Naming names, connecting the dots, I know, you know

Standing in the middle of Remedios Circle in Malate back in 1995, I wasn't ready when the Barangay Captain asked us, the late RJ Leyran and I, what the name of our organization was, a requirement for our permit to use the roundabout as the venue for JC - Live!, the music of Andrew Lloyd Weber's Jesus Christ Superstar, a concert for a cause. 

   

Around me - Cafe Adriatico, the then relatively newly opened and overly brightly lit Racks, Guernica's, and of course, Penguin Cafe where the idea and plan for the project at hand then was hatched, and beyond that, the row of shanties including a few holes in the wall offering tapsi meals, mami and cheaper beer. This was my de facto home then. 

And right there in the middle of the rotunda, an elevated round concrete platform which in the afternoons is the arena where imaginary battles between superheroes and villains were reenacted by children from the neighborhood, and at night turns into a hunting ground for carnal and other illicit needs, and later in the night, sleeping quarters for the homeless or for those who do have homes nearby but are lured by the cool breeze coming from Manila Bay which blows directly towards that platform. 

There is that sweet spot between the hunting ground hours when deals have already been made and the players have gone to consummate the deal, and before the sleepers come, usually around midnight to 2:00 AM when suddenly the rotonda would be almost empty, save for a few stragglers. That's when I'd usually find myself there to smoke a lonely cigarette. 

Anyway, looking around at the open air performance area before me, I said "Open Space Productions."

I collaborated almost exclusively then with Joel, whose bedroom was our workshop. He named the room "Hell's Kitchen."

In Hell's Kitchen a few nights later, Joel and I worked on a logo for Open Space - he came up with a simple design with just the text (the O in open and E in space slightly bigger than the rest serving as prosceniums that framed the name) and a symbol I asked for, the Infinity symbol. 

Back in Penguin, RJ and I continued to work on the production meeting with various artists we wanted to feature - Jet Melencio, Raul Roxas, Rina Reyes, Lolita Carbon, Waling-waling,  a youth symphony orchestra. During nights in Penguin, aside from my lonely cigarette at the rotonda, another memorable, and often poignant, moment would be my trips to the bathroom after I've had one drink too many, and I have a silent conversation with a framed illustration of a conversation with a guy named Zeke about hedonism, and another framed work called "Bacchus Asleep."

Soon after that production, I found myself falling in love with Baguio, although it would take me and RL another year before finally packing all our belongings and moving here (back here, for her), where Open Space would eventually take root and blossom. 

In my first couple of years, aside from the productions, I conducted a lot of acting workshops for various groups and individuals, mostly students. I remember being obsessed with the idea of transcending the Fourth Wall of the theater at the time, a result of the monologues RL and I have been staging/performing, and most of my lectures on acting revolved around that.

After an attempt at a restaurant and a desktop publishing shop, and after the birth of our first son, RL and I opened a gallery at the 3rd floor of Dali Building in Guisad in 2000. We appropriated the name that my mother used for her series of workshops for underprivileged children back in the 80s which I also attended, which I thought perfectly captured what Rl and I have been doing, surviving, creatively and we called the gallery The Workshop for Creative Survival. It ran for a few months, until other callings, along with the then unprofitability of stand alone art galleries, made us decide to close it up and move on. 

We ventured into other forms of creative expression and production - so in addition to theater, we learned about graphics, photography, videography, I started exploring musical compositions, writing columns for local newspapers, and got into media and multimedia production. We informally called all that Altomonte Multimedia.        

Looking back at the last 25 years, a word cloud forms in my head - 

 

 

With these words, I know, you know.  

         

Throwing lines watching the walking man walk (kitakits sa dulo)

I pine for the stage - to be on it, in front of it, behind it, at the wings, in the booth. Throwing lines, memorizing lines, blocking, running through, dress rehearsing. It's a bad time to be a theater artist. The very essence of theater is human interactivity, and in the time of physical distancing, it would almost be impossible for theater to thrive.   

Everyday, lines from plays past play in my head, and this morning it's from The Artist, the final monologue in the series by Eric Bogosian - 

"They call that "being responsible," man. Everybody's scared, man -

they're afraid they don't do what they're supposed to do - BANG - they're homeless. 

That's what the homeless people are, man. 

They're the warning to all of us, "Stay in your cage, don't rock the boat."

It resonates stronger these days, at a time when expressing your frustrations, fears and anxieties may be deemed as boat-rocking. Unless it's blowing smoke up someone's ass, then your opinions and you are fine. Because it doesn't matter if you actually have the P50 million to pay an assassin, or even meant to hire an assassin at all, whether you wanted it or wished it, or if it's not even about that at all but more about your feeling of helplessness and desperation facing a fearful present and an uncertain tomorrow, or if your concern is about the more vulnerable and displaced not being given a fighting chance, or even totally left out of a system designed to favor those who are already in much better positions, "stay in your cage, don't rock the boat." 

