Colorized photos of Filipina beauties in the late 19th century and early 20th century

Colorized photo of a Filipina wearing the Baro’t Saya - the traditional dress worn by women during and after the Spanish colonization in the Philippines

 Colorized a vintage photo of a Chinese  Filipina,ca. 1870, possibly taken by the Dutch photographer Francisco van camp who pioneered in Philippines portrait photography for rich pesonages during the Spanish period int he Philippines.

Colorized portrait of a young Tagalog woman, Philippines, 1901 from the National Anrtrhopological Archives, Smithsonian Institute.

Colorized photo of Edith Nakpil, taken ca 1956

Here'my colorized take of a photo of a young Edith Nakpil (1935 - 2009), taken ca 1956,wearing an original 'Salvacion Lim-Higgins' creation. She bagged the title of 1956 Miss Philippines. became the First Lady of Davao as the wife of Gov. Francisco Rabat.and eventually served as assemblywoman of the defunct Batasang Pambansa under President Marcos. She was among the Blue Ladies of Imelda Marcos, herself a title holder of Rose of Tacloban, and 1952 Muse of Manila under then Mayor Lacson.

The Philippines is steeped in a tradition of beauty queens turned politcos. Edith Nakpil, Imelda Romulados and Maria Kalaw Katigbak who was a 1931 Carnival Queen turned Senator. Then there was Rosemari "Baby"Arenas, former Pearl of the Orient, became a socialite with power connections due to her alleged romantic involvement with President Ramos.

A Filipina beauty, colorized from a photo taken ca 1890

A Filipina beauty possibly taken by Francisco van Camp, a Dutch photographer who became famous in the late 19th century for taking studio shots of rich families of illustrators in what was then considered a new art medium. No more posing for hours before an artist painting their portraits on a canvas

With extensive liberties i compositing a different background image from standard photo stocks, colorized a Filipina aristocrat beauty , ca 1890s. Along with the pañuelo or kerchief, fan, and the parasol )day-umbrella), the baro't saya  of the Spanish era are favorite fashion wear ethnic wear among Philippine social ladies all the way to the American era when posing before the camera.

Niña Mestiza China, siglo XIX, Colorized vintage portrait of a Filipina-Chinese, ca 1890s

Another colorized vintage portrait of a Filipina, This time a Chinese-Filipina, taken by Francisco van Camp, ca 1890s. Entitled Niña Mestiza China, siglo XIX, this was downloaded from Flikr and is is part of the photographic archives of the Museo National de Antropologia, Madrid Spain. No story behind the photo, other than the fact that the subject was relatively fair-skinned wearing the traditional baro't saya that have become standard wear for women being photographed in studios from the 1840s to the early 1900s.

Dutch Photographer Francis van Camp is considered one of the pioneers of Phillipine Photography at around the time that national historic artist Juan Luna took up the hobby in Europe under the mentorship of various European photographers.

It's interesting to note that the Dutch actually attempted to colonize the Philippines and wrest it from Spain in 1646, during the 80 Years' War in Europe (1568 to 1648) but failed in the spectacular series of see battles of La Naval de Manila (148 - 1652) attributed to the intercession of the Virgin Mary in a war that was essentially between Catholic Spain/Philippines and Dutch Protestants 

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Doncella India, Philippines girl with Indian blood ca 1870/80

Colorized a vintage photo of a young Filipina taken ca 1870-80 from the Biblioteca Nacional de España where its Hispanic Digital Library contains the Philippine Album Publication,with 17 portraits and 43 views of Manila and surroundings. Not much story behind the photo but it has excellent photo resolution that makes it a joy to colorize.

The photo is entitled Doncella India, which transliterates to Indian Maid but depicts a Filipina. This young girl could have Indian blood. It is a well known fact that in 1762 the British invaded Manila and had control of the city for several years. They brought with them many Indian soldiers or Sepoys (Indian infantryman employed by the armies of the British East India Company from 1700 to 1857) who didn’t want to fight so they ran off to the hills east of Manila and hid out until the British left Manila. That is one reason why there is a lot of Indian blood in Filipinos even until today.

There have been comments on this picture that the young girl is dressed indecent for the period, considering that the women of the time wore the Philippine traditional baro't saya when photographed in a studio. There is no known history behind the photo and it is possible for young ladies (teenagers) at the time to dress less formally given the tropic clime.

