Fair winds til we meet

october 2025

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MUSEO DEL GALEÓN
will stand as a lasting and enduring monument that will benefit present and future generations.

A cutting-edge, educational institution in the Asia-Pacific region, our museum will present histories, alongside current and future maritime scenarios through a variety of platforms.

THE GALEÓN ESPÍRITU SANTO

Explore the Galeón Espíritu Santo, a full-scale representation of a 17th -century galleon that was constructed in Cavite in 1603.

The Galeón Espíritu Santo successfully participated in the Manila-Acapulco voyages from 1603 to 1618 on the galleon trade route discovered by Andres de Urdaneta in 1565, known as El Tornaviaje.

In over 250 years of the galleon trade, 181 vessels sailed across the Pacific Ocean between Manila and Acapulco in 798 voyages.

FROM OUR CHAIRMAN

Ambassador Carlos C. Salinas

The Museo del Galeón, stands as a unique beacon, illuminating the rich tapestry of the Philippines’ maritime legacy. Within our halls, visitors are transported back in time, tracing the footsteps of explorers and traders who navigated the vast seas centuries ago.

Our museum not only showcases artifacts and relics but also serves as a vital educational resource. Through interactive exhibits and experiential activities, your curiosity will be ignited, fostering a deeper understanding of our maritime past among learners of all ages.

The Museo del Galeon is a testament to the enduring spirit of exploration and cultural exchange that continues to shape our world today. As you embark on this voyage with us, let us celebrate the significance of our maritime history and its lasting impact on global culture.

Our museum not only showcases artifacts and relics but also serves as a vital educational resource. Through interactive exhibits and experiential activities, your curiosity will be ignited, fostering a deeper understanding of our maritime past among learners of all ages.

The Museo del Galeon is a testament to the enduring spirit of exploration and cultural exchange that continues to shape our world today. As you embark on this voyage with us, let us celebrate the significance of our maritime history and its lasting impact on global culture.

FROM OUR President

DORIS MAGSAYSAY HO

It is time to tell our story.

As an archipelago, our history and our people have been shaped by the waters that embrace us, transformed through the centuries by the waves of migrants of myriad cultures, who were attracted to our beautiful islands and made them home.

For 250 years, Manila was the hub of trade between East and West thanks to the 181 Manila-Acapulco galleons that sailed the Pacific Ocean.

The goal of the Museo del Galeón is to showcase the adventures of our intrepid, pre-colonial ancient mariners, as early as a millennia before the Spanish arrived, when all they had were the tides and stars to guide them.

During the Manila-Acapulco trade, Filipinos were shipbuilders and seafarers that manned these ships, playing a pivotal role in the history of global trade.

Our love for the sea and these maritime traditions have inspired our great Filipino seafarers and maritime professionals. They provide essential services for humanity on ships, in ports, in services, making sure global trade never stops.

Museo del Galeón will be the tribute we pay them. We envision that this unique and exciting opportunity to tell the story of our great maritime history and tradition will serve as an inspiration to our future generations.

FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Manuel Luis Quezon III

I can never forget a theory propounded to me by a Filipino American archaeologist. He believes our approach to public transportation –saying “para” and asking to be dropped off regardless of designated stops or not—has a truly ancient origin, dating back to when we were frequent riders of boats who viewed the land and sea not as separate areas, but instead, a contiguous terrain, a universal vista.

Whether this theory will survive the test of time and academic scrutiny is secondary to what this mental exercise represented: a journey of the imagination, an effort to add to our shared body of knowledge. In a kindred manner, we at the Museo del Galeón are participants in a journey begun by others: in our case, the vision, born of cosmopolitan patriotism, of that statesman and educator, the late Edgardo J. Angara.

He envisioned a center which today we might best describe as a “safe space” where different cultures, religions, and affiliations, can come together in mutual respect; a place where a shared love of learning, and an attitude of sober reflection on our past, present, and future, informs the experience of going through the Museo del Galeón to learn about the centuries-long Galleon Trade between Manila and Acapulco, and its multifaceted impact on Filipinos and the many countries and cultures indelibly impacted by what has been called the First Globalization.

We believe the experience provided by the Museo del Galeón will be an eye-opening one, and memorable, too; and one that continues from the past to the present and the future through our collateral efforts to look at the past and work towards a future where our oceans are protected and nurtured by us all.

We must be seamless and timeless, in a sense similar to our ancestors: we must embrace our always having been and remaining, a maritime nation; we are a nation whose story is also part of the story of other nations, with whom we share the same contemporary challenge to learn from the past so as to understand the complexities of our present and arrive at a more peaceful, prosperous, and enlightened future.

MUSEO DEL GALEÓN

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Chairman
Ambassador Carlos C. Salinas

President
Doris Magsaysay-Ho

Treasurer
Dr. Jaime C. Laya

Trustees

Gloria M. Angara
Senator Sonny M. Angara
Gerardo A. Borromeo

Dr. Lydia B. Echauz
Dr. Carlos Madrid Alvarez-Piñer
Enrique K. Razon Jr.

Alfredo P. Roca
Hans T. Sy

The glory of the past offers us lessons on how to move forward cooperatively, capitalizing on kinship forged and strengthened through centuries.

Senator Edgardo J. Angara
1934 – 2018
Founding Chairman
Museo del Galeón, Inc.

WE INVITE YOU to

JOIN THE VOYAGE

as we sail through our past
to chart our maritime futures

GET IN TOUCH WITH US

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Museo del Galeón is a private, non-profit donee institution; accredited by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Philippine Council for NGO Certification (PCNC), and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

Museo del Galeón @ 2024. All rights reserved.

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