Protest Music All Night Long!

N.M. Cabangbang

Welcome to the protest music scene. If you are new to this type of genre or do not know that there is even such a genre then, this article is an introduction.

At first I really thought that musical genres were named because of the type of sound they made. Heavy metal and rock and roll have such labels because of their sound. Heavy metal was heavy while rock and roll had a sound that made you dance (or roll) but was much heavier than disco. That is why, I somewhat protested that there should be a genre called Pogi rock. Because such a genre was not based on the music or the sound but on the image of the band. But thinking back, this was not something new. Glam rock and Glam metal already established a genre that was not based on their sound but more on their image. Because if you come to think of it, scrap the image of Glam rock or metal and you would just have a sound that is rock and roll or heavy metal .Same thing applies to Pogi rock, Hale or Calla Lily are just making rock ballads or Emo rock; however, because a lot of people viewed these bands (or some of their members) as good looking then, Pogi rock was established.

Though it is weird, a lot of good looking bands already came before but they never were called Pogi Rock. Maybe the good looks of bands such as Hale or Spongecola overwhelmed the quality of their music thus, they were called Pogi rock.

So you see, rock labels are not based on their sound alone. And this is also the same case with the phenomenon that is protest music. This is because protest music as same as other protest art forms. Meaning, the label “protest music” is not based on the style or sound. It is also not based on the image of the band. “Protest music” is called as such because, and based on, its content.

Protest music can be in any form and can cover different genres. However, it is judged on the message of its lyrics. Take for example Bob Dylan, he already made a lot of protest songs back then, covering a lot of issues but his protest music had a folk rock sound. This has even led to a lot of activists and cause-oriented organizations to believe that protest music is only limited to the folk or acoustic. Even Renato Constantino himself supported such an notion. This is wrong and history proves this.

The proof? The emergence of rock and roll, heavy metal and punk. Rock and roll as well as punk have always been known to be music that “rebels” or “protests” even in their early forms. Rock and roll icons such as John Lennon made music against the war and embraced the struggles of the working class in his songs. Punk bands such as Sex Pistols and The Clash protested against authority and commercialism. Even Heavy Metal with bands such Black Sabbath, Metallica, Megadeth and Voivod showed social commentary in their music. These examples all mean that protest music is not limited to a genre or a band. This also means that even if a band does not tackle social or protest content in the beginning, they can still create songs that can be called protest music later.

A prime example of bands that now cover a lot of social issues later in their careers are Green Day and Pearl Jam. These bands, though, showed a little bit of inkling for discussing social issues in their earlier albums. But they never came all-out as protest bands to begin with. Their views and songs became sharper in social critique, especially during the war on Iraq and George W. Bush’s presidential term.

Then of course, another proof from music history is reggae especially with its biggest icon, Bob Marley. Reggae is not only about getting people to dance to the music or smoke marijuana. Reggae is also a strong genre that carries a substantial social commentary. Songs such as “Get Up Stand Up” and “Redemption Song” clearly are examples of the aforementioned claim. But sad to say, a lot of reggae bands, especially these days, only see reggae as music to dance or smoke to. To continue, another genre, namely rap music also contributed their share of protest songs. The rap groups N.W.A. and Public Enemy are prime examples.

The understanding that protest music is only limited to folk rock has also been debunked especially when one of the most powerful protest bands arrived to the music scene. This band is no other than Rage against the Machine.

Rage Against the Machine was one of the first bands to combine rap and metal. They came out as part of the rap metal scene. But no one can deny the social and protest content of their lyrics. Rage Against the Machine brought the issues of the Southern America, Imperialism and socialist principles to their music. They also perfectly combined form and content. Hate them or not, no one can deny how powerful their songs, most especially the riffs and lyrics are. Hate them or not, the bottom line is that no one can deny how great a guitarist Tom Morello is. Rage Against the Machine is truly one of the greatest protest bands ever.

Another modern band to cover social issues is System of a Down. Their songs are very heavy too but they sure are not afraid to attack a corrupt system using their lyrics.

These bands, their songs all prove that protest music is not only folk rock, it covers a lot of music genre.

In the Philippines, especially in Manila, protest music started with Folk rock with groups such as Patatag, Asin and Heber Bartolome. Part of the Philippine protest music that also had the Folk rock sound were bands like Buklod, Gary Granada, and InangLaya.

But then again, to break out of the concept that protest music equals to Folk rock, bands such as The Jerks, The Wuds, Yano, Datu’s Tribe and Agaw Agimat stepped up to the plate. For rap, FrancisM was one of the big names to create Philippine rap music that carried social issues.

Special mention here goes to The Jerks, one of the greatest but underrated bands here in the Philippines. They started the protest music genre in rock form here in the Philippines. And it was only in the 1990 that bands such as the Wuds, Yano, Agaw Agimat and Datu’s Tribe followed.

For Cebu, which is just now making its protest music scene more stronger, musician such as Rolly Wagas and bands such as Class Struggle and the original Pasakanin are seen as pioneers in the region. Today, the torch is being carried on by forerunners of the genre such as the now defunct Bansiwag, People’s War, and Paltik.

Today, protest music continues with new bands coming out such as Manila’s Anak ni Aling Juana and Musikang Bayan. Even bands such as Radioactive Sago Project, during the height of President Arroyo’s expose on corruption and election cheating, also started to create music that had social and protest content.

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Will We Ever Have a Filipino NBA Player?

N.M. Cabangbang

This September 11, 2009, the NBA legends will battle with the PBA legends at the Araneta Coliseum. For this basketball-loving country, this sure will be an awesome event. NBA legends such as Dominique Wilkins, Tim Hardaway, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will be coming. The PBA All stars have Alvin Patrimonio, Allan Caidic and Benjie Paras lined up. The team is said to be coached by Robert Jaworski himself. With the NBA stars coming to our country, one can’t help but wonder, yet again, “Will we ever have a Filipino NBA player?”

This question, this dream, is one of the greatest desires of all basketball-loving Filipinos; to have a Filipino play in the NBA. A lot of other countries have already done it. China has Yao Ming, Spain has Pau Gasol and Germany has Dirk Nowitzki. In fact, back then, Johnny Abarrientos was hyped to be going to the NBA but that never happened. The only “pinoy” who ever achieved such a status was Raymond Townsend, the first Filipino-American to play in the NBA. Raymond Townsend was a 6’3″ 175-lb point guard and played in the NBA for four years from 1978 to 1982.

So why, despite all the international players coming in to the NBA, don’t we still have a Filipino player in the NBA?

There are two reasons for this. First off, we have to first understand that basketball, in order for it to be very effective needs taller players. In the Philippine Basketball Association, the tallest guys are around 6′ 6″ or 6’7″ and they play the center position. In the NBA, being 6’6″ would land you the shooting guard position, which is Michael Jordan’s designation. If you are 6′ 8″, then you would be like a Lebron James, playing small forward. Then when it comes to the point guard position, ours are in the 5’7″ to 5’9″ height. NBA point guards are in the 6’0″ to 6’2″ height. The 6’0″ height in our country would be playing shooting guard. Yes, we have heard of Spud Webb and Nate Robinson playing in the NBA, these guys are at 5’7″ and 5’9″. But these guys are exemptions to the rule. These guys can also dunk the ball easily, which I have not seen in any of our local 5’7″ point guards can do.

The height discrepancy alone already shows us that Filipino players with the same height as NBA players are playing a different position compared to their NBA counterparts. This situation simply means they are tall and we are short.

