Burning Heart: A Portrait of the Philippines
Product Description
Nothing is absolute, especially in the Philippines. It is a land of opposites, where religion, spirituality, superstition, and mystery are all present in equal doses. It is a place where Catholics consult tarot card readers and prostitutes keep shrines to the Virgin Mary. Burning Heart allows a rare glimpse into this world: the taste of cane liquor and salty stews, the sound of infectious dance music, and the hopelessness of political turmoil and violence. Photographer Marissa Roth says “I saw the Philippines in terms of light: luminous, reflective, hard, and deeply shadowed. Filtering that light was the constant heat and humidity, a deceptive sensual salve, masking a country scarred by violence and pain.” Her unflinching photographs uncover the importance of religion in the Philippines, as well as the social inequality, dire poverty, overpopulation, and ingrained class system that are all part of daily life. The poetry of Jessica Hagedorn reinforces these realities, but also shows that the simple pleasures we all experience as human beings– dancing, eating, rejoicing, laughing– are not absent from Philippine life. Together, these images and poetry are a deeply affecting vision of a country and its people.
Filed under Books by on Feb 3rd, 2010. Comment. 
Leave a Comment
Comments on Burning Heart: A Portrait of the Philippines
When most Americans think of the Philippines, they consider the wild excesses of Angeles City and the old Subic Bay era. This book goes beyond that image and gives the reader a more accurate view of the Philippines and its truly remarkable culture.
Rating: 5 / 5
I recently visited the country and although I did witness the harshness and depression, that is only a small part of the image I have of the Philippines. What is portrayed in this book is mostly the depressed side of the country: prostitution, sick children, dirty streets, calamity, unhealthy locals, poverty. Like I said, although I was a witness to all of these, I was also a witness to a colorful culture, hospitality, pristine islands, wealth of natural resources, preserved native and colonial architecture, Fiestas, Filipinos who are content in their simple lives, smiling children.
Rating: 3 / 5
The photographs brought together a variety of interesting images of the Philippines. As an amateur photographer, I have been searching for photographic books on the Philippines and I found the contrast of beauty and harsh reality very well put together. The only drawback was the poetry. I didn’t feel that it captured the emotion of the images.
Rating: 4 / 5
I recently got to see the photographs that make up this book at the Sepia Gallery in NYC. These photos are superb and very powerful. Roth has a fantastic eye–her photographs are beautifully composed, showing great attention to the nuances and details of her subjects. She has obviously spent a lot of time immersed in Filipino life and culture–and has the skills to capture it to film. As a photographer, I found her work very inspiring. Beyond the formal qualities, her photos present very moving glimpses of Filipino life. They are very powerful and showcase a wide range of scenes. I highly recommend this collection of photos (especially if you cannot see the exhibit in person).
Rating: 5 / 5
This is a beautiful collection of photographs. They speak about the lives of people we hardly see in pictorial collections about the Philippines. The faces of the people are real and desperate. I am reading Bino Realuyo’s Umbrella country (which I love) and these pictures almost bring to life the images in the novel. I recommend this book (and realuyo’s novel too).
Rating: 5 / 5
Philippines is damn overpopulated already! And what makes this worse is that no one seems to consider this to be a serious problem. Overpopulation causes pollution, poverty, starvation, crimes, and what-have-you’s. Government has to conduct some program and tell the people the effects of overpopulation. Mother Nature does not need more babies so people should stop breeding!