KAISA Heritage Center (Bahay Tsinoy)

           The Philippines is our country. it is the land of our birth. the home of our people.

      Our blood may be Chinese, but our roots grow deep in Filipino soil.

  Our bonds are with the Filipino people.

      We are proud of the many cultures, which have made us what we are. 

       it is our desire, our hope, and aspiration -- that with the rest of our people, we shall find

        our rightful place in the Philippine soil 

                  ~ Kaisa Credo ~

    We cannot deny that our country has not only a rich history, but also a cultural melting pot. (colonized by Spaniards, Japanese and Americans.) We are not colonized by the Chinese, but we can see that their culture and tradition have assimilated and became our own, through the Filipino-Chinese. Our society is imbued by these distinct group of Filipinos, known to us as the Filipino-Chinese. In my previous article before, (pls. see The Filipino-Chinese Surname blog post), I have defined who are the Filipino-Chinese, When we say Filipino-Chinese it can either mean of Chinese descent;mixed blood, of Chinese and Filipino descent, that is, the mother or the father is Chinese, or their ancestors (grandparents are Chinese). We say Chinese Mestizos, if the father is a Chinese and the mother is a Filipina. As I've mentioned before in one of my articles, the Germans (Goethe), and the French (Alliance Francaise) has their own cultural centers here. While the Spanish mestizos, like the Ayalas, have their museums. Now, the Filipino-Chinese also have their own. It is located in Intramuros. I have been in this museum thrice, and I really feel at home here. I guess I'm among the few who really enjoys going to the museum, and I really never get bored. During my college days wayback, we had a tour here as part of the requirements for our foreign language class which is Basic Mandarin II. I haven't visited the museum for more than 10 years now. I still remember I got some good books there, a Mandarin language book that includes a cd, and a shirt from their gift shop located at the ground floor. I still have in my possession a postcard from Kaisa, 10 years ago. I even urged my former Mandarin teacher,(who's a mainland Chinese) He Zhuo, to visit the museum while he's still here in the Philippines. 

     The museum was a brainchild of the late Prof. Chinben See, the husband of Mrs. Teresita Ang-See, the founding president, and one of the spokesperson of Citizens Action Against Crime. KAISA's aim is to bridge the two cultures. The museum has beautiful life-sized dioramas that depicts the way of life of Chinese in the Philippines, and also the Filipino-Chinese (Tsinoys) back then. This is really my favorite part of the museum. There is also a library that specialized in the ethnic Chinese in the Philippines and abroad. The former president of KAISA Sir Joaquin Sy (multi-awarded Filipino-Chinese translator, speaker, writer, consultant of a Filipino-Chinese magazine Nin Hao), told me that  I can research about the origin of surnames at Kaisa. Also, there were  displays of old ceramics, collections of ancient coins, a hall dedicated to prominent Filipino-Chinese (now and then), who made incomparable contributions to the Philippine society. 

     You will really learn a lot when you visit Bahay Tsinoy. I remember I also enjoy getting the back issues of Tulay fortnightly (sort of a Filipino-Chinese culture digest) which is free. I am just not sure if they still give these away for free now. I also suggest that you get a copy of the coffee-table book entitled, Tsinoy, The Story of the Chinese in the Philippine Life (P2,500.00). It's really a collector's item, and a wealth of information about the Chinese in the Philippine life, then and now. I got mine from Fully Booked bookstore. If you've enjoyed the museum tour, I'm also sure you'll enjoy reading this book. From the beginning until now, truly, the tie that binds.

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KAISA Heritage Center (Bahay Tsinoy)

32 Anda St, Intramuros, Manila, Metro Manila

(02)527-6083