That is why it will be difficult for us to have a Filipino NBA player. As the height discrepancy shows, our players will be facing a lot of difficulties. For one, they are trained locally for one particular position, which would be useless in the NBA league as that player would most likely end up in a different position from the one he has at home. Our 6’2″ players, for example, are playing the shooting guard position. But when they would arrive in the NBA, they would be asked to play the point guard position. Then our 6’8″ players are playing the center position, which in the NBA would be playing the small forward positions. That would mean adjustments because different positions need different skills. Then compared to American and European players who have been playing the point guard and forward position since high school or college, they no longer need to adjust because they are NBA-ready. So there is no need for the NBA to look for players from the Philippines when American, European and other Asian players are much suited and fit for the physical demands of the league.

The second reason is because of the market reasons. You have to admit it, one of the reasons why Yao Ming was drafted by the NBA is because of the money he also brings in. Yao Ming opened up basketball to China, thus paving the way for brands such as Nike and Reebok to expand their market. When Yao Ming and fellow Chinese player Yi Jianlian battled it out on a regular NBA game, the game received a higher rating, way higher than the Super Bowl. And this was just a regular game, not the NBA finals. And we all know that higher ratings mean more sponsors, and ultimately, more money coming in. Now, when it comes to the Philippines, the NBA no longer needs to expand its market to us. With or without a Filipino NBA player, we will still be buying Nike, Adidas, or any American brand. That is the beauty of American colonization. It made us want American products more without prodding. And what about European players? The NBA is taking in European players for the same reason: market expansion. And, well, yes for their players’ skills in the hard court.

So you see, Filipinos being short and the NBA no longer needing to expand to the Philippine market are two powerful reasons that justify the lack of Filipino representation in the NBA. Now, is this the end of the road for all of us? Are we to lose hope? Is it really impossible to have a Filipino NBA player?

Now, I say it is unlikely, but that does not mean it cannot be done. So what is a Filipino basketball player going to do if he really wants to be in the NBA?

For starters and this may sound very far-fetched is that he better start hoping that Filipinos stop playing basketball fanatically and stop buying American basketball products. Why? Because this will pressure American companies to go look for a Filipino player to be its NBA ambassador to us. An NBA Filipino player/ambassador would then convince us to start buying NBA products again thus expanding their market. But again this solution may seem way too extreme.

A more pragmatic approach would be to let 6’2″ players be point guards and correspondingly let 6’8″ players play small forward so that they so would be preparing themselves for the NBA game. This would also mean that such players would need to master the skills needed for their positions. For point guards, it would be dribbling and passing. For the small forward position, it would be dribbling and slashing abilities. Now one dilemma I am foreseeing is that if professional players such as Ildefonso and Raymundo would play the small forward position, then who is going to play the power forward and center position? Such a dilemma would really put the PBA in a mess.

So you see, it is a very difficult task for a Filipino player to play at the NBA. His skills, his height, and the position he plays in is just not compatible for the NBA game and standards. The easiest way to do it is to have a Filipino-American play in the NBA, like what Raymond Townsend did. A Filipino-American player that has an American college experience will have a lot of advantage as this will prepare him for the NBA game.

The chances of a Filipino player going to the NBA becomes achievable when a player starts young. Meaning, his parents better start exposing him to the game. Now this means two things, either the parent starts exposing his kids to the PBA game or he starts exposing his kids to the NBA game because again, the two game types are very different. A young kid who starts growing tall among other kids would mean he would start playing center. This is one case of preparing your son for the PBA game. On the other hand, if parents, in the same situation, opts to a parent let his “tall” son play point guard or small forward instead of the expected “center” position, then his parents are preparing him for the NBA leagues.

Such a decision would be very difficult, because it is much easier for young kids to prepare for the PBA game than the NBA. The NBA game has its risks too. I mean, let’s say that the child has been trained for the shooting guard position for most of his life, but manages to reach 6’5″. By PBA standards, this kid should be playing center. Now, what if, despite being NBA-ready, that kid fails to get drafted. The only probable way to go is for this kid to return to the Philippines, where, as height dictates, he should play center.

But then again, with all the basketball opportunities, that is not much a problem. He can still play in the PBA and play like a center who has the skills of a shooting guard. If that does not work, then he can go to play in the Euro league or something. Besides, if he is really that good, basketball offers will always come.

So, to all fathers who have high basketball hopes for their sons, better start deciding how you groom him athletically. Where he will be going: PBA or NBA?

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The Annoying Election Fever is On!

N.M. Cabangbang

I know, I know, from the looks of it, Election 2010 is already becoming a circus now. What with all the politicians and other leaders gunning for the top spot in Malacañang. It is not even May 2010, but the mayhem is already unfolding. Commercials, billboards, the gimmicks (i.e. TV guestings, movie projects), and what not have multiplied exponentially. They’ve also multiplied the candidate’s annoyance factor in the eyes of us Filipinos. But no matter how hard we get irritated by this, we need to think of the bright side of this situation.

What exactly do I mean by “the bright side” in this annoying election fever? The election fever sweeping through the country now is a good thing because it means that there surely must be an election in 2010. This, in itself, prepares the mindset of the people for election, which means that there will be another president ruling us next year. This mindset is opposite to President Gloria Arroyo’s point of view, wherein she wants to have a charter change and to stay in power. So the explosion of the election frenzy now is a great counter move to the supposed charter change. It will be difficult for President Arroyo to cancel the elections because people are prepped and are waiting for the 2010 elections to push through. So it is important that the election fever be on; yes, even if we get annoyed by it.

Think about it, do you want President Arroyo to stay in power for another six years? Are you willing to live with the consequences of having the same president? Or would you rather have a shot at electing a different president despite the fact that you’d have to endure a few months of this campaign circus? Take your pick, which is the lesser evil?

Then, we should also not be surprised if there are a lot of presidentiables coming out now. History has shown us that this is not something new. In the 1998 Philippine general elections, there were 10 people who ran for president. They were Manuel Morato, Santiago Dumlao, Miriam Defensor Santiago, Renato de Villa, Alfredo Lim, Emilio Osmeña, Raul Roco, Jose de Venecia, and of course the winner of that year’s elections, Presdient Joseph Estrada.

Then in the 1992 presidentiable elections, there were 7 people who ran for president. There was Salvador Laurel, Jovito Salonga, Imelda Marcos, Ramon Mitra Jr., Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. , Miriam Defensor Santiago, and the winner, President Fidel Ramos.

Because of the multi-party system in the Philippines, it should be a common thing for us to witness a lot of presidential bidders coming out. It does not matter whether they are qualified for it or not. Who cares, really, as long as the unqualified DO NOT win. We Filipinos may easily forget, but did you not remember that one time when some guy out of nowhere named Eddie Gil ran for president? That was yet another hilarious proof of Philippine politics. It’s men like Eddie Gil who give “inspiration” to green-horned candidates to run for the presidency. I mean, if Eddie Gil got away with it, what is stopping people like Gilbert Teodoro Jr. and Bayani Fernando from running, right?

Again, however annoying the 2010 election campaign season may be, all democracy is asking of us all is just to be a little bit more patient; patient enough to wait and see President Arroyo to be president no longer.

Are we okay with that?

Now here are some thoughts I would like to share to you about the coming elections.

It seems just strange for me that Governor Vilma Santos is making a new movie now when the election fever is going on. I know, she already told the media that she is not running for a national position but there is something amiss. I base these suspicions on a fact: celebrities who run for elections always have a timely “big movie” coming out. Don’t believe me? Well, take Senator Bong Revilla, for example. He does this every time. He always happens to have a new moving coming up, mostly during Christmas time for the Manila Film Festival. Then ex-president Joseph Estrada is also working on a movie with Ai-Ai de las Alas. We all know how movies make everyone popular. Actors who have become politicians keep on making movies to maintain their popularity. Getting a movie deal during election time is a powerful PR tool, that’s maximum exposure!