A man is walking down the road in front of our house, I'm on the balcony having a cigarette and coffee. It's only the second week of the Enhanced Community Quarantine. I know that look on his face. I know what that heavy gait means. The small reusable bag could not have any more than a couple of kilos of rice, a couple of cans of sardines, a small bundle or two of vegetables, another kilo of bulilit, maybe, yet the weight on this shoulders, in his heart... that time when the stash of coins in cans and found in pockets of jeans in the laundry is the source of funding for the day's food on the table, looking at the array of fish at the market, you choose the kilo that offers the most meat, not the tastiest, having to save up for a mere weekend McDonald's treat for the children, check out exhibit opening schedules and time rehearsals just before then so the cast would have some refreshments after, move house every three months or just after using up the usual two months advance one month deposit requirement give or take an extra month or two... so yeah, I know that look on his face, I had it and on occasion, have it. And during those times, a little boost, no matter how little, matters so much, just the news that the Mayor wanted to engage artists in a meeting to discuss ways to help those in this sector who are in need, and that few hundred care packages have been made available by the Mayor's office.     

 

A lot of artists have that look on their faces, and many of one person's essentials are luxuries for them - like social media presence. I tried to speak for them, and back to that boat, the ones who aren't on it and are treading water, and offered to help reach, at least to the best of our capability, those who weren't within earshot of Facebook or could navigate their way around online forms or could not make their way to City Hall or into Baguio at all, and the boat rocked. I didn't think someone whose not aboard, treading water, could cause the boat to rock, but apparently it did.  

Here's another line from the musical Rent, spoken: 

An aging, sickly yet still rocking bassist living in his humble unlisted abode beyond the city limits. The single mother who makes a living off of tourists in search of Instagramable coffee mugs with ethnic trimmings who happen to live on the wrong side of a police tape that defines an area in total lock down. The visual storyteller who classified himself unqualified for some relief because he's not tech savvy enough. The carvers and weavers who didn't even know there was such relief available. The group of mothers in a mining community down in Itogon who could hardly sell their woven tapestries pre-Covid19 who are isolated, displaced. They were the ones I thought needed those care packages way more than those who are online, could navigate their way through online forms, swing by City Hall sooner before the packs ran out.   

I do apologize if my sentiments caused an uncomfortable sway. The fact is, today, I may be one of the more fortunate ones who could somehow weather this storm better than others (though that way it's dragging on puts the sustainability of that fact in question), but I've been there, and still find myself there from time to time. I know how and have actually had to be creative enough to make that one can of sardines or meatloaf be enough for a family of seven.  

But beyond that, what we, that's myself and my family who took turns delivering those care packages to as many displaced artists as we could, learned and realized was this: what was more valuable to the recipients than the actual contents of the bag was knowing that in these trying times, someone had them in mind, that they mattered.      

A role I've performed the most number of times, Jose Rizal, in Malou Jacob's monologue, Pepe, says: 

"Malinis at walang bahid dungis ang kailangang maging alay 

upang ang handog ay maging karapat-dapat"  

Now I am reminded of the matinees in gymnasiums filled to the rafters with children laughing their heads off in the first half and the teachers with tears in their eyes in the end. 

It will take a long time before we could perform in front of an audience again. That's the curse of the theater artist in the time of a pandemic. Just my luck, after years of absence in the local theater scene, this was the year I decided to return.  

I was particularly looking forward, after having resigned as consultant to the city's creative desk and as a member of the creative council, to be part of this year's Ibagiw as a participant. While it was an honor to direct last year's, but that meant not being able to exhibit or perform as an artist. 

The festival would have to be restructured, of course, due to the current circumstances, but I was surprised and saddened by the information I received that the title, Ibagiw, will be dropped by the Council for Baguio Creative City, along with the theme that was approved prior to my resignation. Essentially because it came from me. It would have been better to be told that the change in the title of the festival was because Ibagiw was not a good one, inappropriate, or because the incoming director/s has/have come up with a much better one (that shouldn't be difficult, really). This kind of mirrors our dysfunctional political system that places self-serving interests above those of the constituency - throw a predecessor's initiatives into the garbage can, doesn't matter whether it's good or bad, just because it was a political opponent's initiative.  

Recently, the daughter, Kathy, of one of the greatest actors and indeed persons I've ever known, Jose Mari Avellana, posted photos from a production I was fortunate to be part of in 1989, which reminded me of one of my favorite monologues from a play. The following are excerpts from another monologue from Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac:

What would you have me do?

Find a powerful protector: and choose a patron,

like the dark ivy that creeps round a tree-trunk,

and gains its support by licking at its length,

to climb by a ruse instead of rise by strength?

No, thank you! 

Dedicate, as others do

my poetry to bankers? Become a buffoon

in the base hope of seeing a less than sinister

smile quiver on the lips of some Minister?

No, thank you! 

Dine each day on a toad?

Own a belly worn out with crawling? Show

a skin that’s dirtied quicker than my knees,

and with a supple spine do tricks to please?

No, thank you! 

...Try to get myself named the high Pope of councils

held in the taverns by imbecilic scoundrels?