Colorized photo of Amalia Fuentes (Amalia Muhlach), Philippine movie queen in the 50s and 60s

Regarded the Elizabeth Taylor of Philippine cinema during its golden age (1950-1970), Amalia Fuentes reigned as a movie queen with the most beautiful face in the cinema during the height of her career that spanned 57 years before retiring in the U.S. She started with her 1956 film with Juancho Gutierrez in "Movie Fan" where the two were promoted by Sampaguita Pictures as a love team before having her paired with Romeo Vasques whom she eventually married. She appeared in 130 films and during her later career, she produced 7 films and served as a member of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB)/

Colorize photo a little Filipina child amidst the ruins of liberated Manila, 1945

Little girl holding a small Philippine flag and selling bananas, possible to GI soldiers who just liberated Manila from the Japanese during WWI.  Building in the foreground is the Aduana in Intramuros, a historic landmark involving the first Spanish settlement in the city, but was used extensively as a Japanese garrison during their occupation. Manila was among the most devastated cities during the war. This was caused mostly by artillery shells and bombing by American liberating forces as they eliminated all Japanese resistance, often reducing into rubble those that have been identified as Japanese holdouts.  There have been speculations that had the U.S. waited for the surrender of Japan after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese occupation forces in the Philippines would have peacefully laid down their arms, sparing Manila from the utter destruction.  But it is said that Gen. Douglas MacArthur had to fulfill his "I shall return" promise at all cost, as he felt he owed that much to say "I have returned" to Filipinos and not say they were forgotten.  MacArthur returned to the Philippines in Oct 1944 and the Battle of Manila that reduced the city to ruins was from Feb - Mar 1945.  Japan surrendered in August of that year.

Young Susan Roces (1941-), ca 1962

Colorized one of few better vintage photos of beauties in the Philippine cinema. Here is Susan Roces, the direct rival of Amalia Fuentes in the race as the most beautiful face and most popular actress during the golden age of Philippine movies (1950 - 1970), She is now a widow of screen action star Ronald Allan Kelley Poe, better known as Fernando Poe, Jr.

Young Amalia Fuentes ( 1940 - ) during her early years in Philippine movies.

Amalia Muhlach Fuentes from Naga, Camarines Sur in the Philippines is a Filipino actress and former Movie Queen and superstar of Philippine cinema. She was once dubbed the Elizabeth Taylor of the Philippines and is acclaimed as the most beautiful face in Philippine cinema. She is the aunt of actors Aga Muhlack and Nino Muhlach, mother of actress Liesl Martinez who died of cancer in 2015.

Colorized photo of Barbara Perez (1937-), the Audrey Hepburn of Philippine cinema

Restored and colorized with some liberties, a small photo of Barbara Perez, regarded as the Audrey Hepburn of the Philippine cinema.  To some extent, she did look a bit better than her Hollywood counterpart during her early years in the industry, appearing in a Hollywood film No Man Is An Island with Jeffrey Hunter (known for his role as Jesus Christ in King of Kings) who was considered a matinee idol. It is quite sad that the Philippines do not have a wealth of vintage photos for its movie stars published on the net, the way Hollywood has even for its movie stars of the 1920s.  Worse, current photos from online resources do not benefit from glamour shots and most of them are either amateurish studio shots or from tabloids of the period.

Amalia Fuentes and Romeo Vasquez, ca 1960

Colorized one of the most popular and celebrated love teams in Philippine Cinema history in the late 50s and one of the few who eventually tied the knot, but eventually separated.  Amalia Fuentes (1940 -) and Romeo Vasquez (1939 - 2017, Romeo Sumilang in real life).  They had a daughter Leizel who also entered show business in her prime, also married her love teammate Albert Martinez, but succumbed to cancer at age 47.

Gloria Romero (1933-) multi-awarded Philippine movie star, colorized 1954 photo

One of the few survivors of the golden age of Philippine Cinema, ca 1940 - 1960, with a career spanning over 40 years and over 200 films in the movie and TV industries. 

Colorized photo of a Philippine "jeep" in the Bimnondo area, a Chinese commercial community.

