‘Living Asia’ plus Roberto alive!
March 1, 2004 | 12:00am
Last Wednesday evening proved to be a wondrous double treat at the Cultural Center of the Philippines for this cultural observer. Two invites for successive events served their purpose exceedingly well – one with an eye (or both) out to the future of Pinoy TV, the other a premiere screening of a full video flashback as homage to Roberto Villanueva, our "shaman/showman" of an artist-friend who lives on.
CCI-Asia, a company of independent-minded stalwarts who believe in pushing the envelope for television content, launched its Living Asia Channel at the CCP lobby. Yes, these are the same folks who gave us the trailblazing Lakbay TV in 1999, then segued to the Isla and Juice cable and free channel features in 2001. Now they’ve hit a potential gold mine by partnering with Globecast World TV.
This will allow all of their arts, culture, lifestyle and travel features access to living rooms in North America, thanks to satellite feed.
The launch was certainly a cause for celebration, spiced up by Asian culinary treats on tables at opposite ends of the grand lobby, with the inspired choice of Johnnie Walker Green being offered at one table, and Louie Stuart’s Third-World-famous lambanog at the other, along with a veritable fountain of red wine, of course.
The colorfully garbed Ramon Obusan dancers cascaded down the grand stairway to perform a dance tribute to the cultures of Asia. Emcee Paolo Abrera introed his equally groovy "Pop," Carlos Abrera, CCI-Asia chairman, who in turn introed his fellow suspects who have led this indomitable company of free spirits, among them Carl Magno as president, Ed Santoalla as VP for communication, Sonny Hernandez as LAC managing director, and Dick Neri as director for new media production.
The party went on for a good couple of hours after sundown, with the Pinikpikan band providing spirited music after the impressive large-screen demo.
As this occasional technophobe understands it, Living Asia Channel programs are now available as freebies to viewers in the Philippines, Asia and North America (USA and Canada, plus the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico) via direct-to-home or DTH service providers and regional subscribers.
Let’s hear it further from Ed Santoalla:
"In North America, anyone with an ordinary DTH set-top box aimed at the Telstar 5 satellite can access the channel without paying subscription fees and/or equipment cost. Filipino, Asian and other international viewers who already have the set-top IRD (integrated receiver-decoder) box and mini-satellite dish for DTH broadcasting can access the Living Asia Channel by reconfiguring their box."
For details on this supposedly simple procedure, or to acquire such a magic box, contact Ludette Rosales of CCI Asia Television at cciasiagroup@yahoo.com or ludette querubin@yahoo.com In the US, one may visit www.livingasiachannel.net or contact George Magno at george@imagesasia.net especially for advertising and sponsorship inquiries. His mobile number is (201)866-8661. Here, similar inquiries should be directed to sales@livingasiachannel.net or phone number 757-3165.
Test-broadcast on January 9 this year, and soft-launched on January 18, the 24-hour channel which can now reach as many as 2.6 million individual viewers showcases the best of Asian destinations, finds, culture, cuisine, fashion, people and issues under the following program categories: Travel Asia; Young Asia; Our Asia (on positive developmental news and people-empowerment issues); Trade Asia; and Classified Ads.
The channel may also be accessed through Dream 16, Destiny 49, Home 42, and provincial cable providers. Or so this techno-geek was made to understand. But then the limits of this here memory can only go as far as the last Scotch glass for Johnnie Green
Which is saying much, come to think of it, for that glass we made sure to fill to the brim before we sashayed down the carpeted steps to the CCP basement’s Dream Theater for the next gig, the premiere showing of Showman, Shaman, a full-length documentary on the late artist Roberto Villanueva, directed by Egay Navarro.
Artists still fondly remember Roberto, who succumbed to leukemia eight years ago, and whose wake and funeral in Baguio City was fittingly transformed into installation and performance art when his remains where cremated in the open air, to ritual chants and circling dance to the gangsa beat. The funeral pyre shot up dramatic flames that have not been seen again in Baguio, as a council resolution has since banned such a crematory service. With Roberto, the first and last act always seemed imminent, immanent.
