Victory party for Martin plus more on 1st Sunday of Advent

He and his Baguio friends had every reason to celebrate. Martin Masadao, scriptwriter and director of Anac Ti Pating, adjudged best film at the recent Sineng Pambansa Festival in Davao City. gave us the blow-by-blow account of the awards night wherein one of his actors, Deuel Raynon Ladia, also won the best actor trophy. 

When Martin's name was called, he was so flustered and nervous that when he went onstage, he was shaking all over. He had to hold on to his Grand Festival Award trophy lest it fall. This would have been his thank-you speech:

"The entire cast, staff and crew behind "Anac Ti Pating" -- Ferdie Balanag, Hendrix Sanchez, Shant Verdun, Randy Cruz, Spyke, Paul, John, Willy, Laydeh, Bishi, Raynon Ladia, Luchie Maranan, Nick Prill Calinao, Steve Chong, Dr. Charles Macalalag, Joaquin Fianza, Nonnette Bennett, Laurence Yee, Endong Nevada, Sam Borcena, the students of Mabini Elementary School, Paul Ignacio, Kokoy Palma, Athena Masilungan, Gabriel Palma, Karlo and RL Altomonte, Art Tibaldo, Dave Leprozo, Ani Bongaoen, Stella Lagasca and the other bit players... (kung may nakalimutan ako, pasensya na lang, alzheimer's lang, walang personalan)

"Thank you to Norman Adefuin for the poster lay-out and design. And to Richard Balonglong for the photo we used in the poster.

"During the course of writing the script last year up to the pre-production days from January to August -- the following  people housed me, fed me, occasionally got me drunk -- Susan Tagle, Reji Regalado, Dra. Yvonne Soriano, Atty. Lyssa Pagano-Calde, Bien Benitez, Jay Adlao-Block -- Thank You!!! But most especially for the support you've given me through the years!

"(Special mention to Endong Nevada and Ellen Lao who in December last year lent me financial support so I could submit the manuscript in time. Maraming salamat, kahit na late ako nakapag-bayad nung utang. Hehehe.)

"To the Baguio Writers Group -- Merci Dulawan (who helped me out with some of the Ilocano dialogue), Baboo Mondonedo, Grace Subido, Desiree Caluza, Jenny Carino and Padma Perez -- Maraming Salamat sa encouragement!

"To the Film Development Council of the Philippines -- Chairman Briccio Santos, Exec. Director Ted Granados, Nonoy, Ma'am Wilma, Ma'am Cely, Monchito, Ina, etc. -- thank you for your understanding and having faith in the material/script from the very beginning.

"To Babeth Lolarga who helped me secure round trip tickets for Raynon Ladia and his Grandmother, Alejandra de Jesus -- through Babeth, we were able to get sponsorship from Seair -- thanks to Ms. JingJing Romero of Stratos! And to Michelle Uson-Laurel for the generous pabaon she sent for Raynon and Grandma for their trip to Davao. To our beautiful and gracious host in Davao, Mymy Andong, daghang salamat!

"To my Sagittarian mothers -- Mitos Yniguez, Laida Lim and (my real Sagittarian Mom) Gertrudes 'Didi' Masadao -- for the love, support, great food all these years and hopefully more to come!

"To Wilfredo Pascual, Nonnette Bennett and Frank Cimatu -- I may not be a member of your secret coven, but thank you for all the positive energies and vibes you've sent my way through the years! Baka pwede akong maging honorary warlock/witch?! Cheers!!!

"To my family -- Budi, Joy, Geej, nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles and cousins -- thank you for all the fond memories of growing up in Baguio.

"To my dearest sister, Felina -- the keeper of the flame...

"I send my love to all of you!"

Meanwhile, Kuya Fern and I hosted a victory party-cum-potluck Christmas party at our Green Valley digs. 

Early birds Robert Abano and his children Mira and Igi brought Everything Nice cassava cake. The beer flowed, courtesy of Baboo and Kuya Fern. She also brought mechado with yum dee yum yum mushroom gravy. 

There was spaghetti from the Maranan siblings Ed and Luchie, vegetarian pica pica from Desiree Caluza, lengua from Merci Javier Dulawan that made us all chatty till dinner time and beyond. Jenny Carino brought a bottle of red wine, and she had every reason to celebrate--she was grand-slam winner in the bunutan and at the raffle of artworks from the Lolarga-Fernandez collection. She brought home a watercolor by Baboo and a Roland Bay-an oil on canvas work with three Igorot women as subjects. Latecomer-from-work Nonnette Bennett, also in the cast of Anac Ti Pating, brought kimchi. 

