The stars of Bauan
The star has special significance during the Christmas season because it was the Star of Bethlehem that shone over the birthplace of Jesus Christ. Bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, the magi named Melchior, Caspar and Balthasar were guided by the star to the lowly manger where the King of Kings was born.
In the Philippines, Christmas star lantern or parol-making has become an art form. From the simple lanterns fashioned from bamboo switch frames and colorful paper that schoolchildren are taught to make in arts and crafts classes, parols have become ornate structures strung up with complicated electric gadgetry and designed to produce mesmerizing beams of light. For entrepreneurial Filipinos, the craft has become a profitable source of income. And thus, the approach of yuletide season is heralded by kaleidoscopic light shows from roadside lantern stands.
For students of Bauan High School in Batangas, the art of lantern making is both serious business and a form of friendly competition. Students of each class plan the design of the lanterns that they will fabricate as early as July. Apart from developing artistry and craftsmanship, agreeing to work on a single lantern per class is a means of encouraging cooperation and camaraderie among the students.
“Lantern-making is one of the activities that we undertake in school to keep the students busy, productive and out of trouble,” says Bauan High School president Vicente Cordero. He shares that lanterns painstakingly fashioned by students from the most unusual materials were once displayed at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington for the Philippine Centennial celebration. He admits to being constantly amazed by the originality and creativity of the students. And thus, the school’s annual Parulan is one means of encouraging this innate artistry. “Give the youth recognition that what they are doing is important and the result is that they put in more heart. They exert their best effort in doing their work well,” explains Cordero.
With artist and NCCA committee member for visual arts Egai Fernandez, CCP operations head Ariel Yonzon, as well as CCP visual, literary and media arts department head and poet Sid Gomez-Hildawa who was designated chairman of the board of judges, I traveled to Batangas for Bauan High School’s Parulan contest. Wendah Rivera-Dolor, wife of the Bauan mayor and chairperson of the town’s Clean and Green program; Anacoreta Kalaw, officer in chief of the Batangas Tourism office; and Henry Opena, principal of Batangas High School for the Arts joined us there.
And indeed, the lanterns were remarkable. Three lanterns were made from fish scales that were carefully cleaned, polished and arranged in calado and lace-like designs. Upon closer inspection, the orange accents of one of the parols turned out to be fish tails that were likewise cleaned and painted to resemble unusual bows.
The importance of recycling is not lost on the youth. A lantern made from palo china wood shavings showed that beautiful items could be crafted from materials you would otherwise throw away or throw into a wood fire. The wood shavings were dried and cut to form petals, and assembled to make dainty roses. Likewise, lanterns made from plastic rope, cut plastic bottles and pirated CDs make attractive lanterns that can withstand inclement weather. The advantage of using sturdy, non-biodegradable materials is that the colorful lanterns can be stored and retouched easily. These lanterns can last for many years.
Anti-smoking advocates will be glad to note that cigarettes are put to less harmful use as material to make an unusual parol. The filters provide an attractive cottony material, while the gold foil and cigarette box add interesting details. To complement the lantern, matchsticks and boxes were used to fabricate another entry. To ensure that the entry doesn’t accidentally catch fire, however, the matches were carefully burned to equal lengths prior to assembly. Health buffs will also welcome the idea that betel nut (nganga), a primary cause of oral cancer, is glued on to the lantern, instead of chewed.
As a country whose traditions are deeply rooted in agriculture, it is not surprising that many of the lanterns are fabricated from various Philippine crops. Lanterns fashioned from corn husks and cobs are enhanced by bright yellow-orange kernels of dried sweet corn; coconut shell, leaf ribs (tingting) and sepals adorned an entry, and common medicinal plants like alim (Menanolopsis glandulos) and bunga (Areca catechu) are also used as materials in lantern-making. The global influence in the Filipino diet is also reflected, as in the use of pistachio shells for one parol. The class that made it must have had a pistachio nut feast before assembling the star.
My personal favorite was a lantern made from alibangbang (Bauhinia malabarica) and guyabano leaves. These were carefully processed so that only the delicate and fragile skeleton of the leaf remained. One has to look closely at the individual components to truly appreciate the amount of work that went into the lantern. Beautiful! Unfortunately, although all of the 21 lanterns on exhibit were equally impressive, the judges had to pick the top winners.
The fact that the top three choices used materials from edible sources could be interpreted as proof that food plays a big role in our culture. Third prize went to the sophomore Easter Lily section for their wonderful garlic lantern (made from stem, skin and entire bulbs of garlic). Second place was the citrus star (using rinds and seeds of dalandan, kalamansi and orange) of Roosevelt section of the senior class, and first place went to the freshman section Hope for their use of rice grains and culms. The win may be seen as an affirmation that rice is vital to Filipinos. It is, after all, important to us as our staple food.
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The unique parols made by the students of Bauan High School can be viewed at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. On December 18, there will be Simbang Gabi or dawn mass at the CCP Ramp at 5 a.m. At 2 pm, there will be a ceremonial lighting of Bauan parols at the CCP Little Theater Lobby. Other highlights of Paskong Pinoy from December 18 to 22 include Himig ng Pasko and Ilaw ng Pasko, a lantern-float competition. Grand prize winners of the Himig ng Pasko competition will receive P100,000, P50,000 and P25,000; while Ilaw ng Pasko winners will receive P200,000, P100,000 and P50,000 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize, respectively. For more information, call the CCP PR office at 832-1125 loc. 1113-1117 or Eloi Baltazar at 832-6125 or 729-4013.