Usually, we do not put any malice on it. But if we look closely, we see a motive. Movies keep these celebrities’ popularity going and they use that popularity come election time. That is an advantage for them, of course. Think of it this way, let’s say Estrada’s and Revilla’s films become box office successes. If both happen to decide to enter the 2010 elections and become running mates, they surely have an upper hand now that masses of Pinoys came to see their films. What if they both would win? Now, that is one situation that could scare the life out of us.

Well, I am not saying here that Governor Vilma Santos is bad or is manipulating the masses with her popularity. I even think she may be a good senator or a vice president when the time comes. However, the thing is, I just find it suspicious of her to make a HUGE movie now while she declares that she is not running for a national position. I am just suspicious about the timing of it.

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On a different note, I honestly think that Senator Loren Legarda will not win if she will run for president. We, Filipinos have a thing for losing. We don’t like it and it stains the popularity of the “loser.” The same thing befell on the late Sen. Raul Roco and Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago. They were somewhat good at their jobs but they just had it bad during the presidential elections when they had more popular enemies that easily won against them. Their consecutive losses brought their presidential “appeal” down. And I think Sen. Loren Legarda is going to end up like that – the perpetual loser. People need another face. Legarda’s been losing time and again and people can become fed up of her because of that. But despite the odds running against her, Sen. Loren Legarda’s candidacy for president is a sure thing. But whatever, you know. I mean, it is her money, so who cares?

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And now, for my third and last point. Did you notice how Manny Villar’s commercials doubled in exposure right after Sen. Mar Roxas decided to step down and give way to Sen. Noynoy Aquino? This spells out one thing: Manny Villar is not backing down. Among the surveys, he is number 1. Those figures, however, do not include Sen. Noynoy Aquino as a rival. So I guess we just have to wait and see if he gets ousted from the number 1 spot when Sen. Noynoy Aquino gets on the list.

Like I said, the circus in on. This is merely the beginning. Trust me, there will be more hilarities and shenanigans that are sure to unfold in the months to come. Meanwhile, you ought to bring in lots of popcorn and soda for the show.

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Chokwang Uncovers the Coverboys

N.M. Cabangbang

Chokwang Uncovers the Coverboys was held at Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino last August 29, 2009. It was organized by Tagged Productions and had major sponsors such as ABS-CBN, Southwestern University, and Sun Star. I had the chance to see the show, and this was what I thought about it.

The very first thing that crossed my mind was, “There were a lot of things not right about this show.” This, I did not expect it from such a major production. You kind of expect for these things to be perfect but hey, there is no such thing as perfection, right? Well, even with such a realization, you were still hoping that the best would happen; not the other way around. Well, here goes.

First of all, the show started late, and I mean very late. It was advertised to start at 8:00 pm, but instead, it started at 9:00 pm. That’s one hour late. I think the organizers were still waiting for the seats at the back and the sides to be occupied. Though at this time, most of the seats were already taken, I think it was 70% taken, which makes the venue, almost full. But the organizers still had to wait. This prompted most of the audience to start booing, demanding that the show start already.

To somehow lessen the boos, the organizers kept on showing the movie trailer of Eugene Domingo’s KimmyDora which worked for a little while. The trailer was indeed funny and I have always been a fan of Eugene Domingo since she started saying that line, “Hey. Hepi Birthday” on one of her movies. Well with the movie trailer played around 3 or 5 times, the boos did lessen and laughs were heard but the organizers also knew that they cannot keep on playing the trailer every time for it would bore the audience. So when they had to stop showing the trailer, the boos started to be loud again. One thing they could have done to remedy the situation was to show more videos or trailers. I think Star Cinema still has many films so they could have played it. Or maybe, show trailers of their teleseryes or music videos from their singing talents but they did not do this. A problem could be they did not have such copies of these videos, a problem that could have been solved if they anticipated the situation long before.

A skill that organizers need to have is anticipation. Anticipation is like hoping for the best and expecting for the worst. Organizers need such a skill so they can make an educated guess: what bad things are going to happen and how to prepare for it. Things such as these could be discussed in meetings. Likewise, people can be assigned to troubleshoot specific problem scenarios. Anticipation is also a skill that develops more with experience which means veteran organizers usually have the upper hand. However, new or young organizers should not be discouraged. This skill, after all, can also be developed by watching other shows and pin-pointing the mistakes. After which, lessons learned are to be applied to your own shows or events you are about to organize. So if organizers want a successful show, they better learn how to anticipate.

The show did finally kick off at a little after 9:00 pm. To the audience’s relief, Pokwang and Chokoleit came out to the stage for their opening number. That was great but before I comment on their jokes, I observed something. The show had a bad stage design. The background was only a bare black canvas, which I think was composed of a huge black cloth draped over the stage wall. The stage corners were partially covered with two white curtains. And that was it. Now again, this show had major sponsors so a big tarpaulin poster about the show would have worked. If they had no budget for it then maybe they should’ve been creative enough to forgo the boring and spartan black background. One does not need to spend to have a great stage design, you can go cheap with only your creativity being the great investment. But again, this show did not have it. It had no money to spend for background design and it had no creativity to come up with something better. All these elements kind of makes you ask the question, “Was this a major production or not?”

Now, when it came to the main event, when it came to Pokwang and Chokoleit’s jokes, they were funny alright – adult humor, green jokes, gay jokes, that kind of stuff. This was okay for a start, you know. But again, something was wrong here because a lot of parents brought their children with them thereby exposing their kids to green jokes. Now I do not know if this was the repertoire of these two comedians to be playing around with green jokes. Their stints in the televisions shows they have does not allow them to run free with such type of adult humor. But these two comedians were dishing out green jokes with kids around and nobody seemed to mind.

Now, there are two things to be seen here. First of all, there are two jokes that always make people laugh: the laughing-at-people jokes and the sex-jokes. People who are not comedians or do not know how to crack jokes always resort to either of the two to make it an ice breaker or to keep the audience’s attention locked on him. On the other hand, comedians also do this kind of jokes especially when they are confronted with new audiences. These two jokes are always sure to get people laughing, especially the masses. These two types of jokes have one thing in common, though: they make fun of people. They make fun of the old, ugly, fat, thin, gays, tomboys, black, Chinese and. Then there’s the joke that makes fun of something taboo to our culture: sex; green jokes.

Now, this is why most comedians are gay or ugly. Because just by looking at them, audiences will already start to laugh. Being gay or being ugly is one sure formula to keep the audiences laughing. Well, nothing bad about this because if the comedians want this kind of reaction, then they prepared for it. We are laughing at them and they get payed to be laughed at. But when the moment comes that they start making jokes about the audience which have old people, fat people, or any of those listed above then, it is another story. I think people come to comedy shows to be laughing with the audience and not getting laughed at by the audience.

Then when it comes to green jokes, this type is a sure formula to keep people laughing. But it has limits, it is not good for young audiences and not great for television.

So when people start doing such jokes, what does it tell about them? Well I think comedians such as this lack creativity. Because by doing this type of formula all over again and just inserting a new thing or two, they expect us to laugh all over again at the same old formula: ugly and gay people making green jokes. What is the difference between them and the unpopular comedians who are just starting? The difference is that these famous comedians are still making the same jokes but on a bigger and grander stage. If we wanted this type of jokes then might as well just listen to gay people cracking jokes on jeepneys. It’s a free and cheap way to have fun.

Well that is what comedy is all about and anyway we want to think about it, jokes are discriminatory. We laugh at the people we think are lesser than us. But a way to lessen the discrimination is to have comedians make fun of themselves only and not the audience. And that can be done in numerous ways. Micheal V and Ogie Alcasid do it with Angelina and Yaya stint. Then Moymoy Palaboy does it with their lypsynching. Then impersonations are also funny, Pooh was funny impersonating Manny Pacquiao and Annabelle Rama. Jason Holganza is funny by looking like Boy Abunda. Even Pokwang was funny by being Manang Dionesia at the show but she just mixed the impersonation thing with green jokes which makes it bad again.

