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Sunday, December 9, 2012

Sinukwan Festival 2012 Highlights the Kapampangan Spirit






December 8, 2012 was a special day for the Kapampangans. At the Robinson's Starmills in Pampanga, school children from different towns of the province joined a street dancing competition celebrating ancient Kapampangan beliefs in deities. Guest performers were the Aeta children who easily drew applauses from the crowd.

In her paper "King Sinukwan Mythology and the Kapampangan Psyche", Prof Julieta C Mallari, director of the UP Extemsion Program in Pampanga on the significance of the Sinukwan states,"The Kapampangans cling to their primordial history, the childhood of their race, and their original traits. Most of the time, they summon up remembrance of ancient accounts, whether in the spirit of nostalgia or in a deep conviction, to glimpse contemporary significance in the lingering Sinukuan myth. Deeply entwined in the realm of their collective consciousness is this mythical and racial association. Historical events continually unfurl and lodge in their memory. As they go through their life’s episodes, they take refuge behind such saving power of their archaic base, possibly to overcome the temporal finiteness of their being, i.e., as individuals or as a tribe. Despite the dynamic cultural changes and rapid emergence of scientific knowledge, therefore, the myth persists and resists even fatal forces that strike the race. "








Friday, November 9, 2012

That Time of the Year Again: Philippine Christmas 2012

Araneta and Coca-Cola's Giant Christmas Tree


For 31 years, it has been the tradition of the Araneta Center in Cubao to light up its towering Christmas tree to signal the start of the Holidays. This year 2012, the celebration started on November 9 Friday with Araneta teaming up with Coca-Cola.




During my childhood days, I remember almost every household in our community having a Christmas ornament outside the house, a "parol" or Christmas lights. As years went by, less and less decors are put up by individual houses, perhaps partly because of the hard times. Austerity called for minimizing electricity bills. Hence, most people would rather bring their children to commercial places where Christmas decors are still a joy to view, and for free!


Coca-Cola Giant Tree
Shops nearby now starting to sell Christmas goodies


Thank you Mike for being my driver, security guard and friend to photo walk with ! - Ally

more Pinoy Christmas celebrations to follow....

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Restored Old Senate Hall, Philippine National Museum







In these building the unbroken record of what makes us Filipino can be found as well. From our earliest artifacts in clay, to our artistic treasures on canvas, and this room itself, are concrete reminders of what Rizal said, “Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalinan ay hindi makararating sa paroroonan.”
- President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino



Old buildings are charming, but not when they are in a sorry state. Old should not necessarily mean ignored and abandoned  specially if we are talking of buildings and halls that were the venue of debates and legislatures that shaped our country. It was a Sunday when I visited the newly restored Senate session hall. Fortunately, there were not too many visitors then and it was a week before President Noynoy would actually see it for himself. I went ahead of him. 


I must say I am pretty impressed with the facelift;  not that it would surpass those old charms of Europe but it will definitely bring you back to years before your time. The hall was designed in 1918 by American Architect Daniel Burnham but layout changes were done in 1926 by a Filipino Architect Juan M. Arellano. The Old legislative building  was heavily damaged during the American liberation in 1945 reducing it to ruins but by some miracle only the Senate Session Hall remained intact. Somehow, i feel it to be a sure sign that history wants us to look at our past, perhaps cliche-ic, to foresee our future. 


In this same hall the last American Governor-General Frank Murphy gave his final address before the Philippine Commonwealth was inaugurated.  President Manuel Quezon took his oath as President here in 1935. Since then, one can only imagine the debates and discussions those walls have witnessed from the country's great statesmen. I could almost hear Senator Claro M. Recto fiercely defending the Rizal bill against the attacks of the Catholic clergies. Likewise, the same hall and walls were there when  Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. and his allies in the opposition delivered privilege speeches during the run-up to martial law in 1972.

The Old  Hall  continued to serve the Senate until the declaration of Martial Law in 1972 and once again after the restoration of democracy from 1987 to 1996 when the Senate transferred to the GSIS Bldg. in Pasay City. The National Museum  thereafter with its mandate, was tasked to preserve the Old Senate Hall  as a tribute to the legacy of great statesmen of the country  and as a relic where democracy and freedom reigned.

