Maynila honors arts & culture awardees

As part of the festivities on the occasion of its 435th anniversary, the City of Manila led by Mayor Lito Atienza honored arts and culture stalwarts last Thursday, June 22, at the Gabi ng Parangal for the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan 2006 awardees at Manila City Hall’s Bulwagang Villegas.

This year’s awardees were led by Architect Francisco "Bobby" Mañosa who received the Gawad Diwa ng Lahi, National Artist for Literature Edith L. Tiempo who was awarded the Gawad Gatpuno Antonio Villegas, and Dr. Ruth Elynia S. Mabanglo for Tanging Parangal at Pagkilala.

These special prizes, which started in 1963 in the case of the Tanging Parangal, in 1972 for the Diwa ng Lahi, and in 1998 for the Gatpuno Villegas, are given to outstanding Filipino artists in any genre, while the regular Patnubay awards started in 1963 are given for particular art forms.

The 2006 Patnubay awardees are Ma. Cristina Valera-Turalba for Arkitektura, Joel Lamangan for Dula/Tanghalan, Herminigildo Ranera for Musika, Mario Ignacio Miclat for Panitikan, Ma. Elisa "Boots" Anson-Roa for Pelikula, Edgar Talusan Fernandez for Pintura, Osias Barroso for Sayaw, and Judy Freya Sibayan for Makabagong Pamamaraan.

Eskultura had no awardee this year, as the prospective winner, Duddley Diaz, sent word that he couldn’t make it back from Italy for the awards ceremony, and understandably, Mayor Atienza and the awards board don’t look too kindly on no-shows. Credit Duddley however for communicating his predicament, saying that medical problems would prevent him from making the trip home, albeit a latter report had it that it was his scheduled wedding date that was the real reason. In any case, he was gentlemanly enough to respond to the awards board, unlike a few predecessors who never acknowledged communication and simply didn’t show up.

It was a different story with premier poet and educator Dr. Elynia Mabanglo, who has long been teaching at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. She came home for her special award, and even accommodated the awards committee’s request to render a distinctive poem in Filipino during the rites.

I recall that poem, too, or what I believe to have been its original version, as recited by Elynia by a bamboo grove at the Manoa campus in Honolulu, back in 2002 the last time we got together. I had asked her to render it for a video docu, where indeed it served as a memorable highlight.

This time out, before a full audience at Bulwagang Villegas with its treasure of a wrap-around mural by Botong Francisco, Elynia recited an extended version that included quotes in English, such as familiar verse from Robert Frost. She was well-applauded, and Botong himself might have winked in delight.

Gazing in awe at the mural, I only realized that night that for the panel depicting the war of liberation as an episode in our history, Botong had pulled a nationalistic trick by partially covering Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s pipe-drawing visage with the upraised arm of a Filipino soldier.

The Panitikan awardee, Mario Miclat, whose latest work was the recently released and well-received Beyond the Great Wall, also came home in time for the awards rite. He had been on a tour with better half Alma in the US for the past few months. This included seeing their daughter Banaue graduate with an MFA in Acting from Brooklyn College, CUNY, as well as launchings of the "family journal" and a special talk by Mario at the Library of Congress, Asian Division, in Washington, DC

The Dula/Tanghalan award for film director Joel Lamangan may have surprised many, but the jurors committee headed by former Diwa ng Lahi awardee Atty. Espiridion D. Laxa and Manila’s Tourism and Culture bureau director Ronald Flores agreed that Joel deserved commendation for his early years of outstanding theater work with PETA.

Besides, Pelikula already had a most fitting representative indeed in Boots Anson-Roa, the much beloved (and still beauteous) "First Lady" of Philippine cinema. Seeing her wearing the extraordinary putong – a crown of sampaguita flowers that is traditionally bestowed on the winners by Mrs. Evelina Atienza during the putungan rites – served evidence that the delicately placed crown, with different designs for male and female heads, wasn’t cumbersome at all, but actually enhanced a pleasant mien.

And we can say the same for awardees Judy Sibayan, Tina Turralba and "Mom" Edith who came from Dumaguete City with a distinguished escort, writer-lawyer cum concert pianist Ernie Yee.

Bobby Mañosa gave the appreciation remarks in behalf of the awardees. In the glittering crowd were National Artists Billy Abueva, Frankie Sionil Jose and Rio Almario, as well as NCCA executive director Cecile Guidote Alvarez and some of the Patnubay committee jurors: Mon Orlina, Patrick Flores, Raul Locsin, Raul Sunico, Tony Fabella, and committee secretary Ofelia Co.

After the awards ceremony and dinner, Mom Edith made it to Penguin in Malate, off the freshly spruced-up Remedios Circle that is among Mayor Atienza’s recent park beautification projects. There she was joined by fellow awardees Mario Miclat and Judy Sibayan, as well as her escort service corps composed of Marj Evasco, Susan Lara, Danny Reyes and Jimmy Abad.

Holding court at the artists’ institutional hangout, Mom Edith received tributes and great good wishes from a long parade of alumni of the National Writers Workshop she has conducted in Dumaguete for the past 45 years.

Led by the 2006 batch that had already hosted dinner for Mom the previous night, the night at Penguin became a veritable continuum reunion. Among other past panelists and fellows this chronicler can recall seeing that night were Butch Perez, Tim Montes, Dean Alfar, Tara Sering, Alma Anonas, Vince Serrano, Janet de Villa, Ginny Mata, Gabriela Lee, Ken Ishikawa, Mikael Co and Gelo Suarez.

Surely there were more; sorry if I forget the others. Hours after that riotous bash, I can only recall having helped Susan, Marj and Danny take Mom Edith back to her hotel room before midnight, and returning to Penguin to see Ernie holding court himself. And it’s still a haze beyond that.

Mabuhay ang Maynila!