Where is Lapu Lapu

"Where is Lapu Lapu?", Mixed Media on Canvas, 36x60"

I have been painting Native Americans and learning about their culture which has been great but there was a void in me wondering "who am I?" So I began a study about a month and a half ago reading about my own background: the Philippines.

I was enchanted by the stories of Lapu Lapu and his fight to resist colonialism and Western Invaders. Yet, the more researching I did, the more tragic things became.

Instead of finding videos on youtube or stories online about the "Pearl of the Orient" all I found were stories, forums and videos about Western pedophiles visiting the Philippines for sex. Sitting there reading these things made me very upset and left me asking "where is Lapu Lapu?"