The artwork presents a digitalized painting adapted from a scene from Jose Rizal’s famous literary piece “Noli Me Tangere”, which showcases the scene before Crisostomo Ibarra grabs a knife and threatens to stab Padre Damaso after he insults Ibarra’s father—demonstrating the lavish life of higher class Filipinos during the Spanish colonial period. Jose Rizal’s “Noli Me Tangere” is a powerful novel that exposes the social, political, and religious injustices in the Philippines during the Spanish reign, which is a perfect example of displaying the past culture and identities of Filipinos. 

Those who remained inside the pueblos (towns) and obeyed the Spanish government were often called “Taga-loob” or those who lived inside the pueblos. Within these walls, social hierarchies prevailed. Upper-class Filipinos, often referred to as principalia, were a privileged social class comprising wealthy landowners, educated individuals, and local elites. Crisostomo Ibarra is one of the characters in the book that represents this class. They owned large and well-constructed homes. These houses feature spacious interiors, high ceilings, and capiz shell windows, employing numerous household helpers, cooks, and coachmen showcasing their wealth and status. However, these classes did not grant them full equality with Spaniards, subjecting them to continuous colonial discrimination. With their education and wealth, they used their privileges to fight the injustices that occurred within the pueblos. Blending local customs with colonial influences, reflected their complex identity as Filipino elites. The lower class that lived in the pueblos faced hardships in stark contrast to these classes. 

Owen, Norman. “The Principalia in Philippine History: Kabikolan, 1790-1898” Ateneo de Manila University, 1974. Accessed on December 28, 2024. http://www.philippinestudies.net/files/journals/1/articles/1345/public/1345-3719-1-PB.pdf 

The Spanish colonial era often featured the lives of the ilustrados and Indios and how they fought for justice and independence from the Spanish governments within the pueblos. Yet, Philippine history tends to overlook the significance of those who decided to reside outside the pueblos, rejecting the Spaniards' governance. The Igorots, often termed as Negritos were Indigenous groups in the Philippines who largely resisted Spanish rule, and lived in remote, mountainous, or forested regions which allowed them to maintain relative autonomy and preserve their traditional ways of life. 

They were often called “Taga-labas” or those who did not live within the pueblos, hence the artwork's title. The Spanish, alongside the Ilustrados viewed them as “uncivilized” and “barbaric” and ultimately not considering them as “true Filipinos”. Despite these perceptions, the artwork demonstrates the Igorots’ resilience in the face of these discriminations. The artwork depicts the cultural dance of the Igorots in their respective residences up in the mountains, yet they bear no faces as their existence was completely rejected by society during the Spanish period. Nonetheless, they define their identity by retaining their connections to their ancestral lands and traditions and maintaining their distinct cultural identity separate from Christianized and Hispanized lowland Filipinos. 

Aguilar, Filomeno V. “Tracing Origins: ‘Ilustrado’ Nationalism and the Racial Science of Migration Waves.” The Journal of Asian Studies 64, no. 3 (2005): 605–37. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25075827.