Paalam Ophelia Alcantara Dimalanta...

Tanawing Walang Hadlang

Dahil nasunog ang aking kamalig
Wala nang humahadlang sa tanawin
Ng pinakamaliwanag na buwan.

-Masahide

oo, kitang-kita ko na ngayon
ang pangkalahatan ng kalangitan;
walang mga punong umuusbong,
walang nagtataasang hadlang
na pumipigil sa pagdaloy nito.

ang lahat inaangkin ko, gaya ng
pag-angkin nito ng buo kong pagkatao,
malinaw ang mata at walang abala.

parang bang tinitingnan ko ang mundo
sa kagandahan ng kanyang kawalan,
gamit mga bagong mata, bagong kaluluwa.
lahat ng mga linggal at mga pagbabawal
ng mga nakaraan kong buhay nalipol,
kasing linis ng kumot na kinula.

wala nang natira pa.

tila isa akong tabula rasa,
walang balakid na nakatingala
sa langit na hindi kumikinang,
ang buwan di natitigatig, buong-buo,
walang palawit kaya walang
sabit... bukod-tanging nag-iisa,
at ako na walang buhay na nakaraan;
at ang bukas ko ay kailangan pang
isulat muli para sa bagong pagkabuhay.

walang kapansin-pansin na mga palatandaan
ng dating ako dito habang nakatingala
sa isang malayang dumadaloy na langit
at sa nag-iisang buwang walang palamuti,
ngayon ako’y magsisimula muli sa pagtatag
ng mga kawing, makisama, tumutok,
habang kinakatha ko sa gabing ito ang akda
ng mga bagong araw na paparating, dito
mula sa isang tanawing walang hadlang.


(Salin ni Ralph Semino Galan ng tula ni Ophelia A. Dimalanta na pinamagatang "An Unobstructed View" from the poetry collection Lady Polyester: Poems Past and Present)

2010 GAWAD BUHAY! Second Quarter Citations

PHILSTAGE bares second quarter citations for 2010 Gawad Buhay!

With 11 performance and technical citations in various categories, Tanghalang Pilipino’s Tatlong Mariya, a Filipino adaptation of Anton Chekov’s timeless classic Three Sisters, topped the second quarterly citation of the 2010 Gawad Buhay!: The PHILSTAGE Awards for the Performing Arts.

Tatlong Mariya is set during the Martial Law period and depicts the life of the three Ballesteros sisters who struggle to liberate themselves from the dreariness and hopelessness of their provincial existence while yearning for the excitement of their former happy and respectable life in Manila. It garnered citations for outstanding play, stage direction (Loy Arcenas), ensemble performance in a play, adaptation or translation (Rody Vera), female lead performance in a play (Angelie Bayani and Mailes Kanapi), female featured performance in a play (Che Ramos), male featured performance in a play (Mario O’Hara), set design (Loy Arenas), sound design (Jethro Joaquin) and lighting design ( Barbi Tantiongco).

Coming in second place with eight citations is Repertory Philippines’ Duets, a comedy of four different vignettes exploring the lighter nuances of romance and relationships in seemingly impossible but hilarious situations. It was cited for outstanding stage direction (Ana Abad Santos), ensemble performance in a play, female lead performance in a play (Joy Virata), male lead performance in a play (Miguel Faustmann), set design (Tuqxs Rutaquio), costume design (Joy Virata), sound design (Jethro Joaquin),and lighting design (Martin Esteva).

Also cited for individual achievements are Cris Villonco and PJ Valerio for outstanding female and male lead performances in a musicale (both for Repertory Philippines’ Romeo and Bernadette); Robert Sena for outstanding male lead performance in a musicale (PETA’s Si Juan Tamad, Ang Dyablo at ang Isang Milyong Boto); Lisa Macuja-Elizalde and Rudy de Dios for outstanding female lead performance in a dance production (Ballet Manila’s Ballet and Ballads); Camille Ordinario-Joson for outstanding female lead performance in a dance production (Ballet Philippines’ Neo-Filipino 2010); and Veronica Ylagan for outstanding featured female performance in a dance production (Neo-Filipino 2010).

Now on its third year, Gawad Buhay! is the first-ever industry awards exclusively for the performing arts juried by an independent panel of critics, scholars, artists and theater enthusiasts. Outstanding individual and group achievements in various artistic and technical aspects of play, musical and dance productions and performances are honored based on quarterly citations deliberated by the jury who are required to watch all productions of PHILSTAGE member-companies for the entire year. From the four quarterly citations, the jury will select the final nominees qualified to win the awards by the end of the performance season. Awarding ceremonies will be during the National Arts Month celebration in February 2011.

PHILSTAGE is the only alliance of professional performing arts organizations in the Philippines. Its members include Ballet Manila, Ballet Philippines, Gantimpala Theater Foundation, Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM), PETA, Repertory Philippines, Tanghalang Pilipino and TRUMPETS.

Below is the complete list of the 2010 second quarter citations in various categories:

Outstanding Production of a Play: Tanghalang Pilipino’s Tatlong Mariya

Outstanding Musical Production: Repertory Philippines’ Romeo & Bernadette

Outstanding Dance Production: Ballet Manila’s Ballets and Ballads and Ballet Philippines’ Neo Filipino 2010

Outstanding Stage Direction: Ana Abad Santos (Repertory Philippines’ Duets). and Loy Arcenas (Tatlong Mariya)

Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Play Production: The Casts of Duets and Tatlong Mariya

Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Musical Production: The Cast of Repertory Philippines’ Romeo & Bernadette

Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Dance Production: The Casts of Ballet Manila’s Ballets and Ballads and Ballet Philippines’ Neo-Filipino 2010

Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Play : Angeli Bayani and Mailes Kanapi (Tatlong Mariya); and Joy Virata (Duets)

Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Play: Miguel Faustmann (Duets)

Outstanding Featured Female Performance in a Play: Che Ramos (Tatlong Mariya)

Outstanding Featured Male Performance in a Play: Mario O’Hara (Tatlong Mariya)

Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Musical: Cris Villonco (Romeo & Bernadette)

Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Musical: Robert Sena (PETA’s Si Juan Tamad, Ang Dyablo at ang Isang Milyong Boto) and PJ Valerio (Romeo & Bernadette)

Outstanding Featured Female Performance in a Musical: No citation

Outstanding Featured Male Performance in a Musical: No citation

Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Dance Production: Lisa Macuja Elizalde (Ballet and Ballads) and Camille Ordinario-Joson (Neo-Filipino 2010)

Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Dance Production: Rudy de Dios (Ballet and Ballads)

Outstanding Featured Female Performance in a Dance Production: Veronica Ylagan (Neo-Filipino 2010)

Outstanding Featured Male Performance in a Dance Production: No citation

Outstanding Original Script: No citation

Outstanding Original Libretto: No citation

Outstanding Original Music Composition: No citation

Outstanding Adaptation or Translation: Rody Vera (Tatlong Mariya)

Outstanding Musical Direction: No citation

Outstanding Original Music Composition: No citation

Outstanding Choreography (Dance): Bam Damian’s Reconfigured (Ballet and Ballads); Carissa Adea’s Rey-Sing, Novy Bereber’s To Whom It May Concern, and Alden Lunasin’s Words and Phases (Neo-Flipino 2010)

Outstanding Choreography (Play or Musical): No citation

Outstanding Set Design: Loy Arcenas (Tatlong Mariya) and Tuqxs Rutaquio (Duets)

Outstanding Costume Design: Joy Virata (Duets)

Outstanding Lighting Design: Martin Esteva (Duets) and Barbi Tantiongco (Tatlong Mariya)

Outstanding Sound Design: Jethro Joaquin (Duets) and Jethro Joaquin (Tatlong Mariya)

2010 Philippine PEN Conference

2010 Philippine PEN Conference
December 4-5, 2010
Montebello Villa Hotel, Cebu City, Philippines

Solidarity in Literature without Borders
(Philippines, Africa, Middle East, Asia/Pacific, Europe, America)

Program

FIRST DAY OF CONFERENCE

Opening Ceremonies
National Anthem
Reading of the PEN International Charter: Susie Tan
Opening Remarks: Bienvenido Lumbera, Chairman, Philippine PEN
Introduction of Keynote Speaker: D. M. Reyes
Keynote Address: Simeon Dumdum Jr.

