ART ARCHIVE 03

CONTENTS

The Japan Foundation, Manila

ART ARCHIVE 03 Music
EDITOR’S NOTE
INSIGHT: POWERFUL MOVE: INTUITION AND FASHION INNOVATION
Why Music Matters to the Communities The Influence of Budots by Lulu Tan-Gan

114
by José S. Buenconsejo, PhD in Philippine Society

08 by Desiree Peralejo

Retracing 68
Movement
Redefining Contemporary
Visual Art
WADING IN PLASTIC:
Histories
RECONTEXTUALIZING OPM & Performativity A Graphic Design Packaging Dilemma
IN THE 21st CENTURY MUSIC FESTIVALS IN THE PHILIPPINES: by Dan Matutina and Dang Sering
by Krina Cayabyab Tropicality, Identity, Cosmopolitanism
124
12 by Tusa Montes

78 ZINE FAST, DIY YOUNG,

BEYOND MUSIC LEAVE A GOOD-LOOKIN ‘ROX:
AND SOUND ART Design Disruption by Design Starring the Punks,
by Agnes Manalo Poets, and Poseurs of the Philippine

22 EDITOR’S NOTE
NARRATING SUSTAINABILITY, BY DESIGN:
Zine Community
by Adam David

VARIETIES OF CONTEMPORARY FILIPINO

Stories of Responses to Sustainable Futures
by Ar. Leonido Gines, Jr. and Ar. Gerry Torres 132
SONG MASHUPS (1970s TO PRESENT)
by José S. Buenconsejo, PhD
86
32 UNDERSTANDING MUTUAL SUPPORT: Contributor Biographies
142
Creating More Meaningful Spaces
PINOYS AND BATTLE RAP: by Sudarshan V. Khadka Jr.
Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo and Alexander Eriksson Furunes
by Lara Katrina T. Mendoza, PhD
96
44 Directory of Philippine
BAMBOO ARCHITECTURE
AND ITS SUSTAINABILITY
Music and Design
SITUATING MUSIC
by Rosario Encarnacion Tan Institutions
IN THE CONTEXT OF RECENT TRENDS
IN ORIGINAL PHILIPPINE MUSICAL
THEATER PRODUCTIONS
102 146
by Aileen dela Cruz

58
P R E FA C E ART ARCHIVE 03

The Japan Foundation is Japan’s only institution dedicated

to carrying out comprehensive international cultural exchange
programs throughout the world. With the objective of cultivating
friendship and ties between Japan and the world through culture,
language, and dialogue, the Japan Foundation creates global
opportunities to foster trust and mutual understanding.

The 18th overseas office founded in 1996, The Japan

Foundation, Manila is active in three focused areas: Arts and
Culture; Japanese Studies and Intellectual Exchange; and Japanese
Language Education.

This book is the third volume of the ART ARCHIVE series,

which explores the current trends and concerns in Philippine
contemporary art, published also in digital format for accessibility
and distribution on a global scale. This volume features sixteen
contributors, putting forth a diverse set of perspectives about
contemporary music and design in the country. Both genres have
been drawing much attention locally and globally but there is little
publication to give outline of their current states and interpret their
background for the global readers.

We hope that this publication will serve as a resource for our

readers thereby contributing constructively to the dialogue and
promotion of contemporary art in the region. We would like to
express our gratitude to the editors, Prof. José S. Buenconsejo of
the Music Section and Ar. Gerry Torres and Ar. Leonido Gines Jr. of
the Design Section for their curation and advice. And we thank all
the contributors and the editorial team for their painstaking labor
on this publication.

The year 2020 has been a challenging time for everyone. Amidst
the global pandemic and socio-civic campaigns, we believe that
international collaboration has much more importance in opening
avenues for idea exchange in finding innovative ways to solve the
adversities we are facing. Our strength is in our unity.

The Japan Foundation, Manila

The Japan Foundation, Manila
September 2020
6 7
ART ARCHIVE 03

The music section of this volume contains seven essays, each of which is
devoted to a particular type of music that is fully practiced at present and therefore
significant to a community. These musics—pop song, sound art, mashup,
battle rap, music for theater and film, festival music, and budots dance—are all
contemporary in the true meaning of the word. They were selected because we
were keen in driving home the point that there is a plethora of musical practices in
the Philippines, and that there is a dire need to pay attention to them as singular
expressions within highly specific contexts of musical communicative use. In
short, in the spirit of celebrating music diversity, we wanted to be as inclusive
as we can so that the expressions are each understood in its own terms and not
judged with labels that are outside of it.
As students of culture, we wanted to write a wider range of music
making in the country (from highbrow to lowbrow), an act of recognizing the
heterogeneity and plurality of the musical worlds one chooses in the current age

INSIGHT: when everything is entangled with other things in a globalized yet resolutely local
environment. There are, of course, many other music subcultural genres—such

Why Music Matters as jazz, varieties of rock, indigenous music, heavy metal music, TV-mediated
genre of singing—that beg for inclusion in this music section. But the practicality

to the Communities
of including them all is not possible due to lack of space. The stance that we wish
to do in this section is to debunk the older intellectual paradigm in which music
genres are judged according to fixed elitist standards (canon) and legitimacy
(what ought to be written based on that canon). The main assumption that drives
this group of essays thus hinges on the concept of culture being an important
words by
process behind any music making. We deal here with a value for music as a
JOSÉ S. BUENCONSEJO, PhD cultural production that is materially situated within various ecologies of listening.

8 9
INSIGHT: ART ARCHIVE 03
WHY MUSIC MATTERS TO THE COMMUNITIES

The contemporaneity of the genres in the music about notations that render the experience into abstract This bonding creates a moment of forgetfulness of
section can be gleaned at the attention that all the terms but in the body, which has the faculty of memory the true material conditions. Peralejo argues that this
contributors of this section have made towards and imagination that can generate new creations. worked in the case of the politician who danced his
considering the recent material conditions that have Buenconsejo details the major musical processes way to winning in 2016, even if there was the seething
impacted on recent music making. These conditions in a wide variety of mashups that reveal remarkable evidence of corruption. This forgetfulness of the
speak to the availability of sound technology and visual musicalities among the people who are grounded in present can also apply to an art choreography in which
media, travel and tourism, affordability of electronic an acoustic ecology that is filled with recorded sounds the human rights of the poor people are trampled,
gadgets, and global interconnectivity via the internet. emitted from videoke screens and YouTube. Mashups leading to disappearance and mass murder.
These developments were not easily available to Filipino could not have come about had not the music oozing Outside of this sad note, recent decades have seen
music makers before the 1970s and, it seems to me, this from the screens triggered the artistic impulses of the the rise of urban, non-governmental, entrepreneurial
decade can be a good starting point to clarify when the viewers who then transformed their sound experiences festivals where global pop and fusion musics are
word “contemporary” begins, if indeed we are to construe into new ones. celebrated. Tusa Montes discusses the outlook of the
the historical period when the major transformations of The phenomenon of experiencing physical and organizers and sponsors of these recent events that
Philippine music were felt. The materiality of the decade virtual images is also manifested in the sensational attract international travelers, who have—through their
was the enabling environment in which subsequent music FlipTop “battle rap” that Lara Mendoza writes about. openness to other peoples’ cultures—acquired the
genres were nurtured. From the point of view of the MCs who get to show off attitude of cosmopolitanism. This is another sign of the
The rise of the local music industry in the 1970s is their skills in rhymed rapping in the series of agonic and times, and it is attached to the commerce of tourism
proof of this enabling musical environment that led to the sport-like spectacle from the beginning of the year to its which, pertinent to the Philippines, has rendered the
growth of Original Pilipino Music (OPM). In her essay, Krina end, FlipTop gives voice and visibility to the participants music and its music as “of the tropics.”
Cayabyab argues that this production has been renewed and this is immeasurable. No wonder it is followed by From these seven essays, Philippine music is
recently, albeit with a sense of dynamism as evident in its millions of millennials, thanks to Anygma, who sees his definitely seen not as a museum piece but a living one
aesthetics as well as in the shift to new, alternative, and mediations as a means for their popularity and success. that is ecologically situated in an environment that
independent ways of producing and distributing records This brings the issue to the importance of musical has been enabled by the materialities of technology
that began in the first decade of this millennium. media in the everyday lives of contemporary Filipinos. and media. The genres and forms presented in the
Indeed, the affordability of audio equipment and the The availability and saturation of sounds and images section are seen by the seven authors as co-evolving
availability of resources that one can tap on the internet in the media of the present-day world is bewildering. within the various concrete social networks of makers
have been a part of these changes in material reality that Aileen dela Cruz talks about some of the recent stage and listeners. By paying attention to the dynamic
pushed creative and imaginative individuals to innovate and film productions that reveal constant recycling of relationships between listeners who listen to the
and create something new. A good example of this is prior representations that are combined in new ways. diverse sound idioms specific to their environments,
the emerging form “sound art” that is one of the signs of This results in an originality that is not quite “authentic.” we get a better understanding of why music matters to
the times. Agnes Manalo describes this fusion of music The availability of existing works is recasted to create a the communities. We therefore hope this issue paves a
technology with media arts among four practitioners in postmodern aesthetic in which old works are conflated way to that kind of insight.■
Manila whose works bleed the boundaries separating with new ones. This disrupts the sense of discreteness of
academic new music with the contemporary world of time as a sequence. It evoked nostalgia in a recent film
media arts and sound design. Their edgy artworks are adaptation of a pre-1970s novel as well as pastiches in
intellectual yet within the grasp of anyone (beyond face- the many jukebox musicals that were in vogue in recent
to-face formal music learning) who is networked to years. The recorded sound (a technological product)
various others and who is inquisitive enough to explore and the memory that went with its consumption were so
possibilities. The imaginative faculty remains the more important in stirring these postmodern creations.
important sufficient condition, beyond the necessary Media is indeed power. As a textual representation of
technology, for someone to produce an intermedia reality, its power is seen in two divergent uses of the kitsch
creation that innovates on things meant for futurity. dance budots, a topic that Desiree Peralejo discusses
But what about the Filipino working class who are not in her essay. She suggests the embeddedness of arts
exposed to such avant garde ideas? in social reality by arguing that budots—being a dance
This question is addressed by José Buenconsejo who appreciated by the masses—can enable trust between
talks about the ways of the musically non-literate Filipino the dancer and the spectator because images of the
musicians who mainly experience music through their performance invokes the shared world of pakikisama
ears (aurality). As one sound artist said, music is really not (value for being together) between dancer and watcher.

10 11
words by ART ARCHIVE 03

KRINA CAYABYAB
RECONTEXTUALIZING OPM
IN THE 21st CENTURY

Fig. 1

On March 27, 2019, during the open forum following the winning songs of the Metropop Festival (including the
the launch of the film documentary Sa Madaling Salita, chart-topping hit, “Anak” (Child), the Tagalog translations
OPM: Ang Himig Pilipino Sa Dekada Sitenta (In Other of English covers, the cultural policies surrounding radio
Words, OPM: Song of the Filipino in the 1970s), a lingering airtime, the hits of Rico J. Puno, the popularity of Jingle
comment from at least two audience members was Chordbook Magazine, folk recordings arranged in jazz,
raised: if the 1970s was truly the Golden Age of OPM, why Vicor vs. OctoArts vs. JEM record companies, payola
can’t the music of today capture that same glory? being raised in the Senate, not to mention the martial law
This extolling but quite dichotomizing view was then regime and the protest songs that came along with it.
reinforced by some of the film’s informants — key players More connotations continue to link the term with
of the music scene during that decade. They spoke things further in the past, highlighting those disruptions
sentimental truths and of their meaningful memories that buttressed significant changes in the ‘70s. From
that plea for further discourse. This hovered above the “Tagalog syndrome” (when songs/films in Tagalog
audience of a motley crew: artists, professors, graduate seemed hard to sell) to “Tagalogmania” (when colloquial
and college students, friends and family of the informants, Tagalog became the trend), from “plakang-plaka” (exact
and individuals in their youth during the ‘70s and the ‘80s. cover versions) to new compositions and arrangements,
But a discussion did not take place, partly because there and from four-track recording to eight- or 16-track
was a lack of time, and partly (more crucially) because no standards. These have stacked up a myth that captures
one was prepared to elucidate an argument and to follow an ideology of nationalism in recorded sounds. OPM
through substantially. Yet, there is nothing to disregard has become a metaphor for differentiation, an identity,
about the people, institutions, and moments that have a community, and to some extent, ethnocentricity. It was
made the music recording world of the 1970s. It was in subjected to the process when, for example, a song is
this period when the marketing of Filipino-made records composed and recorded by Filipino artists, and aired
in stores as OPM — Original Pilipino Music — became a over various media, it becomes ‘normally, self-evidently,
reality. timelessly, and obviously’ an OPM. Comments such as
And so OPM became a powerful tool; a sign of the the one just mentioned have become an “incontestable”
rich popular music culture of the 1970s. Consequently, it judgment. OPM grew into a dominant cultural value in
became a signifier for many associations: the brand of local music history.
Manila Sound, the disco of VST & Co., and The Boyfriends,

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RECONTEXTUALIZING OPM ART ARCHIVE 03
IN THE 21st CENTURY

OPM AS A MYTH DIGITAL MEDIA AND THE OPM INDIExMAINSTREAM

Now four decades down, the acronym continues to In this section, we try to make sense of the terms
bulge with multiple meanings and complex interpretations. “mainstream” and “indie” and their relationship with digital

It seems that the myth of OPM

Indeed, OPM as a myth has helped “us to make sense of media at present. David Hesmondhalgh (2013) and Daniel
our experiences within”1 a Filipino culture. In the past ten Nordgård (2016) talk about the “digital divide” where,
years, newspaper and online articles sought to evaluate despite the internet’s quirk of enabling “emancipatory,
the various new meanings. Writers tackled the question of
what it consists of, while discussing issues related to power
democratizing and liberating effects of digitalization,”
there is the inequality of accessibility and the diverse
remains in the effective struggle
to be positioned in the everyday.
systems. Dualisms of local vs. foreign, or mainstream vs. levels of skills that users can’t or can only acquire. It is
independent, or recording vs. live scenes are also taken also significant to consider questions of class structure,
side by side. And, of course, the maturity-decline approach income and education when analyzing the media reception
persists, dealing with economic or aesthetic values and
comparisons from one point in time to another. Titles along
of a group. In September 2018, it has been reported that
47% of Filipinos use the internet, the rest of the 53% do
Its naturalized power has brought
about movements and support
these veins include “OPM is dead, so sue me” (Claudio, not.2 Despite being declared as the leading country
2012), “OUR Pinoy Music” (Poblete, 2012), “Who Killed OPM?” worldwide for internet usage in 2018 by We Are Social and
(Replente, 2017), “Now and Then: Is OPM Going Extinct?” Hootsuite,3 more than half of Filipinos access traditional
(Santos, 2012), “Original Pilipino Music in Crisis” (Ballaran,
2012), “OPM Fighting for Survival” (Bercasio, 2016), “Original
media such as the television and the radio. Nielsen’s TV
Audience Measurement results show that from 2013 to
for its sustainability and relevance/
irrelevance in society. In the 21st
Pilipino Music (OPM) is Still Vital Today” (Lirios, 2017), “The 2015, while Filipinos still steadily absorb information and
Fall and Rise of Philippine Music” (bworldonline, 2018), enjoy entertainment through television, “digital viewership
“Louder for the people in the back: indie vs. Popular Filipino has grown six-fold” during these years. This engagement
Music” (Canto, 2019), and most recently, “OPM: Rising
Thru Streaming” (Business Mirror, 2019). There is also the
of viewing multiple screens simultaneously increases
the probabilities for audience receptivity and information
century, what are the new layers
of signs that recontextualize,
implicit and explicit resistance of the sign — “No to the Term retention.
OPM! Yes to Filipino Music” (Manitoba Filipino Journal, 2015) “Mainstream” is described by Alison Huber (2013)
and, “Long Live Local Music!” (Katigbak, 2012). as a “conceptual tool that illuminates the ways in which
It seems that the myth of OPM remains in the effective
struggle to be positioned in the everyday at the moment.
certain kinds of music come to temporarily dominate
everyday life at certain times and in certain places.” By
if not enervate, OPM?
Its naturalized power has brought about movements and this definition, the distinction between mainstream and
support for its sustainability and relevance/irrelevance in indie can become null. Any form of musical product blown
society. In the 21st century, are the new layers of signs that up on the cloud that disrupts and floods search feeds
recontextualize, if not enervate, OPM? Various kinds of momentarily will garner a range of participative levels from the mainstream representation and source of what has legal conditions were still in transition. It was 2004 when
intermediations have become added meanings in today’s different groups of people. When the numbers reach million become associated with the “indie voice.” Five years the band started playing in bar gigs, coming up with their
OPM world. Just to name a hotchpotch of where the term hits and followers, it becomes an imagined mainstreamity. after her introduction to the media, Moira was hailed as the first album in 2006 produced by an indie label. Throughout
is celebrated: local music festivals, television singing The oft mentioned descriptions of the term “indie” number one streamed local artist on Spotify in 2018 and the the singles, albums and music videos released, live
competitions and variety shows, radio music shows, live may be classified according to three categories whose following year, she sat as one of the judges on the singing concerts performed in the PH and outside the country,
concerts, bar gigs, movie and teleserye themes, jukebox conventional meanings periodically transform: (1) practice; competition franchise Idol Philippines. Just four years ago, with citations made by Time Magazine and BBC in 2007,
musical theatre, songwriting competitions, songwriting (2) sound; and (3) position in the industry. Practice is she was a finalist at The Voice Philippines. Her presence having their album put on sale by Tower Records in Japan
camps, YouTube music-related videos, music licensing and grounded in the do-it-yourself (DIY) ideology. With in other forms has made her more resounding, just as how in 2018, Up Dharma Down has claimed the reputation of
publishing regulations, songs and artists that target socio- new music economies, terms and relationships such as her song “Malaya” (Free) became identified with the film being the leading “indie band” of the country. All these were
political issues, music and the advertising world, punk, aggregator, metadata, and streaming are added in the Camp Sawi (Camp Unfortunate). Alongside these constant attained through the fabrication of mainstream industry
alternative, rock, jazz, hip-hop, and comedy songs, popular vocabulary of the indie practice with digital media. mainstream appearances in traditional media, Moira is, of traditions and indie practices. While taking hold of their
music scenes beyond Metro Manila, especially in Visayas Saying “That sounds so indie,” implies that a course, not left behind in digital media. creative work, efforts toward commercial popularity
and Mindanao, academic institutions with music production style has locked down an abstract sonic idea of the If Moira’s voice has become the sound bite for led them to having their songs in the soundtracks of
courses, recording studios, individual listening experiences, term in a particular place and time of a culture. Nitsuh the mainstream indie voice in recent years, more than mainstream films, performing for ad campaigns and even
and individual choices of creating music. Abebe (2009) describes a trending global female vocal ten years ago, it was “Armi.” Without overlooking other being brand ambassadors, opening for popular foreign
The next sections will discuss meanings brought about sound of the decade as “quiet, wry, quaint, imaginative, factors for their music’s recurrence, Up Dharma Down’s acts in large stages in the country, topping local radio and
by digital media, indie and mainstream; the heritage of thoughtful, nice… po-faced, insular, lacking in passion… aesthetics transgressed the practice definitions of “indie” music television stations, and eventually, accepting awards
covers and jukebox musical theatre; and reflections on polite, predictable, timid…” From 2013 onwards, since and “mainstream.” They began as a band during the of recognition for Best New Artist (2006), Album of the Year
songwriting competitions, camps, and the apparent creative the popularity of the McDonald’s commercial and steep decline of local physical album sales, during the (2009) and Vocalist of the Year (2009).
movements of Filipinos from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. hook “Hooray for Today,” Moira Dela Torre has become notoriousness of peer-to-peer network sharing, and when

14 15
ART ARCHIVE 03

RECYCLING PAST OPM IN THE PRESENT

Considering the competition’s characteristic of being There are implications of making cover songs of OPM.
commercially produced, the audience reach of the band has For example, a song’s impact in the past can instantly be
spilled out from digital media. After 2016, the band has been an effective tool to shape and affect a product’s popularity.
producing stand-alone concerts, with a following that has “’Di Na Muli” (Never Again), composed by Jazz Nicholas
reached more than 2 million monthly listeners on Spotify. The and Wally Acolola in 2016, intersected and intruded various
group was eventually named as one of only two local artists media. It received its first prominence as the grand prize
in the top ten Spotify charts in the past year. Testifying to winner of the PhilPop Songwriting Competition in 2016. Its
their superior audience reach are their mall concerts, where recall was soon revived in 2018 with the production of a
the audience of about a thousand would boisterously sing music video where the band Itchyworms performed around
along with their songs, and the vivacity in the entire mall the main theatre of the Cultural Center of the Philippines
would be very overwhelming. With the number of covers against a lighting design in remembrance of Teddy
of their songs uploaded on YouTube, and being on top of Hilado. It was further exhilarated by the modern dance
the listenership of local Spotify, Ben&Ben has achieved choreography and performance of Carissa Adea. In the
Fig. 2 ample audience approval. In the context of the term indie same year, the film Sid and Aya: Not A Love Story starring
as more of a genre rather than a practice, Ben&Ben is Anne Curtis and Dingdong Dantes utilized the song as its
aided by talent management Sindikato, while their music OST. This version sung by Janine Teñoso had amassed Fig. 3

‘INDIE FOLK POP’ is distributed by record label Sony Music Philippines. millions of views and streamings across all media platforms.
This ties up to another definition of indie as perceived Despite being managed, Ben&Ben’s musical and creative On top of this interpretation, many other covers swamped
through these three acts who have chosen to brand their choices in writing and producing their songs result from the YouTube-verse. These occurrences have validated the the target audiences were the age groups that spent their
sound as “indie folk pop.” Indie here has become an the collective agency of the band’s members. This is an value of each product and creator (the song, the movie, the youth relating to the songs and the spirit of the 1970s (APO)
industry-based genre (Negus, 1998), whose conventions example of a current “alternative mainstream” practice or artist, the music video, the artists that have collaborated in and the 1990s (Eraserheads). This strategy of relating an
include “simplicity, austerity, technophobia, and nostalgia” platform in the industry where bottom-up production and all the art forms, etc.) in the music scene. age group’s identity with a decade’s radio and record hits
(Fonarow, 2006). Furthermore, instrumentations usually top-down distribution converge (van Poecke). Another common instance of making cover versions is also aligned with the purchasing power of each musical’s
include acoustic guitars, multiple voices and harmonies, Going beyond this audience approval is the audience’s producing a compilation of an artist’s (or more commonly viewers.
egalitarian stage setups, the downplaying of musical exertion in providing their support for the artist. Audience of a band’s) hit songs which are arranged and interpreted But more than this economic factor, the producers of
virtuosity and soloing, and the use of metaphor and action has since been extraordinarily experienced by Reese by current artists. In 2005, the compilation of the revisited the two shows knew the sense memories that the songs of
polysemy in language (van Poecke, 2017). Overall, it Lansangan, an all-around artist who has transitioned from songs of the 1990s popular alternative band Eraserheads each band can effectively provide. And as a convention of
operates in the “participatory culture” framework of music- being a fashion designer and graphic artist to a singer- was produced by then Sony BMG Music Philippines Inc. popular culture, this venture of producing song revivals in
making, aesthetics and production. songwriter. She used to assert the practice of independence with the title Ultraelectromagneticjam: The Music of the a different artistic format incited curiosity and excitement,
Ransom Collective is a six-piece band from the by getting everything done herself. But later on, aside from Eraserheads. The following year, Universal Philippines especially for the markets of both OPM and theatre. True
University of the Philippines that came together in 2014. managing her own independent company and obtaining her commissioned artists for a similar revival collection of enough, both productions had reruns and revamps in 2019,
They independently released their EP and album on Spotify. own indie managers, she welcomed a team of creative fans 1970s hit trio, APO Hiking Society. The album’s title is Kami with a reimagined interpretation of the artist catalogues’
After joining and winning the band competition at the first who worked on her productions for free. Eventually, they nAPO Muna and was followed up the next year by a second texts, melodies and signified sonic experiences. Both
Wanderland Music Festival in the country (which is similar called themselves “Reese Kids,” including key people such compilation entitled Kami nAPO Muna Ulit. This production carried out the intention of mounting narratives with past
to the Coachella Festival of the US), the band became the as the sound engineer, road manager, and merchandise direction of commemorating artists of the past reinstates socio-political themes made relevant to the present (in the
vogue of indie. The band consciously manages and creates manager. their popular position, renovating constructions about case of the APO Musicale, relating to martial law). One had
tactics to get a constant media presence to especially All these artists have been very active over social the country’s popular music culture. Overall, the inherited generally more reconstructed arrangements of the songs,
publicize their lifestyle, gigs, and activities that instantly networks and digital media. Towards the end of the second industry and sonic power of the two groups were made even and the other adhered closer to the original formats.
shape their iconic appeal. They have also performed decade of this 21st century, when a Filipino musician with more resilient. Another significant musical of this jukebox genre was
in music festivals in Singapore and in India, where they popular genre conventions comes with an objective of Speaking of Eraserheads and APO Hiking Society, in Philippine Educational Theater Association’s Rak of Aegis.
represented the country at the ASEAN-India Music Festival. being heard and known, online presence is extremely 2018, their music faced a parallel popularization — this time The material had its world premiere in 2014 and continued
They have become even more known in media through necessary. This online presence has also become through the musical theatre idiom. The jukebox musical to have restagings until 2019, having produced more than
their partnerships with the popular bag and gear shop, advantageous for the current music influencers. Because was not new in the local industry, even more so in the 400 shows since then. Besides the songs that were used
BratPack. Despite all these, the members of the band have of them, the sonic past has become more omnipresent. A American industry where Elvis Presley hits became the and how they were utilized, a jukebox musical’s success
their own day jobs. song from the past can function differently at present. It genre’s first material in the 1950s through Rock Around the crosses all the elements of theatre productions including
On the other hand, the members of another indie can brew up new meanings and memories for individuals Clock (1956). The target audience was the youth, and the artistic direction, production and stage management, the
folk band Ben&Ben consider themselves as full time and groups of people. And eventually, it can be subjected purpose then was to support the consumerism of rock ’n players onstage, and, of course, the script. More in-depth
band members who focus on the production, creation and to a renewed position in the music scene. The song roll, the popular genre of the time. In the context of the two interdisciplinary and musicological analyses are yet to be
performance of their music. Ben&Ben joined the Philpop achieves a more popular and amplified resonance among jukebox musicals Ang Huling El Bimbo (Eraserheads songs) made to further understand the art world of jukebox musicals
Songwriting Competition in 2016, winning third place. listeners. and Eto Na! Musical nAPO! (APO Hiking Society songs), in the Philippine context. Significantly, OPM’s penchant

16 17
RECONTEXTUALIZING OPM ART ARCHIVE 03
IN THE 21st CENTURY

ADVOCATING OPM ACROSS MUSIC SCENES

AND GENRES

Towards the end When it comes to songwriting training and exposure,

the encouragement to churn out and exercise musical
created by Mindanaoans through its annual songwriting
competition that began in 2019. VisMinPop and BisRock
the finals, the songs are sent off to penetrate radio shows,
social media networks like Facebook, Instagram and
creativity with a Filipino sensibility has continued to be include songs such as “Ha-Ha-Ha Hasula” (Ha-Ha-Ha Twitter, Spotify playlists, and YouTube via music or lyric

of the second
addressed in the 2010s. Among other avenues, social Hassle) by Kurt Fick, “Sa Akong Heart” (In My Heart) by Von videos. From these formats, the songs’ over-all appeal
and training environments such as the Elements, PhilPop, Saw, “Lame” (Sarap) by Midnasty, “Cebuana” by Karencitta, and audience reach are surveyed up until Finals’ Night.
and FILSCAP Songwriting Camps have become centers “Bisan Pa” (Kahit Na) by WetSlipperz, and “Duyog” Both the star quality and singing skill of the interpreters
of exploration, inspiration and collaboration among (Accompanied) by Jewel Villaflores. of the songs are inevitably crucial to a song’s success

decade of this individuals who craft their meanings of passion and music
inventiveness through interactions with fellow artists and
Songwriting competitions of a nationwide scope have
swung a cradle of artistic intentions aimed at signifying
to place in the competition, and significantly, success
to take part in the everyday lives of the Filipino listening
followers. Mentors who have been active in the scene newness, nationalism, and inclusiveness. A song clearly market.

21st century, when

and mentees who are navigating their music take part in becomes an object of the industry, subject to evaluation The most recent winners of the first two competitions,
a creative exchange. Facilitators of these settings include according to marketability. Back in the 1970s, the urge to which have achieved a sustained recurrence in the OPM
Ryan Cayabyab, Jay Durias, Jungee Marcelo, Jonathan strengthen and propagate the Filipino identity and artistic pop market, include PhilPop’s “Dati” (Before) composed

a Pinoy musician
Manalo, Ebe Dancel, Jim Paredes and Gabby Alipe, just uniqueness through popular music served as an underlying by Thyro Alfaro and Yumi Lacsamana, and interpreted
to name a few of the camps’ very long list of songwriting objective of the Metropop Songwriting Competition. As by Sam Concepcion and Tippy Dos Santos; and “Di Na
confidantes. With the vision of bringing in the next nurturers an effect of songwriters aiming for their songs to have a Muli” (Never Again) composed by Jazz Nicholas and
of Pinoy-made songs in the country’s ever-developing novel quality recalled by listeners, and of the competition Wally Alcolola and interpreted by Itchyworms. From Himig

comes with an music ecosystem, camps such as these are conducted

beyond Metro Manila.
to upheave the most effective songs for impacting national
consciousness, the arrangements of the competition’s
Handog, there is “Kung Ako Na Lang Sana” (If It Were Me
Instead) composed by Soc Villanueva and interpreted by
The connotation of OPM had been referred to song entries reflected this nature of engaging musical Bituin Escalante; “Titibo-tibo” (Acting Lesbian) composed

objective of being
recorded music made in Metro Manila, and broadcasted prowess. The songs of the first few years of Metropop took by Libertine Amistoso and interpreted by Moira Dela
all over the country. A radio listener from Ilocos, Cebu up forms, melodic contours, harmonic progressions and Torre; and “Mabagal” (Slow) composed by Dan Martel
or Davao would be aware of the top artists and songs expansive ranges that favored a dynamic development of Simon Tañedo, interpreted by Daniel Padilla and Moira
that become hits in Manila. But it was not until this 21st expressing drama, climax, radiance and bravura. The four Dela Torre.

heard and known, century when pop hits from Visayas and Mindanao became
more noticeably aired on Manila’s radio stations, not
songs recognized as the winning compositions of 1978
demonstrated this pompous symphonic, “to win it” rousing
The choice of melodies, lyrics, harmonic progressions,
rhythmic structure, genres, styles, and instrumentation
to mention online. This cross-border transmission and quality of instrumentation. These are “Kay Ganda Ng Ating used in the arrangement contribute to the song’s overall

online presence media flow do not come unaccompanied by the urgency

of Southern Philippines’ local music communities to have
Musika” (How Beautiful Our Music Is) composed by Ryan
Cayabyab and interpreted by Hajji Alejandro; “Pagdating
aesthetics. Take the case of Himig Handog 2019’s grand
winner, “Mabagal”, which combined novelty and ear
their pop music expressions heard in a larger scale. As one Mo” (When You Arrive) composed by Nonoy Gallardo and worm (song retention in memory), among other factors.

is extremely
songwriting participant of PhilPop wrote in 2018, “It means interpreted by Celeste Legaspi; “Narito Ako Umiibig” Juxtaposed with the recurring chorus melody and text,
so much for me to be able to tell my own story in my own (Here I Am, Loving) composed by Nonong Pedero and the composer used a ten-piece band that consisted of a
language because there are some things that I cannot interpreted by Maricris Bermont; and “Ibig Kong Ibigin Ka” six-horn section, a double bass, electric keys and drums.
say in Filipino or English but can really express in my own (I Would Love to Love You) music by Vic Villafuerte, lyrics by Popular in the field of writing jazz arrangements and

compulsory. language.”
Nevertheless, BisRock or Bisaya rock has been around
Rolando Tinio, and interpreted by Anthony Castelo. Against
this template was “Anak” (Child) by Freddie Aguilar, who
directing the AMP Big Band, the leading jazz collective
for professional musicians, Mel Villena utilized the swing
since the 1980s, widely considered as a subgenre of Pinoy immediately achieved international distinction post factum. rhythm, the improvisatory nuances on the saxophone
rock in the Cebuano music scene. It is the lack of national The Metropop ceased to continue by the year 1985, but was and the keyboard, and the extended chord progressions
for icon-making, stardom and artist legacy are well-situated representation that became the primary motivator for a restored by GMA Network from 1996 until 2003. idiomatic of jazz harmony. The proficiency of the arranger
in the world of musical theatre. This has affected an OPM movement like this. Before becoming an accepted label In the 21st century, competitions supplanted this in this convention and his experienced intuition of using the
song’s and artist’s perpetuity and heritage value. Other for a campaign and an advocacy, VisPop was a competition opportunity for the music recording industry to get its jazz style in the genre of pop may be one of the effective
significant events that allowed this return to the past in 2012 as conceptualized by Jude Gitamondoc in 2009. ecological wheel moving. Besides the song arrangements’ elements of the song’s audience receptivity. Yet again, the
involved TV networks’ music programs. Leading this format Visayan Pop Music Festival was not only a competition, influence to make a song’s simplest format activate cumulative contribution of every marketing element, the
is ABS-CBN’s Tawag Ng Tanghalan singing competition, but also a workshop to flesh out new songs of mainstream listenership, the PhilPop Music Festival (2012-2018, with a song’s easy relatability and novelty, and the audience’s
which was first aired in 2016 (the original show had its first appeal, current writing and music production practices. gap in 2017), the Himig Handog Songwriting Competition diverse and diffusive reactions help establish the pop value
run in 1953 until 1972) and continues to top noontime TV Years and disputes later, the term VisPop became a genre (2000-2003, 2013-2019), the Visayan Pop Music Festival of the song.
ratings as of this writing. Other singing competitions that reference that denotes mainstream Visayan pop music. (2013-2017, 2019), and the Mindanao Popular Music In the pre-digital era, one would have to really explore
have recently relaunched past OPM hits include The Voice Similar to this mission is that of MinPop, described by its Festival (2019-2020) exhausted all possible mediations music beyond what radio stations and accessible record
Philippines, Idol Philippines, The Clash and Pilipinas Got Talent. creators as a collective term that refers to the pop music to exponentially expand their songs’ reception. Before bars were publicizing. This is probably why OPM was usually

18 19
RECONTEXTUALIZING OPM ART ARCHIVE 03
IN THE 21st CENTURY

And then as all

Visayan Pop Songwriting Campaign (2020, February 6). Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visayan_Pop_Songwriting_Campaign
BisRock (2020, February 6). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
BisRock
Arceo-Dumlao, Tina. (2014, March 19). Filipino musicians, artists demand

of these can possibly

support from gov’t people. Retrieved from https://business.inquirer.
net/166464/filipino-musicians-artists-demand-support-from-govt-people
Avanzado, Dani. (2019, February 9). A Matter of Love: OPM Gains
a New Sound. Retrieved from https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/

be transmitted
supreme/2019/02/09/1892013/matter-love-classic-opm-gains-new-sound
Ballaran, Joanna. (2012, September 9). Original Pilipino Music in Crisis.
Retrieved from https://www.pressreader.com/philippines/manila-
times/20120909/281479273601412

and intermediated
Bercasio, Joey Mae. (2016, October 8). OPM Fighting for Survival. Retrieved
from https://smartboxph.wixsite.com/arts-culture/opm-fighting-for-survival
Canto, Jesca. (2019, March 25). Louder for the People in the back: indie
vs. Popular Filipino Music. Retrieved from https://www.sunstar.com.ph/
article/1798516

through online
Fig. 4
Claudio, Leloy. (2012, August 28) OPM is dead, so sue me. Retrieved from
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/opinion/content/271491/opm-is-dead-
so-sue-me/story/
associated with the latest production of records, whatever Geronimo’s “Kilometro” (Kilometer), while Geronimo Coke Studio PH Showcases Original Pilipino Music. (2020, January 24).

media, the visual

the genre was. Musical spaces such as bars, hidden rendered This Band’s “Kahit Ayaw Mo Na” (Even If You Retrieved from  https://outoftownblog.com/coke-studio-ph-showcases-
best-of-original-pilipino-music/
venues, informal stages for bands and singer-songwriters Do Not Like Anymore). Just Hush and December Avenue Eugenio, Anne Marielle. (2019, June 10). How Philpop Bootcamp Nurtures
to splurge their penned stuff portray how original Pilipino made a version of Up Dharma Down’s “Tadhana” (Destiny), the OPM Scene One Song at a Time. Retrieved from https://insidemanila.

and sonic signifiers

ph/article/635/how-philpop-bootcamp-nurtures-the-opm-scene-one-
music can happen elsewhere, too. Now with practices such while the latter band covered Just Hush’s “Maikee’s
song-at-a-time
as originals-only nights, busking in the streets, performance Letters.” These artists imprinted the musical style they Garcia, Annabella. (2020, February 6). Meet the Philpop 2018 Semi-Finalists
collaborations, rapping and sing-speaking with backing are known for in the songs they covered. The music from Visayas and Mindanao. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/

of OPM
entertainment/music/209012-list-philpop-2018-top-30-songwriters
tracks, vocal performance with turntable scrubbing, program has become a venue for a dynamic reproduction Gitamondoc, Jude. (2019, March 3). My Vispop Journey. Retrieved
production gig nights with a variety of genres, and live music- and sonic imaginings of newer OPM. from https://www.facebook.com/notes/jude-gitamondoc/my-vispop-
journey/10156223108391375/
cultures can also be OPM. And then all of these can possibly An event such as this that consciously uses OPM is
Katigbak, Luis. (2012, August 30). Long Live Local Music! Retrieved from

are ever-present.
be transmitted and intermediated through online media. The evidence that it still is any form and style of musical work by https://www.spot.ph/entertainment/51836/long-live-local-music
visual and sonic signifiers of OPM are ever-present. a Filipino in any popular music culture. It still is sustained by Lirios, Jose K. (2017, September 26). Original Pilipino Music (OPM) is still
vital Today. Retrieved from http://www.philippineasiannewstoday.com/
Over digital media, OPM artists can be influencers. Take participations and collaborations of different media, bodies,
frontpageslider/original-pilipino-music-opm-still-vital-today/
the case of Bullet Dumas. Aside from being distinguished and art forms. It still is an interplay of power dynamics Medel, Meryl. (2019, September 13). How Coke Studio is Helping Shape
for his attractively unrefined natural voice, choices of and socio-cultural urgencies. It still is an assortment of Today’s OPM Industry. Retrieved from https://8list.ph/how-coke-studio-is-
References helping-shape-todays-opm-industry/
guitar playing styles and brazen out musical themes and belief systems, ideas and aesthetics. It still continues to Balance, Christine. Tropical Renditions: Making Musical Scenes in Filipino Mxxxbebop. (2016, July 13). The Status of Original Pilipino Music (OPM)
texts, Dumas places his personification and translates be in transition, seeping through people’s sonic quotidian America. Duke University Press. 2016. and the Youth Subculture. Retrieved from https://mxxxbebop.wordpress.
Buhler, James, D. Neumeyer, R. Deemer. Hearing the Movies: Music and. com/2016/07/13/the-status-of-original-pilipino-music-opm-in-the-21st-
his performativity over social networks. He sets his online experiences, online, offline, and in retrospect. It still is a sign
Sound in Film History. New York: Oxford University Press. 2010. youth-subculture/
third wall on Twitter with idiomatic statements of subtle of multiple-layered associations in the world of Philippine Huber, Alison. “Mainstream As Metaphor: Imagining Dominant Culture”. In No to the term OPM! Yes to Filipino Music (2019). Manitoba Filipino Journal,
relevance and clever thoughts, keeping his followers music. OPM will continue to be a construct for people whose Redefining Mainstream Popular Music, Baker, S.A. Bennett, J. Taylor, ed. New Vol. 29 No. 3. Retrieved from https://filipinojournal.com/no-term-opm-yes-
York: Routledge. 2013. filipino-music/
engaged. He demonstrates his agape aesthetic and nationhood and identity matter. Hutchinson, Jonathon. “Algorithmic Culture and Cultural Intermediation”. OPM: Rising Thru Streaming (2019, February 17). Retrieved from https://
mindfulness as he stirs up his feeds fashionably, making his Chapter in ResearchGate. September 2017. businessmirror.com.ph/2019/02/17/opm-rising-thru-streaming/
Baker, Sarah, Strong, C., Istvandity, L. Cantillon, Z. The Routledge OPM Music from the Philippines has passed 10bn Spotify streams (2019,
intimate performance space into a rather digital coliseum,
Ben&Ben during soundcheck at the Fort BGC, August Companion to Popular Music History and Heritage. London and New York: October 4). Retrieved from https://musically.com/2019/10/04/opm-music-
Fig. 1
and consummately interpreting the world for his Filipino 2018.
Routledge. 2018. from-the-philippines-has-passed-10bn-spotify-streams/
Fig. 2 Bullet Dumas at Conspiracy Cafe, February 2020
audience. Nordgård, Daniel. “Determining Factors on Digital Change in the Music Poblete, Arielle, K. Ly. (2012, October 1). OUR Pinoy Music. Retrieved from
Fig. 3 Sa Madaling Salita, OPM Documentary poster, March 2019 Industries: A Qualitative Analysis of the Kristiansand Roundtable https://thelasallian.com/2012/10/01/our-pinoy-music/
Fig. 4 VisPop Finals Night, 2017 Conferences”. Dissertation for PhD in Popular Music Performance. Policarpio, Allan. (2013, February 20). New Movement launched to promote
WHAT REALLY IS OPM IN THE 21ST CENTURY? University of Agder. 2016.  OPM. Retrieved from https://entertainment.inquirer.net/81881/new-
In 2017, Coca Cola Philippines launched a music van Poecke, Niels. “Pure taste in popular music: The social construction movement-launched-to-promote-opm
of indie-folk as a performance of poly-purism”. PhD Research Project. Replente, Terence (2017, July 30). Who Killed OPM?. Retrieved from https://
project that aspired to recognize the heritage of OPM. The 1 Chandler, Daniel. In “Denotation, Connotation and Myth” http://visual- Erasmus University Rotterdam. 2017. newsbits.mb.com.ph/2017/07/30/who-killed-opm/
Coke Studio PH program selected and matched current memory.co.uk/daniel/Documents/S4B/sem06.html?LMCL=oydrD0 Wall, Tim. Studying Popular Music Culture. Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Santiago, Katrina S. (2012, October 25) Sa Ikauunlad ng Bayan! OPM ang
Accessed on October 21, 2019. Singapore, Washington DC: Sage Publications, 2013. Print. pp. xi-xiv Kailangan! Retrieved from https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/
and past hit artists of various music genres to make a
2 Pulse Asia. “September 2018 Nationwide Survey on Social Media Use”. Wikström, Patrik. The Music Industry: Music in the Cloud, 2nd edition. content/279631/sa-ikauunlad-ng-bayan-opm-ang-kailangan/story/
cover. The performances were aired over television and http://www.pulseasia.ph/september-2018-nationwide-survey-on-social- Cambridge: Polity Press. 2013. Santos, Tomas (2012, May 13). Now and then: Is OPM going extinct?.
on the company’s YouTube channel. The songs were also media-use/. Accessed on October 21, 2019. Retrieved from https://varsitarian.net/circle/20120513/now_and_then_is_
3 “Filipinos Spend Most Time Online, On Social Media Worldwide”. https:// Articles and Websites opm_going_extinct
recorded and compiled as a playlist on Spotify. For example, www.rappler.com/technology/news/222407-philippines-online-use-2019- What is MinPop? (2020, February 6). Retrieved from https://minpop.com.ph/ The Fall and Rise of Philippine Music (2018, December 14). Retrieved from
during its third season in 2019, This Band covered Sarah hootsuite-we-are-social-report. Accessed on October 21, 2019. about-minpop/ https://www.bworldonline.com/the-fall-and-rise-of-philippine-music/

20 21
words by ART ARCHIVE 03

AGNES MANALO
BEYOND MUSIC AND SOUND ART

Fig. 1

Music and sound are two distinct aural forms of sound as an art form by itself. This new art form is
that have now emerged as one in various music now recognized as sound art.
genre and media. Music, as we know, is intrinsic in all
cultures, each culture having its own set of musical SOUND ART
instruments, social functions and usages in their In the Philippines, Filipino sound artists, both
communities. Through the evolution of its musical experimental enthusiasts and serious creators, have
systems over the last thousand years, the universally embraced the world of sound art. They have exerted
accepted norms and practices of western music effort in its propagation in communities and collectives.
idiom (music of common practice) are currently in use Not to be left behind in the world’s trends in technological
and have become the basis and standard for popular and artistic innovations, the movement started out in
music creation. On the other hand, the awareness spurts, deriving ideas and inspirations from serious
of sound and its technologies commenced a few composer proponents such as Dr. Jose M. Maceda
decades after the discovery of electricity, at the (1917-2004), a renowned Filipino pianist, a pioneering
onset of the invention of the wax cylinder. Later on, it composer and ethnomusicologist. His works showcased
progressed towards the invention of the phonograph, experimental compositions on space, technology and
the initial platform for music recording and playback. its effects on people. In 2017, MACEDA 100 was an
In the early 1900s, sound technologies advanced and event that showcased his legacy in music and its related
were used in the early film sound production. The fields in commemoration of his 100th birth anniversary.
sound technicians’ work primarily ensured that sound Attitude of the Mind was the exhibit component of the
technical requirements, as dictated by its medium, MACEDA 100. This was curated by Dayang Yraola1 and
are met, whether it be for music recording or for the included sound artists such as Tad Ermitaño and Malek
creation of sound for film. As the sound technologies Lopez. Along with Tengal Drilon, founder of WSK,2 an
progressed into developing tools that aided the arts and technology festival, they are the key people in
creation, production and dissemination of music, the the proliferation of sound art in the Philippines. Taken
idea of using the concepts of the sound technologies, from recent personal interviews, their insights on their
inspired from 20th century serious music composers, beginnings, journeys, individual practices and musings
led to the exploration, experimentation and creation on sound art are revealed.

