Today, millions of Filipinos are celebrating All Saints’ Day. During this observance, families flock to their respective cemeteries to visit and commemorate their departed relatives and loved ones.
Taking advantage of this tradition, known as Undas, families, friends, and other relatives gather to celebrate and reminisce about the lives of their loved ones. As families go to cemeteries, similar to the Mexican tradition Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead), they build private altars to the departed that contain their favorite food, drink, even photos and other memorabilia. The graves and mausoleums are adorned with candles and beautiful flowers.
One of the most visited cemeteries in the Philippines on this day is the Manila North Cemetery, which is visited by around 1.5 million Filipinos yearly. The 54-hectare cemetery serves as the final resting home to an estimated one million deceased including the poor, the rich, famous personalities and even past presidents.
Just in time for today’s event, Manila North Cemetery visitors are up for a vibrant surprise as the 500-meter-long wall along A. Bonifacio Avenue has been decorated and repainted with a mural of flowers. The colorful enhancement project, called “Flores Para Los Muertos” (Flowers for the Dead), was a collaboration between the Pinto Art Museum, City Government of Manila headed by Mayor Isko Moreno and Congressman Yul Servo, and Davies Paints Philippines.
Last Oct. 6, around 300 artists from different provinces — Ilocos Sur, Tarlac, Bulacan, and Rizal — joined together for the mural project in painting the wall with sunflowers, chrysanthemums, roses, orchids, and tulips.
The artists painted the cemetery’s wall in just 10 hours. Through their voluntary deeds and the collective effort and unity of everyone involved, the project was a success. The mural of flowers was primarily for the deceased who don’t received flowers and are not visited by their loved ones.
As one of the oldest cemeteries in Metro Manila, the Manila North Cemetery is now surrounded by a fascinating display of colorful flowers on its eastern walls. All artists used Davies paint to cover the wall with beautiful and lively flowers.
Recently, the paint company also partnered with Mandaluyong City and with the Ang Gerilya artist group for the project of painting the pillars along Shaw Boulevard. Davies Paints Philippines also supports various projects by sponsoring the paints used in projects such as Archie Oclos’ new mural “Bakwit;” the BIYAYA mural unveiled during the 8th Mandala Art Festival at Pulilan, Bulacan; MMDA’s colorful illustrations of Sesame Street-themed Road Safety Park at M. Adriatico St., Malate; UP College of Fine Arts’ road murals project “Slice of Life in Fine Arts;” Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) and National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ (NCCA) first-ever youth-initiated street art project in Puerto Princesa, Palawan; the mural arts of Venazir Martinez and Vik Caedo for Manila Street; and the Cordillera Autonomous Region Tourism Department and with Tam-awan artists who painted 200 houses for the colorful Stonehill, Botiwtiw, and Sadjap (STOBOSA) Hillside Homes Artwork in La Trinidad, Benguet.
Davies Paints is one of the leading premium paint brands in the Philippines, known and acknowledged to have the biggest color selection for ready-to-use paints. It is a brand recognized by architects, designers, engineers, painting contractors, and consumers for the excellent quality of their products. Davies products are available in all Wilcon Depot branches nationwide.