worn
11:45proudly in modern day.
11:47That's where I was really surprised
11:50that it can be used everyday.
11:53We can return it.
11:55This is my first tambourine.
11:58Gigi wants to leave a book
12:00for future generations.
12:03She named it Alahas.
12:06Number one, it really aims
12:09by documenting history
12:12and our legacy, preserving our legacy.
12:16It aims to be able to educate
12:19both the Filipinos
12:21and the global audience
12:23towards the importance,
12:26the value, the significance,
12:29the symbolism of what
12:31Philippine heritage jewelry is.
12:33Hoping that by understanding
12:37what Philippine heritage is,
12:41the young generation
12:43will become our future stewards
12:46of heritage.
12:53Gigi was surprised by the interest
12:55in her book
12:57and the alahas that are here.
12:59She was invited by the
13:01Philippine Embassy in Japan
13:03to share the story of our heirloom jewelry.
13:06The woman and the jewelry
13:08is not far apart.
13:10You can't separate them.
13:12She has love at first sight.
13:14That's what's good about alahas.
13:16But not all alahas
13:18will attract your attention.
13:20You didn't understand it.
13:22You just want to get to know it.
13:25You want to understand it.
13:27I think that there's more to just
13:30adornment, it being an adornment.
13:33I think it is really being,
13:36finding meaning
13:38and finding purpose
13:40in what you're wearing.
13:42It's the soul in me already
13:45that is craving for something
13:47to hold on to.
13:49That is why I think
13:51Philippine heritage is good for you.
13:54It's good for you
13:56because
13:58it lets you express who you are.
14:01It lets you communicate
14:03the value
14:05of what you are wearing.
14:07More than just the financial value,
14:10it also shows
14:12the kind of person that you are.
14:15Sol, the more we embrace our heritage,
14:19the more we earn the right
14:22to be Filipino.
14:24Jewelry is empowering.
14:45You
14:48You
14:51You
14:54You
14:57You
15:00You
15:03You
15:06You
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