Para la mujer amada y la madre patria

Nada expresa mejor los sentimientos y el patriotismo filipinos que las canciones típicas conocidas como Kundiman. Constituyen la expresión de un profundo sentimiento de amor y fidelidad a la amada. La melodía se caracteriza por su suavidad, fluida pero con pausas dramáticas. Kundiman se convirtió también en una reacción patriótica a la represión en Filipinas durante la época de colonización española, cuando las canciones servían como instrumento para expresar profundas emociones hacia una mujer que representa la madre patria.

Algunas canciones de Kundiman podrán disfrutarse en el concierto que la soprano filipina Michelle Sullera ofrecerá, con un acompañamiento de piano y violín, el próximo sábado 14 de agosto, a las 20h30 en la Iglesia de San Agustín en Calle Hospital, en Barcelona.

Este concierto pretende presentar la cultura filipina no sólo al colectivo filipino sino también a la sociedad española y a otros colectivos presentes en Barcelona. Los fondos recaudados se destinarán a sostener la publicación de distribución gratuita Ang Bagong Filipino, una revista que pretende sensibilizar a los inmigrantes filipinos en España sobre temas de inmigración, desarrollo e interculturalidad. El concierto está organizado por la Asociación Filipina de Escritores e Investigadores en España, creadores de la revista, con la colaboración de la Parroquia Personal Filipina. 

Aquí tienen un ejemplo de Kundiman. Esta canción que es más bien alegre se llama ‘Sa Kabukiran’ y  es de una obra de teatro que habla de la vida de una niña de montaña.  Su compositor es el Sr. Manuel P. Velez, un ícono de música en la provincia de Cebu, e interpretada por la soprano filipina Alexis Edralin con la pianista Mary Anne Espina y los miembros de The Sonata Strings. Arnel German, Fco. Javier Gutiérrez Rodríguez y Daniel I. Tuaño

Balik-tanaw sa Mahal kong Inang Bayan

Ngayong Linggo na, ika-13 ng Hunyo ang araw na pinakahihintay nating lahat kung kailan tayo ay nagsasama-sama, nagsasayawan, nagkakantahan at higit sa lahat naggugunita ng Araw ng Kalayaan ng Pilipinas. Para malaman kung ano ang pakulo ng Kapulungan ng mga Lider Pinoy sa Barcelona (Kalipi), ng iba pang mga organisasyon at ng mga kaagapay nito katulad ng Ayuntamiento de Barcelona, Philippine Consulate General in Barcelona at ng Globe Telecom-IDT,  tingnan lamang ang programa ng Pagdiriwang ng Araw ng Kalayaan sa Barcelona Daniel Infante Tuaño

Smile ka naman dyan!

Maraming nagsasabi na ang mga Asyano katulad ng mga Pinoy ay sadyang palangiti. Kahit ano pa mang problema, krisis, kahirapan, bumaha man o lumindol, hinding-hindi mawawala ang mga ngiti sa ating mga labi. Kaya nga isa ang Pilipinas sa mga pinakamasayang lugar sa mundo (kahit pa maraming umaalis doon taun-taon).  At kamakainlang ang may akda ng sikat na librong ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ ay nagpahiwatig ng kanyang pagkamangha sa ispiritu ng kaligayahan ng mga Pilipino. Kaya minarapat ng Ang Bagong Filipino na magbukas ng isang pahinang tatawagin naming ‘Smile of the Week’ para sa espesyal na ngiti ng mga Pilipino, pumukaw ng damdamin at magsilbing inspirasyon sa panahon ngayon. Bilang panimula ng pahinang ito, nagbahagi ang pangulo ng Barcelona Exposure Club na si Krystel Cayari-Elepaño ng isang larawan na kaniyang kinuha habang nagbabakasyon sa Camarines Sur sa Pilipinas.

Foto de los niños de Caputatan Primary School, Camarines Sur, Filipinas. Texto y fotos por Krystel Cayari–Elepaño

La foto fue hecha en la Peninsula Caramoan de Camarines Sur, Filipinas. Caputatan Primary School es un colegio público donde niños de diferentes edades comparten una misma clase. Recorren centenares de metros incluso kilómetros, algunos descalzos para acudir diariamente a la escuela y recibir una educación. La gran mayoría no puede  comprar material escolar y la escuela no tiene fondos suficientes para proporcionarle a cada alumno libros pero eso no les impide seguir adelante, tener una ilusión y a pesar de todo son felices. Son niños que juegan, ríen, se divierten  pero todos comparten el mismo sueño; que el día de mañana puedan salir de la pobreza y tener un futuro mejor.

