151. A Program Description: THE 1910 MANILA CARNIVAL, part II

The Carnival of 1910, in presenting itself to the Orient and the rest of the world, needs no more substantial guaranty of success than the truly wonderful record left behind by the Carnivals of 1908 and 1909. Even after the experience of two years, this institution seems to be definitely and firmly established in the Philippines and its fame has spread to all parts of the world. Its phenomenal growth and development to date indicate that its future possibilities are unlimited, but even now Manila may justly lay claim to the possession of the greatest attraction in the Far East.

In any one of the numerous departments forming this great production may be found enough of interest to far more than justify the effort involved in a journey to Manila from almost any part of the world. The industrial feature, the athletic meet, the wild tribes exhibit, the display of curiosities and novelties, the street pageants, the hippodrome, the coronations, the masked balls, the open-air performances, the pyrotechnic display, the fantastic ceremonies, the races, the live-stock and machinery exhibits, and a great variety of other attractions, all working together as parts of a machine-like whole, transform the quite, staid, dignified Manila of history and tradition into a whirlwind of fascinating activity.

Certain features, beautiful in their execution, features of strength and skill, are less appreciated when presented in an immense open air amphitheatre. This year’s Hippodrome, as will be seen by the program, has been greatly enhanced and made more interesting than ever before.

By reference to the detailed program, it will be seen that one of the principal and, it might be added, the most important feature of this year’s carnival, will be the industrial exhibition. The display shown therein have been gathered from all over the Philippines. It has become customary to look upon the Philippine Carnival as a mere vehicle to furnish mirth and amusement to the populace. While this is to a great extent true, it must be borne in mind that the primary object of the carnival is to promote in every possible way the natural resources, arts and handicrafts of the Philippines, and it must be said that, to a large extent, the two carnivals which have already accomplished this.


This year’s industrial display, it is believed, will do much toward supplying the outside world, as well as the people in the Philippine Islands, with real information of a most valuable nature on these points. Visitors to the carnival will be well repaid by making a careful and leisurely inspection of all that is to be seen in the industrial section.

The great land parades which have been features of the carnivals already held will be repeated this year on a larger and more gorgeous scale than ever. For the first time in the history of the Philippine Islands, foreign troops will march with the American military forces. The Japanese Consul-General arranged to have a detachment from the cruisers now in the harbor represent his country and the sailors and marines from the British Cruiser. Monmouth will represent Great Britain.

In the Carnivals already held, the costumed groups, especially the famous Red Devils have attracted great attention, and this year, this feature will be greatly enlarged upon. There will be Green Devils and there will be Yellow Devils and there will be jesters from the Columbia Club, and other organizations will present features in this line which will not be made known until their actual appearance at the carnival city.

The sports at this carnival, as will be seen from the detailed program, will be very interesting. Man very important events will be held, among which will be the Gun Club tournament. The polo games will be between players from the local teams, the army teams and teams representing the very best polo talent from Hongkong and Singapore, and will be hotly contested.

It would require more space than would fill several books of this size to give in detail all of the many features of this carnival. The program of events, as they will be held from day to day, is presented on the other pages and the attention of visitors is invited thereto. Enjoy yourselves.

150. A Program Description: THE 1910 MANILA CARNIVAL, part I

The festival that is now being celebrated is the third annual Philippine Carnival. The Carnival has, in some respects, become to be looked upon as “Manila’s show”. Nothing could be further from the truth. While the Carnival is held in Manila, and all of the men who form the working force of the carnival organization live in the capital city of the Philippines, it has always been realized that were it not for the great support furnished the carnival association by the provinces, it would be out of the question to even attempt a festival of the breadth and scope of the one which is now being celebrated.
Then, too, while it has been the principal aim of the Philippine Carnival Association to furnish an annual carnival that would be a credit to the whole Philippine Archipelago, they have not forgotten that an institution of this nature is bound in time to become so well known that it will be looked upon as one of the biggest features of life in the Far East. Already its fame has gone to the furthermost corners of the earth. The first carnival made Manila well known as a provider of first class entertainment, and the second carnival spread the fame of the Philippines throughout Europe, the United States, the Orient and Australasia. Hundreds of inquiries have been received during the last year for information regarding the fiesta now in progress.


Advertising matter of a very high class has been widely distributed. The Red Devil trade-mark of the Philippine Carnival is now familiar from Manila to Vladivostock, Yokohama to Calcutta, and from San Francisco to London, and Honolulu to the Antipodes. This has had the effect it was intended it should have. Last year, the Carnival Association entertained a fair number of foreign visitors who were attracted by the fame of the initial carnival, and this year, we have more visitors from the outside world than it was even hoped would come.
In the United States and Europe, the carnival is a product of gradual evolution which comes into existence only after the social, political, industrial and commercial institutions of a country have become highly developed. At such a point the development of the country, and as a means whereby, during a certain season, the maximum of pleasure may be enjoyed by the entire population, the carnival serves a most important purpose.