So if we return to the topic about the show, whose fault was this about the green jokes thing? Well, first of all I do not blame much Pokwang and Chokoleyt for this. After all, adults can always have a laugh out of green jokes. But when minors are added into the mix, the material becomes inappropriate. The blame has to be given to the organizers again, because they did not place a “Parental Guidance” or some sort of advisory warning their audiences about the nature of the event in their posters. I think if the parents knew about the “PG” warning, I do not think they would have brought their kids on the show. But there was no “PG” warning, so what happened, happened.

You can forgive the “1-hour-late” thing, you can forgive the bland stage design, and you can even forgive Sheryn Regis for forcibly speaking in English to a majorly Bisaya crowd. But exposing children to green jokes and not having a “Parental Guidance” warning is just too much of a mistake for one night.

So with all the not-so-right things about this show, I still somehow enjoyed and that is because of Chokoleit. Have to admit it, Chokoleit was funnier than Pokwang. Chokoleit had green jokes, but he also had other jokes that were made of genius! And they didn’t have to be “green” at all. Some of the best jokes he made during the night were off-hand, spontaneous retorts. Being able to be funny on your feet takes skill. And I have to commend him for his improvisation skills, too. Chokoleit completed a love story using a microphone stand, and just that, from start to finish. This takes creativity; this is talent. We all know that Pokwang is more famous than Chokoleit because she gets all the television airtime in Wowowee but trust me when I say this, Chokoleit is the laugh-master. He is way funnier than Pokwang and he saved that show. If not for him, that show would have sucked all throughout. This funny little guy saved an otherwise humdrum event.

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The Two Types of People Who Write About Art

N.M. Cabangbang

There are two types of people who write about art. And when I say art, it goes for all the seven divisions of art. That would be film, sculpture, dance, literature, visual arts, music and architecture.

The first type of writer is the kind who, after reading his or her piece, you end up not learning anything at all. This writer uses a lot of terms and all that the ordinary, average man cannot understand. This writer’s goal is not really to make you understand. Instead, he writes to impress his readers with his in-depth and “scholarly” knowledge of a certain art medium. You, as reader, are not supposed to comprehend the ideas. You are supposed to be at awe of his or her intelligence. This writer’s articles are not written to help you expand your knowledge. Instead, they are written in such a way that you feel little and ashamed of your limited knowledge. This also seems to be question-proof, meaning that the reader decides to decline asking questions or clarifying points for fear of being called dumb or a nitwit. Given that, you, as reader, just nod and that’s it.

There are writers like this because first, he or she has issues about one’s image and the respect given to him or her. This writer wants people to see him or her as someone superior. This writer’s weapon is his too-technical-to-be-English articles that never fail to remind us, normal readers, that we are measly mortals who are no match to his intellectual prowess.

A person like this also writes this way to point out that only few people can understand art. Doing this keeps the ivory tower image of art intact. If few people can understand art, then it keeps art as an elitist subject. Only those who have had extensive art education can understand and interpret it. Only those who have art education have the right to criticize it. The more art is kept in the ivory tower, the less and less people can understand it. Writers like this do not want to go “down” to our level, they want us to go “up” to their level. They do want to adjust to the common man, they want the common man to adjust to them.

So, the next time you read about art or even listen to someone talk about art and end up not understanding it, do not be ashamed. It was written or discussed that way so you would be impressed with the writer. You’re not supposed to understand it in the first place. How, then, should you react in such a situation? Just act impressed so everything can be over and done with.

On the other hand, the second type of person who writes about art is the exact opposite of the first one. This kind of writer is the type who explains art with the layman in mind. His or her goal is to relay art in a manner comprehensible by many. This type of writer wants everybody to appreciate and understand art. This type of writer still does use technical terms, yes. However, he or she does take the time to define these terms for the audience. For these writers, money, or the capacity to buy art is not an issue. Instead, inducting the common man in a discussion about art is what matters more. This writer is more concerned of letting his or her audience discuss the differences between great and mediocre art than whether or not the audience can afford an artwork. For this type of writer, the goal is to popularize art; to bring the ivory tower image of art down and to end the elite few’s ownership of art.

This type of writer does not believe that “true art cannot be explained.” It is not true that art is all mysterious and impossible to decipher. It may be difficult, but art can be defined, dissected, and understood. This kind of writers make it their goal to get as many people as they can to come to know and appreciate art despite the lack of formal training or academic background in the arts. Educational background does matter to some extent, but it is not a requirement in understanding art. Art can be understood by the majority just as long as it is explained to them according to their language.

Now popularization or the goal of making art popular is not a bad thing. The key here is to have that “popularization” paired up with raising the level of the common man’s taste and understanding of art. It is the balance of this two that will ensure that art is still made to be of high quality while the education of the common man about taste and preference continues.

So between these two types of writers, we know that it is the second type of writer that will be most helpful for a lot of the majority to understand art. However, the question many of us are dying to ask, can art simply be understood and appreciated by the common man? Can the goal of the second type of writer be achievable?

The answer is yes. Art really is not that as complicated as people perceive it to be. For starters, art can be understood simply by knowing the symbols, shapes, and colors used by the artists. These symbols, shapes, and colors have a connection to real life. So, then, by connecting an artwork that has a gun symbol with a dead body splattered with red paint, we can interpret these symbols to signify violence or murder. So when looking at art, begin with establishing a connection between the symbols, shapes, and colors used and see how they relate to real life. This is the first and most basic step in interpreting a message of an  artwork.

Then, all of us have our own standards of beauty and taste. A lot of people like bright colors, some like the dark colors. Beauty truly lies in the beholder. Beauty lying in the eyes of the beholder shows that we have different types of taste and moods when we look at something. But taste is influenced by culture and experience and can be changed from time to time. For example, other cultures see the snake as a friend while some see it as an enemy. Some men are more physically attracted to African-American women while some favor Asian beauty. Taste and beauty change as we go along in life. When we were younger some of us may have liked Avril Lavigne. But as soon as we hit college, we realize how juvenile her style of music was compared to the lyrical and musical stylings of Tori Amos or Alanis Morissette. Soon enough, we regret ever liking Avril Lavigne. Some of us may have been huge fans of mushy love stories or Rom-Coms (for movies). Then we had our hearts broken and the experience of that period teaches us that love is nothing like what we see in the movies. In time, we lose our blind adoration for those Rom-Coms and love stories. The changes and experiences we go through significantly change our preference or taste in art.

With this in mind, we can theorize that our taste depends on our background, experiences, and culture. This diversity in culture and background is the one that dictates our sense of beauty. So this is also what dictates how we judge a particular art as something we either like or dislike. This diversity is not bad. We all have the right to like or dislike something; “baduy” or “sosyal” notwithstanding.

In Cebu for example, most people like art that tackles love, religion, and sex. That is why some artist who want their art to be appreciated by many, tackle such specific topics such as these and then paint it with vivid and eye-catching colors. It is like a radio-friendly song. In Cebu, most radio-friendly songs have love, heartbreak, and sex-laden topics. These songs also need to be in English and not in Cebuano or Tagalog. So if a Cebuano band aspires to be famous and wants their songs heard on the radio, then they should compose music that is radio-friendly. Ergo, it has to be a triumvirate of love, heartbreak, or sex. The same principle applies to the visual artist. If an artist wants his work to be appreciated by everybody especially by the buyers, then he needs to create paintings that are buyer-friendly. Buyer-friendly paintings depict nature such as flowers and fishes, churches, pleasant rendering of the Filipino poor: happy and joyously working farmers and jolly and festive wet markets vendors. Other buyer-friendly topics include portraits, religious images, and anything inoffensive to the belief and lifestyle of the artist’s prospective buyers.

