Quirino caring for the arts

Scenic Quirino was the venue of the latest holding of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ Amping Sining, a series of workshops on the seven arts.

VISUAL arts workshop conducted by Edgar Talusan Fernandez.

Take a trip to the north, if you have the time. Come to the province of Quirino in the Cagayan Valley, which lies beside Isabela and once was part of Nueva Vizcaya. You will find the ambience there bracing and conductive for work, especially if you are an artist or a writer.

The province has only six towns, the capital being Cabarroguis. The topography here is such that at one time it encouraged cultists who guard caves. One such is the Lamplighter, whose members are longhaired and barefoot.

“They are an environmental group and their motto is to save Mother Earth,” a forester once told me. Since then, many members have gone to other provinces and only a few remain here. There are other cultists believed to be here.

RIVER at the Siitan Nature Park in Nagtipunan.

The author at the seven-tiered falls at Maddela Ecotourism Park.

The other towns are Diffun, Saguday, Aglipay, Maddela and Nagtipunan. Coming from Nueva Vizcaya and once in Cordon, Isabela, turn left and in a few minutes you will be in Diffun, the first town. And your Quirino adventure begins. The province is much changed since I first visited it briefly in 1999. In Diffun, the first place of interest for the nature lover is Ganano Falls, which is 80 meters high. You have to pass through rivers and streams before reaching the falls so this is only for trekkers.

The highway in Diffun leads to Cabarroguis, with its impressive Quirino Watersports Complex, which is where we were entertained by Quirino governor Junie Cua. It has wakeboarding facilities, a modern pavilion, restaurant and other amenities geared to the comforts of the visitor. Fascinated, we watched the wakeboarding instructor gliding expertly through the waters. But no one took up the challenge of wakeboarding for fear of landing unceremoniously into the lake.

We also visited the Siitan Nature Park in Nagtipunan, with its awesome limestone cliffs and rock formations (some of us opting for a river cruise); and Maddela Ecotourism Park, with its seven-tier waterfalls. Other places to be discovered in Quirino include Governor’s Rapids, Pensal Falls, Diamond Cave in Landingan, which is famous for its viewpoint, and Aglipay Caves and Campsite, with its 37 chambers and modern amenities.

Scenic Quirino was the venue of the latest National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ (NCCA) Amping Sining (meaning “art cares”), a series of workshops on the seven arts: Architecture and allied arts, cinema, dance, dramatic arts, literary arts, music and visual arts.

The workshops, which were held in the last week of August, had the full support of the local government headed by Rep. Dakila Carlo Cua of the lone district of Quirino and Governor Cua. The participants, nearly reaching 300, were students, teachers and employees of the Department of Education. The facilitators were Zyra Bulawan, Michelle Dominique Panganiban, Edgar Talusan Fernandez, Patrick Chong, Ramon Alberto Garilao, Jedrus Yves Patron, Merdeka Morales, Mark Joseph M. Rafal, Edward Perez, Vanessa San Juan, Romel Lomarda, Noemi Binag and Peter de Vera.

“The NCCA has been supporting us for the past couple of years,” said the genial Rep. Cua, who is as tall as a varsity player. “And even before that lumalabas na ang kultura namin, malalim ang character (our culture has developed, the character is deep). So, there is good collaboration with NCCA due to these workshops. It improves the quality of the artists. We look forward to more programs with the NCCA. We are thinking of a compilation, an atlas. This is a good beginning; it will be for generations to come.”

Quirino is predominantly Ilocano but there are also other ethnic groups.

“There are migrants, Ifugao, Cordillera people, Ibanag. They come from all over but there is unity, different cultures living in harmony. We have an advantage and you can see the paintings. We don’t have to be dominated by the global community. Pagdating sa sining, hindi kaya ng computer ‘yan (When it comes to art, the computer is not capable of that). For example, there are musical instruments. That is what people look for. And those who practice sculpture can sell their works.”

The workshop on architecture and allied arts was held outdoors, focusing on landscape art, on beautifying the surroundings of a cottage, part of a subdivision of villas. Guided by the facilitators, they worked under the blazing sun, protected by headgear working over the land and their tools and gradually, as the day progressed, coming up with a picturesque landscape to complement the house. This they documented, and the result was shown to all the other participants in the final gathering.

