The picture above was reportedly taken in a restaurant in Baguio. I don’t know the name of the restaurant but boy am I pissed with the owners for their really bad taste.
Rather than passing inconsequential ordinances like forcing businesses to have English signs, it is things like this that the Baguio City Council should be looking into. My God, this restaurant is in Baguio which used to be the domain of the Ibalois and which still has a very significant number of Igorot residents, and the owners of this restaurant are apparently getting away with this? Are we going to allow this restaurant to piss at us in our own backyard? Maybe we should all go to that restaurant and collectively pee at its doorstep in protest. Here’s a video version of the same insulting restaurant statues.
Boy am I really pissed. Yes, Igorot men pee just about anywhere. But all Filipino men of any ethnolinguistic background (whether Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilonggo, etc.) also pee just about anywhere. The owners could just as easily send their message by having a statue of a generic peeing man but they so emphatically decided to make him an Igorot.
Why? Because we are savages? Because we are a dirty, dirty people? Because we are uncivilized? Because we are uneducated and won’t be able to read a sign which says, “No Urinating Here/Bawal Ang Umihi Dito/Maiparit ti Umisbo Ditoy”. Because Igorots are so poor and won’t have the money to go to that restaurant anyway? Essentially, that is what the restaurant owners are saying. Igorots are dirty, uncivilized, uneducated, poor people and only a security guard will be able to stop them from peeing in public. I’m sure the owners are very pleased with themselves whenever their masterpiece is photographed and videoed by its clients and curious tourists.
Talk about reinforcing baseless negative stereotypes. Multiply this with other bad portrayals of Igorots and no wonder we have kids, bombarded with these images, who oh so hesitantly admit the fact that they are Igorots.
Our Lord Kabunian, if ever you read this blog, please send a bolt of lightning to this restaurant. But let’s not wait for Kabunyan to do the work, he might have more important things to do like sending a bolt of lightning to those Anglican Primates who think that they are the second incarnation of Christ. Before we totally get distracted, does anyone out there know the name of this restaurant and its contact number? Can you share it with us? If possible, can we contact them and raise our concern? Can we call up Baguio politicians and raise this matter with them? Its election period and maybe they will be receptive to the concerns of the people.
PHOTO CREDIT: Boy Bawang; VIDEO CREDIT: Thrasher2001.
This is BArrio Fiesta REstaurant. I’ve eaten there and it’s quite popular. It has other statues including Ninoy, cardinal sin, and GMA. I suppose the urinating guy is in bad taste, but I didn’t think of it in terms of race/ethnicity at the time, maybe i’m wrong.
ya sa barrio fiesta yan…nadadaanan kapag pupunta ka gibraltar,teachers camp etc…
I’ve heard of that restaurant before, but showing a statue of a urinating man is not so appropriate for a place to eat. They should take it out…hmm…maybe I’ll take it out for them when I get to Baguio this year. Honestly, Igorots are well informed, intelligent, and respectable people, they don’t deserve to be portrayed like that.
Hi Wil,
Thanks for the info. I think its harder to think of it in terms of ethnicity when you have all those other statues to look at. Also, the picture I copied was specifically labeled by its photographer as an “Igorot peeing man” so the ethnicity of the man was immediately highlighted to me.
Nats,
Thanks.
Kayni,
Oo nga, may weird sense of humor yung restaurant na yan. You have a mission cut out for you when you go to Baguio 🙂
Barrio Fiesta don’t offer the best Filipino food in the city.. Good taste(sa may Danga station) does, mas mura pa. 300 pesos for 6 servings? San ka pa.
Sana they should have not used an “Igorot” to pertain to men uritating on walls. Hey, it’s not only the Igoys who do it. You go to the lowlands, they do it to. Even in Baguio, along with the Igoys, the lowlanders are urinating “everywhere”/”anywhere” to.
They could have just simply put a “man”… so that it would not pertain to certain ethnicities..but the very wrong thing here is that an Igorot was used. Bad idea.
Regardless of ethnicity….people pee on inappropriate places… I’m not sure in other countries though
Good Taste sa may Dangwa station sa may Centermall.. mejo tago siya pero maraming tao dun paglunch.. as in.
how about the statues of the igorot head-hunters? does that depict bravery? supremacy?
or does it also make an impression that igorot men are savage people who kills other people?
this, in my opinion, is totally ridiculous.
have you looked at the other statues? of the security guard with a cigarette on one hand and a bottle of beer on the other? is he igorot?
or those of the dogs copulating?
or of the old igorota smoking a cigar? who at one point wore chanel sunglasses courtesy of my cousin and posed for a pic?
Hi Alvin,
Thanks for visiting us and for adding your comment. I guess we have to agree to disagree on this one. The other statues just don’t belong to the same category as the peeing man.
The headhunters? Well its true that we were headhunters.
Security guard? I don’t see the relevance of whether he is Igorot or not.
Igorota smoking a cigar? Nothing wrong with that.
If your cousin dressed up the peeing man in designer clothes then no one will be complaining.
But as I said, let’s agree to disagree. I respect your opinion and hope you to the same to those who hold an opinion different from yours. Thanks again.
That’s in Barrio Fiesta just below SM Baguio. My Opinion, I think the statue should be reconstructed in such a way not to meant any harm.
The problem with caricatures like the peeing man and the cop is its intent to be funny by perpetuating a stereotype AND prejudice of an ethnic group. It implies exactly what Bill has already stated, that the native is ignorant and uncivilized. Had they placed a regular Blow Joe, it wouldn’t be insulting to a particular group but because they dressed the peeing man as an Igorot…
When we become desensitized to these types of stereotypes and prejudices masked in jest (without protest), then we’ve bought into the idea that it must be so and is acceptable when it truly is not.
So to the landsacape designer and to the owner of Barrio Fiesta: It’s not about being politically correct, it’s about respecting the original people on whose land you just planted your restaurant on, dummy.
Hi Anonymous,
Oops, almost missed your comment. In fairness to the restaurant, they removed it after it was brought to their attention. Thanks 🙂
Hi Omom,
Tama ka diyan! I hope we will never be desensitized to these kind of things.
learn not to generalize ideas that igorots are so and so.i agree with kayne that igorots are well informed,intelligent,civilized,and neat people, they are not dirty as u’ve said.the writer of this article is not fair.the owner is wrong of using an igorot man but dont generalize.thanks.I AM PROUD TO BE A FULL BLOODED IGOROT.
who the hell cares where people pee?
are genitalia so f*ing frightening?
i think the statues make a wonderful statement about society.