Filipino ingenuity after the war led to the widespread conversion of several Chrysler Jeep transport abandoned by the U.S, forces after liberating Manila from the Japanese in 1945.  Pictured here colorized is a unique but odd-looking "Jeep" that used the cowling of a 1939 American Bantam speedster modified into a jeepney and plying the San Nicholas route in Binondo, 1949.

Arcada de Quiapo a small commercial building along Quezon Boulevard, Manila, 1949

Colorized a vintage 1949 photo of a busy commercial district in Manila, Philippines, the Arcada de Quiapo along Quezon Boulevard.  The building in the foreground looks like the Quiapo Church, The car fronting the store was in the same model year, the 1949 Ford Wood Wagon with a V-8 engine and considered rare as a 2-door station wagon that became a success for the Ford company that year. 

Colorized Kalesa with 2 GI solders offloaded, 1949

Colorized a 1946 photo of a couple of GIs paying 1 peso to the boy for taking them across Pateros to Fort McKinley as the road bridge between them was destroyed during the war, and motor transportation was cut off. The kalesa was the only means of transport to connect the two. That peso is now worth close to Php700 in today's inflation and exchange rate.

That GI soldier looked quite tall, but not so, It was the Philippine horse that was short. Most photos I have seen put a horse as neck or breast high with a man standing beside it, not waist high as in this photo.

Colorized kalesa (caritela) or carriage in the Phillipines after WWII, Sept, 1949

Colorized a photo of a slow rainy day in a commercial district in Dumaguete, Negros Oriental, Philippines, Sept. 1949 by Jack Birns for Time, Inc  The Kalesa or Karitela was the main mass transport means in the Philippines prior to, during, and immediately after WWII, before jeepneys converted from old GI issues of the Chrysler Jeep military vehicle abandoned or left by US forces in the Philippines became the main mode of mass transport. 

Barbara Perez (1937-), colorized from a promo still for "No Man is an Island", 1962

Labeled the Audrey Hepburn of the Philippines due to her near-identical doe eyes, pixie face, swan-like neck, and 19-inch waistline, Barbara Perez in her youth looked better than her Hollywood counterpart. She appeared in No Man Is An Island, a  1962 Hollywood movie with Jeffrey Hunter (King of Kings, The Searchers) and became one of the more famous Philippine movie stars who eventually married Robert Arevalo, a fellow star with whom she often appeared and formed a love team in the 60s.

Eddie Pickett Gutierrez (Feb 1943 - ), Philippine actor and matinee idol, colorized from a photo ca 1959

Philippine actor on film and TV, and matinee idol of the 60s, the Fil-American Eddie Guttierrez had his first serious role in the 1959 movie Handsome and have appeared in over 170 films.  He migrated to the US late in the 60s but returned to the Philippine to resume his acting career in 1975 with more mature roles. His films are listed here 

Gloria Romero (Galla), Filipina actress (1933-) colorized

Colorized a photo of the young Gloria Romero, ca 1950. She is a multi-award actress who has appeared in both film and TV in a career that spans 60 years with almost 200 films and is the first recipient of the lifetime achievement award from the Philippine MTRCB (Movies and Television Review and Classification Board).

She first appeared in her first movie as an extra in Ang Bahay sa Lumang Gulod and was introduced to local cinema as "Gloria Romero" in her first lead role in Monghita (1952) opposite Oscar Moreno. She received her first major acting award in Filipino Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences (FAMAS, the Philippines counterpart of the Oscars) as Best Actress for her role in Dalagang Ilocana (1954).

She has appeared as a drunken landlady on TV sitcoms (Palibhasa Lalake) and with the late Eddie Garcia in a TV melodrama  Maalaala mo Kya in 2008 and continues to take on demanding roles as a grandmother in several movies and films. Here life and works are essayed at  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_Romero_(actress) 

Amalia Fuentes (1940 -)

Amalia Fuentes (born August 27, 1940) is a Filipino actress and former Movie Queen and superstar of Philippine cinema. She was once dubbed the Elizabeth Taylor of the Philippines and is acclaimed as the most beautiful face of Philippine cinema. She is the aunt of actors Aga Muhlach and Nino Muhlach.

She is the mother of actress Liezl Martinez and was the first Filipino Lux Soap model.