National Arts Month 2017

Here is how I celebrated February, or for the gladness of artists and art enthusiasts, the National Arts Month.

Last Full Show: Danilo Dalena Retrospective

Filipino mixed media artist Danilo Dalena returned to the Cultural Center of the Philippines after a 26-year hiatus with his paintings, drawings, sculpture, and installations "referencing unseemly acts and antics in seedy movie houses." 

Curators Claro Ramirez, Jr. and Eileen Ramirez added that, "While loosely taking on the structure of cinema with establishing sequences, transitions, freeze frames, and denouements, LFS is posited as a grand unfolding rather than definitive account."

Noli Me Tangere: The Opera

National hero Jose Rizal's one-half of world renowned political novels revisited the CCP after decades courtesy of J&S Productions Inc., in cooperation with Ayala Foundation. It was written by the late Filipino National Artists Felipe de Leon (music) and Guillermo Tolentino (libretto in Filipino.) 

I was fortunate to watch it for free together with my best friend. The actors who portrayed Ibarra and Maria Clara committed to their parts and hit all the right notes but not as much as Sisa's actress was. She blew everyone away! I wish some brave souls would develop her own storyline/spinoff. 

BitterXSweet Tour at Ayala Museum

For the first time, I got a chance to be a museum tour guide! Finally I ticked it off my bucket list thanks to Ayala Museum's volunteer program. I was the tour guide in the "bitter" part of the Valentine's edition tour where I walked about 10 guests to different dioramas depicting the painful moments in our history (i.e. Trade with Chinese and the Chinese Massacre, Sultan Kudarat's Defense, Jose Rizal's love stories, Gen. Antonio Luna's assassination, the Japanese Occupation and Death March.)

Escolta Block Party

I dragged a good friend to spend the night partying at Escolta, considered to be the Queen

Street of Manila in days past. It was a great partying with a lovely and inclusive community. We had sausage and beer while dancing the night away. Heck, I used Facebook Live more than I should or ever will. There were also art shops and DIY merchandise to take home as souvenirs. 

Artist Talk: Natee Utarit

Another perk of being an Ayala Museum volunteer is to get exclusive access to artist talks. That's how I met Thai contemporary artist Natee Utarit whose works heavily represent his criticisms of Western art and its influence on Eastern Art. Rightfully so, the elements in his towering paintings featured in "Optimism is Ridiculous: The Altarpieces" are a mix of Christian and Buddhism symbols.

Art Fair Philippines 2017

This year promised to be the biggest yet with four floors of galleries and unsurprisingly, bigger areas for National Book Store and Bench. For better or worse, it has become uncontrollably crowded, making you wish that they would move to a bigger venue next year.

The biggest reveal of the night was meeting world renowned Filipino (glass) sculptor Ramon Orlina in his exhibit. Unlike his goof friend BenCab, he wasn't a snob. 

Casa Manila Tour

Another good friend accompanied me in Intramuros where we toured a heritage house, Casa Manila. The interiors and exteriors were (obviously) Spanish-inspired but it was nice to learn that ceramics from Japan and China, and furniture (i.e. chandeliers) from the rest of Europe also adorned the house.

Interestingly in the receiving area, connecting rooms were allotted for the old maid and a visiting relative (guest room) who was often a single man. We couldn't help but be intrigued with the 'could-have-beens' and 'have-beens' in those adjoining rooms during the old times! *wink*

Manila Transitio

Manila's prodigal son Carlos Celdran and his tourism group, Walk This Way, initiated a lovely community gathering at Baluarte de San Diego in Intramuros (beside my alma mater PLM) which included a do-as-you-please itinerary. 

Highlights of the night included Kundiman concert atop the Baluarte, burning of Chinese wishing papers (a confusing part of the night,) and the performance of Tres Marias, a lovely group of OPM icons Lolita Carbon, Bayang Barrios, and Cookie Chua. Think People Power anniversary celebration without the hate and with all the picnic baskets.

In all, my February weekends have been restless but I didn't complain. And I never will. For sure I won't schedule any out-of-town or out-of-country trips for succeeding Nat'l Arts Month!

Lisa Macuja's 'Tutu' Cents

I had the pleasure of listening to Philippines' Prima Ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde when she shared her success story to college students last month.

As expected, her journey to the center of the stage was not smooth-sailing. At 14, she knew she wanted to pursue ballet (contrary to her parents desires.) She convinced them to give her two years to complete ballet training in communist Russia. If that didn't work out, she promised to return here and attend formal school.

"Like starting in arithmetic and getting thrown to calculus," was how she recalled her beginnings in ballet. Being the only neophyte among advanced European students, she said that her teacher cried in frustration, "they gave me a monkey from the Philippines."

When she returned home at 16, Lisa said she wasn't casted in her first production but she knew better than to cry. Looking back, she said that situation made her "work even harder." 

Fast forward to 2017 when Lisa has officially retired from ballet but still actively runs Ballet Manila.

Through all those years, here is how Lisa sums up her journey:

• Follow your heart, it will never leave you astray
• Ask yourself, "What am I willing to sacrifice?" Be willing to pay the price of your dreams
• When you wake up in the morning and you don't look forward to what you're doing that day, it's time to quit
• Sustain and maintain even after you have achieved so much
• Writers leave behind books; singers, songs; composers, score; artists, paintings; photographers, photographs. Dancers leave behind a memory--that moment when they are on stage. They perfect a moment without even saying a word
• There was a time when I wanted to give up the performance but there was never a time that I felt I wanted to give up ballet
• Follow Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hour rule. You need to dedicate at least 10,000 hours of your life to achieve mastery in a field.

Aside from being a world renowned performer, Lisa is also a generous life coach. With her toes on point and numb from pain, she is willing to share life lessons that she picked up along the way. This 'storyteller on toes' knows that pain will cease and will give way to a perfect performance.