In the Philippines, however, with its undeveloped institutions and confronted as it is by the great problems of creating the very fundamentals of national, social and commercial existence, the need for such an institution, solely as a means of amusement and pleasure will not exist for many years.

In spite of this, and entirely apart from its important purposes of practical utility, Manila’s carnival in point of interest, amusement and novelty, may very properly be classed with the famous shows of the world. Indeed, it is doubtful if ever in the history of the modern world there had been crowded within the limits of a period of less than a fortnight a series of entertainments so striking in their character and so nearly representative of the highest grade of amusement from all parts of the globe. International expositions have been held in other sections of the world and into these much of the local color of different countries has been infused; but it has remained for the dreamy, mysterious Orient, with its world of wonders not to be found outside, to discover the real secret of a carnival of the nations.

The fact is not remarkable when considered in the light of conditions existing in the Philippines. When, in 1907, the first Philippine carnival was projected, and its plan and purposes placed before the Secretary of War, now the President of the United States, no difficulty was experienced in impressing upon him the fact that among the institutions operating in this country toward carrying out the proper intentions of the United States Government, none might reasonably be expected to be productive of more valuable results than this. From that date until the present time this interest in the success of the carnival has been active and substantial.

The directors of the Carnival Association in carrying out their plans have had access to every facility possessed by the military and insular governments. Special arrangements with the War Department have placed at their disposal for use in presenting the different gorgeous spectacles forming the central feature of the display a class of talent the securing of which in any other part of the world would be a practical impossibility. In both of the carnivals which have been held, the soldier and the sailor have been conspicuously represented, particularly in connection with the great hippodrome which formed the most striking feature f these carnivals, and whose third appearance is now with us.

Of even greater value has been the assistance furnished by the Civil Government. This has consisted in part of substantial cash appropriations for the support of the institution and in part of the detail of the highest grade of men in civil service for carnival purposes.

These and other equally important features, the active interest and assistance of the business and foreign communities, the fact that Manila is ideally situated with reference to the securing of features of interest from other Oriental countries, and that the Philippines are extremely rich in novelties splendidly suited to the purpose of the carnival, make it possible for this comparatively small organization of men situated in an obscure and imperfectly developed portion of the world, many thousand miles removed from the centers of art and social activity, to present once in each year a two weeks’ period of such striking interest and novelty as to easily rival the greatest attractions of modern times.

19. 1910, MANILA CARNIVAL

AFLOAT ON CLOUD 9, A government float--The Bureau of Lands- participates in the much-awaited annual carnival carroza parade.

Information is scarce about the staging of the 1910 Manila Carnival, leading many to believe that no Carnival was held in that year. In fact, “The Beauty Book”, the pioneering ‘80s book on Philippine beauties authored by Doris Nuyda affirms this. However, “The Philippine Islands, Book II”, written by Governor-General William Cameron Forbes, noted the holding of an exhibition in 1910, riding on the crest of the Manila Carnival:

“In 1910, the government took advantage of the popular gathering at Carnival time, to establish an industrial exhibition which was held on land adjacent to, but outside the carnival grounds. Merchants arranged alluring displays of their wares, provinces vied with each other in making creditable exhibits, and the Bureau of Education displayed the work of trade schools and the produce of the agricultural schools.

Other bureaus of the government, such as Agriculture, Forestry, Navigation, Public Works, Printing and the Weather Bureau made exhibits to inform the public of the work that was being done for them by their government and the manner in which the money derived from the taxation was being used for their benefit. The whole movement was highly popular with the Filipinos and aroused much favorable editorial comment in both the American and Filipino papers.”

Similarly, the book, “Colonial Pathology” by Warwick Anderson, points out that “the most significant aspect of the Carnival of 1910 was the presence of soldiers who mounted troop parades and military drills. Upon reviewing the 8,000 troops, W. Cameron Forbes was moved to write the Secretary of War. “The military processions turned out to be a beautiful affair”, Forbes declared, “ beautifully carried out, and I think most opportune!”.

Whether what was held in 1910 was a Carnival or an Industrial Exhibition, it still was obviously a grand, high-profile event that aroused national interest. Further research is needed to make a definite conclusion as to the exact nature of the 1910 spectacle.

UPDATE:
Recently, this 1910 Philippine Carnival Program came to my possession, irrefutable proof that indeed, there was a 1910 Carnival edition--held in Manila from Feb. 5-14.: