Ricardo and Roberto Crisostomo: The Sky Painter’s Dream

“The Philippines is a beautiful country. It is where a small man can have a big dream and actually touch it,” says Ricardo Crisostomo, president of La Mancha Pyro Productions and self-proclaimed dreamer.

Crisostomo’s fascination with fireworks began at the early age of nine.

“I was enthralled by fire... I almost burned my house down!” he recalls. As a young boy, he remembers seeing fireworks displays and feeling a sense of happiness, a joy that until now he still experiences when he himself produces the spectacular shows.

“Everybody loves fireworks!” Crisostomo says enthusiastically, a claim that few – if any – will dispute. “It’s pure,” he says of the experience of each show. For a few minutes, “we become like children... wounds are frozen and we are spellbound,” he adds of the power of fireworks to transcend all boundaries of race, religion, social status, gender and age. “It is a spiritual experience,” he says.

Perhaps the only thing better than watching a fireworks display is actually being in command of the show. “Making a show is like falling in love again and again,” Crisostomo says wistfully, adding that during his shows he hears the cheers of the mesmerized audience louder and clearer than the fireworks themselves. He goes on to say that, being in control of the production, “I feel like I am in the heart of God.”

“Each show is different. Every show is a challenge,” he explains, saying that the same attention to detail is given to each show, whether it is a three-minute demonstration or a 20-minute production. Each takes months to plan and organize – months of preparation for a show that will, literally, go up in flames and be over in just a few minutes. But, for Crisostomo, seeing the crowd’s reaction is worth all the effort, all the planning, all the expense. “You are only as good as your last show,” he adds. He believes that when he is able to produce a successful show, “the audience will demand from you a better one next time.”

And this grand not-so-old man of pyrotechnics is happy to oblige.

Crisostomo’s quest to produce a better show each time began with his first production in the Philippines during the country’s centennial celebration in 1998. It was then tourism secretary Mina Gabor who invited him to orchestrate the show, which was the first in the Philippines to be fired using a computer. What resulted was a fireworks display that enthralled millions of Filipinos. “It made the little boy inside of me crazier,” says Crisostomo of the experience.

Trained abroad by fireworks masters including Francis Wu, a respected pyrotechnics expert based in Hong Kong, Crisostomo was able to witness spectacular fireworks displays from countries all over the world. Knowing that many Filipinos did not have the luxury of going abroad to see these shows, he decided that is was time to bring the shows to the Philippines. “If Mohammad cannot go to the mountain, bring the mountain to Mohammad,” he quotes the familiar saying.

In 2002, he hosted a three-country exhibition, a production that went on to become the highly anticipated annual World Pyro Olympics. “It is a dream fulfilled,” says the self-proclaimed Don Quixote, “despite what we thought were insurmountable odds.”

Of course, putting on a fireworks display is not a one-man job. “My team is superb,” says Crisostomo proudly. The La Mancha team includes Crisostomo’s son Roberto, the vice president of the company, who aside from sharing his father’s pyrotechnic dreams also shares with him the same birthday.

Running the company on strict international standards, Crisostomo shares that the La Mancha greeting before and after each show is  “five fingers!” a phrase that has been adopted by many pyrotechnic teams worldwide to wish each other a safe performance. So far, they have a 100 percent safety record, and both father and sons have all their digits to prove it.

The World Pyro Olympics hosts the gathering of countries that have won in other pyrotechnic competitions throughout the year. It is the only competition in the world that has only one winner – the champion of champions. With the World Pyro Olympics, Crisostomo hopes to realize his dream for the Philippines to become the pyro capital of the world, a seemingly impossible dream that may soon become a reality considering the success of the previous World Pyro Olympics. At the last Olympics in December 2006, there were over four million people in attendance around the periphery of Manila Bay, causing monstrous traffic jams all around the metropolis. Millions more watched from their houses near the area, and those living in tall condominium buildings even hosted parties to watch the nightly displays.

The 2008 World Pyro Olympics, scheduled to start in late February, will feature what Crisostomo considers the masters: China, Germany, Japan, Australia, Korea, Dubai, Italy, Venezuela, France, and the Philippines –“It is a very powerful combination,” he promises.

Aside from the pyro olympics, La Mancha Pyro Productions will also produce Makati’s new year countdown show, something that Crisostomo is looking forward to – it will be his last show before he retires, to give way to the next generation. “It will be my swan song,” he says. The countdown show took him six months to prepare. “I dream about it,” he says. The production will be a classic – controlled manually by a pin board, which Crisostomo calls his “piano.” Unlike in computer-programmed shows, the 1,248 shots are set-off by the master, relying only on his memory to fire the proper sequence and captivate his audience. Crisostomo will then leave his dream with his sons Roberto, Lorenzo, and Miguel, all of whom have inherited their father’s passion for fireworks and producing a spectacle. “I know my sons will do a better and finer job,” Crisostomo says proudly.

Looking back on his years as a master of pyrotechnics and a pioneer of the World Pyro Olympics, Crisostomo believes that he is truly blessed. “If society has been good to you, you have the responsibility to give back. It is only fair,” he says. It is by putting a smile on the faces of each Filipino that Crisostomo, called the sky painter by his peers, has given back to society throughout the years. An expert in ushering in the New Year, he says, “The fundamental things apply as time goes by: discipline, perseverance, and above all, passion” in reaching for – and realizing – each of our impossible dreams.

The dreaming does not stop with his retirement, though. Crisostomo’s next quest is to improve the quality of service of the Philippine National Police to the Filipino people as executive director of the Philippine National Police Foundation, Inc. “They need to be appreciated,” he says of the many police officers who put their lives on the line everyday for the safety of the community. “It is my new windmill,” he declares, hopeful that he will be able to do for the PNP what he has done for pyrotechnics here in the Philippines.

And chances are it will be just as bright and as beautiful.

The Makati New Year countdown will be celebrated with a street party on Makati, corner Ayala Avenues. The 2008 World Pyro Olympics will be held at the Manila Bay on Feb. 16 (China and Germany), 23 (Japan and Australia), Mar. 1 (Korea and Dubai), 8 (Italy and Venezuela), and 15 (France and the Philippines).