Forget about the notion that artists are here to break new grounds and take risks. Yes, maybe there are still a few who do it. We ourselves may know a few. If some of these buyer-friendly artists would indeed take a “risk,” it would still be within the average buyer’s tastes. Breaking out of that rule would alienate the buyer. Alienated buyers = unsold paintings.

Again, art is not as complicated as you may think. Indeed, we still have a lot of things to learn about art and there are artworks out there that we may find hard to understand. However, trusting our sense of beauty and understanding symbols, colors, and shapes and what they mean is a good first step in appreciating and understanding art; for now, at least.

So, what am I exactly driving at? Well, I am trying to point out that you, the audience, are capable of judging what good art is. The ability to understand and even evaluate art, based on one’s sense of beauty, also proves that the second type of writer’s goal (that is, to educate the masses through his writings) is achievable. The masses can learn to discern what good art is. The masses can learn to appreciate art. Art (or the appreciation of it) is not just for the privileged or for the academe. Art is for all, as it should be.

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For the Love of Football or For the Loss of Football?

N.M. Cabangbang

UP Cebu College has always loved its football. It is even safe to say that football is the college’s official sport because of its existing student and alumni football clubs as well as its representation in the local football leagues in Cebu. Let us face it, if UP had a basketball team, it would have no chance to win in competitions outside the campus because there are very few 6 footers on campus. Only UP Football has the shot at winning in a sport event. History has proven that. The generation of Jikoy Carvajal and Pehzman Behjouyan was the team that won the City Olympics football twice in the past years. Then, most recently, the UPFC women’s team has also been vying for championships in commercial leagues too. So again, it is safe to say, football is UP Cebu’s official sport. However, UP football is having its issues right now; issues that, as of now, still remain unresolved.

One of the issues UP Football players are dealing with right now is about other non-UPian players (or outsiders) bringing the UP name when joining tournaments. Commercial football leagues in Cebu categorize participants or teams according to age, not affiliation. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with this platform. In fact, I think it is the right thing to do. Players can form their teams, whether school-based or not as long as they comply with the age requirements. That is the reason why there are high school or college teams, alumni teams, company teams, or just a group of friends with the love for football (and same age bracket) in common who end up joining the league. Again, there is nothing wrong here.

However, something has come up that has bothered a lot of UPian players. Because teams are determined primarily by age, not by school or company affiliation, there is no particular rule addressing the team-naming. Which means, there are now football teams bringing the U.P. name even if they are non- UPians. Some of these teams play to represent the college; some represent the alumni. Some of these teams have U.P. players mixed with outsiders. Some of these teams have a majority of outsiders and few UPians but they still manage to bring the UP name.

So how did this come to happen? Why did it get to the point that non-Upians start using the UP name in tournaments? Well, for the college teams, I think it started with having a non-UPian as coach for the men’s team. Because of this, he has allowed outsiders to play on the UP team. A non-UPian coach who has not experienced what it is to be a UP player can just lightly bring the university’s title without care because he has no inkling how UPians truly carry and feel about the recognition. Then, when it comes to the student players, I believe they do not know how to respect the UP title or simply are afraid to go against their coach. In effect, they submissively allow this.

This too, brings a question to mind, has UP ran out of great players that they now allow outsiders to play in the team? So what happens if and when these outsiders stir up some trouble or embarrassment while bringing the UP name? They can bring the university’s reputation and prestige down. And worse, they wouldn’t care if they do so because they are not UPians in the first place.

I am not necessarily saying here that non-UPian coaches should not coach a UP Team. That is allowed but they should be aware of their decisions and be sensitive of the UP Title because it is not theirs to just lightly carry around. The UP title bears all the history and prestige to the name, all UPians should know and respect that. All non-UPians should do the same thing as well.

What about the alumni teams, you say? The situation is common, after school, everyone usually goes their own ways. Schedules begin to differ and the next thing you know, you guys can’t all meet up for a game. The result? A lack of players. Now because there are not enough players to make a team, the remaining few are “forced” to invite available non-UPians to complete their roster. I am not sure if this generally true to all alumni teams. I could be wrong. But I do sincerely think that UP alumni players who form teams with non-UPians better not bring the UP name. This is respectful to the university’s name and is basically the rational thing to do. You cannot call your team of 11 or so members the “UP Alumni Team” when only 2 or 3 of you are actually graduates of the said university.

Me, I don’t get these football teams’ need to use the UP name. Firstly, UP is not “all that” in the Cebu football scene. I mean, the Don Bosco, Hiroshi, or USC name/team would be a better choice compared to UP because these 3 aforementioned teams are the stronger lot. So why choose UP?

In terms of solving this, I don’t know whether making stricter team-naming rules is the answer. More precisely, I am unsure on how to solve such a situation. Is this a problem among UPians that only they should solve? Or is this is a problem for the Cebu football scene? Moreover, if there is no rule, what is stopping other teams from bringing the Don Bosco, Hiroshi, or USC names even if they are not officially part of such teams? Does a group of some 3 or 5 Bosconian players have the right to bring the Don Bosco title even if majority of their teammates are not Bosconians? Is that allowed?

Judging from the circumstances, it is easy to see that this practice is allowed. There are no existing rules about this. So as long as there is no clear-cut guidelines for this, then a non-UPian football team will continue to bring the UP title. They can do what they will with the name. They can use it however they want to. And they can do so with disregard of the people who really do care about the title or the name they are using – the real UPians.

This, then, brings me to the second issue that UPian players are dealing right now. And that is, the use of the UP-AS football field. Presently, outsiders “own” the U.P. Field, not the UP students. What leads me to this conclusion? It is evident in the situation wherein a group of students or alumni plan to use the UP field during the weekends or during holidays. Come that day and voila! There is already a group playing in the field. There is no space left because these people have occupied the entire area. Who are these people? From what UP department are they? Then these UP students then find out that the people on the UP field are not students nor are they alumni of the university. In fact, none of them have official ties to the university. Despite this, it is these “outsiders” who end up using and “owning the rights” of the UP field. And the UP students? Well, they might as well take their game somewhere else.

Some may not exactly grasp the gravity of the circumstances. So allow me to spell it out for you all. This…this blatant loss of rights to your own territory is one big factor in disintegrating the UP football culture. How? There no longer is a field to practice on.  Alumni teams are forced to go look for another space and are made to pay to play on other football fields. All these, while outsiders play free on a U.P. Football field. And with the present lack of field and finances for rent of privately-owned football fields, a lot of these U.P. Alumni teams have decided to disband. And worse, the U.P. Administration does not seem to care enough to address and solve the problem. Security guards do not reprimand the outsiders. In fact, security guards do not even know who the student/alumni are and who are not. Worse, too, U.P. College players do not seem to care as well. They do not seem to want the issue solved. I do not even know if the U.P. Student council knows of such a problem.

Well, we all know that U.P. does not have a “no ID, no entry” policy and I am fine with that. UP, as a government-backed university, should be open to all taxpayers. However, it does not mean that outsiders can just use the facilities anytime they want. Yes, it is open for outsiders but UP students and alumnae should be given priority. If anybody can use the field, then it is but rational to have anybody simply use the classrooms or conference hall as they wish; even if there are students using it.

That is stupid, if you ask me. The result would be chaotic. The non-existence of a “no ID, no entry” rule is not the problem here. Rather, it is with the present crop of students who are too afraid to contest the discrepancy or those who are too ignorant of the rules and their rights. This shouldn’t even be an issue. UP is known to be a college where activism thrives-UPians are supposed to be outspoken and aware of their rights. But no, here we have UP Football players who are ignorant or are afraid to fight. That is very funny, so funny that I am even tempted to say that these present UP generation are either cowards or illiterate of their student rights and welfare.

