ALONZO SACLAG

A Kalinga master of dance and the

performing arts, he has made it his
mission to create and nurture a greater
consciousness and appreciation of Kalinga
culture, among the Kalinga themselves
and beyond their borders.
 As a young boy in Lubuagan, Kalinga,
Alonzo Saclag found endless fascination
in the sights and sounds of day-to-day
village life and ritual. According to his
son, Robinson, he received no
instruction, formal or otherwise, in the
performing arts.
 Yethe has mastered not only the Kalinga
musical instruments but also the dance
patterns and movements associated
with his people’s rituals.
 Histool was observation, his teacher,
experience. Coupled with these was a
keen interest in – a passion, if you would
– the culture that was his inheritance.
 One such artifact is the Kalinga gong or
the gangsa, the making of which is a
disappearing trade. He has endeavored
to revive this dying craft.
 Inthe meantime, he perseveres in his
work, braving long hours of travel even
in the face of a tribal war. His wife,
Rebecca, who faithfully follows him
wherever his travels take him, says this
is his mission: to continue to nurture and
uphold the Kalinga culture, the birthright
of his children.