Nayong Pilipino Foundation was created under Presidential Decree No.

37 to
visualize the diversity and beauty of the country\'s rich cultural heritage.
Nayong Pilipino in Clark Expo is a cultural theme park situated on a 5.9-hectare land
inside the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga. The park was inaugurated on
December 22, 2007.
NPCE showcases the rich tradition, custom and historic events of the Filipino people
and is a representative of the rural Philippines.
The new park hews closely to the original thematic concept of the old Nayong
Pilipino in Pasay City. It features distinctly Filipinoarchitecture through authentic
replications of typical villages and representative houses, recreates the Philippines\'
natural and scenic wonders in miniature and showcases the rich and colorful history
and culture of an ethnically diverse people. In such set-up the theme park truly
becomes a living museum as it simulates folkways in arts and crafts as well as in
music and dance via cultural performances and exhibits, and re-enactments of local
festivals and rituals.
Visit Nayong Pilipino sa Clark Expo, and indulge on a trip back in time, and view
Philippine history in another thrilling perspective.\r\n
Weve been repeatedly told to enjoy something while its there, a variant of the
cliche which goes, Youll never know the value of something until its gone.
The Nayong Pilipino was one example. It had been operating for around 30 years
beside the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), adjacent to the former Mercure
Hotel Philippine Village, yet we never got the chance to visit it. We thought it was
gone and well never get to see a showcase of Philippine landmarks and culture in
one site.
We frequent the airport and sometimes go to the GrandAir ticket office found at the
Mercure Hotel, but never got the chance to visit Nayong Pilipino before it was
closed for good around 2002. Come to think of it, the now-defunct GrandAir used to
be at the long-closed Mercure Hotel at the airport, where the old Nayong Pilipino
was located. The property was sold to the airport authorities to give way to
expansion projects and for safety reasons.
It was an example of enjoying something while available because it was unlost.
Imagine our surprise when we learned that Nayong Pilipino had transferred
somewhere else. So when a school requested Nayong Pilipino as part of
its educational tour, we gladly went out on a standard ocular inspection
for GoTravelBliss.
Nayong Pilipino transferred to Clarkfield, Pampanga, to be exact (see map and
directions). Formally opened in November 2007, Nayong Pilipino sits on a 6-hectare

(per Clark website) portion of the Clark Expo, formerly Expo Pilipino. The Clark Expo
is a huge white tent construction that prominently stands on the flat landscape, at a
major intersection from the Clark-North DMIA exit of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac
Expressway (SCTEX). Take the right of the fork after the SCTEX tollgate (to the
direction toBaguio, as the left of the fork goes straight to Subic), then take the first
exit. Just follow the winding exit road and youll see the Clark Expo to the right. Its
hard to miss.
Go inside the Clark Expo complex and youll see the Nayong Pilipino. The simple
entrance arch, with the Mabuhay greeting above Nayong Pilipino, faces the
expansive paved parking area (in the remote chance that you missed it, thats
expansive, with lots of parking spaces, and not expensive). Trees and wellmaintained landscaping provide a relaxing environment to an educational
experience into the culture of the Philippines, past and present. Its easy to get
lost in the replicas and relics that are interspersed with clean open spaces and
manicured greeneries. Its easy to lose interest and energy with the humid and hot
atmosphere. Looking back, we realize that the route we took around the park
optimized our energy (and the childrens interest).
We started at the entrance, of course, to pay the requisite fees. P20 for children and
P30 for adults. The admission price is not bad, really, except that mosquitoes made
us pay more in blood than in money. Probably its the time of the year or probably
we were wearing shorts, we received our fair share of mosquito bites at the
entrance. Just the entrance, though, before stepping beyond the payment counter.
We didnt encounter any suckers once inside.
We veered left and proceeded to the nice nipa hut, the Mabini House, which
turned out to be a mini-museum for Pampanga artifacts. The marker indicates that
the hut is a replica of the Apolinario Mabini Shrine in Talaga, Tanauan, Batangas. We
understand that the shrine in Tanauan houses the remains and personal belongings
of the Sublime Paralytic, as we weve stumbled on the shrine in one of our forays.
Maybe theyre referring to an old shrine because the existing Mabini Shrine, as
featured here in VisitPinas, is concrete, not a nipa hut.
Anyway, the mini-museum provides a brief introduction through the Paleolithic Age,
Neolithic Period and the Metal Period (the most prominent find for the era, we read
in the museum, is the Manunggul Jar found in the Tabon Cave Complex, Palawan).
On display are potteries and tradeware ceramics, together with some bone
fragments. I was expecting, and half-looking, for famous Pampanga dishes (just the
representation, even) and information bits (read: trivia) about them. Hopefully
theyll have it sometime in the future.
Opposite the mini-museum are the replicas of Jose Rizals house in Calamba,
Laguna, and the shrine/mansion of President Emilio Aguinaldo in Kawit, Cavite, with
artifacts and memorabilia inside. Theres a strange device in Gen. Aguinaldos