22 23
BEYOND MUSIC AND SOUND ART

Dayang theorizes that the sound SYNTHESIS OF MUSIC AND SOUND

Malek Lopez is an electronic musician,10 a synthesis,
and an award-winning Filipino film scorer. His most recent

art movement in Manila, or sound

work, the indie film Fisting: Never Tear Us Apart, with partners
Erwin Romulo and Juan Miguel Sobrepeña, garnered a
FAMAS11 2019 Outstanding Achievement in Musical Score

practice, for that matter, came

award. He likewise won a Gawad Urian 2019 Best Music
award,12 also with Erwin Romulo, for the Filipino mainstream
movie, Buy Bust.
Malek’s13 academic music background began with his

from three logical threads. One is Fig. 2 studies in classical guitar at the University of Santo Tomas,
and film composition at the Berklee College of Music in
Boston, Massachusetts. In film scoring, he got fascinated

from music, another thread is from THREE LOGICAL THREADS OF SOUND PRACTICE
Dayang theorizes that the sound art movement in
with the idea of inducing reactions from the audience,
having access to their emotions and making them feel
Manila, or sound practice, came from three logical threads. a certain way upon hearing a cue. But as he furthered his

the visual arts and the third path One is from music, from the followers of Jose Maceda and
Lucrecia Kasilag.6 Another thread came from the visual
studies, he realized that the reasons why certain timbre
make people feel a certain way is that we, the listeners, have
artists such as Agnes Arellano7 and Caesar Syjuco8. In the been pre-programmed to feel these emotions because of

came from media.

1980s, it was at Pinaglabanan Gallery where artists would traditions that have been passed on to us. It was because
cross practice with visual arts, literature, and music. This of this that Malek found music synthesis exciting, creating
place birthed the idea, triggering the concept of artists sound from scratch, transforming simple tones, or even
performing music along with their visual art creations. The noise, into something else. To Malek, dealing with synthesis
third path came from media, such as experimental film was something magical, almost like dealing with sorcery.
SYNERGY OF THE ARTS and video. This started also in the late 1980s, particularly Armed with his knowledge in music synthesis, he went back
Dayang Yraola’s love affair with music and the arts began reading about topics on Listening Culture and cultivated in the bar culture. But in all of these threads, it to Manila and became one of the pioneers of electronic
started when she entered the undergraduate program of Acoustic Ecology. In 2012, she worked with other media was from the visual arts, doing contextual art installations music in 1998 and formed the pop electronica duo, Rubber
the University of the Philippines College of Arts and Letters arts projects that opened her world, meeting noise coupled with music such as folk rock, that a strong art Inc, along with Noel De Brakinghe.14 They started playing
in 1993 as a Philippine Studies double major in Art Studies musicians, electronic musicians, and sound artists. She community was built. in street parties in the early 2000s, composing and
and Creative Writing. In 1995,3 she found herself working was introduced to Tad Ermitaño through Mark Laccay, One of her discoveries traces the earliest recorded performing music on the fly, with sets lasting from two to
with visual artists and the theater practitioners. Since her one of her consultants in the Maceda Digitization Project. public usage of the term “sound art” in Manila. This was four hours, until the wee hours of the morning. They would
mother, Marialita Tamanio-Yraola, was an anthropologist Her association with these artists brought out her first in May 1990 in a sound art festival in Angono, Rizal by play in warehouse parties and in bigger events, at product
who closely worked with Jose Maceda at the UP College of output project (MACEDA 100) in which she interfaced pioneer Wire Tuazon, a visual artist and the founder of launchings. They also became opening acts for famous
Music,4 she kept coming back to the Abelardo Hall (UP CMu) her curatorial experience with media arts. With her the art collective Surrounded by Water. Dayang traces the visiting foreign DJs .
and felt at home there. She pursued a Master of Arts degree background in archiving, she proceeded with making a development of this community and its followers, i.e., how Malek’s movement towards creating sound art started
in Museum Studies (now known as Curatorial Studies). She congruent gallery, in which the artists responded to the they have accommodated experimental art with intermedia with working on a dance project at the Cultural Center of
thought of herself as a moving educator, teaching part time digitized sound of the Maceda Collection. Since then, practice. the Philippines in 2001. First, his group rendered their
at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde School of Design she has figured herself in various sound art projects For the curation of MACEDA 100 in 2017,9 Dayang own electronica version of “Ave Maria” with a male dancer
and Arts’ Arts Management program, Multimedia Arts both here and abroad, collaborating with international put together contemporary artists for the exhibit such as playing a female role. Then, they created an electronica
program and, at one time, the Music Production program. sound artists, including a project on environment and Ramon P. Santos, composer and ethnomusicologist; Leo version of “Pagdating ng Panahon” (When the Time Comes),
After graduation in 2005, she worked as a research performance and performative sound work. Abaya, a multi-discplinary artist; Chris Brown, a pianist/ a Filipino pop music ballad. Finally, they made music which
assistant at the UP Office of the Vice President for Academic In 2015, Dayang left Manila to pursue her doctoral composer, electronic musician; Ringo Bunoan, an artist, was physically triggered by the dancers. He described this
Affairs but felt the inclination to be with an art community. studies in Cultural Studies at the Lingnan University of researcher and curator; Ricky Francisco, a freelance curator as resembling the video game Dance Revolution, in which
Luckily, at the UP Colllege of Music, after the passing of Hong Kong. She proposed initially a dissertation on sound who worked on multi-disciplinary collaborations fusing actions on the screen require stepping on certain parts
Maceda, the digitization of the Jose Maceda Collection art, but through further refinement, she focused instead visual, culinary, and performance arts; Mark Laccay, a of the mat. In this project, they pre-sequenced music and
was being planned and implemented. Since she had prior on the conditions for the enablement of sound practice multi-awarded audio engineer and sound designer; Arvin assigned it to the triggers that the dancers were to step
experience in arts management and a background in art, both in Manila and Hong Kong. According to Dayang, in Nogueras, a sound and visual artist; Malek Lopez, an award- on. As the dancers stepped on the trigger planks, it set the
she was taken in by Ramon P. Santos,5 former dean of the Manila, there is not a clear delineation between sound art winning composer/producer and live electronic musician; music along.
UP College of Music and one of the proponents of the UP and experimental popular music. An explanation on how and Tad Ermitaño, participating with his creation of circuits, When Electronica Manila, a collective of electronic
Center for Ethnomusicology. She managed the digitization the movement formed and propagated itself is attempted programs and the physical machinery in performance and music producers and enthusiasts came about in May 2001,
program from 2007-2014. This fueled her interest and she through her interviews and studies. installations. Malek and his collaborators started to do their own thing.

24 25
BEYOND MUSIC AND SOUND ART ART ARCHIVE 03

PHILOSOPHY, SCIENCE, AND SOUND ART

They had a place called Chemistry in Nakpil Street (Malate,
Manila) which, at the time, was the center of the party
I don’t really call what Tad Ermitaño, a philosophy major and a lover of science
fiction, is one of the proponents of experimental sound
Indeed, like a true philosopher, Tad Ermitaño has
his ideas about music and sound art that stem from his
scene in Manila. It was here that they were able to do a art in the Philippines.19 Tad graduated in 1981 from the critiques of traditions in music, and of the study of music
lot of experimentation with technology for dance music,
using delays, sampling, and programs that were available
I do music ever even Philippine Science High School in Quezon City, a public
national high school that offers scholarships to students
from the conservatory. To him, “conservatories do not teach
music, they teach notation and by their existence, defines
in the market such as Cakewalk and Cubase. They were gifted in the sciences and mathematics. He took up music as that which can be notated. What is notated is
doing music mostly on a spontaneous manner, as DJs do,
performing music instinctively. There were days when they though it’s organized biology at the University of the Philippines and, midway,
found himself applying for the Monbusho Scholarship in
music and the corollary of that is that what you can’t notate
is not music.” And this is, according to Tad, why classically
had a good flow and days when they did not. Eventually, Japan. He continued his undergraduate studies in biology trained musicians have a problem with jazz music. It is due

sound. It becomes
Malek had a falling out with the people he was working in Hiroshima. However, because of his waning interest to the fact that jazz is not notated but rather improvised. And
with. They wanted to go out and explore different artistic in laboratory work, he went back to Manila and finished this is currently what is happening with the performance of
directions in support of their inclinations. He moved from electronic music today.

music if I edit it and

the club scene and went into the theater setting. He also Electronic music performances are mostly
worked in the studio. spontaneous and are not notated. They cannot be notated
Personally, Malek wanted to do more work in recording. according to the current practices based on the western

then put it on tape

With his partner Noel, they produced the Filipino rock band classical music idiom that all adhere to. For Tad, this
Greyhoundz, then the alternative band Up Dharma Down,
and the solo pop act of Paolo Santos. They built their own

or in a digital file
recording studio with the intention of producing indie bands,
and even went as far as making their own mastering room.
They had a lot of challenges running the studio, from rates
pricing to sourcing more sustainable projects. The use of
the music software technologies also led to changes that and play it, but that
affected their workflow. As the original MIDI sequencing
softwares,15 plug ins, samplers and computer hardware
were quite costly, they resorted to looking for crack versions is repeatable and
that gave unauthorized access to the softwares. When
Fig. 3
his PC crashed, he reverted to using the Apple Mac and
discovered and used Logic as his MIDI sequencer software.
He went into band performance with his band Drip but later
structured. a degree in philosophy instead, still at the University of the
moved on to collaborate with Caliph8 doing independent Philippines. He got involved with the experimental film world
film scores.16 As a film scorer, he was able to use his through Mowelfund.20 This is where he discovered that his Fig. 4

knowledge in music synthesis. Fig. 1 Electronic Gong by Tad Ermitaño

talent for science and leanings for the technicals in film
Asked about his contribution to sound art, he responds, Fig. 2 Malek Lopez in his current studio scoring came hand in hand with his creative ideas, i.e., using is where the idea of music and its definition has trouble.
“Actually, I don’t really consider myself a sound artist… Fig. 3 Feedback Table mount by Tad Ermitaño his right brain and left brain at the same time, so to speak. According to his observations, musique concrete has
I mean, produce. I like playing sound, incorporating them Fig. 4 Keys of the Feedback Table by Tad Ermitaño His immersion in music was in his band called Children basically overtaken the world; everything that we hear on
in music. Other than supporting it and being around of Cathode Ray, a noise band along with Jing Garcia, record has been created without notation. He cites the
and spreading it … and even, let’s say, infusing this with little marimbas played against a “running pulse like techno17 manager and producer of Color It Red and Tikbalang. Tad Beatles who spectacularly barely wrote down their music,
mainstream. I don’t think I had really figured out what it is but not.” They created this loop through delays on repeats does not really think of himself a musician except that he as in the practice of the mainstream bands of the popular
to be a sound artist. I’m more conscious on what I do as a for an interlocking texture. They also created effects for uses his electronic creations to create sound, not music. music idiom. Tad explains, “Notation was a technology for
film composer. Even that, up until now, given my love–hate a voice that uses the reversed reverb tail from the sound According to Tad, “I don’t really call what I do music ever getting people to play together, the same thing over and
relationship with film music, I still feel how I’m perceived and of the voice, getting the reflection, which sounds like the even though it’s organized sound. It becomes music if I edit over. And now because of the technologies of recording,
also what I do, is something I look after.” passage of time. Using the Haas effect (also known as it and then put it on tape or in a digital file and play it, but a lot of playing something over and over can be done by
Lately, their film scores such as Buy Bust have done the Precedence effect)18 a lot, Malek also pays attention that is repeatable and structured.” He follows Brian Eno,21 cutting and pasting, a metaphor for an obsolete technology.”
away with the MIDI sequencing of the music score. They to phase and likes to use very basic tones, pitching it 2 who says that electronic music enabled composing music Tad calls himself a convergent media artist, based on
have resorted to working with a band, to set the mood of the hertz down to see the difference and the effect. Currently, empirically, and this paved the way to the new art form. the idea originating from the 1980s and 1990s that media
film. Their approach was to make songs with inspirations Malek is into a fairly recent technology, granular interface or Even when using the very same musical instruments, what would converge in the computer, video, and sound. He
coming from the movie itself, not necessarily putting tunes granular synthesis, and sees this as another way of looking matters is the way one listens to it, the way it is created and dabbles with video and other stuff that involves hardware
into the movie. Non-musical sounds were incorporated in at sound, breaking down music into its sound components, dealt with, completely making it into a different art form, and sculpture. He has a laboratory where he does basic
the scores such as the sound of the footsteps that turn into suspended in time. distinct from the traditional way of appreciating music. carpentry. Reacting to working too much in the digital

26 27
ART ARCHIVE 03

Notation was a technology for getting

people to play together, the same thing
over and over. And now because of the
technologies of recording, a lot of playing
something over and over can be done by
Fig. 5
cutting and pasting, a metaphor for an

domain, he made a highly physically produced artwork one can have two settings of delay which can be used at the
obsolete technology.
called Belle. This is basically a room-size plate reverb, a 10- same time, switching delays back and forth between them.
foot diameter cylinder, made out of metal, suspended from It has a pickup and various control parameters that pertain
the ceiling. Using an electromagnet to physically vibrate to the delay time and its feedback, and a tone generator.
the steel, a hum with the harmonics is created when the By just touching the pickup, grounding noises can be
electromagnet is plugged either to a 220 or 110 volts outlet. created, triggering its delay and controlling its feedback. As MUSIC TO INTERACTIVE ARTS AND FESTIVALS
He set it up twice in Singapore and around five times in demonstrated by Tad, he was able to make the delay box Tengal Drilon23 is an award winning composer, sound He was given the freedom of making music for whatever
Malaysia. He also set it up in De La Salle-College of Saint sound like a musical instrument that produces a simulation designer, and music producer. He has over a dozen images that he saw. It became a collaborative work with the
Benilde’s SDA Blackbox. of an electronic dance loop, along with an oscillator that can international awards from film festivals as a composer/ sound designer from LA, integrating sound with the music.
As an artist, Tad’s creative inclination proceeds to create a semblance of a sine melodic lead. sound designer in the past decade. Nowadays, he considers He has since shifted from sound designing to composing
having more of an introspective or solo approach. His Furthermore, Tad shows his work on the electric himself a curator of sound art that has evolved into the vast the sonic background to other things such as exhibitions,
creative ideas and interests at heart revolve around brass hegalong, a two-string instrument of the T’boli tribe from field of media arts, an exhibition or performances of the and interactive work for corporations.
material, the indigenous instrument gong. Currently, he is the southern Philippines. Taking the science of its original combination of different media of sound and visual, afforded Interactive art involves sound installations with an
in the process of creating a feedback22 machine, a table physical structure, he rebuilt it so it can sound like an by computers and the internet. His background involves element of interaction with the audience. But it is essentially
that could change the resonation of an object parked on it, electric instrument, now with standard steel guitar strings undergraduate music studies for two years at the UP an artwork. An example would be an interactive drum, in an
making it create interesting forms of sounds from its own and an aluminum neck, along with a pickup attached to the College of Music in the early 2000s, taking different majors octagon polygon shape, that emits a sound once it is struck,
feedback. He is currently experimenting on the ways of instrument. He basically created a plucked string instrument such as percussion and winds. He also had instruction and a light from the part where it is hit. In one of the previous
also making the gong feedback. Inspired by the Balinese with an amplification similar to the electric guitar. classes on piano, saxophone, and composition, and played interactive work done in collaboration with Tad Ermitaño, a
instrument, the Gong Pulo, the feedback table has two keys, When asked about having his inventions patented, bass and drums for his jazz friends at the college. He played video component was included. In the video, people would
slightly detuned and suspended. They are hit by a gong Tad says he has not thought about it. He explains that a lot of instruments but essentially recognizes the computer draw a pen and scribble a line. They would create worm-like
mallet, imitating a gong sound, the keys resonating without the process for patent registry can get very tedious and as his main instrument. This led him to go into media arts. figures and loops. Each loop, when drawn, will trigger a MIDI
swinging, through the use of a pickup and a reconfigured extensive, doing a lot of research to prove that no one else According to Tengal, admittedly, the term media arts is very sound from a library, e.g., the sound of a flute. The concept
guitar amplifier. has done anything like it. It could also get very expensive unstable as the medium itself is in flux. It is not a traditional eventually makes the audience feel like they are drawing
His fascination with the concept of feedback goes way to hire a lawyer for legal documentation. He is aware that cultural art form, such as painting, dance, theater or music. the sound. Interactive art works in a museum or it can be
back when he was first working on films for Mowelfund. At there are people in the sound art community who are He used to work a lot with film makers, being a film used for commercial purposes. It expands experiences
that time, he experimented with video feedback, having a already making a living out of the craft, selling boutique maker himself. He also got into sound design and enjoyed for people as they encounter complex technologically-
live camera fixed on a TV, which could create patterns and instruments to noise artists in Europe. As he is trained in the putting music or sound in images and moving images. He channelled media, giving them a visceral participation in
abstract designs. It is this concept that he has now applied sciences, his creations are mainly done as discoveries and used to do film scoring but eventually got out of it because the art.
to sound art. On hindsight, he likens the feedback concept experiments. As soon as he has realized a goal, he moves of the system of making movies where scorers are given When Tengal was 19 years old, he got accepted to
to philosophy, particularly in the way philosophers think on to do something else. Commercializing his creations and very tough deadlines. It was truly a liberating experience the Berlinale Talents in the Berlinale Festival.24 Out of
about what other people think about. inventions—from the exploration phase, coming up with a for him working on a documentary about the tattooed 500 talents, he was selected as one of the participants to
Another one of his feedback-based inventions is his product and going through the process of mass production indigenous Pintados of Negros. The film’s Italian director attend the Summit programme of around 35 sessions that
own version of a stand-alone delay box. In this instrument, that could take about 10 years—is, to him, unappealing. gave him free reign on the music with a month’s deadline. focus on different topics and on art in a variety of formats.

28 29
ART ARCHIVE 03

Tengal And just like the art itself, both the creators and its
audience are volatile and fluid, whose voices have yet to be

has established himself Fig. 5 Electronic Hegalong by Tad Ermitaño

fully discovered in this new platform by those who are on
WSK X's Special Program: SHAPESHIFTERS: HACKLAB the other end of the spectrum, the audiences practicing the
Fig. 6
2019 at Dulo, Poblacion, Makati. Photo by Carlos Ortiz traditional arts. It is ironic that the practitioners themselves

with the pioneering role

remain elusive when confronted with the question of labeling
themselves, defining and identifying their art form. Perhaps
THE ART BEYOND the attitude has grown out of a critical contemplation on

as a sound designer.
As art in general is deemed an expression with its own the philosophy behind its intention, freedom from rules
aesthetic, the sound art practice in Manila, as described by clearly defined by a set of parameters, a liberation from
the four proponents above, is a reactionary expression to preconceived thoughts and false understanding. And this
Fig. 6
the existing norms in music and in the visual and moving
He attributes
is that which differentiates it from the traditional arts, which
arts. Inspired by practices of music in the 20th century and are equated with the idea of discipline, a conceptually
He submitted his soundtrack for a sound design. Having an the current practices in sound technologies, its existence restrictive notion.
interest and influenced by avant garde music, he considers and practice in Manila is a divergence from the traditional Sound art is a collaborative art form that does not exist
this further to being his composition an accident, which combined a musical and conventional creative outputs stemming from the fields by itself alone and that has the flexibility of adapting to
score with sound design. He used a lot of field-recorded of music, sound, and the visual arts. It is still a growing another art form and even inventing its own aesthetic. And
ambient sounds and transformed them into a sound community, established by individuals out of their curiosities this is the liberating aspect that appeals to its practitioners
an “immigrant” design. Taking this as a professional pathway, executing and passion for the explorations on sound and its medium. that translates to its audience. Through its interactivity
his creations in sound design, Tengal says he was not It is aided by the curation of various art exhibits and and structures of currently available technologies, it seeks
mentored nor did he veer towards the direction of a specific installations and the pioneering efforts of mounting music to entice an inquisitive social culture accepting of new
of the internet, school of thought. Through the course of the Berlinale and and arts festivals in the country. It is an avenue for thinkers directions in the media arts. This is indeed a gateway to a
attending other festivals for experimental music, travelling who bring about an immersive experience, enabling an future of a more progressive and dynamic ideation vital to a
and meeting people, getting to know their music in Europe awareness and a deeper understanding and appreciation struggling nation as it seeks an identity that uplifts the spirit

being able to access and Southeast Asia, seeing what other people are doing and of the facets of sound as a medium. and enlivens its humanity. Think it and it shall become. ■
piecing them all together, Tengal has established himself
with the pioneering role as a sound designer. He attributes

information this further to being an “immigrant” of the internet, being

able to access information from elsewhere that has taught
1 Yraola, Dayang. Maceda 100 Attitude of the Mind Terminal Report. Manila.
2017. (accessed July 21, 2019).
16 Kemur, Priscilla. “Variations in Sound: Part 6- Caliph8”. https://www.
globetrottermag.com/news-features/nusasonic-caliph8-from-manila-

him towards a new field. This has spurred a movement, a 2 WSK Festival of the Recently Possible. https://www.facebook.com/WSK. philippines#:~:targetText=Arvin%20Nogueras%2C%20who%20goes%20

from elsewhere
io/ (accessed July 30, 2019). by,was%20still%20very%20left%2Dfield. (accessed October 21, 2019).
community, hence, the festival. 3 Yraola, Dayang. Interview by author. Quezon City, August 10, 2019. 17 Wikipedia. “Techno“. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Techno. (accessed
Tengal runs WSK, a collective of artists working in 4 UP Center for Ethnomusicology. “Jose Maceda”. http://upethnom.com/ October 21, 2019).
jmcollection/index.php/josemaceda. (accessed October 20, 2019) 18 Wikipedia. “Precedence effect”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
the field of sound art or media art that has been running
5 Strings of Unity. “Dr. Ramon P. Santos-National Precedence_effect

that has taught him for the past 10 years, doing international collaborations
and exhibitions. The WSK X festival in 2019, entitled WSK
Artist”. https://stringsofunity.org/about/dr-santos-the-
visionary/#:~:targetText=Ramon%20P.,(with%20distinction)%20and%20
19 Ermitaño, Tad. Interview by author. San Juan, September 7, 2019.
20 Mowelfund. “About Mowelfiund”. https://mowelfund.com/. (accessed
Ph. (accessed October 20, 2019). October 21, 2019).
Festival of the Recently Possible, is a collaborative project 6 Filipinas Heritage Library.”Featured Artist Dr. Lucrecia R. Kasilag”. 21 Edge. “Brian Eno”. https://www.edge.org/memberbio/brian_eno.
towards a new field. that showcased and represented sound art movements in
different countries such as the Yes No Klub in Yogyakarta,
https://www.filipinaslibrary.org.ph/himig/featured-artist-lucrecia-r-kasilag/
(accessed October 20, 2019).
(accessed September 7, 2019) .
22 Wikipedia. “Audio Feedback”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_
7 Arellano, Agnes. http://www.agnesarellano.com/about/ (accessed feedback (accessed on October 21, 2019).
Playfreely in Singapore and CTM Festival in Berlin. It is October 20, 2019) 23 Wikipedia. “Audio Feedback”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_

This has spurred

through the festival that the awareness for the new field 8 Wikipedia. “Cesare Syjuco. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesare_Syjuco feedback (accessed on October 21, 2019).
(accessed October 20, 2019). 24 Drilon, Tengal. Interview by author. Pasig City, July 30, 2019.
was spawned. And it was because of this that Tengal 9 Yraola, Dayang. Maceda 100 Attitude of the Mind Terminal Report. Manila. 25 Berlinale. “Talents”. https://www.berlinale-talents.de/ (accessed October
has gained a reputation in the international region as 2017. 28, 2019).
10 IMDB. “Malek Lopez Biography”. https://www.imdb.com/name/
a movement,
a proponent for sound art. He recently set up his own
nm1954371/bio (accessed October 20, 2019).
company, Generator, a cultural organization that bridges 11 Wikipedia. “FAMAS Award”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FAMAS_Award
cultures, facilitates exchanges within the region, and assists (accessed October 20, 2019).
12 Wikipedia. “Gawad Urian Award”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gawad_
a community, hence,
people to professionalize. WSK 2019 is the last time that
Urian_Award (accessed October 20, 2019).
Tengal is curating the event. He hopes to pass it on to the 13 Lopez, Malek. Interview by author. Pasig City, October 17, 2019.
younger generation in order to help sustain and inspire the 14 Wikipedia. “Rubber Inc.”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_Inc
(accessed October 20, 2019).

the festival.
community he started. Hopefully he will be able to move on 15 MIDI Association. “Tutorial”. https://www.midi.org/articles-old/about-
to further advance his craft. midi-part-1-overview (accessed October 21, 2019).

30 31
words by ART ARCHIVE 03

JOSÉ
S. BUENCONSEJO, PhD
VARIETIES OF CONTEMPORARY FILIPINO SONG
MASHUPS (1970s TO PRESENT)

Fig. 1

Mashup is a musical borrowing, an art of quotation, social media websites. Unlike music literacy where
in which recognizable melodies and rhythms of production is tied to the authority of a notated music,
preexistent music or commercially available recorded a mashup, as understood here, uses a recorded sound
sounds are creatively combined to create a new work as its fundamental source or material, encouraging
or mixed to produce a new “derivative” versioning. This amateurs to cite this “remembered music” as a means
technique is, however, an old practice, particularly in of participation of anyone who cares to listen, thus
oral cultures. Examples are manifest in contrafacta democratizing music making.
in which new words are set to a preexisting tune, in This essay explores varieties of Filipino song
borrowing of rhythm patterns, which then become the mashups. It traces the initial attempts to incorporate
basis of a new composition, or of harmonic ones in pop recorded sounds such as the Tagalog translations
music or jazz improvisation. The concept of combining (contrafacta) of Anglo-American pop ballads in the
songs also happen in the old practice of quodlibet, in 1970s. Then it discusses Del Horest’s “Matud Mo” (As
which a new melody is generated from an existing tune You Said), which is a quodlibet to Zubiri’s “Matud Nila”
or of the medley in which the resemblance of a song (According to Them) in the 1980s, and segues to the
recalls another tune that may or may not seamlessly concept of the layering of familiar music in love song
sequence to it. Of course, the art of mixing and DJing, in rap in 2010s. The last section deals with the mashup
which the grooves and rhythms of previously recorded song medleys that are available in YouTube at present.
music−either analog or digital format−mesh to fire
dancing bodies, is also a mashup, but this topic will not
be discussed in the essay. Scholars of popular music that are not of and in
At present, the proliferation of recorded songs in the Philippines have written on the orality of music
the auditory space of online platforms has resurrected transmission via music recordings, particularly with
music orality (i.e., transmission of music by ear), inspiring regards to the long historical development of jazz and
long distance listeners, and amateurs of all kinds, to deejaying in hip-hop culture. However, there exists no
create this art that they then post on user-generated parallel studies that are pertinent to Philippine popular

32 33
VARIETIES OF CONTEMPORARY FILIPINO SONG MASHUPS ART ARCHIVE 03
(1970s TO PRESENT)

music. This essay presents an initial step towards ‘CONTRAFACTA’: SETTING NEWLY COMPOSED ‘QUODLIBET’: HOMAGE TO POPULARITY

Pop songs...
understanding the music cultural processes involved in TEXTS Another technique in which preexisting works
can be conveniently subsumed under the umbrella term From the outputs of Philippine music industry, have become a source of a consequent creativity is
mashups. These have circulated among those who own the technique of setting newly composed texts to the quodlibet. The Harvard Concise Dictionary defines
music technological gadgets, but which affordability preexisting tune is no surprise; there have been this in general terms, i.e., “a humorous type of music in
later spread to Filipino youths whose families belong to hundreds of examples of contrafacta in which the which well-known melodies or texts are combined in an

primarily get
the working class. original lyrics are erased via a translation of the foreign intentionally incongruous manner.” There are subtypes
The “mashed-up” Philippine music repertories into the native languages Tagalog and Cebuano. Rico of the technique (140). Because the definition is similar
discussed herewith are “musical quotations.” They J. Puno’s rendition of Barbra Streisand’s “Memory” to the term “parody,” I refrain from using this unspecified
cite previous works into one’s own, hence musical in the 1970s was a perfect example of this, which definition. Instead, I employ a particular meaning to it.
borrowing in a broad sense. Citational “musical popularity owed to the local hugot (emotional) feel of Although quodlibet technique may have humor as an
quotation” differs in degree (not in kind) from digital
sampling, which involves computer synthesis (Katz,
147-149). The latter is not the subject of this essay since
the vernacular and message concerning a generalized
memory of a place for lovers who cannot afford going
to a more luxurious venue for their romantic dates. The
their appeal unintended effect (as in the Harvard Dictionary), my
use of the term here refers to a new work based on an
explicit citational reference to a source that has served
I particularly focus here on the works of musicians Tagalog translation and the adaptation of remembering as its model. Since emulation is part of citing, it can

from the songs’

who have borrowed sound snatches of recorded music the local scene of the lover’s stroll in Luneta became then carry the message of being homage-like to its
made (by others) by ear. In the 1970s, musicians a “novelty” of sorts because the English language source. The new and the old are not simultaneously
primarily used the physical medium of analog vinyl alternated with the Tagalog language, thus creating, in sung in an actual performance, although one can do
records. Beginning in the 1990s, they heard digitalized effect, a mashup of songtexts. it comfortably because the inter-song template is one
sounds channeled principally through karaoke, One can also appreciate the consistent and the same.

messages
videoke machines, and gradually via computers wired translational or citational works of Pete Lacaba’s Like the contrafacta examples above, quodlibet
through the internet. Their act of borrowing, however, Salinawit that are sung, after being recorded, by literati is also learned in an embodied way through constant
is citational simply because the musicians discussed singers such as Susan Fernandez et al. in the fringe bar exposure to amplified sounds in the environment. It
here have used their embodied memories of melodies Conspiracy in Visayas Avenue. Pete Lacaba’s project is, is fundamentally heard as recorded sound that then
and rhythms that have been collectively experienced however, different from Rico J’s. Pete Lacaba has set impels the hearer to pattern a new one based on the

that listeners
their soundscapes and not as borrowed sounds in the Tagalog texts with a poetic sensitivity that edges the memory of that bodily-mediated source song. The
form of computer data (i.e., as in digital mashups that original songs’ messages. The layering of Pete’s words spread of home stereo sets in the 1970s meant that
are more common elsewhere). thus pays homage to the foreign but, at the same time, recorded sounds had played an enabling factor in this
In the show bands of the 1970s and 1980s, music contests it by erasing linguistic hierarchy. development.
was listened to as a whole and the “citational” music A different impulse is manifest in the contrafacta Because composing a new melody over a harmonic
quotation was complete, “covering” or parodying
them with new, often humorous, texts. Later, in disco
houses, DJs controlled the dance floors and remixed
of Anglo-American hits in order to deliver funny
themes. This subtype is intended to elicit laughter due
to the incongruity of images depicted in the songs.
can identify pattern is not obvious to a non-musician, quodlibet can
be difficult to detect to the unskilled ear. In general,
pop music is formulaic in structure (verse-chorus) and
prerecorded music to suit the taste of the DJs and These comical expressions, more familiar as “novelty this trait is obviously seen in the cyclicity of the songs’

as theirs.
the dancing clients. Turntabling was also a common songs” as the local music industry calls them, are chord progressions or patterns. Despite this formulaic-
practice in hip-hop parties that became a vogue in parodies that have various intended effects. Examples ness, no two songs are quite similar due to the
the Philippines sometime in the 1990s. But this and are Fred Panopio’s “Kawawang Cowboy” (“Pitiable practically limitless number of other musical choices
the mashups of remixed dance music, which involve Cowboy,” sourced from Glen Cambell’s country music (from lyrics to arrangement) that a songwriter grapples
manipulation of analog and digital sounds, will not be “Rhinestone Cowboy”) and Big Three Sullivan’s “May with in the process of composing. Yet, there are songs
discussed here. To reiterate, I am more concerned with Pulis sa Ilalim ng Tulay” (There’s a Policeman Under that are so similar to each other in structure and other
the orality-aurality of song experience. The spread of the Bridge), which mocks the corrupt policeman who details that the consequent is deemed a quodlibet to
videoke machines and the affordability of recording has been extorting money from the residents. In social its predecessor.
gadgets would affect how existing musics are to be media, the latest of this contrafacta is, of course, the song heard as recorded sound, Max Surban’s famous An exemplary of this is the song, “Matud Mo,”
cited. The online distribution of these musics via parody “Manok na Pula” (Red Rooster) by Vic Desucatan “Baleleng” contrafacta was learned in person during which was done collaboratively between singer Del
playforms Spotify and iTunes today has functioned as whose funny messages and avatar have created a stir. his concert tour to the Southern islands. This song Horest and recording studio arranger Emil Loseñada,
another channel for citing them. Not all contrafacta in the “novelty song” style are was a hit among the masses and was so popular in the both Cebuano pop musicians of the previous
To understand the current Philippine mashups, it is mocking in intent. Yoyoy Villame’s “Butsekik” from Dee early 1980s that it spawned many further contrafacta generation. This song is a newly composed melody
illuminating to see them known in old procedures. The Dee Sharp’s “Baby Cakes” is just a tickle to the listener’s renditions. What all these show is the ubiquity of that followed closely the form and expression of Ben
rest of the essay describes what these techniques are bodies, layering nonsensical, Chinese sounding lyrics contrafacta in which the lyrics are mixed with someone Zubiri’s “Matud Nila.” The source song was composed
and the performance contexts to which they have been to the original Black American expression, hence else’s melodies. All these are evident of the oral-aural in the 1940s, i.e., prior to the saturation of stereos in
cultivated by professional musicians, amateurs, and fans. eclipsing it. While Villame mashed up Dee Dee Sharp’s transmission of music. domestic spaces across a wide social class strata

34 35
Pop songs, even of the old variety such as “Matud This is the reason why there is a tendency in the
Nila,” primarily get their appeal from the songs’ creative industry to use titles of tried-and-tested
messages that listeners can identify as theirs. For this themes and standardized musical forms. One can see
reason, we know how important the theme of love is the popularity of JhoMajikero’s song in the recently
in pop songs, which can indicate, on the part of their minted “Namimiss Kita” sung by Justin Vasquez. The
auditors, a thousand shades of their individual emotions latter is a hidden quodlibet to JhoMajikero’s work. Note
that arise from day-to-day interpersonal relations and the use of the same song title. Unlike Joffrey who is a
other vicissitudes in life. local from a working class family and part of a group
Jumping to the present, we notice this appeal in called Mandaluyong rappers, Justin is a transnational
JhoMajikero’s (aka Joffrey Valerio Ortañez in real life) Filipino. Justin’s speech is evident in his Anglophone
hit song in social media “Namimiss Kita,” which has accent in articulating Tagalog words. His middle class
garnered some 10.5 million hits in one of YouTube background cannot be denied. He sings his “Namimiss
fan’s collection posted since 2011. The popularity of Kita” in RnB style, which entails ornamented melodic
the song was phenomenal, prompting Joffrey’s live TV inflections. 3 Parallel to the “Matud Mo,” which is
during the 1970s. But its continued popularity into this time in the traditional Philippine folk harana style, appearance in Unang Hirit in 2013. 2 intertextually related to an older model (“Matud Nila”),
the 1970s owed to its radio dissemination, which from which the Tagalog kundiman and danza Filipina Its come-on owes to the simple, sincere,
channeled Ben Zubiri (aka “Iyo Karpo”), a famous host (e.g., “Dahil sa Iyo” as an example) are based. In bittersweet, quite fragile-sounding vocal persona of the
in an amateur hour where singing was the radio’s main addition, two more features link “Matud Nila” to Filipino song’s protagonist. Most teenagers, I suppose, easily
attraction. The song was later covered in various vinyl music tradition despite its hybridity with the Anglo- identified with Joffrey’s adolescent male voice. The
records labels by many iconic singers in the 1970s American form. First there is a parallel modulation lives of millions of young Filipinos (mostly teenagers or
such as Eddie Peregrina, Pilita Corrales, Max Surban, (minor to major key) in the song, which is found in young adults) were resonant of that emotional message
and Dulce, to name a few. The repetition of the same many Filipino folksongs and composed music (e.g., of longing that is in the song’s lyrics. The form of the
recorded song is a proof of consumer demand for it in “Jocelynang Baliuag” and “Bayan Ko” [My Country]). song, which belongs to the repertory of “love song rap,”
the 1970s as the electronic hardware of home stereos, Second, the melody contains many sighing gestures is rudimentary; it is, common to the genre or to most
jukeboxes became an everyday object in the cultural (i.e., descending melodic pattern) in phrase endings, pop songs, based on the four-phrase stanza structure
landscape. 1 Thus the song became so famous that any which we also find in the old sentimental Filipino (i.e., two eight-bar musical phrases). The internal
Visayan-Cebuano musician cannot fail to recognize it musical idioms. repetition of these phrases within the structure
as a part of one’s social identity. It was obviously the From the title alone, one can easily infer that Del produces a sing-song quality, thus, is easy to follow.
song’s achievement that inspired Horest and Loseñada Horest’s “Matud Mo” did render homage to “Matud JhoMajikero’s song is a string of litany-like phrases
to team up and compose “Matud Mo” in the early 1980s. Nila” by citing it. However, “Matud Mo” is an entirely that gravitate between the melodic interval of a fifth.
To appreciate the inter-song referencing will require me new composition. Wittily, it inverts the interlocutor of The pendulum-like string of phrases creates a higher
to show a bit of structural similarities between them. the songs’ protagonists from “you” to “them.” There level structure consisting of verse (4 bars 4+4+4+4),
Zubiri’s “Matud Nila” is structured, with a slight is also a change in perspective: “Matud Nila” is a chorus (4+4), bridge (4+4), repeat of verse (4+4+4+4),
change, on one of the most popular Anglo-American tragic cry of unrequited love, whereas “Matud Mo” repeat of chorus (4+4), bridge (4+4), rap (in half time
32-bar forms: AABA. “Matud Nila” is AABB, i.e., a has a brightly resolute mood as it is an affirmation of of previous beat), bridge (4+4), repeat of chorus (4+4),
Fig. 2
modified 32-bar because the A section does not return love by a Beloved, an act of remembrance that leads bridge (4+4) and coda (with sudden change in vocal
after B. In contrast, Del Horest’s “Matud Mo” version to a sustained devotion to it. Thus, “Matud Mo” is a color to machine voice).
strictly sticks to the standard 32-bar. Because of the definitely citational mashup. In terms of melodic flows, Because pop song production is built on the
sectional repetitions (i.e., AABB), Zubiri’s song form can one can analyze the inter-song quodlibet referencing. desire for popularity, it is common for songs to trend Fig. 1 Tama na by Xcrew Screengrab from YouTube

be taken to be binary and thus points to an older source, The copy of the phrase shown above speaks for itself. by counting record sales or of followers-listeners. Fig. 2 Photo courtesy of JhoMajikero

36 37
VARIETIES OF CONTEMPORARY FILIPINO SONG MASHUPS
(1970s TO PRESENT)
TABLE OF FAMOUS RAP SONGS

TITLE OF SONG DIY BORROWED STYLE INSTANCE OF

REMIX AND RAPPING: FANHOOD AMONG MUSICAL CREATOR MELODIC MATERIAL UPLOADER OR FAN
AMATEURS
Banyo Queen Andrew E. Ben E. King’s MC-ing in intro; AKJR (28 million views as
As hip-hop style grew in strength in the 1990s (uploaded 2010) “Stand by Me” (1961) rock of 20 Oct 2019)
with rappers such as Francis M, Andrew E, and (to a
High School Life Repablikan Sharon Cuneta’s OPM pop ballad sweetirene29 (11 million
certain extent) Michael V, the mixing of rhythmic beats (2009 “High School Life” views as of 20 Oct 2019
on drum set and the layerings of background music, (produced by VIVA Records)
patterned speech, and sound of records scratching, Kabet Gagong Richard Marx pop rock Richard Marx (258 million)
were born. This became the common procedure for the Rapper “Right Here Waiting”
new sound aesthetic of the consequent genre of rap
songs about love in the early days of YouTube in the
Philippines, i.e., circa 2007. Back in 1990 when Andrew of high-end gadgets of the recording companies, their and some in rhymed speech rap, is a contrafacta
E released his rapping “Huwag Kang Gamol” (Don’t Be tools were minimal and cheap and thus they made in Tagalog. Despite the naivety of the work, it is very
Gamol), web browsing was barely felt by most Filipinos. crude homemade rap songs, mashing up the familiar popular and I can just imagine the song was used as a
Steadily, soundtripping (listening to music) via the melodies from the videoke commodities with newly referent to the listeners’ diverse managements of their
same communicative channel became a “hip” or “in” minted lyrics that were then put on screen in YouTube. emotions in their individual love relationships. As such,
thing to do for the Filipino youth. It was not until 2007 Overall, these representations were melodious, about it is as if the listeners are acoustically “absorbing”
or thereabouts that a new form of rap mashups would love relationships, and alternated in delivery with rap in the adolescent voices of X-crew singers as theirs.
emerge when the Filipino youth began to share their own patter speech style. They were underscored by cheesy X-Crew’s song above, which is a dialogue, is not
lyrics with the music of others as a background, 4 along cited melodies on electric keyboard and raw loud drum so common. What is more normative is the type of
with the aggressive thumping “beats” that are played patterns on a machine. Fans continually downloaded “confessional of love,” a good example of which Gagong
by the synthesizer, the drum machine. Later on, these them from the internet. They were then heard in Rapper’s “Bakit Kung Sino Pa” (Why, Who are You) made
same amateur listeners created their own original ones makeshift stalls selling pirated discs and played inside in 2008. The mashed-up music is Richard Marx’s “I’ll be
as JhoMajikero did with his song “Namimiss Kita.” 5 driver-owned jeepneys and tricycles. These songs even Right Here Waiting for You.” The melody of this source
There were both continuity and discontinuity of became a background sound in home parties where is not borrowed in its entirety but reworked. This brings

Fig. 3
music expression. To understand its transformation often, as in the case of “freestyle rap sessions,” they again the notion of it being citational and not digital
from recorded vinyl of 1990s to digitally-aided music were further layered with new improvised rap lyrics. To mashing up as has been common in Anglo-America.
in 2007, it is important to realize that a huge material sum up, most of these aural experiences were inspired An interesting rap song on love, which assumes
cultural change happened between 1990 and 2007. by the trends that Francis M and Andrew E set in the a cynical treatment, is the famous “Stupid Love” by
In 1990, the rap songs of Francis M and Andre E were 1990s: their phrases stay within four measures. Today Salbakuta. Here, the background music is Barbra
produced by Viva Entertainment, a well-capitalized in 2019, listeners of these rap songs fondly remember Streisand’s song “Evergreen” played on a tiny
enterprise (although rap music was everywhere in live the music of their younger years with nostalgia. sounding electronic organ. The sampled voice of the
performances of partying that featured breakdancing, A typical mashup love song rap from a decade ago crowd shouting “stupid!” at the end of the phrases is
deejaying, emceeing, and turntabling). In 2007, it was is titled “Tama Na” (That’s Enough). It is a dialogue clearly a rock music convention. This projects a stoic
Fig. 3 Screengrab courtesy of JhoMajikero
no longer the major company that dominated music between a boy and girl, the former pleading to the renouncement of emo sentiments that must have
production but, partly, the music amateurs themselves latter that he loves her. The girl adamantly refuses to been gaining ground then. The harsh rhythmic beats
also did their share, producing their own mixes. Because recognize the sentiment, thus highlighting the power underscoring the whole expression reinforce the anti-
Justin’s song, although an entirely new work, is also the normal music socialization of these amateurs was of women in most Philippine communities. This was sentimentalism.
a quodlibet — i.e., a sonic shadow — of JhoMajikero’s through home karaoke or videoke singing, the quality performed and recorded by X-Crew, a group that does As pointed out above, it is clear that the creators of
work. One cannot miss the “writing-over-technique” of the sounds they made would be basically the same not have names in YouTube fan uploads because the these mashups deeply experienced karaoke/videoke
in the form of the song, the latter almost perfectly to that of videoke music arrangements. However, with main interest is in what the songs’ messages can do singing at home or in places elsewhere, thus influencing
copying the formula. In Justin’s song, the chorus is rapping and loud drum beats as new features, there to the listeners as they process their own individual the kind of materials they would cite for their DIY
eight bars less and his bridge is made of vocables was a difference as well in the repetition of the videoke emotions. Though quite popular in terms of YouTube projects. As their expertise developed, so would they
“ah ah ah,” since song style is RnB, not rap as it was in sound. views, the creators in the early days of rap songs were create original compositions. In their first works, they
JhoMajikero’s. The parallelism is indeed a remarkable In addition, the amateurs who made their own also not often credited by fans. Again, the aesthesis would utilize the formulaic conventions of style started
emulation. While JhoMajikero motions his melody up mashups in 2007 were not formally schooled in music. is in the listeners, many of who post comments in 1990s as JhoMajikero did for his song discussed in
with ascending melodic fifth in most of his phrases, This did not mean, however, that they were “low” in the about listening to the uploads. This was the age the previous section. He did it in a home studio called
Justin gestures do the reverse, going down, but with social hierarchy (contra Bourdieu), particularly in terms when black-clad emo youth groups were on the rise. Lhiriko Family Productions (LFP) in Mandaluyong, which
the same interval. While it seems to hide its intention of popularity. They simply belonged to the masses. The music of “Tama Na” utilized the David Gates also opened its doors to eke out a living with outside
to hide its prototype, it leaks out, nonetheless, in the The soundscape that they grew up with was part of song “If” as background, played raw on an electronic bookings for a fee. (See screenshot of the ad in LFP
passage as shown in the notation on page 37. The art of the habitus of listening to pop ballads that afforded keyboard as it is a DIY. The song inserted between website on Fig. 3)
citation rings with clarion tones. their way to amateur music making. In the absence the dialogue, partially in ordinary speech style