Old Senate Hall circa 26
Photo from the Official Gazette of the Philippines



Speech of President Aquino at the 111th anniversary of the National Museum, October 29, 2012

[Delivered at the Old Legislative Building, National Museum, Manila, on October 29, 2012]

President Fidel Valdez Ramos; Secretary Armin Luistro; Secretary Mon Jimenez; Mayor Alfedo Lim; Mr. Ramon del Rosario, chairman of the board of trustees of the National Museum; Mr. Jeremy Barns, Director of the National Museum; Ms. Maribel Ongpin; Chairman Daniel Lacson of the GSIS; President Robert Vergara of the GSIS; Board of Trustees of the GSIS; officers and staff of the National Museum; fellow workers in government; honored guests; mga minamahal ko pong kababayan:
Magandang hapon po sa inyong lahat.
The continuing challenge of history weighs heavily on this place. In this building, the 1935 Constitution was written. Its guarantees of rights and freedoms, as my father reminded us in 1983, represented “the most sacred legacies from the founding fathers.” Three of my predecessors were inaugurated on these grounds, marking three chapters in our development as a nation: from the Commonwealth, to the Second Republic, and then until the transition to the Third Republic. In this old Senate Hall, my grandfather served as Speaker of the wartime National Assembly, when our people faced great hardship in the hands of foreign oppressors. It was also here that my father, as a senator, stood his ground and spoke up against strongman rule. And it was here that the Senate, an institution I have belonged to, reconvened when Congress was restored in 1987.
Stairs. Old Legislative Building
In these building the unbroken record of what makes us Filipino can be found as well. From our earliest artifacts in clay, to our artistic treasures on canvas, and this room itself, are concrete reminders of what Rizal said, “Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalinan ay hindi makararating sa paroroonan.”
I take great pride in coming here as your President to pay homage to all those who have sacrificed to win and protect our right to exist as a free people. It is fitting, therefore, that we unveil the marker of our Old Senate Hall today—a reminder that the enduring flame of history, and the many shining examples of the genius of our countrymen, serve as a guide to one united Filipino nation that moves on the straight path to progress. I am also here to remind all our countrymen that when we praise Rizal, Bonifacio, and our other heroes, we do so not because the best is already behind us. We do so, because they challenge us to build a better future. In this effort, culture and the arts are vital to our national advancement.
After all, nothing less than our Constitution commands us to view culture and the arts, our history and natural resources, and those of you who have dedicated your lives to its study, protection, dissemination, and development, as national priorities and responsibilities. Our Constitution views culture and the arts not as a luxury, but as a necessity if we are to have a vibrant national life. It is through education, research, and the arts that we can achieve “total human liberation and development” as a democratic society.
Our people deserve better than to have our national heritage treated as an afterthought. Art and culture must be treated as part of a strategy for increasing national competitiveness.
Our plan is straightforward and has three parts.
Lights off
First, to concentrate our efforts on our core competencies. I am happy to see government institutions working together to achieve efficiency, enabling each other to focus on their core mandates. The decision of the GSIS to entrust its collection of art to the National Museum is an example of this. It gives our people the opportunity to enjoy the marvels of our various heritages, while allowing the GSIS to focus more on its task.
Second, we are giving you the means to do your jobs. The budget increases we have given to our centers of heritage are significant. For the National Archives, from 76 million pesos in 2011, we raised their annual budget to 85 million pesos. For the National Library, we increased their budget by 47 million for 2012, totaling to almost 138 million pesos, which thus helps our lead institutions protect the many national documents they maintain for the benefit of later generations. To ascertain the conservation and protection of our historical sites, and to advance scholarship, we gave an almost 100 percent increase to the budget of the National Historical Institute, bringing it to 174 million pesos for this year. For our National Museum, we allocated 238 million pesos for 2012, which is 95 million pesos higher than your budget for 2011. And for 2013, we intend to give you 556 million pesos, so that you may carry out the necessary restorations for our historical and cultural collections. [Applause]
Our institutions must likewise have durable and permanent homes, for you to become effective in fulfilling your mandate to safeguard our nation’s cultural treasures. We are retrofitting the National Library and studying the transfer of the National Archives to the Intendencia in Intramuros, which will allow them to better address the needs of scholars. Now we are gradually implementing the National Museum Plan of 1998, which will finally pave the way for the establishment of our National Museum of Natural History, not just as a showcase for the richness of our natural resources and biodiversity, but as a place of research and education to help build a more scientifically literate society. For this, we have allocated 500 million pesos, which will cover the necessary construction expenses of the museum.
The third part of our plan is to empower institutions to work with our people and with each other. With the help of groups like the Philippine National Museum Foundation, which through the years has shown great support to the National Museum, we are working hand in hand to preserve our cultural artifacts and to advance the understanding and appreciation of our people for these. I understand that discussions are taking place between members of my Cabinet such as Ricky Carandang, Mon Jimenez, Butch Abad, and Cesar Purisima, and various stakeholders in our cultural community, so that your concerns can be raised. You will find all of us willing to listen and eager to help. On the other hand, you are all called to public service, and this means being part of the solution, and not part of the problem. Please use your budgets well, and responsibly: do not shortchange the public just so you can give bonuses to yourselves. We will take care of your bonuses. As government institutions, it is only fair to expect you to discard old habits the same way other agencies are discarding the old status quo.
Now, the fulfillment of our dream of our museums and libraries rivaling those in foreign lands can be seen on the horizon. But for our vision to be fully realized, we must work harder as far as the broader public, at home and abroad, are concerned. Our National Tourism Development Plan identifies the promotion of our culture as central in pursuing our national tourism agenda. We are optimistic that, through this, more Filipinos and foreigners will be enticed to tour our country. We know that the development of our cultural program is fundamental in achieving our tourism growth target of ten million international visitors and 35.5 million domestic tourists by 2016. Let us therefore embrace our countrymen, and always bear in mind that our cultural institutions cannot be independent of our people or their values, or worse, dismissive either of public opinion or the public itself, Filipino or foreign.
You have probably heard me say time and again: Talagang ang sarap namang maging Pilipino sa panahon ngayon. So much more can be achieved if we are a unified people. You now have the means to join hands with our countrymen to give them a chance to understand and appreciate our history and our society, and to inspire creativity and innovation in all areas of national life. I am confident that together, all our cultural institutions will become become part of the pulse of a nation of hardworking, determined, principled, and free Filipinos.
I congratulate the National Museum on your 111th anniversary.
Thank you and good day to one and all.













Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Juan Luna and the Masters at the Philippine National Museum





"Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable."  
~George Bernard Shaw



Poster designed by Aissa Domingo/NM Zoology Division
National Museum of the Philippines
I seriously could not remember if I have been to the Philippine National Museum in the past, i mean faraway past. What a shame. Either i never was, which means i was probably absent during our field trip days or  nothing impressed me at that time. Again, what a shame.

Door handles of the renovated museum
A blogger/ fb friend Joey "Guy with a blog" posted his visit to the museum and it lit fire in my list of interests. Being an avid fan of Filipino painters and realizing that the best works of no less than Juan Luna, of our  National Artists and Masters of Contemporary Art  are housed in the museum, it's time to drop by.


The last time I was in a museum is a few weeks ago at Sagada. Prior to that it was years ago in Spain's Museo del Prado. Not that I'm a museum freak but it's one of the best ways to learn a lot in a short time. When I read that our museum has been renovated and finally that the admin is allowing dslr photography on experimental basis, I felt the urge to rush before they change their minds. For a long time museum photography also did not include taking shots of Juan Luna's Spoliarium. Now is the time to capture its awesomeness with decent photos, hopefully. So I tell Herb that he ought to come with me one Sunday in October.

A visit to the National Arts Gallery will never be complete without seeing the impressive Spoliarium,  the very first artwork to greet the museum's visitors. It it just impossible to miss it. The painting is really huge, 7 meters by 4 meters in size, awesome in its grizzly power, dwarfing every visitor and commanding respect for the talent of the Filipino, back then  the so-called Indios. Painted in 1884, Luna submitted the painting to Exposicion Nacional de Bellas Artes in Madrid where it garnered its first gold medal surpassing the genius of the Spaniards.


The painting features a glimpse of Roman history centered on the bloody carnage brought by gladiatorial matches. Spoliarium is a Latin word referring to the basement of the Roman Colosseum where the fallen and dying gladiators are dumped and devoid of their worldly possessions. At the center of Luna’s painting are fallen gladiators being dragged by Roman soldiers. On the left, spectators ardently await their chance to strip off the combatants of their metal helmets and other armory. In contrast with the charged emotions featured on the left, the right side meanwhile presents a somber mood. An old man carries a torch perhaps searching for his son while a woman weeps the death of her loved one.The Spoliarium is the most valuable oil-on-canvas painting by Juan Luna, a Filipino educated at the Academia de Dibujo y Pintura (Philippines) and at the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid, Spain. With a size of 4.22 meters x 7.675 meters, it is the largest painting in the Philippines. A historical painting, it was made by Luna in 1884 as an entry to the prestigious Exposicion de Bellas Artes (Madrid Art Exposition, May 1884) and eventually won for him the First Gold Medal. [Philippine National Museum]