No, thank you! 

...Not be terrorized by the morning papers?

Not say endlessly: ‘Oh, could I but see

myself in small print in the ‘Mercury’!’

No thank you! 

Calculate, show fear, grow pallid,

prefer to make a visit than a ballad?

Get myself presented, write petitions to the king?

No, thank you! No, thank you! No, thank you! 

When I accepted the responsibility to direct Ibagiw, I did not think I was entering a pageant. 

Pageant contestants could be vicious.  

Much could be said about my performance as creative director of the festival and the festival itself, I cannot do anything about that. But I take comfort in the memory of what we experienced during those months of preparations and those nine days  - the gratitude for being given the opportunity to tell a story and acknowledgment of the importance of art in a society, the sincerity and purity of most everyone's intentions, and most beautifully, the sense of community among the participants and the trust and respect for each other that came with it. 

It's yours, Ibagiw, I was told. I beg to disagree. It belongs to the community. 

The word may be deleted from the upcoming posters, streamers, press releases, budget, etc., but the spirit would live on. It must live on. It will. 

The second half of Cyrano's monologue:    

But...to sing,

to dream, to smile, to walk, to be alone, be free,

with a voice that stirs, and an eye that still can see!

To cock your hat on one side, when you please

at a yes, a no, to fight, or – make poetry!

To work without a thought of fame or fortune,

on that journey, that you dream of, to the moon!

Never to write a line that’s not your own,

and, humble too, say to oneself: My son,

be satisfied with flowers, fruit, even leaves,

if they’re from your own garden, your own trees!

And then should chance a little glory bring,

don’t feel you need to render Caesar a thing,

but keep the merit to yourself, entirely

in short, don’t deign to be the parasitic ivy,

even though you’re not the oak tree or the elm,

rise not so high, maybe, but be there all alone!  

It's the first Monday tomorrow as Baguio transitions to slightly less restrictive directives to keep the city safer. A lot of us would be able to leave our houses and go to town. Some of us would know exactly where to go and what to do, others, not really. A lot of us would be walking up or down Session Road just like the way that man did in front of our house that day - with a bagful of essentials and the weight of the world on his shoulders and in his heart. 

Keep treading, stay alive, get through this. And when we do, kitakits sa dulo. We've got stories to tell. 

 

 

Sino-sino nga ba ang mga kasama sa Creative Sector?

This is where the city's private sector partners or NGOs are needed, and since the Baguio Arts and Crafts Collective, Inc. (BACCI) does not have a formal membership system, and no other organization currently engages the whole creative community as a whole, the need for an actual list of local artists, artisans, cultural workers and organizations could be drafted. This would be the proper take off point for initiatives to reach out to the sector, especially in times like this.

CBCC recently started working on something like this, albeit limited to reaching out on social media, which may not provide us with a comprehensive list.

Sources of data with regards to individuals and groups that could be included in the initial list of members:

- Participants in Entacool (2018)
- Participants in Ibagiw (2019)

- Participants in Apunan (2019)
- Members of each of the known creative organizations
- Attendance sheets for all the general assemblies held since BACCI’s establishment

If the establishment of yet another institution that would directly respond to and protect the welfare of local artists and artisans seem unrealistic right now, either:

1. The CBCC could step in as the overall umbrella organization
2. BACCI may be deputized and requested to abandon its policy of a loose membership system in favor of a more formal and defined one.
3. The CBCC could create a special task force for this purpose.

After the initial list has been drafted, persons and groups in the list may be notified either by email or mobile phone, depending on the available contact information, and through this they could confirm their inclusion in the list.

The basic information needed may be:

1. Name
2. Field of expertise
3. Location / address
4. Contact information (Email, Mobile Number)

Though we may have to surrender to the fact that the present circumstances may prevent us from having a thoroughly comprehensive list, extra effort must be exerted to ensure that as many of the city's creatives get to be included in it, which may even entail some legwork, of course done in the safest possible way without endangering the welfare of those on the ground. At least, those who have taken an active participation in various art and cultural events in the last three years must included. The above suggested initial sources of data should be a good starting point for this.

Let us at least exert as much effort in knowing our beneficiaries as we do in soliciting funds for relief efforts.

For if the list is compiled only through the most convenient means at the moment - social media, primarily -  we may be leaving out those who may need assistance the most.  

Point 1: Immediate Considerations for Baguio's Creative Community

In my original presentation, I forwarded the following:

  IMMEDIATE CONSIDERATIONS

1.       Identifying individuals and groups that belong to the sector

2.     Granting creatives access to services and businesses that would allow them to continue practicing their respective professions under the current circumstances, and while strictly following physical distancing and other mitigation policies, such as, but not limited to:

a)      Art supply stores

b)      Music stores

c)       Computer shops

d)      Crafts suppliers/stores

The first item, determining our constituency, is necessary before we proceed, and for this to be done properly, we need to go beyond social media.

