Artists strip in support of Budoy's stay at PBB

Members of Pusod Art Group of the University of the Philippines Cebu College shed off their clothes in an artistic rendition Monday night at a café in barangay Mabolo, Cebu City as a gesture of support to keep Errol "Budoy" Marabiles from getting evicted from the celebrity edition of reality show "Pinoy Big Brother" aired over ABS-CBN.

Pusod is also a charitable group supported by Budoy, who is also a Fine Arts graduate of the state university.

Gina Pestaño, a UP Fine Arts graduate and a band mate of Budoy, explained in a phone interview that the stripping was done in an impromptu gathering of UP professors and Fine Arts students or the Pusod Art Group members who are pushing for Budoy's stay at PBB.

"Lisud i-explain ang ilang gibuhat sa mga tawong wala didto gabii. These people are artists and what they did was a symbolism of who Budoy is being his true self on and off camera. Symbol to nila for Budoy's stripping of his pretensions," Pestaño, keyboardist of local reggae band Junior Kilat where Budoy is frontman, said.

"The café is an artists hub and a venue for expression. Therefore, those artists who gathered here last night made use of the venue to express their belief that Budoy should stay. Dili man sila bastos, naglingkod ra sila. Wala magbilangkad, basin lainon ug sabot sa uban," she added.

Further, Pestaño explained that these artists believe art isn't just about perfection and showcasing how good you are.

"The concept, process/execution is extremely important as well. In the end, you strip down to what is only essential and true and that creates a more lasting impact. Ingon ana si Budoy. He's cool, and he's true, and his popularity never did get into his head," she pointed out.

This paper tried to reach the spokesperson of Pusod Art Group, Mr. Raymond Fernandez, for his side, but he could not be reached for comment.

Budoy, 33, made his way to PBB via a selection process for the Celebrity Edition of "Pinoy Big Brother" where he shares limelight with fellow Visayans - TV personality Angela Calina and former-escort-service-girl-turned-sexy-star Keanna Reeves, among others.

Calina was among the first to leave the house in the celebrity edition of the reality TV show after thieves broke into her residence in Mabolo. Every week, one of the people in the show will be voted out and the audience can participate by sending text messages to keep a housemate in.

Several Cebuanos are also supporting Budoy's continued stay at the house and even young children are asking their parents to send text messages to support the reggae star.

Budoy, also called M-16 of Samar for the band's popular song "Ako si M16" and "Original Sigbin" lifted from their first album, espouses ethnic culture and traditions, particularly of the lumads (natives) of the Visayas. Like the lumads of Samar, he wears a headpiece that covers his dreadlocks.

"What I'm trying to do," he explained, "is to inject tradition into modern culture. Like, I'm wearing jeans, which is Western, and this butong (the headpiece). So the change is gradual," this was quoted from his posting in a yahoogroup.

This subtle integration of heritage and Western culture embodied in his songs made Budoy popular even outside the Visayan region. His M-16 was the only song with Cebuano lyrics that got an NU Rock Music Award last year when, usually, winning songs have English or Filipino lyrics.

Before he was "courted" for the list of celebrities to make it to the PBB Celebrity Edition, he had a cable show via RCTV-Cebu dubbed "Ismol Tym" about small-scale livelihood opportunities that made people recognize him on the streets. - Maria Eleanor E. Valeros