Coffee Break

First Literary Session
Panel on Writing and Writers in the Visayas
Chair: Vicente Garcia Groyon
Panelists: Erma Cuizon, Isidoro Cruz, John Barrios

Lunch

Second Literary Session
Panel on Writing and Writers in Mindanao
Chair: Jaime An Lim
Panelists: Anthony Tan, Steven Fernandez, Servando Halili Jr., Telesforo “Jun” Sungkit, Jr.

Coffee Break

Third Literary Session
Panel on Writing and Writers in Luzon
Chair: Hermie Beltran
Panelists: Santiago Villafania, Priscilla Macansantos, Carlos Arejola, Sherma Benosa


Emcees/Convenors of the Day: Elmer Ordoñez, Susan Lara

Solidarity Evening Dinner with cultural program
Masters of Ceremonies: Jose Wendell Capili, Nick Pichay

SECOND DAY OF CONFERENCE

Fourth Literary Session
Panel on Writing and Writers in Asia/Pacific and the Middle East
Chair: Ronald Baytan
Panelists: Nori Nakagami (Japan), Nguyen Bao Chan (Vietnam), Alvin Pang (Singapore), Robin Lim (Indonesia), a writer from Iran

Coffee Break

Fifth Literary Session
Panel on Writing and Writers in North and Latin Americas
Chair: Marjorie Evasco
Panelists: Alice Sun-Cua, Menchu Sarmiento, Lina Zeron (Mexico), Elynia Ruth Mabanglo (USA), Marianne Villanueva (USA)


Lunch

Introduction of the Speaker: Karina Bolasco
The Jose Rizal Lecture
Resil Mojares


Sixth Literary Session
Panel on Writing and Writers in Africa and Europe
Chair: Jose Victor Torres
Panelists: Edgar Maranan, Paolo Manalo, Ignacio Martínez de Pisón (Spain),
a writer from Africa (tentatively, Rashidah Ismaili AbuBakr or Joseph Ushie)

Closing Session
Resolutions


Emcees/Convenors of the Day: Charlson Ong, Shirley Lua


Overall Convenors
Bienvenido Lumbera, Joselito Zulueta


On-site Secretariat
Cesar Quinagan, Jun Cruz Reyes, Eva Nelmida

Call for Applications: Writer/Storyteller-in-Residence

A professional writer and/or storyteller is sought for the position of Writer/ Storyteller-in-Residence at the Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture at the University of Manitoba. This four-month position, from approximately September 1 to December 16, 2011, will require the successful candidate to spend approximately 16 hours per week providing mentorship and practical artistic advice to developing writers and storytellers at the University of Manitoba, to give a limited number of readings and/or performances on campus, and to lead an informal non-credit workshop. The remaining time is to be devoted to the writer or storyteller’s own artistic projects. The successful candidate will receive a salary of $20,000.00 CAD, accommodation and return transportation to Winnipeg.

The Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture is an interdisciplinary centre with a mandate to promote the creation and the study of the verbal arts, both oral and written. Located at the University of Manitoba in the city of Winnipeg, the Centre sponsors readings, lectures, master classes and creative community projects that explore the connections between oral and written culture. Winnipeg is renowned for its vibrant arts community and its multicultural citizenry, including the largest urban population of Aboriginal people in North America. The Centre builds upon these local cultural strengths as a basis for its creative and critical work. To learn more about the Centre, visit http://umanitoba.ca/centres/ccwoc/

Applicants should provide a covering letter summarizing their qualifications for the position and describing the artistic work they would undertake during the residency. Applications must also include a CV or résumé of career achievements (publications, performances, awards, residencies), a writing sample of no more than 20 pages (doublespaced and typed in a standard 12-point font) and two letters of reference discussing the applicant’s skills as an artist and a mentor.

Candidates of all nationalities are encouraged to apply; however, full proficiency in English is required, and publications or performance credits in English would be an asset. The Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture is committed to principles of employment equity. The application deadline is November 22, 2010.

Electronic submissions of application materials are accepted at the Centre’s email address, but attachments must be in Microsoft Word, PDF, RTF or DocX only. Please direct inquiries and electronic application materials to ccwoc@cc.umanitoba.ca.

Applicants may also submit hardcopy applications to:

Dr. Warren Cariou, Director
Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture,
University of Manitoba
391 University College, 220 Dysart Road
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2M8 CANADA

Books and other materials sent in support of applications will not be returned.

2010 SEA Write Award

The SEA Write 2010 award will take place at the Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok on November 5, with HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn presiding at the awards dinner and presentation ceremony.

As usual, a prominent writer has been invited as the keynote speaker. Taking his place at the podium this year will be Scottish writer Willam Dalrymple, a multiple-award winning historian and travel writer, as well as a distinguished broadcaster, critic, art historian, foreign correspondent and co-director of Asia's largest literary festival.

A Cambridge history graduate, Dalrymple has lived in Delhi on and off for the last 25 years. His interests include India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Middle East, Mughal rule, the Muslim world, Hinduism, Buddhism, the Jains and early Eastern Christianity. All of his six books have won major literary prizes, as have his radio and television documentaries. His first three were travel books based on his journeys in the Middle East, India and Central Asia.

More recently, Dalrymple has published a book of essays about South Asia, and two award winning histories of the interaction between the British and the Mughals between the 18th and mid-19th centuries.

He is a regular contributor to "The New York Review of Books", The Guardian, The New Statesman, The New Yorker and Time magazine.

His latest book, Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India, was published by Bloomsbury, and went to the No. 1 slot in the Indian non-fiction section best-seller list.

He is now beginning work on a history of the First Afghan War (1839 to 1842), and curating a major show of the late Mughal and Company School painting of Delhi for the Asia Society in New York, set to open in January 2012.

The winners of the 2010 SEA Write award who will be feted at the awards dinner are:

- WIJAYA - BRUNEI

Wijaya is the pen name of Yang Berhormat Pehin Jawatan Dalam Seri Maharaja Dato Seri Utama Dr Haji Awang Mohd. Jamil Al-Sufri bin Begawan Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Seri Paduka Haji Awang Umar.

Yang Berhormat Pehin is a prominent figure in the fields of education, literature, history, culture and religion in Brunei Darussalam. He started writing in the '40s and is interested in history, literature, language, culture and education. He has produced few books in many fields. Renungan is Yang Berhormat Pehin's first anthology of poems.

- AFRIZAL MALNA - INDONESIA

Malna grew to be a poet and cultural worker, dedicated in his arts. He has participated in many collaborative avant-garde arts and performance. His main domain, however, is poetry. In the '80s he was known as the proponent of "dark" poetry, a term used to describe the complex and innovative style of his art.

- DARA KANLAYA - LAOS

Douangchampa is the pen name of Dara Kanlaya, 72, author of some 60 short stories, over 90 poems, seven novels, and a two-hour play, Boua Deng. Dara started her career as a schoolteacher and began her writing in 1958. Now retired, she keeps writing and publishing children's books, novels and poetry. Dara's writing theme mostly deals with women's issues and gender, and promotes a better living standard for women through education. She also works as curator of old palm-leaf manuscripts, and studies classic Lao literature.