mansion which, we figured, is a precursor of the bicycle, as can be seen in the photo
below. We could be wrong, of course, so feel free to correct us if you know exactly
what it is.
From the Colonial Plaza, where the impressive replica of the Barasoain church is
also found, follow the trail to the featured villages and traditional houses. Tucked in
a corner of the Heroes Plaza is the statue of Andres Bonifacio, defiantly raising his
bolo and the KKK flag. True, Bonifacios pose in the Manila shrine looks more
impressive, but the one in Nayong Pilipino serves its purpose.
That ended the leisurely walk and the covered tour. The heat made the rest of the
walk on open spaces not-so leisurely. We had no idea what to expect so went to
theNayong Pilipino after lunch. Wrong decision. We should have gone in the early
morning, as the park opens at 8:00 a.m., or late in the afternoon, as it closes at 6:00
p.m. Bring an extra shirt, you would need it. Bring an open mind and your sense of
history, you would need them more.
At the back of the Spanish Culture & Religion Museumand Philippine
Museum, two separate structures that look like fortresses, is the Lagoon, where
guests could go boating and fishing. The replica of the Tabon Cave is just adjacent
to the Torogan House. The Nayong Pilipino material states that the Torogan is the
typical house of our Muslim brothers from Mindanao, yet it also says that the
Torogan House is the ancestral home of the Sultan or Datu, the village chief in
Maranao, Southern Philippines. Perhaps our fellow Pinoys from Mindanao could help
us sort this out.
On to the Aeta Village and the Ifugao Village, complete with traditional huts, like
the Tuwali House. We learned that the Tuwali, one of the three Ifugao subgroups
inhabits the municipalities of Hingyon, Hungduan, majority of Kiangan, and the
western portion of Lagawe and Banaue. It comes complete with an Ifugao wood
carver under the huts, as these are elevated by four sturdy wooden posts. The
carver, we should add, is a real person, not a statue, actually carving various
wooden artifacts for souvenirs (you have to pay for it, of course).
At the other side is the Kalinga Village, near the Festival Outdoor
Amphitheater, the replica of Mayon Volcanoand Nayong Pilipinos rendition
of Malakas at Maganda. More of Malakas (strong) and Maganda (beautiful)
later. We learned that the term kalinga literally means enemy, widely used
during the Spanish period to refer to the mountain peoples adjacent to the lower
and middle Cagayan Valley.
One thing in common with these traditional houses is being elevated (the rest of the
non-elevated cottages could be rented). There should be a functional reason for this
(feel free to share if you know the reason). At that moment, I recalled my scouting
days, with our tents flat on the ground. It rained cats and dogs, unfortunately for us.

No amount of canals surrounding the tent could save us from the onslaught of water
and a cold, wet night, even if our tents were built on sliding slopes.
Then theres the rendition of Malakas at Maganda. Philippine legend has it that at
the time when the Philippines was still uninhabited, a mythical bird flew across the
ocean and, tired and hungry from the long flight, rested in a group of islands that
subsequently came to be known as the Philippines. It saw a gigantic bamboo shoot
and, hoping to find food, pecked on the bamboo (if we may add, maybe the bird is
vegetarian, as it chose to peck on a bamboo rather than scrounge around for worms
and small animals, certainly not the Philippine eagle). With an earsplitting crack the
bamboo split into half. The startled bird flew away, without seeing two creatures
come out of the bamboo. From the one half came out Malakas (strong), a goldenskinned male, and from the other half emerged Maganda (beautiful). They were
the first Filipinos, as the legend goes.
Theres a lot to explore and learn at Nayong Pilipino, certainly a great learning
adventure for the young ones and the young-at-heart.