Malaya San Diego Hosts “Golden years” Photo exibit

Photo credit: wethe.studio

Walking through the photo exhibit Golden Years: Weighing Philippine Martial Law 1972-1981 sadly did not feel like a look back on the violence of Ferdinand Marcos’ regime. Instead, the photographs could have been taken yesterday in the streets of Manila, where the police force is still weaponized and brutality and terror against any form of protest are normalized. Yet, it is necessary to confront it and reckon with the dictatorship’s consequences, especially with another Marcos in power.

Together with my son, Santiago Gloria, seven years old, I went around the venue examining first the People’s History Project, a video of interviews of Martial Law survivors in the United States. We look at pictures of various Anti-Martial Law demonstrations in San Diego in the 70’s, juxtaposed with protests in Kimball Park against Rodrigo Duterte’s final state of the nation address (SONA) and Anakbayan San Diego’s rallies in 2022. We linger in front of a couple of photos of breakdancing taken at Seafood City, a practice Santiago enjoys himself, and appreciate the novel forms of protest that engage and disrupt.

In the center of the exhibition hall is a big sign that says “Never Again to Martial Law,” one that immediately brings to mind the protest actions I have been part of in the Philippines. Every Martial Law anniversary, during Marcos’ burial, and other rallies against the bloody regime, a sign in black is taken out and held up that says the same thing. What makes Images of Resistance: Then and Now different is precisely the importance placed in displaying side-by-side photos by journalists covering Martial Law and initiatives by the militant youth in San Diego, conveying that as long as atrocities and oppression exist, so will the call for revolutionary change. 

I hope to raise my son to be as brave as the youth in these photos, and vow to never stop fighting alongside them.

Photo credit: wethe.studio