What about the UP Administration? What are they doing? Well, they have allowed outsiders to use the field before. But outsiders, then, were required to pay P200 per hour. Over time, that rule has been ignored and forgotten. Soon enough, outsiders use the field freely. UP’s lack of a “No ID, no entry” policy is not an excuse either. First of all, security guards can just take pictures of the frequent outsiders who play and when they come back, the guards can now bar these outsiders from the premises. Next stop, they can start putting signboards that state that the field is not open to played freely by outsiders and if they want to use it, they should pay the rate. By doing this, outsiders will know and follow the rules of the UP Field.

All of these problems about the field will be solved only if the students and alumni start demanding for their rights to field and correspondingly, for the administration to start laying down the law. It needs to be a joint effort between the three to make it effective. The way is there, it’s the will that’s missing. And as long as this skewed situation exists, UP students who want to practice on weekends and holidays can kiss their football field goodbye. As long as this skewed situation exists, UP alumni football teams can kiss their football field and even teams goodbye as well. As long as this skewed situation exists, come graduation for the present crop of U.P. College players, they, too will no longer have U.P. Alumni teams to join in. They have no choice but to join other teams or quit playing football altogether. They can stay healthy by playing other sports or worse, lose their playing form and just get fat. Football’s loss is someone else’s fat gain.

So, to end, a question to UP students, alumni, and admin: What is it, really? For the love of football or for the loss of football?

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Why I Hate Emo

N.M. Cabangbang

One common sign of “aging” is when one tells stories beginning with the phrase “katong sauna” (or “in my time”), which usually means that an “old” person needs to state something that the present generation has forgotten. And this is what is happening to me now, especially when music is the topic. Stories need to be told and retold to remind the younger generation of the history of music. Most, if not all, the young ones these days have forgotten or are completely alien to the music of the previous generations. In fact, there are now just very few people that I can talk to about the music of my growing years without starting with the phrase “katong sauna.”

The last time that happened was when I had an awesome time discussing Glam Metal and the band The Darkness with my good friend Tianos Makabenta. The other time was when I was talking to Insoy Niñal about the evolution of rock from Glam Metal to Grunge.

So as not to sound old or what, I am not going to begin this article with a “katong sauna” phrase. Rather, I am just going to tell my story as it is: to explain why I hate Emo.

Emo, for some of you who do not know yet, is the new Rock genre that the kids of this decade are ardent fans of. Emo rock, according to “Rock scholars,” is mostly characterized by melodic tunes and expressive or confessional lyrics. It broke into the mainstream at the early 2000s and some of its famous bands are Dashboard Confessional and My Chemical Romance. Filipino Emo bands would be Typecast and Chicosci. Compared to pop punk, Emo is a better rock genre.  So why do I hate it?

Before I expound on the answer to that question, let me touch base on a couple of the obvious points why some people dislike Emo.

Well first of all, most non-lovers of Emo hate it for the very same reason the critics hated Glam Metal before: FASHION and IMAGE. A lot of people do not understand the eyeliners, the thick jackets (worn even on a sunny day), and long side-swept bangs. However, if you come to think of it, people fear and hate what they do not understand. This is a natural reaction. In fact, all rock genres in their early years also were hated and misunderstood. Emo is just experiencing what the other genres experienced at their musical infancy. When Poison or Skid Row wore make-up, a lot of people viewed them as distasteful cross-dressers. When Nirvana and Pearl Jam chose to wear their hair short, hard-core rock fans thought that the image was “not rock enough.” Before the wonderful union of rap and metal, respective followers of both genres used to despise each other. But when Rage Against the Machine and Limp Bizkit came into the picture, these warring factions kissed and made up. So that is how it is. So even if I do not get the fascination over Emo fashion, this would not be a completely valid reason for hating them.

I, too, just have come to the conclusion that different generations will always produce new music. No matter how loud their music or farfetched their fashion would be; it does not matter as long as they own it. The youth will always need something to call their own, and for the youth today, they own Emo.

So it is not good for us “older” people, to make fun or pass judgement on Emo. I mean, remember the time when we were the young ones? Our parents and different institutions laughed at us. They criticized us too.

So if it’s not the fashion and style, then do I hate Emo for their musicianship? Hating this genre for their musical abilities may be a valid reason. I mean, it’s no secret that some bands can’t play well enough in live sessions to save their lives. We’ve all been there: on the album, the vocals are flawless. And then here comes that live concert and the vocalist croaks while singing that one song you happen to like. It’s devastating, I tell you.

And how about the lyrics? I’ve heard some people comment that Emo lyrics are too cliché. Heartbreaks, suicides or rejection; a lot of past rock genres have already tackled those. So, Emo’s core theme is nothing new at all.

Before you nod your head in agreement, let me remind you that that a lot of people questioned the talents of Punk rockers back then. Most of Punk rockers were considered to have below-average musicianship, when compared to the dominating hard rock genre back then. For Punk, the seemingly lack of musical skills was a style, not an excuse. Today, however, Punk Rock is one of the most respected genres out there.

And sure, Emo is guilty of having cliché lyrics. I’m talking about  “hearts getting torn into bits” or “the world seems better off without me” shticks. However, let me point out that there are indeed a chosen few in the Emo genre that have good, if not, awesome lyrics. Just try listening to My Chemical Romance or Taking Back Sunday. Their titles and lyrics such as “I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love” or “I’m an addict for dramatics I confuse the two for love” are a proof of lyrical talent. I mean, I wish I came up with those! So my take on this is that, lyrically, the Emo genre has something to offer and the truly talented bands in the genre deliver that.

Moreover, we also need to remember that every rock genre always has a bad apple in the mix. For Glam Rock, Bon Jovi and Def Leppard were the best while their worst were Stryper, White Lion, and Extreme. For Grunge, the top four would be Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and Nirvana; while the band at the bottom would be Creed.

It is clear then, that all rock genres have their fair share of great bands and bad apples at the same time. It would be very unfair to throw that criticism only to the Emo genre.

Alright, now we’ve established that I do not hate Emo for their image and musicianship. So why do I hate this genre?

Well, I dislike Emo for the reason that it uses the word “Emo” (short for “emotional”) as the name of their genre. It is as if they are the only genre that is expressive or thought-provoking. I mean, c’mon! Emo songs are not the first to sing about feeling. Both Rap and Heavy metal were already venting their angst before these Emo kids hit puberty. Kurt Cobain and Chris Cornell were already dealing with depression, rejection, and suicide in Grunge rock. If the kids of this decade would just have the chance to listen to lyrics that Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and Rollins Band had to offer, then maybe they would see my point.

All music are expressive and emotional, it is not only Emo that should have that title. “Emo” is a wrong singular label in an industry that thrives on translating feelings and emotions. And I hate the term “Emo” to be exclusive to just one genre because I feel that it discounts the legacy of other musicians.

So yes, I hate Emo because it is called such. But that does not necessarily mean that I will stop listening to the genre, especially to the bands that I happen to respect. I’m here for the music and not the labels. Good music is good music whatever its name is.

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Basketball As A National Sport

N.M. Cabangbang

Presently, Powerade-Team Pilipinas is battling it out with other Asian countries at the 25th FIBA Asia Championship. We may have a chance of grabbing a berth in the 2010 World Basketball Championship in Turkey. However, chances are slim with regards to bringing home the top prize. On face value, there is totally nothing wrong with that. I thought so at first too. But then I heard about the ardent support of major sponsors and media giants. That’s a strange situation, if you ask me. I mean, even if it is apparent that the National basketball team is not sure to win it all, it continues to receive the full backing of the country’s biggest honchos.

For a lot of us athletes of different sports, this sounds quite unfair. Basketball still lords over the other sports. Basketball is still the “super sport” despite the fact that we, Filipinos, are not physically built or built to fit the demands of the game. Heck, basketball is even more popular than Sipa, which is the listed Philippine national sport! On that account, we may not know it yet, but basketball in this country is clearly the National sport.

