Contra Mundum pays tribute to rich Philippine arts and literature

MANILA, Philippines — As times become more modern, with the age of social media upon us, when fake news and disinformation continue to flourish, how do you preserve and honor the great works of our esteemed and brilliant Filipino writers, poets, playwrights, artists of yonder years? How do you make them relevant and assure that they’re not erased from the collective consciousness?

In a fast-paced life, where majority of the population now consists of the young, there’s a tendency for the works of our past national artists to be forgotten.

Fortunately, there are artists who safeguard our rich heritage and culture and will pull out all stops to make sure that these works are not erased from our memory.

One such project that paid tribute to our rich arts and literature is the 2023 staging of the musical play, Contra Mundum: The All-star Concert of Larawan.

The musical was based on National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin’s stage play, A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino.

The country’s best and brightest artists converged on stage at the historical Metropolitan Theater on Saturday to perform the greatest Filipino play ever made.

The Metropolitan Theater is so beautiful now and sublime. This writer saw the decay and ruin of the old Metropolitan in the late ‘90s to 2000s. But with the help of previous administrations (Presidents Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino and Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte,) it was restored back to its old Art-Deco glory.

In Contra Mundum, the producers outdid themselves to bring a world-class musical. We are talking about world-class artists and singers here, with the likes of veterans like Dulce, Celeste Legaspi, Bituin Escalante, Aicelle Santos, Audie Gemora, Mitch Valdez, Karylle, Hajji Alejandro, Kakai Bautista, Mikki Bradshaw-Volante, Kakki Teodoro, Nyoy Volante, Menchu Lauchengo-Yulo, Agot Isidro, Bodjie Pascua, Jericho Rosales, Sandino Martin, Markki Stroem, Nanette Inventor, Jojit Lorenzo, Jaime Fabregas, Nonoy Froilan, Paulo Avelino, Roeder Camanag, Ricky Davao, Rachel Alejandro and Bea Alonzo.

Contra Mundum director Chris Millado said the play is a favorite of many Filipino actors.

“The play stirs a deepest concern among artists and directors, because it highlights the destruction of the ties between memory, arts and history. Just like the characters in Larawan, we carry on our shoulders the duty to preserve our rich culture and history. Before, the danger was the arrival of the Japanese and the war. Today, we face the challenge of the times erasing the memory and history of our rich heritage,” he said in the foreword of the musical’s booklet. “(In) Contra Mundum, Paula and Candida Marasigan screamed in protest of selling the house and the painting. Today, how are we going to protest?”

Co-producer Celeste Legaspi said they will continue to support, sustain and ensure that the great works of our national artists will live on and be revisited.

“We will make sure all the great works of literature and the arts will not be erased from Filipinos’ memory,” she said.

Before the start of the show, Victorino Mapa Manalo, National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) president, also told the audience that Portrait compels the viewers to think on how they should go about preserving the memory of our country’s past rich heritage and culture.

“Portrait allows the audience to reflect about the questions left by author Joaquin. Contra Mundum is challenging us to decide on how we should continue, take care and remember our culture and heritage,” Manalo said.

Contra Mundum was also staged and produced to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Order of National Artists. The musical was a tribute of sorts to Philippine national artists.

Maestro Ryan “Mr. C” Cayabyab, 2018 National Artist for Music, did an amazing job in putting the music in the play.

Bea, Paulo and Jericho were just some of the A-listers who lent their star wattage to the musical.

It was Bea’s first time to sing in a musical, playing the role of Elsa Montes, the woman who brought Conga to Manila. Wearing resplendent blue and violent gowns, Bea brought her A-game to the musical as the flamboyant Elsa and she sang, too.

Jericho, on the other hand, played the role of Tony Javier in Act 2, the man who seduces Paula into selling her father’s painting to be able to go to Europe and have a good life.

Act 1 began with Mr. C leading the live symphony orchestra, while video snippets of pre-World War II Manila or old Intramuros were being played on the background.

Contra Mundum conveys and explores the story about a family conflict between two sisters and their painter father in 1941.

In Act 1, an old, ancestral house was seen on the background and at the sala, two sisters Paula and Candida Marasigan were having a conversation.

Celeste played Candida while Agot portrayed Paula. An old friend Bitoy Camacho, played by Roeder, paid a visit and here they were discussing about their financial woes, being unmarried and jobless. They depended on their other siblings for financial support but the money being sent became hard to come by.

They were urged to sell their father’s painting so they could pay for electricity, food, medicines for their dad and other basic needs.

Celeste’s voice particularly is still in fine shape and at 73 years old, she could reach the highs and lows in the songs, Alam Ko Na Gagawin Natin, Kay Sarap ng Buhay nung Araw and Walang Ilaw.

Hajji Alejandro, too, as Don Perico, was amazing with his well-preserved voice. Don Perico is an old senator and a friend of Don Lorenzo, the Marasigan family’s patriarch, who stopped going outside his room. The original Kilabot ng Kolehiyala belted out songs together with Aicelle, Karylle, Menchu and Nonie.

Veteran actor Ricky, in Act 1, played Tony Javier, a vaudeville piano player, who rented a room at the Marasigans’ home. It was a stage comeback for Ricky, who played the role in Larawan at Tanghalang Pilipino, way back in 1989.

Ricky, together with Kakai and Mikki as vaudeville performers Susan and Violet, respectively, brought the house down with their comedic timing as they sang Nahuli ang Daga/ A Tisket/Tasket and Yuuuuuhuuu! The trio’s banter, jokes and singing were perhaps the best scenes in the musical.

Act 2 saw Paula and Candida being played by Karylle and Aicelle.

One thing really commendable about the performers was their voices and will make you proud as a Filipino.

Aicelle has done musicals in the past such as Katy! The Musical, Rak of Aegis, Himala and Miss Saigon. Here, she shone as Candida.

Her vocals soared in her duet with Karylle in Huwag Mo Akong Iwanan Magisa.

Aicelle’s voice also blended well with the power voices of Dulce as Doña Upeng, Menchu as Pepang and Mitch as Doña Loleng.

Act 3, on the other hand, had another amazing singer in Bituin Escalante, who took on the role of Candida, while Rachel played Paula.

On the opening strains of Ang Amoy ng Pyesta, goosebumps were felt as Bituin sang the song. She may have taken a hiatus from the music industry but her voice is still mellifluous as ever and clearly, she’s one of the country’s best singers.

Rachel’s acting was heart-warming and her voice unique.

Paulo as Tony in Act 3, on the other hand, was good, too, but there were times when his voice croaked. Still, what he lacked in the singing department, he made up for his good looks and good thespic talent.

All in all, the whole production team was excellent and the actors were good.

At the end of the musical, all of them gathered on the stage for the play’s closing speech (epilogue or the reprise) where the main message of the song came from the very words of the play, “continuing, preserving, remembering.”

Exactly the sentiment of the play’s writer Nick Joaquin, who underscored the importance and urgency of “looking back and remembering our culture as we look forward to the future.”