As for the second item, while we are still in the process of identifying the members of the creative sector, there are initiatives that the LGU could already execute that would have an immediately have an impact on artists and artisans who wish to be productive even while in quarantine such as granting them access to services and supplies necessary for them to do so. Much like the way auto supply shops and hardware stores were given the privilege, certain arts and crafts supply stores and allied creative services may be allowed to operate on certain days for this purpose.

• VISUAL ARTISTS/ARTISANS/CRAFT MAKERS: Art Supply Stores for canvasses, paints, brushes, basic crafting tools and supplies such as knitting/crocheting supplies, etc.; Framing Services.
• MUSICIANS: Music Stores such as Musar, Musicworld, etc. for basic consumable needs like guitar strings, rosin for violins, reeds for woodwinds, etc. and certain basic equipment such as microphones, keyboard pedals, etc.
• PHOTOGRAPHERS AND OTHER DIGITAL ARTISTS: Computer and other digital/electronics shops for consumables such as printer ink, accessories and services such as computer/gadget repair, etc. 

The above are just some examples, and those in other fields of creative expression who are currently rendered unproductive but may be able to do some work if only they had access to supplies and services.

In addition, the issue of creatives who may be in dire need of immediate relief was brought up. I did comment that we really do need that database of individuals and groups that belong to our sector first. But since that might take some time to complete, we could provide a way for us to identify and reach out to artists and artisans who are in more distress and need immediate relief...

...and vice-versa, an office much like the Creative Desk that has now, to my understanding, been basically replaced/superseded by the secretariat of the CBCC, or perhaps a task force created specifically for this purpose that artists and artisans can go to, call or communicate with to request for assistance.

And since resources are limited, and we in the creative industry cannot expect to be given special attention by the government over other sectors of the community for in this once in several lifetimes situation, we are all in distress, we cannot expect to be able to provide monetary or relief goods or any other form of assistance to EVERYBODY. Thus, we must be able to come up with a system that could determine who among us needs such assistance more, and in what form.

I am sure that the council would be working on coming up with such system/process, but we can all contribute ideas and may share these with them for consideration.     

To the Council for Baguio Creative City

I would have missed the announcement for an Engagement Meeting between local artists and Mayor Benjamin Magalong which was held today, if not for a friend who forwarded the invitation she received. This I believe highlights the limitations of social media as the main means of reaching out to the community - which is not to say that it's entirely not effective, but each individual's news feed is tailor made by Facebook based on that person's preferences, and it's not impossible for important messages such as this one to be missed. And there are many in our sector that are not on social media, or the internet at all, and they may be among the ones that need immediate relief more than those of us who actually have the means - gadgets, mobile data or home internet connections - to be online.    

Back to the meeting, as someone who lives in the outskirts of Baguio's city limits, it's a bit more difficult for us to go out and we weren't sure if we could make it to the meeting. So I wrote a few recommendations and emailed it to the Mayor and the Council for Baguio Creative City, in case I didn't get to go. Below are those recommendations that I hope could somehow be of help to the city government, particularly the CBCC, as they try to come up with ideas for initiatives that would address the needs of the creative sector during this time, and more importantly, when we all come out of this and begin the healing and recovery process.  

April 25, 2020

THE COUNCIL FOR BAGUIO CREATIVE CITY

thru

MS. ADELAIDA LIM, Chair and

THE HON. BENJAMIN B. MAGALONG, co-chair

I hereby humbly submit some recommendations that may help address the needs of the creative sector both immediate and in the near future.

I.                    IMMEDIATE CONSIDERATIONS

1.       Identifying individuals and groups that belong to the sector

2.     Granting creatives access to services and businesses that would allow them to continue practicing their respective professions under the current circumstances, and while strictly following physical distancing and other mitigation policies, such as, but not limited to:

a)      Art supply stores

b)      Music stores

c)       Computer shops

d)      Crafts suppliers/stores

II.               IDENTIFYING MEMBERS OF THE SECTOR

This is where NGOs are needed, and since the Baguio Arts and Crafts Collective, Inc. (BACCI) does not have a formal membership system, and no other organization currently engages the whole creative community at large, the need for an actual list of local artists, artisans, cultural workers and organizations could be drafted. This would be the proper take off point for initiatives to reach out to the sector, especially in times like this.

CBCC recently started working on something like this, albeit limited to reaching out on social media, which may not provide us with a comprehensive list.

Sources of data with regards to individuals and groups that could be included in the initial list of members:

 -          Participants in Entacool

-          Participants in Ibagiw

-          Members of each of the known creative organizations

-          Attendance sheets for all the general assemblies held since BACCI’s establishment

If the establishment of yet another institution that would directly respond to and protect the welfare of local artists and artisans seem unrealistic right now, either:

1.       The CBCC could step in as the overall umbrella organization

2.       BACCI may be deputized and requested to abandon its policy of a loose membership system in favor of a more formal and defined one.

3.     The CBCC could create a special task force for this purpose, which could later be developed into a full-fledged Creative Industry Equity.

After the initial list has been drafted, persons and groups in the list may be notified either by email or mobile phone, depending on the available contact information, and through this they could confirm their inclusion in the list.

