Filipinos’ rich history, including the colonial times, becomes vivid through the past engraved on old photographs. Such recorded memories show the uniqueness of Philippine culture and everyday life.
The emotional depth of the old photographs is sometimes taken away and lacking in life and luster when the colors are monochromatic or black and white. However, there are artists and scholars alike that try to bring life to these old photographs and portray history in a manner they were meant to be seen.
Here are some of the most striking colorized photographs dating from the 1900s to the 1960s showing the everyday lives of our ancestors and their rich heritage.
(The photos used in this article came from Filipiknow.net, Kinulayang kasaysayan, and other sources. This article is intended for informational purposes only)
A barefooted man selling carabao’s milk house to house in the early 1900s.
The way to iron clothes in the early 19th century.
The old Quiapo Church in Manila in the early 1900s.
A toddler with his pet dog in the late 1940s.
Outside Manila Cathedral in 1908.
The traditional custom of “bayanihan” where ‘mag-kababayans’ help in moving rural houses.
University of the Philippines students studying outside their classrooms in 1949.
Teenagers listening to music in the 1940s.
American lads greeting Filipinas circa 1940.
Women hulling rice for breakfast in 1905.