38 39
VARIETIES OF CONTEMPORARY FILIPINO SONG MASHUPS ART ARCHIVE 03
(1970s TO PRESENT)

As TV producers
LFP is also one of the many home studios which (Gil Morales in real life) and, later, by the golden-
catered to the demands of DIY YouTube uploaders who haired ABS-CBN TV host Vice Ganda (Jose Marie Borja
wanted to gain “popularity” by counting their followers Viceral).
in social media. Besides, they also wished to acquire The earliest prototype of song medley (cum
some residual income from their uploaded hits. Below comedy) mashup in TV is the 2005 segment “Name
are three more love song rap mashups from 2008 to
around 2014. Notice that they all cite pop music, which
the Tone.” It was embedded in the gag show “Quizon
Avenue,” which was produced by ABS-CBN. 6 In the
pressed its brand
again is the only staple in the videoke repertory. three episodes posted by PapaLem TV (with 20K
The introduction of video streaming in the internet subscribers at the moment), it is claimed that the local

of gag song
sometime in 2014 would mark a change in the aesthetic Pinoy TV segments are a parody of the American ABC’s
of old rap song (post-2014 style will not be discussed “Name that Tune.” In the original trivia game, two adult
here) and the emergence of other mashups that can, contestants take turns spinning the roulette to win a
in fact, be more accurately termed as “acoustic song prize by naming tunes that a live orchestra would play in
medley.” 30 seconds. In Quizon Avenue’s “Name the Tone,” two

SONG MEDLEY MASHUPS

contestants brag on who can name the tune in the least
number of notes played by pianist “Brian Cayugyug”
medley mashups,
The last type of mashup is the song medley in (obviously a spoof of Ryan Cayabyab’s name) and then
which the singer makes a surprising twist in the melody interpreted by a guest singer. The contestant would
in performance, conjoining the tune of one song to then name the title of the song. However (and this
another via a note that serves as a pivot in the turn. where the local TV programming concept is faulty), the the viewing amateurs
This creates a disruption in the listeners’ ears because singer conspires with the pianist in twisting the song
the expectation of the notes in the memory of the so that in the end the excitement that often comes in
melody is arrested. For the singer, however, the act of experiencing a game is lost, i.e., it is often the norm
twisting the melodic direction is intentional and thus
comes with some kind of a flaunting attitude of his or
that a game is satisfying because the spectators are
brought into a game situation in which the chance or on the other side
her mastery of song repertories. It is as if the singer indeterminable element−either winning or losing−the
pits his skill with that of the listeners’ knowledge of game is put forth. Nonetheless, the element of spoof in
songs. The unexpected jolt in one’s memory of a song “Name the Tone” would continue with the performative
draws in laughter on the part of the listeners because
their memory of the song is disoriented, “jumping” from
antics of Ate Gay whose influence among TV viewers is
enormous.
of the communicative Mangubat would also, from time to time, do mashups in
one song to the next. The effect is incongruous but it As TV producers pressed its brand of gag song their road shows, adding glitter to the opening of retail
usually brings in admiration and awe as well because medley mashups, the viewing amateurs on the other outlets (Dizon) and other events. Many of their recent

setting would reinvent

the singer can display his or her ability to string side of the communicative setting would reinvent YouTube uploads of song mashups also serve as
together the possible melodic connections. The clever what is given to them by the computer screens. promotional teasers, like the movie trailers, that would
“medleyings” are possible because both singer and These viewers would create a song medley that is entice viewers to purchase the complete versions
listeners are already quite familiar with a comparatively quite different from the comedy type as streamed of songs in their Spotify or iTunes accounts. What is
vast repertory of pop songs. These have saturated the from the corporations’ servers. With a simple guitar common to their performances, unlike that of Ate Gay
day-to-day cultural soundscapes, thanks to electronic
gadgets such as the karaoke machines, computers,
and raw teenage voices, amateurs with acceptable
musicianships such as Angelica Feliciano (aka
what is given to them. and Vice Ganda, is that these independently-initiated
mashups do not highlight gag humor (though surprise
smartphones, etc. ICA) of Sampalok Manila, had self-uploaded her in twisting a song always draws a smile in the listener)
The conventional association of laughter and fun “acoustic” song medleys recorded from a room in but their skills in stringing together songs in a pleasant
in song medley mashups seems to be a distinctive her house. These were viewed thousands of times, manner. It is not far-fetched, therefore, to interpret that
contemporary Filipino media popular culture because even millions, and thus her rise to fame. She later of JhoMajikero and who now has a number of mashups mashup creations like this type are a way for them to
song mashups, as this is known elsewhere, are accepted TV appearances and road shows as the with ICA that recycled nostalgic love song rap a decade refuse the meaning of the dominant TV programming
not necessarily created for hilarity. The case of the Mashup Princess. Similar to Angelica’s independent ago. Of course, one cannot miss the more recent, kitty- code, which trivializes musical abilities as these are
Philippines reveals that the comedic song mashup has initiatives are those of her Gen Z millennial colleagues voiced Pipah Pancho from Bulacan who is often paired sidelined by gimmicks. Nonetheless, TV programmers
been popularized in TV programs as an entertainment such as Donalynn Bartolome, who has since become with RnB-voiced Neil Enriquez. and hosts continue to entertain audiences with
gimmick, particularly in the performances of the “Nora a young celebrity actress; Rovs Romerosa, who Meanwhile, professional pop singers whose fame mashups, testing the guests’ memory of music trivia
Aunor” impersonator cross dresser comedian “Ate Gay” remains an indie (often hiding her face from the rested on winning ABS-CBN’s Tawag ng Tanghalan as in the recent segment when Vice Ganda tested four
camera); and Sevenjc, whose voice sounds like that song competition such as Froilan Canlas and Sam aspiring singers on their knowledge of pop music.

40 41
VARIETIES OF CONTEMPORARY FILIPINO SONG MASHUPS ART ARCHIVE 03
(1970s TO PRESENT)

The human body that listens Familiarity with recorded sounds in an oral culture
often results in the creative contrafacta by individuals
have found a “friendlier” space for its development had
there been no internet that accelerated its circulation,
who mix their newly minted words in the vernacular to and the emo subculture, which readily resonated its

to the patterned sounds did not

preexisting sounds heard in one’s auditory culture. By aesthetics in street corners and in malls.
the 1980s, a few hit songs, the “Matud Nila” being the The availability of videoke music did not determine
case example, were so idolized that a quodlibet was the emergence of love song rap. A sufficient reason
written with it as framework. This technique is common comes from the urban Filipino youth, especially those

evolve biologically from the 1970s in oral music cultures where songs are committed
to memory and not in writing. Justin Vasquez’s 2019
from the working class whose DIY agencies were
afforded by simple home recording technology. This
emulation of JhoMajikero’s original song is seen in how agency continued with the song mashups in recent

to the present but the means

the songwriter of the former’s song has followed the years. While they were influenced by musical gags
latter’s work. The songwriter of Justin’s performance mashups from celebrity comedian-hosts on TV and in
did the same quodlibet technique that layers, like a live performances, it was the listening audiences sharing

of producing and experiencing

palimpsest, the new to the old form, without both being each other’s creativities that mattered in the last instance.
erased. Yet, JhoMajikero’s song was also built on the To end the essay, it was indeed a “tango” dance
principle of orality. It was then new in the context of between music technology and ICT, which afforded
the love song rap that mixed karaoke melodies played music expressions, and the young people who decided

these was totally not determined on the electronic keyboard with beats and rap.
a genre, love song rap can be traced all the way to
As and acted upon the possibilities of those technologies
for ends that mirrored their fragile human experiences
the 1990s when hip-hop records gained presence and identities. ■

by technology and media.

in the everyday local soundscapes. But it could not

1 The song also circulated as printed sheet music for those who owned “Mutya Ka Baleleng with Lyrics.wmv,” 3:30, “generalcoey,” September 24,
pianos. 2011, https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=3JDWleFQReA.
To sum up, being challenged to connect related of Anglo-American pop songs were few and
2 However, this appearance seems to be a flop. Joffrey got out of tune due “Ben “Iyo Karpo” Zubiri - The ORIGINAL Composer of “MATUD NILA”
melodies seems to be the primary motivation behind musicians relied mostly on their trained ears to to stage fright. Joffrey continued to write original songs, a number of which (patzmarzbelt’s collections),” 3:19, “patzmarzbelt 2.0 (plakabisayaprince),”
was released in the album “Journey.” Three songs from this album have December 31, 2015, https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=Vudzq7Ftvas.
the amateurs who risk displaying themselves in transcribe (sifra) the recorded music. The result was
been distributed through Spotify. “matud mo (Bisaya Song),” 3:57, “norphil70,” April 9, 2011, https://www.
YouTube channels or in those posted by their fans. mostly covers, many of which faithfully rendered 3 This expression has been so hegemonic at the present moment that one YouTube.com/watch?v=a5jOM883spc.
The display of the act requires a strong familiarity of the originals. These covers were a response to the is blinded from seeing other alternative expressions. “Namimiss kita by JhoMajikero with lyrics by elgene12,” 4:09, “hercast john,”

recorded sounds in the cultural environment. It is as if imperatives of entertainment needs in venues in 4 One can still browse this type of love song rap in the internet. It is usually February 19, 2011, https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=dVaDJ9mPdT4.
characterized with no visuals, just a plain screen of lyrics that is uploaded by “Namimis Kita Lyrics,” 4:12, “bhecent delatorre,” August 4, 2011, https://www.
their ears and mouths have already become a media which music as commodity earned a means of living a YouTube user and fan. YouTube.com/watch?v=rFF2PYfgrAA.

for the intruding melodies of others, thus constituting for both venue owners and musicians. These musics, 5 JhoMajikero does not only compose rap songs, though one time CNN “Justin Vasquez - Namimiss Kita | PBB Otso (In Studio),” 4:24,
Philippines voted him a place in the Top 25 Filipino rappers. “ABS-CBN Star Music,” June 7, 2019, https://www.YouTube.com/
some kind of song ventriloquism in their own bodies. mainly mainstream, complement the ethos of happy
6 I thank Pat Dizon for pointing this out. watch?v=be9Kec3HTTU.
This essay presented mashup as an art of hour in bars, glitter of clubs featuring show bands, or “Wag Kang Gamol - ANDREW E.,” 3:50, “ATOYCRIS77,” November 24, 2016,
https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=NDv-IiqiGiQ.
quotation that relies principally on memory work of elegance and intimacy in hotel lounges.
“tama na by xcrew lyrics.wmv,” 5:58, “chryz24justine,” October 19, 2010,
electronically mediated preexisting works — aka An important point that this essay has argued References https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=ycWGlOp4x7c.
Katz, Mark. Capturing Sound: How Technology Has Changed Music. “Bakit Kung Sino Pa Lyrics by Lloyd Umali with Anime,” 5:01,
commercially recorded sounds — and hence depart is that the orality of contemporary popular musical
Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004. “Elymard Gonzales,” August 29, 2014, https://www.YouTube.com/
radically from musical practices involving written and practices varied in contexts and aesthetics because of Randel, Don Michael. The Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music and watch?v=gKAO7W3aEL4.
printed music notation. As hinted above, the art of technological mediation and circulation. To put this in Musicians. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press, 1999. “Stupid Love lyrics by Salbakuta,” 5:27, “karen matin-ao,” February 6, 2011,
Kayz, Mark. Capturing Sound. https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=DJSGXXHwAPI.
quotation — or song citation to be more precise — the biggest perspective possible, it can be said that the “Memories (1976) - Rico J. Puno,” YouTube video, 5:57, “limva123,” January “Funny Mashup Songs before ATE GAY: Name that Tone (part 1),” 3:09,
deals primarily with aurality (by ear), a practical skill human body that listens to the patterned sounds did 15,2011, https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=ESYSj8Zcr5c. “PapaLem TV,” November 2, 2014, https://youtu.be/NajdfgPNOLs
“Mga Awit ng Pagkamulat:’Sangandaan by Pete Lacaba,” 3:40, “Ate Gay Mashup Compilation [Part 10],” 9:23, “PapaLem TV,” March 2, 2016,
that most Filipino musicians are noted for and that not evolve biologically from the 1970s to the present
“TV5 InterAksyon,” September 8 2016, https://www.YouTube.com/ https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=KJdTJ6imn2E.
has been partly a result of no access to printed music but the means of producing and experiencing these watch?v=OtKX3hXhfk8. “Opm Band Songs Mashup | Angelica Feliciano,” 2:25, “Angelica Feliciano,”
(i.e., it is especially relevant to musicians who do not was totally not determined by technology and media. “Fred Panopio - Kawawang Cowboy,” 4:56, “Israel Amor,” July 19, 2011, July 14, 2017, https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=Ti5SfsmE30A.
https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=xWN8aQ8QOZA “TNTV Now: Froilan Canlas with Sam Mangubat - The Man Who Can’t Be
have the means for formal music education). Orality in music means learning to replicate the music “May Pulis sa Ilalim ng Tulay - D’ Big 3 Sullivans (w/ Itik-itik),” 4:02, “limva123,” Moved and Say You Won’t Let Go,” 4:19, “TNT Versions,” August 24, 2018,
In the 1970s and 1980s, gig musicians in popular heard without memory aids like a score, the sounds’ August 28, 2011, https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=Bqn9fV7FWoU. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu50lgClc7I
“Manok na Pula,” 2:55, “Vic Desucatan,” July 2, 2018, https://www.YouTube.
music scenes in urban Philippines such as nightclubs representation. It is remembering music patterns by
com/watch?v=V6VMH5YiGic.
and hotel lounges largely depended on recorded music way of a schema—the formula—that governs how the “Butsekik - Yoyoy Villame Lyrics,” 2:29, “Mang Ernie,” April 12, 2013, https://
to expand their repertories. Printed music scores music as a citational process flows. www.YouTube.com/watch?v=3HXdNyv1r4Y.

42 43
words by ART ARCHIVE 03

LARA KATRINA
T. MENDOZA, PhD
PINOYS AND BATTLE RAP:
Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo

Fig. 1

Fig. 1

In 2019, two controversial events rocked the hip- the exhibition match that showcases the rap skills
hop world. The first was the arrest of Marlon “Loonie” of the emcees, and the music that rappers create is
Peroramas, popularly known as “Hari ng Tugma” (King considered the championship game. 5
of Rhyme), in what police authorities claimed was a Loonie was incarcerated at the Makati City Jail
buy-bust drug operation in Makati City on September along with four others, including his sister and manager,
18, 2019. 1 The second was the fatal shooting of John Idyll, on that fateful September evening. On October
Ross “Lil John” de los Santos on October 20, 2019, in 27, 2019, he performed two of his most popular songs,
Imus, Cavite. Both rappers established their fame via “Bale Wala” (As if Nothing Matters) and “Tao Lang” (Only
FlipTop, the short and popular term for FlipTop: First Human), before fellow inmates at the Makati City Jail. 6
Filipino Rap Battle League, founded and established The video, 7 taken outside the walls of the prison, shows
in 2010 by Alaric “Anygma” Yuson 2 and Kevin Vea, 3 Loonie and a fellow hype man, singing and rapping to
aka DJ Umph One. 4 In the ten years of FlipTop, battle an appreciative audience. Then Loonie, in trademark
emcees who have graced its stage have gone on fashion, asked the crowd, “Sino dito gustong lumaya
to carve out successful music careers, something na?” (Who among you wants to be free?) Responding
that Anygma staunchly believes is the end-all and to the uproarious adulation, the rapper fans of FlipTop
purpose of battle leagues. He insists that battle rap who have lovingly proclaimed him as “Hari ng Tugma,”
in general and FlipTop battling in particular is merely broke into a cappella verse:

40
44 45
PINOYS AND BATTLE RAP: ART ARCHIVE 03
Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo

Sino dito nahihirapan na?

Meron akong tula para sa inyo, sana magustuhan ‘nyo.

Kung nabasa ka sa ulan, ba’t sumisilong ka pa?

Aba lusungin mo na yung baha, maligo ka na!
Nasaktan ka na rin lang, nalasap ang luhang mapait,
Siguraduhin mong ika’y may makukuhang kapalit!
Pantay-pantay tayong lahat, mayaman man, maging dukha, Fig. 3

Ang mahalaga marami kang butong naipunla!

Kung gusto mo nang umayaw, pakinggan mo aking tula—
At tandaan mo lang palagi kung ba’t ka nagsimula. Fig. 4

Pagsikapang itaguyod ang sariling pundasyon,

Tigas ng ulo mo nung bata ka, gamitin mo ngayon!
Bukas ko na lang susukuan ang buhay kong kay lupit— Lanzeta x Invictus with the young actors and Dulaang
Fig. 1
UP extras on the last day of the production shoot for the
Tapos kinabukasan paggising, bukas na lang ulet! documentary, “Usapang Hip-Hop” on June 2, 2019 at
Ateneo de Manila University
Ang aking pusong umaawit, punong-puno ng galit—
Loonie last July 6, 2018 during an interview with Lara
Fig. 2
Laging ganon, daming tanong, puro na lang bakit! Mendoza at his home in Pasig City

Malapit nang maubos ang lubid ko, subalit Fig. 3 Official logo of FlipTop

Maaari ko pa ring buhulin ang dulo at kumapit! On stage at “Second Sight 7” Battle emcees watching the
7th and last battle of the night between Sak Maestro and
Kapit lang, kosa.8 Fig. 4 Batas (Kevin has been videoing all events since 2010 while
Fig. 2 Anygma facilitates the battle between the combatants) on
April 27, 2019, at the TIU Theater, Makati City
Translation: Alaric “Anygma” Riam Yuson, founder and CEO of FlipTop,
Fig. 5 last June 13, 2019, during an interview with Lara Mendoza at
Who here is suffering?
the Baraks, Mandaluyong
I wrote a poem for you that I hope you like. Fig. 5

If you’ve been wet from the rain, why seek shelter?

Why, dive into the flood and bathe! BATTLE RAP AS A CROSSING OVER TO RAP MUSIC
You’ve already been hurt, tasting bitter tears. who is infamously known as being an “open book,” 9 his lines were coming from a different wellspring. When one thinks about battle rap in the Philippines,
Just make sure that you get something in exchange in the end! was an emotional turn for fans, friends, and intrepid Combing his Facebook posts after his untimely demise FlipTop is inarguably top-of-mind recall, so much so
We are all the same, whether rich or poor, observers of the rapper superstar. The effect and power revealed that prior to his battle, he and Sak Maestro, 12 that FlipTop is synonymous with hip-hop and rap to
What matters is how you’ve sowed seeds of legacy. of Loonie’s lines were palpably felt in the outpouring another decorated and controversial battle emcee outsiders and piques hip-hop insiders, as the name is
If you want to give up, listen to this poem I have written – of tearful support from Loonie’s faithful in heartfelt from Davao City, had an exchange on Messenger. Lil bandied about as a generic reference 14 for the culture
And remember always why you started what you started YouTube video tributes and Facebook posts. Indeed, John was sober in his dealings with Sak, who, in turn, itself. 15 BLKD patiently explains that FlipTop is akin to
Strive to build your own foundations, life can imitate fiction, and Loonie’s uncanny ability buoyed his spirits by reminding him to return to the the big leagues such as the PBA 16 or NBA, while the
You were once a hard-headed kid, so capitalise on that now! to pen verses that capture the pathos of multitudes is core reason for doing what all emcees ought to do: to other leagues and battle events are seen as the little
I will surrender to this hard life on the morrow – most manifest in this moment, submerged as he is in entertain, have fun, and make some money, too. 13 leagues. 17 FlipTop events feature aspects of hip-hop
And when a new day dawns, I can say that I can do this! his own living hell. Posthumously, such posts and the memory of his culture, such as turntablism, graffiti art, and battle
My heart is singing, Lil John, on the other hand, was every rapper’s last battle leave a gaping hole in the hearts of those emcees in exhibition and competition matches. 18
Overflowing with rage – little man in more ways than one. As part of 3GS, or who had considered him as brother, cousin, buddy, and Exhibition battles are put together according to
So many questions, always asking why. 3rd Generation Supremacy, a collective of rappers who friend. His death was a loss felt by the entire hip-hop how emcees’ rap skills and battle style will create an
My patience is a rope wearing thin, but started out as battle emcees in other leagues such community. ideal match-up. In the early years, Anygma shares that
I can still knot the ends and hold on. as TM RAPublika and Sunugan, he and his brothers 10 The abrupt hacks to hip-hop’s soul, as it were, since there was still no precedent, match-ups were hit
You, too, must hold on, brother. built the reputation of 3GS, with his signature comedic have been swift and spaced closely with each other or miss. Over time, he got a better feel of individual
style in battle rap. On October 20, 2019 while riding his in light of the two incidents mentioned above. From styles and created match-ups that would entertain
Writing (and speaking) as one who, over the course motorcycle, Lil John was shot twice in the head and incarceration to death, the stories of Loonie and Lil the crowd while being a showcase of fine battle skills.
of more than one year of fieldwork among the urban died on the spot. His last battle, it turned out, was on John capture what heartaches are borne by not just The seventh match-up, considered the marquee battle
hip-hop FlipTop battle and rap event scenes in Manila, October 12 at FlipTop’s Bweltang Balentong 6 event at one hip-hop enthusiast but by an entire community. The of the night and banners the line-up, is designed and
has learned to appreciate and love the work, ethos, TIU Theater in Makati City, against Cripli. 11 Witnessing contributions of both emcees to hip-hop have been destined to bring the house down with the flamboyant
and lifestyle of hip-hop enthusiasts and practitioners, that battle from the audience, I noticed that his usual significant, and no other stage has been as noticed and styles of the featured emcees. 19
this recent development in the ongoing saga of Loonie, verve and joie de vivre was replaced by a somberness; given much attention as FlipTop.

46 47
When one thinks

about battle rap traced back to its origins in the ghettos and inner
cities of New York City in the 1970s, has been defined
by rage and resistance. In daily urban existence, it is

in the Philippines, the economically-disadvantaged who bear the back-

breaking burden of basic survival, if at all. Cramped
dwellings, crippling traffic conditions coupled with

FlipTop is inarguably the dearth of transportation options, and inequitable

employment opportunities are among the factors that
drive those who occupy the lowest rung of the socio-

top-of-mind recall, economic ladder to the brink of despair, hopelessness,

and madness. Just as the immigrants from the
Fig. 6 Caribbean and Africa turned to pulsating percussions

so much so that and syncopated rhythms that defied entrenched and

acceptable musics of mainstream society, so have
Fig. 7
Filipino emcees, deejays, break dancers, and graffiti

FlipTop is synonymous artists done thus, finding in rap and broken rhythms the
heartbeats that punctuate and emphasise their own
The first battle of FlipTop took place at Quantum as it is this particular sub-genre of hip-hop style that stories of anguish and resistance.
Café, Makati City, on February 6, 2010, featuring five
battles: Batas versus Abra, Datu versus Cameltoe,
has placed the Philippines on the map of rapping,
with FlipTop Battle League as the most-watched
with hip-hop and rap Derided for their hypebeast clothing, or knock off
branded wear that are bought at local tiangges and
Protegé versus Fuego (English), Apoc versus JedLi (online) league in the world. 25 This singular statistic is Divisoria at a fifth of the original price, hip-hop artists
(English), and NothingElse versus RBTO. 20 There were quite peculiar considering the relative infancy of the to outsiders and piques find themselves fighting back by writing 16-line verses
also performances by Loonie, Nimbus9ne, Skarm, Philippines in the area of battle rapping, and yet it is to represent what Anygma refers to as their “slice of
Schizophrenia, and Caliph8. Dante Romero estimates this unique popularity, surpassing older leagues with life.” 32 The official music video of Jheyzee 33 entitled,
crowd attendance to have numbered no more than more seasoned battle emcees, 26 that is, in and of itself, hip-hop insiders, “Inaano Ka Ba Ng Tattoo Ko,” 34 captures the sentiment
100 that evening, a far cry from what FlipTop events the gift and legacy of Pinoy rap to the world. of many hip-hop artists. The message in this video
are today, where fans are packed shoulder to shoulder, It is worthwhile to discuss the significance of rap is emphatic and reads like a hash tag movement
vying for choice spots nearest the stage and the battle music and why Dizaster, 27 considered by Loonie as the as the name in the 21st century of woke branding: Stop Tattoo
emcees. 21 best battle emcee and Eminem’s favourite, 28 touches Discrimination. More strikingly, the text narrates an oft-
Competition battles simulate sports league on the tension between battle rap and rap music. repeated lament by rappers from the underground who
structuring: elimination rounds take place in the first BLKD, one of FlipTop’s Top 30 most viewed is bandied about as a have committed themselves to the entire lifestyle and
half of the year, spread out across different FlipTop emcees, earned his battle credentials by changing ethos of hip-hop, as seen in the following lines:
events, and culminate in the grand championship battle the way fans could view, appreciate, and learn about
or finale in December to determine the champion for hip-hop. He introduced esoteric lyricism in his bars generic reference Porke’t may tattoo maligalig ang tingin
Bakit di mo kaya i-try tumingin sa salamin
the year. In FlipTop, the competition rounds or matches and also carefully broke down the merits (or lack
Bakit porke’t may tattoo adik na kaagad at magnanakaw
are part of the Isabuhay Tournament with 16 emcees thereof) of battle techniques and styles in post-battle
vying for the grand prize of Php100,000 and the title adjudications. He speaks of the tension in Pinoy hip-hop for the culture itself. Mga artists kami na sobrang adik sa art
Hindi ko alam kung anong problema niyo sa mga may mga
of Isabuhay Champion during Ahon, the last FlipTop between underground and mainstream as emblematic
tattoo
event for the year. In 2019, the finalists who bested their of the dichotomy that Dizaster presents from his own
Yung iba nga dyan, e, pala-simba, malilinis ang balat
sides of the bracket were Apekz 22 and Sixth Threat. 23 North American perspective and hence, the reference PERCEPTIONS OF PINOY RAP: FROM THE OUTSIDE
LOOKING IN Pero sila ang tunay na mapanghusga35
As of December 14, 2019, Day 2 of Ahon 10, Sixth Threat to Hollywood in the comments. For BLKD, this tension
emerged as the Isabuhay 2020 Champion in what paints the particularities of the Pinoy hip-hop scene It is no secret that hip-hop culture and its music
expressions – deejaying, rapping and break dancing Translation:
Apekz described as the “battle of the year” in a tweet and why the need for mainstream recognition of the
Sporting a tattoo attracts malicious perceptions
days after the event. creative impetus 29 of the underground is fraught with – get a bad ‘rap’. In terms of “street cred,” hip-hop
culture, hands down, is considered a culture of the Why don’t you look at your own reflection in the mirror?
While on one hand Anygma insists that battle misunderstanding between the larger society and the
streets, born, bred, and cultivated in and off the Why is it that someone having a tattoo leads to the
rap is merely a platform for the exhibition of an smaller hip-hop community. This deep and unfortunate
streets by the street-smartest of gangsters, thugs, and conclusion that he’s an addict and a thief?
emcee’s rap skills in the hopes of fans crossing divide, at its core, is a matter of perception of what
everything else in between. M Zhayt, 30 FlipTop emcee, We are artists who are addicted to art
over to following the music of emcees, Dizaster hip-hop is and its importance and value, either to the
emphatically declares that hip-hop is street, and you I don’t know what your beef is with people who sport tattoos
throws out a cautionary tale in saying otherwise as individual — artist or non-hip-hop head — or the larger
Those who go to church may have smooth skin
seen in a Tweet posted October 24, 2019 24 (see society as a whole. cannot say that you are hip-hop unless you understand
that hip-hop is of the streets. 31 The history of hip-hop, But are, ironically, the judgmental and condescending ones.
Fig. 7). This essay will put emphasis on battle rap,

48 49
ART ARCHIVE 03

This deep and unfortunate divide, at its core,

OF GANGSTERS AND BEEF
Original Gangsters (OGs): K-leb and Pricetagg
is a matter of perception of what hip-hop is and its In a rap battle, possessing street cred as a legitimate narrate how, at ten years of age (circa late 1990s and
gangster lends power to one’s prowess and image. early 2000s), they witnessed actual clashes of OG’s for
While it is clear that one slugs it out with punch lines turf supremacy. Don Pao reminisces about the simpler
importance and value, either to the individual – artist or in battle rap, 38 drawing on one’s actual experiences days of hip-hop when his older brothers (mga kuya 50 )
as a thug on the streets puts the emcee on ascendant would set up loud speakers and play radio music out of
ground. BLKD shares that “beef”, or conflict in hip- the trunk of a car or the back side of a pick-up truck. 51

non-hip-hop head – or the larger society as a whole. hop jargon, is a fundamental element in hip-hop. 39 This made for quicker and easier get-aways when gangs
Extending that analogy to battle rap, it is the hunt for would attack from the neighbouring barangays. 52 It was
“beef” juicy enough to use against your opponent that also easier to evade police raids. Lhipkram narrates
can spell the difference between a Win or a Loss. For how, when the going got tough, he would hand over
While choice of clothing, tattoos, and other such assets one must possess or be willing to acquire if one
what is hip-hop, BLKD asks quietly, smilingly, patiently, stones, sticks, or any other such weapon to his OG
physical accoutrements are stitched into the DNA of is to be considered as hip-hop and accepted by the
if there is no beef or conflict? The very nature of hip- kuya; 53 both he and Don Pao were then always told to
a hip-hop artist, beyond such considerations lie the gatekeepers of the culture. In hip-hop, the influential
hop is confrontational and adversarial, and nowhere is run away to avoid getting hurt.
cultural and lifestyle ethos of hip-hop that will remain artists are those who are universally understood
this more manifest than in a rap battle. Don Pao and Lhipkram found their release in the
elusive to those who cop out on the enterprise of and accepted as having contributed heavily to the
Pricetagg 40 and K-leb 41 ,42 provide a cogent world of hip-hop and both are battle emcees. Don Pao
immersing one’s self in the culture, and learning to propagation, development, and evolution of the culture,
embodiment of the OG life. K-leb grew up idolising defeated Lhipkram in the championship round of Bahay
appreciate and respect the choices of hip-hop heads art, and everything in between. Before we can talk
West coast rappers like Tupac Shakur and Snoop Doggy Katay in 2017. Lhipkram shares that rap battling is not
and practitioners to live, breathe, and perform hip-hop about the music in general and battle rap in particular,
Dogg, best known for their hard-hitting lyrics. Pricetagg for all emcees but that he prefers it over composing
with passion and alacrity. There truly is a basic starter it is helpful to take into consideration what defines
doesn’t hide his participation in the Crips versus Bloods songs.
pack for those who consider themselves hip-hop, as the push-back nature of hip-hop as it is played out in
gang wars of his yesteryears (he was with Crips), and his Dello and Flict-G were aware that the world of
local parlance goes, and yes, loose pants or below- gangsterism and beef culture.
zero-loss record in FlipTop is built on his reputation for hip-hop had its dark side but never took part in any of
the-knees shorts, loose statement tee-shirts (that are
spitting gun bars. Both rappers share their experiences it. Dello had his own band and loved listening to the
produced by rappers themselves, either in support
Event poster of Grain Assault 1, the first FlipTop event held of gangs, violence, and guns. Conflicts would arise from radio and cannot fathom why he ended up being a
of another rapper or ka-tropa, 36 or as distributed by Fig. 6
on February 6, 2010
perceived differences, as with social classes in a classic rapper. 54 Flict-G knew that his friends were involved
themselves with their own clothing line business) 37 , Screenshot of Dizaster’s tweet (dated October 24, 2019) on
Fig. 7 doing battle rap as superior to joining the music industry rich gang (the Levi’s 501 rock band members) versus in underworld activities but immersed himself in
bulky jackets, hardboard caps, tattoos, and bling are
Fig. 8
Pricetagg and CLR at Hype Jam last March 20, 2019 at poor gang (scruffy rappers) arc in K-leb’s Nueva Ecija video games. When he wasn’t whiling away idle time
part of the packaging. But there are more things or FEU-Diliman in Quezon City
childhood, and Price’s tumultuous Bloods versus Crips in a computer shop, he was happy listening to the rap
gang wars in La Union and Manila. The “beef” between music of his idols such as Conflick and Gloc-9 of Death
individuals would become the fight of the entire gang Threat, the local rap group in the 1990s that gained
of which they were part, and many brawls, drive-by fame for their hard-hitting bars and speed rapping, and
shootings, and unfortunate casualties resulted from it was from the names of his two idols that he derived
this. Both artists are exemplars of hip-hop heads who his rap handle, Flict-G. 55 Sometimes, both share, you
have survived the turbulence of the early years (from don’t need to experience the violence to know how to
the 1990s until around 2010 43 ). Pricetagg’s hit single in dish out gun bars, diss an opponent with personals, and
2019, “Kontrabida” (Villain), featuring CLR, 44 a young, deliver the knockout blow with resounding haymakers,
prodigious hip-hop artist whose pen game is eclipsed punch lines, and rhythmic agility.
by his soaring vocals, is a symbolic partnership between In the world of FlipTop, Dello gained the moniker as
the older hip-hop head and the young, aspiring artist. “King of Rebuttal” after making an impressive debut in
K-leb, formerly part of the collective, Rekta sa Kalye, Second Sight, the second event in 2010. His ability to
maintains a vlog for aspiring hip-hop heads while also do free style and turn the offense of his opponents into
being active in another collective, Lokalidad, mentoring ammunition against them gained otherworldly status
younger artists such as Mel Rhyme, 45 Bulek, 46 and to the point that his fans wanted him to focus only on
R1CH. 47 battling instead of making music. Dello says, wait a
minute. If you can’t support my music and then expect
Running with the Wolves: Lhipkram, Don Pao, Flict-G, me to keep battling in FlipTop, which does not earn me
and Dello a fixed, adequate income to sustain my family, then
There are also those hip-hop heads who were you aren’t showing the right support for the emcees. 56
kids on the sidelines during gang conflicts, serving as Anygma acknowledges that FlipTop hasn’t achieved
runners or weapon bearers. Don Pao 48 and Lhipkram 49 the level of financial clout that can sustain the careers
Fig. 8

50 51
PINOYS AND BATTLE RAP: ART ARCHIVE 03
Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo

The Founder of FlipTop Rap Battle League:

Alaric “Anygma” Yuson
of emcees, and thus enjoins emcees in FlipTop to keep Anygma earned an AB Philosophy degree from In spite of such sentiments, however, Anygma has, BLKD, in his earlier years of FlipTop battling, took
making music. For Dello, it’s music that gasses the art. Ateneo de Manila University and during his graduating apart from FlipTop, also started an artist management great pains to explain the different criteria by which
In other words, music is what emcees sell so that they year, incorporated the papers for the foundation of and production house, Uprising, which he and Juss he judged a battle in the hopes of gradually educating
can hone their artistry and craft further in battle rap. FlipTop. He was able to establish his company and Rye 60 established. 61 When Uprising was established all fans to the point that there would be no need
Flict-G established FlipTop fame with Flict-G bars, secure his employment stability before graduating in 2013, 62 the popularity of FlipTop had skyrocketed for judges. 64 Of the wealth of talent that explodes
which he describes as playing with the given beats and from university. Anygma represented the Philippines exponentially since 2010, and both Anygma and Juss continually in the underground scene of hip-hop,
rhythms of the poetic line. In his music and his battle in international English battle leagues such as King of Rye 60 were planning for the eventuality of a life post- Anygma staunchly believes that the underground is
rap style, Flict displays the penchant for syncopated the Dot (Canada) and 1Outs (OneOuts/Australia) 58 and FlipTop. BLKD describes this as Anygma’s “passion awash with talent that needs to be mined 65 and much
delivery and emphasis on the second and fourth laments that his contributions to the local battle rap project,” and while he acknowledges this to be the can be gleaned and learned from keeping one’s self
beats, defying the normal cadence of the spoken line. scene are undervalued. case, he also explains that in spite of his own “militant open to a myriad of possibilities.
In FlipTop, Flict’s aura is one of childlike wonder that background” in hip-hop, his vision for Uprising is that it
seeks ludic pleasure in upending established norms. “I unfortunately feel underappreciated by majority functions as a platform for upending the status quo of [So much has evolved in hip-hop]: different styles,
This, for him, is how rap is like art. He and Price agree of the Filipino crowd. You can even go as far as to hip-hop music. different standards, creative directions, aesthetics...
with Dello that music is the gas that fans and audiences check most of my battles online. The most often [In] Filipino hip-hop... there’s so [much happening]...
need to support. Most, if not all, FlipTop emcees share used comments or most popular comments on my Uprising is a passion project, it’s a labor of love; but I, of course, will side and champion the underground
the tacit understanding that battle rap is a platform for battles would be, “Wala akong naintindihan,” (‘I didn’t so is FlipTop... if the distinction really is that where do I more than the mainstream. Because for one thing, they
the serious honing of rap skills, that include, apart from understand anything’) and “Nosebleed,” and blah blah make money more, then in that sense, yeah, FlipTop isn’t [mainstream music industry artists] don’t need my help
audience impact and delivery, the use of word play, blah. So despite all my efforts and despite recognition a passion project because we make our money there. anymore, whereas the underground does... I’m of the
multisyllabic rhyme, metaphors, references to current on a global, international level, unfortunately my But, other than that, it still is a labor of love, really... With firm sentiment [that] it’s fine if you like this mainstream
trends and events, and personals to be used against countrymen would rather be proud to say that they my background, I could’ve been a doctor or a lawyer thing, but why does that mean you cannot appreciate [the
the opponent. 57 don’t understand anything (chuckles). So, there’s or whatever, or so. So if it was about making money, I underground, too], you know?... But a lot of people don’t.
that.” 59 could’ve gone and done that and made more money. But [In] Filipino hip-hop, there’s so many gems, and... it’s so
no, I chose to do this because it is my passion, it is really cliché to say [that] a lot of the gems are underground...
what I enjoy. And then Uprising just doesn’t happen to Really, like, so many insanely talented, insanely deserving,
make us much money, so... (chuckles). But the efforts with insanely forward, modern-thinking and all that. Galing,
Lhipkram on 26 April 2018; photo taken from his Facebook
Fig. 9
Account https://www.facebook.com/lhipkram.dominguez Uprising would be a lot more particular. So, in FlipTop, galing talaga, galing. (Awesome, awesome, awesome,
Crazy Mix, Flict-G, Curse One, and Dello on September 4, with my role as... the organizer and all of that, as the head, awesome) 66
2019, performing “Nakakamiss” during the launch of Lara
Fig. 10 Mendoza’s documentary “Usapang Hip-Hop: Ambagan as the overall... kuya...I definitely have to be more open
sa Eksena at Kultura” at Leong Hall Auditorium, Ateneo de to everything else. And I say that because... my hip-hop
Manila University
Apekz on March 29, 2018 during an interview with Lara background was very militant... So... I grew out of it or...
Fig. 11 Mendoza at Our Lady of Assumption Scholasticate (OMI) grew away from it but... with Uprising... the vision of it is
in Quezon City
really good Filipino hip-hop music the way I... want it to be
appreciated.63

Fig. 9
52 53
Fig. 10 Fig. 11
PINOYS AND BATTLE RAP:
Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo

FLIPTOP BATTLE LEAGUE: HANDOG NG PILIPINO

SA MUNDO
Anygma certainly did not predict that FlipTop would Abra and Shehyee, with their posh real names that
become the most-watched battle league in the world, scream middle class – Abracosa and Ongkiko – were
outdistancing older leagues such as Versus Battle, 67 sharing the stage with the famous Hari ng Tugma
Ultimate Rap League, 68 and King of the Dot, 69 where (Loonie) and the hardened gangster, Smugglaz, the
their emcees have been doing battle rap far longer peerless speed rapper of 187 Mobstaz and gutsy
Fig. 13
than FlipTop emcees. Flict-G shares that, when the OG from Tondo. 75 That battle had everything: the
popularity of the battles exploded on YouTube in tension between upper class and lower class in the
2010, the emcees had a tacit understanding amongst ribbing of Smugglaz and Abra, Loonie and Shehyee;
themselves that this was a platform that they could the personals against Loonie’s drug use, Shehyee’s
collectively nurture and grow as a source of unforeseen infamous girlfriend Ann Mateo who was the butt of
windfall blessings that also provided them with the slut-shaming, and Abra’s perceived “wack”-ness in
space to develop their pen game and delivery skills. 70 rap; sick rap skills in Smugglaz’ mellifluous and rapid- Fig. 12

BLKD states that Anygma, who is also one of them, fire speed rap, Loonie’s signature multisyllabic rhymes
understands more succinctly what kind of support and word play, Shehyee’s dramatic delivery, and Abra’s
rappers in the underground, “the small guys” without abrasive yet incisive spitting of bars; and humourous, battle that Lil John fought, as this event happened a
any corporate backing or signed up with record labels, flamboyant punchlines and haymakers that drove the week and a day before his violent and shocking demise.
need. Anygma affirms this in sober tones. B-Side faithful wild with glee. Anygma recounts that back in 2010 and 2011, a Fortune
Battle Rap Champions Mhot (FlipTop Isabuhay 2017)
There would be many, many more emcees who 500 company offered FlipTop a deal that he felt
and Sur Henyo (Sunugan Nike Battle Force Manila 2018)
Fig. 12
I’ve long accepted my calling to be the guy that has to do would step onto the FlipTop stage who innovated underchanged and undervalued them. When he voiced during an interview with Patricia Alpay on March 22, 2019 in
Arkipelago Bar, Makati City
the grassroots work, because nobody else is gonna do it. the art form, such as Shernan, who brought multiple his rejection of the offer in firm, diplomatic tones, he
Fig. 13
Screenshot from the YouTube video featuring the battle of
Like, before me, nobody did it the way I did it... But, the costume gimmicks to unparalleled heights, and this was told, Loonie vs. Zaito during Ahon on May 15, 2010 at Guerilla
Radio, Pasig City while a much younger Anygma (white shirt
level of passion, the level of sincerity, the level of genuine was showcased in the marquee battle between him and and inverted cap) and Abra (red shirt) look on.
appreciation for the artistic side and all of that, they can’t Hazky, another costumed emcee, in Bwelta Balentong “Sayang naman (‘what a pity’) if you don’t take this. Where
match it. So, you know, I’m here for them, for the rappers. 6 on October 12, 2019 at the TIU Theater. The two are you gonna be? You’re gonna be gone in a year.’ And... I for the course, as he rails against “culture vultures,”
The league was, again, by rappers, for rappers. I’m here emcees brought the house down as they emerged from really took that personal. And, unfortunately, their product or bandwagon fans. One day it could be rock, Anygma
for them at the end of the day.71 backstage in full makeup, wigs, and fashionista couture, is gone.” 76 says, and then K-pop, then hip-hop. But when the lights
wherein Shernan essayed the role of the pregnant wife fade, will these same people stay loyal to hip-hop? 77
And the rappers who stepped onto the FlipTop of Anygma while Hazky was the sultry and seductive The marketability and popularity of FlipTop remain In FlipTop, Anygma has built a world where emcees
stage cemented their legacies in the hearts of millions mistress. Choked with laughter, Anygma could barely high. The league has already branched out beyond have a voice that millennials listen to. Anygma zealously
of fans worldwide. The battle between Loonie and go through the motions of heralding the start of the Manila and fulfilled the vision of going nationwide; guards this world, where emcees can explore different
Zaito (part 1) on May 15, 2010 to date has garnered battle with the iconic battle cry, “FlipTop, mag-ingay!” FlipTop has divisions in Northern Luzon, Central Luzon, techniques, hone their rap skills, and cultivate a unique
16.3 million views as of February 11, 2020, and its (‘Let’s make some noise!’). The crowd chanted, “Kiss! Calabarzon, Cebu, and Davao, and it isn’t stopping. In identity in the hip-hop firmament. He unwittingly gave
viewership will continue to grow. Loonie in 2010 was Kiss! Kiss!” tittering and hooting for Anygma to give in, Ahon 2019, the Isabuhay Finals pitted two incredibly young Filipinos something to be proud of and the world
a strapping twenty-something year old, looking every and Anygma, true to form, flipped his middle finger at talented, lyrical rappers in Apekz and Sixth Threat. Of a window into which they could view, appreciate, laugh
inch like the “stick figga” he was, 72 and he came to Shernan who was clinging to his arm with possessive the two, Apekz is a FlipTop veteran at the wizened age of and cry along with Pinoy emcees. FlipTop has become
this battle event prepared with written lines that he jealousy. If there is anything that this battle highlighted, 27 – seemingly ancient in the youth-orientated hip-hop his legacy to the world.
had memorised. Zaito, of the “old school” mould, relied it was the pure and unadulterated love and respect world – while Sixth Threat is the rising star wunderkind
on freestyling bars to a deejay-generated beat. While that emcees and fans have for the founder, Anygma, from Davao. Sixth Threat was crowned the deserving I have to focus on the MCs. You guys [e.g. culture vultures,
Loonie eventually won the battle by a vote of 3-2 on who, known for his sternness and being a stickler for champion in a battle that was heralded as one of the corporate vultures] don’t care about the MCs, you don’t
the strength of his lyricism and preparedness, and the the rules, seemingly cracked when the two emcees best finals in FlipTop history by emcees and fans. care about the lineup, you don’t care about the matchup,
simple fact that his style hooved more closely to the titillated the crowd into showing their full appreciation Even on days that Anygma feels that he can you don’t care about the MC and his lack of funds in
modern format championed by FlipTop, the effectivity for the hard-working host and organizer. The assembled retire from FlipTop, he is hounded by the prospect of paying the bills for his family. You don’t care about the MC
of Zaito’s style resided in the good-natured humour of emcees on stage was a conglomeration of Who’s Who who can keep the intensity and passion alive for the having to enroll his 4-plus children, you don’t care about
basic looks shaming and light banter. As some of the stars in the hip-hop firmament: Pricetagg, Flict-G, betterment not only of the league but for the entire any of that. And I have to. So I cannot waste my time trying
commenters in 2019 noted, they miss the ribald banter Abra, Apekz, Smugglaz, Mike Swift, BLKD. And many hip-hop community. It’s a charge that Anygma has to accept every meeting from every random guy who
“of old.” more luminaries were there, alongside the obviously laid squarely on his shoulders and whatever it is that thinks they can tell me what to do. ‘Di ba? It’s like that,
The most-viewed battle on FlipTop remains the Dos well-loved Georgy Porgy, Kevin aka DJ Umph, Supreme makes FlipTop continue to be beloved of fans and and so I’ve become more and more jaded and bitter, but
Por Dos Semifinals battle between the duos of Loonie- Fist, and mainstays in the tough bouncers and events emcees alike lies in his hands-on intensity and searing also focused on what we do.” 78
Abra and Smugglaz-Shehyee 73 on July 6, 2012. 74 photographer Niña Sandejas. This was also the last brilliance and foresight. His militant gatekeeping is par

