Teodulo Protomartir is recognized as a vanguard of Philippine photography, even though little biographical research has been conducted on his life. Since submitting this article to the editors, new information has come to light through the generous input of those who knew him and followed his work. I hope to include these insights in a future piece. This is an ongoing project, and I would like to thank the following individuals and institutions for their invaluable support in this initial effort: David Everitt Howe and Minh Nguyen of Pioneer Works, Katya Guerrero of Luzviminda.ph, Silverlens Gallery, and Nap Jamir Jr. Additional acknowledgments appear in the article.

“In Teodulo Protomartir’s After the Parade, a man rests under a sampaloc (tamarind) tree on the sidelines of a public ceremony that marked the official end of US colonization of the Philippine Islands on July 4, 1946. The man is glancing at something offscreen and away from the events on the grandstand, which are signposted by a Philippine flag flying aloft in the center of the image. Unlike in mainstream documentation of the Philippine Independence ceremony created by journalistic wire photos and official government footage, Protomartir’s camera moves along with the crowd. In another photo, After the Celebration, subjects that would be typically centered in such photographs — the US Army jeeps, the Philippine and American flags flapping mid-air, the burned out buildings of the Bayview and Luneta hotels — recede in the background, behind the real subject: the crowd’s point of view.”

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