His 1989 installation of a maze of runo or native cane sticks on the grounds fronting the CCP remains, in our memory at least, the landmark (if ephemeral) for such art in this country. Robert was a compleat performer (read showman) alright. The deconstruction of the labyrinth on its final day had him in his typically sensuous physical element, as, clad only in a g-string, he flung his lean physique repeatedly against the undulating walls of runo, collapsing on the ground with them.
These memorable "visuals" occupy pride of place and chronology in Egay Navarro’s superb docu, together with what we remember vividly of Roberto’s genius: the spirit boat offerings cast into the waters of the Burnham Park lagoon; his street performances in New York, where, quaintly and ironically enough, right on Liberty Island he found himself plaintively arguing with security officers that all he was doing -— waving a staff of feathers in one hand while marching about in loincloth and headdress and nothing but – was offering the public an "artwork-in-progress"; digging up what he called his "Ego’s Grave" in Brisbane, Australia in 1995, shortly after realizing that he had leukemia; visiting Uluru or Ayers Rock in the middle of the Australian continent, where he and filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik conducted a bonding pilgrimage…
Watching through nearly two hours of Roberto’s meteoric, fiery communion with our planet, it was all we could do to hold up that glass of whisky in silent and nearly tearful tribute. He lived well and created great art, and now he was alive again before us – the same kindred that had now come together to partake of this terrific digital homage, exactly eight years (ah, infinity) to the day our shamanic Elvis left the building.
From the program notes:
"Dead at 47, Baguio artist Roberto Villanueva pushed the limits of an art form that was meant to be short-lived. Now a new film immortalizes the work from a pioneering artistic career.
"In the early 1990s, Roberto awed art audiences around the world with his grand installation art pieces inspired by Filipino mountain tribes. But his work was designed to be temporary, and was occasionally demolished in flamboyant dance rituals performed by Roberto himself. His ‘Labyrinth’ constructed on the lawn of the Cultural Center of the Philippines was a giant playful maze made of runo that ended in a sacred stone center. It was reviewed by Time magazine, among many other publications, and put Roberto on the map as an artistic force. But like many of his other pieces, this too was purposely destroyed by Roberto.
"Although his best art no longer survives in their physical form, the charismatic Roberto attracted some of the country’s most accomplished photographers, filmmakers and documentarists who recorded many of his achievements.
"Showman, Shaman, a new art documentary by Egay Navarro, assembles this wide array of documentation to tell the story of Roberto’s life and art. With a grant from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Navarro’s team spent more than a year collecting and organizing the material before producing one of the most comprehensive films about a Filipino artist.
"What many recall most about Roberto’s art was that it brought communities together to help him produce it. That too was the spirit behind the making of this film. Those friends and colleagues who reminisce about Roberto in the film include Bencab, Laida Lim, Angel Shaw, Suzanne Llamado, Ann Wizer and Kawayan de Guia.
"The late Santi Bose, another Baguio-based art pioneer, gives an extraordinary interview in the film and provides… its climactic, shocking twist. The title of the film refers tongue-in-cheek to both Roberto’s preoccupation with healing and his love for audiences…
"In what was billed as his final performance, Roberto was cremated in a night-long open-air funeral pyre with dances and rituals performed by his family and friends. It was a primal community event that, true to his spirit, was scripted by Roberto himself."
This film should win all sorts of awards and accolades here and abroad. It is brilliant, endearing, dramatic, funny, wistful, highly stylized, and perhaps most important, utterly faithful to the spirit and memory of the artist it has reincarnated for all time.
We must give thanks to the community of true friends who made this videodocu possible: the couple Edgardo Navarro and Rica Concepcion; Suzanne Llamado for production/project management; Howie Severino as principal writer; Alice Guillermo, Laida Lim Perez and Gerry Gerena as assistant writers; Howie Severino and Rica Concepcion for the interviews; Egay Navarro as principal cameraman; Kidlat de Guia, Abbie Lara and Olivier Richot as editors; Mutya Bose as assistant editor; Pinikpikan, Shant Verdun and Diokno Pasilan for the music; and Clarence Sison for graphics.