The basic information needed may be:

1.       Name

2.       Field of expertise/industry

3.       Location / address

4.       Contact information (Email, Mobile Number) 

III.           FUND SOURCING – INITIAL SOURCES

A minimal membership fee may be collected, although during this time, not from the members themselves. Perhaps the CBCC could forward a resolution endorsing the sponsorship of artists’ membership fees taking it from the city’s allotted budget for art and culture since given the current circumstances, we don’t see any major artistic or cultural events in terms of exhibitions and performances being staged in the coming months that the city would need to provide major funding for, probably even for the rest of the year.

For example, a membership fee of P300 per person multiplied by 1,500 individuals would total P450,000.00. Institutions, organizations and organizations could have a higher membership fee of P1,000, half of which could be subsidized by the LGU.

This enables us not only to access available funds already earmarked for the creative sector, but utilize such for efforts that are more sustainable than mere direct payouts or dole outs or distribution of relief packs and have a more significant impact in the lives of displaced artists and artisans.

IV.             IDENTIFYING BENEFICIARIES & DETERMINING PROJECTS

Most artists and artisans already are in a struggle to make ends meet, with or without the further displacement brought about by the current crisis. Identifying the beneficiaries to be prioritized would be a challenge. Some points for consideration:

1.       CREATIVE IN BLISTT AND THE REST OF THE CORDILLERAS - The last two festivals engaged artists and artisans who practice their profession outside of Baguio. But since we acknowledge that much of Baguio’s cultural and creative eco-system involve artists, artisans and other cultural workers from its immediate neighboring municipalities and the rest of the Cordilleras, they must be included for consideration. 

2.       A SYSTEM THAT WOULD DETERMINE SUB-SECTORS/INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE MORE VULNERABLE – Some of us are struggling, some of us would be able to weather this crisis. Some of us are can immediately resume work, some of us would be displaced for a much longer time even after the ECQ is lifted. Some of the more vulnerable sub-sectors may include, but not limited to:

a)      Artists who are senior citizens or with disabilities

b)      Performing Artists - particularly groups such as bands, dance troupes and theater groups, etc. who, by the very nature of their field of expertise, need audiences. That would not be possible in the near foreseeable future.

3.      THE ACTUAL BENEFITS NEED NOT BE PROVIDED BY THE COUNCIL/TASK FORCE ITSELF -   What it could focus on is to function as a bridge between its members and institutions who are already mandated and in a position to provide relief efforts.   

For example, Mr. Alex Ognayon, 2^nd place winner in the Ibagiw Woodcarving Competition, spends much of his time in Hungduan, Ifugao but his wife and children are here in Baguio. He’s been calling for the past few weeks, mainly to ask if there was any relief efforts being done for artisans like him, and for assistance for his wife to be included in the list of SAP beneficiaries. He shared that while his wife, who lives in Asin Road, Baguio City, submitted the necessary documents required by their barangay, for some reason she was not included in the list of approved beneficiaries.

The council/umbrella organization/union could help engage barangays and other LGUs and agencies to enable its members to access government relief efforts and subsidies already in place.    

V.               TAKING IT A STEP FURTHER – A CREATIVE INDUSTRY EQUITY TO STRENGHTEN THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY DURING ITS RECOVERY

The current crisis has brought to the fore the lack of institutionalized sustainable support systems for the creative sector, and this is three years into being designated as a creative city by UNESCO. With regards to this, we must really go beyond staging events such as the Baguio Creative City Festival.

While the current social distancing measures in place prevent us from working full time, if at all, it also gives us much time to work on a structure that would benefit the sector not just in the time of Covid-19, but in years to come.

With this, I recommend the establishment and institutionalization of a Creative Industry Equity that would have the functions of both a collective and some form of union that protects and advocates artists and artisans’ welfare that would:

-          Professionalize the industry further.

-          Provide for opportunities for its members.

-          Protect local artists and artisans from market saturation brought about by artworks, products, services and the like brought into the city by non-residents.

For example, for theater artists, most schools in Baguio are able to require their students to patronize one theatrical production per semester, or two productions per year. Sadly, given the city’s inclination to discriminate against its own, whenever a local production is pitted against one from Manila, more often than not the schools tend to choose to send their students to the latter, displacing local artists. An equity system may be put in place, perhaps through the initiative of CBCC and to be implemented by a partner NGO, institutionalized by an ordinance, which would oblige the visiting production to contribute part of their revenues to the Creative Industry Equity. The same concept could be applied to visiting visual artists exhibiting in Baguio, visiting musical artists staging concerts in Baguio, etc. 

And for local artists and artisans to benefit from this equity system, they must be bona fide and card carrying members of the Creative Industry Equity.

In our shared resolve to help the creative community cope with the current crisis and make a speedy recovery, I shall remain,

Yours sincerely,

KARLO MARKO ALTOMONTE

Artist

I did make it to the meeting, by the way, and in the exchange this morning, more great ideas were floated that I would be sharing in a succeeding post. 