54 55
PINOYS AND BATTLE RAP: ART ARCHIVE 03
Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo

Postscript: This essay was written in late 2019 and while the Loonie LIVE Performance in Makati City Jail (credits to original owners battles that evening, the third one being the marquee match featuring FlipTop into Pinoy hip-hop consciousness.
of the video: Jeffrey Parido Pallan and Zhenre Zei). Makati City Jail, 2019. an up-and-coming emcee, Sir Deo, from Bataan. 45 CLR is also Cebu’s Lyrical Rapper; real name: Chester Lalinjaman Romo
writer is cognisant of significant recent events in 2020, this 18 Demetrio, Interview with BLKD (#1). 46 Real name: John Edmel Taguniar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBN-yUsy48M&feature=share&fbclid=I
could no longer be included in this article. In particular, I refer wAR3Qr_ZMhobCRb8VoYIfxRoV2fmB1kujpHlHhj2ylv7xy8-kwiMIQAXZ8cA. 19 Yuson, Interview with Anygma. 47 Real name: Lestat Visaya
to the resounding success of the FlipTop Festival, marking the Mayacyac, Thomas Lynmuel, and Marc Gonzalo Merino. Interview with Mhot 20 In the event poster, the fifth battl e was headlined in the event poster 48 Real name: Richard Bryan
and Sur Henyo, 22 March 2019. as being between Apocryphal versus Mr. E, which was later replaced 49 Real name: Paolo Lao
tenth year of FlipTop, held on February 7 and 8, 2020 at the Peroramas, Idyll Li. ‘OFFICIAL STATEMENT RE Loonie’s SITUATION’. Status by Apoc versus JedLi, as evidenced in the write-up of Dante Romero 50 Real name: Phil Mark Dominguez
Aseana Concert Grounds. Many of the big names in the hip-hop Post. Facebook (blog), 30 March 2019. https://www.facebook.com/idyllliza/ about that historic first-ever FlipTop event in 2010. Read: Let’s Take It 51 Literally ‘older brothers,’ but used in the figurative sense
posts/10219308532644826. Back: Grain Assault 1 at https://www.fliptop.com.ph/article/let-s-take- 52 Lao, Interview with Don Pao.
firmament graced this event, dubbed by Anygma as the biggest
Ramirez, Rodel, John Edmel Taguniar, and Lestat Visaya. Interview with it-back-grain-assault-1. 53 Syting, de la Cruz, and Navarro III, Proj4 OGs.
hip-hop festival in the country and markedly different from K-Leb, Bulek, and Mel Rhyme, 8 July 2018. 21 Romero, ‘Let’s Take It Back: Grain Assault 1’. 54 Dominguez, Lhipkram June 11.
festivals of other genres. One significant highlight of the festival Rappler.com. ‘FlipTop Rapper Loonie Nabbed by Makati Cops in Buy-Bust’. 22 Real name: Mark Anthony Cadiente 55 de Guzman Gatmaitan, Buensuceso, and Espiritu, Interview with Flict-G,
Rappler, 18 September 2019, sec. Entertainment News. https://www.rappler. 23 Real name: Fluvert Floy Cagampang Dello, and Price Tagg.
was the video tribute to Loonie, met with the tearful and joyful 24 ‘Laban To!: Ang 2019 Isabuhay Tournament Bracket’. 56 Rivera, Interview with Flict-G.
com/entertainment/news/240468-rapper-loonie-arrested-buy-bust-
cheers of the fans when Loonie himself stepped onto the stage operation. 25 Yagami, ‘Dizaster Music Industry Tweet’. 57 Original quote: “Dahil buong hip-hop- ang battle, part ng hip-hop, ang
Rivera, Raymond. Interview with Flict-G. English and Filipino, 6 February 26 ‘FlipTop: The Story Of The Philippines’ Most Successful Rap Battle music, part ng hip-hop, hindi mo sila pwede paghiwalayin at hindi mo
and performed his beloved songs with an adoring, swooning
2019. League | FHM Ph’. pwedeng bitawan. O sabihin, “Eh, sa battle ka lang magaling, eh.” Hindi
crowd fervently singing along. There was not one camera that Romero, Dante. ‘Let’s Take It Back: Grain Assault 1’. FlipTop (blog). Accessed 27 Demetrio, Interview with BLKD (#2). naman sinasabing ano, hindi naman sinasabing, pagtiyagaan niyo; i-share
was not held aloft to capture Loonie’s first public appearance 29 October 2019. https://www.fliptop.com.ph/article/let-s-take-it-back- 28 Real name: Bashir Yagami niyo man lang dahil kung ayaw mo nung kanta, baka mayroon kang friends na
grain-assault-1. 29 Real name: Marshall Mathers gusto ‘yung kanta, hindi lang makaabot sa kanya dahil hindi niya alam. Kung
since his release on January 24, 2020, after he posted a bond of 30 Real name: Marshall Mathers Klumcee (aka Paul Lester Vaño) and i-she-share mo, baka makita. At least. ‘di ba? Kung gan’un lang na give and
Syting, John Loyd, Bobby de la Cruz, and Micko Navarro III. Interview with
two million pesos.79 ■ Proj 4 OGs (#2), 10 July 2018. Abra (aka Raymond Abracosa) have shared as much with me in our take. At ‘yun ‘yung gas namin, eh. Hindi kami pwede mag-FlipTop lagi dahil
Uprising. ‘[WATCH] Rappler Live Jam: Uprising Collective’. Live Jam conversations in February 2019 and July 2018, respectively. While Abra may binubuhay- ako, may binubuhay akong pamilya. At ang FlipTop once
Performance at Rappler Offices, Rappler, 23 November 2018. https://www. contends that the discussion of an underground-mainstream binary is every other month, so hindi siya consistent ang makukuha mo. Makakakuha
rappler.com/entertainment/live-jam/217393-uprising-collective-music- no longer much of an issue as it was before, he also declares that it is ka ng 50 sa isang buwan, next month walang battle, so yung 50 mo divided by
sessions-november-2018. the underground ethos of hip-hop, knitted into its very DNA, as it were, 2, 25. Para ka lang ding empleyado. Ayun pa tapos, ‘yung music ang magiging
Vaño, Paul Lester. Interview with Paul Lester ‘Klumcee’ Vaño, 21 February that makes rap his music of choice because, according to him, he gas, eh.” (de Guzman Gatmaitan, Buensuceso, and Espiritu, Interview with
2019. can pretty much say anything he wants against the establishment. In Flict-G, Dello, and Price Tagg.)
References
Abracosa, Raymond. Interview with Raymond ‘ABRA’ Abracosa, 24 July Yagami, Bachir. ‘Dizaster Music Industry Tweet’. Tweet. Twitter particular, he referred to speaking against the government and getting 58 Demetrio, Interview with BLKD (#1).
2018. (blog), 24 October 2019. https://twitter.com/MRDIZASTER/ away with it (Abracosa, Interview with Raymond ‘ABRA’ Abracosa.) As 59 ‘Anygma’.
‘Alaric Riam Yuson: The Father of Fliptop (First of Four Parts)’, 15 August status/1187221459107643392. we saw with what happened to Shanti Dope and Klumcee’s “Amatz,” 60 Yuson, Interview with Anygma.
2011. https://ph.news.yahoo.com/alaric-riam-yuson-father-fliptop-first-four- Yuson, Alaric Riam. Interview with Anygma, 13 June 2019. the climate in 2019 seemed decidedly different as PDEA clamped 61 Real name: Ryan Armamento
parts-000000145.html.
down on the airing of the song over radio airwaves and being 62 Dionisio and Armamento, Interview with KJah and Juss Rye.
Anonymous Battle Emcee. ‘Laban To!: Ang 2019 Isabuhay Tournament
performed on television. And yet Klumcee does maintain that it is from 63 ‘[WATCH] Rappler Live Jam: Uprising Collective’.
Bracket’. FlipTop (blog), 2019. https://www.fliptop.com.ph/article/laban-to-
the underground that the gems of creativity are most pure, saying that 64 Yuson, Interview with Anygma.
ang-2019-isabuhay-tournament-bracket.
such jewels are under-ground, and that no hip-hop insider can ever 65 Demetrio, Interview with BLKD (#2).
VerseTracker. ‘Anygma’. Accessed 30 October 2019. https://versetracker.
turn their back on that, because it’s where each artist owes his or her 66 Yuson, Interview with Anygma.
com/rapper/anygma.
ultimate success. (Vaño, Interview with Paul Lester ‘Klumcee’ Vaño.) 67 Yuson.
CNN Philippines Staff. ‘Rapper Loonie Released on P2-M Bail’. CNN 1 “FlipTop Rapper Loonie Nabbed by Makati Cops in Buy-Bust”. 31 Real name: Christian Paolo Gabriola 68 Russia
Philippines, 26 January 2020, sec. Entertainment. https://cnnphilippines. 2 According to several interviews published online, Anygma is widely 32 Gabriola, Interview with M Zhayt. 69 US
com/entertainment/2020/1/26/loonie-marlon-peroramas-release-makati- recognised as the founder and CEO of FlipTop, where he acknowledges this 33 Yuson, Interview with Anygma. 70 Canada
city-bail.html. to be the case, but he also mentions that it was he and Kevin Vea (aka DJ 34 Real name: Juan Carlos de la Cruz 71 Rivera, Interview with Flict-G.
Constantino, Brianne. ‘Loonie Entertains Fellow Inmates at Makati City Jail’. Umph of Mighty Miscellaneous) who co-founded FlipTop. See the following 35 Released October 27, 2019 72 Yuson, Interview with Anygma.
Music Events Entertainment Lifestyle Gaming Afterparty. Myx, 28 October footnote for the article. 36 Inaano ka ng Tattoo ko (Official Music Video). 73 This is in reference to the popular rap group, Stick Figgas, of which Loonie
2019. https://myx.abs-cbn.com/features/20848/loonie-performs-at- 3 “Alaric Riam Yuson: The Father of Fliptop (First of Four Parts)”. 37 Literally, of the same troop. To be ka-tropa is to be considered part is part.

makati-city-jail. 4 Enriquez, ‘UMPH Is Also a Filmmaker. He Is the Video Department of of the pack or in hip-hop parlance, the collective. 74 Real name: Bryan Lao
Delos Santos, John Ross. ‘Salamat Sak Maestro’. Status Post. FlipTop.’ 38 Setting up an alternative business such as a clothing line, vape 75 Real name: Christopher Ongkiko
Facebook (blog), 12 October 2019. https://www.facebook.com/photo. 5 Yuson, Interview with Anygma. business, or production house would be considered par for the course 76 Perhaps one of their most famous hits was the anthemic song, “We Don’t
6 Constantino, ‘Loonie Entertains Fellow Inmates at Makati City Jail’. for emcees who are cognisant that hip-hop music or battle rap is not Die, We Multiply,” that featured the entire collective rapping sick bars one
php?fbid=402632620669785&set=a.105287417070975&type=3&theater.
7 Loonie LIVE Performance in Makati City Jail (credits to original owners of forever. Hip-hop is subconsciously recognised as a culture that is of after the other, inundating the hip-hop fan with the who’s who of their time.
Demetrio, Allen. Interview with BLKD (#1), 31 May 2018.
———. Interview with BLKD (#2), 10 July 2018. the video: Jeffrey Parido Pallan and Zhenre Zei). the young, and as emcees get older, settle down with families, land 77 Yuson, Interview with Anygma.
Dionisio, Daniel Jade, and Ryan Armamento. Interview with KJah and Juss 8 Loonie LIVE Performance in Makati City Jail (credits to original owners regular day jobs, they realise that they can’t keep up with the nocturnal 78 Yuson.
Rye, 22 July 2019. of the video: Jeffrey Parido Pallan and Zhenre Zei). Peroramas, ‘OFFICIAL rhythms of the hip-hop scene. See also the interview transcripts during 79 Rapper Loonie Released on P2-M Bail.
STATEMENT RE Loonie’s SITUATION’. Won Minutes last March 22, 2019, at Arkipelago Bar in Makati City,
Dominguez, Phil Mark. Interview with Lhipkram (#2), 11 June 2018.
9 Some terms of brotherhood are “bayaw (brother in law),” “insan (cousin),” particularly with M Zhayt, Mhot, and Sur Henyo, who indicated that in
Enriquez, Allen. ‘UMPH Is Also a Filmmaker. He Is the Video Department of
“’tol (sibling),” and other such terms to indicate filial and intimate respect for ten years’ time, they see themselves as having their own businesses,
FlipTop.’ Tweet. Twitter (blog), 10 October 2017. https://twitter.com/imBLKD/
each other Real name: Arbheal Mancilla particularly in the clothing line business. (Mayacyac and Merino,
status/917648936302608384.
10 Real name: Hansel Cabo Interview with Mhot and Sur Henyo; Gabriola, Interview with M Zhayt.)
‘FlipTop: The Story Of The Philippines’ Most Successful Rap Battle League |
FHM Ph’, 25 October 2017. https://www.fhm.com.ph/people/scene-stealers/ 11 Delos Santos, ‘Salamat Sak Maestro’. 39 Lao, Interview with Don Pao.
fliptop-the-story-of-the-philippines-most-successful-rap-battle-league- 12 Real name: Arbheal Mancilla 40 Demetrio, Interview with BLKD (#2).
adv-con. 13 Real name: Hansel Cabo 41 Real name: Jomari Espiritu
Gabriola, Christian Paolo. Interview with M Zhayt, 22 March 2019. 14 This practice parallels how Colgate refer sto all toothpastes or Xerox refers 42 Real name Rodel Ramirez
Guzman Gatmaitan, Wendell de, Reymond Buensuceso, and Jomari to all photocopying machines in regular daily speak. 43 Ramirez, Taguniar, and Visaya, K-leb, Mel Rhyme, Bulek.
Espiritu. Interview with Flict-G, Dello, and Price Tagg. English and Filipino, 20 15 Demetrio, Interview with BLKD (#1). 44 For K-leb, he thinks that “unity” in Pinoy hip-hop was confirmed
16 Real name of BLKD: Allen Demetrio only around 2015; my reference to 2010 as being the approximate
March 2019.
17 BLKD explained this to me the first time I met him at Astá last June 2018, time that a semblance of unity was established among Pinoy
Jheyzee. Inaano ka ng Tattoo ko (Official Music Video). Manila All-star
which was a rap battle event held in a small bar, Catch272, in Quezon City. rappers point to what Flict-G (real name Raymond Buensuceso)
Entertainment, 2019.
That was also the first rap battle that I witnessed live. There were three has described as a rallying point, timeline-wise, with the entry of
Lao, Paolo. Interview with Don Pao, 8 July 2018.

56 57
words by ART ARCHIVE 03

AILEEN DELA CRUZ

OF RECENT TRENDS IN ORIGINAL PHILIPPINE
SITUATING MUSIC IN THE CONTEXT

MUSICAL THEATER PRODUCTIONS

Fig. 1

Long before theater was established, music was (chanted drama originating from the 14th century) and
already an integral part of early cultures. It accompanied kabuki (dance-drama originating from the 17th century).
rituals and ceremonies as practiced by groups in small- In kabuki, the shamisen (three-stringed traditional
scale communities from around the world. In Africa, instrument of Japan) is added to the hayashi ensemble.
call and response chanting and dancing to the beat The Chinese Peking opera, which flourished in the 17th
of the drums abound in tribal rituals. The Philippines’ century, incorporates music and vocal performance,
babaylan (folk healer) performs chants and prayers and dancing, mime, and acrobatics. From then on, music
several types of body movements in a healing ritual. became an indispensable aspect of theater and is
Music was used in theater by the ancient Greeks with evident in several theatrical genres, which developed
the use of aulos (flute) and percussive instruments both in the East and the West. In the next centuries,
accompanying the recitation of their choral odes in western theatrical performances with music came
tragedies that date back from the late 6th century in a variety of forms. These theatrical genres include
BCE. In the east, music in the form of chanting, operas, operettas, melodrama, minstrel shows,
accompanied by kotsuzumi (hip drum), otsuzumi vaudeville acts, musical comedy, musical revues, and
(shoulder drum), fue or nohkan (flute), is incorporated the musical theater, also simply known as “musicals.”
in traditional theater forms of Japan such as the noh

48
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SITUATING MUSIC IN THE CONTEXT OF RECENT TRENDS ART ARCHIVE 03
IN ORIGINAL PHILIPPINE MUSICAL THEATER PRODUCTIONS

THE RISE OF MUSICAL THEATER IN THE PHILIPPINES

DURING THE SPANISH COLONIAL PERIOD Popular jukebox RECENT TRENDS IN CONCEPT MUSICALS
Putri Anak
In the Philippines, the first form of western Concept musicals were also produced in recent
musical theater was introduced in Manila in 1878. years. Putri Anak, with script by Enrique S. Villasis and
This was the Spanish zarzuela. This theatrical form
was developed and indigenized by local librettists musicals, which Juan Ekis, and music by Verne de la Peña, is described
as a new komedya (from the Spanish comedia) and
and composers according to the socio-political and inspired by the celestial maiden narratives in South
cultural needs of the time. It became highly popular East Asian countries. It was staged by the University
in urban areas. The music composed for the sarswela
(indigenized zarzuela) at that time referenced the
make use of the Philippines College of Music on April 9, 2017,
with two shows at the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino of
foreign influences on musical genres that were the Cultural Center of the Philippines. It had another

of existing hit
utilized to cater to and fit in certain scenes in the successful restaging in August 2017 at GT-Toyota Asian
play. The sarswela’s framework for plot structure Center Auditorium in UP Diliman (UPD) to celebrate
and music genres paved the way for the creation Buwan ng Wika (Language Month). The play is produced
of modern sarswelas in the 1970s to the 1980s but as part of the college’s centennial celebration with the

songs by
utilizing music characterized as freer in style and theme “Sandaang Taon ng Himig at Tinig: Pagpupugay
sometimes incorporating fusion of traditional and ng UP Kolehiyo ng Musika” (One Hundred Years of
newer musical genres. Music and Voice: Offering from the UP College of
Aside from sarswelas, Filipino librettists and Music), and was co-produced by the UP Center for
composers created local operas such as Sandugong
an artist, International Studies. Professor Amparo Adelina “Jina”
Fig. 2

Panaginip (The Dreamed Alliance) by Ladislao Bonus, Umali III of UPD CIS directed the play and Enrique
considered as the first Filipino opera and Noli Me Villasis collaborated with Christian “Juan Ekis” Vallez
Tangere (Touch Me Not) with music by Felipe de Leon on the libretto. Putri Anak is about a celestial maiden
Sr. The latter is described as the first full length
Filipino opera in Tagalog language with “music
is common Popular jukebox musicals, which make use of
existing hit songs by an artist, is common in the musical
who lost her wings after bathing in the stream with her
sisters. Left on earth without her wings and unable to
composed in the Western operatic tradition.” theater scene in the West. In this type of musicals, the reunite with her sisters, she helps two arrogant feuding

in the musical
story can be built around the themes and emotions warriors, Sultan Magnaye and Rajah Sulaymon, beat
ORIGINAL FILIPINO MUSICALS expressed in the songs of the artist such as in Mamma the mythical serpent Bakunawa.
Fast forward to several decades later, a number Mia, which features the songs of Abba, a popular group Komedya, also known as moro-moro, was derived
of recent original Filipino musicals were created in the 1970s. Likewise, the songs can also be used to from the Spanish comedia de capa y espada. A cloak and

theater scene
with newly composed music. One of these is Care tell the story of the artists such as in Beautiful: The dagger play, it originated from the 17th century Spanish
Divas, written by Liza Magtoto, and music by Vince De Carole King Musicale. plays on upper middle class manners and intrigue. But
Jesus; the musical tells about the struggles of five The Philippines also has its own version of popular the Philippine-adapted komedya performances shows
Filipino gay caregivers in Israel. It was first staged in jukebox musicals such as: Sa Wakas (At Last), a new Christians defeating the Muslim Moors. Putri Anak as a

in the west.
February 2011 by the Philippine Educational Theater Pinoy rock musical featuring the songs of Sugarfree. recontextualized komedya still retained some elements
Association (PETA) in its venue in New Manila. Another This premiered in April 2013 and tells about the present in the older komedya forms such as the sing-
popular recent musical is Kung Paano Ako Naging breakdown of a long-term romantic relationship song delivery of the lines in verses known as diccio
Leading Lady (How I Became a Leading Lady), created between Topper, a professional photographer, and his or dicho, and the gran batalya or the battle scenes. In
and written by Carlo Vergara, with music and lyrics by fiancée Lexi, a neuro-surgeon, which involves a third addition, the loa (homage) was also retained along with
Vince De Jesus. This musical debuted in May 2015 as 2016. The musical is set in the 1940s and inspired party named Gabbi; PETA’s Rak of Aegis (featuring the other music styles such as marcha (march), pasodoble
part of the 9th Virgin Labfest, a festival of untried and by a young group of college students who became songs of Aegis), which premiered on January 31, 2014, (music in duple meter), and laban (music for fighting).
untested plays organized by Tanghalang Pilipino and guerillas and fought for freedom. The creators of the a work not totally related to the popular foreign jukebox They also incorporated the sintahan (romantic love
The Writers’ Block, Inc. It revolves around the story musical decided to retain the character’s names: musical Rock of Ages, but is about the story of Aileen, scene) as part of the plot of the story.
of Mely and Viva, two sisters, and the struggle of the Cyrano, Roxane and Christian from the original work. a young lady with a big golden voice who dreams of   Since komedya has its roots in the Spanish form
former to find her place in a world where superheroes Binondo, A Tsinoy Musical, written by Ricky Lee with becoming a viral sensation on YouTube and appearing and was later adapted in the Philippines, de la Peña,
and supervillains exist. Mula Sa Buwan (From the music by Von De Guzman, had its world premiere in The Ellen DeGeneres Show; and Ang Huling El Bimbo: composer of Putri Anak, tried to build a hybrid work.
Moon), an adaptation of E. Rostand’s Cyrano de in July 2018 at the Theater at Solaire. Inspired by a The Musical (The Last El Bimbo) with songs by the The music is described as shifting more toward the
Bergerac, with concept, direction and book by Pat real-life story, the musical tells about the love story Eraserheads, which opened in July 2018, and the story Southeast Asian sound. The music was performed
Valera (also one of the lyricist), with music and lyrics of Lily, a Filipina night club singer, and Ah Tiong, a revolving around the friendship of Hector, Emman, and live during performances by the UP Tugtugang Musika
by William Manzano, premiered at the Henry Lee Irwin Chinese scholar who met and fell in love during the Anthony who drift apart and are reunited by fate to Asyatika (TUGMA) using gongs and drums, typical
Theater at Ateneo de Manila University in December pre-martial law era. confront their troubled past. instruments comprising the musical ensembles found

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SITUATING MUSIC IN THE CONTEXT OF RECENT TRENDS ART ARCHIVE 03
IN ORIGINAL PHILIPPINE MUSICAL THEATER PRODUCTIONS

Mabining Mandirigma
Another concept musical worth mentioning is persons) wore black stylized tuxedos or suits with
Mabining Mandirigma (Mabini, the Warrior), with libretto metallic accessories like chains hanging in front of
by Nicanor Tiongson, and music and composition by their attire. Chorus members wore stylized costumes
Joed Balsamo. The play was presented by Tanghalang in black with studs and boots. Even the characters’
Pilipino, the resident theater company of the Cultural makeup and hairstyles indicated steam punk looks.
Center of the Philippines. It was originally staged Mabining Mandirigma is a type of musical that is
in July 2015. The musical won 12 Gawad Buhay (Life almost sung-through, with very minimal dialogues
Award) awards including Outstanding Musical (Original delivered by the characters. When asked about the
Translation/Adaptation) and Outstanding Ensemble type of songs he composed for this musical, Balsamo
Performance for a Musical. shared that the songs start closest to the original
The play is a “steampunk musical” highlighting (i.e., traditional) forms. As the work continues, this
Fig. 3
the political events in the life of the Sublime Paralytic, shifts to the new styles.
Apolinario Mabini, and his intellectual heroism during An audience familiar with the musical convention
the time of the Philippine Revolution in late 19th century. of operas and sarswelas can discern the use of
Apolinario Mabini was the legal and constitutional recitatives, a speech-inflected style of singing in short
adviser to the Philippine Revolutionary Government dialogues that segues to a more rhythmically stable

Pepe and the ensemble performing “Ang Mga

led by General Emilio Aguinaldo in 1898. Mabini later and melodious song. Concertantes are also evident
Fig. 1
Binusabos." A scene from Mabining Mandirigma became the first Prime Minister of the Philippines in the songs that showed different viewpoints such
Fig. 2 Putri Anak’s poster
following the establishment of the First Philippine as the scene between General Aguinaldo, Apolinario
Theater-in-the-round staging showing the battle scene
Fig. 3 between Rajah Sulaymon and Sultan Magnaye. A scene Republic in 1899. Mabini, and the ilustrados. These characters were
from Putri Anak According to Joed Balsamo, the composer of from the middle class, and some have gone to Spain
Fig. 4 Poster of Mabining Mandirigma
Fig. 4 the musical Mabini, the idea of staging a steampunk to study and were exposed to Spanish liberal and
musical came from the director of the musical, Chris European nationalist ideals of the time.
Millado, who is also the vice-president and artistic While watching the play, one can notice that some
in some Southeast Asian countries (like the gamelan mixed with indigenous instruments such as gongs, director of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. of the songs’ verses had a lot of rhyming words at the
of Indonesia, gulingtangan of Brunei and the piphat of kulintang and drums. They produced music that was As a trend, steampunk started in literature. It end of each line. Balsamo referenced the balagtasan
Thailand). According to Verne de la Peña, “the Philippine diverse and interesting, some with dance movements subsequently influenced films, musical plays, fashion (i.e., the poetic style of Francisco Balagtas, a
kulintang serves as a springboard of the music of the borrowed from neighboring countries. and even video and computer games. It pertains to prominent Filipino poet who is considered as one of
play” and references musical styles present in Asian The play also incorporated rituals and ceremonies a sub-genre of science fiction and science fantasy the greatest literary laureates in the field of early 19th
theater forms such as the randai (with its theater-in- such as the cañao (from the indigenous groups of incorporating technology and aesthetic designs, century Filipino poetry) style of rhyming and word
the-round convention of staging, this folk theater Northern Luzon) and the sinulog (Cebu’s ritual-prayer which took inspiration from 19th century industrial syllabication in the lyrics of the songs in the musical.
tradition of the Minangkabau ethnic group in Malaysia dance honoring Señor Santo Niño or the Child Jesus). steam-powered machines. The genre has something Other musical styles used include marches for songs
incorporates music, singing, dance, drama and the Even the fight scenes and choreographies of battle to do with the 19th century Victorian era’s mechanical with patriotic sentiments such as the rousing “Viva
martial art of silat), norah (also known as menora and scenes in the play utilized a variety of different Asian technologies. Steam power, clockwork and even la Republica y Mabini” (Long Live the Republic and
manora, a type of dance drama originating in Southern martial art forms and dances: the use of the arnis, the electricity are just some of the objects depicted in Mabini) sung by General Emilio Aguinaldo and the
Thailand; practiced mainly in the northern states of Maguindanao and Maranao war dance called sagayan, the steampunk’s visual aesthetics. It could be best ensemble. Hints of vaudeville music can also be heard
Malaysia and southern provinces of Thailand), makyong a martial art common to Southeast Asia called the described by this statement: “What the past would look in portions of the play, in which American political
(a traditional form of dance-drama from Northern pencak silat, as well as India’s Bharata Natyam and like if the future had happened sooner.” figures were introduced, i.e., referencing the early
Malaysia). Kulintang refers to a set of six to eight pieces Indonesia’s Tari Java, a Javanese court dance. Composer Joed Balsamo described steam punk 20th century American popular light entertainment.
of small graduated bossed gongs suspended on a Putri Anak’s music borrowed local indigenous as belonging to “a certain period of time (in the past “Pag-aalay” (Offering) is a beautiful melodious
wooden frame and played with two wooden beaters. music and layered these with rhythms from Southeast that) is happening at the present time.” He also added duet between Pule (the young Mabini) and his older
Aside from the indigenous instruments such as Asian tonal modalities. It used “punctuative and that it resembled “the punk aesthetics but tends to self, which expressed the young lad’s dream to
gongs, kulintang (gongs in a row), and drums, de la cyclical, repeated structures commonly used in the lean more on the twisted side of it.” And true to the study and become a priest, and the older Mabini’s
Peña also tried to retain the “traditional komedya brass regions.” description of the genre, set designer Toym Imao’s sentiments about what matters most: the compassion
band sonority” by including woodwind instruments In the original form of the komedya, singing is not design of the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino’s stage for fellowmen and the world, and love for country.
such as the flute, clarinet and saxophone, and the present but this innovation was added to Putri Anak. had an image that resembled a clock with large kinetic The song segues to contrapuntal singing by the two
snare and bass drum. Banduria, a local Hispanic In the play, the characters burst into songs whenever gears, accompanied by sounds of engines and moving characters expressing their own sentiments about
plucked lute with a body shaped like an onion was they need to express emotions and sentiments. gears as smoke comes out from all directions of the their aspirations.
also added to the instrumental ensemble to reflect Chorus of women are also utilized in the play as the stage. The costumes of some characters also reflected The musical number that provided the best comic
lowland folk music traditions. These instruments were chorus of celestial maidens led by the seer Kadunong. steampunk-cum-Gothic fashion. Ilustrados (educated relief was performed by Pepe, Mabini’s assistant,

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SITUATING MUSIC IN THE CONTEXT OF RECENT TRENDS ART ARCHIVE 03
IN ORIGINAL PHILIPPINE MUSICAL THEATER PRODUCTIONS

Steampunk is a new trend that started in literature

mentee and sort of an adopted son, along with
the characters of the chorus. Entitled “Ang Mga
Binusabos” (Those Oppressed), the song makes
fun of the ilustrados’ snobbery and elitism. This is
one of the highlights in the musical reflecting the
postmodern treatment of the theme. It showed the and later influenced films, musical plays, fashion
fusion of two contrasting musical forms, the old and
the new, as in the ragtime piano music and the rap
sequence in a single musical number.
Another musical number that created an impact is and even video and computer games. It pertains
the song entitled “La Creme de la Creme.” A comical

to a sub-genre of science fiction and science fantasy

take on the socio-political status of the ilustrados, this
musical number used a slow march time music and
incorporated stage gestures and movements by the
characters imitating the mechanism of the wheels of

incorporating technology and aesthetic design,

a train. In addition, the musical number is enhanced
by sounds of a train’s bells, drums, steam and whistle
that punctuated certain words for emphasis.
The Chorus (both referring to the ensemble of

which took inspiration from 19th century industrial

characters and the theatrical device from Greek
theater) was used in this musical to elicit reactions
and commentaries on the actions of the play.
One unique innovation conceptualized in
Mabining Mandirigma was that the main character,
Apolinario Mabini, was portrayed by a woman. steam-powered machines.
Delphine Buencamino essayed the role of Mabini
in the musical’s world premiere in July 2015. On
the second restaging, Repertory Philippines’ newly Ang Larawan: The Musical
appointed artistic director, Liesl Batucan, took on William Howard Taft, James Franklin Bell and General Ang Larawan: The Musical (The Portrait: The The songs of Ang Larawan used arias and recitative
the lead role in February 2016, with Hazel Maranan Douglas MacArthur, were also unconventionally Musical) is a film adaptation of the stage play of singing. “Kay Sarap ng Buhay nu’ng Araw” (Life is
alternating as Mabini. Monique Wilson played the portrayed by women. Although strong from the point the same title. Produced by Culturtain Musicat Sweeter in the Past) is an aria sung by Paula and
role of Mabini in the latest restaging of the musical of view of the colonialists, the music reversed the Productions, the film was directed by Loy Arcenas. Candida. “Ikinalulungkot Ko, Miss Paula” (It Saddens
in August 2019, also with Maranan as the alternate. power relationship. The screenplay was based on the libretto by Rolando Me, Ms. Paula), an aria sung by Tony and Paula, has
Chris Millado, the show’s director, said the role Nonetheless, the casting of female actors to Tinio while the music was composed by Ryan a hauntingly beautiful melody interspersed with
of Mabini began as a technical problem since the portray male characters was not a recent innovation Cayabyab. The stage play was produced in 1997 by recitatives in between. “Hindi Simple ang Buhay”
artistic team wanted the main character’s voice to of that production. Both foreign and local productions Musical Theater Philippines and presented at the (Life is not Simple) is another aria sung by Don Perico,
be unique from the rest of the cast. It was actually of Peter Pan, for example, already cast female actors Cultural Center of the Philippines. The musical play with a melody that brings to mind the song “Gus, the
resolved by casting a female actor to play the lead to portray the title role. In one Philippine production was, in turn, based on a 1950 play The Portrait of the Theater Cat” from the musical Cats by Andrew Lloyd
role. Another reason for Mabini being portrayed of Shakespeare’s King Lear, director Anton Juan cast Artist as a Filipino written by Nick Joaquin. Weber. In “Muebles” (Furniture), recitative singing
as a woman had to do with the intent to symbolize the Repertory Philippines founder, Zenaida Amador, The play is set in pre-war Intramuros, Manila in is heard between Manolo and Pepang, Candida and
power. As Liesl Batucan explained in a collaborative as the titular character in 2001. Another example 1941. The story revolved around two unmarried sisters, Paula’s brother and sister, as they talk about things
interview by AXL Powerhouse and Evo Contravida, was a local presentation of excerpts of Jesus Christ Candida and Paula Marasigan, and their struggles to they can inherit from their father.
the decision was based on the need to hear the Superstar by Andrew Lloyd Webber in April 2009 at the make ends meet after their painter father became “Ang Pianista at Taga Piano” (The Pianist and
voices of the marginalized, the weak, in the midst of TAuMBAYAN, a bar located in Kamuning, Quezon City. ill, stopped producing artworks, and was unable to Piano Player) sung by Tony, a bodabil (local term
the more powerful and the more influential political The roles of Jesus and his disciples were portrayed support them anymore. Adding to the conflict was for vaudeville) pianist, and “A Tisket A Tasket” sung
figures. Similar to a marginalized woman, Mabini is by women. In this presentation, Filipino singers the dilemma whether to hold on or to let go of the by Susan and Violet, both bodabilista (vaudeville
weak, a paralytic who needs to let his voice be heard Agot Isidro portrayed Jesus, Bituin Escalante played portrait, a painting by their father, which could be a performers), used vaudeville show tunes which were
by the generals and the society’s educated class, Judas, while Aiza Seguerra essayed the role of both means for them to live comfortably if sold for a hefty very appropriate since the theatrical genre was one
the ilustrados. In the fourth rerun of the musical, Magdalene and Caiaphas. The all-female cast of this sum. of the popular entertainments during the pre-war era
different American characters, such as Mark Twain, pre-Lenten presentation wore an all-white attire. in which the play is set.

64 65
SITUATING MUSIC IN THE CONTEXT OF RECENT TRENDS
IN ORIGINAL PHILIPPINE MUSICAL THEATER PRODUCTIONS

Putri Anak,

Mabining

Mandirigma and Fig. 6

Following the tradition of Disney’s original such as arias and recitative singing, which started in

Ang Larawan soundtrack of animated films, Ang Larawan: The

Musical (film version) released a pop version of “Kay
European operas from the 17th century up until the
present. To summarize, Mabining Mandirigma used
Sarap ng Buhay Noong Araw” performed by Yeng marches, ragtime piano music, rap sequences and
Constantino. Another pop version of this song was vaudeville show tunes, while Ang Larawan utilized

produced music
performed by the two lead characters, Candida balse, salsa, and cha-cha rhythms, to name a few.
and Paula, portrayed by Joanna Ampil and Rachel With these, we can conclude that even though
Alejandro, respectively. there has been a tendency in recent years for original
Another surprising addition to the playlist of Ang local theatrical productions that lean towards an

that has cultural,

Larawan is the song “Kahapon, Ngayon at Bukas” experimental approach by incorporating new sounds
(Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow), a duet performed using music software programs to manipulate and
Fig. 5
by Rachel Alejandro and Ebe Dancel, former front combine musical styles or doing fusion of old and
man of the band Sugarfree. The song serves as the new genres, there has also been a tendency for

social and
theme song of the film. musicals to revert to the old musical forms, styles and
In 2017, the book Ang Larawan From Stage to Screen conventions such as the aria and recitative singing.
was published by Anvil Publishing, Inc. It included This clearly shows the influence of postmodernism
Conga music is heard in the songs “Hindi Pa Kami
the script of A Portrait of the Artist as a Filipino by Nick in music. Used in local musical theater productions,
Matandang Dalaga” (We are not yet Spinsters) by
Joaquin and the libretto and screenplay by Rolando one could see the manner in which boundaries from

political contexts
Candida and Paula, and in “Conga,” performed by Elsa
Tinio. the past and present musical styles are erased and
and Patsy. In lilting triple time, balse (waltz) rhythm
The film received 12 nominations in the 2017 these different styles were utilized to “meet as one”
can be discerned in the song “Ang Mga Tertulia” (The
Metro Manila Film Festival and won five awards, in a single musical number. Despite the conflicting
Tertulias) performed by Tony and Paula. The song
namely, Best Picture, Best Director for Loy Arcenas, musical trajectories, Putri Anak, Mabining Mandirigma,

framed within
started first with recitative singing before seguing
Best Actress in a Leading Role for Joanna Ampil, and Ang Larawan are works that have important
to balse. Tertulia is a term used to refer to social
the Gatpuno Antonio J. Villegas Cultural Award, Best cultural, social, and political values framed within the
gatherings usually done in the early afternoon during
Musical Score, and Best Production Design. plots of the musicals’ narratives. ■
the late Spanish colonial period in the Philippines.
The musicals Mabining Mandirigma and Ang
Tertulia consists of literary and artistic performances

the plot of the

Larawan still utilized the older singing conventions
by family members, neighbors, relatives and close
family friends.
With slight dramatic tension building in the
conversation between Candida and Paula, another References

musical’s story.
balse rhythm is put to great use in the musical number ABS-CBN. “Portrait of success: ‘Ang Larawan’ wins MMFF 2017 AXL Powerhouse. “Liesl Batucan as Apolinario Mabini in Mabining
best picture.” ABS-CBN News. https://news.abs-cbn.com/ Mandirigma.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLq7m4T_zBU. Accessed
“Walang Ilaw” (There’s is no Light). The song depicts entertainment/12/28/17/portrait-of-success-ang-larawan-wins-mmff-2017- October 13, 2019.
the characters’ fear about their electricity being cut best-picture. Accessed October 22, 2019. danabatnag. “Jesus Christ Superstar at TAuMBAYAN.” Between the Lines
Ang, Walter. “UP College of Music’s Putri Anak reimagines the komedya.” https://danabatnag.wordpress.com/2009/04/05/jesus-christ-superstar-at-
off, due to non-payment of the utility bill, only to
Philippine Daily Inquirer. https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/259401/college- taumbayan/. Accessed October 15, 2017.
find out that they forgot about the announcement musics-putri-anak-reimagines-komedya/. Accessed July 13, 2017. Soliman, Michelle Anne. “Tweaks in TP’s 4th rerun of Mabining Mandirigma.”
in the periodico (newspaper) that there will be a drill Ang, Walter. “Peta Stages ‘King Lear’ in Filipino.” Philippine Daily Business World. https://www.bworldonline.com/tweaks-in-tps-4th-rerun-of-
Fig. 5 Ang Larawan: The Musical Film Poster Inquirer, Lifestyle. Inq. https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/31263/peta-stages- mabining-mandirigma/. Accessed October 17, 2017.
in preparation for the war, hence, the reason for the %E2%80%98king-lear%E2%80%99-in-filipino/. Accessed October 15,
Fig. 6
The conga sequence performed by Patsy, Elsa, Donya
brownout. Loleng and Manolo, from Ang Larawan: The Musical 2017.

66 67
words by ART ARCHIVE 03

DESIREE PERALEJO
The Influence of Budots in Philippine Society
POWERFUL MOVE:

Fig. 1

Budots dance, originally from Camus Street in di Laut (Badjao) are from. This essay will investigate how
Davao City and popularized back in 2006, has become a a dance, such as the budots, reflects Filipino culture and
household name among the Filipino masses. The dance society. Why is the budots popular among the Filipino
craze is associated with the local slang word tambay, masses? What messages does the budots dance
meaning a person without a permanent job or who has a communicate to its performers and viewers?
lot of free time. The term budots was given to the dance Dance critic and historian Sally Banes points out
popularized by the local tambay folks of Davao City1 known that there are two ways of understanding the purpose
as the CamuzBoys. It is a free dance so to speak, which of dance. It is reflective of culture, meaning that dance
originated from the Sama di Laut2 (Badjao) dances, that “is a mirror of microcosms where the workings of
combined the Visayan word bistik, “bis,” meaning bisaya culture, everyday life, and even government are actively
(from the Visayas), and technorock (Tan 2019). The budots registered from above on passive bodies below; and
music mix was created by Sherwin Calumpang Tuna, more second, it has the potential to effect change” (Banes,
popularly known as DJ Love or Lablab (Celera 2019). It is 44). Deborah Jowitt writes that “dancing and dancers
also said that the budots dance was created before the reflect intellectual and material trends in other spheres of
budots music. This was revealed by filmmakers Jay Rosas human activity” (as quoted in Banes, 43). Paul Wolffram in
and Mark Limbaga’s short documentary entitled “Budots: his essay Singing Spirits and the Dancing Dead describes
The Craze, which premiered in August at the Cinemalaya that dancing among the Lak people of Papua New Guinea
Philippine Independent Film Festival” (Celera 2019). “…is an essential nature to the nataka (spirits)… and that
The footwork is simple and basic. On bended knees it is an activity that fundamentally reveals things as they
(demi-plié), execute either a step-close-step-close are” (Wolffram, 2011, p. 181). Dance thus acts as a form
(usually done by the males) or the clam action of open of representation of one’s culture, where emotions of
and close movement while the legs are slightly apart the people are revealed through their movements and
(usually done by the females). The torso moves smoothly accompaniment. Whether life is good or bad, the people
in a wave-like motion with carefree use of the arms echo their experience through movement. As a “product
(usually rolling action upward or downward) and the head of culture” (Jowitt), it manifests how the people interpret
(nodding along to the beat of the music). The clam action their life and cultural experience. From these thoughts,
and the wave-like motion of the budots dance can also everyday life is rendered through dance and music, and
be seen as a reflection of the water where the Sama dance and music become indicative of one’s culture.

