%0 Book Section
%T Inventing a People. Distorting the Images of Macabebe, 1899
publisher Roma Tre Press / Enredars - UPO
%D 2025
%U 979-12-5977-504-7
%U 978-84-09-75438-0
%@ https://hdl.handle.net/10433/24750
%X This chapter reexamines the American photojournalistic documentation of the soldiers of Macabebe, Pampanga, in 1899 as an early form of disinformation about the Filipinos. These photos appeared in Jose de Olivares’ book, Our Islands and Their People as Seen with Camera and Pencil (1899), whose outright agenda was introducing the “Macabebes” to his American readers. Alongside these images were fictitious claims about the history of Macabebe and the townspeople’s motivation in supporting the Americans. At least four photographs of them in loincloths and with long hair were miscaptioned images of Tinguian warriors of the Cordillera. These Macabebe soldiers served the Spanish and American armies against the Philippine Revolutionary Forces from 1897 until the capture of First Philippine Republic President Emilio Aguinaldo in 1901. The townspeople of Macabebe were mistreated during the Aguinaldo administration, and this led the residents to ally themselves with the Americans. The photographs of the alleged Macabebes with garbled information were typical cases of distorting information by mislabeling photographs. The continuous proliferation of these images affects our understanding of Philippine history.
%K José de Olivares
%K Aztecs
%K Macabebe Scouts
%K Tinguians
%K Emilio Aguinaldo
%K Aztecas
%K Exploradores macabebe
%K Tinguianos
%~