GMA’s cultural program reflects Pope’s appeal / Peter Pan, other events

The following is an official report on President Macapagal-Arroyo’s cultural program, and the background that has shaped it.

As the Pope appeals for concern for abused and exploited children and respect for their dignity, Holy Innocents Day this Christmas Season was dedicated to street and other vulnerable children in difficult circumstances, the handicapped and the victims of violence. This reflects President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s own poverty alleviation program. There was an open house at the well-known theater-in-the-ruins Rajah Sulayman at Fort Santiago, Intramuros.

Formerly the performance venue of PETA (Philippine Educational Theater Association) founded by Ramon Magsaysay Awardee Cecile Guidote Alvarez, it will now serve as the creative home for marginalized but talented children, thus showcasing the government’s Kalahi cultural caregiving programs with performance and media arts training and presentations.

It is carried through the pioneering initiative of UNESCO Philippine Center for International Theater Institute (ITI)-Dialect in cooperation with the DSWD, DOT-Intramuros Administration (IA) and (OPAC) Office of the President on Arts and Culture in conjunction with the NAPC-DSWD anti-poverty and inter-agency program geared toward education for all led by DepEd, CHED and Tesda with the support of the National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA) outreach project and Supreme Master Ching Hal Int’l Association.

The simple inaugural rites were presided by DSWD Secretary Esperanza Cabral representing President Arroyo with Phil. ITI Chairman and National Artist Dr. Alejandro Roces and Deputy Mayor of Manila Dondon Bagatsing representing Mayor Lito Atienza, and NCCA Executive Director Cecile Guidote Alvarez. The Center, which was formally opened yesterday at Fort Santiago Theater-in-the-ruins is now officially named Philippine Center of Culture for Peace (PCCP as acronym).

As an example of cultural caregiving, early in the morning the National Artist Abdulmari Imao with his son joined by selected sculptors from AAP headed by Fidel Sarmiento gave free sculpting lessons to the youth climaxing in work display at 5 p.m.

The season’s presentation focused on character change and social transformation through values education as advocated by the CBCP and Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales. Frank Rivera’s "Tao, Isang Tagulaylay" adapted from the "The Summoning of Everyman," an anonymous late medieval English morality play on the sinfulness of human existence, of man’s utter disregard for Christ’s sacrifices for human redemption, was featured as an inaugural piece to awaken public conscience.

A production of Alab Artistika and Pixel Art under the direction of CJ Andaluz, the cast includes stars Shermaine Santiago, Mars Cavestany, Mark Federigan, Jef Henson Dee, Jonathan Montes, Danny Magisa and Richard Arellano jointly with UNESCO Artists for Peace Earthsavers DREAMS Ensemble and other Kalahi performers from the urban poor communities like the blind Troubadours’ Lakbay Himig led by Zaldy Elevenson. They preluded the event with selected musical theater pieces to address UN Development Goals. The program was open to the public for free; entertaining original musical numbers were composed by the playwright himself.

In 1967, the Theater-in-the-ruins was originally conceived by Guidote-Alvarez as a creative space for the nationalist theater PETA from her concept of a Prospectus for a National Theatre as her masteral’s thesis earned at Dallas Theatre Center in Texas which eventually won the Book Critic’s award published by De La Salle University Press.

During Martial Law, Guidote-Alvarez, together with her husband former Senator Heherson T. Alvarez who eluded a shoot-to-kill arrest order, went on exile in the States to fight for the restoration of democracy. Cecile carried on a Third World Theater program of the UNESCO-ITI in New York City at La Mama Theatre related to UN development concerns.

PETA continued the legacy she left behind until it moved recently to a new venue in Quezon City. Serendipitously, re-opening the same venue for a global concern to fight poverty through the arts is a sentimental journey back to the wealth of Guidote-Alvarez’s theatrical past now serving to reinvigorate the vacated place with far-reaching implications in mobilizing cultural diversity for the UN Millennium Development Goals which she has been advocating locally through her award-winning Radyo Balintataw program on DZRH. The broadcast theatre focuses not only on our literary classics and historical heritage but also on issues on environment, women, children, health, indigenous peoples, maternal care, hunger, drugs, terrorism, corruption and appeal for good citizenship and good governance.

Under the auspices of the UN, the Global Movement, launched in May this year, was held on the occasion of the 31st UNESCO ITI Congress and Theatre Olympics of the Nations from Ancestral Roots to New Artistic Routes of Expression. It was successfully hosted by the Philippine government led by President Arroyo. It was presided by UNESCO Sec. Gen. Koichiro Matsuura and concluded with the presence of United Nations Resident Coordinator Nileema Noble.

The Executive Committee of the PCCP at Fort Santiago is co-chaired by Dr. Roces and DSWD Sec. Cabral and is operated through the ITI Asia Pacific Bureau headed by Presidential Adviser on Culture Guidote-Alvarez with the assistance of the Education Cabinet cluster of DepEd, CHED and TESDA.

The artistic team is composed of Directors Frank Rivera, Arthur Casanova, Nick Lizaso, Tikoy Aguiluz and George Vail Kabristante; Literary Managers Marilou Jacob and Dr. Isagani Cruz; Music Leo Quinitio, Jerry Dadap and Ferdie Dimadura; Choreographers Gigi Velarde and Enrico Labayen; Creative Industry Coordinators Fray Paolo Casuran and Neneng Sibug of TRICAP; Scenographers Len Santos and Rollie De Leon with Fidel Sarmiento of AAP. Lighting Technical Directors Joey Nombres and Sonny Valencia. Coordinators for Promotions, Marketing and Publicity are Philip Panganiban, Henry Tejero and Dennis Adobas. The event’s Project Officer and Overseas Migrant Worker Cultural Coordinator is Dr. Marcelino Cavestany.

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Tonight at 7, pianist Oliver Salonga performs at the F. Santiago Hall. The first time I heard Oliver play about two years ago, I wrote in part: "What a dazzling pianist 16-year old Salonga turned out to be! The distinctive phrasing, the brio, the sense of drama made the Bach piece sound fresh and, yes, even contemporary. Yet the style unmistakably hewed to Bach."

Other performers for tonight are soprano Lorna and Sylvia Llames Reyes, cellist Herrick Ortiz and the Green Hills Studio Music Ensemble. Ariel Arambulo’s original compositions "Music for Christ" will also be featured. Admission is free.

On Jan. 4, 2007 at 8 p.m. cellist Victor Michael Coo will give a solo recital at the F. Santiago Hall. Earlier, I wrote: "The young cellist astounded with his potent playing, his superior command of his instrument and his consummate knowledge of the piece at hand."

An adaptation of James Barrie’s musical fantasy will open at the CCP main theater on Jan. 12, 2007 and continue on other dates and end on Feb. 4.

The various comments on the show are uniformly ecstatic. "Young and old gasped in delight!" / "Whatever you wanted as a child pump it up ten times!" / "Extravagant sets, opulent costumes, intricate choreography and what we’re all really waiting for – flying!" / "Unadulterated enchantment." "The kids couldn’t get enough of the aerial acrobatics." / "I was overwhelmed." / "Spectacular." / "A marvel." / "Peter Pan is inspired and inspiring." / "Dad, I just didn’t want it to end." / "The most spectacular production of ‘Peter Pan’ anywhere in the world." / "The magic of Neverland in all its splendor!"

Show dates are Jan. 12, 19 and 20, and Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. Feb 3 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Jan. 14, 21 and 28 and Feb. 4 at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

See the musical and find out if the comments are deserved!