At the Quirino General High School, the participants in the cinema workshop were hunched over their laptops busy editing the moving images that would go into the final output, a film that would be their collective effort. They broke up into little groups, conferring with one another, commenting on the story that was shaping up. Images would flash on the bigger screen. The observer gazed upon the attractive features of the province, the face of a mature woman, and there was a younger man, probably a guide, describing a riverine scene to unseen visitors.

The resource person, Garilao, a young indie filmmaker, talked about documenting the film, cinematography and putting together a short film.

“I learned a lot from them, the community,” he said.

The facilitator, Patrón, accompanied the group while they shot their own films and did interviews.

“There was the satisfaction,” he observed. “There was tension. There was pressure yet some were just laughing, joking, riding in the tractors. Nakakatuwa (It was fun). It was inspiring.”

The results were shown before the large gathering at the final program held at the Quirino State University. The audiovisual presentation, enhanced by intoxicating music, showed the falls, the people, the attractions of Diffun and its products like rice cakes and other delicious kakanins. The history of Maddela was narrated, and shown were the landscape, river and streams, the products such as fish, garlic, brooms and hats. The mayor was interviewed and talked about how the town copes up with problems.

Filipinos excel in the performing arts, and dance is at the forefront of this sector. Dropping by the Maddela Comprehensive High School, one saw the participants of the workshop taking their cue from a chant which, to the layperson, went something like this: “Ba-sayaw-ba-sayaw.” Ah, it turned out to be a ritual prayer of the contemporary ethnic singer Grace Nono, from one of her albums. The tone was mournful, stylized, majestic.

If you had chanced upon the rehearsals of the dramatic arts, you would think you were watching a telenovela. Well, the key word here is “drama.” The facilitator was Edward Perez from University of the Philippines Los Baños. There were scenes of conflict, exploitation, stylized movements, stentorian delivery of lines in Greek chorus style, heightened emotions, scenarios on how to help a person needing medical attention, with percussion instruments punctuating each scene.

All in all, it was truly theater, for theater is a combination of all the arts, a collective effort on and offstage.

Ah, music. Choral music, at that. A choir was rehearsing their production number. And one thought of our multi-awarded, world-class choirs like the Philippine Madrigal Singers and the University of Santo Tomas Singers. The talk is that when a Filipino choir is participating in international competitions, other choirs become uneasy.

The music workshop participants were first divided into all-male and all-female choirs, vocalizing, music sheets in hand, rehearsing a choral version of the folk song “Magtanim ay ‘Di Biro,” rearranged by Darren Vega. And then, for final presentation of the outputs, they merged into a mixed choir, the sopranos and the altos harmonizing well with the tenors and baritones.

Literature, arguably the most intellectual of the arts, had its day in Amping Sining but it did not focus on the usual literary forms like the poetry or the short story. The emphasis was on “a more imaginative way of reporting,” the definition of creative nonfiction by Theodora Rees Cheney, author of Writing Creative Nonfiction.

For the delectation of the participants, the kinds of creative nonfiction were outlined on the screen: literary memoirs, literary journalism or New Journalism, interview story, feature article, personal narrative, travel essay, profiles, biography and autobiography. Cited were the works of Nick Joaquin, National Artist for Literature, who mastered all the literary arts, whether fiction or nonfiction, poetry or the historical essay.

Creative nonfiction, the would-be writers were told, aims “not just to give pleasure but to give educational information.”

Facilitator for the visual arts workshop was prominent artist Edgar Talusan Fernandez, who could be seen at the Provincial Evacuation Center, moving around, coffee cup in hand, observing the participants, mostly young, at work, suggesting here and there. Most impressive were the three murals at the back of the entrance of the Capitol Gumnasium. These were permanent artworks, merging into a large-scale mural depicting the mountains, hills, rivers, flora and the native products of the province.

For the final output, the smaller pieces of the talented artists, whether figurative, geometric or abstract, were brought to the stage and pieced together to form a unified whole.

Speaking at the finale, with its enthusiastic audience, lively presentations and production numbers and unity dance, Rep. Cua said, “Education carries with it our commitment to art and culture.

Quirino is not a rich province but it is a united community, a convergence of many tribes coming from all over the region. Different cultures, rich cultures. Every tribe has its own distinct culture.”

The youthful lawmaker added: “It is a day to emphasize the importance of the arts, not only to teach but to express abstract ideas, abstract thoughts. There is the spirit of creativity and innovation. That is why these workshops are important. These can be transformed into something we can appreciate. The partnership with NCCA is not only for today but of a lasting nature.”