68 69
POWERFUL MOVE: ART ARCHIVE 03
The Influence of Budots in Philippine Society

‘PAKIKIPAG-KAPWA’ AND ‘PAKIKISAMA’ may encourage a sense of “peace and comfort,” but also ‘BAHALA NA SI BATHALA’ (LEAVE IT UP TO GOD)

It is reflective Filipinos easily recognize the ideology of pakikipag-

kapwa and pakikisama. It is a group-centered value
“isolation and emptiness.” In many cases, it can also
mean a “new beginning” (Scott-Kemmis 2018).
Dancing the budots has this connotation of dancing
one’s problems away. As used in the senatorial campaign
where acceptance and unity are desired. Pakikipag- In addition, the campaign video used red to display video, one YouTuber commented, “Isayaw na lang natin

of culture, meaning kapwa may be practiced in different activities such

as singing, dancing, eating and playing together. The
the candidate’s electoral number. Red means “strong and
powerful,” “masculine energy,” “leadership and ambition,”
ang kalungkutan sa Pilipinas” (Let us just dance our
sorrows away in the Philippines) (PaoLul 2019). In reality,
thought and recognition of being united as a group, and “revenge and anger” and “good luck” (Bourn 2019). The the carefree attitude of the spectacle has truth in it. Not
that dance “is a mirror doing the same activities develop an understanding that juxtaposition of being innocent, clean, and turning a new only did the campaign gave the message of pakikisama
members are amongst equals, and that they are “one- leaf, with the strong and powerful red, was effective. The or being one with the group, but it also projected being
of-us” (Enriquez 1992). Pakikipag-kapwa is a Filipino campaign material was short yet irritating, but it was also unconcerned at the outcome of a situation or problem.
of microcosms where mentality where the self is blended within a group. Kapwa direct and entertaining. Most importantly, the use of the This is another Filipino trait, the bahala na attitude.
means the “shared inner self” and/or a “shared identity” Filipino values for pakikipag-kapwa and pakikisama was Bahala na mentality is said to be “one of the Filipino’s

the workings of culture,

with others. It stresses that one is not different from the what conditioned the Filipino masses that this candidate most important cultural values” (Enriquez 1992). There
rest and therefore is part of the group (Enriquez 1992). was one with them, the people. This brings us to the issue are two paradoxical meanings of the bahala na attitude.
Practicing pakikipag-kapwa may also indicate that social of the social function of dance in society. One refers to where and when Filipinos submit all their

everyday life, and even hierarchy does not exist among them and that everybody
is an equal. Pakikipag-kapwa is closely associated with DANCE FOR POLITICS AND IDENTITY
worries, troubles and anxieties to a higher Being as
we often hear the phrase “Bahala na si Lord” or “Diyos
pakikisama. Pakikisama “is [the] yielding to the leader Dance is a functional art form. It is related to rituals na ang bahala” (It is now up to the Lord) during a crisis.

government are actively or majority; companionship; esteem; ‘alter-fellow,’ it is a

level of adjusting” in interpersonal interactions with other
of harvest, marriage, birth, death, war, worship as well
as political advancements. For example, going back to
The second meaning is where one is encouraged to
practice their abilities or “own capacity to change the
people (Enriquez 1992). the development of ballet in sixteenth century France, present problematic condition” (Enriquez 1992). The first

registered from above In my opinion, the Filipino values of pakikipag- dance was used as a form of entertainment to appease behavioral effect of the bahala na is being submissive to
kapwa and pakikisama, deeply familiar among the the people because of the political situation of the time. the consequences and to God’s will as there is a sense of
people, are what made budots popular. When used as “Sixteenth-century France was beset with intractable and acceptance of whatever lies ahead. Ironically, the second
on passive bodies a media campaign tool, it garnered votes among the savage civil and religious conflicts: The French kings, effect is where the person is challenged to be resourceful
Filipino masses for the candidate who was “acquitted of drawing on a deep tradition of Italian Renaissance… and therefore tests her/his ‘abilidad’ (ability) to do things

below; and second, it

plunder charges by the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan thought of spectacle as a way to soothe passions and from scratch. The remainder of the essay explores a
in December” of 2018 (Coconuts Manila 2019). Netizens calm sectarian violence” where the French monarch contemporary rendition of the budots dance on stage.
were outraged by his dancing the budots in his media “hoped that theatrical events might be an important

has the potential to

campaign as it became a form of mockery of the justice tool, assuaging tensions and pacifying warring parties” BUDOTS AS A CONTEMPORARY DANCE ON STAGE
system. His minimal exertion in dancing, a very short (Homans 2010, 4-5). Filipino values for pakikipag-kapwa, pakikisama and
less-than-a-minute dance, did not deter his intention. Dance is also used to identify groups of people. Dance bahala na are embodied in Erl Sorilla’s choreography

effect change. The negative turned into a positive as the candidate

convinced the Filipino voters through the effects
movements and forms are quickly identified according
to their culture and region. Specific movements are
entiled ‘Budots’ in August 2017. This was performed
at the first Koryolab at the CCP Tanghalang Huseng
of pakikipag-kapwa and pakikisama. Viewers gained associated with certain groups of people that give them Batute. The Koryolab (choreographic laboratory) is
confidence and assurance that he is one of them. cultural identity. In Toronto Canada, dance scholar Patrick an outlet for aspiring Filipino choreographers. It is
To analyze dance movements as culture, one must be Dancing the budots was a familiar powerful move and Alcedo mentioned in an interview (TFC 2017) that “identity a space where emerging choreographers are given
grammatically fluent in the language of dance (Kaeppler, sound among the people, young and old. The targeted is not only through labor, or other professions but also the opportunity to explore, research and experiment
199). Signs and symbols in any combination thereof, viewers could easily relate to the idea of being carefree through performance.” The project, entitled “Luzviminda: with their choreographic ideas and abilities guided
convey various information in many contexts. In this essay, and of being a tambay. The message of the campaign The Philippines Dances for Canada 150,” was a by senior and well-established dance pioneers
I will relate movements to its communicative value, asking connected to the viewers easily. After all, they had shared celebration of “Filipino-Canadians and the embodiment Denisa Reyes and Myra Beltran. This platform began
how the budots dance was used to spread a message by a common activity —the budots. and expression of their diasporic identities” (Philippine in 2017 as part of the CCP Choreographers Series,“a
a politician, who eventually won a seat in the Senate in the The campaign was well thought of. It was simple, short, Canadian Inquirer, 2017). Through dance, people can three-part platform that addresses three levels of
2016 political campaign. The campaign took advantage and easy to remember. Most importantly, it had underlying identify regions and ethnicities, and gain a sense of bond choreographers in contemporary dance: WifiBody.ph,
of a common language tambay or being carefree, that is messages. Not only did the candidate express his equality and relationship. Dance has the ability to characterize a competition for emerging choreographers; Koryolab,
resonant in the lives of the masses. The message was using the budots music and dance, the candidate also groups of people and their positions. a presentation of short but completed dance pieces by
directly injected to his desired target, the mass voters. persuaded the people that he is a new person by using Another example of showing their identity through mid-career choreographers; and Neo Filipino, a venue for
If a dance such as the budots has the potential to effect the color white against a white background. This helped dance is the Lak people in Papua New Guinea who “literally established choreographers to create and stage major
change, then it obviously has influence on society. The boost his campaign because the color white represents perform their social relationships, showing onlookers who works…where all three have become the prime mover in
following argues that the roots of this communicative being “pure, clean and innocent.” It may also impress a they are by dancing in a group that is made up of their the contemporary expression of the Filipino soul” (CCP
efficacy is in the social values. clean slate or a new beginning. Seeing the color white active exchange partners and relations” (Wolffram 2011). Choreographers Series 2019). Erl Sorilla is from Iloilo city

70 71
POWERFUL MOVE:
The Influence of Budots in Philippine Society

CHOREOGRAPHER’S DEFINITION OF THE BUDOTS

and was chosen to be a dance scholar at the Philippine Sorilla defines budots as “freestyle, baduy (kitsch),
High School for the Arts. He then entered the University primitive, tambay, and drugs, sex and violence” (Sorilla
of the Philippines Dance Program in 2011 and became a 2019). Budots as freestyle, according to Sorilla, is about
company member of the UP Dance Company. He joined ‘letting go’ and ‘feeling good.’ “People are doing it because
Ballet Philippines as an apprentice for two years and is it makes them feel honey. It is liberating. It is pleasurable”
now a company member. As a choreographer, Sorilla, now (Sorilla 2019). Baduy has a number of meanings. It can
26 years old, is interested in Filipino values such as how mean out-of-date, un-cool, or low class (Tagalog Lang
Filipinos have fun together even if they have problems. 2019). Sorilla’s idea of baduy in budots is a combination
Filipinos “dance together over poverty and problems” of being un-cool and low class. Sorilla describes budots
and the first meaning of “bahala na si Bathala (It is all as baduy because it “originated from the slums” (i.e.,
up to God)” (Sorilla 2019) mentality is the reason for this. from a marginalized community) and that the music and
Sorilla embodied this in his choreographic work on the movements of the budots dance is “retro and techno,”
budots dance. He said, “All of my pieces are voicings out which makes it un-cool or un-hip from the point of view of
Fig. 3
of Filipino attitude and impediments. Now that the budots Sorilla. Because the budots originated from the slums, it
(music and dance) is trending, I became more curious is associated with the word tambay because people from
with it” (Sorilla 2019). the underclass are often unemployed. The movements of
the budots dance is also described by Sorilla as primitive.
The steps are grounded, and it is strong on the downbeat. vocabulary to develop his own process in creating new and the roles they play in society. He isolates or “breaks
In addition, based on Sorilla’s research, the “people who choreographies. He said “I am still young, and I still want free, dislocates,” and when needed “distorts” their
dance the budots are usually high on drugs,” and “there is to dance. There is a compromising balance between identities so that they can dance the characters (Sorilla
also a sexual connotation to dancing the budots” (Sorilla dancing and choreographing… I am still learning, and my 2019). Sorilla explained that it took time for him to “break”
2019), while it trended back in 2017. Budots was also process is still developing and changing” (Sorilla 2019). his dancers away from their usual movement vocabulary,
popular at the height of the extrajudicial killings, or EJK. Another influencing factor in Sorilla’s choreography which is classical ballet.
According to Sorilla (2019) “Eto yung times na namamatay of ‘Budots’ is YouTube. Type in the words “budots music “The body is a very malleable thing and I feed them
yung mga bata” (This was the time when the children were and dance” in the search engine, and you can get more information that they can absorb, to actually internalize
killed). To create his work, Sorilla gathered all information than thirty thousand results. Even on Spotify, several and go through it. They feel the truth in what they do. That
about it. His work is a reflection of the current situation. budots dance, budots remix, budots volumes and is the basis of the technique. We looked for the groove.
episodes have been uploaded and downloaded. The The pleasure of dancing it (budots) and not thinking of
CHOREOGRAPHIC INFLUENCE availability of the budots music and dance on the internet technique as ballet dancers. They were not conscious
As a dancer, Sorilla has worked with different has made it viral. The dance steps as well as the music when doing it. It was raw. The intention was clear. Take
choreographers who “left an imprint” on who he is at are determined to be as one where it is easily accessible away the refinement of classical ballet and move in a
present: a dancer, a dance artist and a choreographer to learn and listen to. certain way” (Sorilla 2019).
(Sorilla 2019). He was greatly influenced while working In the 1980s, a similar platform was used in spreading To help his dancers to feel and internalize as well as
with choreographers such as Agnes Locsin, Elena Laniog, popular music and dance. This was the MTV (Music experience the groove of the budots dance, Sorilla took
Myra Beltran, and Denisa Reyes. He explained that “it is a Television). The 1980s music and dance such as Michael his dancers to a cheap night club in Malate where the
touch of their work that makes me who I am as a dancer Jackson’s “Thriller” and The Bangles’ “Walk Like an budots (music and dance) is a regular part of the club’s
and artist and how I see and use my own vocabulary in Egyptian” were quickly identified and performed by the nightly program. The choreographer and the dancers
dance” (Sorilla 2019). As a dancer, Sorilla is still young masses due to the visibility of their music and dance observed as well as joined in dancing the budots. “Masaya
and has a lot of years of dance performance ahead. He moves on television. In the 1990s boybands and girl s’ya” (It is fun) dancing the budots, “it was an experience
is currently dancing as a company member of Ballet groups such as The New Kids on the Block, Backstreet for them,” to drink, get tipsy, and dance the budots (Sorilla
Philippines, the resident company of the Cultural Center Boys, NSYNC, Spice Girls, and Destiny’s Child also 2019). In the process of creating the movements for the
of the Philippines. At the same time, he constantly creates increased their popularity because of MTV. The use of piece, one of Sorilla’s processes was their immersive
something new from his movement experiences. Sorilla media television increases the popularity of song and experience at a night club. For example, for a step such
reflects, “It is important for me to still move and know my dance movements of the time. Now, with the internet, as jumping or chugging, Sorilla inserted the idea and
body more to create more,” although sometimes he is the availability and accessibility of music and dance are recalled the memory of being drunk saying, “Walwal ka
torn “between being a performer and a choreographer” amplified a hundred times more. na sa alak (you are drunk or wasted from alcohol), then
(Sorilla 2019). Nonetheless, he is open to different ways, you are finding your balance. You are intoxicated and
methods and processes of creating. This is because he CHOREOGRAPHIC PROCESS you do not have any control but you still want to be in
is exposed to working with different choreographers and As regards the choreographic process, Erl Sorilla first the beat and you are forcing yourself to still be happy”
artists. He embraces the idea of increasing his movement isolates his thoughts of who his dancers are portraying (Sorilla 2019). Sorilla made his dancers drink to loosen up

73
Fig. 2
POWERFUL MOVE: ART ARCHIVE 03
The Influence of Budots in Philippine Society

Dance thus acts as a form

of representation
of one’s culture, where emotions
of the people are revealed
through their movements and
accompaniment. Whether life is good
or bad, the people echo their
experience through movement.
Fig. 4

and recall the experience of being drunk, dancing the the teenage sector. The boys played the roles of Then they danced the budots together with the The second part of the piece was most interesting
budots and having fun, to be able to replicate the moment being a bastard, an addict, a robber, and the rest techno music, their legs opened and closed while their as the choreographer wittingly chose and edited multiple
for the piece. represented the children of the Philippines. They wore upper body was freely released with the use of their arms. news clippings and media reports of the extrajudicial
For the budots music, Sorilla “studied it even if it worn-out clothes, projected that they were tambay and Visually interesting was the use of lights by Katsch Katoy. killings, drugs, rape and murder from YouTube. The
was awkward. ‘I wanted the dancers to be on the beat’” squatters. The six friends danced in silence, reflecting “It was a visual pleasure from the audience’s viewpoint,” choreographer stitched the news recordings together
(Sorilla 2019). The music intensifies and interweaves from that they were in a very tight space, living in the slums. commented Angela Baguilat during the Q & A part of the as the accompaniment and music to the dancers. In
flowy and the techno beat. The flow of the Sama di Laut It was dirty, dark, and had lots of mosquitoes for the choreographic performance (Baguilat 2017). The light this part, the movements became intense, serious and a
(Badjao) music reflects the movement of the water or the dancers kept slapping and scratching themselves. focused on each of the dancers frozen movement, which sense of terror for their life was evident due to what was
waves where the Sama di Laut Badjao comes from. It They squirmed and pushed against each other while quickly changed when the light was focused on another happening in society.
can also mean being laidback, careless, or relaxed. The covering their noses to show that their surrounding dancer. Watching on video the dancers appearing and The final part of the piece was tragic. The background
techno-music that is superimposed on the flow depicts was stinking or had a foul smell. There was a sense of disappearing while dancing their interpretation of the music became a collection of Rodrigo Durterte’s cursing
the “here-ness” of society, a new and a faster way of life. lightness with their comedic gestures and comments budots was interesting and exciting. There was a sense of and vulgar language. The clippings were edited together
such as “Sino umutot? Umamin ka na!” (Who farted? nostalgia, a moment of reminiscing and flashback. There with the movements of pain and fear of the six friends.
THE BUDOTS DANCE BY ERL SORILLA Admit it!). There were laughter and a sense of was a sense of thrill and curiosity to see who appeared One of the edited news recordings showed the audience
There are three parts in Sorilla’s ‘Budots.’ The first family among the friends, a sense of belonging and next and what movement was being done. The girls now of Rodrigo Duterte enjoying his cursing and laughing with
part presents a group of friends from the slum areas in comfortability as well as the Filipino relationship and adapted the roles of being a mother (Jessa Tangalin) and him. The choreographer here reminded his audience
Manila. Sorilla used Ballet Philippines dancers Jessa respect among friends in being a “kuya” (big brother) the daughter (Ramona Yusay) where they are drugged. In about the kind of people in today’s society. In the end the
Tangalin, Ramona Yusay, Mark Balucay, Luigie Barrera, and “ate” (big sister). The six friends were intrigued a daze, they appeared to have no life (Sorilla 2019). The children are raided by the police and one of them died.
Bryan Abaño, and Justine Orande. He chose these and mesmerized by a light strongly shining from daughter represented the young girls dancing in the red Then the lights slowly faded.
dancers because they looked young as they had to portray stage right. They slowly walked towards the light. light district while the mother is pained and drugged.

74 75
POWERFUL MOVE: ART ARCHIVE 03
The Influence of Budots in Philippine Society

A CHOREOGRAPHER’S CHALLENGE
Initially, Sorilla did not plan his piece (‘Budots’) to be
We (Filipinos)
References
Baguilat, Angela. 2017. Koryolab . Video, Manila: Cultural Center of the PaoLul. 2019. PaoLul. May 10. Accessed October 18, 2019. https://www.
political. However, with the guidance and advice of his
Philippines. youtube.com/watch?v=yC9BTdak3U4.
mentors (Reyes and Beltran), “he was pushed to dig in Banes, Sally. 1994. “ Power and the Dancing Body.” In Writing Dancing in the Pepper, Henny. 2012. Let’s Talk About It: Budots. November 11. Accessed

are trying
and learn what is more with the budots, to lay it out and Age of Postmodernism, by Sally Banes, 43-50. London:: Wesleyan University January 30, 2020. http://hennypepper.blogspot.com/2012/11/budots.html.
Press. Philippine Canadian Inquirer. 2017. Philippine Canadian Inquirer. October 2.
be literal” (Sorilla 2019). The biggest challenge for Sorilla Bourn, Jennifer. 2019. Bourn Creative. Accessed October 18, 2019. https:// Accessed October 21, 2019. http://www.canadianinquirer.net/2017/10/02/
was to have the courage to expose and let it out. Another www.bourncreative.com/meaning-of-the-color-white/. luzviminda/.
CCP Choreographers Series. 2019. Koryolab 2019. Accessed October PULOTU. n.d. PULOTU. Accessed January 30, 2020. https://pulotu.shh.mpg.
trial for Sorilla was the reaction of some of his audience

to look
17, 2019. https://www.culturalcenter.gov.ph/events/dance/koryolab-2019/ de/culture/sama-dilaut.
who disagreed on how the budots dance was reflected. details. Scott-Kemmis, Judy. 2018. Empowered by Color. Accessed October 18,
“Some people said that it is not budots. So I asked them, Celera, Lex. 2019. Vice: The Origins of Budots, the Philippines’ Catchiest 2019. https://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/color-
Viral Dance Craze. September 10. Accessed January 30, 2020. https://www. white.html.
‘What is budots?’ This is how I want to dance budots. It is vice.com/en_asia/article/xwewa3/the-origins-of-budots-the-philippines- Sorilla, Erl, interview by Desiree Peralejo-Medina. 2019. Budots: Koryolab

for temporary
free style. Why can’t I be free? Some like it, some don’t” catchiest-viral-dance-craze. 2017 (August 19).
Coconuts Manila. 2019. Netizens slam senatorial candidate Bong Revilla for Tagalog Lang. 2019. Baduy. October 16. Accessed October 17, 2019. https://
(Sorilla 2019).
‘Budot dance’ campaign video. May 6. Accessed October 18, 2019. https:// www.tagaloglang.com/baduy/.
coconuts.co/manila/news/netizens-slam-senatorial-candidate-bong- Tan, Michael. 2019. Inquirer: ‘Budots’ and Filipino. August 23. Accessed
A CHOREOGRAPHER’S REFLECTION revilla-for-budot-dance-campaign-video/. January 30, 2020. https://opinion.inquirer.net/123486/budots-and-filipino.

happiness,
Enriquez, Virgilio G. 1992. From Colonial to Liberation Psychology: The TFC, Balitang America. 2017. Luzviminda Project: A Mosaic of Traditional
“What is budots? ‘Budots’ is about humanity. I was just
Philippine Experience. Quezon City: The University of the Philippine Press. Philippine Dance and Culture. November 3. Accessed October 21, 2019.
mirroring the time. It is a reflection of reality and it hurts Homans, Jennifer. 2010. Apollo’s Angels A History of Ballet. New York: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z_PLsF6ERo.
because we are Filipinos. We are lovable and we are being Random House Trade Paperbacks. Wolffram, Paul. 2011. “Singing Spirits and the Dancing Dead.” In Austronesian
Kaeppler, Adrienne L. 1992. “Dance.” In Dance Folklore, Cultural, Performances Soundscapes Performing Arts in Oceani and Southeast Asia, by Birgit Abels,

an escape
killed. It is about humanity and compassion. ‘Budots’ is and Popular Entertainments, 196-203. New York-Oxford: Oxford University 103-204. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
very personal for me. I find it interesting because of it Press.
Kauman Sama Online. 2020. Information on the Sama. Accessed January
being wasak (broken). It is broken but it is also beautiful.
30, 2020. http://sinama.org/about-sama-people/the-bajau-and-sama-
There are times that you find that temporary happiness people/.
in having quick pleasures. Then you go back and ask
yourself, what happiness really is? I realized that it is just from the reality
an escape. It is just an escape. We (Filipinos) are trying to

of things.
look for temporary happiness, an escape from the reality
of things. It is merely a band-aid solution” (Sorilla 2019).
Making sense of a dance such as the budots goes
beyond the simple description of the movement. The
word budots has different implications, meanings, impact
and memory to different sectors in Philippine society. The It is merely
budots may have different functions depending on where

a band-aid
or when it is performed. The budots can be seen and
heard on numerous social media channels, television,
and radio, used as a political campaign, in private homes,
night clubs and even on stage. More ‘freestyle’ dancing
and the combination of the Sama di Laut and electronic
music, the budots is also a reflection of the current solution.
society. It is about the people who dance the budots, how
the budots make them happy and forget their current
anxieties. It is about the present problems and how the
budots dance elevates their worries to a higher Being
(Bahala na si Bathala). It is about finding quick solutions
Asukarap Tiktok Budots Budodts Dance Best of Team
Fig. 1
and happiness in spite of the depressing reality. It is Camus 7. Uploaded on YouTube. Thumbnail courtesy of
Sherwin Calumpang Tuna
about the family and being united as a group when they
Koryolab 2017 Budots choreographed by Erl Sorilla.
Fig. 2-5
dance together despite material deprivation. ■ Photo courtesy of Marveen Lozano

1 “Barangay Camus in Davao is a small quiet town until the techno music 2 Sama di Laut (People of the Sea) are one of the ethnic groups of
plays that signals the whole town folks to get out of their houses to dance Southeast Asia known as the ‘Sea Gypsies.’ The Badjao are a subgroup of
Budots” (Pepper 2012) the Sama that are renowned worldwide as the sea nomads of Southeast
Asia. (Kauman Sama Online 2020)
Fig. 5
76 Fig. 5 77
words by ART ARCHIVE 03

TUSA MONTES
MUSIC FESTIVALS IN THE PHILIPPINES:
Tropicality, Identity, Cosmopolitanism

Fig. 1

For a musician like me, performing at a music festival The music festivals in the Philippines are some of the
here or anywhere in the world is the stuff of bucket lists. most important, interesting musical phenomena in the
To be invited to perform at a music festival is, more country. They capture and embody the Filipino’s passion
often than not, considered an honor. The festivals offer for the arts, keen sense of identity, and lively celebration
opportunities for the musicians to experience a different of community. Furthermore, most of the music festivals in
kind of gig, one that is memorable, musically satisfying, the Philippines offer a full range of music: as audience or
and enjoyable. In a festival, musicians get to showcase production crew or performer, attending and participating
their music and expand their network both locally and in them allows one a peek into the current music
globally, enjoying and appreciating others’ music, while scene, with its diversity of styles and eclectic blend of
gaining support from them. At the same time, accepting musicians and artists. One gets to witness, appreciate
an invitation to perform at a festival greatly benefits the and enjoy the Philippines’ local musical culture, while at
festival organizers as well. The musician-artist who gets the same time providing opportunities to watch live top
invited plays a significant role in influencing the festival’s and distinguished international talents who travel all the
desired marketability, image and reputation. The quality way to the islands. This essay deals with contemporary
of these music festivals is greatly defined by the roster of transnational festivals initiated by non-governmental
talents that they present. Thus, in any ideal music festival, organizations with significant participation and support
performing musicians are expected to be treated and from expatriates and local government units.
featured fairly as “artists,” unlike the mundane “racket”
and harang (paid gig) where a musician is usually regarded
as an unnamed and unrecognized talent.

78 79
MUSIC FESTIVALS IN THE PHILIPPINES:
Tropicality, Identity, Cosmopolitanism

THE MUSIC FESTIVAL AS CULTURAL, TOURIST AND

AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE
Every music festival has their own traits that identify the mangoes, etc. I argue, however, that to understand
and distinguish them from each other. Important factors deeply the country’s tropicality, one needs to go beyond
such as venue, concept, musicians/artist lineup, genre, and the physical qualities. Historian David Arnold, in his book
social/cultural context provide the festival’s unique features The Tropics and the Traveling Gaze, stated that tropicality
that are definitive proof that not all music festivals here are can be understood as a “conceptual, and not just physical,
the same. In the Philippines, some festivals are genre- space.”6 In Philippine context, further exploration and
specific, like the Philippine International Jazz Festival,1 the discourse can be done on tropicality as a conventionally
Wanderland festival featuring indie artists and rock bands2 perceived cultural trait of the Filipino.
and the Philippine hip-hop music festival called “The Fliptop It is in the music festivals in the Philippines where
Festival.”3 However, in spite of the distinct qualities of some one can discover and appreciate this. In varying degrees, Fig. 2

festivals, most of the music festivals in the Philippines have the physical qualities of tropicality seen in these festivals
shared similar traits. As an industry, the music festivals in the provide significant value. What is fascinating, though, is
Philippines are regarded as cultural, tourist and aesthetic how tropicality is heightened from an aesthetic, cultural possible genre available.11 Every single one of these pocket on June 21, 1982, the first day of the summer solstice,
experiences that, in spite of their differences, tend to and musical perspective. As community gatherings, these stages was fully packed. Throughout the years, Fete de la wherein any musician, professional or amateur, can make
highlight the country’s attractive qualities as both tropical festivals show where the tropical and the cosmopolitan Musique always draws a big crowd. For a couple of nights, music outdoors.14 The event was free and open to the
and cosmopolitan. experience intertwine and mingle. In the music festivals in Fete de la Musique magnifies ten times over the country’s public. For Fleuret, Fete de la Musique was to be a kind of
In this essay, I discuss three music festivals in the the Philippines, this mingling is an inevitable experience. lively music scene. “’revolution’ in the field of music, which tends to make all
Philippines to provide some insight on the Philippines’ One other addition was a 25-minute multi-genre music meet—without any hierarchy of genre or origin…”15
music festival industry. They consist of two festivals in the FETE DE LA MUSIQUE: 25 YEARS CELEBRATING musical montage titled “#GlobeFete” that was created to Since then, Fete de la Musique has been held in more than
Philippines’ capital of Manila, namely, the local Fete de THE LOCAL FILIPINO commemorate the 25 years of Fete de la Musique in the 120 countries.16
la Musique and the Brasilipinas Festival, and one festival The well-known music festival in France, the Fete de Philippines. The montage was a medley of assorted Filipino I have performed at the Fete de la Musique in the
outside Manila, the Malasimbo Music and Arts Festival la Musique, which is now held in many parts of the world, popular songs from the 1970s to the present. “#GlobeFete” Philippines a number of times since my first Fete gig in
in Puerto Galera, Mindoro. These three festivals display is celebrated in the Philippines in a spectacular way. was a tribute in honor of those who made a significant 2003. My performances at the Fete have been usually at the
valuable traits that are, locally and globally, culturally relevant Starting out as a small, intimate street party in Malate, impact on OPM (Original Pilipino Music). This part of the World Stage and a couple of times at the Main Stage, either
and meaningful. They have been around long enough to Manila in 1994,7 Fete de la Musique, now in its 25th year in production consisted of Filipino popular singers and with the Afro-Brazilian percussion ensemble “Brigada,” or
influence the Philippine music landscape and yet, at the the Philippines, has grown into a very big music festival, a musicians such as singer Bituin Escalante, world music with my world pop fusion band “Anahata.” Throughout the
same time, they have become tourist attractions that full-scale production with corporate sponsors, organized icons Joey Ayala and Bayang Barrios, rapper Abra and years, I have seen and observed the growth of Fete de la
foreigners attend. I examine their impact on the Philippine by Alliance Francaise de Manille, the French Embassy acoustic singer Cookie Chua. Musique here. Venues have changed, until the past few
music scene as tropicalized, i.e., conceptually rendered in Manila, and a local production outfit called B-Side I became part of “#GlobeFete” as one of the years, when the Fete was always held in Makati. The diversity
local, and cosmopolitan representations of Philippine Productions.8 It now has an app that one can download to percussionists of the band, playing the Philippine in the musical acts and genres, the extensive venues and
culture. As one who has participated in these festivals both access all the necessary information about the Fete in the indigenous gong instrument called kulintang in the World numerous pocket stages, reflect the strong cosmopolitan
as fan and performer, I argue that these music festivals Philippines: a guide and map that shows the pocket stages, Music segment of the montage. It is not everyday that nature of the local music scene.
are significant community events that celebrate Philippine schedules at the main stages as well as music playlists of this type of meaningful, grand musical number, a coming On the other hand, I have also seen firsthand how the
popular music culture. the artists performing in 2019. together of some of the best in the local scene, is mounted. Fete here has not changed in its intended vibe, atmosphere,
While this particular festival highlights French culture Through “#GlobeFete,” one gets to experience, watch and and character. The festival is held at around the same time
COSMOPOLITANISM IN THE TROPICS and music,9 this is the one annual music festival in the perform the history of Philippine popular music. every year, as it is in France, in the month of June, and it is
“What has all this got to do with coconuts and rice?”4 Philippines where almost every Filipino musician shows Fete de la Musique in the Philippines has certainly free and open to the public, thus giving many people the
The late composer and Philippine musicology pioneer Jose up to perform. The Fete de la Musique is a big deal for the come a long way from the time it started 25 years ago. chance to enjoy and discover what the local music scene
Maceda asked himself this question, contemplating on (his) local music scene—it has become an annual celebration of However, time has not diminished the true spirit behind the is live, beyond the confines of TV, the radio, or the internet.
Filipino music identity while he was living in Europe and Philippine music. I argue that the local Fete de la Musique festival. Started in 1982 in France by Minister of Culture It is moving to see the streets of Makati full of people
performing piano recitals there in the 1940s.5 “Coconuts is a large community event that supports and showcases Jack Lang and Director of Music and Dance Maurice barhopping, trying to get from one stage to the next to
and rice,” Maceda’s metaphor to describe the Philippines, Filipino music and culture in ways no other music festival Fleuret, Fete de la Musique was a response to Fleuret’s experience different kinds of music. For the musicians, the
conjures images of tropical island life. could. vision of the French musical landscape and practice: “the Fete has become a form of panata (devotion), an event one
As a tropical country in Asia, the Philippines’ tropical At 25 years, Fete de la Musique in 2019 did not hold back music everywhere and the concert nowhere.”12 Surveys tries not to miss, whether or not one is performing. Those
qualities that are seen and felt in its physical aspects in making the event a massive Philippine music festival. indicated how there were many young people in France who do get to perform also have a knack of keeping track
like food, climate, and environs can never be overstated. There were nine main stages spread out in different parts who can play musical instruments and yet only a handful of how many stages they will perform in each year. In its 25
The country’s tourism campaigns tend to highlight the of the country, in Manila, Baguio, Pampanga and Palawan.10 get to perform in the musical events there.13 In order years of existence in the Philippines, Fete de la Musique,
Philippines as a “tropical paradise”: the 7,100 islands, In Manila alone, there were over 50 pocket stages—mostly to encourage more musicians to perform and express albeit with French origins, has become a localized music
the beach life and fine white sand, the coconut trees, bars and clubs in the city of Makati—that featured every themselves, the first ever Fete de la Musique was launched festival that is embedded in Filipino music culture.

80 81

Fig. 2
MUSIC FESTIVALS IN THE PHILIPPINES: ART ARCHIVE 03
Tropicality, Identity, Cosmopolitanism

The music festivals

pianist Anomalie, Jordan Rakei, Robert Glasper, and Hiatus
Kaiyote have all made their way to Mindoro Island. Cynthia
Alexander, Joey Ayala, Grace Nono, Bob Aves, Radioactive
Sago Project, IV of Spades, Nyko Maca, Apartel, Sino Sikat,
Brass Pas Pas Pas Pas are some of the most sought-after, in the Philippines
iconic, top-of-the-line local acts that legitimately represent the
best of Filipino music.
Indeed, speaking as one who has been to the Malasimbo
Festival more than once, to be able to watch and enjoy the
are some of the
music of this cosmopolitan artist lineup that Malasimbo has

most important,
become known for, in a scenic outdoor tropical environment,
is a thrilling experience and a feast for the senses. For Miro
Grgic, a Croatian producer/DJ who is also the festival’s music
director, the dynamic mix of local and foreign artists in the

Fig. 3
festival’s lineup also “keeps the festival’s musical integrity.”21
Grgic also believes that while the international acts greatly
interesting musical
impact the musical and tourist value of the festival, the local

THE TROPICALITY OF THE MALASIMBO MUSIC

acts are equally important in the festival’s holistic vision, as well
as “keeping the local economy in circulation.”22
phenomena in
AND ARTS FESTIVAL Grgic admits though that the music the festival

the country. They

Anyone who has been to the Malasimbo Festival will is located at a private property owned by the d’Abovilles, a has curated so far tends to have a genre bias.23 In a CNN
always talk about the “#MalasimboMagic” and how the French-Filipino family who set up a foundation that started Philippines online article, Grgic mentioned that the music of
experience of being there makes one see the value of this the Malasimbo Festival.18 The d’Abovilles envisioned a the Malasimbo Festival is more of a “niche thing”24 —soul, jazz,
festival as an exciting musical and cultural phenomenon. music festival that promoted not only good music and the and world are mostly the kinds of music that one enjoys in
Started in 2011,17 the Malasimbo Music and Arts Festival is
an international festival held annually in the early part of the
arts but also advocated for the environment and cultural
preservation.19 Mindoro is known as the home of one of the
Malasimbo, and for Grgic, there is not much rock music.25 On
the other hand, according to writer Alyana Cabral, there is still
capture and embody
Philippines’ summer season, around late February to the first Philippines’ indigenous tribe called the Mangyan. Thus, one diversity that can be seen and heard “…not just in the artists’
weekend of March.
The festival is known for its beautiful and inspiring venue,
of the festival’s supposed aim is to support and promote
Mangyan livelihood and culture by including them in the
mixed bag of native origins, but in musical perspectives.”26
I believe that, along with the cosmopolitan mindset in the Filipino’s passion
an outdoor natural grass-terraced amphitheatre in the foothills festival events, selling some of their local crafts and other the festival’s music aesthetics, tropicality and identity are

for the arts, keen

of Mt. Malasimbo, Puerto Galera, in Oriental Mindoro, an island Mangyan art at the festival, at the Mangyan village replica that prevailing concepts that define the Malasimbo Festival’s music
south of Manila. To get there from Manila entails taking a two- was built on the festival grounds.20 The food that is available programming and repertoire. The music is about expressing
hour road trip to a port, then riding a ferryboat to get to Mindoro at the Malasimbo Festival are local Filipino dishes that have in the coolest way the “tropical island vibes” that the venue
island. The element of traveling by boat to an island, the become staples of the festival. Besides the coconut drinks, inspires. It is inevitable, then, that the festival featured a lot
outdoor amphitheater with its tall coconut trees, the beaches
that the island is known for—these are the reasons why the
some famous dishes are the “dabo-dobo,” a rice meal with
chicken adobo, mushroom and garlic chips, and their “kesong
of what has been widely regarded as “island music”—a lot of
world music, and a lot of reggae. The festival’s headliner artists
sense of identity, and
Malasimbo Festival truly inspires and embodies tropicality. puti pandesal,” a mini sandwich with locally-made, herbed have more than once included leading local and international

lively celebration of
Tropicality, in fact, is what defines the festival’s branding carabao cheese and olive oil. These Filipino dishes add to the reggae acts like Jimmy Cliff, Ky-Mani Marley, who is a son of the
and gives it its edge. Basically, it is all in the details. Aside from festival’s island tourist experience. late reggae legend Bob Marley, Big Mountain, I-Dren Artstrong
the venue, the environs and the means of travel, there are also While all of these contribute significantly to the so- and Kooii. Every year since 2011, the festival has never failed
the poster art, the coconut drinks they sell along with the beer called “#MalasimboMagic,” at the heart of it though, is the to feature both local and international world music artists
and alcohol, and the outdoor art installations surrounding the music. From the very beginning, the Malasimbo Festival has such as Grace Nono, Joey Ayala, Bob Aves, Kadangyan, the community.
amphitheatre. While the location of the festival is close to a been known for its unique, eclectic, hard core artists’ lineup. Adrinkra Lumads Djembe Community, Cebuano reggae band
number of hotels and beach resorts, festival-goers can also Throughout its nine-year run, the festival managed to build Junior Kilat, Gongmyeong ensemble from Korea, Gocoo Taiko
camp out on the festival grounds. Indeed, Malasimbo’s tropical a track record of bringing in a diverse, good quality roster of from Japan, Dayaw, and the Philippines’ premier Afro-Brazilian
quality enables the festival to become one of the forerunners musicians and bands from both the local and international percussion ensemble Brigada.
Fig. 1
Joe Bataan at Malasimbo 2012. Photo credit Brendan
of Philippine eco-tourism. scene. Foreign acts such as renowned Japanese DJ Krush, Amidst the sense of tropicality, the numerous international Goco

Aside from tropical qualities, there is also Malasimbo’s British Jazz pianist/singer Jacob Collier, RnB singer Joss acts and the musical diversity, however, the Malasimbo Fig. 2 Anahata performing at the World Stage Fete 2017

Fig. 3 Brigada at Brasilipinas 2018

cultural significance as a local festival in Mindoro. The venue Stone, Bobby Mcferrin’s son Taylor Mcferrin, French-Canadian Festival never fails to include awesome artists that empower

82 83
What is fascinating is how tropicality is ART ARCHIVE 03

heightened from an aesthetic, cultural For the performing bands like Brigada, Brasilipinas Brasilipinas is the meeting of two musical cultures,

and musical perspective. As community

is a form of panata. As a member of Brigada, I have not the Filipinization of Brazilian musical traditions, in various
missed a single Brasilipinas performance. We also plan spaces, from the academe to the party, from the singer to the
and prepare carefully for it, with the goal of featuring the teacher, all forming part of a tropical, cosmopolitan Manila.

gatherings, it is in these festivals where the “Filipino” in Brasilipinas. In one Brasilipinas show, I was also
able to jam with Nyko Maca on the kulintang. In other words,
And as long as there are the party-lovers, the tropical island
life, the samba fanatics, all things enjoyable, inspiring and

tropical and the cosmopolitan experience

the Brasilipinas party combines fun with cultural depth. I pleasurable, the music continues.
argue that Brasilipinas is a unique party worthy of authentic
musical and cultural experience. It is where tropicality and MUSIC FESTIVALS, MUSICAL PHENOMENA

intertwine and mingle. tropical cosmopolitanism in Manila is more intense and

clearly manifested.
The Fete de la Musique, the Malasimbo Festival, and
Brasilipinas are only three out of many music festivals held in
Furthermore, the Brasilipinas party is a legitimate the country. As tourist and musically rich experiences, music
space for the transmission of traditional Afro-Brazilian festivals have the potential to culturally and economically
and celebrate the Filipino identity. My first time in Malasimbo it was moved to a private nature reserve that is nearer to White music in Manila, a valid musical field where one can promote the country, given the right support, direction and
was in 2012. I was one of the percussionists for the band of Beach of Puerto Galera.34 Tropicality comes with great cost. combine musicological discourse with pleasure. Borrowing attention. The music festivals are also all exciting musical
Joe Bataan, the festival headliner that year. A New York-based For Malasimbo’s tenth year next year 2020, the festival’s Richard Shain’s words to describe cafes and nightclubs in phenomena that provide a broader perspective of the local
African-American-Filipino singer who grew up in the streets of website already announced that it will be held at the La Mesa Senegal, the Brasilipinas party is an important laboratory music scene beyond TV and radio. Examining them provides a
the Latin Harlem,27 Bataan became known as the “King of Latin Ecopark in Manila, featuring Hawaiian reggae artist Mike Love for “incubating ideas and developing modern forms of deeper understanding of another Philippine music culture with
Soul”28 because of his pioneering contribution to boogaloo,29 as one of the headliners, along with Brigada and Project Yazz sociality.”37 its cosmopolitan and tropicalized aesthetic. ■
latin soul fusion and the disco.30 In 1976, Bataan released his as some of the local acts.35 With the possibility of no longer
song “Ordinary Guy (Afro-Filipino)” in Salsoul Records as a being associated with Mindoro local culture, it is my hope
testament to his Filipino roots.31 All these years, it was not until that the best that the Malasimbo Festival template has to
1 Concepcion, Pocholo. “14th Pijazzfest features UK, Israeli, Polish, US, 21 Cabral, Alyana. “The music festival that wants you to care about cultural
the Malasimbo Festival that he got to visit the Philippines for offer, that #MalasimboMagic, the unique cosmopolitanism NZ artists.” INQ.net, April 21, 2019. Accessed: https://lifestyle.inquirer. preservation.”
the first time.32 I argue that Joe Bataan’s Philippine premiere at and tropicality, the advocacy for Philippine local culture and net/332469/14th-pijazzfest-features-uk-israeli-polish-us-nz-artists/ 22 Cabral, Alyana. “The music festival that wants you to care about cultural
the Malasimbo Festival is an important moment in Philippine environment, will be just as good as it was in Mindoro. 2 https://wanderlandfestival.com preservation.”
3 https://www.fliptop.com.ph/article/the-fliptop-festival-lineup 23 Cabral, Alyana. “The music festival that wants you to care about cultural
music history. 4 Tenzer, Michael. “Jose Maceda and the Paradoxes of Modern preservation.”
Another artist who empowers the Filipino is Ruby Ibarra, BRASILIPINAS: ONE BIG PARTY Composition in Southeast Asia.” Ethomusicology. 47, 2003, 93-120. 24 Cabral, Alyana. “The music festival that wants you to care about cultural
5 Tenzer, Michael, “Jose Maceda,” 94. preservation.”
a female Filipino-American rapper whose album, “Circa ’91,” Brasilipinas is an annual festival organized by the Capoeira
6 Arnold, David. The Tropics and The Traveling Gaze: India, Landscape, and 25 Cabral, Alyana. “The music festival that wants you to care about cultural
contains songs that deal with issues of nationalism, female school, Sempre Capoeira (formerly Escola de Brasiliera de Science, 1800-1856. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2006. preservation.”
empowerment, and the life of a Filipino immigrant in America. Capoeira Philippines). Described as the “cultural epicenter of 7 Pascual, Jam. “’You can’t keep a good thing small’: Looking back on Fete 26 Cabral, Alyana. “The music festival that wants you to care about cultural
de la Musique, the early years.” ABS-CBN.com, June 29, 2019. Accessed: preservation.”
Ibarra’s powerful performance in the 2019 Malasimbo Festival all things Brazilian in the Philippines,”36 Brasilipinas is a week- https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/music/06/29/19/you-cant-keep-a- 27 “Joe Bataan.” Fania.com. Accessed: https://fania.com/artist/joe-bataan/
was made extra special with her band, The Balikbayans, whose long Brazilian culture festival offering special workshops on good-thing-small-looking-back-on-fete-de-la-musique-the-early-years 28 Zialcita, Carlos. “Joe Bataan, Ordinary Guy With An Extraordinary
members were raised by Filipino immigrant parents. At the Capoeira, Brazilian dance and music. It is usually held—but
8 FetePH App Heart.” PositivelyFilipino.com. 15 January 2013. Accessed: http://www.
9 FetePH App positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/2013/1/joe-bataan-ordinary-guy-with-an-
Malasimbo, Ibarra rapped solid as she preached about being not strictly—around the Carnaval festivities of Brazil before 10 CNN Philippines. “‘Fete De La Musique’ Celebrates 25th Year in PH.” extraordinary-heart
Filipino amidst the party atmosphere. Some of her songs also the beginning of the Catholic Lenten season. Started in 2007, YouTube, YouTube, 19 June 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXvA4_ 29. Goodman, Fred. “The Return of Joe Bataan, the Boogaloo King,”
htH4M. NYTimes.com. 4 March 2016. Accessed: https://www.nytimes.
featured Philippine indigenous instruments incorporated in Brasilipinas continues to be the biggest Brazilian cultural event 11 FetePH App com/2016/03/06/nyregion/the-return-of-joe-bataan-the-boogaloo-king.
her hiphop sound. in Manila. 12 Ministry of Culture. “History of the Festival of Music,” accessed html

The Malasimbo Festival truly provides an unforgettable The highlight of Brasilipinas is the big party on the October 29, 2019, http://traduction.culture.gouv.fr/url/Result. 30 “Joe Bataan.” Fania.com.
aspx?to=en&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffetedelamusique.culture.gouv.fr%2FL- 31 Zialcita, Carlos. “Joe Bataan, Ordinary Guy With An Extraordinary
experience for festival-goers, artists and audiences alike. final night. Attendees can try Brazilian/South American evenement%2FHistorique-de-la-Fete-de-la-Musique Heart.” PositivelyFilipino.com. 15 January 2013. Accessed: http://www.
Logistically, however, it is not without its issues. As one who food and cocktails like the Caipirinha. The heart of the 13 Ministry of Culture. “History of the Festival of Music.” positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/2013/1/joe-bataan-ordinary-guy-with-an-
14 Ministry of Culture. “History of the Festival of Music.” extraordinary-heart
has attended the festival three times, twice to perform (with party, though, is the musical program showcasing all the
15 Ministry of Culture. “History of the Festival of Music.” 32 Zialcita, Carlos. “Joe Bataan, Ordinary Guy With An Extraordinary Heart.”
Joe Bataan and with Brigada) and once to watch, I have Brazilian-influenced bands, musicians and ensembles 16 Ministry of Culture. “History of the Festival of Music.” 33 Cabral, Alyana. “The music festival that wants you to care about cultural
observed and experienced inconveniences with regards in the country. In other words, Brasilipinas is where all the 17 Aportadera, Aussy A. “The Malasimbo Experience.” Philippine Tatler. 20 preservation.”
January 2014. Accessed: https://ph.asiatatler.com/life/the-malasimbo- 34 Parpan, Lara. “Why the Malasimbo music festival almost didn’t happen
to disorganization, travel, and artist treatment. For a festival artists, singers, escolas and musicians who are active experience this year.” ABSCBN.com. 26 March 2019. Accessed: https://news.abs-cbn.
that celebrated its ninth year in 2019, there is definitely in performing and promoting Brazilian music in the 18 Cabral, Alyana. “The music festival that wants you to care about cultural com/ancx/culture/music/03/26/19/for-the-love-of-music-the-struggle-to-
preservation.” CNNPhilippines.com, 16 March 2017. Accessed: https:// stage-malasimbo
plenty of room to grow and improve on. Miro Grgic himself Philippines converge. The musicians and bands are given
cnnphilippines.com/life/entertainment/music/2017/03/16/malasimbo- 35 www.malasimbo.com
admitted that a growing festival brings with it some serious the opportunity to perform and share their music in a long music-and-arts-festival-2017.html 36 “Brasilipinas.” Facebook page.
challenges, with each year becoming “a struggle to make night of partying and dancing. EBC Capoeira/Sempre 19 Cabral, Alyana. “The music festival that wants you to care about cultural 37 Shain, Richard M. Roots in Reverse: Senegalese Afro-Cuban Music and
preservation.” Tropical Cosmopolitanism. Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press: 2018.
ends meet.”33 In fact, in 2019, the festival was not held in its Capoeira, as founders and organizers of Brasilipinas, is 20 “Malasimbo 2012—A Music and Arts Festival Like No Other.” 14 February
iconic natural amphitheater. Due to logistical constraints, the point of unity of Afro-Brazilian music culture in Manila. 2012. Accessed: https://www.eccp.com/articles/?id=171

84 85
A R T AARRTC A
HRI VCEH 0
I V3E 0 3

In August 2019, an exhibit called “Alon!” opened at the De La Salle-

NARRATING College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) School of Design and Arts. Curated by
one of the editors of this volume, Ar. Gerry Torres, the show focused on the
problem of plastic waste in the country. Seen through the lens of six surfing

SUSTAINABILITY, BY DESIGN communities outside Manila, the exhibit presented the dire situation in the
Philippines, a country identified in a 2015 study by the University of Georgia

Stories of Responses as the third most plastic-polluting country in the world, next only to China
and Indonesia (with the authors of the report expecting this trend to be the

to Sustainable Futures
case until 2025). As an archipelagic country, the porous borders of the islands
became easy conduits for the trash to reach and pollute the oceans. The
problem is compounded by relentless plastic production, systems of disposal
and the increasing dependence on plastic by people.
The knowledge of the plastic problem begged us, both practicing
words by
architects and designers, to pause and reflect on its effect on ecological
AR. LEONIDO GINES, JR. AND AR. GERRY TORRES volatility within the broader issues of sustainability and climate change.

