TOP ACHIEVERS PRIVATE SCHOOL, INC.

Alicia I Cauayan I Santiago I Roxas I Solano I Ilagan

“The School of the Future”
March – Pre-Final

MODULE IN CONTEMPORARY PHILIPPINE ART FROM THE REGION

Part 2- Philippine Artists and Their Contributions to Contemporary Arts

Dance
Francisca Reyes
 Francisca Reyes Aquino researched Philippine folk dances in the 1920s.
 Her research titled "Philippine Dances and Games" contains the country's unrecorded celebrations, folk dances,
rituals, and games.
 She served as the supervisor of physical education in the Bureau of Education.
 The bureau distributed her work for the teaching of folk dances in schools to promote cultural heritage to Filipino
students.
 She has published several books on Philippine dances.
 Former President Ramon Magsaysay awarded her the Republic Award of Merit for her contribution to the
development of Filipino culture.

Ramon Obusan
 Ramon Obusan promoted the Philippine ethnic dances and performed them with respect and authenticity.
 He researched the different Philippine ethnic groups throughout the country to perfectly perform their dances.
 His presentations attempt to demonstrate the ethnic dances' original routine and music.
 His Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group, through their performances, outreach works, and tours inspired many Filipinos
to embrace the Filipino culture. Some of his full-length presentations are Kayaw '68, Kayaw '74, and Vamos a
Belen! Series, Noon Po Sa Amin, Ka77saysayan ng Lahi, Maynila, and the Rare and Unpublished Dances.

Alice Reyes
Alice Reyes' major and most significant contribution to Philippine dance is the development of a unique Filipino
modern dance idiom. She creatively interweaved Philippine ethnic dance, modern dance, and ballet producing one of a kind
contemporary dance routine. She popularized contemporary dance in the Philippines through her concerts, tours, outreach
works, and lecture demonstrations in schools. Some of her major works are Amada, tales of the Manuyu, Bayanihan
Remembered, Rama Hari, and At a Maranaw Gathering.

Leonor Orosa Goquingco

Leonor Orosa Goquingco, also known as the "Trailblazer," "Mothern of Philippine Theater Dance', and "Dean of
Filipino Performing Arts Critics," significantly contributed to the progress of Philippine dance by developing distinct
productions using balletic folkloric and Asian styles. For over 50 years, she produced various unique and original
choreographies. Tagged as her most ambitious work is The Filipinescas: Philippine Life, Legend, and Lore, a dance epic
showing the Filipino culture from pagan times to the present that elevated the Philippine native folk dance to its highest
level of development.

Lucrecia Reyes-Urtula
Lucrecia Reyes-Urtula studied the country's folk and ethnic dances for four decades and developed ethnic
choreographies applying her findings. She was the dance director of Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company for three
decades and choreographed various dances for the group. These dances harvested overwhelming praise and good reviews
from critics from different parts of the world. Among her major works are cultural dances namely Singkil, Vinta, Tagabili,
Pagdiwata, and Salisid.

THEATER
Daisy Avellana
Daisy Avellana was the so-called First Lady of the Philippine Theater because of her magnificent performances in
classic Filipino and international theater productions and plays. Some of the productions she significantly became part of
were Othello, Macbeth in Black, Tatarin, Portrait of the Artist as Filipino, Diego Silang, Walang Sugat, etc. She also
popularized the Philippine theater and dramatic arts by founding the Barangay Theater Guild with her husband, National
Artist Lamberto Avellana. They utilize the radio and television to make theater and dramatic arts known to the Filipinos.

Rolando Tinio
Rolando Tinio was an outstanding stage director, poet, thespian, and playwright known for his numerous remarkable
productions and notable scripts. Some of his works include film scripts for Now and Forever, Gamitin Mo Ako, and
Milagros, sarswelas like Ang Mestiza, Ana Maria, and komedya like Orosman at Zafira. He established and became the
administrator of the Ateneo Experimental Theater. He, later on, handled the Teatro Pilipino where he revived the sarswela
and other traditional Filipino drama and introduced contemporary Western drama. Rolando Tinio is also a National Artist
for Literature aside from Theater.

Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero

Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero, being a theater teacher and artist, has mentored and trained many performing artists for 35
years. He also introduced and popularized Philippine theater to different parts of the country by establishing the UP Mobile
Theater. The UP Mobile Theater has delivered thousands of performances for 19 long years to many campuses in the
Philippines. His major works include Wanted: A Chaperon, Condemned, Perhaps, In Unity, Three Rats, The Forsaken
House, Frustrations, etc.

Honorata "Atang" dela Rama

Honorata "Atang" dela Rama started her theatrical career at an early age. At the age of seven, she has already been
a part of different Spanish zarzuelas. From then on, she played many roles in numerous productions where she became
popular and hailed as the Queen of Kundiman. She performed kundiman and Filipino songs for indigenous communities all
over the country. For her, the kundiman and sarswelas mirror the Filipino people.
The sarsuelas she became part of are Dalagang Bukid, Mascota, Marina, Pangarap ni Rosa, etc. The songs she
popularized are Pakiusap, Ay Kalisud, Madaling Araw, and Kung libig Ka. She sarswelas she wrote Puri at Bahay, Anak ni
Eba, and Aking Ina.

Salvador F. Bernal
Salvador Bernal was an exceptional theater designer who designed hundreds of theater productions for a span of
four decades. The superior quality of his designs made him incomparable to other designers. He used local materials to
produce creative and unique sets and costumes.
Bernal was also a professor at the University of the Philipines Diliman and Ateneo De Manila University where he
shared his competencies with aspiring young designers. Also, Bernal established the PATDAT (Philippine- Association of
Theatre Designers and Technicians) in 1995topromote theater design. Moreover, he internationally introduced the
Philippine theater design through the Philippine Center of OISTAT (Organization Internationale des Scenographers,
Technicians et Architectes du Theatre).

Severino Montano
Hailed as the Titan of the Philippine Theater, Severino Montano took the lead in promoting "legitimate theater" in
the country. Montano was a top-caliber playwright, theater artist, and director who took up degrees in and outside the
country to master theater arts and later on to share his learnings and competencies with the younger Filipino generation. He
started his career and education at the University of the Philippines where he studied education and became the head of the
UP Dramatic Club. His journey continued as he entered different universities in the United States like American University,
Yale University, and New York University.
He became the dean of the Philippine Normal College where he founded the Arena Theater in 1953. The Arena
Theater served the grassroots and promoted drama to the masses through school-community theaters. Also, Montano
developed graduate programs for theater arts in the PNC, which produced equally talented artists like National Artists Lino
Brocka and Rolando Tinio.

Lesson 4 -Gawad sa Manlilikhang Bayan and Their Contribution to Philippine

Arts

The Philippines already has a rich culture and arts before the colonization. Our ancestors developed these native
art forms which depict the life of the Filipinos untouched by any colonizer. Little do we know that these art forms
continue to live even today because of the passionate artists who are keeping traditional art alive. It is important
to know the different traditional art forms of the country, their origins, and the artists who preserved and are
continuously preserving the art.

Literature

Ginaw Bilog

Ginaw Bilog is a Hanunuo Mangyan poet from Mansalay, Mindoro who is an advocate of preserving the
traditional form of his tribe called "ambahan." Ambahan is a kind of poem consisting of seven-syllable lines
which most of the time contain messages of love and friendship. This poem is passed on from generation to
generation using singing the lines or etching them on bamboo tubes. In the case of Ginaw Bilog, he kept the
ambahan recorded both in bamboo tubes and old notebooks. He kept even the oldest ambahan passed on to him
by his ancestors and promoted them to other Mangyans to preserve the oral tradition.

Federico Caballero

Federico Caballero is a Panay-Bukidnon epicchanter who preserved his community's oral tradition by tediously
documenting epics of his ancestors who are in near danger of disappearance. These epics, which tell stories about
mythical heroes and their marvelous adventures, reflect the rich cultural heritage, of Panay-Bukidnon.
Furthermore, Nong Pedring did not just document this folklore, but he chanted them as well and passed them to
the younger generations. His mother and great-great-grandmother were the ones who influenced him to be an
epic-chanter. When his mother and grandmother died, Nong Pedring continued the tradition, documented Panay
Bukidnon's epics through the assistance of researchers, and promoted the cultural heritage of his people not just
within their tribe but also outside his community.