- ZAEN KASTURI - MALAYSIA

Zaen writes in various genres, including Yuda (a collection of short stories), Katarsis and Iga (collections of poems), and Angin Belantara (novel). Zaen is currently the new voice in the local literary scene who gives life to a fast forgotten, easily ignored discipline (literature).

- MARJORIE EVASCO - THE PHILIPPINES

Evasco's published works in poetry and biography are included in the canon of Philippine Literature. The Manila Critics Circle gave National Book Awards to all her five books: Dreamweavers; Ochre Tones: Poems in English and Cebuano; Six Women Poets: Inter/Views; A Life Shaped by Music; and Ani: The Life & Art of Hermogena Borja Lungay (2006).

- JOHAR BIN BUANG - SINGAPORE

Known by his pseudonym, H.B. Johar, attributes his interest and inspiration to write Sufic poems in the early '80s to his religious teacher, Syekh Muhammad Thaha Al-Muhammadi, who prayed for him.

- ZAKARIYA AMATAYA - THAILAND

Zakariya was born in Narathiwat province. He then spent five years in central India studying Islamic Sciences, Arabic Language and Literature at Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama College before returning home to study Comparative Religion at Mahidol University.

He initially discovered his passion for poetry during his years in India. During his junior year, his writing on free verse poetry had started to flourish when he took courses in Classic, Mediaeval and Contemporary Arabic Literature. Zakariya wanted to become a "bridge" between different cultures and languages.

- NGUYEN NGAT ANH - VIETNAM

Nguyen Nhat Anh is a Vietnamese author of incisive stories for both teenagers and adults. He is also a teacher, a poet and a journalist. He is regarded as one of the most successful writers for teens. His most well known novel, Kinh van hoa (Kaleidoscope), which contains 54 volumes, has recently been made into four drama series of the same name.

GUIDE QUESTIONS FOR TP's BANAAG AT SIKAT

INSTRUCTIONS:

Your reaction must be computer-printed on short bond paper using 12-point font (Times New Roman) with 1 and 1/2 spacing for better readability.

The more profound and well thought out your answers to the questions, the better the score.

Answer each of the following in two to three paragraphs.

1. In terms of both form and content, rate the overall performance of Tanghalang Pilipino's rendition of Lope K. Santos' Banaag at Sikat from 1 to 10 (10 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest). Explain the reasons for your assessment.

2. Using Nicanor G. Tiongson's criteria in determining the Philippine-ness of a particular dramatic form/presentation: [1.)that it reflects the Filipinos' culture,2.) that it answers the need of the Filipinos at a given time, and 3.) that it works for the good of the many], how Filipino is Tanghalang Pilipino's Banaag at Sikat? Elaborate on your answer based on what you have learned in class regarding Philippine drama.

3. How does the rock musical Banaag at Sikat depict the class struggles between the rich and the poor? With whom do you empathize?

GUIDE QUESTIONS FOR TP's AMERICAN HWANGAP

INSTRUCTIONS:

Your reaction must be computer-printed on short bond paper using 12-point font (Times New Roman) with 1 and 1/2 spacing for better readability.

The more profound and well thought out your answers to the questions, the better the score.

Answer each of the following in two to three paragraphs.

1. In terms of both form and content, rate the overall performance of Tanghalang Pilipino's rendition of Lloyd Suh's American Hwangap from 1 to 10 (10 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest). Explain the reasons for your assessment.

2. Using Nicanor G. Tiongson's criteria in determining the Philippine-ness of a particular dramatic form/presentation: [1.)that it reflects the Filipinos' culture,2.) that it answers the need of the Filipinos at a given time, and 3.) that it works for the good of the many], how Filipino is Tanghalang Pilipino's American Hwangap? Elaborate on your answer based on what you have learned in class regarding Philippine drama.

3. What lessons in life or insights regarding the human condition can you glean from Lloyd Suh's American Hwangap as performed by Tanghalang Pilipino?

GUIDE QUESTIONS FOR PETA's ANG POST OFFICE/ THE POST OFFICE

INSTRUCTIONS:

Your reaction must be computer-printed on short bond paper using 12-point font (Times New Roman) with 1 and 1/2 spacing for better readability.

The more profound and well thought out your answers to the questions, the better the score.

Answer each of the following in two to three paragraphs.

1. In terms of both form and content, rate the overall performance of the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) in their rendition of Rabindranath Tagore's Ang Post Office (The Post Office) from 1 to 10 (10 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest). Explain the reasons for your assessment.

2. Using Nicanor G. Tiongson's criteria in determining the Philippine-ness of a particular dramatic form/presentation: [1.)that it reflects the Filipinos' culture,2.) that it answers the need of the Filipinos at a given time, and 3.) that it works for the good of the many], how Filipino is PETA's Ang Post Office (The Post Office)? Elaborate on your answer based on what you have learned in class regarding Philippine drama.

3. What lessons in life or insights regarding the human condition can you glean from Ang Post Office (The Post Office), a short play for children written by the first Asian wordsmith who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913?

GUIDE QUESTIONS FOR BM's HALO-HALO NI JUAN

INSTRUCTIONS:

Your reaction must be computer-printed on short bond paper using 12-point font (Times New Roman) with 1 and 1/2 spacing for better readability.

The more profound and well thought out your answers to the questions, the better the score. (Read my dance review of Ballet Philippines' Shoes++ to get some ideas on how to write a critical analysis on a dance performance.)

Please edit your paper so that it will merit a higher grade.

Answer each of the following in two to three paragraphs.


1. Rate the overall performance of Ballet Manila in their 15th Year Anniversary Crystal Gala titled Halo-Halo ni Juan from 1 to 10 (10 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest). Explain the reasons for your assessment.

2. Among the various dance vignettes of Ballet Manila's Halo-Halo ni Juan, which one (give the title of the dance number) did you enjoy the most and why?

3. Between classical/neoclassical ballet and modern/contemporary dance, which do you prefer? Give the title/s of the dance vignette/s that caught your attention in explaining your choice.

GUIDE QUESTIONS FOR BP's SEPTEMBER GALA

INSTRUCTIONS:

Your reaction must be computer-printed on short bond paper using 12-point font (Times New Roman) with 1 and 1/2 spacing for better readability.

The more profound and well thought out your answers to the questions, the better the score. (Read my dance review of Ballet Philippines' Shoes++ to get some ideas on how to write a critical analysis on a dance performance.)

Please edit your paper so that it will merit a higher grade.

Answer each of the following in two to three paragraphs.


1. Rate the overall performance of Ballet Philippines from 1 to 10 (10 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest). Explain the reasons for your assessment.

2. Among the various dance vignettes of Ballet Philippines' September Gala, which one (give the title of the dance number) did you enjoy the most and why?

3. According to Susan Sontag, the dancer is the most self-demanding of performing artists since Terpsichore's devotee aims for nothing less than perfection. Which of the dance vignettes (give the title of the dance number) embody this desire to transcend the limits of the human body? Explain your choice.

Poems to be discussed next meeting (August 31, 2010) in my British Literature class...

Sonnet 75
Edmund Spenser

One day I wrote her name upon the strand,
But came the waves and washèd it away;
Again I wrote it with a second hand
But came the tide, and made my pains his prey.
“Vain man”, said she, “that dost in vain assay,
A mortal thing so to immortalise,
For I myself shall like to this decay,
And eke my name be wipèd out likewise”.
“Not so”, quod I, “let baser things devise
To die in dust, but you shall live by fame;
My verse your virtues rare shall eternise,
And in the heavens write your glorious name.
Where whenas death shall all the world subdue,
Our love shall live, and later life renew”.



Even Such is Time
Sir Walter Raleigh

Even such is Time, which takes in trust
Our youth, our joys, and all we have,
And pays us but with age and dust;
Who in the dark and silent grave,
When we have wandered all our ways,
Shuts up the story of our days.
But from which earth and grave and dust
The Lord shall raise me up, I trust.



