“I Shall Return” selfie
Standing in front of the 1980 sculpture “The Liberators” by Manileño artist Eduardo De Los Santos Castrillo (1942-2016) near the corner of corner of Padre Burgos Avenue and Magallanes Drive, on the northbound route towards the William Atkinson Jones Bridge in the Ermita District of Manila
The monument creates the October 20, 1944 event that was captured by the American photographer Gaetano Faillace (1904-1991), of the iconic landing of Gen. Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964) in the Gulf of Leyte
Artist’s Biography:
Eduardo De Los Santos Castrillo (1942-2016) (https://lakansining.wordpress.com/2020/05/04/eduardo-castrillos-metropolis/) is a noted sculptor, who had defined the second wave of modernist sculpture in the Philippines. Castrillo graduated from the UST Fine Arts program, and first started at first as an illustrator for publishing before embarking into a career in public sculpture. In the course of time, Castrillo has represented the Philippines in many exhibitions abroad, and has also been commissioned to create monuments all over the country and overseas. He received the TOYM Award for sculpture (Ten Outstanding Young Men) in 1970, the 13 Artists Award by the CCP in 1970, Outstanding Makati Resident in 1971, Outstanding Sta. Ana Resident in 1974, Outstanding Son of Biñan Award in 1980 from the Maduro Club, Outstanding Son of Laguna Award in 1980 from the Laguna Lion's Club, Adopted Son of Cebu in 1996, the Far Eastern University Green and Gold Artist Award in 1998, and the Most Outstanding Citizen Award of Quezon City.
For more information about the artist, I wrote the blog article: “Eduardo Castrillo’s Metropolis” (https://lakansining.wordpress.com/2020/05/04/eduardo-castrillos-metropolis/)
This picture was taken circa 2015, during my regular explorations to document local historical landmarks and artworks around the Philippines.