86 87
Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6

As part of an informed and concerned community of DESIGN AND SUSTAINABILITY

designers, our professionals and their practice became Storytelling and narrating can inform design, and time is left for on-site learning. Being informed
Surfers from six surfing communities outside of Manila
suspect due to the nature of its systems of production. pose with plastic trash picked in under five minutes from as Sudarshan Khadka and Alex Furunes contend in by personal observations that storytelling brings,
When the Japan Foundation, Manila approached us their beaches. Installed at the College of Saint Benilde their essay. As a style of passing on local knowledge, both in academic and practice-driven journals like
during the ‘Alon!’ exhibition, September 2019, the
to collect essays for this journal, we decided that the exercise demonstrated the extent of marine plastic trash traditionally learned storytelling, like epic chanting this, proves to be an effective tool. Many believe that
found in the Philippines today. All photos by Luis Manere
same issues on sustainability in design practice will or poetry, 2 or, even the everyday story through strategies like infographics and other propaganda-
Fig. 1 Luke Landrigan, San Juan, La Union.
become the cornerstones for framing the themes of daydreaming, children’s drawings, and the notorious like forms may be a new way of relaying and
conversation and topic for this volume. We thought that Fig. 2 Kamea Rodrigo, Baler, Quezon. gossiping, may inspire designers. Yet the ability to popularizing, with speed, the story of sustainable
investigating design production through this project Fig. 3 Adelardo Pompa, Dulag, Leyte. communicate a design proposal is part of what design practices.
would present an opportunity for us to look deeper into Fig. 4 Summer Puertollano, Siargao Island.
professionals do. In this volume, while not all the Most design practitioners learn from experience
the role of design in creating and sustaining a healthy contributors are designers, we found the group had a and research through actual fieldwork. Some decide
Fig. 5 Javen Laraga Gubat, Sorsogon.
planet. collective voice. They expressed common observations to leave corporate design practice to learn better on
Fig. 6 Juan Plaza, Mati, Davao.
Both of us editors have also been academics for and aspirations, linking Philippine local resolves (there the ground. Some even critique design practices that
over two decades now. 1 In our purview as educators, are many and more obvious than we expect) that are seen as haute design, perceived as extremely
the concern of the design professions affecting should let us think about our environment in a simple overpriced as it is supposedly ‘sexy.’ Perhaps because
the environment has increasingly been included in and practical way. when one hears ‘design,’ the thought of the impractical
our academic agendas. As a mentor, Ar. Jun Gines Designers do think about complexities in problem- and the pricey is immediate. However, as the writers
explicitly injects issues of sustainability and the a sustainable agenda in the work that they do, and how solving, and while the design process is sometimes in their essays tell us, design is really more about
volatilities in ecological change in his architecture they understand sustainability issues affecting their complicated, most of the time, design can be derived processes, materials, negotiations, content, and utility
studios and design classes, both at the University of the projects. As design storytellers, they opened their own from modular templates or by synthesizing essential than the resultant ‘form.’ Few design objects become
Philippines and at the College of Saint Benilde (CSB). design process and learning curves to be expressed, ideas. This is crucial to designers and thinkers alike ‘classic’ in both style and utility.
Ar. Gerry Torres, the present Director of the Center for surprisingly, as a collective with similar assumptions since part of the design process is that of ’iteration,’ Many designers agree that the challenge in
Campus Art, tasked to curate and produce exhibitions and principles in mind. While we intended to cover a a process of repeatedly synthesizing ideas into a designing sustainable products also requires
for CSB, delves on topics about the environment for wide set of voices from the different design disciplines, working idea and ‘product.’ Design iteration is a popularizing this aspirational ‘classic’ ideal: it is usable,
his exhibits to foster awareness among the Benilde to pause for writing was a constraint, and the availability tedious research-driven problem-solving chain, pretty, long-lasting as it is fashionable, and in some
community. of designers between their project schedules were but often, a process disappears in form. This is one cases, sellable in the long term. Furthermore, even as
The essays in this volume are part of this ongoing considered. In the short period that we had to search reason why we also asked a literary/”zine” writer more products are presented as ‘sustainable,’ this idea
concern, and this collection of design narratives are for contributors to this volume, we were fortunate to find to weigh in, as communicating design knowledge is still misunderstood.
in response to sustainable issues, collecting stories seven individuals whose professional practices involve sometimes needs to come from ‘outsiders.’ In the Our initial assumption was that currently there is
about how designers in the Philippines struggle to keep sustainability. topic of sustainability, unfortunately, little room little publication by Filipino designers in the past five

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NARRATING SUSTAINABILITY, BY DESIGN ART ARCHIVE 03
Stories of Responses to Sustainable Futures

years that focused on sustainability. While we are not policies, design processes and everyday life. This brings see several of them in the essays as technical, localized and living with strong bamboo is a surprisingly
claiming that this collection is the first or the only one, us back to storytelling as design devices. Readers will and contemporized list of principles: unique and identifying register of the quotidian lived
we do acknowledge that the essays here, written by notice that each essay tells a story of design. The wide 1. Design concepts are derived because of: experience in the Philippines.
designers representing a varied range of professions, impact of the idea of sustainability must implicate the a. Dialogues and collaboration, by transforming Collectively, the abovementioned list of principles
narrate for the first time the struggle of having a design storytelling of design through process, material handling, the germ ideas into concepts useful for the process is evident in the stories of sustainability and social
practice in the Philippines with a sustainable agenda. the cultural implications of production and post- and the design output (product, architecture, material responsiveness told by our contributors. Again, Ning
The collection is by no means complete, but those who production, dissemination, disposal, and practice. development, etc.); Encarnacion-Tan reiterates that bamboo can outlive
responded to our call represent contemporary practice b. Processes, whether learned from formal education steel as a construction material, if treated properly.
in key design fields today. MULTIPLE MEANINGS AND FIRST PRINCIPLES or through specific problem-solving iterations, Sudarshan Khadka and Alex Furunes experienced
The term ‘sustainable’ is an important keyword OF DESIGN manipulating forms, or other strategic and experiential that bayanihan has been and still is a sustainable and
in contemporary nomenclature and vernacular. We see design as having multiple definitions in procedures; responsible way to make design production and long-
The broad definition of sustainability offered by the contemporary Philippine society. We can start with a given, c. Analyzing, articulating and organizing the term maintenance synergistic. Or as Dan Matutina
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural that design is still essentially a problem-solving process, concepts to form design contexts, programs; for and Dang Sering discovered, the way towards synergy
Organization (UNESCO) focuses on ‘development.’ It both scientific and heuristic, guided by the same age-old sustainability and environmental responses; and between corporate clients and environmentally sensitive
offers a model with a set of dimensions as a framework, principles of stability, usability, functionality, well-being d. A local and vernacular understanding of designers (a professional relationship that is normally
and we wish to express both support and advocacy and aesthetics. Yet some of the list of sustainable design constructive possibilities, whether they are from not interdependent on their interests) is through thinking
for this paradigm. We want to stress, however, that principles also challenge many of these ‘age-old,’ if not local practices of supportive community action about the life cycles of the product. This product life-cycle
understanding this idea of ‘sustainability’ as well as archaic principles. As designers from the Third World, (like bayanihan), the use of endemic or introduced principle is important, as Lulu Tan-Gan contends, even as
that of ’development’ be limited within the limitations we also include, in this constantly growing list, some raw material (bamboo or pineapple fiber), local she transitions from a ‘foreign’ market to a more inclusive
of this project. At the onset, we qualified the lack of principles of economy of scale, and social responsibility. consumption patterns (such as ‘piecemeal’ or tingi), or local and global, with shifts in production cycles and
collected writing by designers. While we acknowledge Designers understand that meaningful objects and self-production and self-distribution (zines). materials. Indeed, while not a designer, Adam David adds
the importance of ‘development’ goals set globally to images are more likely to communicate better through 2. Material knowledge and technical skills only the insight that, in the absence of necessary materials
mitigate the grave effects of climate change, we wanted their materiality, offering clear and direct messages available locally can identify useful design languages produced locally, the creative discovery of new means of
to focus on how designers have attempted to ‘produce’ of what they are for, value, strength and social and and patterns through the local and the vernacular. production may support a crucial need, not afforded by
knowledge on sustainable issues through their projects. economic purposes. Designers are also aware of 3. The local (endemic, native, introduced, adopted) is market-driven cycles or State bureaucracies.
This narrative on development also sets the ephemeral principles, that products as physical objects the unique design identity by itself, because some of
limitations of the goals against state and corporate- invoke and contain messages that are interpreted by the local materials, practices and processes are part THE WRITING BRIEF
capitalist actions. It is our belief that sustainable the cultural values of the times. This is evident even in of the locally lived experiences. In finding ways on how designers should respond
development must also be pulled down to the level products that have a utilitarian function, or materials that The principles above are not new, but the innovation to the issue of sustainable design, we provided our own
of individual responsibility (professional, advocate, contain symbols and signs of national aspirations or towards sustainable design will be more evident in the set of questions. Designers are used to being offered a
personal). The narrative of sustainability must therefore local culture. stories of the writers, as we introduce them and their brief, even as ours was a little complex. The wide variety
be made more popular and proactive. By providing this There are historical precedents for these first work. In an early interview with one of the writers, Ning of professionals we initially approached complicated
concept, designers (as professionals and advocates, principles, even as they have been widely disseminated. Encarnacion-Tan, co-editor Jun Gines noted that living this writing project. We had to acknowledge that many
or as producers and consumers) are challenged to use Axiomatic statements are important to designers, in a house made mostly of bamboo is obviously not a will be writing in the middle of their own projects.
UNESCO’s paradigmatic framework in their work, and often, ‘products’ from allied design professions new practice in the Philippines, even as it is sometimes We asked them to reflect on the following questions:3
whether it is architecture, material use and choice, (architecture, interior design, product and industrial romanticized on one hand, or associated with poverty 1. How ready are the designs of our products and
consumption and disposal management, cultural design, graphic and media studies, fashion, advertising, on the other. Compared to other countries though, even infrastructure, and the modes by which they are
practice, even information dissemination. etc.) are driven by slogans popularized within different those with abundant bamboo populations, residing in communicated or produced, for volatile change?
We felt that by letting our writers express the ‘voice’ global movements in their field. Messages like “form ever a house fully made of bamboo is mostly a novel idea, 2. How sustainable will they be?
of their work, and the ‘vernacular’ in their projects, we can follows function” (Louis Sullivan), “architecture without as Ning would reiterate. Wood is still the preferred 3. Are there paradigmatic design principles that render
learn several local “first principles” that they themselves architects” (Bernard Rudofsky), “the medium is the traditional material for house construction to live in this concern for the social and physical environment,
learned along the way. The set of first (sustainability) message” (Marshall McLuhan) are old adages included for these regions, until recent trends of manufactured and the volatility associated with human interventions
principles include advocating (actively or subtly) for a within the literature canons of design. They make familiar bamboo became more popular. In other words, while to it, tenable to both human adaptation and resilience?
collaborative design language in the production process; the goals of designing, as well as the process they invoke, not completely unique to the Philippines, living in a Are the communication of information (multimedia, inter-
making material information and production (as well as not to mention the experiential message of the observed bamboo house is not just traditional, but part of an media, virtual, etc.) also designed properly for its wide
end-of-life product awareness) widely available as part (modernist) movements at the time. everyday, if not taken-for-granted practice. This might dissemination?
of contemporary cultural processes; or even providing In this volume, the contributors add to this growing be too obvious as an observation, but for those whose 4. How do designers respond to the increasingly popular
ways to simplify the interface between sustainable goals, list of definitions and first principles of design, and we lives did not include bamboo as material, living in concern for sustainability?

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NARRATING SUSTAINABILITY, BY DESIGN ART ARCHIVE 03
Stories of Responses to Sustainable Futures

FRAMEWORKING DESIGN THROUGH

SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Sustaining the stories (oral accounts and the and forming part of a national narrative of historical, social usually poor, even if we notice that in many Philippine zines are relatively free in form and content, the
narratives in this essay collection) of the life cycle of and cultural importance, the sociological and economic cities with communities around landfills, poverty drives popularity is wider among the ‘truth seekers’ rather
products and the design process is key to teaching all of considerations provide cues to solvency that bamboo the recycling of plastics for small profits. However, than the purveyors of fake news and propaganda.
us the cultural value of sustainability. This cultural value, can offer as a sustainable material. It is not difficult to the poor who are ‘earning’ from recycling are the ones Adam, in fact, expresses its potentially useful truth
as we editors believe, is key to providing a localized understand this narrative as she offers her story both that bear the brunt of the plastic pollution blame, a agenda and its dissemination for education. His
framework on the issue of sustainable design. In the as an architect and an expert of bamboo construction: narrative about their waste disposal habits propagated suggestion to a local book fair organizer on the
essays following this editorial, we organize the views of we can live in bamboo houses despite the classist by big business and governments. We see this stigma lack of educational materials for children written in
each contributor as part of the unfolding framework. association with poverty, bamboo is a strong construction despite the broader problem of plastic pollution, from local mother tongues was poignant, practical and
The two architects Sudar Khadka and Alex Furunes material and a cultural symbol of sustainable power. its untrammelled production to the systemic gaps of self-evident: teachers could print the educational
subscribe to the belief that involving the community in the Sifting through design processes, hybrid materials disposal. (One interesting idea that came out of the materials they wrote themselves.
design process leads to the creation of more meaningful and community empowerment, the stories of self- interviews of other designers by Dan and Dang was the
spaces and empowers them to respond successfully in awareness and shifts in design focus led Lulu Tan-Gan to attempt to ‘ritualize’ the habits of recycling.) Through CONCLUSION: RESPONSE TO SUSTAINABLE
times of natural and man-made calamities. In articulating foray into a new direction. Distinct yet aligned to knits, a all of their examples, the new challenge of propagating DESIGN
the idea of mutual support, the architects blend two material synonymous with her brand, intends to restore the sustainable habits in plastic packaging depends on the Parenthetical to the discussion of first principles in
community practices of similar traditional systems soft power of tradition of the long ignored, often exploited institution as well as on the individual. Within this sphere, design, it might be of interest that academics start
of collaborative volunteerism, the Filipino bayanihan weaving communities in the country. Through the use of the designer becomes the medium. a design course with a reminder of Plato’s disavowal
and the Norwegian dugnad, into a concept useful for piña as a new material that can be melded with knits to Finally, the challenge of popularizing any informative of the attempt to imitate nature into forms that we
mutual support, as a “structure for self-organization.” It come up with attractive fashion options, Lulu hopes to idea is always present in design, and no more is this create. If so, any contemporary design effort will
provided them a framework both for their design process open new mercantile avenues that will increase demand visible than in the publishing industry. When driven by probably have no philosophical bearing (at least to
and the community’s participation in the architectural for this extraordinary, uniquely Filipino fiber, extracted profit, product designers as well as information creators those who study Platonic aesthetics). Most designers
productions of projects. As they learned from the from the leaves of the red Spanish pineapple (Ananas test ideas and products, usually called prototypes, today won’t heed this archaic call to originality or
ground by working closely with individual and kin’s bracteatus) to uplift the social and economic conditions with a sampling of the target population prior to actual abstraction. Furthermore, we often see nowadays how
storytelling (expressions of experiences, poetry writing, of the weavers. Through the exploration of weaves using production. This is done to predict acceptability, potential designers respond to challenges of natural and man-
drawing), the framework for collaboration they offered two distinct and dissonant materials, yarn and piña, a valuation and profit margins. Monetizing information made causes by the application of ‘bio-technologies,’
produced not just conversational principles or ideas for new textile and its subsequent typology will be designed must also be manifested by the ‘material’ form through or natural technologies inspired by nature. Currently,
negotiation, but more importantly, voices from a common and promoted to the global garments market. As a the publication of newsprints, magazines, books, etc. we think of them as ‘advanced’ technologies despite
collaborative, meaningful and architectural language that contrapunto to fast fashion and its profligate industries, In virtual non-printed media like radio, television and them being ‘bio-mimicked’ technological operations.
inform the first principles for a community architecture of Lulu’s hand-crafted textiles highlight the artisanal and the internet, profit is collected through advertising or They are often adroit human interpretations of nature,
mutual support. The examples of their two projects in the sustainable practices of indigenous and traditional subsidies, depending on popular ‘viewership.’ blending anthropomorphic aesthetics into the ‘natural’
Philippines and Vietnam were exercises in harnessing weaving communities as ways for Philippine design to In Adam David’s essay, the materialization of operations of ecosystems.
community cultural capital as a sustainable power move forward. information comes in the form of what he calls Designers are caught in the nature-vs-culture
that can operate despite economic and environmental In Dan Matutina’s and Dang Sering’s essay, we see a “the most egalitarian expression of printed thought.” conflict more often than we know it. Beyond the
challenges. concern for the life cycles of production-consumption- Information in this form, though, is not the normalized, archaic Platonic-metaphysical concern and the new
Not surprisingly, power is also a concern for Ning disposal, and how designers struggle to be a part of the authorized and public prints but the small press technological inspirations from bio-cultures, the
Encarnacion-Tan, one that complicates class cultures sustainable agenda. Their industry network, through the publication of what are called ‘zines.’ While some zine principles of mimicry and imitation in its infancy are
and driving development towards excessiveness and interviews they gathered, offers a unique peek into this publishers turn a small profit, they usually don’t depend still somewhat problematic for design. If we are to be
unsustainable practices. As she started exploring in her struggle, and while sustainability is beginning to be part on it. Zines often leave controversially marked written responsive and responsible designers and innovators
essay, power from the elite or moneyed class and the of corporate conversations, the institutional plug-ins of word and visual forms through literary, propaganda of sustainable futures, we need to rethink these
systemic force of capitalist or commercial development the agenda are still malleable. Stories from practitioners or politically charged print art, as Adam reminds and offer other paradigmatic (sustainable) design
stifled green sustainable efforts in urban Philippines. in the corporate-enabled advertising, packaging and us. Zines are not motivated by the limitations of principles, especially for our volatile contemporary
She offers the observation that to counter unsustainable graphic design industry are filled with “we want to, but...” mainstream media concerning design, form and realities. Designers must not just imitate ecology, they
commercialization requires a wider understanding of demonstrating their good intentions but revealing that content. In fact, the strength of zines is in its ‘free also need to comprehend the systemic workings of
class and cultural processes. Part of this understanding the gap in sustainable practice is still wide. form.’ Both fascinatingly intriguing and thought- ecology and ecosystems, as our contributors will spell
of the need for a ‘counterculture’ is offering a holistic One might need to clarify that plastics have long provoking, their design and content are expressed out.
knowledge of endemic and long-lasting materials like shelf lives, which normally end in the waters or in landfills by artists, poets and writers mostly ignored by As we were commencing this project earlier
bamboo. Learning from the archaeological record due to the disposal habits of communities, who are also mainstream publishing. Interestingly, even while this year (January and February 2020), a new form

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NARRATING SUSTAINABILITY, BY DESIGN ART ARCHIVE 03
Stories of Responses to Sustainable Futures

of volatile reality slowly unfolded before us. The threat of the designers-contributors, the contention is clear
of a pandemic, what we now know and experience as that the vernacular, the local, the endemic, and the
COVID-19, happened. It rapidly expanded into phenomenal hybrid may be the avenues that can show us the
proportions, literally halting almost all human activities way forward to expressing stories of responses to
and productions, including the publication of this sustainable futures, and one that can naturally be
monograph. While we were surprised and locked down by achieved ‘by design.’ ■
the health emergency with its confusion and fears, many
designers quickly responded to calls for community
action by providing free design and fabricating services 1 Architects Gerry Torres and Leonido (Jun) Gines, Jr. have been teaching
for personal protective equipment (PPE), manufacturing design, art and architecture courses at the De La Salle-College of Saint
Benilde. Jun also joined the architecture faculty of the University of the
makeshift medical off-site triage and producing valuable
Philippines Diliman–College of Architecture in 2019.
infographics. This response was sustained long enough 2 Co-editor Jun Gines’ own involvement in a museum project (Rizal Shrine
to offset the impotence of governments and political in Talisay, Dapitan in Zamboanga del Norte) over a couple of decades back
recalls his company fabricating a template outdoor exhibition element about
leaderships in responding to the emergency. Was this
the ‘narrative’ of Philippine National Hero Jose Rizal’s private life, expressed
a sign of the readiness of the designers’ sustainability as exhibit text signage along the long concrete boardwalk, in which part of
resolve? Far from it, as the gaps were also revealed. the text was literally taken from his poem, ‘Mi Retiro.’
3 The full brief given to the designer-writers was as follows:
Nonetheless it was evident that designers possess This volume collects different essays about how the design professions and
the conceptual tools that can be tapped to respond to their allied practice are responding to questions and issues of sustainability in
the context of socio-economic conditions in the Philippines today and in the
disastrous events.
future. The connections between social responsiveness and responsibility,
We have seen Philippine cities and local governments and the physical production of sustainable products are now increasingly
temporarily halt regulations that were initiated tight. It is often the designer-as-thinker, and designer-as-producer who
create not just the products but also the discourse for consumers of
for sustainable development. Quezon City halted information, media, objects, habitats, even culture and the environment as
its plastic ban regulation to address the need for a whole.
These questions include the following:
emergency supplies or food take-outs, mostly made
1. How ready are the designs of our products and infrastructure, and the
of or requiring plastics. The retraction becomes a modes by which they are communicated or produced, for volatile change?
setback for sustainable agendas. On the other hand, 2. How sustainable will they be? (you can site your practice here)
3. Are there paradigmatic design principles that render this concern for the
we see images that show clearer skies and cleaner
social and physical environment, and the volatility associated with human
streets as vehicles and pollutant public and private interventions to it, tenable to both human adaptation and resilience? Are
transport were indefinitely halted. For the several the communication of information (multimedia, inter-media, virtual, etc) also
designed properly for its wide dissemination?
communities of climate activists, the call for climate 4. How do designers respond to the increasingly popular concern for
change mitigation became louder, even though these sustainability?
The questions above point to the value being placed on innovations and
are drowned out by the regular health advisories.
practicality of design production and product industry as well as the
Collecting new stories about this health emergency, communicative power of design itself. This ‘design industry’ in the Philippines
while already preceded by similar cases (e.g., the faces many challenges that are not just about aesthetics, but also practicality
and long-term sustainability. In this current period of cultural, social and
1918 flu pandemic or previous viral epidemics) will ecological uncertainty, design is no longer just about formal agendas of
be daunting as we unravel its myriad implications beauty or functionality but also about responsibility and solvency. But have
designers provided the agenda for these innovations and productions that
to people’s (and designers’) lives. Integral to these
will also pave the way for the synergy of the aesthetic, the practical and the
investigations and the discourse that would ideally responsive? This proposed collection of essays attempts to provide wide
follow are questions of sustainability. That, too, conversations and visions to these issues.

remains to be retooled and retold by global experts,

industry executives, end-users, and, yes, local
designers.
We find in this volume of essays that the problem
of sustainability is local and global. Ecology and
ecosystems have no cultural borders but local
production and consumption challenges disrupt
them beyond the administrative borders of
nations. Through the stories and narrativization

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SUDARSHAN
V. KHADKA, JR. &
ALEXANDER
ERIKSSON FURUNES
UNDERSTANDING MUTUAL SUPPORT:
Creating More Meaningful Spaces

Fig. 1

Over the past decade there has been an increase in The Norwegian Dugnad is called for in moments of
the intensity of natural and man-made disasters around the restoration, maintenance or management of organizations.
globe. Architecture is built on natural and human resources. Historically, it has contributed in shaping Norway’s modern-
Power lies in the capacity to decide how, where, who, and day labor unions and the reconstruction efforts after
for what purpose structures are built. The currency of this WWII. The Filipino bayanihan is mainly practiced within the
power is financial capital, but this has not always been the villages whenever local communities need a collective
case. Largely, in the rural parts of the world, collaborative effort to build schools, host weddings and funerals, among
traditions have offered a different perspective on the other things.
exercise of this power and the decisions related to it. There are five core principles of mutual support
One such structure for self-organization is called systems, namely: common goal, collective work, social
mutual support; it exists in many forms around the event, reciprocity, time specific. When it is required, people
world and has been a means to support each other through come together for collective work to achieve a common
different seasons, natural disasters and conflicts. These goal. It is a process that builds social relationships and
traditions are fading away in our modern-day society, where community cohesion through a series of time-constrained
the currency of wealth is measured by money rather than events founded on reciprocity.
the relationships we build around us.

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UNDERSTANDING MUTUAL SUPPORT: ART ARCHIVE 03
Creating More Meaningful Spaces

STREETLIGHT, NGO FOR CHILDREN IN TACLOBAN

Ten years ago, we designed and built a Study
Center for the NGO Streetlight and their community in
downtown Tacloban. Streetlight provides health care
and educational support for children from the informal
settlement. They also provide homes for those living
on the streets. We worked closely with the children and
their parents through the designing and building process
of the Study Center. They later described this process
using the Filipino term bayanihan, referring to the tradition
where a group of people come together to achieve a
common goal. For the community, the Study Center is not
just a building. It became a symbol of the relationships
built on the design process and the parents’ efforts for
their children.
On November 8, 2013, super typhoon Haiyan, one of
the strongest typhoons to ever hit land, destroyed more
than four million households and claimed thousands of
lives in Tacloban. The staff and children of Streetlight
survived by climbing onto a nearby roof where they saw
the waves caused by the typhoon flattening the informal
settlement and the Study Center. Fig. 2 Fig. 4

The process of designing the Study Center before

the typhoon provided a platform for the families to come
together again after the disaster to rebuild their own was made to minimize heat and gain benefit from the
houses as well as a makeshift study center. shade provided by the existing trees.
After the disaster, the city government decided to The brutal power of the winds and waves caused Fig. 1 Laying the tiles of the mockup structure together

relocate the coastal settlements 16 km north to Tagpuro. by the typhoon highlighted, for the group, the Fig. 2
Workshop with the community to translate theri model
into drawing
Due to the urgency of the situation, the communities were importance of the two dual concepts of “open and
Fig. 3 Model-making workshop
not given a voice in the decisions that directly affected light” and “closed and safe.” The heavy concrete
Fig. 4 The doors of the open area can be closed when needed
them. People lost their sense of belonging and struggled volumes were designed to provide refuge during
to fit into the new community they were placed in. The site typhoons, while the light and ventilated timber
of the new Streetlight buildings is located near the main structures gave natural ventilation to allow strong
relocation zone in Tagpuro. winds to pass through the buildings. are located in between the open areas. The study
Construction on the new site was an opportunity to Once we determined the activities, qualities and center houses the teachers’ offices, music room, library,
involve the community in deciding what was needed. sequencing of each space, we focused on the design kitchen and bathrooms in the heavy volumes; in between
What we learned from the concept of bayanihan was that of the detailed building elements. The children made are classrooms with activity areas for song, dance
our role as architects was to provide a framework for drawings and poems to show what a window and a door and theater. At times, the building also functions as a
collaboration. More than 100 workshops were organized meant to them. They described how they used windows vocational training center serving as the public face of
Fig. 3
to program, conceptualize and design the new buildings. to look out at stars or a place where they would Streetlight that connects them with the larger community
Through drawings, models and full-scale mockups, the serenade the girls they liked. The fathers used these of Tagpuro.
community developed a common language to express poems and drawings as a reference to find windows The internal garden is enclosed by the buildings
and negotiate ideas and solutions that mattered to them in their neighborhood, which they presented to one When put together, the various elements of the and trees around the site, serving as a safe space for
as a group. another. They then made new designs and created building form a cohesive framework that the community the children to play in. Streetlight utilizes the garden for
We used the existing alignment of trees as the mockups using various materials. can inhabit. The main living room of the orphanage has a private events such as graduations or, in this case, the
primary circulation axis and divided the site between The chosen construction methods were deliberately loft space for the bedrooms, and service spaces located opening ceremony of the center.
private and public zones: the private zone consists simple in order to enable the local community to inside the concrete block of the ground floor. The large It took three years and a hundred workshops to plan,
of an orphanage, playground and study center, while gain ownership of the entire project from design to screened doors and windows can be opened to form design and build back what was lost. We aimed to create
the public zone consists of a sports ground, office and construction and beyond. The architecture explores the a naturally ventilated recreational space. The office architecture that embodies the values of authenticity and
a vocational training center for the community. The values of honest materiality, craftsmanship, expressive consists of three heavy volumes containing meeting sensitivity to context, and to represent the community’s
decision to place the buildings along the east-west axis tectonics, and vernacular sensitivity. rooms and utility spaces. The shared workspaces shared meanings through their architecture.

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Fig. 5 Fig. 6 Fig. 7

LUNG TAM TEXTILE COOPERATIVE IN VIETNAM

To break down this process further we will describe the discussions were led by members of the community. Maximizing natural light and ventilation had to be
one of our ongoing projects in Vietnam. Lung Tam We began evaluating the current situation in terms of balanced with the possibility of closing-off the bottom
textile cooperative is a women’s organization based in the qualities of spaces they wanted, and the concept of panel as protection against strong winds during winter.
the mountainous regions of Ha Giang, Vietnam. They the cooperative as a symbolic “community house” began Since most traditional houses are single story,
produce batik and hemp textiles according to Hmong to emerge. the reclaimed wooden structure will be combined
customs, which are shared orally in the absence of a With the knowledge we gained from understanding with a concrete core and framing system to meet the
Fig. 5 Interior of the orphanage building written language. Initiated by the textile cooperative’s materials and available construction skills, we built a program requirements. A few days after our last trip,
Fig. 6 Model making workshop
leader, Ms. Mai, and a handful of women sixteen years small shed that can be used for group performances, for unprecedented heavy rain caused landslides and
A small structure built to test construction skills and
Fig. 7
make something together ago, the cooperative has grown to accommodate more displaying Hmong textiles, or for visitors who want to learn flash floods around the site and the villages nearby.
than a hundred members from the surrounding areas. We more about their culture. The design uses the concept of Mud buried several households and the textiles the
were invited to design new facilities for the cooperative “the grid” and “the section” as a spatial ordering system, community were working on got washed away. This
so that they can increase production capacity, improve which allowed us to maintain a connection between the calamity underscores the urgency of the situation and the
FRAMEWORK working conditions, and showcase their design and proposed design and its vernacular references. The necessity of empowering a community to take decisive
Learning from our experience in the Philippines and weaving process. importance of the grid and section was derived from action. The cooperative is now back up and running, and
considering the standard phases of design of a typical Around the village, one can find modest rammed stories of vernacular houses and their corresponding we are currently raising funds for the construction of the
project, from planning, conceptualization, design, and earth buildings with wooden structural frames that meanings and use over time. new community house. It is our hope that this process
construction, we aimed to synthesize a method of have low mezzanines for storing rice, corn, or farming Due to the planned road expansion that will remove becomes a precedent for future developments in the
working, which allows for a greater integration of the equipment. There are also full timber buildings clad in half of the site, we had to consider a two-story building region.
values, knowledge, and resources of a community at the either wood planks, split bamboo slats, or a mixture of at the back of the property that would fit all the program With this framework, we hoped to demonstrate how
inception of a project. these. By studying and learning the local context, we requirements. In the meantime, a temporary, open-plan, the principles of mutual support can be applied to the
It is necessary to begin the planning stage with a began to understand the way people live and how their wooden shed will be positioned in front until the road architectural design process. Throughout history, mutual
mindset of humility, openness, and empathy in order worldview is shaped not only by the house itself, but also is built. We came up with two options for the plan and support has been employed by local communities in
to collectively learn about a community’s culture and by the flora and fauna that surround them. Aside from mocked them up on site, in full scale. times of crisis and natural disaster. In some cases, it is
context. Next, we stimulate discussions that collectively learning about each house, we studied their customs, The use of a regular grid allowed us to communicate still the way communities organize themselves today.
question their values and try to find ways of clarifying rituals, and spiritual beliefs. These actions helped us scale better and relate the drawings to the actual Its principles are rooted in empathy, care, and seeing
intentions so that these may become shared visions. understand the root of the values they ascribe to the building. We used bamboo sticks to mark the plans on ourselves in each other. One could go as far as to say
From these shared visions, we make an object that distills spaces they inhabit. the empty lot, and put in the actual equipment on site that what was made together through a shared work
this new understanding into something tangible. The goal In order to understand how much space was needed so that we could role-play and simulate its use. We then process allows some of the ascribed values, memories
of these first three steps is to form a common language for each process of their production, the workers drew made models to focus on detailed space planning and and meanings to be embedded in the building itself.
that becomes a framework for meaningful engagement the activities in the spaces where these would take place. the design of the architectural elements like windows, Architecture then becomes more than an object
among all members of the project team. They began to see the multifunctional and overlapping walls, doors, stairs, and the roof, among others. when it becomes a symbol of values, knowledge, and
Architecture conceptualized in terms that directly way their spaces are configured, leading them to realize Mockups of the window system clarified the relationships developed in the process of its creation,
engages a community allows for deeply shared meanings the importance of maximizing synergy of their activities. functional implications of our design decisions. The and that the essence of architecture is not space but the
that can be ascribed to architecture, which can then Having encountered some difficulty communicating weavers wanted to maximize natural light because they meaning ascribed to the space. ■
reflect and reinforce a community’s identity over time. from English to Vietnamese and to Hmong, attach the looms to the window frames when they work.

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ROSARIO
ENCARNACION TAN
BAMBOO ARCHITECTURE
AND ITS SUSTAINABILITY

Fig. 1

The Philippine top elite, the forty richest Filipino This objective encourages a myopic way of thinking:
families comprising 0.1 percent of the population, own that as long as the elite is making money, awareness of
most of the wealth of the Philippines. Corollary to this, the surroundings is only of secondary importance.
the commercial interests of this elite group resulted Secondly, unsustainability of infrastructure arises
in a proliferation of damage and unsustainability in from the fact that such infrastructure only services the
infrastructure and communication.  minority and not the majority of the population. It is
In a 2013 article by Julian Keenan, the collective true that most of the population has access to public
growth of these families was calculated at 76.5 percent schools and, in some urban centers, access to health,
of the country’s overall increase in GDP.1 Most of the sports and cultural facilities. However, most of these
growth is concentrated on developing Metro Manila’s facilities lack the infrastructure amenities for cultural
skyscrapers and the emerging beach towns, such as in life which account for holistic sustainable living. A
the island of Palawan. The wealth of these families does majority of the population does not have access to
not trickle down. In the meantime, according to political libraries, theaters, recreational facilities, urban parks,
science professor Louie Montemar at Manila’s De La man-made landscapes and wildlife parks. These places
Salle University, tens of millions of Filipinos live in poverty. are easily accessible to populations of First World
The elite own most of the commercial malls in the countries whose enjoyment of these sites feeds their
urban areas of the Philippines. They proliferate at a souls. In the Philippines, one has to be in the top one
maddening pace in most cities of Manila. According percent of the population to enjoy culture and the arts,
to Colliers International, in 2016, new retail space of sports, and premium health services.
724,620 sq.m. was to be constructed in the country.2 Thirdly, the waste and garbage produced by
Using this context I would like to frame the relationship these mostly commercial developments contribute
between economic class differentiation and sustainable to unsustainability. For example, Metro Manila, with
development deployed in urban and architectural approximately one-tenth of the population of the
projects. country, is responsible for 25% of its trash. 3 Pollution, in
Though it may be argued that these development the many sense of the term, intensifies unsustainability.
projects employ green practices, the overall impact of One may say that the lack of understanding or
commercially driven developments in the Philippines consciousness about material pollution, including
amount to unsustainability. This is because profit rather materials produced by development and building
than sustainability is the driving force of the development. construction, precedes the problem of unsustainability.

102 103
Fig. 3

Fig. 2 A SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE AND

ALTERNATIVE PRACTICE
Bamboo architecture may be a strong point for the This paradigm shift will allow us to recognize the wisdom
THE NEED FOR A COUNTERCULTURE Filipino’s survival, and helps effective sustainability for of practicing bamboo architecture as our ancestors
IN CONSCIOUSNESS our environment. Bamboo can be readily harvested in just did and to harness this knowledge to allow us to move
Sociologist Dr. Cynthia Bautista says that thriving cultural constructs of sustainable ecosystems and five years, and can then be constructed into structures by forward into the 21st century.
cultural practices empower local communities and are the production of systems for sustainable buildings. the people themselves, an activity long practiced in the Bamboo is a purely benevolent material that
important to development, particularly development However, this background outlook is directed towards Philippines. can provide the basic needs of food, clothing and
based on social justice, inclusivity and sustainability. practices that articulate how understanding a particular The Philippines is blessed with at least 2,300 years of shelter. For shelter, bamboo fulfills all the criteria for
Bautista says that these cultural practices are in building material may help architects, designers, and rich, traditional bamboo architecture.6 Though bamboo is sustainability.
themselves the primary sources of knowledge and that builders become willful purveyors of environmental a grass and seemingly non-permanent, why do we say that Even on subsoil, bamboo grows quickly, and
their practitioners become the potential recipients awareness. This essay does not delve into why there bamboo architecture has been practiced in our land for helps reforest, locks carbon, registers negative carbon
of the development efforts as well. Bautista points is a lack of environmental awareness and political thousands of years? This must have been because of strong footprinting, and is totally recyclable as it goes back to
out that even the United Nations recognizes that this will. Rather, it will go into examples of sustainable oral tradition passed on from generation to generation. the earth.
alternative development can help achieve Sustainable activities through bamboo architecture in the realm Until today, constructing with bamboo is a familiar On the other hand, concrete, steel, glass, and metal
Development Goals “on many levels, improving the of the author’s professional experiences. The author technology in areas where these houses are present. are all extractive materials. Collecting these materials
livelihood and well-being of people.” And bamboo believes that these examples produce sustainability Men, women and children can build with bamboo based eject carbon into the air and harm the earth.
architecture is part of this way of life. in the infrastructure of cities and towns beyond the on the author’s interviews with residents of Panay in the A bamboo harvest, the ensuing treatment and
Dr. Eduardo Tadem further believes that the consciousness of commercialism. In particular, years 1980-1990. Bamboo does not grow on its own. To processing, and the bamboo architecture itself produce
solution is to research on and adopt existing alternative this essay shares examples of bamboo design and flourish, it has to be planted by man and this was done by income that goes straight to the local population, which,
practices. Adopting these practices is the most direct construction and a gleaning into the thinking of the our forefathers. in turn, helps establish self-sustainability in communities.
way to counter the Filipino elites’ “conceived market- dwellers that live in them. One anthropologist surmises that a settlement was
centered and state-supported process to control the This essay focuses on examples of bamboo present in archaeological sites in the Philippines where
region’s natural resources and productive capacities.” 4 architecture and architectural practices as a counterpoint bamboo grows. For example, hundreds of years ago, I cannot give a bird’s eye view of all the sustainable
He says that the elite marginalizes and disenfranchises to unsustainable commercialization. It inhabits the people dwelt in the mountains where bamboo grew—and lifestyles generated from building with bamboo. But
a large portion of the country’s population. He consciousness that designs products, structures and most of our mountains have bamboo. Our forefathers through almost 30 years of researching and building
espouses that the solution is to encourage people infrastructure and a counterculture lifestyle that bear in and bamboo have coexisted since hundreds of years with bamboo, and working on 45 projects that have used
presently working on the ground to be in solidarity with, mind what is beneficial for the majority of the population ago. bamboo, there are many lessons, a lot of them humbling,
and work for mutual benefits and common principles of while being sustainable. But what is most important is to reorient Filipinos that confirm the sustainability of bamboo as a building
the community. Tadem says that this is the antithesis Even with the absence of infrastructure support from that generations ago, we had the capacity to build our material. Also, designing and building with bamboo has
of the “cutthroat competition, the insatiable thirst for the elite of the Philippines, the author sees that spirited own houses from bamboo materials available on the compelled me (and my husband) to take on a simplified
profits, narrow patriotism and chauvinism.” 5 He also individuals and communities can don alternative lifestyles land where we lived. Back then, building with bamboo and sustainable lifestyle.
says that “culture is essential in lending a human and through bamboo structures. These bamboo dwellers are was common knowledge or a skill that could be easily I will also share stories from various clients and
spiritual face to political and economic dimensions aware of the environmental crisis and possess a calling learned. collaborations with researchers and architects. All these
and should therefore be nurtured and developed.” 4 or commitment, along with practices that prove their Bamboo architecture is an alternative architecture. point to potential successes for sustainability of bamboo
This general outlook expresses the role of commitment to sustainability. But this architecture would be given a boost once we design and construction.
how society and social differentiation play into the realize that it had been around for thousands of years.