The Passionate Shepherd to His Love
Christopher Marlowe

Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods, or steepy mountain yields.

And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;

A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;

A belt of straw and ivy buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs:
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me, and be my love.

The shepherd’s swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love.

Fellows of the UST National Criticism Workshop Bared

Fellows of the UST National Criticism Workshop Bared

The University of Santo Tomas is proud to announce the acceptance of the following young critics to the 2nd J. Elizalde Navarro Workshop in Criticism on the Arts and the Humanities: Aidel Paul G. Belamide (UP Los Banos), Hammed Q. Bolotaolo (Ateneo de Davao/ UP Diliman), Mary Jessel B. Duque (UP Diliman), Anne Christine Ensomo (Ateneo de Manila), Luis Miguel Ereneta (Ateneo de Manila), Alona Guevarra (UP Diliman),Maxsim Moossavinassab (UP Diliman), Waldo Reyes Petralba (De La Salle University/ UP Diliman), Alvin Ringgo C. Reyes (University of Santo Tomas/ De La Salle University) and Frank Lloyd B. Tiongson (UP Diliman).

The Criticism Workshop which will be held on May 23-29, 2009 in Baguio City is endowed and organized by the Varsitarian, the 81-year-old official student organ of UST. It is held in honor of the late Nationalist Artist for the Visual Arts and art critic J. Elizalde Navarro, who was art editor and critic-poet of the Varsitarian during his student days, and in connection with the 400th anniversary of UST in 2011.

The fellows are requested to get in touch with Asst. Prof. Ralph Semino Galán through his mobile phone (0920-9258639) and/or email (ralphseminogalan@gmail.com) for details regarding the arrangements of the workshop. Applicants who did not make the cut this year are encouraged to apply again in the future.

Paper Delivered at the Baguio Centennial Conference

Imaging and Imagining the City of Pines:
A Tour of Baguio’s Poetic Landscape

by Ralph Semino Galán


Tourism as a leisure activity in the postmodern age is at best problematic, since issues of authenticity and simulation emerge in the assessment of the actual experience, in media res or post facto. For in the age of digital reproduction in which the distinctions blur between the original work of art and its countless copies, there is also a corresponding erasure of the lines that separate reality from fiction, the genuine from the fabricated encounters in the realm of life. This is especially true in the tourism industry which deploys high technology in the form of promotional brochures with digitally enhanced photographs showcasing, as the case may be, alluring landscapes, seascapes and/or cityscapes as part of its overall advertising campaign.

In tourism studies, authenticity is a central concern as well as a major site of contestation. For even if pioneering scholar Dean MacCannell claims “that a major impulse for travel (is) a search for authenticity, the desire to encounter cultures and people that (are) not contaminated by industrial societies and their synthetic, commercialized mass cultures,” it is equally true “that tourism itself threatened authenticity, as those on the receiving end developed synthetic and commercialized versions of their own cultures specially for tourists.”

But poets, despite their apparent vulnerability as sentient beings who are highly prone to flights of fancy and daydreaming, have a strong resilience against the prevailing ideology of contemporary times that passes off packaged items and itineraries, sights and sounds included, as the real thing. This is inevitably so, because poets are also sensitive and sensible individuals with strong personalities who are quick to detect the sham from the shaman, pyrite from pure gold, cheap magic tricks from the truly magickal. Furthermore, most wordsmiths instinctively seek the sui generis in terms of personal experience so that they can generate in their verses insights which contain at the very least verisimilitude and at their very best veritas.

Authenticity, however, is quite difficult to determine even for poets, since the criteria that distinguish the true from the false are not clearly delineated. Scholars of leisure studies like David Harris recognize that

Authentic and inauthentic experiences alike are informed by
experiences and perceptions provided by a range of texts, quite
often film or television programmes. Standing in front of the
Egyptian pyramids, it becomes impossible to leave behind the
many photographs, films, and television documentaries that have
already provided interpretations of and lent significance to the
sight one is trying to interpret authentically. Otherness has already
been constructed in ways which make it familiar.

The same argument can be used against the possibility of authentically experiencing even for first time visitors the tourist spots and heritage sites of Baguio City, for these places have also been featured in numerous photographs, films and television documentaries. Moreover, multifarious opinions and commentaries about the City of Pines coming from various sources have already been circulating in the popular imagination ever since Baguio’s metamorphosis from a hill station to the country’s summer capital, thus making it impossible for a neophyte traveler to visit this Tourist Mecca without a priori knowledge of the place.

Nevertheless, ideological debates regarding the distinguishing characteristics of authenticity notwithstanding, I aver that poetic utterances are genuine. This is so, since poetry like the other authentic art forms is a product of the imagination, not in the negative sense of the belief in falsehood, but in the more positive sense of the image-forming power of the mind. For as Octavio Paz correctly asserts, “Reality recognizes itself in the imaginings of poets --- and poets recognize their imaginings in reality.” Or as Jeanette Winterson puts it,

I see no conflict between reality and imagination. They are not in
fact separate. Our real lives hold within them our royal lives; the
inspiration to be more than we are, to find new solutions, to live
beyond the moment. Art help us to do this because it fuses together
temporal and perpetual realities.

This paper is a cursory reading of a dozen lyrical poems about Baguio City composed by contemporary Filipino poets writing from English. It deploys the term “poetic landscape” in its double sense: poetic as an adjective to aptly describe Baguio’s picturesque landscape; as well as the fact that images of Baguio’s unique geography are partly constructed by the imagination of the bards whose poems are testaments that beyond tourist brochures with their packaged promises authentic experiences are still possible in the City of Pines. Furthermore, since this paper is concerned with the perception of Baguio as a tourist spot through the perspectives of outsiders, I have limited my selection of relevant poems to those which have been composed by contemporary poets who are not long-term residents of the Summer Capital.

Fascinating Baguio: A City with Many Names

According to The Baguio City Traveler’s Guidebook 2006 , aside from being known as the City of Pines, the Summer Capital of the Philippines has a good number of other monikers. This list of descriptive appellations include the following: City of Flowers, The Highest City in the Philippines, Honeymooners’ Paradise, Educational Center of the North, The Land of Ukay-Ukay, among others, for as the guidebook points out:

If we are to apply the feminine principle to a city, Baguio would
easily romp off with just not one but several beauty titles. For
that’s exactly how this highland getaway enchants --- or re-
enchants --- its many visitors who have bestowed her with many
names.

Baguio’s many names indicate that it has a myriad of images on display to delight the vision seekers, not to mention the countless sensory delicacies it has to offer for the other organs of perception. Rofel G. Brion’s “Baguio, 1995” presents some of these scenes, like “The market swell(ing) with strawberries,” “mouths spew(ing) fog,” the sun rising on Burnham Park, and “old women trekking up to church” along Session Road. But not all of the purported places of interest are necessarily flattering, like “the caves full of mud/And rocks instead of crystals.//”

Nevertheless, the charms of the City of Parks remain inexhaustible to regular visitors despite repeated encounters and the influx year in and year out of more and more tourists. This is the exact sentiment of the persona in Brion’s poem:

Thirty years and dozens of trips later
I still crave an extra night
Watching wood spark in the fireplace
And one more morning of Benguet coffee
I must drink very quickly
Before it gets much too cold.

