If a fortune teller had told prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde that she would be hosting her very own radio program in the future, she would have simply laughed the prediction off and dismissed it as one of those fun forecasts dispensed at the beginning of each year.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would have a career on radio,” swears Lisa. But here she is now, actually celebrating the first anniversary of her very own art-and-culture program on DzRH titled Art 2 Art (aired every Sunday, 3:30 p.m.) and she still keeps pinching herself to make sure that the past year really happened.
Well, it did. In between her duties as artistic director and principal dancer of Ballet Manila, the acclaimed “Ballerina ng Bayan” managed to side step into working on radio. Since Art 2 Art started airing in March 2007, Lisa has engaged in conversation a virtual Who’s Who in Philippine art and culture, starting off with National Artists Eddie Romero, Virgilio Almario, Salvador Bernal, Napoleon Abueva, Abdumaria Asia Imao, Alejandro Roces and Bienvenido Lumbera.
While Art 2 Art has featured “crossover” artists (those who can traverse between “classical” and pop) such as Ryan Cayabyab, Nolyn Cabahug and Isay Alvarez, the program prides itself in having presented to listeners many other personalities from the fields of literature (poets Jose Lacaba and wife Marra Lanot, The Philippine Star columnists Danton Remoto and Jessica Zafra, Vim Nadera), visual arts (painter Malang, potters Jon and Tessy Pettyjohn, sculptor Ramon Orlina), music (violinist Gilopez and pianist Corazon Kabayao, Joey Ayala, flutist Tony Maigue, Chin Chin Gutierrez), dance (Lisa’s former dance partners Nonoy Froilan and Osias Barroso, the Bayanihan), theater (Dennis Marasigan and Irma Adlawan, PETA, Floy Quintos), film (Ronnie Lazaro, Clodualdo del Mundo Jr.), design (fashion whiz Barge Ramos, award-winning book designer Ige Ramos) and a lot more.
“I’m just glad that we’re able to highlight artists as celebrity figures and to present them as positive role models, worthy of emulation especially by our youth,” enthuses Lisa. “Through Art 2 Art and our mass-based, infotainment programming, we’re doing our bit to popularize arts and culture — which is an extension of what I’ve been doing for ballet. With every episode, we live up to our show’s promise to deliver Usapang sining at kultura para sa lahat!”
Since Filipinos are personality-oriented, Lisa believes that taking a showbiz approach may be the best way to acquaint a wider number of people with the wealth of talents coming from fields not normally accessible to them. “We’re really taking advantage of the nationwide reach of radio to make this happen If our kababayan listen to our artists, they will learn that their lives are just as interesting as those who are in entertainment and sports.”
That a showbiz program precedes Art 2 Art (Mga Tsika to the Max ni Tita Swarding) is proving to be an advantage as listeners tend to linger, with the 30-minute length of the show just enough to get them hooked on the discussion. A trivia contest additionally tests their attention as to what is being said.
The idea for Art 2 Art came out of the blue, during a conversation that Lisa was having with friends. It started out as a “what if” scenario, but as the talk went on, the question evolved to “why not.” “My husband Fred absolutely loved the idea of my hosting a program in his DzRH station. When I told him about it, his whole face lit up,” recalls Lisa.
With Fred’s generous support, it was decided that the family-owned Manila Broadcasting Company would be producing the show. Before Lisa knew it, she was doing plugs, holding a press conference and taping the first episode featuring “Mr. C” — Ryan Cayabyab.
“I don’t think the enormity of what I had entered into sunk in until we were already on our second or third show,” Lisa confesses. “But I never back down from a challenge, even if it means brushing up on my rusty Tagalog. I look forward to our tapings, especially because it gives me a chance to learn first-hand from the experiences and expertise of other artists.”
What does she enjoy most about being a radio host? “The repartee, the conversations I have with my guests that make me believe I’m in a café somewhere talking to a very interesting person, rather than in a radio booth with a microphone and a script in front of me. I enjoy the fact that we are able to expose our listeners to the insider’s viewpoint of the Filipino artist.”
Lisa, who incidentally, will be marking her 25th anniversary as a professional ballerina next year, continues: “I’ve learned that all artists have several things in common — genuine love for their art and an intense desire to succeed in perfecting and polishing their chosen craft. And, as the painter Malang so concisely pointed out — ‘sipag at tiyaga’ spells the difference between talent and success.”
It’s actually a double celebration for Art 2 Art, as it marks both the program’s first anniversary and International Women’s Month. A powerhouse lineup of Filipina artists has been scheduled for the entire month.
After the March 2 guesting of writer-radio host and pop icon Jessica Zafra, listeners are in for other interesting episodes featuring: Legendary duo Inang Laya, composed of progressive musicians Karina David and Becky Demetillo, sharing their views on being artists, feminists and nationalists (today); sisters Sari, Aba and Kiri Dalena, born of artist-parents who are themselves building careers in visual arts, film and music (March 16); “Grand Dame of Southeast Asian Children’s Theater” Amelia Lapena-Bonifacio in a rare radio interview where she gives a glimpse of her life’s work in promoting puppetry and children’s theater in the region (March 23); and finally, a tribute to an extraordinarily gifted Filipina artist, teacher and cultural manager, National Artist for Music Lucrecia “King” Kasilag (March 30).