Music/Dance

Alonzo Saclag

Alonzo Saclag is a master of dance and performing arts from Kalinga. He did not receive any formal education
in performing arts but still, he mastered the choreography and musical instruments of Kalinga just by observation
and practice. Fueled by intense passion, he succeeded in keeping the treasured culture of Kalinga alive. Through
his efforts of lobbying the local government for about two years, he managed to convince them to convert the
abandoned provincial capitol building into a museum that contains Kalinga artifacts including traditional musical
instruments like the gangsa or the Kalinga gong. He also campaigned for the use of local costumes in school
events and put up creative presentations that helped children to learn folk songs. He even proposed the broadcast
of Kalinga folk songs on local radios. Furthermore, he established the Kalinga Budong Dance Troupe to ensure
that the music and dance of his ancestors were passed on to the younger generation.

Masino Intaray

Masino Intaray came from the indigenous community in southern Palawan called the Palawan. Intaray was a
musician and a poet whose expertise was the basal, kulilal, and bagit. Basal is a kind of musical ensemble played
during the tambilaw, a ritual of rice sharing among the Palawan people as an offering to the Lord of rice, and
during the tinapay, a rice wine-drinking ceremony. Basal is composed of the gimbal or tubular drum, sanang or
pair of small gongs, and one to agungs or gongs with wide tunes. Non-musical instruments like the stam Bass of
feet of the percuss songs with wide tunes, Nonmopirat it’s of the basal ensemble, and Basal keeps the rituals and
ceremonies of the Palawan people lively.

Furthermore, Kulilal is a lyric poem about love being sung to the accompaniment of copi, a two-stringed lute, and
a poem about love being to the from the community play the kusyapi and pagang, bespotovely. Also played with
the accompaniment okusyapi, bagit is an instrumental music reflecting the sound and movement of nature, Aside
from those mentioned earlier, he is reflecting tow to play the aroding, mouth harp, and the babarak, ring flute.
Furthermore, Masino Intaray is a notable storyteller and epic-chanter. For many nights, he chanted numerous
epics, narratives, and myths of the Palais wan. Intaray was a true man of art who preserved the tradition, music,
and culture of his people..

Samaon Sulaiman

Samaon Sulaiman is a Maguindanaon musician from Mama sa Pano, Maguindanao. He is a master in playing the
kutyapi, a two-stringed plucked lute. The kutyapi is one of the most difficult to master indigenous Filipino
instruments, but Samaon Sulaiman was able to play it with grace and exemplary talent. He influenced and taught
other community people to play the kutyapi as well which kept the playing of kutyapi alive in Mindanao.

Uwang Ahadas

Uwang Ahadas is the exemplary musician of the Yakan of Lamitan, Basilan whose expertise dwells in playing
the indigenous instrument called kwintangan kayu. This instrument is composed of five wooden logs of different
sizes, arranged from shortest to longest, and hung horizontally. This is being played after the planting of rice to
serenade the palay. The music coming from the kwintangan kayu is believed to cause a bountiful harvest. Uwang
Ahadas teaches his community people the skill of playing the kwintangan kayu to preserve the indigenous music.
He started at teaching his children and later on passed on his skills to people beyond the borders of his community.
Uwang Ahadas, despite having a defect in his eyesight and dimming vision, managed to preserve and promote
the music of the Yakan even if it meant tiresome traveling from place to place.

Weaving

Darhata Sawabi

Darhata Sawabi is a pis yabit weaver from Barangay Parang, Jolo, Sulu. Pis yabit is a square multi-colored
traditional cloth that serves as the head cover of the Tausug of Jolo. Traditionally, it is used as clothing ornament
or headdress of the Tausug men that symbolizes the wearer's rank in the society. However, in the contemporary
period, even women wear the cloth as accessories in traditional functions.