The Upward Journey

From the National Capital Region (NCR), the five to seven hour sojourn to the City of Pines usually begins with a bus ride from one of the many terminals that dot Metro Manila. Unless they have the privilege of being driven the entire 250 kilometers, the best way for first time travelers to enjoy the upward journey to the City in the Clouds is by taking the midmorning bus at 9 A.M. or thereabouts. By doing so, they are bound to see the breathtaking panorama of mist-covered mountains and pine-clad ravines as the bus zigzags along the snake-like road at the tail-end of the voyage, earning Baguio the title the City of Many Scenic Approaches.
Lourd Ernest de Veyra executes the experience in “Ascending Baguio by Bus” not only in terms of the visual, but also in terms of the auditory. De Veyra who is both a poet and a musician chooses mostly acoustic details to recreate the sensation of traveling to the Summer Capital on a rainy night: “Slamdance of rain rioting against the pane/,” “A cold that hums like the sinister music outside/,” and “Percussive nightmares raging on the roof/ And the mind.//”

At the end of the poem, he makes a metaphorical and sensory leap by comparing the “Headlights dissolv(ing) in the distance” to “an imagined poem/ Word/ By/ Word,/ Lost to memory.//” De Veyra’s rendition of the upward journey to Baguio is impressionistic and personal, a refreshing change from the usual postcard-perfect but generic portrayal found in other travel accounts.

Lovers’ Lair

As the Honeymoon Capital of the Philippines, Baguio is the ideal trysting place for all sorts of romantic couples, whether straight or gay, married or otherwise, since its semi-temperate climate encourages intimacy and lovemaking. To provide temporary shelter for sweethearts celebrating their togetherness, the City of Pines has six exclusive mountain resorts like The Manor inside Camp John Hay and the Baguio Country Club, 38 deluxe and standard hotels, and 75 other lodging, pension and retreat houses for every type of budget.

Angelo V. Suarez’s “baguio suite” is a cycle of erotic poems bordering on the sexually graphic about the lovemaking of an adolescent heterosexual couple. The four verses articulate the activities of the male speaking voice and his female beloved as they spend several days in an inn located along Lower Legarda Street. In this lyric sequence, Suarez deploys the word “suite” twofold: as a set of rooms (in reality, the same boudoir that simply gets transformed in the persona’s imagination and memory); and as a series of musical movements in an immoderate symphony of young romantic love and lust, for the poems are certainly marked with a strong sense of rhythm as a result of the preponderance of alliteration and other rhetorical devices.

In the first movement, the swain celebrates the newfound freedom they are enjoying as sexual partners when he declares after a particularly heavy staccato of amorous artillery that,

…on this bed we finally

further a shared notion of bliss, a kind of peace,
a piece of heaven we used only to aspire for.
while inside this room surrounded by rumors,
we smile to ourselves, then coo, then kiss.

The persona observes in the next movement that the room does not really need an air-conditioner, for indeed Baguio is also known as the Ener-Con City of the Philippines because of its generally chilly weather. But the body heat they generate is sometimes too much for even the pine-scented breeze to cool down (“blessed be this continuity/ of skin”… “no need at all for air-con here,/ which is not to imply the cool is complete://”).

In the third movement, the beloved damsel knocks on the bathroom door as the persona is taking a shower oblivious of anyone but himself, since bathing is perhaps one of the most private rituals a man usually keeps to himself. But the desire for more intimacy is too much to bear for his smoldering loins, so he opens the door, grabs her towards him and wishes that in the future similar journeys will be taken by the two of them, so that they can forever “kiss/ away doubts, on-off droughts, & bouts/ that dragged (them) down to depths (they) wish/ (they) hadn’t been to before./”

The final movement finds the young couple saying their “ample goodbyes/ to bed and bath” as they brace themselves for the homeward journey. While having breakfast near a bus station, they “break the sorrow of leaving, only to follow// the path of remembering.” So they recall the places they have seen, the people they have met albeit with minimal interaction or exchange of words, for they are already a world unto themselves like all honeymooning lovers.

But what they surmise will be missed the most is the room itself and “the common/ bed, synthesis of skin & easy conversation ---/ (their) own shared space of infinity, intimacy.//” Suarez’s choice of commemorative space, an ordinary room in an unnamed inn, is a bit offbeat for a love affair of such passion and intensity. However, the nondescript setting of “baguio suite” makes its emotional narrative so unlike the run of the mill great romances with their manicured lawns and picturesque manors.

Earthquake Zone

But Baguio also has a bleaker, more sinister image in the Philippine literary imaginary, since it is the most heavily damaged city during the major earthquake that hit Luzon on July 16, 1990. In the words of Dolores Stephens Feria, the earthshaking experience is cataclysmic, nightmarish, almost apocalyptic:

For that first unspeakable impact of an intensity 8 tremor is
never purely physical --- have no illusions about that.
Those 45 seconds generate an emotional quality with a
bizarre inner dimension, making it conceivable for one to
age a couple of decades in a few minutes. That a near-
mystical paradox of outright transmutation is built into the
experience must also be admitted. For the pious and
orthodox it has to be an unsolicited God speak event, even
if punctuated with wailing and hysteria. For others, a
moment of blinding recall into Doomsday itself, both past
and future: for one cannot imagine what has never been
experienced at some time of unconscious memory. This
unavoidable fact is to be reflected on at length during
those four inky, unrelieved nights of darkness, during
starless hours when the bonfires of the terrified had
burned themselves out.

Alfred Y. Yuson’s “Seven Haiku on the Heave-Ho” textualizes in spare language the powerful seismic activity that shook Baguio to its very roots. Each of the seven haiku in the series is like an imagistic snapshot of a particular moment of the temblor, from the initial impact (“Heaves once, twice, the land./ Seethes, pulses, seeps cries of fright./ A mountain surprise.//”) to the effects of the aftershocks (“Lives quick to the fire./ Looms aftershock prayer./ Sleep of roads, floors, temples.//”).

The choice of the Japanese haiku as the lyrical form used to articulate the harrowing tragedy appears to be inappropriate, for how can seventeen syllables albeit multiplied seven times capture the magnitude of the catastrophe. Furthermore, the flippant-sounding title of the sequence seems to enhance the light, slightly irreverent treatment of the subject matter, which might be offensive to sensitive survivor-residents of the great Baguio earthquake. However, one must remember that the haiku has always been employed to deal with disastrous events in a few deft but transcendent strokes.

As an exemplar, nothing can compare to Masahide’s most famous pithy masterpiece:

My storehouse having been burned down,
nothing obstructs the view
of the brightest moon.

Read in this light, Yuson’s work is worthwhile, for indeed despite death and destruction “The mountain survives,” and so does the City of Pines.

Burnt Out Hearts

On the other hand, in “Baguio: The Demise” Jose Wendell P. Capili utilizes the aftermath of another disaster, the gutted down remains of the Pines Hotel that burned down in 1984, as one of the objective correlatives (“the turn and flow of stones/ we perceived from childhood/ as walls, doors and ceilings/” to express the emotional vacuity the personae in his elegiac poem are experiencing years after their major romantic breakup. A very private poet when it comes to his own emotions, Capili is able to obfuscate the obvious intensity of the emotions that are being stirred by the reunion, for he makes the ex-lovers focus on the physical landscape, rather than the inner turmoil they are feeling in each other’s formerly familiar presence: “the rustle of leaves/ behaving like music,” “the landscape of cones/ falling on mountain sleeves,” “pure hemp and other bell-shaped/ things awakening from/ a sudden gush of the wind.”

In the second half of the poem, through cryptic clues and elusive allusions, a demi-disclosure is made: to avoid inflicting pain on each other, both parties decide to build “shelters away from home/ cleansing bloodlines with/ the safe-keeping of knives.” Nevertheless, despite denying their genuine sentiments for each other, the truth emerges when the personae declare that “homecomings (fill) up the swell in (their) eyes.” The enigmatic ending (“We uncover Baguio’s reef of edges/ taking a plunge like mystified divers.//”) is both ominous and ambivalent: Are they taking a collective leap of faith? Or are they committing conjugal suicide? Capili’s open-ended poem is symptomatic of postmodern relationships which are characterized by uncertainty, indecision and the failure to take risks for the sake of love.

