MANILA, Philippines — It’s often hard to see beauty in a city with tangled power lines, flooded potholes, and cramped sidewalks.
However, the daily struggle of leaving one’s home for school or work, and wading through the jungle of jumbled streets can sometimes feel more manageable with a quick escape from such moments of survival.
Even with just a glimpse of a witty graffiti or a hopeful town mural — a city, no matter how gray it has become, can still celebrate the life and vibrance of its passersby, reminding that being Filipino is one thing that can never run out of color.
And this celebration is at the heart of Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig, where art and creativity leap out from the corners of galleries and live through the streets you only need to pass by to see.
Beginning in the early 2010s through the ArtBGC Festival by the Bonifacio Art Foundation Inc. (BAFI), this public art movement has been inviting local and international muralists to bring color into the city — turning its blank walls into living canvases.
So before you step outside, here’s a quick tour guide of eight striking BGC murals you might want to visit for free.
Greener St.
- Greener St. (2022) by Jasmin Lacay
- Location: C3 Parking, Bonifacio High Street Central, 30th Street
Greener St. says everything you need to know from its name. This cool-toned, mint-green mural shows people on the move — whether it’s through cycling, rollerblading, scootering, or skateboarding — inviting people to trade their cell phones for a walk or a ride, even for just a short while.
What’s particularly interesting about this mural is how the floor defies gravity: instead of a realistic flat ground, the striped road rounds into a semi-circle. Other than visually complementing the bright orange sun at the center and the rhythmic pattern of the wheels, this subtle distortion also signifies the power of what one’s body can do — only if it thrived within a city designed for its movement.
Magsasaka
- Magsasaka (2016) by Archie Oclos and Aleili Ariola
- Location: Burgos Eats, Rizal Drive
Before your meal reaches the table, it passes through the heart and the hands of unsung heroes. Against a black background strewn with silhouettes of palay (unhusked rice), this mural spotlights the farmer — the face behind every Filipino’s source of health, strength, and everyday energy.
The farmer, whose head merges with a carabao, symbolizes the noble strength and arduous work behind the journey of rice — from the wrinkled hand holding palay to the open palm carrying grains. As the farmer places his salakot (straw hat) over his chest, as one would when singing the National Anthem, the mural emblazons the Filipino’s unyielding pride and passion for oneself and for one’s nation.
Tabi tabi po
- Tabi tabi po (2022) by Ang Gerilya
- Location: Serendra Control Box, 11th Avenue (near the pedestrian lane between BHS and Serendra)
When walking in the street, people rarely say tabi tabi po (excuse me) anymore, but this mural cleverly positions a sleeping nuno sa punso (old spirit inside a mound) at the heart of BGC — preserving the life of Filipino mythology within a place that often forgets about it.
While the thought of stepping on a mystical anthill evokes the fear of angering a nuno (and getting cursed in return), this traditional idea also stems from how our ancestors deeply respected being in harmony with nature. In a postcolonial world, where cities look homogeneous and there’s little proof of our diverse, cultural history — this mural proudly reclaims space for Filipino identity.
We are What We Pretend to Be
- We Are What We Pretend to Be (2015) by Nate Frizzell
- Location: B6 Building, Bonifacio High Street, Lane O corner 11th Avenue
Among Frizzell’s series of We are What We Pretend to Be murals, this one depicts how a child balances a world of imagination and creativity with reality.
A young boy spray paints a childish caricature of a tiger (with a head and a body), while a realistic image of a tiger (only with a head) hovers in front of his face, symbolizing how his movement from childhood to adulthood enforces a kind of pressure to put on a “mask” to belong to society.
Yet while this “tiger” mask helps him move forward, it remains only a fragment of the whole — a reminder that a child never fully lets go of the past, as it’s a remnant of a distant reality where the only thing that mattered was expressing oneself without judgment.
As one grows up, one learns to adapt and move on, with the past still following behind.
Pilandok
- Pilandok (2015) by Egg Fiasco
- Location: B8 Pocket Parking, Bonifacio High Street, Lane P
If you’ve walked past this corner of BGC, it’s hard not to be hypnotized by this neo-graffiti mural. In a surreal, futuristic backdrop, an animal’s antlers pop out of the cracked wall as abstract shapes hang in the air — checkered patches, twisting roots, floating orbs, and ocean waves that seem to collide from different realities.
Based on the title, this mural suggests the Filipino folktale trickster, “Pilandok” — a clever creature who outsmarts the powerful to survive. That same spirit is embodied here as the animal leaps out from the wall, showing self-expression can still break free even within the city’s restraints.
Breathe Better
- Breathe Better (2022) by Anina Rubio
- Location: 34th Street
At a time when breathing clean air feels like a privilege, it’s often hard to remember the living ecosystem within. But through this mural, passersby can take a moment to pause and breathe, and remember their inseparable connection with nature.
This mural centers on a human ribcage intertwined with blooming plants and harmonious animals — a hopeful, vivid contrast with the reality of how buildings often feel enclosing for the ones who keep it running. As the ribcage opens, it reminds how the very bodies people live in shouldn’t feel restricting, but liberating.
At the end of the day, while the world outside may not always look its best, it’s what’s inside — in one’s purpose and outlook — that makes the difference.
Purrfectly Baked
- Purrfectly Baked (2025) by Avin Doodles
- Location: 7th Avenue (Pipe Outlet beside Uniqlo)
If you’ve strolled around BGC’s streets, you’ve most likely spotted some fluffy cats snoozing or “loafing” on the corners. But if not, you’ll see a few on this adorable mural — one that turns an ordinary pipe outlet into a lilac oven filled with cat loaves freshly baked right in front of you.
Two chef cats man the oven and roll with paws, as slices of bread with sleepy faces rise beside them. The brass knobs above even look like oversized dials, completing the illusion!
The Land We Walk On
- The Land We Walk On (2021) by Elie Quial
- Location: 5th Avenue corner 34th Street
This mural cracks the city’s concrete and plants nature within, immortalizing some of the Philippines’ endangered species, such as the tamaraw, the Philippine eagle, and the Palawan peacock-pheasant.
Across the wall are gigantic human footprints that represent an interesting duality: the big impact that our marks leave on the environment, and how small we often perceive ourselves as part of it.
Every step on this mural symbolizes how our actions shape the reality that future generations of Filipinos will experience. Yet, at the same time, it also portrays the feeling of being human — of being intimidated or overwhelmed by the idea of a big action, especially when there is more individual pressure than systemic change for a liveable environment.
Imagination, reality
When walls are treated not as boundaries, but as spaces of conversation — that’s when survival in the city can feel less draining or isolating, but something more: one that has the power to remind even the busiest people of how art can string in one piece their shared realities, and help weave in new perspectives.
And what makes these murals special is not only how they bridge both realms of imagination and reality, but in how they also design public space in a way that severs a price tag on art, making its appreciation more accessible for many.
In the end, isn’t that what a city should be — making space for connection and creativity, and reminding people that they belong here? Not just people shaping the city, but a city designed for them. – Jaella Magno/Rappler.com
Jaella Magno is a Rappler intern studying AB Literature major in Creative Writing at De La Salle University.