Conclusion

The Philippines has a long history of being controlled by hostile powers; some international (Spain, the United States) and others domestic (Ferdinand Marcos, Rodrigo Duterte). However, for as long as there have been problems like colonization, dictatorship, and violence, there has also been resistance. 

This resistance has been built not through cults of individuality -- though there have of course been heroes, people at the forefront of the fight -- but through the cultivation of community, of solidarity (solidaridad). Whether that be on the level of an entire bookstore or a single newspaper from the 19th century, this project seeks to provide a holistic account of independent book publishing as an ongoing force of resistance. Pilar Print may be fictional, but through it, we hope to have conveyed some of the real power that literature has in building community.