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BAMBOO ARCHITECTURE ART ARCHIVE 03
& ITS SUSTAINABILITY

RESEARCH AND WRITING FOR FOLK

ARCHITECTURE (1979-1990)
In 1979, I was an intern with Urban Designers about it. They are well ventilated, with high pitched
This essay focuses on examples of bamboo
Associates under Prof. Honorato G. Paloma. Paloma roofs, usually surrounded by an edible garden, and
was a favorite professor of many students, including stilted to avoid floods. architecture and architectural practices
me, at the College of Architecture, University of the The ten years of experiencing the bamboo house
Philippines (UP). Paloma had an excellent grasp of
design and architectural concepts, and his words
also caused a major paradigm shift. The classic Filipino
bamboo house, a Southeast Asian term called the bahay
as a counterpoint to unsustainable
were compelling. We all looked up to him. kubo, is a classic piece of people architecture, and it
I mentioned to him that book publisher and writer is fully sustainable. It would take another generation of commercialization. It inhabits the consciousness
Gilda Cordero Fernando commissioned me to be the scholars to buttress this realization.
main researcher of the book, Folk Architecture. 7
Paloma said that the bamboo houses of Panay RESEARCH WITH THE OXFORD CENTER
that designs products, structures and
should be a topic. I enthusiastically told this to FOR DISASTER STUDIES ON TYPHOON
Fernando, who promptly commissioned Paloma to do MITIGATION (1995)
infrastructure and a counterculture lifestyle that
the second section, Panay Houses, of the book Folk It is clear that bamboo is earthquake-proof.

bears in mind what is beneficial for the majority

Architecture. But can bamboo withstand typhoons? There was a
Paloma, Fernando’s daughter Patricia (or Wendy) research that looked into this with experts from the
and I went around the island of Panay in 1980 and Oxford Center for Disaster Studies (OCDS) in 1995.
discovered at least a hundred bamboo houses in its Nick Hall and Roger Bellers of OCDS, UK, of the population while being sustainable.
four provinces: Iloilo, Antique, Capiz and Aklan. For contracted my husband Julio “Juju” Galvez Tan
the most part, we took the scenic route by the sea, and myself to help them look into bamboo houses,
but we also traveled inland to the farms, especially in and determine whether these houses are typhoon-
the province of Iloilo. resistant.
Sadly, Paloma could not turn in a text. I believe OCDS gave the criteria for the research. The
he got writer’s block. After years of waiting, Fernando houses must have a traditional design; be located A view of the dining area and kitchen in the Three- Story
Fig. 1
Bamboo House in San Mateo, Rizal
asked me to write the article, with her and two other in a traditional or old town; be free of warlords; and Fig. 2 One of the best form examples of a bamboo house
CENTER FOR ECOZOIC LIVING AND LEARNING
editors editing my thoughts. have the presence of women leaders. We identified Fig. 3 Panay bamboo house photographed in 1980 (1999-2000)
To this day, I still look up to Paloma, and I have a Igbalangao, Antique, a fourth class municipality at In 1999, Fr. John Leydon and Elin Mondejar initiated
theory of what happened about his writer’s block. With the delta of the Antique river. Intuitively, I knew that the vision for a Center for Ecozoic Living and Learning
all the beautiful pictures of bamboo houses that he took, old civilizations happened around rivers and their (CELL). Leydon and Mondejar commissioned me to
Paloma could not frame the lovely houses into a theory. deltas. In the succeeding years, the research buttressed build two big bamboo structures: a seminar space and a
Unlike today in the 21st century, there was nothing After a week of working with Josephine, the the conclusion of Hall and Bellers that the bamboo two-story dormitory, roughly 8 meters x 12 meters each
published in the 1980s that described Philippine woman leader, and interviews with carpenters, Hall houses are typhoon-resistant. And, of course, again, in size. This was in line with their permaculture farm,
concepts of vernacular architecture, folk architecture, and Bellers asked the carpenters to demonstrate it can be noted that the bamboo houses are stilted, eco-spiritual activities, and advocacy for sustainability.
indigenous architecture and people architecture. connections of bamboo. The carpenters had difficulty thus protected from the sudden flood. For the first time, we constructed structural bamboo
Having to move on with the team of writers, I expressing themselves. Instead, the carpenters In this case, it is the design strategy of the Southeast parts of posts, beams, and roof trusses. And, as usual,
did intensive library research. I scoured Filipiniana asked us to come back after three days. When we did Asian bahay kubo that is ingenious. The bahay kubo is the floors, walls and openings were of bamboo, too.
publications in many libraries, looking for leads on come back, they had built a full house, showing all stilted and thus flood-free, light in structure, woven The roof was made of anahaw.
houses and house implements; songs and poetry that the house parts and the connections. Hall and Bellers in construction, and with high-pitched roofs. During Another important discovery was the use of nylon
mentioned an experience of the house. I went back concluded that the building system of bamboo was typhoons, the wind goes through the structure, and the twine, similar to fishing twine, as bamboo lashing.
to the province once to live in a town in Antique for a holistic. It could not be explained in parts but as a house sways resiliently. The discovery of lashing with nylon happened when
week, and went back in 1989 to research once more whole. And because of this, all the structural parts But what if the houses fall from the typhoon winds? I observed that the bamboo outriggers of the bancas
around the island. For the next nine years, I gathered shared compressive and tensile stresses with each The people replied to OCDS that within days after used this for fastening. Upon inquiry, the boatmen told
many field notes, interviews, and my personal photos. other. The sharing of stresses gave the bamboo the fall, the houses could be put up again because me that the nylon lashings were at least 30 years old.
Ten years later, in 1990, photographer Joseph Fortin structure superior strength. of the small dimension and relative lightness of the I surmised that nylon lashings are strong because it
again took hundreds of pictures. This field research reaffirmed a theory that I held bamboo houses, and with the help of the members could take salt water and the ultraviolet rays of the sun.
From the field interviews, we gathered the for 15 years. And in the next years, and through more of the community. This again is a good point for This was another vernacular (local) lesson learned.
following data: costs of the house, house rituals, age research, it was clear that bamboo is stronger than the sustainability of bamboo architecture—and More importantly, I realized that the vision of Leydon
of the house, and floor plans. What is clear now is steel in tensile strength, and stronger than concrete in demonstrates how the use of bamboo mitigates the and Mondejar was the wind behind the back of bamboo
that the bamboo house also had sustainable qualities compressive strength. severity of damage caused by typhoons. construction in the context of sustainability.

106 107
BAMBOO ARCHITECTURE
& ITS SUSTAINABILITY

Fig. 4 Three-Story Bamboo House at San Mateo, Rizal

Fig. 5 Del Monte Bamboo House

THE HOUSE OF IPAT LUNA AND HOWIE SEVERINO

(2014-2015)
Ideal clients come few and far between so it was a
great boost when the owners possess a nationalistic
Fig. 5
vision and are willing to lead a sustainable lifestyle.
Bamboo construction is part of the equation of
this sustainable lifestyle; this, plus the owners’ will,
leadership, and inner power.
This happened when we built the mostly bamboo Fig. 4

but with mixed material house of Maria Paz “Ipat” Luna

and Horacio Gorospe “Howie” Severino.
First, Ipat and Howie tapped the inventive and OUR VERY OWN BAMBOO HOUSE IN DEL MONTE, THE BAMBOO MODULAR HOUSE IN THE BAMBOO
creative potential of Nato Espiritu, foreman, artisan and QUEZON CITY (1991-1996) ADVANTAGE EXHIBIT (2000-2003)
inventor, who is passionate about bamboo. In the spirit of keeping life simple, and following In 2002, we upped the bar of bamboo sustainability. the parts, the panels, and the system of connections,
Previously, Nato, on his own, built a bamboo his calling, I asked my husband Juju if we could build a We created a modular bamboo house from a confluence especially the lashing. We successfully transferred
treehouse for Ipat and Howie. It cost, P200,000.00 or bamboo house. It immediately caught his imagination. of factors. this modular bamboo structure, assembling and
roughly P32,000.00 per sq.m. Ipat and Howie presently And so in 1991, we built our first house that would be a My husband Juju and I did not really know where dismantling five times.
rent it out, with 70% occupancy, via Airbnb. combination of bamboo, concrete and lumber. I had the we would settle next. Just about then, the owner of The first time took two weeks to assemble at
We built a 10-meter spanned structure with the confidence in building with bamboo for the first time, Pinto Gallery, Dr. Joven Cuanang, asked if I could do an the Pinto Gallery for the Bamboo Advantage Exhibit
support of steel I-beams. We also recycled materials from four years of intensive training in construction, exhibit on bamboo. 2003. After four exhibit extensions, from two to eight
and, of course, built bamboo floor framing, floors, and plus 11 years of design experience. We then thought of a bamboo modular house. This months, it took only one week to disassemble the
roof framings. When we started to build, I just employed the became a 65-sq.m. house in 2m x 4m modules of structure.
Nato also learned the limits of the strength of carpenters we would work with. There was one very bamboo. By the fourth time the house was transferred, it only
bamboo and how to fashion long nailers, which are so good carpenter, Peralta (I only remember him by We had a star artisan in Rudy Encinares, who took three days to disassemble and dismantle, and one
much stronger than the usual wooden nailers. I taught this name), who hailed from Iloilo, Panay. Peralta led the 7-man team. Rudy and I had been working week to assemble. This shows we had created a system
Nato techniques and, not to be outdone, he created his immediately took on to the bamboo, slatting, weaving, on other conventional projects, and I realized that where the construction became 50% more efficient.
own. flattening, studding. Within two weeks, other workers Rudy was just not an able foreman. He was brilliant Throughout this operation, except for the trucking’s
The four of us worked in synchronicity. Ipat took on to Peralta’s technique. Bert Gallano, also with both conventional and bamboo construction use of diesel, the efforts were sustainable, with zero
and Howie’s total commitment to the environment, from Iloilo , and who has worked with me since 1984, apart from the fact that he was hands-on with the carbon footprint.
sustainability, and an alternative lifestyle gave a totally took to bamboo construction right away as well. It work. He did neat and wonderful carpentry. By this
new angle to building with bamboo—a leadership that was as if we could assume that it was natural to build time, too, I knew that the most talented workers THREE-STORY BAMBOO HOUSE IN SAN MATEO
the 21st bamboo tradition needed. We were all in a with bamboo. that work with bamboo are the ones who had the (2007-ONGOING)
cusp of high motivation, encouragement and creativity. We were able to do bamboo floors, railings and artistic bent. Also, aside from carpenters, welders The dismantable bamboo house finally settled
balusters, and the traditional tadtad walls. Tadtad walls, easily handle the material. Perhaps it is because back at the border of Metro Manila, at Patiis Road,
which are commonly seen in Panay island, are made these welders handle the round pipes. San Mateo. We purchased a 600-sq.m. land for the
Even when I was single, the concept of “Voluntary by framing flattened bamboo poles into panels with Since 1991, Bert Gallano, too, remained very bamboo house. As usual, we rented one six-wheeler
Simplicity” struck me hard. I personally resonated with vertical and horizontal weaves. consistent in the quality of his bamboo carpentry. truck and loaded all the pieces, including the anahaw
it, and pursued it. I met my husband Juju who was into Because we were mimicking vernacular (local) At present (2019), he is a master bamboo carpenter, roofing.
voluntary work with NGOs and committed to working with finishing techniques, we had the easy confidence in producing very good bamboo work. With 500 more pieces of bamboo, we extended the
the people. I knew I met the right person for a life-long building. With our dream team, we easily assembled and modular house, integrating its dismantable panels into
journey. Our journey created the next three structures. disassembled the modular structure. We all worked out a permanent structure.

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BAMBOO ARCHITECTURE ART ARCHIVE 03
& ITS SUSTAINABILITY

Then came the floods. Our street was flooded. The

water swelled to 0.50 meter high. Higher than 0.50
meters above the road, the flood waters started flowing
to the surrounding lots. A major step was to fill up the
land one meter high, which meant that the ground level
would be 0.50 meter higher than the road. This was
done after the deep foundations of bamboo, concrete
and some steel bars were planted.
After we raised the lot, we designed the bamboo Fig. 6 The house built by B’laans in 2018

house to have a silong, which is an open stilted ground Fig. 7

The Bamboo Theater designed by Arch. Fuminori
Nousaku with Arch. Rosario Encarnacion Tan
floor area and multipurpose area.
Fig. 8 Lashing anahaw roofing with nylon twine
This made it flood-proof, a concept resonating
again with another sustainable criteria. From this, I also
realized that flood mitigation means to integrate silong Fig. 6
designs in Filipino dwellings where floods occur. FUMINORI NOUSAKU AND THE BAMBOO THEATER
The second floor was the living space: kitchen, (2017)
dining and living area with a balcony that overlooks a For Japanese architect Fuminori Nousaku, the
1.3-hectare empty lot, and the San Mateo mountains. challenge was to come out with a crossover design for
The third floor contained the workroom, the bedroom THE B’LAANS AND JAIME GALVEZ TAN the 2017 exhibition Almost There at Vargas Museum,
and a complete bathroom on bamboo slats flooring. (2018-PRESENT) University of the Philippines. He fused similarities
By now, we had taken the effort to give the whole Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan is what we call a “doctor between the cultures of Japan and the Philippines,
house a lot of bamboo features. Aside from the posts, to the barrios,” or doctor to the people. Early in his and made sure to include the bamboo installation he
most of the other structural parts—beams, joists, profession (in the 1970s), Tan found his calling to serve called the Bamboo Theater, which would capture the
nailers, slat flooring, and roof framing—were of bamboo. the communities. He and his wife Rebecca came out imagination of Filipino culture.
Walls, windows, and a bangguerahan (a protruded shelf with a book in the 1980s on the medicinal qualities Nousaku agreed to having me as co-designer
for drying dishes) were also of bamboo. of plants endemic to the Philippines. This book has because of my knowledge of designing and building
All these construction came from lessons from been republished many times over. Tan says that he with bamboo. We worked on the link on Japan’s bamboo
vernacular houses in Panay, done during the research combines Filipino, Western and Ayurvedic treatments farm A-frame structures for drying produce with the now
in the 1980s for Folk Architecture. Again, the wisdom for his patients. 21st century image of a 10-meter high bamboo A-Frame
of our forefathers made bamboo construction very But Tan does not stop there. Currently, he is living with very colorful Filipino rice sack designs. Nousaku
doable. I believe that one of the additional criteria in a bamboo house (2018-present) that the indigenous commented that these colorful sacks would not work
for sustainability is to adopt traditional methods that group, the B’laans, built for one-third the cost of a usual with Japanese sensibilities, but he understood the
create more economical, easily transferable and faster vernacular house. He challenged the community that if visuals as appropriate for the Philippines.
techniques in building. they build him a house, he would stay with them for a After the end of the Almost There exhibit, the
year and serve them. And that is exactly what happened. Bamboo Theater remained standing onsite for eight
This act of his also inspired the B’laans to realize more months. Two other exhibition artists, Junyee and
Again, there is a small group of people who have the that there is wisdom in their vernacular architecture. Agnes Arellano, included the Bamboo Theater in their
vision and they go for it. In the Philippines, despite the Currently, they were also able to build another house to next installations. Thus, the Bamboo Theater lasted
negative effects of globalization on identity, despite neo- rent out via Airbnb. four times longer than initially planned, as if poetically
liberalism stemming from three centuries of colonialism, And while Tan lives with the B’laans, he reinforces declaring that sustainability indeed is in its ability for
there are globally sensitive Filipinos and Filipino designers the good living habits they already have since their reuse and recreation.
who are deeply rooted in their culture. There are also forefathers’ time. These are eating nutritiously and Also, if an idea is ingrained deeply in culture, and
foreigners who respect the Filipino values and design constantly stoking the community spirit that is so alive happily even deeper in these two cultures, modern
in appropriateness and sustainability. They understand there. Tan lauds the fact that in the village, there are 32 expressions of very traditional practices are very
and appreciate our history, tradition and environmental centenarians, precisely because of the high quality of possible. What is further intriguing is that these
situation. These are the game changers and leaders for life, which is encompassed by sustainable practices in traditional practices uphold sustainability as one of its
true sustainability. their food, attitude, and simple life. values.
Fig. 7

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BAMBOO ARCHITECTURE ART ARCHIVE 03
& ITS SUSTAINABILITY

5 Conference on Alternatives in Southeast Asia: Keynote Speech by Eduardo 8. 2018: Residence of Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan. Designed and constructed by
Tadem, Ph.D.: October 2018 Manuscript is still unpublished. This was held in the B’laan Community located at Sitio Amguo in Polomolok, South Cotabato
Madison 101 Hotel, Quezon City 9. 2019: The Freedom Memorial: Finalist at the Competion of The Freedom
6 Zialcita, Fernando N. and Tinio, Martin I. Jr. Philippine Ancestral Houses. Memorial. Head Designer: Paulo A. Alcazaren
Quezon City, Philippines: GCF Books: 1980
7 Perez, Rodrigo D. III, Encarnacion, Rosario S., Dacanay, Julian E, Jr. Folk
Architecture. GCF Publications: Quezon City, Philippines: 1990

References:
Dransfield, S. and Widjaja, Elizabeth A. (Editors). Plant Resources of South-
East Asia. No. 7. Bamboos. Backhuys Publishers: Leiden, the Netherlands:
1995
Hidalgo Lopez, Oscar. BAMBU: Su Cultivo Y Aplicaciones.
Estudios Tecnicos Colobianos Limitada: Cali, Colombia: 1974
Oliver, Paul. Dwellings. Phaidon Press Ltd.: Country London, United
Kingdom: 2007
Perez, Rodrigo D. III, Encarnacion, Rosario S., Dacanay, Julian E, Jr. Folk
Architecture. GCF Publications: Quezon City, Philippines: 1990
Powell, Robert. The Urban Asian House. Select Books: Singapore: 1998
Scott, William Henry. Barangay. Ateneo De Manila: Loyola Heights, Quezon
City, Philippines: 1994
Stuttgart, Karl Verlag Kramer. Bamboo. Institut fur leichte Flachentragwerke
(IL): Stuttgart, Germany: 1985
Tay, Kheng Soon. Mega-Cities in the Tropics: Towards an Architectural Agenda
for the Future (Social issues in Southeast Asia).
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies: Singapore: 1989
Velez, Simon. Grow Your Own House: Simon Velez and Bamboo Architecture.
Vitra Design Museum:  Weil am Rhein, Germany: 2000
Virtucio, Felizardo D, Ph.D., Roxas, Cristina A., M.S. Bamboo Production in the
Philippines. Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau, Department of
Environment and Natural Resources. Laguna, Philippines: 2003
Waterson, Roxana. The Living House: An Anthropology of Architecture in
South East Asia. Oxford University Press: Oxford, United Kingdom: 1990
Fig. 8 Zialcita, Fernando N. and Tinio, Martin I. Jr. Philippine Ancestral Houses.
Quezon City, Philippines: GCF Books: 1980

Projects Mentioned in the Article:

1. Research for Folk Architecture: 1980-1990 under GCF Publications led by
Gilda Cordero Fernando
PAULO G. ALCAZAREN AND THE FREEDOM
2. 1990-1996: Residence of Julio Galvez Tan and Rosario Encarnacion Tan,
MEMORIAL COMPETITION (2019) the Del Monte Bamboo House at Del Monte Avenue, Quezon City. Design
Paulo G. Alcazaren is a heavyweight with his writings In conclusion, it is heartening to realize that a by Roario Encarnacion Tan. Construction by Rosario Encarnacion Tan with
Ernesto Carino
and knowledge of Philippine architecture history and strong solution for architecture and sustainability in the
3. 1999-2000: Center for Ecozoic Living and Learning. Located at Silang
culture. But Alcazaren also has the benefit of working Philippines is a result of a deep understanding and use Cavite. Owners were Elin Mondejar and Fr. John Leydon. Design by Rosario
internationally for decades in Singapore. of traditional knowledge and moving it on to 21st century Encarnacion Tan. Construction by Rosario Encarnacion Tan with Ernesto
Carino
With his team of five, Alcazaren invested a hefty models of architecture. It strongly suggests that the
4. 2003-2007: Modular Bamboo House first exhibited at the Bamboo
amount and joined a competition: the Freedom answer is definitely in the hands of the majority of the Advantage Exhibit, Pinto Gallery Antipolo on November 23, 2019. It traveled
Memorial in July 2019. The entry made it to the finals. Philippine population, and not with the elite. ■ five times before being integrated into the Three-Story Bamboo House
at Patiis Street, San Mateo, Rizal. Design and Construction by Rosario
A ten-story-high bamboo tower took the attention of Encarnacion Tan
people and the judges. And this bamboo tower is a 5. 2007-2010: Three-Story Bamboo House of Mr. and Mrs. Julio Galvez
Tan located at Patiis Road, San Mateo Rizal. Designed and constructed by
take on the future of architectural sustainability. With
1 The Grim Reality Behind the Philippines’ Economic Growth, by Julian Rosario Encarnacion Tan; assisted by contractors Jose N. Nacu and Avelina
the current research on bamboo technology, Alcazaren Keenan, The Atlantic, May 7, 2013 G. Gabat
argued that this could be done. 2 Mall Culture and Consumerism in the Philippines, Jore-Annie Rico and Kim 6. 2014-2015: Residence of Ipat Luna and Howie Severino. Kapusod Place,
Robert C. de Leon, State of Power, 2017 Bgy. Lipute, Lipa, Batangas. Design by Rosario Encarnacion Tan with Nato
Happily, it seems that a person with Alcazaren’s 3 Metro Manila Produces a Fourth of the Philippine Garbage, by Kristine L. Espiritu. Constructed by Nato Espiritu with Rosario Encarnacion Tan
credentials can afford to have such vision precisely Alave at inquirer.net. Philippine Daily Inquirer, August 16, 2011 7. 2016-2017: “The Bamboo Theater” for the Exhibit of Almost There at

because he can put on track what Filipino architecture 4 Conference on Alternatives in Southeast Asia: Keynote Speech by Eduardo Vargas Museum, University of the Philippines. Design by Fuminori Nousaku
Tadem, Ph.D.: October 2018 Manuscript is still unpublished. This was held in and Rosario Encarnacion Tan. Constructed by Rosario Encarnacion Tan,
could and should be. Madison 101 Hotel, Quezon City assisted by Avelina G. Gabat

112 113
v

words by ART ARCHIVE 03

LULU TAN-GAN
INTUITION AND FASHION INNOVATION

Fig. 1

In the Philippine fashion scene, Lulu Tan-Gan has born ten years apart.) School allowed me the enjoyment
been synonymous with knitwear since the mid-’80s. No of learning history, geography, chemistry, art, and a subject
one would need a sweater in a tropical country, unless called home economics, which enabled me to tinker with
you live up north, like in Baguio, Mountain Province. It took craft projects. I enjoyed working with my hands and never
some guts and the desire to create travel-friendly fashion had to struggle with them. My last year in high school
that I would see beyond this thinking and create pieces was spent in Baguio after which I pondered between
for an unexpected market, the expatriates and tourists Political Science and the Arts for a college degree. I chose
who came to Manila, and the jet-set Filipinos who traveled Bachelor of Fine Arts and it became my destiny.
to colder destinations. (In hindsight, I spent senior high I was still sheltered even in college at the University
school in Baguio and the time spent there might have of Santo Tomas. But in between classes, I would
helped me to imagine cooler weather when I created gallivant with friends or alone to downtown Manila and
spring and winter fashion while living in hot Manila.) Ermita. Rizal Avenue was then the center of the city’s
commercial life, its streets lined with coffee shops,
THE FASHION NEWBIE bazaars/department stores, and stand-alone movie
Being the youngest in the family with ten older theaters designed by prominent Filipino architects
siblings made my parents very protective. Weekends and of the day like Pablo Antonio and Juan Nakpil. Both
summer vacations were locked-down days with my big are now National Artists for Architecture. Bookstores
family, spent visiting relatives and family friends. When were Alemar’s, National and a specialty book shop, La
alone, I would spend a lot of my time reading American Solidaridad. In the Manila area I was impressed with one
books and magazines, in particular, fashion magazines. I church, the San Sebastian Cathedral, a Roman Catholic
was always doing something or having something made; basilica known for its Gothic Revival architecture and
I would doodle, draw, and engage in some craftwork, as the only steel church in Asia. The arrival of the
like rug-making and mosaics. Needing constant visual Americans at the beginning of the 20th century turned
change in my room, I would redecorate and create Escolta into one of Manila’s most famous streets; in
matching bed covers and curtains. Eventually, I designed its premises were stand-alone department stores
my own clothes, buying fabric and trimmings, and had Heacock’s, Botica Boie, La Estrella del Norte, Oceanic,
them made. Berg’s, and Aguinaldo’s. Mabini Street had tailoring and
High school was liberation from home. I enjoyed fashion schools that taught illustration, pattern making,
moments with girlfriends different from the sports and sewing. I went to Madonna’s School of Fashion
activities of four older brothers. (My elder sister and I were during my college summers.

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INTUITION AND FASHION INNOVATION ART ARCHIVE 03

My love for crafts, A ‘TRAVEL-FRIENDLY’ DESIGNER BRAND

My love for crafts, color, and texture led me to knits. and Dusseldorf. We took orders at the Paris Prêt à As an artist, I always seek growth to step beyond myself
Instead of buying fabrics, which everyone else was doing, Porter Féminin, now called What’s Next, at the Portes and my own expression. Being the first and only Filipino

color, and texture led I started to use yarns. It intrigued me that yarn would allow
me to weave my own material. I would order them from my
de Versailles, Paris. We presented fashion shows in
Germany, where the fair was called the Mode Woche.
designer to date who has mastered and been recognized
for a craft-based brand, I wanted to explore other
producer, customize the colors, weave the combinations, We did backstage tasks, helped set up shows, pulled possibilities without sacrificing what I have established in

me to knits. Instead and fabricate textures. I was amazed with the knit loom,
a hand-operated device used without electricity, allowing
together the lineup of models and clothes. An exposure
trip to Europe in the early ‘80s was quite an experience;
the past decades. Poised for a new challenge, I stepped
forward to redefine all within my reach.
for an eco-friendly way of producing fabrics. globalization had not set in yet so each country had I saw that knits were meant for more than just

of buying fabrics, My buying trips with Tessie led me to know more about
knitwear. We regularly attended the Hong Kong trade
its own food, fashion, and art. It was an exhausting,
exhilarating, but fruitful first promotional sales trip for the
clothing the Filipino in an unexpected fashion. Knits can
also be the perfect material that can amalgamate with
shows, when the event featured pop-up brands. Traveling Philippines. indigenous textiles, which are distinctly Filipino but have

which everyone else with clothes that needed ironing or paying for laundry
didn’t sound practical so I thought of reintroducing
When I returned from Europe, Redson was not eager
to take the orders, which were too small for an exporting
become dissonant with our everyday lives. Due to three
hundred years of colonization under Spain and fifty years
knits. During the ‘70s and early ‘80s, knitwear came in company that was used to significant volumes. I was under America, the Philippines is quite westernized.

was doing, I started limited forms, there were only tank tops, sweaters, and
cardigans. Responding to these limitations started my
disappointed and unsure of what to do with this dilemma.
To learn the technical side of knitting I had invested in
Colonial mentality continues to persist today, even with
the rise of nationalism in the 1950s through the ‘70s and
career. I focused on knitwear and transformed basic a knit loom, and since Redson was not accepting the ‘80s. This thinking has also been evident in fashion and
to use yarns. clothing into fashionable pieces. I recall the repeated
comments: “Knitwear? Who is going to buy knits when it is
European orders, I decided to take over. This decision
turned into an opportunity for me to export.
merchandising.
I realized that the advocacy I was about to embrace
so hot in Manila?” I turned a deaf ear. I simply knew what I During the day I was in SM, at night I worked to was bigger than my art, even bigger than the fashion
It intrigued me that wanted and that was to create what was unavailable in the fulfill my export orders. I added three more looms and industry. Besides our individuality, our fashion choices
market. More than following trends, my path as a designer three knitters, worked till midnight and on weekends, define our collective cultural identity as a nation. In

yarn would allow

was through the innovation of products not found in outsourced hand crochet works in Carmona and weaving my search for direction, my advocacy has become a
the Philippine market. The knits I created attracted the in Baguio, cities outside of Manila. In 1985, Tessie question of Filipino identity. Wearing a cultural trademark
expatriates and tourists who came to the country and the Sy heard about my export pullovers, sold in limited is tantamount to expressing this. I still love to work with

me to weave my own
jet-setting Filipinos who traveled to colder destinations. quantities from excess orders to a few enthusiasts, like knits, but in the second phase of my career, I believe it is
More than market analysis, my business template came socialites Chona Kasten and Mary Prieto. She offered me time to give back.
from innovation and intuition, practical quantitative and to be a consignor at SM Boutique Square, where I was I represented the Philippines in various international

material.
qualitative assessment, and the addition of fashionable once a buyer. I never had plans of going on my own but trade events for several years, as co-founder of our
elements to an essential product without sacrificing its I trusted Tessie, who said that I was capable of doing it. industry councils. Since 1992, I have played an active
function. The concept of the Tan-Gan line as a “travel- My brand expanded as Shoe Mart did, through its chain part in the Filipino Designers Group (FDG) and the
friendly” designer brand was born. of department stores. In 1989, I opened my first stand- Fashion and Design Council of the Philippines (FDCP) in
In 1983, the Center for International Trade Expositions alone store in Greenbelt 1, Ayala Mall, in Makati City. The organizing missions that support the industry through the
One of the most exciting days of my life was when and Missions (CITEM) of the Department of Trade next shop was at SM’s first mall, Megamall, next to the continuous participation in events like the International
I applied for my first job and met Tessie Sy, daughter of and Industry (DTI) tapped me to join a group of eight Asian Development Bank (ADB). As SM expanded, so did Young Fashion Designers Competition in Paris. Together
Henry Sy. Mr. Sy’s unassuming store Shoe Mart (SM),1 fashion designers to collaborate for the promotion and our branches. with other fashion frontliners like Josie Natori, Barge
became the biggest retailer in the country and made branding of Philippine fashion in the international arena. Iconic fashion brands have been defined by specific Ramos, Inno Sotto, Mike de la Rosa and Cesar Gaupo,
him the richest man in Southeast Asia. Tessie, who was The project was headed by Department of Trade and signature styles borne from the designer’s derring-do we organized projects, partnered with the Philippine
then heading their department stores, took me in. The Industry (DTI) Minister Roberto Ongpin, CITEM Executive to trailblaze trends that remain relevant for generations. government and searched for opportunities to improve
year 1976 was an exciting time when I joined Shoe Mart, Director Mina Gabor and Head of Soft Goods Director Etched in our minds are menswear-inspired fashion and the local fashion design industry.
which was transitioning from being a department store Fe Agoncillo-Reyes. Together with designers Cesar expensive simplicity pioneered by Coco Chanel, cone- In 2002, the president of Alliance Francaise de
into a fashion store. I was assigned to shoe product Gaupo, Danny de la Cuesta, and Pando Manipon, I joined bra corsets by Jean-Paul Gaultier and wrapped jersey Manille (AFM), Aurelio “Gigi” Montinola III, invited me
development and the following year became a buyer for Redson, the knitwear exporting company, known in the dresses by Diane von Fürstenberg, brands that continue to be a board member. I had been Philippine fashion’s
Boutique Square, a space within the SM store that sold local market as Vonnel. I made prototypes of pullovers, to inspire today’s new generation of designers. French connection, working to give young designers the
top local and foreign designer labels like Chito Vijandre, 100% handcrafted, using a combination of crocheted opportunity for recognition in Parisian fashion design
Auggie Cordero, Ernest Santiago, Cesar Gaupo, Danny hand-loomed knit with accents of hand weaves, pigskin, POISED FOR A NEW CHALLENGE contests and promoting a bond between French and
dela Cuesta, Mike de la Rosa and Azabache by Helena calfskin, and snakeskin. They were eco-friendly and what In the Philippines, Tan-Gan has become synonymous Filipino designers. One of our goals was to professionalize
Guerrero. Three years later, I joined the creative design we now call sustainable. with knitwear. Why did I decide to move after establishing and strengthen the education of fashion designers and
team, the group that would work on domestic fashion During fashion weeks we traveled across Europe the brand and go beyond the comfort zone of a to reorient garment and textile manufacturers on the
trends every season. to attend the fashion fairs in Paris, London, Milan, successful niche now considered a fashion staple? need for product development. Through AFM’s annual

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ART ARCHIVE 03

CONTRASTING KNITWEAR AND PIÑA WEAR

As a fashion brand, the challenge now begins with
“combining contrasts.” What has been established in the
past two decades, knitwear, and what has to be innovated,
piña wear, is a contrast. There is an extreme contrast from
the opposite ends of these two materials, both visually
Fig. 2 Fig. 3
different, as well as by texture. These four factors in the
product development stage made the process even more
BRIDGING OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUSTAINED challenging, like considering the construction, color,
LIVELIHOOD texture, and fall of the garments.
Beyond the business of the fashion industry, my Construction:
Fig. 1
Redefining luxe in Tan Gan’s “Indigenous Couture” goal is to support communities of women whose skills in in 1521, weaving cloth from silk and plant fibers was Unlike traditional weaves, knit fabric stretches easily.
collection
Fig. 2 Lulu Tan-Gan, August 2018
weaving and embroidery are endangered due to the lack already a flourishing art, as was embellishment with It is of key importance to use the right material for the
Fig. 3 2015 Salon 3 Fashion Show of a supportive market. By imbuing my designs with their embroidery, perhaps learned from the Chinese. Under right part of the garment. To make both the knits and the
fabrics and employing their embroidery skills, I hope to Spain, Western styles of embroidery were introduced and piña comfortably fit and flatter the figure, we had to apply
identify and bridge opportunities for sustained livelihood. taught to girls in convent schools. The soft, fine, flexible piña to areas that need to be stiff, and knits to areas that
I want to garner the fashion industry’s support towards piña fabric has always been used for the barong tagalog3 need to be fluid.
cultural program called “French Spring,” I paved the way this direction and hope that with increased demand, skill of the elite ilustrado4 class, to be worn only for special Color:
for collaborations in fashion with the FDCP and AFM. sets will be taught to the next generation of weavers and occasions like weddings or as a Philippine national The challenge was getting the right tone of yarns to
The FDCP fashion designers would take inspiration embroiderers, and preserve our cultural traditions. dress on national holidays. Contemporary designers who match the natural, vintage hue of old piña, and get the
from French exhibits of French fashion photographers, Piña (Ananas comosus) is a traditional Philippine use the fabric employ it for haute couture, and it comes nostalgic feel. Matching the tones allows the indigenous
architects, illustrators, perfumers and scent designers. fiber made from pineapple leaves. The name was derived with an expensive price tag. For years, many designers material to keep its “natural” color, and dyes to come out
The collaborative events were greatly appreciated from the Spanish piña, meaning “pineapple.” Cultivation tried to use the piña for regular fashion in hopes of differently depending on fiber content. We spent time
and recognized by the French Embassy in Manila and of the Red Spanish pineapple,2 where the fibers are resurfacing its relevance only to find their creations experimenting on dyeing techniques to get the correct
by France’s Ministère de la Culture. I was conferred extracted from, is an age-old tradition dating from the disconnected and alien to the modern Filipino lifestyle. color palette.
the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the 17th century. After harvest, the piña leaves are separated As a ready to wear designer, the Tan-Gan brand hopes Texture:
Honorable Ambassadeur de France Renee Veyret. In the from the trunk. The fibers are then manually separated to bridge the gap between traditional and contemporary Getting the right texture and fall of the finished
awarding ceremonies, Ambassador Veyret raised a toast from the leaves by a method of hand-scraping called fashion by combining knits and piña. Tan-Gan will bring garments was a challenge. Texture-wise, knit is stronger
to my name, stating, “Fashion design is a very special decortication. This extraction process from the long, it to a new direction by combining the traditional fabrics and more tactile while the piña weaves are floaty and
form of visual art. In France, Sonia Rykiel, Yves Saint- rather stiff leaves is very labor-intensive. The leaves with present trends, and redefine luxury. It will support fragile. In order to be able to combine the knit and piña,
Laurent, Jean-Paul Gaultier are highly regarded among are then scraped with a coconut husk and the fibers community livelihood and bring back traditional weaves we had to source finer gauge yarns to create knitted
the great artists, painters, sculptors, writers, all brilliant knotted one by one to form a continuous filament. Spun to the global market, using the successes of piña in the fabrics that will mix well with the softness of piña.
stars of our civilization. Lulu, as an artist yourself, you by hand, these filaments are converted into yarns. The past to jumpstart the next generation of designers. Fabric Fall:
have had tremendous success in fashion; the originality next step, a time-consuming process, is warping and My love affair with the so-called antiquated fabric When it comes to the fall of the fabric, piña being
of your approach and use of fabric and materials have setting the piña yarns on the loom, ready for weaving. awakened me to meld the richness of the piña with the featherweight has the tendency to float while knits
made you shine with the brightest stars on the catwalk, Because the piña fiber is fine and breaks easily, working softness of our knits. Three years in the making, the collapse. We had to sew some hidden trapezes to get the
both in the Philippines and abroad.” with it is slow and tedious and workers are continually experimentation of marrying knit with local hand-woven knits to float together with the piña.
Tan-Gan’s advocacy today takes on a deeper meaning knotting broken threads. Frequently, piña is blended with fabric started early for our team. Successfully marrying Transforming a material known to be stiff, costume-
as I attempt to help move the fashion industry into new cotton, abaca, or silk to create strength and to provide two different fabrics was a real challenge especially when like, and expensive is the design challenge that we
directions and make it relevant to present issues. We an assortment of textured fabrics that can be utilized the end product had to be both wearable and feasible. embarked on. We softened the look and feel of piña by
need to herald the best of our traditions and fibers into for different purposes. Since the fabric is hand-loomed The challenges of combining two dissonant materials combining it with quality knits, a material I know best. My
contemporary forms, support the fast-disappearing skills by only a few old weavers and the material is seasonal have proven to be a valuable advocacy and allow a designs veer away from utilizing the piña traditionally, as
and livelihood of our small weaving communities, produce due to the monsoon seasons, piña can be difficult bigger perspective for the fashion industry. The end my brand reflects a fascination in reconciling seemingly
local that has potential to be global, and in the process to source. The material therefore becomes costly. product shows that there is promise in bringing back piña dissonant materials and techniques. This challenge is a
position Filipino fashion brands in the international “The Piña: Resurfaced” will identify Tan-Gan’s luxury successfully and reviving the long-ignored indigenous perfect inspiration for the new phase of Tan-Gan, one that
market. phase. When the Spanish arrived in the Philippines and traditional community-based industries. will create wearable piña relevant to the present market.

118 119
ART ARCHIVE 03

...our fashion
choices define
our collective
cultural identity
as a nation. In my
Fig. 4

search for direction,

Fig. 5

‘THE PIÑA: RESURFACED’ my advocacy has

Beautiful traditional craftsmanship is on the verge proper education and exposure, more young people from designs because of its uniqueness and global appeal.

become a question
of extinction. With the proliferation of globalized these communities will appreciate their roots when they It is this appreciation that continues to inspire me as
production, the highly skilled craftsman has become come of age and be encouraged to continue their legacy a designer and to seek ways to support our beautiful
an endangered species. More young people from the through the next generations. indigenous arts and craft. Reflected in the new phase
weaving, crocheting and knitting communities choose A vital key for the traditional craftsman to survive in of Tan-Gan, which highlights the everyday luxury of the
other work options or to work overseas. Though some
indigenous crafts and textiles were utilized before, they
the modern world is to make their products accessible
through the proper means of distribution. There are
artisanal design is the “Indigenous Couture” collection.
With intricate workmanship and local community spirit
of Filipino identity.
were unethically sourced, minimizing the great value of two extreme options on opposite ends of the price to our signature look of eclectic, global, bohemian

Wearing a cultural
the crafts and leaving the draftsman at the lowest level spectrum that consumers have today: cheap fast-fashion sensibility, I hope to bring a culturally rooted design
of the economic sector. Without sufficient financial or the highly-styled but expensive. There should be aesthetic. Influenced and inspired by a journey in search
resources, many of these small community businesses more choices in-between: clothes that look fresh and of my roots and identity, my efforts stem from wanting

trademark
are not able to sustain their eco-friendly business models modern, last a decent amount of time, and reasonably traditional textiles to be more wearable for a generation
and fail to attract a new generation of skilled talent. Thus, priced. Everything must adapt to stay relevant, including in love with traveling in an increasingly borderless world.
as a designer, creating the demand for traditional crafts traditional craftsmanship. The readily identifiable classic Tan-Gan, full-
became my other mission. Most fashion design students seem to be interested fashion hand-knits merged with piña in the designs are
The design of traditional craft can be stuffy and stale
and often needs to be updated to attract new customers.
only in becoming “designers.” Our culture has taught
them that only the “designer” is celebrated, while
embellished with exquisite embroidery and beadwork.
Geometric lines and forms recall traditional woven cloths
is tantamount
Like any traditional craftsman whose skill is the making, those toiling behind the scenes are undervalued. Their such as the patadyong5 of the Visayan island of Panay,
innovating is not the custom. Designers must work
hand in hand with the makers. They should be aware of
exposure to the beauty of a perfect craft like traditional
weaves will make them appreciate the technical skills and
the geometric patterns of the northern highland tribes
and the lumad6 ethno-linguistic groups from the southern to expressing this.
consistent craftsmanship to produce quality work. Even patience for learning them. Perfecting a craft takes time, Philippines. The form also picks up inspiration from the
if most consumers today buy fast fashion, they are still dedication, and practice and cannot be achieved with elegant and sinewy serpentina7 silhouettes of the ultra-
inclined to pay the price for quality. When the consumers speed. Awareness of other career pathways in making and feminine ternos8 of the 1940s and 1950s. To each element
mature in taste through awareness and exposure, they manipulating fashion must be highlighted; textile design, of the past, a contemporary twist like asymmetrical cuts
will demand quality and be willing to pay for artisanally fabric printer, fabric manipulation, fashion technician, and layering is included, providing ease and comfort Fig. 4 Blouson crochet-over-knit body with hand-woven
leather strip. Photo by Jun de Leon. Modelled by
made products. pattern making, and construction are some examples. so compulsory for modern clothing. The creations Gina Leviste
The younger generation of craftsmen can be taught They can be as enjoyable and rewarding professions. are radical in execution as the traditional elements Redefining luxe in Tan Gan’s “Indigenous Couture”
Fig. 5
collection
awareness of the beauty of their traditional arts and crafts It is just a matter of time for people to value artisanal are rid of its antiquated feel and modernized with
and to value and be proud of their tradition. Through products. We get compliments when we wear Filipino sophisticated design sensibilities inspired by the past

120 121
INTUITION AND FASHION INNOVATION ART ARCHIVE 03

1 SM Supermalls, owned by SM Prime Holdings, is a chain of shopping

malls in the Philippines that, as of October 2019, has 74 malls located across
the country and about two dozen more scheduled to open. It also has 7
malls in China, including SM Tianjin, which is the third largest in the world in

...my goal is to support communities

terms of gross leasable area (GLA). SM Supermalls has become one of the
biggest mall operators in Southeast Asia. Combined, the company has about
9.24 million square meters of gross floor area (GFA). It has 17,230 tenants
in the Philippines and 1,867 tenants in China. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
SM_Supermalls

of women whose skills in weaving

2 The Red Spanish Pineapple is one of the four varieties of pineapple that
are being grown in the Philippines, along with Smooth Cayenne or Hawaiian,
Queen or Formosa, and Cabezona. But due to the fibrous, sweet and coarse
taste of its fruit, the Red Spanish Pineapple is mainly grown for its fiber.
https://businessdiary.com.ph/14710/research-to-improve-fruit-size-fiber-

and embroidery are endangered due

quality-of-red-spanish-pineappleunderway/
3 The barong tagalog, more commonly known simply as barong (and
occasionally baro), is an embroidered long-sleeved formal shirt for men and
a national dress of the Philippines. Barong tagalog combines elements from

to the lack of a supportive market.

both the precolonial native Filipino and colonial Spanish clothing styles. It
is traditionally made with sheer textiles (nipis) woven from piña or abacá;
although in modern times, cheaper materials like silk, ramie, or polyester are
also used. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barong_tagalog
4 The ilustrados (Spanish: [ilus’traðos], “erudite”, “learned” or “enlightened

By imbuing my designs with their

ones”) constituted the Filipino educated class during the Spanish colonial
period in the late 19th century. Elsewhere in New Spain (of which the
Philippines were part), the term gente de razón carried a similar meaning.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilustrado
5 The patadyong (pronounced pa-tad-jóng, also called patadyung,

fabrics and employing their embroidery

patadjong, habol, or habul), is an indigenous Philippine rectangular or
tube-like wraparound skirt worn by both men and women of the Visayas
islands and the Sulu Archipelago, similar to the Malong, or Sarong. It was
also historically worn in parts of Luzon like Pampanga and Sorsogon. https://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patadyong

skills, I hope to identify and bridge

6 The Lumad are a group of Austronesian indigenous people in the southern
Philippines. It is a Cebuano term meaning “native” or “indigenous”. The
term is short for Katawhang Lumad (literally, “indigenous people”), the
autonym officially adopted by the delegates of the Lumad Mindanao Peoples

opportunities for sustained livelihood.