Life interrupted

So where were you when the Covid-19 threat got real?

March 2020, Thursday, the announcement was made that Metro Manila would most probably be put on lockdown. My first thought was how to get the whole family together under one roof. Our three children live with us in  Baguio, but the two elder ones are in Metro Manila - the eldest in Makati and his younger sibling in Las Pinas.

We agreed to meet at my aunt's place in Malolos, Bulacan the following day, Friday the 13th of March.

With the planned lockdown merely a couple of days away, details were still murky, and aside from the virus itself, I worried about how the Enhanced Community Quarantine was going to be implemented by the government. This was a first, and nobody was an expert on this, I expected it to be chaotic especially during the first few days.

In Baguio, we still weren't sure if the city would be closed down, or at least how that would be done.

The next morning, feeling like we're in some thriller movie scene wherein we had to execute an extraction of persons in distress, RL, daughter Gabriela and I made our way to Bulacan. Both Marko and Sofia still had to attend to some work - the former's a content producer for a media outfit, and the latter's a pre-school teacher. The threat of COVID-19, the virus that causes severe respiratory issues with quite a high fatality rate, has been in the news for a few weeks already, but somehow it felt like it wouldn't reach our shores. The president himself downplaying the possibility of entry of the virus in our country, as well as if ever it did, that it was nothing to worry about, did nothing to help prepare any of us to go as far as being forced to stay indoors for weeks, and everyone was caught by surprise by this latest development.

Photo courtesy of Brenda Villanueva, OSHARE Baguio

The last gathering I attended that involved quite a number of people was the forum organized by the Council for Baguio Creative City on February 4, 2020. And even as early as then, people were already talking about this virus that's wreaking havoc in Wuhan, China. At around this time, while other countries have instituted travel bans particularly those originating from Wuhan and the rest of China to protect their respective citizens, our president and his health secretary still continued to pander to China, very careful not to hurt that government's feelings, at the risk of putting Filipino lives at more risk. Flights continued to come in from China. At this gathering, although some of the attendees joked about no-handshakes, no-hugs, no-kisses, there were already a handful who seriously declined to shake hands, hug, or kiss anybody hello.         

But in the days that followed, the threat was becoming more and more serious, and the local government's response was getting more and more aggressive. First event to be cancelled was the  Panagbenga (Baguio Flower Festival) opening parade. But other public spectacles scheduled for the rest of February were merely moved to a later date which included the rest of the Baguio Flower Festival's major events and Ipitik, a cultural event.

Then by mid-February, the mayor along with the lead conveners of the flower festival made a judgement call - Panagbenga 2020 has been cancelled altogether. By then, organizers were still playing it by ear with Ipitik, although as the situation escalated, that too was eventually cancelled.

This was reminiscent of the meningococcemia scare in Baguio in 2005, and while no lockdown was implemented, then Mayor Braulio Yaranon publicly discouraged tourists from coming to Baguio, which was was both welcomed (mostly by Baguio residents) and criticized (mostly by hoteliers and other tourist-oriented businesses).

While our daughter was already making her way to Bulacan, our eldest son was having second thoughts about leaving the metro because of his work. He shares an apartment at the Bonifacio Global City with other young professionals like him, and he was under the impression then that he would be better off staying put in case the situation improved and work resumed. earlier than expected. I couldn't convince him otherwise with conviction, as I myself couldn't picture exactly how things would unfold in the coming days. Our daughter, who had a car, was already exiting the Coastal Road expressway and was about to enter Pasay, she could either make her way straight to Malolos or still make a turn towards BGC when she passes Makati - I called my son to make a final decision. He chose to stay, assuring us that he would be safe and with a promise to be very careful and to stay in touch as often as he could.

We made a stop in San Fernando, Pampanga to begin stocking up on essentials. Inside S&R, known for goods sold at wholesale prices, despite the sight of the occasional shopper with more than the normal number of shopping carts lined up at the checkout counters, everything still seemed normal. After getting what we could, including a few extra items to share with our family in Bulacan, we journeyed on.
  
During the 4-5 hours' drive to Bulacan, we stayed online to keep ourselves updated, and the situation seemed to escalate as fast as we were going on the North Luzon Expressway that by the time we exited the highway in Pulilan, checkpoints were already being set in place in various entry points into Metro Manila.

Sofia was already at my aunt's house in Bulacan when we arrived around dusk. I worried about my aunt and her family's safety seeing that they still continued to operate their sari-sari store. We wanted to make our way back to Baguio right way, but my aunt wouldn't allow that without serving us dinner. We learned that my cousin's husband was due to arrive that coming Monday when the metro would have been on lockdown already, and nobody knew how he could make his way to Malolos then. We hoped that his flight would be diverted to Clark, Pampanga. I also told my aunt that I thought it was best for them to stop the operations of her sari-sari store. She thought so too. After dinner, we got into the car and made our way back up to Baguio.