The national sport of every country is supposed to be a reflection of its culture and of its people. This is evident in the fact that America loves their American football so much. American football speaks so much about Americans.

Americans are mostly big and they love being physical on the field. They place an emphasis on brute force and strength. They live for the thrill of fast-paced, hard-hitting action. Now, look at American Football. Doesn’t it have all these qualities?

Then, there’s Canada, which has hockey as their national sport. This is completely understandable because hockey is a sport that thrives in sufficiently cold countries.

Now, look at us Filipinos. We eat, live, breathe basketball. But hold up. Doesn’t anyone think that basketball is not an accurate reflection of our culture and of our people? I do think so. And I’ll tell you why.

First of all, we Filipinos, generally, are short people. No offense. Basketball, in order for it to be very effective, needs tall men. In the Philippine Basketball Association, the tallest guys are around 6′ 6″ or 6’7″ and they play the center position. In the NBA, if you have the height of 6’6″, you would be playing shooting guard, Michael Jordan’s and Kobe Bryant’s position. If you were 6′ 8″, then you would be akin to a Lebron James or a Scottie Pippen, who both play small forward. This height discrepancy and the incompatibility of height and position alone already make you wonder why we are playing this sport a lot.

Then when it comes to the point guard position, our point guards are in the 5’7″ to 5’9″ height. In the NBA, point guards are in the 6’0″ or 6’2″ height bracket. The 6’0″ height in our country would be playing shooting guard. Yes, we have heard of Spud Webb and Nate Robinson playing in the NBA, who are at 5’7″ and 5’9″ respectively. But these guys are exemptions to the rule. These guys can also dunk the ball easily, a feat that I have not seen any of our local point guards do.

Moreover, most part of our country is rural, which means it would be easy to play football or volleyball on fields than wait for a cemented basketball court to be put up. Chess, billiards, martial arts, and boxing would also be very easy to learn as it costs less. Yet even with all the disadvantages aforementioned, we still focus our attentions on basketball.

In my barangay alone, I have already seen 6 basketball courts. Then there are also many barangay-sponsored basketball leagues the whole year. None of these things are happening to other sports. Just think about it. What if, players such as Asi Taulava and Danny Ildefonso would shift to a sport such as boxing, then we would possibly have contenders for the heavyweight crown and not only at the middleweight ranks. Idlefonso and Taulava are at around the 6’6″ to 6’8″ that would be even pretty big because Holyfield was only 6’1″ and Mike Tyson is 5’11″. These players could also try venturing in to mixed martial arts which is now becoming a popular sport.

Given their size, they could have played Rugby football too. My friend from U.P. Cebu, Jethro Estimo plays the game Rugby football, and his height is around 6′ 0″. And similar to football and volleyball, Rugby football just needs a field and a ball to start playing. Just imagine that, if a lot of tall and big Filipino athletes just stopped playing basketball and focused on other sports then we could have bigger chances of winning in other endeavors.

Then of course, we all know that even without the height we can still excel in other sports. Playing Football is one of them. Diego Maradona, the Argentian football star is just 5’4″ while the legendary football player Pele is at 5’8″; these are measurements well within the average Filipino height.

So why do we still keep on playing basketball even when it proves to be a disadvantage for us? Well, we thank American colonization for that. America brought basketball to our shores and since then we have been fanatics about the game. And if a national sport reflects culture then for Filipinos to be playing basketball speaks a lot about our Westernized culture. Basketball symbolizes for us, the hopes of wanting to be American citizens or reaching the American dream. We all want to be white. Playing basketball is one way we can be “white.” Just like patronizing fast food or using whitening products, basketball might not be all that good, but this is our little way of becoming Western.

Basketball is also a symbol of us pleasing our American brethren. We are desperate to get their attention. This ill-fitted patronage of basketball is our skewed way of showing that so-called Pinoy brand of hospitality to them. We think that focusing on other sports is treachery; that the shift of sports taste might offend them. It might offend the American companies if we stop buying their basketball shoes and jerseys. It might offend them that we have acquired the understanding that basketball was just not made for the Filipino. This is what basketball symbolizes for us and until there is a clear understanding of our culture and of Philippine-American relationships, basketball will still lord over the other sports.

Do not get me wrong, I love basketball, especially when it is played on the pro-levels such as the National Basketball Association. However, the system that is placed on the Philippines of focusing too much on basketball has left out the other sports.

This is unfair.

Other sports need support, too. Filipinos have a higher rate of winning sports that do not require height such as football, boxing, billiards, chess, martial arts, badminton, and bowling. This is supposed to be as clear as day, yet it remains to be so obscure to many of us. For that, we thank American colonization.

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Joey Velasco, the heARTist (A Critique on Joey Velasco’s JESUS “Ang Ginoo Uban Kanato”, a heART exhibit)

N.M. Cabangbang

If you happen to come by an art exhibit, here is a little tip I can give you in order to know if the paintings in the exhibit are impressive or plain ordinary.

If you just pass by the paintings hurriedly and the artworks fail to grab your attention, this usually means that they are ordinary. But if the artworks are truly impressive, then they will definitely make you stop right on your tracks because they’re just too good for you to pass them by.

Great art is like a beautiful woman. Once you see her, she will stop you on you tracks, catch your attention and you will keep looking at her more and more. But great art is not only about that. It also has to have a great message, it also has to have the power to make you think. This then also means that great art is also like an intelligent woman. Once you have talked to her, you do not want your conversations to end. You have decided to stay much longer. She will make you think and share your ideas that you await the day that you will get to talk to her again. Great art is a woman that is beautiful inside and out.

So this is what happened to me when I was walking around Ayala malls one day. I happened to pass by Joey Velaco’s JESUS “Ang Ginoo Uban Nato”, which was on display from August 15 to 21, 2009. This exhibit stopped me on my tracks and succeeded to catch my attention. Primarily because I was impressed by the technique and overall visual outcome of his works. Secondly, I was drawn in. I decided to stay much longer because of the message. The message in his artworks got me thinking, a lot. And so begins my critique.

Let me start with the good points:

*Ingenious Concept

Velasco’s works put Jesus Christ in a new light. Here, Christ is being portrayed with homeless children and the Filipino poor. The message here is both simple and profound. Simple in the way that it reminds all Christians of Christ’s message. And that is, to be one with the poor and the oppressed among us; not with the wealthy and powerful. Then it is profound in the way it tells us that the message of Christ is not about fitting Christianity to our own liking. Instead, it’s the other way around. Christianity should fit into our lives even if it makes us uncomfortable.

*Thought-provoking Message

The message is not targeted to Christians alone. It is aimed at other religious institutions as well. If the world would only truly live according to the teachings of Christ, things would be better. But we know that not everyone does. That’s the reality. And I think that it will take more paintings from Mr. Velasco to get the point across. This kind of makes you question, has religion failed? Has it failed to inspire people to adapt Christ’s teachings? Has it failed to make the world a better place? Tough questions, but hey, that’s just me.

*”Pang-Masa” or Communal Art

This, I have to congratulate Mr. Velasco for. You see, I have seen many local artists who label their artworks as religious art, when they are not. For example, there are these artworks that are painted in abstract and have Bible verses for titles. On face value, they seem okay. But then I ponder, how can a common man or woman, one who’s not an artist, interpret a few swishes of paint here and there as “The Lord is My Shepherd?” Get my point? I mean, the message is not as concrete or as powerful as it should be because the visual aspect or the form does not support the content. For artists or for the seasoned eye, the point might come across. But if you’re making something for an audience as broad as the religious sector, your artwork just becomes gibberish. Your artwork might even be in danger of becoming snooty and insignificant.