Los niños con la fotógrafa Krystel Cayari-Elepaño de Barcelona Exposure Club

Divided We Fell

Once there was a dream called the Katipunan. It was a brotherhood of fire and passion, fighting for  land, love, and freedom. It was the union of Filipinos tired of being controlled by outsiders and wanting to reclaim what’s truly theirs. But, though it had one goal, the dream was taking shape in too many different minds. Very different ones. And so, unity was disrupted by disagreement, and egos went bloating and flying in different directions. Magdiwang rivaled Magdalo, Bonifacio challenged Aguinaldo. And vice versa. In the face of the powerful outsiders, they preferred to dwell in conflict among themselves rather than resolve differences and be one. They fought against each other and took sides, jeopardizing our much longed freedom. They fought some more and CHANGED sides, until Bonifacio had to die by another Katipunero’s hand. Until Andres Bonifacio was killed by another Filipino. Kapwa Pilipino at Katipunero ang siyang pumatay kay Andres Bonifacio.

But why did they fight? Why was our country’s Freedom put aside? Were their egos really that big and important? Bigger and more important than taking back what’s ours? Worthy of giving up the dream? The dream ended and sadly, it ended in vain. Freedom was not achieved. Instead, tied Filipino hands were simply passed from one outsider to the next. And the rest, as it is said, is our country’s special history.

This special history has created many special creatures along the way. Among them are those who will forever be slaves, those who will forever be needing masters. Thus, the obsession with titles. You are but a slave if you don’t have one. And if you don’t have one, you worship those who do. These special creatures’ main objective in life is to please the master, blinded as they are by authority and status, by power and position. But what can they do? Our special history has been unkind to the masses, keeping them apart from the wealthy and learned and maintaining the gap between them, never allowing any lasting union of all kinds of Filipinos. Not even against the outsider who wanted what was ours. Prestige has been a force since the time of the Revolution according to one noted Filipino writer, and it seems our slaves of today are mere outcomes of the many years Filipino masses have been worshiping the high and mighty. Poor followers who’ve been taught to think that their poor lives are meant to be the way they have always been, and that things can never be any different.

Of course, how can things be different if the high and mighty won’t allow it? Prestige being a force, it gives power and title to those who have it. And having power has long corrupted many souls in this world, not just Filipino ones. This thirst for power (and each time more of it!) is what marks the difference between a Leader and a Master. A Leader respects and serves the people. They, in turn, earn the respect of the people who deem them worthy to serve. Masters, on the other hand, are masters because they simply want to be one. Forget earning respect and truly serving their followers, it’s all about the title and not ever letting go.

It is with this divide that we Filipinos continue in our quest for freedom and making our special history. Wherever we go – and we’ve gone places! – we take with us this disunity that runs deeply in our veins. But luckily for us, especially for the Filipino migrants, the rest of the world is not like the Philippines.  There exist other possibilities out here, other ways, and we are free to make them ours. And as some of us see that a more equal and just way is possible, we are left to wonder about alternatives and ultimately hope that Filipinos will someday be capable of wanting this- a world without slaves nor masters. Kay S. Abaño

Dying Slaves and Merciless Masters. Juan Luna’s Spolarium displayed at the entrance of the National Museum of the Philippines. La obra “Spoliarium” es una pintura del filipino Juan Luna. Óleo sobre lienzo de 400×700 cm. Fue expuesta por primera vez en la Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes de 1884, ganando una medalla de oro en ella. En 1886, fue vendida a la Diputación Provincial de Barcelona por un importe de 20.000 pesetas. Aprovechando que se había enviado el cuadro a Madrid para ser restaurado, el dictador Francisco Franco lo donó al gobierno de Filipinas, pese a tratarse no de una propiedad del Estado español sino de la Diputación de Barcelona. Actualmente se expone en el Museo Nacional de las Filipinas.  Text: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoliarium. Photo: http://manila-photos.blogspot.com/2010/01/painting-that-launched-revolution.html

An Open Letter to Noynoy

Philippine President-elect Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III. Photo: http://sifranzaypinoy.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/noynoy-aquino1.jpg

Dear Noynoy,

You were not my choice in the last election but since our people have spoken, we must now support you and pray that you prevail. But first, I must remind you of the stern reality that your drumbeaters ignore: you have no noble legacy from your forbears. It is now your arduous job to create one yourself in the six years that you will be the single most powerful Filipino. Six years is too short a time — the experience in our part of the world is that it takes at least one generation — 25 years — for a sick nation to recover and prosper. But you can begin that happy process of healing. Read F. Sionil Jose’s letter to Noynoy in the Philippine Star

Kay S. Abaño

Lino Brocka and Freedom Of Expression Day

Lino Brocka demonstrating outside the house of then censors chief Maria Kalaw Katigbak, after she tigbak’d the film Bayan Ko: Kapit sa Patalim (circa 1985)

Lino Brocka, hounded by censorship in his lifetime but proclaimed a National Artist and hailed as a “legendary director” when he was safely dead, made a significant contribution when he moved for the inclusion of the phrase freedom of expression in the 1987 Constitution. But he did not invent the term. Indeed, even before he became a constitutional commissioner, the Concerned Artists of the Philippines of which he was founding chair had already declared in its credo, first enunciated in 1983: “We stand for freedom of expression and oppose all acts tending to abridge or suppress that freedom. We affirm that Filipino artists, in the exercise of freedom of expression, have the responsibility to do so without prejudice to truth, justice, and the interest of the Filipino people.” Continue reading Pete Lacaba\’s article on Lino Brocka

Kay S. Abaño

Hyphenated identity and literature

“Hagedorn transcends social strata, gender, culture, and politics in this exuberant, witty, and telling portrait (of  the Philippine society).” Penguin\’s Women Studies

Since the Filipino diaspora began in the first half of the 20^th century, uprooted Filipinos have not only gone abroad in search of greener pastures and have helped the country through their foreign exchange remittances. They have also created a Philippine diasporic culture that addresses the concerns –both bodily and spiritually—of a community that is thousands of kilometers away from its home country.

One of the features of this culture is the body of literary works that have been written by Filipinos who moved abroad or who were even born and raised overseas, but who share Filipino-ness with those who have remained in the Philippines. Authors like Carlos Bulosan, Bienvenido Santos and Jose Garcia Villa began an artistic tradition that still continues in the writings of Ninotchka Rosca, Jessica Hagedorn and Peter Bacho. Like many non-white writers, their identity is hyphenated, i.e. Filipino-American. This hyphenated way of referring to the author’s nationality indicates the dual roots of their identity. Instead of a deterrent to artistic production, this double consciousness has contributed to the writing of brilliant works of literature.

The artists I just cited are children of the Filipino diaspora to the U.S. But the phenomenon of Philippine migration overseas has become worldwide. Destinations range from nearby Hong Kong to the driest part of Southern Africa. Europe is, of course, a popular destination. If I’m not mistaken, it has been thirty years since we started filling the ranks of foreign workers in Europe, especially in Italy and Spain. I remember taking a bus in the center of Rome on a Thursday some years back, and seeing that the only Italian person on the bus was the driver. The rest of the passengers were Filipinos. I’ve also seen Filipino children in Italy who speak Italian like any other native citizen of the country. I’m quite sure the same thing happens in Spain, especially in Barcelona and Madrid. This means that there are Filipinos here whose identity has already come to adopt Spanish or Italian quality. I’m convinced that this dual consciousness has begun working its influence to inspire thoughts about life in our adopted Europe and about art as a space to channel migrant longings. So here’s to the future of Filipino-European artists!

The discrimination and unhealthy working conditions Carlos had experienced in many of his workplaces encouraged him to participate in union organizing with other Filipinos and various workers. Carlos become a self-educated and prolific writer determined to voice the struggles he had undergone as a Filipino coming to America and the struggles he had witnessed of other people.   Carlos Bulosan\’s biography

Grace Concepcion

Happy Mother’s Day, Dad…

Macoy Leyba has learned to cook, take care of the children, and balance the family budget, but he still misses his wife everyday.

It’s a setup that may be hard to imagine in a country of swaggering macho men, but in this era of large-scale transnational female labor migration, even certified barakos (toughies) are being forced to play nanay (mothers), albeit in varying degrees.  Read more on the impact of Filipino diaspora on masculinity and gender roles: Men as Mothers by Alecks P. Pabico, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism

Pinoy word of the day: KAPWA

Image from: http://www.pool.org.au/image/rossco/helping_hands

Kapwa, meaning ‘togetherness’, is the core construct of Filipino Psychology. Kapwa has two categories- Ibang Tao (other people) and Hindi Ibang Tao (not other people).

• IBANG TAO (“outsider”):
  • Pakikitungo: civility
  • Pakikisalamuha: act of mixing
  • Pakikilahok: act of joining
  • Pakikibagay: conformity
  • Pakikisama: being united with the group.

• HINDI IBANG TAO (“one-of-us”):
  • Pakikipagpalagayang-loob: act of mutual trust
  • Pakikisangkot: act of joining others
  • Pakikipagkaisa: being one with others

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filipino_psychology

As we Filipinos strive to survive in foreign lands, we tend to focus on the other culture and how we can somehow fit in. What we don’t realize is that these values that help us adapt are an important part of being truly Filipino, and are the ones that help make living so far away bearable and even happy. And if reminded of them, perhaps even more Filipino than ever. Kay S. Abaño

Dancing her way to success

Irene Sabas is the co-director, ballet mistress and répétiteur of Ballet David Campos Dance School

Discipline, hard work and faith.  Three important elements that Irene Sabas, the Filipina co-director and teacher of the famous Ballet David Campos dance company in Barcelona, put in  mind when she was starting as a ballet dancer in Manila.  I met Irene by chance when a friend of mine came from Madrid to interview her.  After learning that I would be meeting an exceptional ballet dancer, I tagged along.

“Anybody can be lucky.  As long as she/he doesn’t stop working and believing, everything is possible.”  These were the words uttered with complete calmness and sincerity from a lady who perfectly knows how to put the word “perseverance” in good use. She trained with the prolific Felicitas Layag-Radiac. Luck may have played its part somewhere, but it was more on her determination to hone her skills that she got the endorsement by the famous ballet dancer Margot Fonteyn to a two-year scholarship grant to study in the prestigious Royal Ballet School in London. There, she mastered her craft under the guidance of high-caliber professors such as Pamela May, Marion Lane, Eileen Ward and Julia Farron.

Not long enough, with her impressive training and international exposure, she became a soloist/principal ballet dancer for the Dance Theatre Philippines portraying major roles like “Swanhilda, Cinderella and Giselle. Hard work coupled with sheer love for her craft, she went on to be a soloist of the Royal Ballet of Flanders in Belgium where she had the chance to interpret principal roles like “Masha” in Valery Panov’s “The Three Sisters” and “Adelaida” in “The Idiot”, Carmina Burana by John Butler, Symphony in Three Movements by Nils Christie, etc. She did performances all over Europe, America and Asia and worked with famous and outstanding performers from the ballet world such as A. Prokofiev (Bolshoi Ballet Moscow), Nicolai Beriosov (Leningrad), Woytek Lowski (American Ballet Theatre) and Vladimir Kaplun (Leningrad), among others.

“Filipinos have a way of doing things, we have the Pinoy touch.”   Irene shared that in 1987 together with her husband David Campos opened their own school in Barcelona.  Her students found both a teacher and a friend in her.  She is very thankful to her parents for teaching   her to love her craft and for supporting her all the way to achieve her dreams. Truly an     inspiration to our fellow kababayans, Irene continues to help and motivate young dancers to enhance their skills and make it big in their fields of interest. Known for being a top-caliber ballet teacher, she has been invited to give intensive classical ballet courses for Spanish Conservatories and by the University of the Philippines for the Master of Dance Production course in Manila.

At present, Irene is the co-director and ballet mistress and répétiteur in all the productions of Ballet David Campos Dance School. Currently, the school has 90 students and also employs two top Filipino ballet dancers namely Elline Damian and Eduardo Espejo. Both Elline and Eduardo are actively performing in ballet concerts mounted by the school and giving out classes as well.

Last April 24, 2010, Ballet David Campos staged “Bella Durmiente” (Sleeping Beauty) in Igualada.  On May 1, 2010, the group will be staging “En Clave de Jazz (A touch of Jazz) at the Sta. Coloma Theatre.

Her message to her fellow kababayans, Irene said it best.  “We Filipinos have a lot of talents to offer to the world.  Let‘s show them what we’ve got!”  Written by Nathaniel Sisma Villaluna

‘Filipinos have a way of doing things, we have the Pinoy touch…Her students both found a teacher and a friend in her.’

(For more information, pls. check out Ballet David Campos\’s website)