The footage was compiled from the video collections of Roberto Villanueva, Kidlat Tahimik, Howie Severino, Gerry Gerena and Egay Navarro.
Long live Roberto! Thanks, y’all.
CCI-Asia, a company of independent-minded stalwarts who believe in pushing the envelope for television content, launched its Living Asia Channel at the CCP lobby. Yes, these are the same folks who gave us the trailblazing Lakbay TV in 1999, then segued to the Isla and Juice cable and free channel features in 2001. Now they’ve hit a potential gold mine by partnering with Globecast World TV.
This will allow all of their arts, culture, lifestyle and travel features access to living rooms in North America, thanks to satellite feed.
The launch was certainly a cause for celebration, spiced up by Asian culinary treats on tables at opposite ends of the grand lobby, with the inspired choice of Johnnie Walker Green being offered at one table, and Louie Stuart’s Third-World-famous lambanog at the other, along with a veritable fountain of red wine, of course.
The colorfully garbed Ramon Obusan dancers cascaded down the grand stairway to perform a dance tribute to the cultures of Asia. Emcee Paolo Abrera introed his equally groovy "Pop," Carlos Abrera, CCI-Asia chairman, who in turn introed his fellow suspects who have led this indomitable company of free spirits, among them Carl Magno as president, Ed Santoalla as VP for communication, Sonny Hernandez as LAC managing director, and Dick Neri as director for new media production.
The party went on for a good couple of hours after sundown, with the Pinikpikan band providing spirited music after the impressive large-screen demo.
As this occasional technophobe understands it, Living Asia Channel programs are now available as freebies to viewers in the Philippines, Asia and North America (USA and Canada, plus the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico) via direct-to-home or DTH service providers and regional subscribers.
Let’s hear it further from Ed Santoalla:
"In North America, anyone with an ordinary DTH set-top box aimed at the Telstar 5 satellite can access the channel without paying subscription fees and/or equipment cost. Filipino, Asian and other international viewers who already have the set-top IRD (integrated receiver-decoder) box and mini-satellite dish for DTH broadcasting can access the Living Asia Channel by reconfiguring their box."
For details on this supposedly simple procedure, or to acquire such a magic box, contact Ludette Rosales of CCI Asia Television at cciasiagroup@yahoo.com or ludette querubin@yahoo.com In the US, one may visit www.livingasiachannel.net or contact George Magno at george@imagesasia.net especially for advertising and sponsorship inquiries. His mobile number is (201)866-8661. Here, similar inquiries should be directed to sales@livingasiachannel.net or phone number 757-3165.
Test-broadcast on January 9 this year, and soft-launched on January 18, the 24-hour channel which can now reach as many as 2.6 million individual viewers showcases the best of Asian destinations, finds, culture, cuisine, fashion, people and issues under the following program categories: Travel Asia; Young Asia; Our Asia (on positive developmental news and people-empowerment issues); Trade Asia; and Classified Ads.
The channel may also be accessed through Dream 16, Destiny 49, Home 42, and provincial cable providers. Or so this techno-geek was made to understand. But then the limits of this here memory can only go as far as the last Scotch glass for Johnnie Green
Which is saying much, come to think of it, for that glass we made sure to fill to the brim before we sashayed down the carpeted steps to the CCP basement’s Dream Theater for the next gig, the premiere showing of Showman, Shaman, a full-length documentary on the late artist Roberto Villanueva, directed by Egay Navarro.
Artists still fondly remember Roberto, who succumbed to leukemia eight years ago, and whose wake and funeral in Baguio City was fittingly transformed into installation and performance art when his remains where cremated in the open air, to ritual chants and circling dance to the gangsa beat. The funeral pyre shot up dramatic flames that have not been seen again in Baguio, as a council resolution has since banned such a crematory service. With Roberto, the first and last act always seemed imminent, immanent.
His 1989 installation of a maze of runo or native cane sticks on the grounds fronting the CCP remains, in our memory at least, the landmark (if ephemeral) for such art in this country. Robert was a compleat performer (read showman) alright. The deconstruction of the labyrinth on its final day had him in his typically sensuous physical element, as, clad only in a g-string, he flung his lean physique repeatedly against the undulating walls of runo, collapsing on the ground with them.