In Leon Ma Guerrero's "The First Filipino, 2007" ,  Rizal made a speech regarding the victory of Juan Luna and Felix Resurrection Hidalgo's painting [Hidalgo won silver for his Las Viregenes Cristianas Expuestas al Populacho], " I ask you then to drink a toast to our painters, Luna and Hidalgo, exclusive and legitimate glories of two people. A toast for those who have helped them to the arduous paths of art! A toast for the youth of the Philippines, sacred hope of my country that they may follow such excellent examples."  It is later acknowledged that Rizal was inspired by the victories of his comrades and vowed to create his own Spoliarium. Thus the "Noli me Tangere".



Details of the Spoliarium:

A woman weeps for the death of a loved one

Men waiting for their turn to strip off dead gladiators of their armory




Opposite Juan Luna's Spoliarium is another huge and equally stunning painting, this time of contemporary Felix Resurrection Hidalgo's  The Assassination of Governor Bustamante. According to historian Ambeth Ocampo, this painting was never exhibited in Hidalgo's lifetime. It depicts the murder in 1719 of an unpopular governor who raised taxes to increase government revenues. He likewise earned the ire of the religious over the issue of sanctuary. Back then, anyone who fled to the church for sanctuary may not be forcibly arrested. The governor earned enemies among the Catholic clergies  and  he ordered the arrest of major religious personalities including the Archbishop of Manila. 

The Assassination of Governor Bustamente
Felix Ressurection Hidalgo
Philippine National Museum
One night, People Power was mobilized with every class joining the attack on the Governor's Palace at Intramuros. The Dominicans, Augustinians and Franciscans came out of their convents holding crucifixes and shouting "Long Live the King!" Governor Bustamante was killed that night along with his son.

When Hidalgo was commissioned to paint that scene from Philippine history, the angry mob became a pack of friars. Initially the painting had the title of "Church vs State" but later changed to its current and more specific title. It was never exhibited in public but simply kept rolled up in the care of Hidalgo's family. In 1974, then First Lady Imelda Marcos urged the Hidalgo family to allow its first public exhibition at the National Museum.



Details of Hidalgo's "The Assassination of Governor Bustamante" 
formerly entitled " Church vs State":









Two impressive paintings in one gallery, one cannot help but be proud being Filipino. The so-called Indios proved to surpass the genius of the Spaniards of their time having beaten them in competitions. I urge my fellow Filipinos not to miss seeing these works while they are still available for us to view. Somehow, being displayed in our National Museum, I feel like I'm a part and proud owner of a legacy so priceless and thought provoking. One stands in front of them and realize that indeed in every generation, there's got to be a genius who will speak the truth . And art, oh yes art has always and will always be that one effective vehicle of communication that will not cease to exist.

I'm glad about the renovation that the National Museum has been doing. I honestly did not expect to have a leisurely and comfortable walk in and out of the art galleries but I did [ save for the suspicious looks the guard  galleries give the visitors like as if one could bag the Spoliarium ]. I hope one of these days they could come out with pamphlets or booklets that would have a brief background of the artworks displayed. I remember enjoying this perk at the Museo del Prado so that even without a guide, one's viewing becomes more significant.

More of Juan Luna...

Self

Portrait of Paz Pardo de Tavera

Una BulaqueƱa

Padres Dominicos

Juan Luna at Fort Santago


Now off to the other galleries...





Hall of the Masters

Fernando Amorsolo (1892-1972 ) 
First National Artist for painting

Fernando Amorsolo's unfinished portrait along with his easel and painting paraphernalia


"Who is she?" is the first question that comes to mind when one sees the unfinished portrait of the country's first national artist awardee for painting, Fernando Amorosolo (1892-1972). Similar in a way to da Vinci's Mona Lisa who's identity is still vague, Amorsolo's portrait is clouded by some mystery. Nonetheless, it is beautiful in its wanting.   I keep staring at the painting and all the other portraits he's completed and was left to thinking of how proud the personalities he gave light to in canvas must be, to be the subject of Amorsolo's light and colors.

