Street smart

Romina Margherita Regina Ancellotti Diaz had the most fascinating childhood.  Her mother Sylvana Ancellotti Diaz, patron of the arts and gallery owner, made sure that she was exposed to art and artists at a very young age. 

Mommy would bring Romina to the Saturday Group who had painters Cesar Legazpi, Jerry Navarro, BenCab, Gus Albor, Romulo Olazo, Justine Nuyda, and the playful Pacita Abad.  Onib Olmedo was her ninong and every time he visited Galleria Duemila, Sylvana’s gallery, young Romina would be waiting for him to show him her pastel-covered fingers and force an ice cream treat out of him. 

Art was a staple dish in the Diaz household.  She saw paintings arriving by the dozens in their house on Loring Street where her mother started her gallery. Her father, talented artist and sculptor Ramon Diaz, painted in their bedroom as he did not want to paint alone and Romina would spend the day by his side watching him work. And let’s not forget her ninang, New York-based artist Isabel Diaz who was painting and redecorating nonstop.

Romina jokingly told me that because of her exposure to art, paint would ooze out of her veins instead of blood. Art became her passion and obsession. 

As far back as she can remember Romina was enrolled in all kinds of art classes at the Ayala Museum. She attended pottery classes with Japanese sculptor Shoko Mafune and played apprentice to sculptor Gabby Barredo and she would wonder through his magical junk in his studio.  She relished her private conversations with all these artists who would tell young Romina their dreams and aspirations, even their secret techniques.

There is another side of Romina that very few people know about.  Living on Loring Street exposed her to street kids ages 5 to 8. These kids, who would play outside their gate, became her playmates and she would bring them chalk so they could draw on the street. Even though she knew they belonged to different worlds, at the end of the day they were all just children who enjoyed each other’s company.

“When I left the house to study and live abroad, the last thing I saw were these young girls waving goodbye. I brought that memory with me.”

Back in Manila after many years, Romina reconnected with her childhood friends.  Most of them are now married, with their own malnourished children and living the kind of lives their parents and grandparents had lived before them.  She realized that she wanted to improve the lives of the children on Loring Street by educating them. She found out that most of these street children could not read so she started to bring them photography books.  She used visual imagery to teach them crafts and that started the ball rolling. Photography has become a fun way to teach the street kids. From friends who transferred to digital, she collected a number of cameras that are easy to use.

“I believe art is a tool for education. It is a huge factor that can free the mind,” says Romina. “With just a click at the right moment, you can catch reality in all its power and beauty. It speaks volumes about a place, a person, a feeling. Time moves so fast and often all we can hold on to is a snapshot of a moment.”

Romina’s humanitarian project, which was inspired by her mother, had a successful exhibit that opened on Women’s Day last March 8 and ended April 25. Aptly called “Living on Loring,” it’s collaboration between American installation artist Anne Wizer and curator-artist Angel Velasco Shaw. 

They used the photographs of 12 of the young friends that Romina chose to teach, children of her childhood friends: Bhe-Bhe, Bhing-Bhing, Marilyn, Laarni, Joan, Wendryl, Amethyst, Joy- Joy, Kim- Kim, Jessa, Ging –Ging.

These girls call themselves the “Wild Cats” and Romina taught them to use photography as a tool to help them to realize their own potential and to express their hidden desires and secret wishes. 

They have learned to unlock their minds and see things differently. It is a small part of their education but it is a beginning. “I wanted to prove that the lives of these poor kids are not a cliché. They are living a reality that most of us have learned to tune out of and pretend it does not exist.”

The Wild Cats also learned other crafts such as creating their dream houses from balikbayan boxes, creative writing (for those who can write), sketching and painting. 

The project has snowballed and the 12 kids are now willing to impart their skills to other street children.  Romina’s vision is to rid our country of street children. Her small project could get bigger with the help of people like you and me. “I came to teach them but in the end, I was the one who learned so much!”

“Living on Loring” can  be viewed at the Museo Pambata starting next week. For those interested to help Romina’s projects, log on to www.livingonloringword-press.com, call 831-9990, or e-mail is livingonloring@gmail.com.