Revisiting, reviving, and repurposing: The heritage city of Gen. Trias

• Main Author: Samodio, Glorife S.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2021
• Subjects: General Trias (Cavite, Philippines)—History; Cultural property—Philippines—General Trias (Cavite); Historic preservation—Philippines; Arts and Humanities; Sociology of Culture
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/13189
• Institution: De La Salle University

The General Trias Heritage Society (GTHS) was formed with the goal of promoting cultural programs and tourism in the city of General Trias, Cavite. However, its members, Jill, Jeff, Erick, and Greg, faced a dilemma—they knew that such pursuits weren’t a priority of the city’s local government, or of the population at large. A year before the 150th birth anniversary of General Mariano Closas Trias, the first vice-president of the Republic of the Philippines and the revolutionary hero after whom the City of General Trias was named, the GTHS started to brainstorm various plans and programs to raise cultural awareness and inspire the love for heritage among their kababayans. Jill, the head of the GTHS, had already experienced some difficulty in initiating a dialogue with local government officials, who seemed disinterested in carrying out projects for this purpose. What should the GTHS founders do to convince the local government officials to support their advocacy, given cultural and heritage tourism’s potential economic contribution to the city? How should they connect their interests with the interests of the local government and the community?