Artist-patriot

MANILA, Philippines - This is to thank Dr. Alejandro Roces for his enlightening columns dated May 12, 2009, and May 14 on giving honor and recognition to a forgotten yet most deserving artist-patriot, Ms. Cecile Guidote-Alvarez.

May I add on to the kudos showered on Cecile because I lived in the States when she was in exile. Can you imagine how one Filipina on a refugee status organized a Philippine Arts Festival in New York complete with drama, poetry and music, painting exhibit and film showing featured prominently in New York Times? She was holding Third World Theatre Festivals, Off-Broadway at La Mama and Cultural Workshops for the UN Conferences from Romania, Russia, Canada, Kenya, Trinidad and Tobago. When our own passport was cancelled by the dictatorship after her famous escape, she ran a cultural program in the United Nations’ Women’s Tribune dressed as a nun. She assumed the persona of her aunt who was a nun, crossed the border to Mexico to pursue her conviction of integrating the cultural ingredient in the UN development framework.

Cecile is a cultural treasure and a living legend in theatre. I have seen her in close range when she was in exile. It was easy for the Alvarez family to have gone to greener pastures and forget the country, but her husband Heherson Alvarez, worked strongly for the restoration of democracy, lobbying in Congress knowing major leaders, impressing them with his knowledge of details and brilliance in negotiation. His partner was Cecile, who is called a genius by the pioneer of America’s Off Broadway Movement, Ellen Stewart, as Cecile worked tirelessly and unselfishly in promoting intercultural, interfaith dialogue through the arts.

There can never be another Cecile in this lifetime. Fr. Reuter’s nomination of Cecile to be awarded the title; “NATIONAL ARTIST” is way long overdue. In her youth, she was already recognized as an Outstanding Asian Artist. I and many other impacted by Cecile’s cultural care-giving services appreciate the campaign initiated by a National Artist himself, to give due honor and recognition to someone who lived her life for our country and our countrymen, especially the marginalized members of society. We hope the government will, at last, officially recognize the amazing hard, the unequalled talent and artistic gifts of Cecile on stage and broadcast theatre arts. I was part of the prayer brigade when she was afflicted with cancer. Even when her health was failing, she never ceased to serve our country. In the midst of chemotherapy, she kept her date for Women’s Day celebration and her commitment to the Theresian celebration; wit her stunning performances which Fr. Reuter has aptly dubbed “electricity on stage.” — Luisa Fatima Nebrida