These memorable "visuals" occupy pride of place and chronology in Egay Navarro’s superb docu, together with what we remember vividly of Roberto’s genius: the spirit boat offerings cast into the waters of the Burnham Park lagoon; his street performances in New York, where, quaintly and ironically enough, right on Liberty Island he found himself plaintively arguing with security officers that all he was doing -— waving a staff of feathers in one hand while marching about in loincloth and headdress and nothing but – was offering the public an "artwork-in-progress"; digging up what he called his "Ego’s Grave" in Brisbane, Australia in 1995, shortly after realizing that he had leukemia; visiting Uluru or Ayers Rock in the middle of the Australian continent, where he and filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik conducted a bonding pilgrimage…
Watching through nearly two hours of Roberto’s meteoric, fiery communion with our planet, it was all we could do to hold up that glass of whisky in silent and nearly tearful tribute. He lived well and created great art, and now he was alive again before us – the same kindred that had now come together to partake of this terrific digital homage, exactly eight years (ah, infinity) to the day our shamanic Elvis left the building.
From the program notes:
"Dead at 47, Baguio artist Roberto Villanueva pushed the limits of an art form that was meant to be short-lived. Now a new film immortalizes the work from a pioneering artistic career.
"In the early 1990s, Roberto awed art audiences around the world with his grand installation art pieces inspired by Filipino mountain tribes. But his work was designed to be temporary, and was occasionally demolished in flamboyant dance rituals performed by Roberto himself. His ‘Labyrinth’ constructed on the lawn of the Cultural Center of the Philippines was a giant playful maze made of runo that ended in a sacred stone center. It was reviewed by Time magazine, among many other publications, and put Roberto on the map as an artistic force. But like many of his other pieces, this too was purposely destroyed by Roberto.
"Although his best art no longer survives in their physical form, the charismatic Roberto attracted some of the country’s most accomplished photographers, filmmakers and documentarists who recorded many of his achievements.
"Showman, Shaman, a new art documentary by Egay Navarro, assembles this wide array of documentation to tell the story of Roberto’s life and art. With a grant from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Navarro’s team spent more than a year collecting and organizing the material before producing one of the most comprehensive films about a Filipino artist.
"What many recall most about Roberto’s art was that it brought communities together to help him produce it. That too was the spirit behind the making of this film. Those friends and colleagues who reminisce about Roberto in the film include Bencab, Laida Lim, Angel Shaw, Suzanne Llamado, Ann Wizer and Kawayan de Guia.
"The late Santi Bose, another Baguio-based art pioneer, gives an extraordinary interview in the film and provides… its climactic, shocking twist. The title of the film refers tongue-in-cheek to both Roberto’s preoccupation with healing and his love for audiences…
"In what was billed as his final performance, Roberto was cremated in a night-long open-air funeral pyre with dances and rituals performed by his family and friends. It was a primal community event that, true to his spirit, was scripted by Roberto himself."
This film should win all sorts of awards and accolades here and abroad. It is brilliant, endearing, dramatic, funny, wistful, highly stylized, and perhaps most important, utterly faithful to the spirit and memory of the artist it has reincarnated for all time.
We must give thanks to the community of true friends who made this videodocu possible: the couple Edgardo Navarro and Rica Concepcion; Suzanne Llamado for production/project management; Howie Severino as principal writer; Alice Guillermo, Laida Lim Perez and Gerry Gerena as assistant writers; Howie Severino and Rica Concepcion for the interviews; Egay Navarro as principal cameraman; Kidlat de Guia, Abbie Lara and Olivier Richot as editors; Mutya Bose as assistant editor; Pinikpikan, Shant Verdun and Diokno Pasilan for the music; and Clarence Sison for graphics.
The footage was compiled from the video collections of Roberto Villanueva, Kidlat Tahimik, Howie Severino, Gerry Gerena and Egay Navarro.
Long live Roberto! Thanks, y’all.
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