This paper examines how the St. Louis World Fair influenced attitudes toward Filipinos. It considers the larger framework of the Filipino body as representing a nation, the colonial penetration and geographical conquest, and examines the inscription of its people through their representations and performances at the 1904 World’s Fair. The discussion shows the potential for imagination, and how different consciousnesses can arise even out of the most “traditional, primordial” image. It is through this imagination that more intersecting identities can be formed, ones where the complexities of an indigenous subject can be recognized with a more nuanced awareness.