Amangpintor's manner of creating images of Minggan on every picture that he did depicts the life of

Pantabangan from the 1970s (when the town of Pantabangan was flooded by the water) to the present.
Pantabangan has given up its land, which has been drowned and turned into a dam for the benefit of other
cities, giving adequate water for their crops.

PANTABANGAN RESETLEMENT

PICTURE OF THE ARTWORK

ARTIST INFORMATION
Elito Villaflor Circa (born January 28, 1970), often known as "Amangpintor," is a well-known Filipino
painter and internationally recognized folk artist who works with indigenous human hair and blood fluids to
create paintings with mythology and mythicalism themes. Legend of Minggan was his signature subject, and
he was known as the "First Hair and Blood Painter" of his generation. A patriarch of indigenous art, he
promoted and upheld contemporary indigenous Philippine art, as well as hand painting performances on a
canvas of 432 square inches in 5 to 10 minutes utilizing the three fundamental colors.

On January 28, 1970, Amangpintor was born in the old town of Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija,
Philippines, parents Juan Llagas Circa and Josefina Salazar Villaflor. He was the seventh child in a family of
seven. His education was supported by a scholarship from the World Vision Foundation[10][8] and foster
parents Cynthia and Leigh Brown from Perth, Australia, who helped him through secondary school (where
he was named Artist of the Year) until he graduated with a degree in Elementary Education from Central
Luzon State University.
 Amangpintor has never had any official art training. He began writing on the walls of his house
in Pantabangan town when he was eight years old, using charcoal from the stove in their kitchen. Since 1980,
he has accomplished around 600 works of art, which he has given to some of his professors, friends, and
neighbors. He also painted a series of 15 paintings for the "Legend of Minggan," depicting the giant
"Minggan's" courting of "Mariang Sinukuan," who was said to live in Mount Arayat. Amangpintor also
painted a series of paintings about his birthplace, depicting the evacuation of Pantabangan people as their
town was going to be submerged by the sea.

Many other Filipino painters were encouraged by Amangpintor to use indigenous or natural raw
materials as paint, such as onion, tomato, tuba, coffee, rust, molasses, and other things readily available.
Many artists have been inspired, and they have begun to employ indigenous materials in their work since
then. Vincent Castiglia, an American artist, was likewise influenced by human blood as a medium. Other
young visual artists, particularly students, were affected by the finger and hand painting performance. The
usage of indigenous materials and native arts can help to preserve the Filipino identity.

LOCAL MATERIALS USED IN THE ARTWORK:

Amangpintor used indigenous material such as human hair and blood fluids with mythologism and
mythicalism subject matters. He also used indigenous materials or natural raw materials as paint such as
extract from onion, tomato, tuba, coffee, rust, molasses and other materials available anywhere.

REASON
The pantabangan resettlement appealed to me because it evokes the sacrifices made by many individuals
during that period. That painting by "amingpintor" made me realize that every beautiful event that has
occurred in our history has been accompanied with a hidden sorrow. Those sacrifices resulted in the
construction of this dam, which benefits a large number of people, particularly in Nueva Ecija. Pantabangan
Dam supplies water for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation, while Pantabangan Lake serves as a
flood control reservoir.