I opened my big bottle of Jack Daniels, the only pasalubong I requested from my kuya who went on a media fam tour of Dubai, for sharing with fellow scotch drinker Baboo. The Pacis couple, Oscar and Toottee, led a thanksgiving prayer for Martin's award and for Luchie's Palanca  prize for her children's short story and wished us well in our writerl-y, even painter-ly, endeavors, reminding us never to forget to plug in to The Source, The One when we begin anything creative. Shy mango EV Espiritu, who's also a mask-maker, theater director and choreographer when he isn't a photo correspondent of a national broadsheet, shared some photos of that enchanting evening.

There was also a dance-time-at-GV contest to the music of Sergio Mendes when he still had his original Brasil '66. Toottee and Oscar, who have a son who is a ballet dancer with a Hong Kong company, served as judges and ruled that Baboo and Ed deserved to be crowned dancing queen and king because they showed grace and intuitive timing. 

The compromising video of the contestants dancing for the prizes (a Tawi-tawi banig and a 1/1 print of Brent School's Ogilvy Hall by Pandy Aviado) has been stored away for private viewing. The videographer promised within an inch of his life that he wouldn't upload it on YouTube. Here we are at a party to remember.

Merry-makers all (from left): Baboo, Oscar and Toottee who brought home a Roberto Acosta terracotta sculpture, Babeth holding up the scarf Martin gave her (he emphasized that it didn't come from ukay-ukay but from Germany), Martin, Jenny, Luchie, Merci and Desiree. Kneeling on one knee is Rolly with his signature prop.

Next time someone please bring a tripod so everyone can be in the picture. This time another manong, EdMar, joins Rolly on the floor.

It was the kind of wild-tame party that'll long live in our memories as another year comes in and adds another year to our respective ages. This time, shy mango EV joins Rolly on the floor.

Photos courtesy of EV Espiritu

Talks with Myself and Another

On March 3 this year at 4:50 p.m., a friend interviewed me by email when he learned I was preparing for my third solo exhibition in April. The show “Bling Blings and Lucky Me” is still up on the walls of Taumbayan, a bar at 40 T. Gener and K-1 streets, Kamuning, Quezon City. The bar is open from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Exhibit ends on May 8.

And this was how that online conversation went:

How does this coming exhibit differ from your previous ones?

I’ve always worked with themes when preparing for a show. This time I focused on bling blings, those fashion accessories that you and I are not into (I can only buy genuine ones if I hit the lotto jackpot, but the thing is I don’t gamble). These branded bling blings are the stuff of the lives of some senatorial, congressional and landlords’ wives. Even the salesladies at Louis Vuitton in Greenbelt Makati were quoted by the Inquirer as saying they missed the Ampatuan ladies during the Christmas season because they used to make multiple purchases and paid in cold cash. You can say that this third exhibit is my first that is tweaking a social theme: the obsession over brand names and luxury goods contrasted with the typical diet of the urban poor (instant noodles and canned sardines).

What do you think is the added advantage of writers going into visual arts, if there is any?

The writer’s advantage is his/her capacity to articulate ideas and feelings. It’s not just “Wala lang. Type ko gawin.” That kind of answer used to be a no-no to my fine arts teachers on my first year at UP Diliman, the exacting ones like Bob Feleo and Nestor Vinluan. They constantly challenged us.

Many writers paint or draw, among them, Gilda Cordero Fernando, Tita Lacambra Ayala, Cirilo Bautista, Edel Garcellano, the late art critic Leo Benesa, the late Larry Francia. In Baguio, the names I can think of are mostly women: Baboo Mondoñedo who’s a columnist of the biggest circulating community paper there; Merci Dulawan, a multi-lingual writer; Jenny Cariño, my hijada who also composes poetry, lyrics and music for her songs; Toottee Chanco Pacis, a cookbook author and theology lecturer; Chi Balmaceda Gutierrez, a magazine publisher.


How does your creative moment (s) look like? You paint at any time of the day and night?

