At the mention of “Intramuros,” most people are struck by the memories of their grade school field trips–riding kalesas, staring in awe at the guards dressed in old-fashioned Spanish-era uniforms, visiting the ancestral home that is Casa Manila, or following Rizal’s golden footsteps in Fort Santiago. Intramuros has always been distinctly identified as the historic core of Manila–everything from its cobbled streets to its imposing brick walls–even the unmistakable architecture of the ruins evokes images of Old Manila.

Being an important historical landmark, Intramuros is busiest in the daytime when tourists and citizens alike explore the walled city’s attractions. It is precisely because of this that its well-established identity as a tourist attraction is hard to reconcile with its identity as an emerging hub for the local indie music scene, which it is indeed slowly but surely becoming as a result of the efforts of the Ilvstrados organization.

Ilvstrados is a non-profit organization that aims to re-establish the district’s value as more than just a historical landmark by revitalizing its music and art scene.

Drawn by the iron throne

On December 12, Ilvstrados held a Game of Thrones-themed mini-concert entitled “Dungeon Date.”  It was certainly a sight to see a decidedly eclectic crowd, some with multi-colored hair and undercuts clad in jeans and band t-shirts, gathering inside the walled city’s Maestranza Plaza. The line-up was a diverse mix of more prominent indie bands like Oh, Flamingo! and Fools and Foes with new bands like Wasted Wendy and Endless Noise, as well as Ilvstrados regulars Shutter LIFE, Sky Garden, BENNYBUNNYBAND, and Caffeine & Taurine.

Poets from White Wall Poetry and Students Night Out Poetry collaborated to supplement the performances with aptly Medieval-themed storytelling to round off the event’s Game of Thrones theme, along with a performance from the student improv group One & a Half Men.

When asked about the bold choice of theme, founder Jeremy Lopez (also touted as the Ilvstrados’ Supremo) answered, “Parang, oh sige, nasa dungeon siya, madilim siya, ang luma niya–the only historical thing that we can associate with this is the Spaniards and the Japanese (It’s like, the event is in a dungeon, and it’s dark and old– the only historical thing that we can associate with this is the Spaniards and the Japanese).”

Taking this information, the group decided to go in the direction of pop culture. Lopez says, “Wel,l it’s given na madaling ibenta ang Philippine history, but why not fuse it with a pop culture [icon] which is Game of Thrones (Well it’s given that it’s easy to promote Philippine history, but why not fuse it with a pop culture [icon] which is Game of Thrones)?

Dungeon Date’s unusual venue, the recently restored Maestranza Plaza, had a distinct charm with its stone facade, adding an edge to the event’s medieval atmosphere. The stage itself was set up within a smaller cavern within the plaza that naturally amplified the acoustics by virtue of its size, along with creating an intimate vibe because of the smaller crowd capacity.

When asked about the venue’s history, Lopez says that the plaza used to be the center of the galleon trade.

Intramuros rising

Dungeon Date was also meant to raise funds for Intramuros Rising 4, the successor to Ilvustrado’s last three successful Intramuros Rising events that drove hundreds of people to the historical city. Intramuros Rising is a series of music and art festivals held in lesser-known places in Intramuros, which features up-and-coming local musicians and artists.

With the help of the Intramuros Administration (IA), the group was able to organize the first Intramuros Rising festival back in August 2014.

They originally planned to organize small-time gigs in the bars inside the walled city, but were contacted by the IA, who told them that doing so was illegal because of their close proximity to the universities in the area.

“What they did is they offered us venues na, somehow nakakatakot kasi ang lalaki nga pero somehow calculated risk (What they did was offer us venues that were somehow daunting because they were so big, but with somehow calculated risk),” says Lopez.

More than just history

From then on, the group turned into the unofficial junior tourism organization of the IA. Lopez remarks that they have two goals when it comes to staging these events: To promote local artists who find it hard to break into the indie gig scene, and to promote the city itself.

“We’re giving [local artists] the spotlight they deserve in their own way. The second one is, for the city is, we want to increase foot traffic for the city and we want to offer something that’s more than just the historical [value],” says Lopez. “Yung…pagiging historical city niya–we want to add more than just that (Its being a historical city—we want to add more than just that).”

With notable bands like Cheats and Jensen and the Flips having headlined their past events, some bands, like Wanderband 2016 winners Oh, Flamingo!, showed interest in participating in Dungeon Date.

Right now, preparations are underway for a much larger-scale Intramuros Rising 4, which is going to be held in February 2016 in celebration of Arts Month. The details of the event aren’t set in stone yet, but Lopez gives three hints: “Three days. Valentine’s Day. Manila Cathedral.”

Ilvstrados has been in the business of breathing new life into the historical walled city only since 2014, but their accomplishments and the amount of attention their work has attracted attests to the tangible difference they’ve made in Intramuros.

For more information, check out Ilvstrados on Facebook and their website www.ilvstrados.com