Living Treasures known / Academia looks ahead

Early last month, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo handed the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan to two women Muslim weavers and a metal sculptor from Apalit, Pampanga, in simple ceremonies at Malacañang Palace. Before then, a special Presidential award was given to the highly admired Muslim sculptor Abdul Imao.

Weavers Haja Amina Appi and Darhata Sawabi, and metal sculptor Eduardo Mutuc are known as National Living Treasures – unfortunately, Darhata passed away in early March of this year – the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan having been institutionalized in April 1992 through a Republic Act.

Felipe M. de Leon Jr., awards committee chairman, wrote expressly for the awarding ceremonies an article explaining why the awardees (and those before them) are nearly forgotten icons. Further, De Leon’s article, entitled The Re-enchantment of Art, illustrates the difference between communal art, that is, art that is created for the community, and individual art, that which is created merely for the artist’s self-gratification.

De Leon writes in part: "The communal orientation is manifested in all aspects of traditional Filipino village life and, to a great extent, even in urban settings.

"Art is integrated with everyday life and not regarded as a separate activity. It does not become a specialism (specialization that is narrow or at the expense of everything else (as defined by cultural critic Jacques Barzun). It is not for the specialist alone but for everyone. This implies that there will be no special venues or spaces for art because it virtually exists wherever and whenever there is human activity. That is why in its cultural context, a Sama mat is integrated with everyday life and not just admired for its artistic excellence. But in Manila it is collected by art enthusiasts and displayed on walls of galleries or living rooms as pure art.

"There are relatively no superstars, for the source of power is not the individual who is only a channel of divine inspiration or creativity. Thus, the author or creator is often anonymous. This may explain what has often been observed about the Manlilikha ng Bayan awardees: their extraordinary humility and simplicity of bearing, even if they are virtually artistic celebrities.

"Art is not synonymous with big production costs because what mattes is artistic excellence, or the creative idea as well as making art a part of everyday life. Hence, the least expensive of mediums, e.. pandan for mats or paper for kites, is regarded highly and not considered inferior to the costlier ones. And even the most practical objects like a coconut grater, container, knife handle, tree stump, mat, or hat can become a medium for the finest art. Eduardo Mutuc uses an old rubber slipper as an effective buffer.

"Emphasis is on the creative process rather than the finished product, endowing extemporaneous, improvisatory or spontaneous expressions of creativity a higher value than deliberate, often solitary, conceptualization and composition of forms. This valuing of process rather than product nurtures creative health and can inhibit mere idolizing of masterpieces and obsession with permanence."

It is to the immense credit of the NCCA and of its executive director Cecile Guidote Alvarez for lifting the forgotten icons from their anonymity and drawing them out of their isolation by initiating the giving of awards and the concomitant recognition long due them.

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Jose "Pepe" Rodriguez, outgoing director of the Academia Filipina de la Lengua Española, the local counterpart of the Real Academia de la Lengua Española in Madrid, has spent some of the best years of his life in this country. He headed the local Spanish news agency EFE, and is now back with the EFE in Madrid. "Once a journalist, always a journalist," he says.

Through the 20 years or so he lived in Manila with his family, this consisting of his wife, portrait painter Lulu Coching and their two teenaged children, both now studying in Madrid, he also headed the Academia Filipina which grew and expanded under his dedicated stewardship.

Last Wednesday, Pepe handed diplomas to its new members at ceremonies in the Casino Español. In his valedictory, he told them that henceforth, they would be inextricably associated with the Academia, and would live up to what it stood for, thus brightening its future. He added he was now relinquishing the directorship to give the younger ones the opportunity of serving the Academia.

The new members have each impressive credentials. Prof. Erwin Thaddeus Bautista teaches Spanish, French and German. Jose Maria Carino is a distinguished diplomat. Lourdes "Lulu" Brillantes, professor of Spanish at the UP, can count among her many achievements the translation into Spanish of Nick Joaquin’s Portrait of the Artist as Filipino. Rene Angelo Prado teaches Spanish and Latin. Trinidad Regala has devoted 40 years to teaching Spanish, a language she cultivated early though it was alien and incomprehensible to her elders. Emmanuel Luis Romanillos lent a light touch to the response by discoursing on Chabacano, the Spanish of the "uncultured".

Other equally notable new members were psychology professor Regino Paular and Rene Salvania who, in his brief remarks, paid tribute to some of the most outstanding members of the Academia.

Dr. Salvador Malig, Jr. and Wynston de la Peña, both of whom introduced the new members, Guillermo Gomez de Rivera who served as emcee, and Mons. Diosdado Talamayan who delivered a timely and relevant invocation are hispanistas of the highest order.

Ateneo President Bienvenido Nebres, SJ, honored the occasion with his presence.

The following old members of the Academia likewise received their diplomas: Mons. Talamayan, Fr. Jose Arcilla, SJ, W. de la Peña, Hilario Zialcita and I.