At our usual final stop before driving up either Kennon Road or Marcos Highway in Sison, Pangasinan, I remembered the last long bike ride I took just a few days earlier, on March 11. It was a beautiful day, and I had an analog SLR camera with me that I was trying out to see if I would buy it from a friend who's selling it. I rode straight to Ililikha Artist's Watering Hole that day after a grueling over 5-hour climb up Kennon Road. There was an ongoing event that evening, a tatooing and piercing session that culminated in a live performance by the band, Baka-baka. A friend and her young son were there to have coffee with us, and they were already seated at a table with Rl. Although after a whole day on a bike, I wasn't up for coffee right away, so I ordered a refreshing smoothie instead which Del, the guy who made the concoction, said was an immune system booster. The mix of greens, bell peppers and whatever else Del put in it was refreshing, and delicious.

Some images taken during that bike ride down and up Kennon Road,
a few days before the lockdown began.

I was still able to have the negatives processed on March 12, Thursday which the studio said would be ready by Saturday. I liked the pictures I took during the ride, and couldn't wait to see them in print. 

Baka-baka performs at that last public event held at Ililikha

We arrived in Baguio way past midnight, early hours of March 14, and made a stop at Volante, the 24-hour pizza place in Pacdal to wait for our youngest son who was being dropped off by his friends coming from a party. At 2:00 AM, the quietness of Pacdal, usually bustling with activity during the day with children on ponies riding around and endless stream of tourist vans coming and going, already had a strangeness to it, could even be disquieting. I took a snapshot of my own shadow created by the lamp post from across the road. And I thought then that this, right now, right here, this feeling, this disquiet, this eeriness, this feeling of anxiety, this is what it's going be like in the next few weeks.   

March 14, 2020, Saturday, we decided to head to downtown Baguio to get more essential supplies. I was able to make a detour to Ililikha Artist's Watering Hole for a coffee break. It was eerily quieter that afternoon. This time, people were taking social distancing a bit more seriously already. Having a cigarette at the rather cramped smoking area, I wondered if the couple of feet between the other smokers and myself were enough. I feel a sneeze coming on, I try to and successfully stifle it.

The announcement has been made, Baguio, together with the rest of Luzon, will be under Enhanced Community Quarantine. This is becoming more and more real.

On the way home, I remembered the negatives I had processed which I forgot to pass by for. So the next day, I made that one last trip to Session Road on the day before the city goes into lockdown, Sunday, March 15, 2020. The air in downtown Baguio was different with much less vehicles on the roads and people on the sidewalks, which, again, felt just like that moment in Pacdal earlier, quite heavy. I first went to the market for some fresh produce and coffee. There were only a few stalls open, and I almost didn't get to buy coffee - the only stall open that sold coffee was already closing shop for the day and didn't want to sell anymore. I told the lady behind the counter that I didn't need the coffee beans ground, and she agreed to make that one last sale. I couldn't remember all the ingredients Del put in his immune system boosting concoction, but that's ok, we had vitamin supplements in stock already.

I carried my market bags up Session Road towards Photo Tech Studio Cafe, and there was only one client there, photojournalist Andy Zapata, seated at a table with a face mask on. These days, it's so hard to determine whether people are glad to see you or not, sometimes the eyes don't communicate everything. From a distance of more than six feet, he pulls down the mask to say hello, we both sigh. My negatives were ready, I said thank you to the lady behind the counter and goodbye to Andy and rushed towards a photo printing shop a few meters down the road to have the negatives scanned and a contact print made.


That was the last time I was in unrestricted Baguio.   

At home, both our sons had their respective girlfriends over. We were still unsure about how the quarantine would be implemented, and heard that borders between Baguio and neighboring towns were already being closed. The younger son's friend decided that she wanted to go home to Tawang, La Trinidad, Benguet. But we weren't sure anymore if I would be allowed to dive her all the way from our place in Tuding, Itogon into Baguio (first possible checkpoint), down towards Brookside and up to Ambiong (second possible checkpoint). We made arrangements with her parents to meet us at the border between Baguio and La Trinidad in Ambiong.

This drive felt even more like being in some movie, the tension was more palpable as we, my son, his friend and I entered the area, we started looking out for the checkpoint. After passing a corner where we saw some police cars and personnel yet had no barricades, we stopped a few meters down the road and realized that that may have actually been the checkpoint already. Though we were not stopped, we decided to turn around and wait on the Baguio side of that spot. Her parents arrived, and after saying their goodbyes, she hopped into her parent's car.

My son and made our way back home mostly in silence, until I asked him, "What do you think?"

"About?"

"This whole thing, the virus, the lockdown..."

"I don't know..."

"Yeah, me too, I don't know..."

Yeah, we didn't know.

Because art isn't easy

When outlining a program, whether it's for an awarding ceremony, an exhibit opening, a convention, or the opening gala of a festival, the first thing that I determine is the story it must tell - and everything else follows, flows from there.

When I was putting together the script for the opening ceremony of Ibagiw: The Baguio Creative Festival 2019, there was one song that I really hoped the emcees, who were all musical theater performers, could sing: Stephen Sondheim's "Putting It Together."  

