Did you know that the CCP had a physical time capsule buried in its grounds in 1966?
Time capsules, or “time vessels,” are historic containers of materials or information typical of a specific period (e.g. coins, letters, pieces of technology) that are buried and often intended to be unearthed several decades or centuries later. They have been around as early as 1795 as a means of communicating with future generations, celebrating an individual’s own achievements, or memorializing the establishment of a new building.
However, the notion behind the time capsule dates back to as early as ancient Mesopotamia with the “Epic of Gilgamesh,” which begins by telling the reader the location of a copper box that contains the tales of Gilgamesh. It was only in 1939 when the term “time capsule” was coined for the first time for the New York’s World Fair.
On April 17, 1966, three years before the inauguration of the CCP, Mrs. Imelda Marcos and seven representatives for the arts—Francisca Reyes-Aquino (Dance), Victorio Edades (Visual Arts), Guillermo Tolentino (Sculpture), Iñigo Ed. Regalado (Literature), Jovita Fuentes (Music), Antonio Toledo (Architecture), and Francisca Zamora (Drama)—lowered a time capsule in what would be the location of the CCP as a celebration of its development.
What do you think are the contents of this time capsule?
Did you know that the CCP buried another time capsule for its 40th anniversary in 2009?
The golden cylinder, which was lowered on September 8, 2009 at the CCP front lawn, contained prayers of gratitude from CCP officials, a list of all CCP employees from 1969 until 2009, photos of CCP's then employees, notes from all of CCP's resident companies, CCP's list of accomplishments since 1969, the CCP Complex Development Masterplan, CCP's infrastructure plan, and CCP's vision and goals for the following years.
It will be unearthed on September 8, 2044 for the CCP's 75th anniversary.
(Photos courtesy of the Philippine Institute of Architects, Inc. and Ar. Paulo Alcazaren)
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