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National Museum Part 3: John Silva
The thing that made this tour extraordinary was no doubt our tour guide and the senior consultant to the museum, John Silva, who provided the insights that coherently brought the museum pieces together.
Imagine a male version of Edna Mode of the cartoon, “the Incredibles”, and you’d get a pretty accurate picture of our tour guide for the day. If Edna is passionate, snappy, sometimes fanatical about fashion, John is the same about Philippine history and arts.
Despite his dimunative stature, he spoke with the force that only someone who went out to accomplish something could. He was proud of his work for the museum and you felt it with his every step and gesture. He said, “Three years ago, the museum only averaged 250,000 visitors a year. That’s how many visitors Glorietta shopping center gets in one day. Now, with the help and backing of Tony Boy Cojuangco, we average a million a year.” I looked around me and the tour group was indeed an impressive one made up of more than 30 eager faces. 80% of whom were Caucasian. (It boggles me how foreigners are more interested in Filipino culture than Filipinos. )
What struck me the most was how John would talk about doing reconstruction in the museum like he was talking about doing house repairs. That’s the difference between someone who has helped build the museum and a tourist guide for hire.
Proceeds from the tour fees (700 pesos for adults, and 500 pesos for children up to 18 years) will go to John’s I LOVE MUSEUM PROGRAM, which brings public school teachers to the National Museum and to their local museums. The tours are three hours in duration, and begins at 10:00 am sharp (ending at 1:00 pm) at the rear entrance of the Museum of the Filipino People, (former Finance Building) Agrifina Circle, Rizal Park.
Text or call John Silva at 0926 729 9029.