I just came from the meeting of the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) Division of Humanities. The exciting part was the sharing of researches.
Dr. Rosario Torres Yu discussed on discovering the self at age 57 when she learned to paint and resumed creative writing (she spent years on research and teaching), published a book with one of her paintings as cover design. She also held a one-woman exhibit of her works at the Vargas Museum, University of the Philippines-Diliman.
Dr. Domingo Landicho talked about creative retirement, who in his twilight years, has become more prolific and generous with his poetry and has taken to writing the first Filipino erotic novel about how the poor make love (set of course within the context of a serious theme, as Dr. Landicho is an activist whose writings are marked by his passionate social commitment). Can you imagine the romance of making love in a boat while sailing to escape the flood-devastated town, or in the field, or a bare mat on wooden floors? In naughty jest, Dr. Landicho looks forward to reaching the age of 69.
Dr. Ramon Santos shared his experiences in studying and working with the late great avant garde musician Dr. Jose Maceda. When he died, an Australian artist sent message-- "A giant tree has fallen in the forest."
While Dr. Santos' lecture was going on, I wrote on my notebook:
As artists, we Filipinos want to break away from the Western standard-- "structural, determinist" (Dr. Santos' words). We want to explore a broader field of Asian aesthetics which is "experiential" (Dr. Santos'), liberating and empowering.
This aesthetics is best expressed by Dr. Maceda's works-- "Ugnayan," "Udlot-Udlot,"
"Pagsamba."
In "Pagsamba," the lyrics are blurred, more of just vocal utterances like a cry, as one cannot find the words when overwhelmed by profound emotions.
In Dr. Maceda's music, repetitious details are very important. Like, repetitious, boring details of our daily lives achieve meaning when taken as a whole, become necessary fragments of a masterpiece. Like the fragmented entries in this blog can be a significant whole after so many patient years of recalling, remembering, recording, preserving for future readers and researchers-- all for free, without expecting financial rewards. Just like Dr. Landicho who kept on creating poetry, reading them on air for free ands stopped only when the station manager began to dictate on what he should write.
From Dr. Maria Milagros Laurel, I got this idea of working on Basic Recipes for Writing (a series) by Cymbeline Villamim, which I will give to my community for free, so others can be empowered as I am. Dr. Laurel said that as NRCP members, we should reach out and teach people, share what we know. This is our mission and I agree, because she is such a fine example. During sem breaks, she goes around the country sharing her expertise in creating alternative strategies and resources for challenged (poor) classrooms.
An English pofessor, Dr. Laurel said we are now colonizing the English language, using it for our own purpose, to empower ourselves. Language is used to express and create, to close the gap between the real world and the world of the classrooms. Truly the Filipino art is meant to be relevant and experiential
I see these artists and educators as such heroic, beautiful individuals and my ambition is to be like them.
I reunited with Dr. Amelia Lapena-Bonifacio , known for her puppet plays and Dr. Damiana Eugenio who was an official at the University of the Philippines-Diliman in 1976 and was a signatory in my certificate as fellow in the 1976 U.P.Writers' Summer Workshop held at the Kalayaan Hall.
Last year, my treasures were the thoughts on dance by Dr. Esteban Villaruz. Dance empowered the orphans and poor girls in France and Russia in earlier years when they excelled in theater performances and caught the attention of kings and czars. They became mistresses and their social status was elevated.
I think the same thing happened to women writers in ancient Asia (China, Japan, Korea). Courtesan-poetesses had a position of power and can choose friends and lovers, indirectly shaped the fates of leaders and destinies of nations.
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