I paint in the daytime. I rest at night. I paint because it is so pleasurable. I regret that I didn’t turn to painting earlier and concentrated on writing, but that’s how life is. Midlife allows me to pick up the “dream deferred.” I loved doing art in my grade school days; it was work education I abhorred (needlework, cooking and the like). But I won’t be a hypocrite--I never liked home arts or home economics. The things in the pantry and China cabinet—for me they’re no more than models for still life paintings. My partner will admit that I am the worst hausfrau in the world. And I won’t apologize for that. I’d much rather write or paint. And if I had to choose between writing and painting, I’d still much rather paint.


Is pursuing the visual arts anything like writers pursuing their assorted muses?


I never chased after a muse, male or female. With writing, it’s the deadline, even if it’s self-imposed, that drives me to finish an article. The same with poetry and fiction—I have an idea, feeling, an experience or I overheard unforgettable snatches of conversation. And that’s when I write. With painting, it’s the totally pleasurable, almost hedonistic, feeling of the brush in my hand, moving it across the canvas. And when the work is finished, be it a feature story or a watercolor, that’s my reward. That’s why hindi tayo yayaman, My values are different; work is its own reward.

I had a grandmother, Telesfora Lolarga, who kept herself busy always. She had a career, yes, but Lola had this gift of transforming any house she lived in into a home because of her artistic touches, her flair for setting this object against that, her appreciation for fine music. So if I have a muse, it must be her. She would’ve been proud. She kept my, my siblings’ and our cousins’ paintings, drawings, letters from childhood.


What have you learned from your past exhibits?

I learned how much fun a visual arts exhibit can be in a way being published can’t approximate. You wait long for feedback for an article or anything written and published. Most times feedback doesn’t come at all. You feel like you just “talked” into the void. At an exhibit opening, you see the people who matter in your life instantly reacting and giving immediate feedback.


What are the new works in your exhibit?

Everything is new whenever I have a solo show.

Is Baguio the best place to paint and why?

I like to paint anywhere but home. The best places there are the greenhouse of Toottee Pacis in Happy Homes, Baguio, and the extended work place of Baboo in Pinsao. I like it in those places because of abundant natural light. And those women are foodies like me; they love good food. Conversation is always light. Our teacher is Norman Chow who is extremely patient with all of us. He deserves his own show, but we, his students, are more excited about booking our own shows.

What stages have you gone through as an artist thus far?

Formal fine arts studies from 2004 to 2009, private art lessons with Bob Feleo in the early 1990s, with Pytz Santos in 2004-05 and Norman to this day. Never-ending apprenticeship with Jerry Araos who is exacting in his demand for a well thought out idea for a show before mounting anything.

What do you want to achieve as one enamoured (is this the right word) with the visual arts?

More explorations of other media I don’t have mastery over yet, more exhibits that'll challenge me.

How was your 2009 and how do you see 2010 in your creative life?

2009 was a good year. I joined the Baguio Aquarelle Society in its group shows, and I had one solo at Cafe by the Ruins in Baguio. The partners there were happy, I think, with my show because I helped brighten up their walls. I can’t say what the future holds, but I hope to continue writing, painting, helping friends put together projects, including parties, and having fun while doing all of the activities I just cited.

Anything else you want to add in connection with your exhibit?

I have to thank my fashionista daughter Ida Fernandez who doesn’t throw away fashion brochures and similar print materials. These served as my visual references. I owe my partner Rolly Fernandez a big blowout; he supported my fine art studies at UP. I thank family members and friends who continue to believe. They know who they are.

Photo by ANNA LEAH SARABIA shows the painter with friends Frances Makil Ignacio and Eyelectric president Rey Araos who gave the winning bid for the work "Oh, My Señorita, Sweet Sweet Lady." The four feet by four feet work is a collaboration with Chino Chow, a computer science student at the University of Baguio.Proceeds of the auction went to Noel Cuizon, Brenda Fajardo and Rey Rimando.

Posy of Poinsettias

The petals of the Christmas flowers are falling at a fast rate. But when they were at their reddest, they silently compelled me to paint them. And paint I did late last year and the year before. A number of works in acrylic had been given away as presents. I still have a stash, and my painting teacher Norman Chow and partner Rolly Fernandez selected the ones fit for a solo exhibition, mainly still lifes, at the Cafe by the Ruins. I also did a series on cats. Hence, the title "Cats in My Fruit Salad."

So here's a sneak peak. Show opens on March 16 at 5:30 p.m. and runs for a month. Puwede bang bumati? Thank you, Fifi Perez and Jenny Carino, for your help. Photo by ELMER KRISTIAN DAUIGOY