Manila, U.S.A. — Janna Añonuevo Langholz

Manila, U.S.A., 2019–ongoing

*Manila, U.S.A.,* 2020. Altered map originally published in 1898, 26x16 in.

After the 1898 Spanish-American War in the Philippines, 11 US towns were named after the Philippine capital of Manila to commemorate American victory at the Battle of Manila Bay led by Admiral George Dewey. The war victory sparked so much American pride that even hundreds of newborns were named Manila in the same year. The end of the war and the establishment of these towns across the US marked the transition from Spanish colonial rule to American colonization of the Philippines, a 48-year period until the United States recognized Philippine independence on July 4, 1946.

Manilas were established in Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and California; the majority of these towns scattered throughout the rural Midwest and South. The alternate misspelling “Manilla” was also used. Like the status of the former territory of the Philippines, many of these towns are designated as unincorporated areas and quietly declined or became ghost towns after the early 1900s.

I first located Manila, Missouri in Google Maps when I was trying to determine the distance between St. Louis and Manila, Philippines.

In Manila, U.S.A., I travel across the United States to document the traces of a forgotten colonial history and my journeys to these places that were not built for Filipinos.

Read a feature about the project on Esquire Philippines.