Local disabled children gain acclaim in Mexico

As Goodwill Ambassador of our Department of Tourism at the 30th Congress of the International Theatre Institute in Tampico, Mexico, Cecille Guidote Alvarez’ Earthsavers Dreams Ensemble got such prolonged standing ovations that the ITI concluded its conference with a decision to make the Philippines the site of its next Congress in 2006. This is not the first international recognition that the Earthsavers Dreams Ensemble has received. The UNESCO General Conference awarded them with UNESCO’s Artist for Peace Award and President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was privileged to have witnessed both the performance and the awarding ceremony. It is very uplifting to read that some private individuals and groups are being hailed for their outstanding achievement abroad.

The Dreams Ensemble is composed of very able disabled young singers and dancers. The performing group is composed of blind, deaf, speech-impaired, armless and crippled young performers. But they all perform like professional artists. In short, they are very able disabled individuals.

It was then Senator Heherson Alvarez who founded the Dreams Ensemble as the cultural arm of the Earthsavers Movement after returning from the United States where he was exiled during the Marcos regime. His wife, Cecille Guidote Alvarez, the first Filipina to be elected to the UNESCO International Theatre Institute Executive Council and Co-President of its Cultural Identity and Development Committee, is the person who turned Heherson Alvarez’ vision into her personal mission. Jennifer Walpole of the III Secretariat in Paris said that Earthsavers is a troupe that should be seen by the whole world. We are not exaggerating when we say it is only in the Philippines where such a performing group exists and it is thanks to the vision and mission of Heherson and Cecille Alvarez. Incidentally, the performers are children who have been gathered from such organizations like the Kalahi Urban Poor Community and Smokey Mountain.

By pure coincidence, the Earthsavers Dream Ensemble was in Mexico during Philippine Independence Day. And so led by Ambassador Marciano Paynor, it became part of this year’s Independence Day celebration in Mexico. It was only after the opening of the Suez Canal that we had direct contact with Spain. Prior to that, it was through Mexico and our main contact was the galleon trade. We hope that the Earthsavers Dreams Ensemble will also mark the start of more cultural interchanges with Mexico. If Spain is our Mother Country, Mexico is our older brother.