Arts & International Affairs Volume 5, Number 1, Summer 2020

ARTS & INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Abstract A few months ago, I chanced upon the book on Cultural Democracy: The Arts, Community, and the Public Purpose by James Bau Graves, and was struck by the question he posed in his introduction: “What does your community need to keep its culture vital and meaningful?” This question made me reflect on my interest in intangible cultural heritage management and cultural policy, and the current conditions in the Philippines. In 2001, while I was still studying to be a dancer and thespian, I was intrigued by the cultures and artistic expressions of Indigenous people in the Philippines. I visited a couple of Indigenous communities in the Central and Southern Philippines. I watched their dances, listened to their songs, and noted their stories often asking questions on why and how they came about with what I just experienced. A few years following this immersion, I started on a research project on nurturing Indigenous culture and arts in the Philippines, taking a closer look at how the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in the Philippines formulated policies and created mechanisms to provide Indigenous people with the support they need to keep their cultures alive. This has been a constant inquiry of mine ever since. How have the policies and mechanisms developed in the past decade? Is it responsive to the needs of the communities? Keywords: Theatre, public engagement, diversity ¿EL GOBIERNO DE QUIÉN, EL BIEN DE QUIÉN? POLÍTICA CULTURAL Y GOBERNANZA EN FILIPINAS Resumen Hace unos meses, me topé con el libro sobre Democracia cultural: las artes, la comunidad y el propósito público de James Bau Graves, y me llamó la atención la pregunta que planteó en su introducción: “¿Qué necesita su comunidad para mantener su cultura? ¿vital y significativo? Esta pregunta me hizo reflexionar sobre mi interés en la gestión del patrimonio cultural inmaterial y la política cultural, y las condiciones actuales en Filipinas. En 2001, mientras aún estudiaba para ser bailarín y actor, me intrigaban las culturas y las expresiones artísticas de los pueblos indígenas en Filipinas. Visité un par de comunidades indígenas en el centro y sur de Filipinas. Vi sus bailes, escuché sus canciones y noté sus historias a menudo haciendo preguntas sobre por qué y cómo sur- 50

Arts & International Affairs Volume 5, Number 1, Summer 2020 | Page 53