I am a staunch supporter of culture and the arts because I believe they are essential elements in the development of a country. In all my interviews, I always declare that culture is a way of life expressed in the arts, in politics, in the way we talk to each other, in the way we sing and dance, in the way we cry, fight, love; in the way we honor our parents and God.
My strong affiliation with culture and the arts started to crystallize when I had the chance to work at the Manila Metropolitan Theater where I met Tita Conching Sunico, the grand dame of Manila’s high society and an indefatigable art patron. I worked in the theater as a production assistant, a stage manager, a publicist and an earnest trying-hard actor. Armed with my ferocious Waray accent, Tita Conching took me under her wings and taught me how to fly. Because of her, I believed I could make it in the big city, an unfamiliar terrain to a bright-eyed ingénue who wanted a better life for his mother and his family. Tita Conching taught me not to be afraid to dream or to fear failure or success.
I will never forget the straight play I did titled Rehas sa Tubig when I was working as a publicist of the Met. Rehas sa Tubig starred Angie Ferro and Spanky Manikan, among other great names in theater. I was not one of the best actors but I passionately wanted to be onstage. I asked for the script and I said that if they wanted the play to be promoted well, they had to give me a good role. I won the deal. They gave me the script and I found a role which had a lot of speaking lines. I was one of the narrators. I played a spirit.
I had kilometric lines only to find out that all throughout the play, I was to be covered with green cloth because I was a lumot (moss). Tita Conching sat in the orchestra to see the play and to check on how I was doing as an actor. The play was almost ending but she hadn’t seen me yet. Soon, she found out that I was covered with cloth that I only took off every curtain call. That’s the price I had to pay for an acting part earned by coercion.
Recently, we celebrated the International Arts Education Week under the patronage of UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organization). The highlight of the celebration was the awarding of this year’s Gantimpalang Lampara ng Kultura at Sining to outstanding artists-teachers, distinguished theater patrons and culture friendly business firms.
The awarding ceremony was organized by the Philippine Center of the International Theatre Institute, Earthsavers-UNESCO DREAM Center and the United Nations Information Center (UNIC) with the Climate Change Commission. The event was held at the Social Hall, Mabini Building of the Malacañang Palace.
I was one of the recipients of the prestigious award under the Outstanding Artists in the Global Arena together with Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, Lea Salonga, Monique Wilson, Nora Aunor, Rosalinda “Baby†Orosa, Alberto Florentino, Juvenal Sanso, George Yang and Danny Dolor.
For Culture Friendly Business Firms, the awards were given to AIR21 Bert Lina (chairman); PLDT-Smart, Manny V. Pangilinan (chairman); Hans Sy (president, SM Group of Companies); Chowking-Tony Tan Caktiong (chairman and CEO); Metrobank Foundation, Aniceto “Chito†Sobrepeña (president); and Alice Tesoro-Guerrero, Tesoro’s.
The special award was also given to Seoul Institute of the Arts’ Duk Hyung Yoo (chairman); Don Emilio Yap (chairman and CEO, Manila Hotel); and Frank Rivera.
In his special message, President Benigno Aquino III said, “The World Arts Education Week… highlights arts as one of the best ways to convey thoughts and ideas about pertinent issues and themes in our society; from stopping violence to protecting our natural and cultural heritage, the arts — and the people behind them — have always been valuable in getting important messages across to wider audiences.â€
Indeed, there lies the bigger challenge for us Filipinos to promote and support our own culture and the arts. They must continually evolve. They are our way of life. We must recognize the importance of our roots, which distinguish us from the others in the human race.