Session Road

Session Road is the main thoroughfare of Baguio City’s commercial district. It is also the oldest avenue of the Shopping Capital of the North as well as a historical site, for the Second Philippine Commission of the American Insular Government has held its sessions in a building proximate to where Baden Powell Inn is now located, hence the street’s name. As a tourist spot the lower part of Session Road, between Magsaysay Avenue and Governor Pack Road, serves as “the undeclared catwalk of Baguio, where people-watching at its best could be done while sipping coffee in one of the many cafés lining up the road.”

In Nerisa del Carmen Guevara’s “Session Road,” strolling on the sidewalks of Baguio’s most frenetic street becomes an analogue for the art of poetry. The personae in the poem who are all poets seem to exist in an imaginative if not imaginary world of their own, apart from the teeming multitude who saunter to and fro even at nighttime the length of Session Road. This group of wordsmiths “sigh metaphors/ Like white puffs of breath” as they plod along the busy street, unmindful of the other pedestrians whose prosaic pace are not in rhythm with their measured steps.

As to be expected the versifiers “appreciate/ The closeness of the stars,” since these heavenly bodies scintillating in the evening sky are desirable but distant, like unrequited love. The personae however are not averse to laughter, for true poets must embrace both the sorrows and the joys of life, the agony and the ecstasy. In the final analysis, the linguistic entity known as poetry, like the shadows the bards are casting on the pavement “Lengthened by the lamplights,” is nothing more than the product of the interplay between light and dark, pleasure and pain.

City of Parks

Aside from being a Garden City, Baguio is also known as the City of Parks. Besides Burnham Park and the Baguio Botanical Garden inside Forbes Park, there are other areas of sprawling greenery spread around the city limits that include Mines View Park, Wright Park, Sunshine Park, Club John Hay and Baguio Country Club, among others. This proliferation of public parks and private clubs have helped Baguio acquire the Department of Tourism’s Hall of Fame Award as the Cleanest and Greenest City in the Philippines, after successively holding the title in 1994, 1995 and 1996.

My own composition titled “Baguio, the Return” has for its objective situation the famous and now infamous Burnham Park. Located in the most precious piece of Baguio property, “the mother of all parks” has been designed and named after Daniel H. Burnham, a leading American architect and urban planner of his time. Originally conceived as an oasis in the heart of a bustling city, Burnham Park with its 12 clusters has since become a highly commercialized amusement center for tourists and indigenes alike. Its facilities include a man-made lake with swan-shaped rowboats for hire, a children’s playground, a cycling area, a roller skating rink, an athletic bowl, a grandstand, a picnic grove, themed gardens (Rose Garden and Igorot Garden), an orchidarium, as well as inexpensive eateries along the park’s periphery.

But Burnham Park also has a darker side. Due to Baguio’s rapid urbanization which is concomitant to its transformation from a hill station to the summer capital, Burnham Park in the evenings has become a red light district of sorts, especially for the homosexual tourist. This really comes as no surprise, since where there is capital in the cold cash sense of the word, the sex trade inevitably flourishes.

The persona in my poem however resists the easy lay that can be provided by the ever willing callboys who prowl the area like wolves. Instead he waxes romantic in his perpetual search for the metaphorical you, the significant other whose “absence/ (he) seek(s)/ among the pines.” Although his quest remains unfulfilled at the end of the poem among “the mist,/ like dragon’s breath/ that shrouds/ Baguio with myths//,” his yearning for true love in such an unlikely place subverts the very notion that the gay tourist only visits Burnham Park at night for purely sexual reasons.

A Season of Blooming

Every February, Baguio City commemorates the Panagbenga Festival, a month-long celebration whose highlight is the annual parade of blossom-bedecked floats and the street dancing that accompanies it. Panagbenga or “a season of blooming” concludes with the closing of Session Road to vehicular traffic and the transformation of its length into a night market replete with commercial stalls and al fresco cafés and restaurants. The event attracts tens of thousands of tourists who are eager to participate in the revelry and merriment the City of Flowers has to offer.

But historically speaking, the Panagbenga Festival is a fairly recent seasonal attraction invented by the local tourism industry in 1995 to help combat the devastating effects of the major earthquake that hit Luzon in 1990. Formerly known as the Baguio Flower Festival, the name has been changed in 1996 to Panagbenga upon the suggestion of artist-curator Ike Picpican, adding an indigenous flavor to the festivity.

Far from the madding crowd, Ophelia A. Dimalanta memorializes a “lone/ Gardenia” blooming near the Dominican House in Baguio City. In her poem “Flowers are not for Picking, are they?” the persona asks the reader to imagine the objective situation as if it were a painting by the Dutch master Jan Vermeer who is famous for his skillful handling of scenes from everyday domestic life as seen in natural light:

Imagine a Vermeer and swear
This is exactly how the eye catches the scene,
Illumined in its hush
By Baguio’s mist-borne light.

The persona is perfectly aware that despite their refreshing scent, velvety texture and natural beauty flowers are not meant for picking, since as she herself observes “for picked, they easily/ Wilt in mortal hands, their gloried peaks/ Nipped all too soon, arrested dreams./” But despite her erudition she gives in to the temptation by stealing a single blossom and ends up regretting the transgression, since gardenias close their petals and begin to shrivel the moment they are plucked. As a form of redress, the persona immortalizes the experience and the lessons learned:

... Confine it, now,
Its blurring scent with words, such as
Fashioned into poetry of the palest
Frostiest shades, to holograph and hang
For fame, postscripted in afterthought,
Thus: read, but pluck and plunder not
To your hand’s content. For there, too,
Are private rituals one may touch
From a proper distance. And no closer.

City in the Sky

Because of its high altitude, Baguio is also an idyllic place, fit for stargazing as well as to contemplate the immensity of the universe. For visiting urbanites, situated at some 1,500 meters above sea level, the Highest City in the Philippines represents release from the mundane cares of the material world. Baguio as Cloud-Kissed City, City in the Clouds, Skyland, is a postmodern Shangri-La, an earthly paradise that provides a temporary haven if not heaven for tourists who badly need a break from the vicissitudes of everyday life.

“City-bred and dazed,” the personae in J. Neil C. Garcia’s “Baguio. By Starlight” suspend their collective disbelief as they lay on the ground and stare at the night sky filled with “stars that shoot and fizz.” They are overwhelmed by the dimensions of the cosmos as the elements conspire to make them feel diminutive (“we withdraw into the downy folds of our bodies/ small and genuflected among the lower crags/ of our earth.”) Nevertheless, they are surrounded by “profound love” the rooster protecting his brood from the cold; lovers tossing and turning in bed like arachnids spinning the gossamer of their webs; Polaris moving toward “climax/ in a sensuous patch of sky.” Despite their jaded selves, the personae in the end become hopeful as the sense of wonder comes back to them, even if eventually it “fireballs, falls short and disappears/ in the star-filled eyes of the heart’s/ own gracious nights.//”

Wagwag Country

Originally intended as relief goods for underprivileged Filipinos, the used clothes donated by foreign countries and known nationally as ukay-ukay (wagwag in the local tongue) have become a main source of income for enterprising Baguio businessmen. It is beyond the capacity of this fledging researcher to determine the processes involved behind the commercialization of an originally noble and humanitarian initiative, since the scope of this paper does not include in its provenance the socio-economic aspects of the used clothes industry. Nevertheless, the ukay-ukay, whether you like it or not, has become a staple product of Philippine alternative fashion, for the apparels that are available in its rickety racks and dusty bins are one of a kind, ranging from vintage dresses to the most recent rip-offs.

