Rocha, Galvan honored /‘French Spring’ circus: feats as metaphors

Today, honorary degrees will be conferred by the Aquinas University of Legazpi, Albay, on Gerardo Rocha, president of the University of Sto. Tomas in Chile and honorary consul of the Philippines, and on Dr. Javier Galvan Guijo, director of the Instituto Cervantes in Manila. Rocha will receive a doctorate in pedagogy; Galvan, a doctorate in humanities.

Dr. Rocha founded the ICUSTA (International Council of Universities of St. Thomas Aquinas) with 32 member universities in Europe, Asia (including the UST in Manila), America and Australia, its Honorary Council being composed of Nobel Prize awardees and world leaders.

A music composer, Dr. Rocha wrote the song Reacciona for the Festival de la Cancion de Viña del Mar 2005. Also an author, he wrote the book Todo esta en ti.

Dr. Rocha is the director of the Chile-Russia Chamber of Commerce and a member of Spain’s Fraternity of Crusaders of Mary. He has been very active in international gatherings such as the Fifth Catholic Congress on Public Life in 2003 in Madrid, the Sixth Catholic Congress in 2004, and the Third Inter-Religious Encounter in Barcelona in 2004.

His outstanding contributions in education have been recognized by other universities, e.g., the St. Thomas U. of New Brunswick, Canada, which conferred on him a Doctor of Letters degree, and the Budista Nanha U. of Taiwan which conferred on him a Ph.D. in Management.

Dr. Galvan received his Ph.D. from the Escuela Tecnica Superior de Arquitectura in Madrid. His doctoral dissertation was "Architecture and Urbanism of Spanish Origin in the Western Pacific".

Since 2001, he has been director of the Instituto Cervantes, the only center of its kind in Asia, though it acts as the hub of the satellite branches in Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Hanoi.

Under his direction, students in Spanish have increased considerably owing to additional classes in Makati, QC and Sampaloc. He launched the October "Fiesta! Spanish Festival for Culture and the Arts". He has organized conventions and conferences on Spanish culture, language and Fil-Hispanic heritage. Before he joined Instituto Cervantes, Dr. Galvan was vice president of the Associacion Española de Estudios del Pacifico (2000-2002). In 1999, the King of Spain awarded him the Cross of the Orden de Isabela la Catolica "for his outstanding services to Spanish culture and his work in bringing the Philippines and Spain closer together."

Since 1993, he has participated in various cultural activities in the Asia-Pacific region, doing research and presenting exhibits on cultural heritage, and lecturing to create awareness of the value of Filipino architectural heritage.

He has proposed the revitalization of the historic zone of Vigan (1994) and Dominican architecture in its environs. He was senior architect (1993) in-charge of the urban plans for the reconstruction of Baguio and Dagupan cities.

A member of the Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Madrid, he has designed and constructed a number of buildings in the ’80s and ’90s. He has authored over 20 publications mostly on the cultural manifestations of Spanish origin in the Asia-Pacific region.

At the conferment ceremonies, Rev. Fr. Dr. Tamerlane R. Lana, OP, rector of UST, will introduce Dr. Rocha; Albay Governor Fernando V. Gonzales will introduce Dr. Galvan.

* * *

Camille Boitel’s contemporary circus, performed at Ayala Center’s Onstage, was not a circus in the usual sense. There were no flying trapezes, no horse rides around a ring, no elephant acts, no lion tamers. Throughout his one-man show, Boitel relied on mime, acrobatics, speech and choreography against scenography, music and rhythm.

As the show opened, Boitel, in a woman’s dress, deftly manipulated stands, chairs, and other bits of furniture, balancing himself on the stands then struggling to carry all the paraphernalia only to discard them.

A towering pile of stands, one on top of another, was brought in next, then a second pile of stands to face the first. Forthwith, Boitel climbed up the first pile, teetering as he tried to reach out to the pile opposite him, thus causing the audience some anxiety. A fall could break his neck! The act became a metaphor for life’s many risks and uncertainties.

Boitel dismantled the two piles of stands, throwing each on the floor helter skelter, and creating a mound of stands that littered the rear of the stage. He then took hold of one of the stands, travelled here, there, everywhere with it, went around in circles, stopping now and then to put the stand in a definite place, then abruptly changing his mind. What an apt metaphor was this endless promenade for man’s indecisiveness!

An accomplished dancer and nimble acrobat, Boitel performed cartwheels and gigantic leaps, again causing the audience some degree of anxiety though he was too skilled for a misstep. Often, the children among the viewers laughed gleefully at the antics while missing altogether their metaphorical content.

At one point, Boitel began to turn around slowly, then gradually increasing speed, ended by turning with the velocity of a top. Other feats of physical motion were rendered equally impressive after the stands were arranged in rows by three assistants garbed in black. Boitel sped in-between the rows, dancing, crawling, crouching, jumping, turning and twisting with lightning speed. He seemed to have created the image of a man hurrying to overcome obstacles to achieve success.

Moments later, Boitel delivered what sounded like a harangue and a virulent tongue-lashing. But what seemed most clever was the miming which followed, with Boitel in an oversized, black overcoat reaching the floor, thus covering his feet. As he walked hither and thither – his feet unseen – he appeared to be gliding ever so smoothly. Once, a foot jutted out of a sleeve. At another time, the figure was headless. In an incredible trick, Boitel, facing the audience, had his feet, now visible, facing in the opposite direction. Again, it was a metaphor for the reverses and surprises life springs upon us.

The unique one-hour circus was met with thunderous applause. Counsellor Francois Biamont, the evening’s host, welcomed the audience.