Jai Alive: (Re)locating the Manila Jai-Alai in Contemporary Collective Memory

Abstract. The Manila Jai-Alai by Wurdeman and Becket (1940), a masterpiece of Streamlined Art Deco in the Far East, was lost to demolition in 2000, creating a void in Manila’s urbanscape and cultural memory. The JaiAlive project, through digital reconstruction with newly discovered archival materials, is a pilot study that aims to relocate the Manila Jai-Alai in contemporary collective memory. It explores the potential of low-cost immersive virtual reality (iVR) as a tool for participatory heritage, oral history, and heritage education. Through a modified Presence Questionnaire (PQ) supported by spontaneous think-aloud and roundtable dialogues, an assessment of presence, involvement, realism, emotional engagement, memory recall, and knowledge transfer was conducted among participant groups of players, witnesses, and youth. The iVR experience effectively induced a strong sense of presence, nostalgia, and storytelling, especially among participants with lived experience of the Jai-Alai, and validation of explicit knowledge among those unfamiliar with the space. Participants viewed iVR as a strong starting point for renewed interest in the Jai-Alai as heritage, spectacle, and sport. Despite challenges such as environmental distractions, limits in realism, and potential memory distortion which all warrant further study, iVR shows strong potential for enriching collective memory, supporting oral history, and advancing participatory heritage studies within the Philippine context.