How many of us can own an Amorsolo which runs by the millions of pesos? The highest record set so far I've read in an auction at Christie's is his Lavanderas which hammered to P20.2M ! But all of us can take a glimpse of his works at the museum. Right before you, an arm's reach is perfection in canvas and there is absolutely no reason to say, you've never seen an Amorsolo for real.






Carlos Botong Francisco (1914-1969)
Posthumous National Artist awardee 1973

First panel of the mural "Progress in Medicine"
Until 2006, the PGH lobby takes pride in having a mural " The Progress of Medicine" painted by Carlos Botong Francisco.. It depicts the history of Philippine medicine from the Babaylans  to present day doctors and scenes in medical science. Then again, such pride is not shared by many passers by. The murals were ignored and left to deteriorate suffering from the effects of humidity, pollution, insect droppings and heavy human traffic. I was once part of PGH having trained there and I am just as guilty as anyone else for ignoring such valuable piece of work. Now here comes much sense from art lovers... restore the painting and give it a new home, one that will take care of it. So in 2011, an agreement was reached between PGH and the National Museum. It will be on long time loan to the Museum for those who  really care about what priceless means. In return, the National Museum is to put up a high quality replica at the PGH lobby. It's just as beautiful they say and to the untrained eye, it could be the real thing. Then again, if you would want to se the original, it has a gallery of its own at the National Museum now. Thank God! It is such a pity that I've heard several other government buildings own pieces of artworks by our art geniuses, national artists and they are left to die for good. C'mon, if you can't take care of them, don't own them. Not so different from those wanting to have a chihuahua after watching Legally Blonde then are idiots about how to take the responsibility.


Second panel of  Progress in Medicine


Details of the four panels "Progress in Medicine"











More of Carlos Botong Francisco...

Lost in the Woods

Introduction of the First Christian Image, 1965
145cm x 301cm Oil on Canvas









Benedicto "Bencab" Cabrera
National Artist, 2006


Bencab is a personal favorite of mine basically because of Sabel. Seen in many of his paintings, Sabel is a character based on a real life scavenger which the artist has photographed in 1965. Since then, she has graced many of Bencab's canvasses embodying melancholy, solitude and the many inequities of Philippine society. Boy, was I glad to meet Sabel in one of Bencab's paintings displayed at the museum, "The Imaginary Portrait of Sabel" oil in canvas created in 1969.



Other works of Bencab currently on display include a self-portrait 1969 and Manggagawa 1968.

Manggagawa, oil on canvas, 1968

Self, oil on canvas 1969

Jose Joya ( 1931-1995 )
National Artist 1991



Hills of Nikko
Jose Joya introduced abstract non figurative abstract expression in visual arts. The painting Hills of Nikko is actually an allegory to human imperfections. The earth colors symbolize the weaknesses and limitations of humanity while the hues of greens and blues represent life and hope. [ Philippine National Museum ]



Details of "Hills of Nikko" ,1964
Oil on Canvas
Ethereal Aura



Abstraction 58 , 1958
Oil on canvas 



Ang Kiukok (1931-2005)
National Artist 2002

Ink Fish is a figurative abstract painting of an undersea life with three skeletal fish as prominent figures and full of colors. It was one of Ang Kiukok’s early works in the 1960s generally described as distorted, disjointed, and full of geometric skeletons with overlapping geometric forms. The subject borders on the artist’s social commentaries on the realities of life. [Philippine National Museum]

Fish Forms, 1965
Oil on Canvas 

Towards the Graveyard 1955
Oil on Canvas 



H.R. Ocampo (1911-1978)
National Artist, 1991


Homage to Tandang Sora, 1977
Acrylic on Canvas
Ang Pulubi, 1946
Oil on Canvas

Abdulmari Asia Imao
National Artist 2006





Cesar Legaspi (1917-1994)
National Artist 1990

Superstition, Undated
Oil on Canvas


Vicente Manansala (1910-1981)
National Artist, 1981

The Burial

1951






Pablo Amorsolo (1898-1945)

The less known Amorsolo, younger brother of the National Artist, Fernando Amorsolo likewise has several of his works showcased at the museum. It was only there that I learned the Amorsolos are a family of superb visual artists. Among my favorites is a painting he did for the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes

Office of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes
Pablo Amorsolo


Juvenal Sanso (1929 - )


Man with a Hoe
Nena Saguil (1914-1968 )