Federation (LMPF) founding assembly on June 26, 1986 at the Guadalupe
Formation Center, Balindog, Kidapawan, Cotabato, Philippines. It is the self-
ascription and collective identity of the indigenous peoples of Mindanao.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumad
7 Gowns that are fitted at the waist and hips before flaring out into a fishtail
silhouette. https://www.cosmo.ph/style/what-to-wear/highlight-your-curves-
with-these-mermaid-wedding-gowns
8 The María Clara gown, sometimes referred to as Filipiniana dress or
traje de mestiza, is a traditional dress worn by women in the Philippines.
It is an aristocratic version of the baro’t saya. It takes its name from María
Clara, the mestiza protagonist of the novel Noli Me Tángere, penned in 1887
by Filipino nationalist José Rizal. It is traditionally made out of piña, the same
and enhanced by traditional design patterns, embroidery, vividly unique in look and soothing in feel. Our textiles are
material used for the barong tagalog. A unified gown version of the dress with
and beadwork. The fusion of the elegant designs of also good representations of the best of what we have to butterfly sleeves popularized in the first half of the 20th century by Philippine
the past and the edgy present successfully results in offer from the Philippines. National Artist Ramon Valera is known as the terno, which also has a shorter
casual and cocktail dress version known as the balintawak. The masculine
eclectic, bohemian garments that can be worn for casual After tedious challenges of studying the techniques
equivalent of baro’t saya is the barong tagalog. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
or special occasions, dressed up or down, allowing the involved in marrying knitwear with piña, my team Maria_Clara_gown
wearer the versatility to add her own personal style. and I created the first-ever “Indigenous Couture,” a
The concept of Tan-Gan is travel-friendly wear, which collection that showcases design sensibilities that
is most harmonious to knits. Sticking to this concept, marry the traditional with global sensibilities. “The Piña:
I designed piña in such a way that it becomes easy for Resurfaced” is tradition revived and renewed for retail
handling and transportable. The “Indigenous Couture” and modern wear. Our aesthetic and process reflect
piña-knit creation is created for luxury traveling in the rich and varied Filipino culture with a design that is
style. The whole collection is 98 percent hand-made; deeply rooted in heritage, and retells the Filipino history
hand-loomed, hand-sewn, hand-embroidered and hand- in a contemporary setting. ■
finished. After an excess of machine-made fabric, there
is nothing like materials that are indigenously made,

122 123
words by ART ARCHIVE 03

DAN MATUTINA
A Graphic Design Packaging Dilemma & DANG SERING
WADING IN PLASTIC:

Fig. 1

THE WORLD’S TOP CORPORATE PLASTICS

POLLUTERS
It’s the monsoon season and there’s much to be In the 2019 environmental report Plastics Exposed:
cautious about; we brace ourselves for the snarling How Waste Assessments and Brand Audits are Helping
traffic that burdens Metro Manila and the frequent Philippine Cities Fight Plastic Pollution, the Global
flooding of the streets that immediately follow, making Alliance of Incinerators Alternative (GAIA) 3 named the
the situation worse. Philippines as one of the world’s top marine plastic
As it flows through the streets, the murky waters polluters, after China and Indonesia. The report gave
pick up trash — dirt, clear plastic bottles, cigarette Filipinos a jolt. The audit pointed to single-use plastics
butts, an assortment of sachets (and the products as forming the bulk of the trash, a staggering 60 billion
they contain), to name a few. Small pieces that pass sachets — packaging for commodities ranging from
through the drain grilles will surge on, snaking their coffee to shampoo, used once and discarded — a year.
way downstream to the Pasig River, and eventually into In the same year, another report, Branded:
Manila Bay. Vol. II Identifying the World’s Top Corporate
Metro Manila, a sprawling megacity of 16 cities and Plastics Polluters, 4 by the Break Free From Plastic
one municipality, is home to approximately 14 million member organizations (of which GAIA is also
people. In 2018, the minimum wage was PHP 500-537 member), named Coca-Cola as the number one
or USD 9.72-10.44. ¹ The country’s population is 108.12 polluter for two years in a row, with 11,732 of its
million people, with 22 million living below the poverty branded plastics recorded in 37 countries across
line or almost 1/5 of the total. 2 four continents, “more than the next three top

124 125
The audit pointed ART ARCHIVE 03

to single-use plastics

as forming the bulk These reports only reveal the bleak reality low
THE PRACTICE OF CONSCIOUS CONSUMERISM
Although individuals are encouraged more than ever Zealand-based supplier needed to focus on the
income families face in trying to access these essential to practice conscious consumerism and adopt a healthy growing demands of their local market. In hindsight, if

of the trash, commodities in single-use sachets that are bad

for the environment and have a negative impact as
lifestyle, any real solution to the city’s pollution problem
requires a structural shift in policy and lifestyle within
the order pushed through, we would have added to the
carbon footprint.
unmanageable plastic pollution in their communities. wider communities. Another client makes freshly roasted arabica

a staggering 60 billion Since the reports were released, companies have ramped
up or expanded their own initiatives in addressing these
One of our clients, Charles Paw, a food and gadget
retail entrepreneur, was interested in the commercial
coffee beans sourced from local farmers in the
Cordilleras. They mentioned that in one of the seminars
long-stated problems caused by their plastic packaging. and business viability of a refillable concept store. He they attended with the Department of Trade (DTI),

sachets — packaging COMMITMENT TO PLASTICS REDUCTION

commissioned Curiosity, a Manila-based design research
firm, to look into the possibility of applying this concept to
the agency recommended the use of biodegradable
and sustainable packaging like kraft paper bags.
In a 2018 press release by Nestlé, CEO Mark the mainstream market. But to them, it is still not 100% biodegradable since

for commodities Schneider said, “Plastic waste is one of the biggest

sustainability issues the world is facing today. Tackling
Based on the findings of their report, “Refillable
Store Concept Research,”10 Curiosity suggests that this
the ones that they need to use are lined with plastic
or aluminum and feature a valve for releasing gas
it requires a collective approach. We are committed to kind of business concept is presently feasible if it targets after roasting coffee beans. They mentioned that this

ranging from coffee finding improved solutions to reduce, reuse and recycle. a more affluent market: people who have the means to packaging does not evoke “freshly roasted coffee” to
Our ambition is to achieve 100% recyclable or reusable make environmental and health-conscious decisions and customers. Bringing these packaged roasted coffee to
packaging by 2025.”6 support local, artisanal and organic products for personal events outside of the shop, and packing them in and
to shampoo, used once Unilever committed to reducing their production and household use, pet products and ready-to-cook food out of containers, makes the packaging look old easily
of virgin plastic packaging by 50% by 2025.7 In 2019, in eco-friendly packaging. because of so much handling.
from March 23 to April 14, Unilever (Philippines) opened Apart from brick-and-mortar stores in the city There is a need to look for more viable packaging
and discarded — their first pop-up refilling station called “All Things Hair that provide refillable and sustainable products, there in the country, without risking freshness, and still be
Refillery” in three locations around Metro Manila: Trinoma, are weekend markets that have grown popular for able to come up with great design. The goal of good
Glorietta 3 and Alabang Town Center.8 The first two malls attracting people who are generally more aware about design packaging is to help products stand out in the
a year. are located in the Makati Central Business District, while environmental concerns. This demographic brings their market and communicate values to buyers, while also
the third is right across a higher-income subdivision own bags when shopping in markets that mostly offer conveying a range of messages, from taste to benefits,
located south of Metro Manila. fresh produce from nearby farms and artisanal products health and the environment, and value for money.
global polluters combined.” Coca-Cola is followed The initiative allowed customers to use their own produced by small business owners.
by Nestlé (4,846 pcs. of plastics in 31 countries) and empty bottles of the same brand for refilling and pay only The report also shares insights on why single-use LOCAL DESIGN STUDIOS ON SUSTAINABILITY
PepsiCo (3,362 pcs. of plastics in 28 countries). The top for the weight of the product restocked. If they didn’t plastic packaging is rampant in wet markets, stating that We reached out to other design studios in Metro
common plastic items found were plastic bags, sachets have the same bottle, it was exchanged with a new 100% cleanliness and weight accuracy are the reasons sachets Manila to find out what their thoughts were on the
and plastic bottles. In the Philippines, Coca-Cola is also recyclable bottle. In their All Things Hair PH Facebook or items in pre-packed plastic are preferred by sellers. impact of the Break from Plastics report and other
the top branded polluter, followed by Nestlé and Universal page,9 many lauded the initiative but wished it had a questions on sustainability.
Robina. permanent setup in more locations so that it would be PROVIDING BETTER DESIGN CLOSER TO HOME BJ Abesamis, partner at And a Half, an independent
The report presents plastic production and its more accessible to other communities. Those who gave As graphic designers and visual communicators branding and design studio in Mandaluyong City, says,
negative effects on public health, its contribution to the feedback also wished that in the future, the company working in Metro Manila, we wanted to figure out what “It’s so hard to think of sustainability when you’re
climate crisis (the majority of its production comes from should allow customers to use their own containers even options were available to us in providing better design and thinking of sustenance. For our clients, some of them
fossil fuels), and the companies’ exploitation of the global if it isn’t of the same brand. packaging solutions for our clients and the companies we small businesses, they have to be profitable in order
south of lower income communities. The report states: According to the previously mentioned Reuters’ work with. to pay their employees, afford overhead expenses
“Poverty is also often used as a justification for some article, the Philippine Alliance for Recycling and Materials Our studio, Plus63 Design Co., usually works with and operational costs, and invest in the next phase
of the worst forms of plastic packaging such as single- Sustainability (PARMS), which includes Unilever, P&G and packaging materials sourced in the country. As a result, of their business. With all that in mind, the question
serve, multi-layered sachets. Companies claim that they Nestlé among its members, is building a PHP 25 million designing packaging has always been a challenge since of providing and shifting to earth-friendly solutions in
are ‘pro-poor’ by allowing those on low daily incomes to (USD 475,000) facility that aims to turn sachets into locally available biodegradable materials are hard to find. branding and packaging becomes of least importance.
purchase goods such as shampoo and soy sauce.” plastic blocks and eco-bricks. Some are expensive, which makes it hard for clients to Oftentimes, these solutions are not easily available or
In a Reuters’ article, “Slave to Sachets: How Poverty But will the use of eco-bricks be enough to manage purchase. are expensive.”
Worsens the Plastics Crisis in the Philippines,” Lisa Jorillo, the tons of plastics and sachets that are still continuously A client was looking for biodegradable packaging He adds, “And [these solutions] are really hard
42-year old mother of four living in Manila’s Tondo slum, being produced and discarded? And are these bricks for their product and found one that fit their to come by from our experience. As a branding and
says, “Money is hard to come by so I only buy sachets.”5 also good enough as alternative building materials? requirements in New Zealand. Unfortunately, that New design studio, we’re still at the level of ‘how do we

126 127
WADING IN PLASTIC: ART ARCHIVE 03
A Graphic Design Packaging Dilemma

Rex shares valuable insights from their client, an which incurred a lot of costs. But in the end, he found
organic and biodynamic farm. “They tried to sell their it was worth it even if customers may not immediately
fresh produce without plastic in other retail stores, notice this change.

There is a need to look

but no one was buying the products in the chillers,” he There are so many companies and multinational
says. “Apparently, consumers wanted them in plastic companies that have R&D departments and are aware
containers because they felt it was unhygienic without of the alternatives to plastic packaging. With such
it. When they shifted to sealed plastic containers, sales companies that have a huge influence on the demand

for more viable packaging

started to pick up. It was a perception of freshness for possible alternatives, smaller businesses may be
from the side of consumers.” able to access these if it becomes readily available and
For another jewelry and collectible objects client, affordable in the market. Of course, the demand for the
Inksurge proposed a one-size fits all box in order to availability of these alternative materials starts at the

in the country, without risking

lessen production. However, there was the challenge of top, if the government makes the shift in prioritizing the
packaging jewelry in one box size, since jewelry comes environment and the needs of its citizens for safe and
in various shapes and sizes. In the end, they had to affordable commodities.
design a few boxes in various sizes that can properly

freshness and still be able hold these products.

They also noticed that there are more refillable
retail spaces, and they laud the efforts of Ritual, located
THE WAY FORWARD TO STOP POLLUTION
The
Philippines
current
shows
state
that
of sustainability
no matter how
in the
many

to come up with great design.

in Makati and with a space at the Legazpi Sunday individuals change their lifestyle, and no matter how
Market. “There should be more of these companies. I much cities push for proper waste management
appreciate the efforts of Ritual in providing this service practices, millions of plastics and sachets are still
for those who want to live a more sustainable lifestyle,” being produced. The poor are rarely heard or given a
says Jois. voice in the discussions on sustainability, but they
are the ones who suffer most from the consequences
PREMIUM = SUSTAINABLE? of climate change and bad waste management
Philo Chua, founder of Theo & Philo Artisan systems. If we think of solutions that will greatly
Chocolates, shares challenges encountered in his bid benefit their well-being and environment, we will
to shift to more sustainable packaging. The challenges have a healthier and thriving society.
make this product popular and sell?' One example is clients on more sustainable practices. We exchanged began with the availability of these materials, followed by The Greenpeace report, Throwing Away the Future:
La Lola Churreria — we had the idea of selling churros information on innovations in reducing waste in the the cost and, lastly, how these should be used properly How Companies Still Get it Wrong on Plastic Pollution
like donuts, and focused on its packaging and the design industry, such as the design of typefaces for since some materials require proper storage to extend "Solutions," 11 insists that multinational companies
experience of how people would carry and eat it around less ink coverage, and the like. its use or shelf life. invest in reusable and refillable delivery systems for its
the mall. Hopefully, through the packaging, it will also BJ continues, “I guess in a very tangible way, He explains, “An example would be our pouch maker. customers instead of promoting so-called alternative
catch people’s attention by making it recognizable as [business owners], our priorities are keeping They know these sustainable solutions, but they can’t solutions.
even in the trash bin!” the business running and paying your employees. invest in it right now because it’s too expensive for the In the Plastics Exposed report that rang the
In retrospect, the studio also worked with a Of course, we have to balance it out with one of Philippine market. As for me, I can’t afford to purchase a alarm, the Global Alliance for Incinerators’ findings
company that pushed them to think about sustainable our studio’s values, which is creating designs that huge order for my products. Manufacturers of alternative are adamant: “Single-use disposable plastic is
packaging. Last year, And a Half was able to work on positively impact society. On one hand, we are plastic sell it by the ton to flexible packaging makers. the greatest obstacle to sound waste and resource
the rebranding for Humble Market, an outfit that offers looking into more environment-friendly and general But these packaging makers are also dependent on the management. Inadequate waste management
sustainable and refill shopping / grocery options: “I design solutions leaning towards sustainability; at market conditions, whether people are also willing to systems and human negligence are often cited as
guess in general, also as a design studio, those are the same time we also think of the sustainability of invest in that. So, definitely, if the big businesses will the main contributors to plastic waste leakage into
the projects that we’d like to take on. And admittedly, our design business.” start using it, then these flexible packaging makers terrestrial and marine environments — but waste and
there’s not much budget there. We worked on it pro- Rex Advincula and Jois Tai run Inksurge, a branding will sto ck up on all these alternative materials brand audit data in many parts of the world are helping
bono/ex-deal. At this point as a design studio [in the and design studio and one of the founding studios that they can spill over to their other clients — smaller reveal that the unfettered production of disposable
Philippines], you have to pick your shots because it’s of Hydra Design Group. Inksurge found that more companies like mine that can benefit from its availability plastic is the actual problem. As long as the mass
not feasible as a business to take on a lot of projects sustainable products and packaging are most feasible in the country.” production of throwaway plastics continues unabated,
like that, sad to say,” says BJ. at the higher end of the market, with production costs Since he had to start somewhere, he took small steps cities and countries will find it harder and harder to
We were later joined by And a Half designers driving prices up. Rex and Jois see this as a challenge such as removing plastic lamination from Theo & Philo cope. Put simply, disposable plastic is a pollution
Clara Cayosa and Mark Andres, who also shared the on how clients respond to these perceptions and the chocolate packaging. In the beginning, there was a lot problem, and the only way to prevent it is to stop it at
challenges they encountered in providing and advising system of product distribution. of trial and error on the production side with his printer, source."

128 129
WADING IN PLASTIC: ART ARCHIVE 03
A Graphic Design Packaging Dilemma

The poor are the most vulnerable to the climate crisis,

struggling with health concerns by living near garbage
4. Try to lessen or avoid using OPP (Oriented
Polypropylene) lamination for paper packaging. While Small, independent
dumps and engaging in the dangerous work of sifting and it adds protection to the paper, it is unnecessary.

and well-meaning
sorting trash. There are available alternatives to OPP lamination, like
Meanwhile, small, independent and well-meaning cellogreen (https://www.celloglas.co.uk/print-finishing/
designers and their clients grapple with limited supply lamination/cellogreen/).

designers
of nature-friendly packaging materials for their products. 5. Look for more alternative packaging materials.
Then there is the big question of whether changing This is challenging since information is not readily
consumer attitudes will be influential enough in pushing available. Do research and talk to printer suppliers
for the adoption of anti-plastic government policies, and about these materials.
in forcing multinational companies in the US and Europe
to act and stop the production of single-use plastics. ■
6. Use sustainable inks. Printing in production is
usually petroleum-based. Soy-based ink is a good and their clients
alternative, more environmentally friendly and produces

grapple with a
better color. A new alternative is an algae-based ink
A CHECKLIST FOR PACKAGING DESIGNERS called Living Ink (https://livingink.co/).
In designing packaging, the final design is usually 7. In designing packaging for FMCG (Fast Moving
a compromise of various conflicting factors. We

limited supply
Consumer Goods), think of reusability and recyclability.
approach the problem bearing in mind the context Since these products are bulk-produced, considering
of living in a developing country, and hoping that this these factors will help the environment.
checklist will be a good start to a more sustainability-
conscious packaging design in the Philippines.
PACKAGING PRODUCTION
1. Engage and collaborate with your printer partners.
of nature-friendly
WORKING WITH CLIENTS
They are knowledgeable about available materials

packaging materials
Design is a collaborative process and it is ideal to
and sustainable technologies that are available in the
get your clients involved in the process.
country.
1. Talk to your clients and ask if they’re open to
2. Sourcing is important and close collaboration

for their products.

more sustainable packaging options. It might result in a
with suppliers is key to coming up with alternative
budget adjustment, experimenting with the production
packaging solutions.
processes and a longer time frame. While there is no
3. Work with institutions doing research in this
assurance of a 100% sustainable packaging solution,
space like the Design Center of the Philippines, which
this is a good start.
recently worked on producing paper using pineapple
2. Have discussions with your clients about other 1https://www.rappler.com/nation/215947-new-metro-manila-minimum-
leaves. While still in the early stage of production,
packaging possibilities aside from existing packaging wage-500-to-537-pesos Accessed 2 January 2020; conversion of USD 1 to
engaging them early will help provide them with PHP 51.57 as of March 18, 2020
solutions like plastic bottles, cans, etc. Knowing their 2https://cnnphilippines.com/life/culture/2018/06/12/filipino-families-
potential usage and application scenarios.
preferences and constraints can help you determine poverty-line.html Accessed 2 January 2020

alternative packaging solutions, e.g., if they prioritize 3 https://www.no-burn.org/wp-content/uploads/Plastics-Exposed-2nd-

For more information, please read: Edition-Online-Version.pdf Accessed 2 January 2020
freshness, using glass bottles can be an option. 4https://www.breakfreefromplastic.org/globalbrandauditreport2018
https://www.fdf.org.uk/publicgeneral/Packaging-
Accessed 2 January 2020
checklist.pdf 5https://www.reuters.com/article/us-asia-waste-philippines/slave-to-
FOR DESIGNERS
https://www.pac.ca/resources/graphic-packaging- sachets-how-poverty-worsens-the-plastics-crisis-in-the-philippines-
1. How can we improve on current packaging idUSKCN1VO0G3 Accessed 2 January 2020
sustainability-checklist-english/
and what are options that consider function and 6https://www.nestle.com/sites/default/files/asset-library/documents/media/
press-release/2018-april/nestle-packaging-commitment-press-release-en.
sustainability? pdf Accessed 2 January 2020
2. Think about the amount of packaging materials 7https://www.unilever.com.ph/news/press-releases/2019/unilever-
announces-ambitious-new-commitments-for-a-waste-free-world.html
for a single product. While elaborate packaging has
Fig. 1 Photo by Mr. Fukuoka Yoshiki Accessed 2 January 2020
more appeal, most of the time, it’s more for aesthetics 8https://www.unilever.com.ph/news/press-releases/2019/the-all-things-
than function. Find ways to design packaging with fewer hair-refillery-station.html Accessed 2 January 2020
9 https://www.facebook.com/AllThingsHairPH/
materials. 10https://www.dropbox.com/s/vjabv2hgwciom2w/Curiosity%20
3. Packaging should keep products safe, hygienic Refillable%20Store%20presentation.pdf?dl=0

and in good condition. Design packaging that fulfills 11https://storage.googleapis.com/planet4-international-

stateless/2019/09/8a1d1791-falsesolutions2019.pdf Accessed 18
these conditions yet minimizes product waste. September 2020

130 131
words by ART ARCHIVE 03

ADAM DAVID
ZINE FAST, DIY YOUNG, LEAVE A GOOD-LOOKIN ‘ROX
Disruption by Design Starring the Punks, Poets,
& Poseurs of the Philippine Zine Community

Fig. 1

One of the prized zines in my collection is Jane: I love this zine because it reminds me how many
Documents from Chicago’s Clandestine Abortion of our rights are fought for instead of granted, how we
Service 1968-1973. Its visuals are nothing special, must all constantly fight for our rights even when these
very perfunctory, and its writing is also very plain, rights are already on paper, how these rights have been
nothing ambitious or colorful. This zine contains the fought for by collectives and communities, how the
educational material and other propaganda prepared Philippines still has not granted its women citizens the
by Jane, a group of women based in Chicago, who right to choose. I love this zine for its very existence
fought for abortion rights in the 1960s, and not as a zine, how something so ephemeral can be so
having that, resorted to develop their own network of dangerous, can be so helpful, can be so historical. The
abortionists and abortion-friendly medical facilities. collective voices of all the women who assembled the
All of this happened before the historical decision zine still resounds all these years, from these flimsy
of Roe vs Wade that finally gave women in America photocopied sheets of paper.
the right to choose to have an abortion without much
interference from the government.

132 133
ART ARCHIVE 03

EGALITARIAN EXPRESSION OF PRINTED THOUGHT

Throughout the relatively recent history and still
ongoing development of small press publishing, zines
are still the most accessible, the most immediate, and
the most egalitarian expression of printed thought
available to all. Even in the age of ever present Wi-Fi
Fig. 1 PERIPHERY, an accordion zine by Karize Michella Uy. hotspots and social media’s capacity to transmit
How to make a simple zine (slides from a lecture
Fig. 2-9
prepared by Adam David)
an individual’s every single thought set to virtual
type, zines have proven themselves relevant in their
materiality. At its simplest, it is a few sheets of paper
Fig. 2 Fig. 3
folded along the middle, its words and pictures set
by hand (written or drawn or cut and pasted), its
reproduction done by risograph or photocopier (as
cheap as PHP 1 a sheet, sometimes cheaper), its
distribution system personalized (acquired directly
from the creator either online or by post). One can
make a zine in the morning with a single sheet of paper
and a couple of ballpens, have it reproduced 300 times
in the afternoon for less than PHP 1,000, and have the
whole print run sold out by evening. Depending on your
overhead and pricing, you either broke even or earned
enough for the next print run. In case corrections have
to be made in the zine, you just need to edit the print
original with correction fluid or cut and paste. You
simply have the newly-edited original photocopied
again before you can distribute the zine again, with its
contents now updated.
It is a medium of communication that wears its
Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6
material heart on its sleeve, and practically explains
itself how it is made. It is this simplicity of production
that makes it a powerful tool for communication—
anyone can do it. It is this simplicity of production that
allows the zine and the zinester who makes them to
evolve through the times and adapt to the spaces they
find themselves in again and again. I continue to teach
zinemaking to grade school, high school, college kids,
kids within the autism spectrum, Lumad kids, orphans
of EJKs (extrajudicial killings), public and private school
teachers, farmers, migrant workers, engineers, writers,
and I have been teaching it primarily as a means of
communication. It is a practical art form in the sense
that its priority is to be a container of ideas first before
looking aesthetically pleasing. It is in that sense that
it becomes a highly adaptable form. In short, zines
are cheap, zines are quick, and anybody with pen and
paper and scissors and tape can make zines, and zines
can be about anything.
Fig. 7 Fig. 8 Fig. 9

134 135
Fig. 10 Fig. 12

Fig. 13

THE LARGER UMBRELLA

Zines are part of the larger umbrella of the small treating the zine as a non-mainstream book; the
press, along with other ephemera such as pins, propaganda zines treat the form as a container of
Samples of zines discussing literary and sociopolitical
buttons, stickers, fliers, posters, and slogan shirts. ideas with the politics explicit, basically treating the theory (INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE INCLINED and THE
Fig. 12-13 PHILIPPINE AUTHOR AS PRODUCER published by the
In the Philippines, the small press has appeared, zine as a manifesto; the gallery zines treat the form Youth & Beauty Brigade; ANARKIYA SA ARKIPELAGO
disappeared, and reappeared under various names as a container of images with the politics implicit, and DEBUNKING DEMOCRACY published anonymously)
Samples of zines produced as part of thirty-minute zine-
in the last hundred and fifty years, configuring basically treating the zine as a portable exhibit or making lectures and workshops. All content, design, and
Fig. 14
and reconfiguring, depending on the needs of sometimes as an art object itself. One can complicate printing are done within the alotted thirty-minute time
period.
the situation: “the revolutionary press” during the these definitions by acknowledging that rare is the zine
Spanish colonization, “the guerilla press” during both that merely does one thing; in fact, most zines are
the American and Japanese Occupations, “the always a combination of any two of these three threads,
underground press” and “the mosquito press” during sometimes a combination of all three.
the Martial Law years, and more recently “the alternative There are zines that are collections of writing by
press” as an effort to differentiate itself from the women migrant and peasant workers that feature
mainstream presses co-optation of non-mainstream poetry, prose, and art that are autobiographical
aesthetic. My personal preference for “the small press” and also merely art. There are zines that are novels
is in how the term both includes with humility and that play around with the design and content of the
excludes with conviction. It accommodates a spectrum form while telling stories about the EJKs. There are
of practices, forms, and content without losing sight of zines that are photo albums of erotic photography
its ambition where its process is its politics: we have showing unconventional body types unembellished
seized the means of production. by Photoshop; there is a zine that collects sketches
Zines as a form and a process have long been from a weekend spent in a town now besieged by
defined by the maxim “cut and paste,” meaning, on a earthquakes, effectively turning the zine into an
literal level, anything that can be cut out of paper and epitaph. There is a zine that collects recipes from
pasted on to another piece of paper can be made into a city erased from the map by war, effectively
a zine. On a theoretical level, the form and process turning the zine into an obituary. There is a zine that
of zinemaking promise that anything and everything caricatures old adverts for ephemeral paraphernalia
can be cut out of its original context and pasted on to acquired from thrift stores that sell items from a
a different context to communicate a new, different time long gone, effectively turning the zine into an
Fig. 11 message, potentially containing messages that interrogation of nostalgia. There are zines that are
contradict the original. It is detournement in praxis, posters portraying artful anti-fascist cartoons. There
returned to its base origins. In the Philippines, the are zines that are erasures of old literary textbooks.
contemporary zine practice has divided itself into three There are zines that are tips about dealing with
Samples of zines discussing progressive, socially-
relevant topics: migrant workers and state-sponsored main threads: the literary zines, the propaganda zines, menstruation in a more eco-friendly way. There are
terrorism. (DALOY No. 1 published by the Youth & Beauty
Fig. 10-11 Brigade; WORK IS WORK published by Mission for and the gallery zines. zines about the demolition of urban poor communities
Migrant Workers; MGA TUTUL A PALAPA and LAOANEN In essence: literary zines treat the form as a to help give way to the gentrification and monetization
No. 1 published by Gantala Press; MA, YO KO NA
published by Mako) container of texts with the politics implicit, basically of public spaces, told as komix stories.

136 105
Fig. 14
ART ARCHIVE 03

Zines as a form and a process have

long been defined by the maxim ‘cut
and paste,’ meaning, on a literal level,
Fig. 16

Fig. 15
anything that can be cut out of paper
and pasted on to another piece of paper
can be made into a zine.
Fig. 18

MAINSTREAM: DECADES BEHIND THE CURVE

Not all zines are created equal. Some zines may and sci-fi. The same has happened with komiks. There
be more expensive than most. Some zines use better are books in the small press that are just like the books
material than most. Some zines are made by zinesters in the mainstream, but try as they might, there are no
who are better-known than most. Some zines are too books in the mainstream that are just like the books
Fig. 17 cheap for their size. But all share the politics of the in the small press. Just like in all of history of cultural
independent creator wanting to explore spaces and production, the mainstream is always decades behind
Fig. 19
topics the mainstream press deems unprofitable; all the curve.
share the politicized intent of disrupting the status quo Even the means of distribution practiced and
of cultural production. Mainstream publishing has been cultivated by the small press has been co-opted by
historically harsh to creators, prone to exploitation and the mainstream: pre-ordering, online purchasing,
abuse and calling it tradition and history. Copyright eBook conversions, library boxes, print-on-demand,
is often surrendered by the creator to the publisher, promotional merchandise, the creators as their own
shared with the publisher at best; often the payment is marketing department. And definitely, mainstream
a lump sum that is barely above minimum wage, often presses have gained more from this cultural pilfering
there are no royalties. All of these have changed in the than the small press, thanks to the institutional and
last five years, thanks in no small part to creators who corporate support that mainstream presses enjoy.
have chosen to migrate to the small press because Some of these mainstream publishers even make
they have found the small press to be far more community-building efforts like organizing their own
accommodating of their work, regardless of genres. conventions and expos and reading groups, with their
Mainstream presses have long ignored publishing own books always front and center beside the cashier.
poetry from young poets until the small press had in And therein lies the constant major weakness of the
large part cultivated an audience for the work of these mainstream: it will always be focused on the profit
Fig. 20 young poets. The same has happened with romance motive, thus, it will not make any decision not inspired
novelists. The same has happened with fantasy by the promise of peso signs.

138 139
Fig. 14
Fig. 21
ZINE FAST, DIY YOUNG, LEAVE A GOOD-LOOKIN ‘ROX ART ARCHIVE 03
Disruption by Design Starring the Punks, Poets, & Poseurs of the Philippine Zine Community

I was once briefed by one of the organizers of And therein lies the constant major strength of where information is available to all but this information
a local book fair about a hypothetical situation that the small press: its capacity to address community- is disinformation, is fake news, is black propaganda.
Fig. 15-16 RATATAT, a foldy zine by Mako.
might have already repeated itself in real life all specific problems with community-specific solutions; Imagine all the untold histories revealed, all the unsung
Fig. 17-19 AS SYLVIA, a flexogram zine by Christine V. Lao.
over the country: to accommodate the Department essentially, its capacity for community-building. The heroes feted. All this has happened before, all this is
CONSUME, a compilation of zines featuring various
Fig. 20-26
of Education’s Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual small press’s willful ignorance of the profit motive happening right now. There have been zines about all methods of printing, published by Caev Press.
Education initiative for children K to 3, schools are means it can make decisions not influenced by market this before, there are zines about all this right now.
pressed to find educational materials written in the forces, which means there is no need to publish only in This is why the small press—zines—will always be a
mother tongues of their students. This has become a English and Filipino. There is no need to publish only space for the marginalized, the ignored, the weirdos,
problem in places where the language is largely oral the bankable creators. There is no need to publish only the oppressed. Zines speak a truer truth. Zines work
and practiced by a few, which was how it is for Lumad the comfortable ideas. There is no need to publish only in the grassroots, enrich the grassroots, fortify it, make
schools with only barely fifty students at any given the cozy stories. This means it can make decisions it flourish. Zines are disruption by design, changing
time, using a language not previously available in print. for the advantage of a group of people other than culture even before culture realizes it has already been
In this hypothetical situation, the teachers reportedly itself, and that by itself is already revolutionary, even changed. Zines are the fairy godmother of invention
requested for educational materials to be written emancipatory—a true free and independent press. howling across history from the underground. ■
in their language, to no avail. They then resorted to Imagine the potential of a true free and independent
producing their own educational materials written in press in an age where labor leaders, the urban poor,
their language but could not find a publisher who would farmers, and the indigenous are framed and killed as
invest on a book that only fifty students would use at any addicts and rebels; in an age where women and the
given time. I suggested the only logical solution to the LGBTQ+ are harassed and raped; in an age where the
problem: print it themselves. Make just enough copies uneducated are made even more ignorant; in an age
to accommodate all students in need, pass down the
copies to new incoming students, and make new copies
as needed. If done right, a black and white children’s
book of 24 pages will only cost around PHP25 a copy
if printed in any average desktop publishing service in
Quezon City.

Fig. 25

Fig. 24

Fig. 23

Fig. 22

140 141
Fig. 26
C ONTRIBUTORS

JOSÉ S. BUENCONSEJO She arranges and performs with female 200 structures. She researches on Philippine in Manila, from which he divested in
José S. Buenconsejo studied Musicology vocal trio, Baihana. Krina finished her culture and architecture as well as on bamboo 2006. His research on volatility and space
at the University of the Philippines, the bachelor’s degree in Choral Conducting architecture, and has been involved in about dynamics was first introduced in an essay
University of Hawaii and the University of at the UP College of Music (2010), where 45 structures that use bamboo. he authored for the Philippine Architecture
Pennsylvania where he earned his PhD in she also received her Master of Music in at the Venice Biennale’s catalogue for the
1999. Recipient of grants from the East-West Musicology (2018). ALEXANDER ERIKSSON FURUNES exhibition titled “The City who had Two
Center, Asian Cultural Council, and Mellon Alexander Eriksson Furunes has Navels,” curated by Edson Cabalfin, PhD, in
Foundation, Dr. Buenconsejo has published AILEEN DELA CRUZ spearheaded a series of collaborative 2018.
a book in 2002 titled, Songs and Gifts at the Aileen dela Cruz is an Assistant projects with communities in the UK, India,
Frontier: Person and Exchange in the Agusan Professor at the University of the Philippines Brazil, Vietnam, China, and the Philippines SUDARSHAN V. KHADKA JR.
Manobo Possession Ritual (New York and Los Baños where she handles ARTS 1 through his studio Eriksson Furunes. He Sudarshan V. Khadka Jr. is the principal of
London: Routledge), with an accompanying (Critical Perspectives in the Arts), PHILARTS is currently doing an Artistic PhD entitled i.incite architects and was a former associate
documentary film The River of Exchange. 1 (Philippine Art and Culture), THEA 101 “Learning from Bayanihan/Dugnad” at Leandro V. Locsin Partners. He was a co-
He currently serves as liaison officer for the (History of Theater), HUM 170 (Philippine (NTNU, 2016-2021) exploring the role of curator of “Muhon: Traces of An Adolescent
Philippines in the International Council for Art and Society) and THEA 115 (Drama for these traditions through his completed City” at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale.
Traditional Music (ICTM). He also served as Children) courses. She is a theater and and ongoing collaborative design projects. He is exploring critical construction as a
the music area editor of the Cultural Center music practitioner. She graduated Master of Furunes and fellow architect Sudarshan means to express shared meanings through
of the Philippines Encyclopedia of Art, 2nd Arts in Theater Arts in 2010 at the University Khadka worked together on the award- architecture.
edition. He has taught at the University of the Philippines Diliman and a Bachelor of winning Streetlight Tagpuro, a post-
of Pennsylvania, the University of Hong Music, cum laude, major in Music Education disaster rebuilding project in Tacloban AGNES ASUNTA L. MANALO
Kong, and the University of the Philippines with Voice Emphasis, in 1998. after super-typhoon Haiyan. Now, at the Agnes Asunta L. Manalo is a professional
where he is currently a professor at the Biennale Architettura 2020 their proposal recording and live sound engineer, a music
Department of Musicology, and served as ADAM DAVID “Structures of Mutual Support,” challenges production and engineering (MP&E) 1995
the former Dean of the College of Music. The Adam David has been making the way we shape the built environment by alumna of the Berklee College of Music
National Book Development Board awarded books, zines, and komix since 2000. closely examining the role of “bayanihan” in Boston, USA, and a Master in Music
the Best Book in Social Sciences category He is the co-founder of Better Living and mutual support in the architectural Technology graduate of the University of
during the 37th National Book Awards to Through Xeroxography (BLTX), a small process. Newcastle, Australia. She is an Assistant
Prof. Buenconsejo’s Philippine Modernities: press publishing concern that organizes Professor and the former Chairperson of the
Music, Performing Arts, and Language, 1880 lectures, discussions, and expos focused LEONIDO GINES, JR. Music Production program at the School of
to 1941, published by the UP Press in 2017. on independent publishing and art activism Architect Leonido Gines, Jr. (Jun) is Design and Arts of the De La Salle-College
since 2010. Before the 2020 COVID-19 founding principal of studioGINES, a design of Saint Benilde. She is currently finishing her
KRINA CAYABYAB pandemic and quarantine, he taught collaborative he founded in 2015. He is a doctoral studies in music at the University of
Krina Cayabyab is an Assistant Professor komixmaking and komix history at the Master of Arts in Anthropology graduate the Philippines College of Music.
at the Department of Musicology at the Philippine High School for the Arts and the of the University of California Riverside
University of the Philippines. She is a Polytechnic University of the Philippines, and is licensed to practice architecture DAN MATUTINA
researcher and writer of CHED-NCCA’s and creative writing to young adults with in the Philippines. He currently teaches Dan Matutina is a designer, illustrator,
Ethnographies of Philippine Auditory Popular autism. architecture and allied courses at the and founding partner at Plus63 Design
Cultures. As a composer and arranger, she University of the Philippines, Diliman and Co. and the Hydra Design Group. He is a
has written for various stage works and ROSARIO ENCARNACION TAN at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde recipient of numerous awards, including the
events produced by UP Diliman, Dulaang Rosario Encarnacion Tan is a practicing (DLS-CSB) School of Design and Arts. ADC Young Guns in 2013. Dan is currently
UP, CCP Choreo Series, Tanghalang Ateneo; architect who graduated cum laude in 1979 He was previously a corporate partner of the Vice President of the Communication
and for works commissioned by various from the College of Architecture, University TAO Management Corporation, a cultural Design Association of the Philippines.
vocal/instrumental groups and events. of the Philippines. She has designed over resources management company based
142 143
C ONTRIBUTORS

LARA KATRINA T. MENDOZA TUSA MONTES with Cecchetti Ballet Australia and taking through art and design. He served as the
Lara Katrina T. Mendoza is a faculty Tusa Montes is a percussionist, her PhD in Music at the University of the Director of the Metropolitan Museum of
at the Ateneo de Manila University, ethnomusicologist, and educator who Philippines. Manila in 2011-2012.
Philippines, where she has been teaching specializes in the musics of the Philippines,
courses on research writing, essay Asia, West Africa and Latin America. She DANG SERING
writing, poetry, fiction, and drama with graduated in 2012 with a MM Musicology Dang Sering is a writer, graphic designer,
the Department of English since 1996. degree from the University of the Philippines and visual artist. She usually works on projects
In 2019, she joined the Development College of Music. She taught at the University that highlight the work of designers and artists
Studies Program of the same university of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music for ten in the Philippines. Both Dang Sering and
where she is the Professor for Culture years and is currently a Senior Lecturer at the Dan Matutina are currently working together
and Development. She earned her AB UP College of Music. She has performed in on a number of projects, mostly organizing
Humanities and MA Literature degrees various festivals in the Philippines and abroad, platforms / projects that feature local design
from Ateneo de Manila University in the with notable local and international musicians talent and creative exchanges.
Philippines. She earned an advanced such as Edsel Gomez, Dana Leong, Joe
master’s degree in Cognitive and Bataan, royal hartigan, Bob Aves, Grace Nono, LULU TAN-GAN
Functional Linguistics at the Catholic and Bo Razon. Lulu Tan-Gan has been synonymous with
University of Louvain in Belgium. She knitwear since the mid '80s. In a tropical
is currently finishing her PhD in Music DESIREE PERALEJO country such as the Philippines, she’s made
from the University of the Philippines in Desiree Peralejo is a Senior Lecturer at travel-friendly fashion for expatriates and
Diliman. She was a Fellow at the Center for the University of the Philippines, College tourists who came to Manila, and for Filipino
Popular Culture Studies at Bowling Green of Music Dance program since 2007. She who travel to temperate countries. Two
University in Ohio, USA from 2016-2017. teaches movement notation, dance history, decades later, Lulu ventured into merging
Lara also studied at the UP College of technique, pedagogy to dance majors and knits and piña fabric to revive traditional
Music in the Bachelor of Music program for reading dance to non-dance majors. She fabrics for daywear in the ready to wear
Choral Conducting from 2001-2003. She earned her Master of Arts in Art History market.
is a member of the Ateneo College Glee and her Diploma in Creative Performing
Club, the Brussels Madrigal Singers, and Musical Arts in Dance at the University of GERRY TORRES
Novo Concertante Manila, also serving as the Philippines, and her undergraduate Gerry Torres is the Principal Architect of
musical director of several parish choirs degree of Fine Arts Cultural Studies at Gerry Torres Architectural Design, established
and music groups. Her research interests York University, Canada. Desiree also took in 2010. He is a tenured professor of the
in the last several years have centered the three-year intensive Teacher Training De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-
on popular music in the Philippines from Program at Canada’s National Ballet School CSB) and holds a Master in Design and Art
the 1990s to the present, especially the (NBS), and graduated in 2006. She acquired Education from the University of New South
alternative/indie band scenes, bar events her teaching certifications with the Royal Wales, Sydney, Australia. Gerry served as
and beer gardens in Manila, and recently, Academy of Dance (RTS), ISTD (National Dean of Benilde’s School of Design and Arts,
hip-hop events such as rap performances Associate) and Cecchetti Ballet Society of and founded the architecture, photography,
and battle rap. She is the project team Canada (Associate) through NBS. Since animation, and digital film programs. He
leader of Ethnographies of Philippine she moved to the Philippines, Desiree teaches architecture but is presently
Auditory Popular Cultures (EPAPC), and continuously upgrades her teaching status seconded as Benilde’s Director for the Center
she produced, directed, researched, and with Cecchetti Ballet Australia and obtained of Campus Art (CCA,) in charge of curating
wrote the documentary on Pinoy hip-hop, both her Associate Diploma and Licentiate exhibitions that investigate the intersections
Usapang Hip-Hop: Ambagan sa Eksena at Diploma Part 1. She is currently working on of popular culture, societal issues, national
Kultura. completing her Licentiate Diploma Part 2 identities and the creativity of Benildeans
144 145
DIRECTORY ART ARCHIVE 03

www.ayalamuseum.org www.mc.edu.ph/music-center www.coca-cola.com.ph/en/cokestudioph

www.gracenono.com/taomusic

www.unilabfoundation.org
www.facebook.com/kaalamangkatutubo

www.facebook.com/blafi.org
www.facebook.com/FetePH

www.upethnom.com
www.facebook.com/casa.sanmiguel.zambales
www.opmph.com

www.cebuanostudiescenter.com www.facebook.com/rondalla.festival

www.ust.edu.ph/research/research-center-for-culture-arts-and-humanities
www.phsa.edu.ph

www.bambooorgan.org
www.culturalcenter.gov.ph
www.facebook.com/PhilippineSocietyforMusicEducation

www.facebook.com/KRFDahilayan

www.facebook.com/groups/201124380011071
www.erehwonartcenter.com
www.taocurators.com

www.facebook.com/musikalawaig

www.facebook.com/thejrghaladmuseum

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www.rakrakanfestival.com www.wsk.io www.awitawards.com.ph

www.malasimbo.com

www.pulp.ph
www.music.abs-cbn.com/himighandog
www.facebook.com/ManilaGuitarFestival

www.ncca.gov.ph

www.facebook.com/UPFair

www.minpop.com.ph www.myx.abs-cbn.com

www.facebook.com/visayanpop
www.wish1075.com
www.culturalcenter.gov.ph

www.wanderlandfestival.com

www.facebook.com/philpopmusic

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www.ncca.gov.ph www.anthologyfest.org
www.facebook.com/CDAPdesign

www.citem.gov.ph

www.manilafame.com www.graphikamanila.com
www.escuelataller.org.ph

www.united-architects.org

www.philartsvenicebiennale.com
www.interioranddesignmanila.com
www.habitextilecouncil.ph

www.piid.org.ph

www.habitextilecouncil.ph

www.designcenter.ph

www.facebook.com/Creative-Cebu-Council-155491021146676

www.animahenasyon.com

www.designcenter.ph/international-design-conference

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www.mbfoundation.org.ph/art-design

www.adobodesignawards.asia

www.adfoundationph.com

www.youngdesigneraward.ph

www.philcontructevents.com/manila/estilo-de-vida

The editors would like to acknowledge the help of Ms. Corazon Alvina and Ms. Rona Descallar for their contributions
in the listing of the directory of Design.

152 153
The Japan Foundation, Manila
ART ARCHIVE 03

Editors
José S. Buenconsejo (Music)
Gerry Torres and Leonido Gines, Jr. (Design)

Copy Editor
Ricci F. Barrios

Art Director | Designer

The Public School Manila
Vince S. África & Reymart V. Cerin

Production Team
Okeda Mariko and Carlos Ortiz, JFM

Publisher
The Japan Foundation, Manila
23rd Floor, Pacific Star Building
Makati Ave. & Sen. Gil Puyat Ave.
Makati City 1226, Metro Manila,
the Philippines
tel: +63 (2) 8811 6155
fax: +63 (2) 8811 6153
www.jfmo.org.ph

Published in September 2020

© 2020
The Japan Foundation, Manila / Authors
All rights reserved