Good thing the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) – in cooperation with Filipino Heritage Festival Inc. (FHFI) and Southern Philippines Tourism Council (SPTC) – have organized a series of activities for the National Heritage Month of May. Activities – which include performances, visual arts, exhibits, thematic culinary events and other events emphasizing traditions and customs – are undertaken in Filipino heritage sites, so as to put the spotlight on beautiful cities all over the country. (A sad, maybe even shameful, fact: Many of us are aliens in our own archipelago, strangers in a strange land.)
NCCA executive director Cecile Guidote Alvarez said the National Heritage Month seeks to "create in the people a consciousness, respect and love for the legacies of Filipino cultural history and to raise material support for the tangible and intangible heritage." Which are the body and soul of the nation, in other words. You can’t have one without the other.
Davao City was chosen as the kick-off point for the whole shebang. SPTC chair Baby Montemayor said, "Recognizing the value of cultural heritage as the soul of society, we the organizers have attempted to give impetus to Mindanao’s cultural rediscovery and preservation." Thus the opening activity in Davao City was dubbed as "Mindanao Heritage Rediscovered."
And as we journalists invited to the event found out, rediscovery can be a wonderful thing.
There was also the Balik Lantaw photo exhibit at the lobby of The Marco Polo Davao hotel, which was organized by the Davao Museum Foundation in partnership with Davao Tourism Association and SPTC. It showcased photos depicting Davao’s different socio-historical decades. As its title suggests, viewers were able to "look back" at the metamorphoses the city has undergone. The images were culled from Davao Museum as well as from private sources.
One of the highlights of the festival was the "Mindanao: Wind, Water and Earth" cultural fashion show at the Davao Convention & Trade Center.
Dig the concept: "Alter native" rocker Joey Ayala played music while models navigated the runway in creations by homegrown designers Boy Guino-o, Aztec Barba, Popoy Barba, Dodjie Batu, Emi-Alexander Englis and Garimon Roferos. Agnes Locsin, Ballet Philippines’ former artistic director, oversaw the affair, which aimed to present the "elements of life, culture and history of Mindanao" in a seamless thread of music, couture, dance, and performance art.
Joey conjured different soundscapes from his amplified acoustic guitar, producing percussive effects and trippy harmonics, while singing laments about ecological horrors (Agila [Haring Ibon]), poetic musings about life and love ("Bawat sandali ng buhay ay ligaya…"), and classics like Ania Na. His music evoked the many moods of the Southern city. Earthy, energetic, ethnic-flavored tracks from Pinikpikan and Grace Nono were also played at the fashion show.
Models donned malong, ethnic-inspired corset, bangles, bead necklaces, headdresses, and even pairs of indigenous shades. During the finale, the girls entered the auditorium bound by rope, and some members of the audience were asked to untie them. Symbolically.
The first thing one notices at the 12-hectare resort in Malagos isthe Abueva in the Gardens exhibit of National Artist Napoleon Abueva, featuring sculptures such as "The Nine Muses of the Arts," "Ifugao Dancers," "Abanico" and "Yin and Yang," among other pieces.
Except for the huge speakers surreally blaring Sybil’s Make it Easy, everything in Malagos suggests nature, nature, and nature. It boasts an aviary, an orchid garden (featuring beautiful species such as the pigeon berry, fishtail and pakong bakya), fishponds, camping site, and horseback riding area, etc. There are also old durian fruit trees to remind us Metro Manilans what trees look like. For animal-aficionados, there are ostriches, peacocks, guinea fowls, pheasants and different varieties of birds.
"Birds can teach us many things," enthused Dr. Roberto Puentespina Jr., or "Dr. Bo" for short.
The "Amazing Bird Show" is such a funky way of teaching kids the importance of understanding animal rights. One parrot, Kado, was kept in a small cage for 17 years. As a result, it picked on its feathers out of boredom. It probably looked scrawny, scaly and terribly unhappy. Now, the bird has started re-growing its feathers with the help of Dr. Bo and his staff.
Plus, there were circus-like segments featuring acrobats with wings to amaze kids. Hornbills snapped tasty bits in mid-air. Eagles swooped down on fish over a trailer and a rubber snake dragged by a string. Cockatoos rode mini-scooters and picked up trash. Ravens filched money from the hands of volunteer kids. An African Gray Parrot said its name.
Dr. Bo: What is your name?
Bird: Wawwwwrrssscch… (Translation: Wally)
The parrots even played basketball with each other ("Larry Bird" dunked on "Hornbill Russel"). But Dr. Bo is quick to point out the goal of the bird show is to share with kids the wonders of nature, how majestic and awesome birds are, and what must be done to "ensure the preservation of these wonderful creatures."
Visitors can check out the motley-colored butterflies at the Butterfly Sanctuary. Two things I learned at the sanctuary: 1) Those exotic winged creatures are a sight to behold; and 2) butterflies don’t pose for pictures. There is also a museum, which has quite a number of mounted butterflies – including the Troides Magellanus, the biggest butterfly specie. I heard a wise guy disagree, saying that the largest butterfly is the Congressman, which flits from party to party. Put laugh track here.
What’s amazing about Eden Nature Park is that it is 95 percent man-made (God supplied the trees, of course). It is 3,000 feet above sea level, and is situated on the slopes of Mt. Talomo.
Just like the Malagos resort, the Eden resort has a program for wildlife conservation. Incidentally, the park was established to temporarily shelter deer, Indian peacocks and birds. Now it offers people a respite from the every day horrors of city-life.
At Eden, visitors can check out bird-walks, hiking trails, the hydroponics vegetable garden, campsites and huts. Lots of interesting plant life scattered all over the compound: jade vines, sky-flowers, and even angel’s trumpet (for sky-walkers who love listening to Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead). Get the drift?
There is also a firefly sanctuary (the place is littered with bits of flying light at around 8 p.m.), as well as a spot where kids can play traditional Filipino games such as luksong tinik, sipa, taguan, patintero and – believe it or not – badminton.
Artist-in-residence Obet Akyatan holds art workshops for kids every summer. He also has interesting, idiosyncratic art works on display – from hand-carved pendants and walking sticks to sculpture that are a cross between the surreal and the indigenous.
Proof, indeed, that we Filipinos are an artistic bunch. An idea we should never surrender to the undertakers of amnesia.