The weavers in her community considered her an expert in weaving due to her well-crafted cloth with the
remarkable intricacy of design and evenness of weave. Despite the challenges Sawabi and her community faced,
like the armed conflict, she continued to do her art and passed on her skills of weaving to other women in Parang
through her teachings.

Haja Amina Appi

Haja Amina Appi is the master mat weaver of the Sama indigenous community from Ungos Matata, Tawi-tawi
Mat weaving is one of the treasured traditions of the Sama people. Their mat is made up of Pandan leaves which
undergo tedious processes from stripping to sun drying, to dyeing, up to weaving. It takes a lot of time, effort,
and creativity to produce a mat. With her intense passion for the art of mat weaving, she produced unique and
magnificent mats. Haja Amina's mat designs are complicated and creatively crafted with an interplay of hues. The
traditional mat weaving of Sama will never be lost because Haja Amina already taught her female descendants
the art of mat weaving, like the other, National Living Treasure Awardees, she passionately preserved her people's
traditional art.

Lang Dulay

Lang Dulay is a t’nalak weaver from the indigenous community of the Tboli in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato.
Tnalak is a kind of fabric made up of fine abaca fibers weaved with different designs that reflect the tradition of
the Tboli. This cloth was once being bartered in exchange for horses but due to commercialization, the t’nalak
became popular and became the source of income of Tboli weavers. Many consumers demanded non-traditional
designs of the t’nalak and weavers choose to make modern designs because they are more expensive than the
traditional ones. However, Lang Dulay still chose to produce the traditional t’nalak to preserve the tradition and
the story of the Tboli

Lang Dulay is an exemplary weaver who knows a hundred designs. She started weaving at the age of 12 and
became a master weaver who passed on the art of tnalak weaving to her grandchildren. Lang Dulay wanted to
establish a school where she could teach her art to the young generations.

Magdalena Gamayo

Magdalena Gamayo is an Ilocano master weaver who came from Pinili, Ilocos Norte. Her expertise dwells in
weaving high-quality Ilocos textiles called abel. It is a kind of blanket made up of cotton woven in different
patterns.

She started weaving at the age of 16. Her years of practice, eye for detail, creativity, and innate skills caused her
to produce excellent quality abels. Her handiworks were distinguishable from other abels since they are finer,
with more thread counts, and more intricate designs with up to 5 thread colors. Even today at her old age
Magdalena consistently produces well-crafted abels. To preserve the art of abel weaving in Ilocos, she mentored
community people including her cousin's daughter-in-law and her sister-in-law.

Salita Monon
Salita Monon is a Bagobo textile weaver from Bansalan, Davao del Sur. She started weaving at the age of 12
through the guidance of her mother. The traditional Bagobo fabrics which are made up of abaca fibers are the
product of Salita. Due to her high-quality textiles and their intricate designs, Salita garnered the reputation of
being the best weaver in her community. She spent all her life weaving and preserving the art of the Bagobo.

Metalwork

Eduardo Mutuc

Eduardo Mutuc is a metalsmith from Apalit, Pampanga, who created numerous wood-carving and metal art with
religious and secular themes. He started woodcarving house furniture when he was 29. Then several years later
he learned the art of silver plating because of a friend. He did intricate decorations for churches. In doing the
metalwork, Mutuc would first draw his design on a sheet of paper then he would transfer and carve it to a block
of wood. He would then cover it with a sheet of silver and would carefully hammer the metal until it copies the
design of the wood. Then he would dip the metal into molten silver. Mutuc's artworks added splendor to the
Church design. Through the years of producing metalwork, he perfected his art and transferred the skills to his
students
Casque

Teofilo Garcia

Teofilo Garcia is an Ilocano casque maker from San Quintin, Abra. He is known for crafting high-quality and
functional headpieces called tabungaw. The tabungaw that Teofilo makes is made up of native gourd called upo,
rattan, and bamboo. He combines and experiments with these materials to come up with decay-resistant, elegant,
and remarkable tabungaws. He never stops innovating to produce good quality headpieces. To pass on the art of
making tabungaws, Teofilo teaches his children the skills in making the craft.