Joey Velasco’s works, on the other hand, are powerful. They entice you to think and reflect. That, friends, is art that regular people can come to appreciate.

Secondly, I noticed that the artworks did not have any price tags on them. They don’t seem to be on exhibit to be sold. I don’t know, maybe the artist is rich or has many benefactors, but the fact that the artworks weren’t sold is impressive. Many religious artworks are downright expensive that only the moneyed few can own one. This decision of Velasco to not put a price tag on his works makes his overall exhibit more sincere and stronger because it does not stain his message with money or profit.

I also noticed the posters he’s selling. They’re cheap, as in P50 each. It seems to me that he wants his works to be available to the masses. I once saw one artist selling posters of his works for P500 each. Now P500 is just too pricey for a poster, if you ask me. Regular people who want to buy the actual artwork can’t buy it because it costs thousands, and they can’t afford the poster version either. But Velasco’s posters are affordable enough and are printed in excellent quality to pass for a framed artwork as well. I’d like to add too, that Velasco’s exhibit gives out free magazines at the exhibit. Plus points for that.

*Technique is Impressive in Execution and Purpose

With regards to technique, his use of chiarascuro is also impressive. In fact, I think that it is the right form for his content. It would just not be compatible to use bright and saturated colors to depict the depressive state of our society. Joey Velasco uses the right amount of light and shade for his scenes. He forgoes the use of a colorful palette because his goal was not to make a room or a scene beautiful. These paintings were not made for decoration purposes. But he does make use of the appropriate style to stop you on your tracks. And that is what is most commendable about this exhibit, the style is great in execution and fitting for its purpose.

My favorites, for their form and message, were “Hapag ng Pag-asa”, where the Last Supper scene is portrayed as Christ dining with street children, “Mga Munting Simon Sireneo,” where three kids are seen carrying the cross for Christ, “That We May Live,” showing children carrying the dying Jesus, “Thy Will Be Done,” a modern and pang-masa version of Christ at the garden of Gethsemane, and lastly, the “Paleta de Sangre,” which I think is a thoughtful reworking of a self-portait.

Now that we’ve discussed the good, let us move on to the, no, not bad, but to the not-so-good points, rather.

*The Concept has an Expiration Date

By that, I mean that the concept of the humanizing portrayal of Christ is in danger of becoming dated. Concepts, you see, are usually great the first time; when they’re fresh. But time will come when Velasco may run out of creative ideas for new treatments of his paintings. If he keeps doing the same stuff over and over again, he will bore his audience. His artworks will become cliché. And when they do, they will lose that power to catch your eye and to evoke reflection. I saw signs of this, in particular, in the pieces “Let There Be Peace on Earth, ” “That We May Be One,” and with “Hilumin Mo.”

I am wary that the artist may become too comfortable with this concept that he may become too predictable to be effective. I hope that the artist does not become too safe. This, though, remains to be seen in his next venture.

So on a whole, Velasco’s JESUS exhibit succeeds with getting the message across and with putting out an impressive visual display. But it does have a few weak points that need a little tweaking. I commend the artist for the sincerity of his works and of the manner he puts up these works for the general public. Joey Velasco calls this exhibit of his a “heART Exhibit.” He was right.

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Caparas and Alvarez

N.M. Cabangbang

When you get exposed to the political and economic issues of this country, you seldom encounter issues that deal directly with artists. If there were artist issues, it usually would be about budget for promoting the arts and culture or about censorship. With the latest National Artist Award controversy, it looks like this year is going to be different.

Malacañang just made things interesting by again altering the rigorous peer-conducted selection process of the National Artist Award. This is not President Arroyo’s first time. In fact, she inserted Alejandro Roces, Francisco “Soc” Rodrigo, and Abdulmari Asia Imao once.

Now, it gets worse. Only three of the seven original nominations were proclaimed. The President then, by her own prerogative, added four who were not included in the original list of nominees. Two of the additions that have really caught the ire of a lot of past national artists: Carlo J. Caparas and Cecile Guidote Alvarez.

So, why this two? Well for one, Carlo J. Caparas has been awarded National Artist for both film and visual arts. This sort of makes him even better than the past awardees, because he has been recognized in two art fields. However, this is not an issue of jealousy brewing within past national artists. The issue here is that Carlo J. Caparas is not the illustrator of his popular comic books. So how can a man without any body of work in visual arts get to be recognized for a visual art award? The man is not a visual artist, for starters. And now, he is supposed to be on an equal level with other national visual artists such as Ang Kiukok, Jose T. Joya, and Vicente Manansala? Now that is unfair. How are we going to explain this to the next generation that a Filipino comic strip creator and writer, who is not the comic’s illustrator, got an award for visual arts?

But he is a filmmaker, you say. True, let us indeed look into his film-making portfolio. Caparas is known to make films that are sub-par, massacre movies that are shot in one week. You may remember these movies that portray true stories of heinous crimes. Some examples include “Kuratong Baleleng” and “The Cory Quirino Kidnap: NBI Files.” These are B-films, bordering on camp, that are not on the same level as those made by Lino Brocka, Ishmael Bernal, and Eddie Romero.

Now, Carlo J. Caparas defends that it is his youth that is making his nomination controversial. No, it is not about that. Again, the man is merely a creator of superhero characters. He does not draw them. Again, there are other film directors deserving of the award. His wife Donna Villa defends him by comparing her husband to Jesus Christ, saying the Messiah was criticized too because of his courage to save mankind from sins. Well, darn it, lady. With all due respect, do not drag Jesus Christ into this. Carlo J. Caparas is no saviour and he probably never will be.

Let me make it clear, I like some of Carlo J. Caparas’ work. I like “Panday” and “Totoy Bato” and that was mostly because I am a Fernando Poe Jr. fan. I even like the concept behind “Joaquin Bordado.” But the fact remains, a person who does not draw cannot receive a visual arts awards. There is no logic to this. If Fernando Poe Jr. was nominated for a prestigious sculpture or architecture award without any body of work, I would have reacted the same way. I would have protested too.

Cecile Guidote Alvarez. Now this is another thing. Cecile Guidote Alvarez is the current Presidential Adviser on Culture. She is also the NCAA executive director and is the one leading the secretariat for the National Awards. Now don’t you just find this a bit strange? Here is the head of a committee that chooses the awardees and she gets the award. Yes, there is a Presidential prerogative that says that the President can add people to the list. However, there is also a rule that says that any NCCA and CCP board member, consultant, officer, or staff is automatically disqualified from being nominated. That rule is as clear as day, and Alvarez is guilty of breaking that particular rule.

Well, of course Cecile Guidote Alvarez defends herself and says that she deserves the award. She says she is no idiot before being given the award. Of course she is no idiot. Being the founder of PETA does not make you an idiot. Being a 1972 Ramon Magsaysay public service awardee for the arts does not make you an idiot. But receiving the National Artist award while you are in a high and influential position in the NCCA makes you an idiot.

No matter how deserving you are, even if you are my idol Fernando Poe Jr., as long as you hold your position, you cannot received the award, Mrs. Alvarez. The whole matter reeks of “a conflict of interest.” And you should know that the law does not allow such a thing. Plain and simple; any idiot can figure that out.

So how do we explain their nominations?

These two people got the award because they were close to the President. They do not deserve the titles being afforded to them. This is a clear example of patronage politics. And you know what hurts more? The deserving ones get ignored. The Cebuano art movement, for one, has long been clamoring for artists such as Martino Abellana, Carmelo Tamayo, and Julian Jumalon to be recognized as National Artist awardees for visual arts for their contributions in the Cebuano art scene. But with the way things are going now, the notion seems more impossible than it was before. It sounds so hopeless that struggling artists such as I, start hoping there will be an election this coming 2010, where a new President will leave the decision making for the National Artists award to where it really should be: the artist community.

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