PETA & Palo: Partners in song & dance

When we were invited by the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) on a trip to Tacloban, our mind traveled to the first time we set foot on the place. This was just weeks after Nov. 8, 2013 when Typhoon Yolanda, considered the most powerful storm to make landfall in recorded history, struck the Philippines.

In the company of Wanlu (internationally known ventriloquist-comedian and Philippine ambassador of puppetry) as well as Efren Peñaflorida (CNN Hero of the Year, known for his traveling kariton classroom), we witnessed how those left behind dealt with the problem.

Today, PETA has partnered with the Palo Culture and Arts Organization in training children to tell stories of typhoon survival through cultural presentations. These are stories that have come from the kids themselves and the fact that they are able to tell stories is a way of healing themselves. PETA has been a partner of LGU-Palo for eight years for cultural presentations.

We were introduced to a family who had decided to stay despite the lack of food and definite ways of making a living. A group did dance interpretations of the Yolanda experience, Magtutuba (famous local wine producer) whose family perished eventually after the onslaught of Yolanda. The second group rendered a dance honoring God as well as ways to protect the environment and natural resources. The third group showed that everyone must cope with the changes in this world.

PETA is currently working with six barangays and nine schools in Palo, Leyte, and two barangays and four schools in Dulag, Leyte. PETA also works in partnership with the Palo Municipal Government, Dulag Municipal Government, Department of Education in Leyte Division and Region 8 and the Provincial Government of Leyte.

During our visit to Tacloban and Palo, we got to meet a couple who chose to stay in Tacloban despite the difficulty of earning a living. We also watched a presentation with dance and music that showed how people will be people, with arguments and misunderstandings, but will choose to get along in the end. And finally, we were shown the final resting place of those who were found, as well as those who had not been found yet.

What did we learn from our visit? It was, yes, to appreciate the power of music. In a portion during the presentation, the language was a combination of Tagalog and Bisaya, but strangely enough we understood what was being told. How a typhoon comes and there is no food to eat and people fight over scraps. A couple argue when one wants to stay in the city, and the other wants to live. The peacemaker comes with a Chrismas lantern with the song Nasaan Ang Pasko? (Where is Christmas?).

They agree to put up their own houses far from the danger zone. The house is not yet finished then comes the news of another storm. Someone shows an evacuation map, and the group agrees to try it out, and finally the storm disappears.

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