The Philippine Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010

We made it a point to drop by the Philippine Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010 to see what our country wanted to showcase in this year’s theme which was “Better City, Better Life”.  From the outside, the Philippine Pavilion was just a rectangular building with a lot of hands painted on it as the main theme of the building.  This was pretty drab and plain when compared to the neighboring pavillions but I always said that it was always what was on the inside that counted.

There was never a dull moment inside the pavilion because on one side you have performers performing traditional dances and singing contemporary songs.

While on the other side you have stalls selling various Filipino food and there was even a station where you can get a traditional massage or “Hilot” for free.  Compared to the static displays of many countries, this was actually a pretty good exhibit.

And then it hit me right there and then, everything they said about the only natural resource the Philippines has to offer was its people was correct.  We had performers giving people the show of their lives, we had cooks that made food for other people, we had people giving massages, everything the stereotype of the Filipino being a servant was presented right in our own pavilion.

No one thought of showcasing our beaches and tourist spots all over the country.  No one thought of showing how our exports have risen in the past few years and how the IT outsource industry has bretty much boomed and has become the preferred choice over India and China.  Even the art display had missed the mark completely, instead of showing art pieces by traditional Filipino artists, they choose to showcase art that was anime inspired, more akin to something from a Japanese comic book than something that was supposed to be showcased by the Philippines.

Well, once again the Philippines or those who have organized the Expo Pavilion have undoubtedly put on a great show, too bad they missed the point of “Better City, Better Life” life as the theme. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the Pavilion 100% but once again it was style over substance.  Oh, did I mention we had a pirated version of Haibao? According to the people on the floor, his name is “Poypoy” and is a flame… that sums it up then, the expo mascot is made out of water and only the Philippines thought of making their own mascot, and one made out of fire, which looked just like Haibao, only with a different color and with the opposite element.

More posts on the Shanghai World Expo Pavilions in the coming days.