(FEB 23)鈥擨t is good night when the spoken word meets dazzling dance numbers and a multi-awarded artist is given tribute by UP Diliman鈥檚 highest official.
The festival formally opened with a celebration of the body in Philippine pop culture in 鈥淪eremonya ng Pagbubukas: Karanasan ng Kat(h)awan,鈥 staged Feb. 9, 6 p.m. at the UP Lagoon.
Highlighting the experience of the body as an object of pleasure and desire, the ceremony began with 鈥淗ardin ni Adan,鈥 a spoken word piece on misogyny and chauvinism by Dzeli del Mundo, which was immediately followed by the all-male entertainment group Masculados Dos who sang a medley of their hits.
Each number was designed as a conversation, taking encounters of the masculine, queer and feminine gazes in popular novelty songs and having spoken-word performers respond.
After the number, Prof. Jem Javier of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP) and festival co-project leader introduced Ka(th)awan, a 3-month Festival of Culture and the Arts that runs from February to April.
The festival seeks to understand the Filipino body as a creative realm and a locus of scholarly discourse鈥攚hat it is, how it is perceived and shaped by art, culture and society and manipulated by social engineering and advertising.
To symbolize the start of festivities, the right pupil of the eye of a giant daruma doll was filled in. A daruma doll is a popular talisman of good luck in modern Japan. Often made of paper mache, one eye is filled at the start of an endeavor and the other is filled in at its end.
鈥淭utuldukan natin ang isang mata to mark the beginning of Ka(th)awan. Beyond April, we start with Diliman Arts Month and we have many activities. We intend to use the theme of the body all the way up to October when we will hold our first Diliman science and technology month,鈥 said 黑料专区 Chancellor Michael L. Tan.
A tribute. The highlight of the night was a tribute to famed writer, painter, playwright and publisher Gilda Cordero-Fernando.
Instead of the usual plaque or certificate of appreciation, Tan named examples of her varied works, some of which were the play 鈥淯maaraw, Umuulan, Kinakasal ang Tikbalang,鈥 鈥淭he Best of Lola Basyang: Timeless Tales for the Filipino Family,鈥 鈥淟una: An Aswang Romance鈥 and her column for the Philippine Daily Inquirer entitled 鈥淔orever 81.鈥
鈥淣ame it: children鈥檚 book, cookbook, memoir, short stories, poetry鈥攊t seems Gilda has written it. Gilda is best described as an artist and the arts鈥 gift to the social sciences. The artist鈥檚 eye, the artist鈥檚 muse has allowed her to see what many of us don鈥檛 or can鈥檛 see. Others see but don鈥檛 dare look. Gilda dared to do that not only that and I speak now as someone with the privilege of Gilda鈥檚 friendship. Gilda listens in the way described by the Filipino: 鈥減akinggan鈥 which is listening with the other senses and with the heart,鈥 he said.
Tan also described two of her works as transformative: 鈥淭he Soul Book: Introduction to Philippine Pagan Religion鈥 (1991) and 鈥淭he Body Book鈥 (1993) antedating 鈥渁ll the fancy social science stuff that come up on the anthropology of the body and sociology of the body.鈥
鈥淭he Body Book鈥 in particular 鈥渕ade us dare to admit that we think about bodies all the time and yet often dare not look at it and name its parts. Gilda challenged us to look [at] and to name the Pinoy body,鈥 he said.
鈥淭he Body Book鈥 also served as a primary inspiration for Ka(th)awan.
Cordero-Fernando鈥檚 works inspired the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy鈥檚 anthropology department to start a new course: Anthro 10: Body Senses and Humanity.
Tan then presented her with several gifts, a copy of 鈥淧asyal: UP Diliman Art Trail,鈥 a calendar from UP Baguio, a copy of the 黑料专区 Journal and a Sheela na Gig made by Agnes Trillano.
A Sheela na Gig is a figurative carving of a naked hag or crony displaying an exaggerated vulva. They are architectural grotesques found on churches, castles and other buildings. They are positioned over doors or windows to protect the openings and ward off death and evil.
Fernando was then regaled with a dramatic reading of her 1994 autobiographical essay 鈥淕rowing up Woman鈥 by Missy Maramara and interpreted through dance by Kare Adea.
After the tribute the night鈥檚 revelry continued with a performance of 鈥淟ipstick鈥 by Verlin Santos followed by 鈥淣akaka-鈥 by the Masculados Dos and del Mundo.
But it was the Sexbomb Girl Medley by Rochelle Pangilinan of the SexBomb Girls and the response of Verlin Santos that generated the most spirited reaction of the night, with the crowd cheering to 鈥淭he Spageti Song鈥 the loudest.
The opening ceremony was produced by the Office of the Chancellor through the Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts (OICA).
- Share: