Christian Aguilar Alcuaz: National Artist’s son honors father with upcoming book

Ever the avid commuter, Christian takes both the MRT (Metro Rail Transit) and LRT (Light Rail Transit) always — even if his dad is no less than National Artist for Visual Arts Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, and though he could easily swap one of his dad’s artworks for a car. After all, Christian is also a car designer.

Indeed, in today’s world shocked by “nepo babies’” extravagant lifestyles hauled from their parents’ corruption and ill-gotten wealth, the backpacker Christian is a poster child of humility and simplicity.

Born in 6 June 1932, in Santa Cruz, Manila, Federico Aguilar Alcuaz was the sixth of 11 children of Encarnacion Alcuaz and Mariano Aguilar, a lawyer and musician, from whom the National Artist for Visual Arts, Painting, Sculpture and Mixed Media would get his lifelong love for music, other than painting.

According to Christian, his dad would have about six portable pianos from Germany at a time and would bring one to the lobby of The Peninsula Manila. He would then play the keyboards while sipping his favorite vodka tonic.

“I think, until around 50, he was heavily on beer,” Christian recalled to DAILY TRIBUNE and Peninsula Manila executives at the launch of his father’s three tapestries in the hotel lobby last week. “But then, because of having problems with health, so gout and things like that, no more beer. And on the advice of a Chinese doctor, he said he should switch to a good pure alcohol.”

From 1949 to 1950, Federico took up painting subjects at the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts. Following his dad’s footsteps, he finished Law at the Ateneo de Manila University in 1955. That same year, he went to Madrid to study at the Academia de San Fernando as a scholar. In 1956, he made Barcelona his career base and joined the La Punalada Group. To distinguish himself from the other Aguilars in the group, he began signing his paintings with “Aguilar Alcuaz.”

But many things about Federico, said his son Christian, has been misunderstood, which is why by February next year, he is set to publish a big coffee table book with over 250 to 300 pages that will not only dispel myths about Federico, but also show never-before-seen artworks because these are in private hands.

According to Christian, most of his dad’s works are in circulation and the family owns only three to four paintings for practicality, since some of his dad’s works are giant tapestries — like the three on view at The Lobby of Peninsula Manila until the end of the month.

The book he is writing, he told DAILY TRIBUNE, is not the first but “probably the most up-to-date, especially when it comes to certain details, the beginning of my father’s career.”

“We have made so many well discoveries we can certainly demystify certain beliefs or misbeliefs, just to correct it. For that matter, this book is really important. And then, as for the intention, actually, I did not choose to write, to have this book done. I was always assuming that it would be my mom who would do that. But my mom is starting to get frail and cannot really travel anymore. And so, since she cannot do it from Germany, the best way was… that I would put on her behalf,” Christian narrated.

Federico was married to Ute Schmitz, mother to Christian and two younger brothers. 

According to Christian, their family remained humble despite his dad’s grand stature as a Filipino artist who exhibited extensively locally and internationally, because their family lived mainly in their mom’s home country, Germany, while their dad stayed mostly in the Philippines.

“My father, for what he told me, my father would have never officially accepted a National Artist award if he were like 40s, 50s, he would not,” Christian said of Federico, who passed away at 78.

Although none of them were into painting or tapestries like his dad was, all brothers were into “some form of art,” said Christian. He is into heritage conservation, another brother is a graphic artist and an illustrator for an advertising company, while the other is an art director and photographer.

“My father never really taught us,” admitted Christian when asked for the best lessons he got from his father. “We asked him a lot of questions and he said like, ‘Well, you do it. What do you, when we ask him things like, ‘Is this good?,’ (he would say,) ‘If you think it’s good, it’s good’.”

He, however, appreciates the beauty in such simplicity.

“Children are so easy to convince. If you don’t make it so difficult to them, things like that are very nice, actually.”