Ronald Baytan’s “Ukay-ukay” celebrates the countless clothes in a variety of fabrics (“So muck silk and suede,/ Cotton and rayon,/ Polyester and lycra./”) which are available for purchase to the stylishly adventurous. So the you-persona in his poem rummages through box after box of garments, imagining himself wearing “suits of brown, black/ And navy blue, in shirts/ And shoes dressing/ Up the market street,” well aware however that each donated piece of clothing from abroad has a story to tell, whether its former owner is still alive or not. But what pricks his conscience in the end is not the thought of putting himself in a dead man’s pair of shoes; rather it is the thought that by buying an outfit which has been given for free, he is depriving his “little brown/ Brothers and sisters” of wearable clothes, for his acquisition however little it may seem to be in the scheme of things is nonetheless helping to perpetuate a trade practice that should have never existed in the first place.

Writers’ Haven

Baguio’s rich cultural heritage which combines the tribal indigenous, the foreign colonial and the modern postmodern has fueled the imagination of the local populace. As a result, the City of Pines has become a center of creativity for the different art forms, including literature, since it is the home to both established and aspiring writers, whether indigenous or migrant. The roster of wordsmiths that have graced this writers’ haven with their permanent or provisional literary presences reads like a who’s who in contemporary Philippine literature, even if we only include those poets who write exclusively or mostly in English: Cirilo F. Bautista, Edgardo B. Maranan, Luisa Aguilar Igloria, Francis C. Macansantos, Elizabeth Lolarga, Frank Cimatu, Pia Arboleda, Jhoanna Lynn Cruz, Jennifer Patricia A. Carino, and of course, my dear friend, the late Maningning Miclat.

As host city to University of the Philippines National Writers’ Workshop since 1993, Baguio has been further textualized by many young but talented poets. Isabelita Orlina Reyes’s “Workshop City” captures the emotional state of a writing fellow who observes that her “time in this city is unreal,” for “The wind moves at a rhythm different/ from (her) steps.” The persona then catalogs the sights which her valley-raised urbanized self finds peculiar or amusing:

…The thin air with its thick scent
of pine is an ever-present blanket,
and come dusk the shadows begin to melt
into the blackness. Fog fingers take hold
of trees, and I lose myself in forests
as much a part of the city as streets,
neon lights, people and mild gusts of smog.

But despite her awareness of the evanescence of the visit, the persona also knows that upon departure she will “go home bearing pretty gifts,” (a bagful both of sights and insights perhaps?) which is a feeling shared by most itinerant poets who have experienced firsthand the inexhaustible charms of Baguio.

Returning to the Lowland

For tourists from the Metropolis, a vacation to the City of Pines always ends with the homeward journey, a return to the lowland from whence they have come. Merlie M. Alunan’s “Baguio, the Last Day” captures the “panic of endings” experienced by the personae as they gather souvenirs hyperbolically:

…we broke off twigs,
Boughs, blossoms, hacked earth for sprouts,
Rootstocks and bulbs, forced seeds
From their green pods --- to bring home,
To bring home, we said.

Since reminiscing is not sufficient to satisfy their craving for things Baguio, they snatch everything within sight. But the personae are cognizant of the fact that some things are impossible to hold on to, like “The rush of wind among the pines,/ A hillside blaze of marigolds,/ Perfume of willow flowers/.” So they imbibe deeply the “sweet wine of air” and wind up tasting a trace of salt, instantly reminding them of their seaside origins. As the personae travel downwards along Marcos Highway, things begin to fall apart: the flowers droop, the fresh produce shrinks, and finally even their memories fade. In the end, the only thing they can carry with them as a keepsake is this realization:

All we could bring on the long trek home
The old knowledge --- we cut the same trail
Through which to return.

Some Concluding Thoughts

Visiting Filipino poets writing from English by virtue of their visionary function as opposed to the purely documentary have authentically articulated through their poems their personal encounters with the City of Pines. By providing prospective readers alternative images and more imaginative experiences, their verses subvert traditional representations of Baguio and the generic itineraries that are thus engendered and encouraged in tourist brochures and other promotional materials. For notwithstanding its many monikers and the concomitant insidious expectations each label brings into the big picture, the City of Pines undergoes what the Russian Formalists call ostranenie or defamiliarization in the deft hands of these wordsmiths, who bring back to the collective consciousness the missing freshness in the discernment of reality which has been deadened by habitual modes of perception. Baguio’s landscape, therefore, despite urban decay and overpopulation, will always remain poetic as long as there are bards who will sing her praises after apprehending from another angle of vision the sights and sounds this hill station turned summer capital has to offer that ordinary tourists tend to ignore.


NOTES:

See the entry on “Authenticity” in David Harris, Key Concepts in Leisure Studies, SAGE Publications Ltd., London, 2005, p. 25.
Op cit., p. 30.
Ocatavio Paz, “A literature of foundations” (Lysander Kemp, trans.), in Triquarterly Anthology of Latin American Literature, Jose Donoso and William Henken (eds.), New York, Dutton, 1969, p. 8.
Jeanette Winterson, “Imagination and Reality” in Art Objects: Essays on Ecstasy and Effrontery, New York, Vintage International, 1995, pp. 142-143.
The Baguio City Travelers’ Guidebook 2006, Baguio City, Heritage Promotions, 2006, p. unnumbered.
Rofel G. Brion, Story, Quezon City, University of the Philippines Press, 1997, pp. 74-75.
Lourd Ernest de Veyra, Subterranean Thought Parade, Pasig City, Anvil Publishing, Inc., 1997, p. 10.
Angelo V. Suarez, else it was purely girls, Manila, UST Publishing House, 2005, pp. 22-25.
Ani, Volume V, Number 1, (Cordillera Issue), Manila, Coordinating Center for Literature, Cultural Center of the Philippines, January-April 1991, p. 15.
Alfred A. Yuson, Trading in Mermaids, Pasig City, Anvil Publishing, Inc., 1993, pp. 14-15.
Jose Wendell P. Capili, “Baguio: The Demise” in Philippines Free Press, 22 September 1999, p. 36.
The Baguio City Travelers’ Guidebook 2006, Baguio City, Heritage Promotions, 2006, p. 37.
Nerisa del Carmen Guevara, Reaching Destination: Poems and the Search for Home, Manila, UST Publishing House, p. 92.
Ralph Semino Galán, The Southern Cross and Other Poems, Manila, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, UBOD New Authors Series, 2005, p. 44.
Ophelia A. Dimalanta, The Time Factor and Other Poems, Manila, Interpress Publishing House, 1983, pp.1-2.
First appeared in J. Neil C. Garcia’s Our Lady of the Carnival, Quezon City, University of the Philippines Press, 1996, pp. 115-116, revised version provided by the author.
Unpublished manuscript provided by the author.
Isabelita Orlina Reyes, Stories from the City, Quezon City, University of the Philippines Press, 1998, p. 42.
Merlie M. Alunan, Selected Poems, Quezon City, University of the Philippines Press, 2004, p. 63.

UST Extends Deadline for 2nd National Criticism Workshop

UST Extends Deadline for 2nd National Criticism Workshop

The University of Santo Tomas is still accepting applications to the 2nd J. Elizalde Navarro Workshop in Criticism on the Arts and Humanities to be held on May 23 to 29, 2010 in Baguio City.

The workshop is endowed and organized by the Varsitarian, the 82-year-old official student organ of UST. It is held in honor of the late Nationalist Artist for the Visual Arts and art critic J. Elizalde Navarro, who was art editor and critic-poet of the Varsitarian during his student days. This annual workshop is part of the academic celebrations leading to the 400th anniversary of UST in 2011.

Fellowships will be given to 10 promising young critics who would like to enhance their analytical, research and writing skills.

To be considered for the fellowship, applicants should submit a scholarly, properly documented critical essay (7-12 pages, double-spaced, 12-point font) on any of the art forms (literature, painting, sculpture, architecture, dance, drama, music, etc.) on or before April, 2010.

