It was an evening of appreciation for the Philippines’ artistic stars, with wild applause and loud cheering normally heard at pop concerts, a reassuring state of affairs for art and culture in the country. The Gawad CCP para sa Sining, after all, is the highest award given by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) to Filipino artists and cultural workers who have achieved a level of excellence and have fired the country’s collective imagination in dance, music, theater, visual arts, literature, film and broadcast arts, and architecture and allied arts.
As each awardee was called to receive a medallion and plaque at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater, our thoughts traveled back to some of their most memorable works that were also given homage through performances by the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO), foremost talents like the Loboc Children’s Choir which also received an award, Bayang Barrios, Popper Bernadas, the Ateneo Chamber Singers, Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group and Alice Reyes Dance Philippines.
Photo by Kiko Cabuena
These were fitting rewards for a life dedicated to art, “a lot of sacrifice, a lot of hard work, a lot of blood, sweat and tears,” as Lea Salonga, singled out for her theater achievements here and abroad, shared onstage.To drive home the point, she added: “And that’s not even a cliché!” She recalled her beginnings as a child actress at Repertory where her two mentors, Zenaida Amador and Baby Barredo, taught her discipline and truth as guiding principles in her career, serving her well to this day.
Just as theatrical and engaging were the other acceptance speeches ranging from the serious and provocative to the downright irreverent and hilarious. Joey Ayala delivered the latter, eliciting immediate laughter as he took the podium, declaring “Buti na lang hindi yung plaque yung sinasabit, ano?” before expressing his appreciation, in flowery neo-Balagtasan mode, for the award given by the institution which he referred to as “CCP po, hindi CPP,” alluding to the previous speech of Jose F. Lacaba, awardee for Literature, who talked about red-tagging in the fight for social justice, an underlying advocacy in his poems, essays and screenplays.
Photo by Kiko Cabuena
Film is a potent art form that actor, director and writer Mario O’Hara employed “to challenge norms and stereotypes, to tell stories that enrich the minds of audiences as he presents the truth,” said his niece, Denise O’Hara. Mike De Leon, director, writer, producer and cinematographer, was also acknowledged for his film contributions but declined the award.
The road to perfecting their individual crafts has been fraught with challenges which the Filipino artist has hurdled with perseverance and a good dose of Pinoy humor, all part of what Ayala considers the “makulay at makabuluhang karanasan” that they go through, like with his Bagong Lumad band whose ethno-pop songs celebrate nature and the need to protect it. He related how, on a CCP Outreach tour in Dumaguete, they barely made it to the ferry ride: “Pagdating sa pier, puno ang storage area ng kalabaw, no choice pinatong na lang ang mga crate ng instrumento at iba pa sa mga kalabaw, sabay hatak para masakay sa ferry. Ungol ang mga kalabaw. Kaya gusto ko ring pasalamatan ang mga kalabaw!”
For Design and Allied Arts Awardee Gino Gonzales, mentors helped him navigate the treacherous waters of the theater, acknowledging the late Toto Sicangco: “Aside from the ability to embrace the baroque and borloloy, he also taught me the art of being mataray.” This helped him in dealing with those he laughingly called “frenemies” – the production managers like Lalyn Samson of Tanghalang Pilipino and the late Dodo Lim of BP, Rep and Actors Actors, who both strictly controlled the “miniscule budgets.” But they always worked things out since they wanted the best for the show, and Gino always made do with what was available, even turning the humblest materials into the most beautiful scenographies.
Photo by Kiko Cabuena
“Although government extends massive support to culture and the arts, more is still needed,” CCP chair Jaime C. Laya said in his opening remarks, which served as a prelude to the Tanging Parangal awarding of the late Nedy Tantoco, a staunch supporter of the arts from the private sector, whose philanthropic works have benefited the CCP, its resident companies and employees. She was represented by her son, Anton Huang, who shared how “she believed that the arts had the power to transcend time, to speak to the soul, and to unite us all.”
Another Tanging Parangal posthumous award went to Sen. Edgardo Angara, represented by daughter, Anna, who remembers him for “being the architect of key legislation that ensured education was accessible to all Filipinos” aside from his “advocacy for culture, significantly affecting the development of arts and other cultural activities in the country.”
For all his contributions to the country’s orchestral scene, Oscar Yatco was conferred the Tanging Pagkilala which was received for him by NAMCYA’s Renato Lucas who read a letter from Yatco’s German wife, Brigitte, outlining his role in the development of the MSO and PPO from the ’60s till his demise in 2014.
There were mixed feelings among the recipients. Julie Llluch, who was recognized in the Visual Arts for her sculptures that mirror and reflect the wisdom she acquired as she took on different life roles, felt unease in “spending the rest of my artistic days justifying this award to myself” but was grateful for how it could “spur me on – not to greater heights but to lower depths that every artist needs to descend to and touch the festering wounds of suffering humanity.”
A sense of humility also predominated. Gener Caringal shared the award for Dance “with all the geniuses who have crossed my path, just knowing all of you have fueled my creativity and made my work all the more richer.” Marilyn Gamboa, recognized for her cultural administration that helped sustain institutions and programs in her home province, credited her Negros Museum staff and other generous and hardworking Negrenses “because without them, this achievement would not have come to fruition.” It does take a village, after all, to reach great heights in the arts, each one doing his part. Even as spectators, we are participating in art’s raison d’etre, giving it meaning and making it flourish.
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Log on to www.culturalcenter.gov.ph IG @culturalcenterph. Follow the authors on Instagram @rickytchitov; Twitter @RickyToledo23; Facebook – Ricky Toledo Chito Vijandre.
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