'Los Salvajes Bravos' starring Ruru Madrid to film in Spain

The cast members of "Los Salvajes Bravos," an upcoming historical film directed by Paolo Dy, are flying to Spain to shoot more scenes.

According to a press release from producer Jesuit Communications, stars Romnick Sarmenta, Ruru Madrid, Michael de Mesa, Christian Vazquez, Arnold Reyes, Michael Roy Jornales, Jojit Lorenzo, Paolo O'Hara, Elora Españo, JM Salvado, Miguel Vasquez, DM Boongaling, Aya Sarmiento, Kenshin Lagutan, Roven Alejandro, and Andreas Muñoz were given a send-off party before heading to Europe.

"Los Salvajes Bravos" follows the journey of Ismael Alzate (Romnick), an Igorot ex-soldier loyal to Spain, and the "Igorot savages" he brought to be showcased at the 1887 grand exposition in El Retiro Park in Madrid. The Filipinos lose their dignity, which pushes them to plot their escape to return home.

Jesuit Communications Executive Director Rev. Fr. Emmanuel "Nono" Alfonso, SJ said that though events happened more than a century ago, the issues are still present today.

"Why tell the story now? It is because imperialism, racism, and tribalism remain with us—sometimes in obvious ways, sometimes in more subtle, insidious forms. To remember this painful history is to see ourselves more clearly, and to ask hard questions about how we treat the poor, the marginalized, and those different among us," he said.

For Dy, the exposition of the savages was a very haunting and disturbing circumstance.

"Beneath the beauty and elegance lies the truth: it represents the Philippines as the colonial masters would have preferred to see it… preserved as a specimen," he said. —Nika Roque/MGP, GMA Integrated News