Manuscripts should be submitted in hard copy and on CD, preferably in MS Word, together with a resumé, a recommendation letter from an academic mentor or a literary/art critic, a certification that the works are original, and two 2X2 ID pictures.

Address all applications to the conference conveners: Assoc. Prof. Ferdinand M. Lopez and/or Asst. Prof. Ralph Semino Galán, Faculty of Arts and Letters, University of Santo Tomas, España Street, Sampaloc, Manila. E-mail ralphseminogalan@gmail.com for further inquiries.

PALT 50th Anniversary and Convention

PALT 50th Anniversary & Convention on May 27-28 @ Teacher's Camp, Baguio City


Dear Language and Literacy Advocates,


To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the Philippine Association for Language Teaching, Inc. (PALT, Inc.) will hold its National Convention and Seminar-Workshop on May 27-28, 2010 at Teachers Camp, Baguio City. With the theme “Looking Back - Learning Right - Moving Ahead,” this undertaking aims to provide language educators, supervisors, department heads, BPO trainers and teachers the opportunity to keep abreast with current developments in language (English and Filipino) and language teaching.


The Speakers are:

Dr. Thomas Krall (Former Editor, English Teaching Forum)

Dr. Nilda Sunga (Former Professor, Regional English Language Center)

Dr. Ma. Lourdes Tayao (University of the Philippines and University of the East)

Dr. Jovy Peregrino (University of the Philippines)



A registration fee of P 2,800.00 will be charged per participant to defray expenses for the accommodation, food, handouts, certificate, speakers’ fee and kit.



For more information, please contact:

Tel. no. (02) 433-4838, Fax no. (02) 926-6590

Cellphone no. 0917-378-9639 or 0919-453-5428

2009 PHILSTAGE Gawad Buhay!

Ballet Philipines dominates 2009 PHILSTAGE Gawad Buhay!

With seven major awards, Ballet Philippines’ Neo Filipino emerged as the top winner in the 2009 Gawad Buhay!: The PHILSTAGE Awards for the Performing Arts held on March 26, 2010 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino.

A dance trilogy that pays homage to Filipino heritage and cultural diversity, Neo Filipino won the awards for citations for outstanding dance production, ensemble performance in a dance production, female lead performance in dance (Candice Adea), male lead performance in dance (Ronelson Yadao), female featured performance in dance (Marian Faustino for Amada), male featured performance in dance (Lucky Vicentino for Ulaging), adaptation or translation (Alice Reyes for Amada), costume design (Gino Gonzales), and lighting design (Katsch Catoy).

Two musical productions by the Philippine Educational Theater Association (Peta) tied for second place with four awards each. They are Si Juan Tamad, Ang Diyablo at Ang Limang Milyong Boto and Ismail at Isabel.

The two-hour programme featured excerpts of nominated dance and musical productions performed by Ballet Manila, Ballet Philippines, Candice Adea, Joann Co, Sarah Abigail Cruz, Angel Gabriel, Victor Robinson III, and Richardson Yadao.

A distinguished achievement award called Natatanging Gawad Buhay was also conferred to theater icons Zeneida Amador and Celeste Legaspi and corporate supporter Avon Philippines.

PHILSTAGE is the country’s only organization of professional performing arts companies with a regular season programming of repertory development and performance pedagogy training. Its Board of Directors include PETA's Melvin Lee, vice president; Ballet Philippines’ Sandy Hontiveros, secretary; Repertory Philippines Gidget Tolentino, treasurer; Ballet Manila's Susan Macuja, Gantimpala Theater Foundation’s Tony Espejo, Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit’sMitch Valdes, TRUMPET's Audie Gemora, and PHILSTAGE Executive Director Elmar Beltran Ingles as members.

The Gawad Buhay jury is composed of Exie Abola, Walter Ang, Gilbert Cadiz, Ronald Elepaño III, Arvin Ello, Ralph Semino Galan. Rolando Inocencio, Glenn Sevilla Mas, Joy Parohinog, Joey Ting, and Basilio Esteban Villaruz.

Below is the complete list of winners:

Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Dance Production: The Cast of BP’s Masterworks

Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Musical: (Tie) The Casts of PETA’s Si Juan Tamad, Ang Diyablo at Ang Limang Milyong Boto and Ismail at Isabel

Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Play: The Cast of TP’s Madonna Brava ng Mindanao

Outstanding Musical Composition: Vincent de Jesus (PETA’s Juan Tamad, Ang Diyablo at Ang Limang Milyong Boto),

Outstanding Musical Direction: Gerard Salonga (REP’s Sweeney Todd)

Outstanding Set Design: Tuxqs Rutaquio (TP’s Streetcar Named Desire/Flores Para Los Muertos)

Outstanding Costume Design: Gino Gonzales (BP’s Neo-Filipino)

Outstanding Lighting Design: Katsch Catoy (BP’s Neo Filipino)

Outstanding Sound Design: Aries Alcayaga (PETA’s Saan Ba Tayo Ihahatid ng Disyembre?)

Outstanding Adaptation or Translation: Alice Reyes (BP’s Amada in Neo-Filipino)

Outstanding Libretto: Vince De Jesus (PETA’s Si Juan Tamad, Ang Diyablo at ang Limang Milyong Boto)

Outstanding Original Script: Tony Perez (PETA’s Saan Ba Tayo Ihahatid ng Disyembre?)

Outstanding Choreography for Play or Musical: Carlon Matobato (PETA’s Ismail at Isabel)

Outstanding Choreography for Dance Production: Augustus Damian III’s Evacuation (BP’s Masterworks)

Outstanding Male Featured Performance in Dance: Lucky Vicentino (BP’s Neo Filipino)

Outstanding Female Featured Performance in Dance: Marian Faustino (BP’s Neo- Filipino)

Outstanding Male Featured Performance in a Musical: Marvin Ong (REP’s Sweeney Todd)

Outstanding Female Featured Performance in a Musical: Liesl Batucan (REP’s Sweeney Todd)

Outstanding Male Featured Performance in a Play: Dido Dela Paz (REP’s Portrait of the Artist as Filipino)

Outstanding Female Featured Performance in a Play: Peewee O’Hara (TP’s Mga Mansanas sa Disyerto/Apples from the Desert)

Outstanding Male Lead Performance in Dance: Ronelson Yadao (BP’s Neo-Filipino)

Outstanding Female Lead Performance in Dance: Candice Adea (BP’s Neo-Filipino)

Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Musical: Audie Gemora (REP’s Sweeney Todd)

Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Musical: Mechu Lauchengco-Yulo (REP’s Sweeney Todd)

Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Play: Lex Marcos (PETA’s Saan Ba Tayo Ihahatid ng Disyembre?)

Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Play: Shamaine Centenera Buencamino (TP’s Madonna Brava ng Mindanao)

Outstanding Stage Direction: Nonon Padilla (PETA’s Saan Ba Tayo Ihahatid ng Disyembre?)

Outstanding Dance Production: BP’s Masterworks

Outstanding Musical Production: PETA’s Si Juan Tamad, Ang Diyablo at ang Limang Milyong Boto

Outstanding Play Production: PETA’s Saan Ba Tayo Ihahatid ng Disyembre?

GUIDE QUESTIONS FOR BP's NEO-FILIPINO

GUIDE QUESTIONS FOR BALLET PHILIPPINES NEO-FILIPINO 2010

1. What contemporary situations and/or problems are tackled by the eight dance vignettes?
(Elaborate on your answer in 3 to 5 paragraphs.)

2. What particular dance vignette embodies the notion that “dance is a spiritual activity in physical form?” (Elaborate on your answer in 2 to 3 paragraphs.)

3. Among the eight dance vignettes, what is your favorite performance and why? (Elaborate on your answer in 2 to 3 paragraphs.)