Bit by bit, putting it together
Piece by piece, only way to make a work of art
Every moment makes a contribution
Every little detail plays a part
Having just a vision's no solution
Everything depends on execution
Putting it together (That's what counts)

In the case of Ibagiw, the portrait I wanted to paint was that of the creative community of Baguio - the diversity, the abundance of artistic talent in the city, the dynamism and the level of artistry that is reached if artists and artisans are given the proper environment in which they could create. 

Ounce by ounce, putting it together

Small amounts, adding up to make a work of art
First of all you need a good foundation
Otherwise it's risky from the start
Takes a lot of earnest conversation
But without the proper preparation
Having just a vision's no solution
Everything depends on execution
The art of making art, is putting it together
Bit by bit

Once the story, or idea/concept or message that must be conveyed has been determined, I go on to work on the setting. The site of the festival - the Old Diplomat Hotel, heretofore more popularly known as a haunted place frequented by tourists hoping for encounters  of the ghostly kind or a perfect backdrop for their Instagram and Facebook posts, provided endless possibilities for this. The opening ceremony shouldn't just take place on a single stage - the audience must be taken on a roller coaster ride consistent with the idea of showcasing the diversity and dynamism of the local art and culture scene. 

Note by note, working on projection
Lips, teeth, throat, looking for a moment to inhale
Keeping the emotional connection
Even when your fellow actors fail
Pointing at the subtext by inflection
Helping your director reach perfection
Even though you have a strong objection
To the way he's handling the direction

Then the plot - there would be a main stage, then we take everyone inside where, at intervals, magic happens in various spaces... choosing Sa Saliw ng mga Gangsa as the theme song was no accident, it was deliberate. There lies the essence of the Ibagiw as an artist - their ideas, concepts, the stories they tell in whatever form, are all deeply rooted to Baguio - the place, the environment, its spirit, its soul, essence, its heritage, history, its culture. 

  

Art isn't easy
Every minor detail
Is a major decision
Have to keep things in scale
Have to hold to your vision
Even though you're feeling apprehensive
That you're looking bland and inoffensive
And you wish your wardrobe was extensive
Don't forget that Spangles are expensive

Let's welcome them with a few pieces from an orchestra, followed by a traditional welcome performance of traditional dances to the rhythm of the gangsa, or gongs. Let them deliver their messages for a brief intermission, then let's get back to the main plot.    

The light, Love
A little to the right, Love
It isn't very bright, Love
And must it be so tight, Love
Thank you, he does that every night
Beat by beat, losing inhibition
Head, hands, feet, trying to relax, but not too much
Trying to lay out the exposition
But without exposing it as such
Trying to perform but not audition
Trying to establish recognition
Trying to persuade the electrician
That he should destroy the competition
Art isn't easy
Every word, every line
Every glance, every movement
You improve and refine
And refine each improvement

Photo by Ric Maniquis

And it's time to put it all together. Let the gangsa establish the beat, a basic Cordillera beat, let the drummer follow that on the high hat. The let the choir join in the intro. Section by section the instruments of the orchestra join in, strings, brass, guitars.. then the drums, a kit and a group of hand drummers. 

  

Bit by bit, putting it together
Piece by piece, working out the vision night and day
What it takes is time and perseverance
Dealing with details along the way
Dealing with Producer's interference
Waiting for the Author's disappearance
Filling up the holes with animation
Covering the flaws in the construction
Wiping all the scenic ostentation
Knowing it's a "Macintosh" production
Working for a tiny compensation
Hoping for a thunderous ovation
The art of making art
Is putting it together

Cue the dancers to come in - both modern and indigenous movements danced to harmony created by the coming together of different elements united by a single design.

Song ends, let the gong players lead them inside where a classical pianist welcomes everyone on a grand piano, to be joined by two classical vocalists for a few arias, complementing the classic architecture that's one of the vestiges of the city's colorful history... let the audience breathe, then let a folk singer gather them to open an important exhibit... let a performance artist tel his story...   

Bit by Bit
Part by Part
Fit by Fit
Start by Start, Stride by Stride
Kick by Kick, Glide by Glide
Schtick by Schtick, Side by Side by Side by Side by Side by Side.
And that is the state of the art.

Unfortunately, this Sondheim classic was not performed during the opening ceremony. We tried, but we couldn't reach that certain performance level, and the audience deserves no less than what the artists believe is a work of art that is truly ready and worthy of presentation to an audience. 

And in not performing the song, an important facet of the portrait we wanted to paint was actually presented - the artist whose standards are not defined by any factor - commerce, tourism, parochialism, among others - other than their own artistic sensibility and professionalism.

Because, as Sondheim's song says, art isn't easy.      

FUNDING IBAGIW

Between May and July, the meetings in preparation for the festival were held at the Café by the Ruins Dua on Upper Session Road or at Mt. Cloud Bookshop on Brent Road, courtesy of BACCI chair and president, Adelaida Lim. Heading into the second staging of the creative festival, BACCI, the lead private-sector partner of the city government in staging the festival, had neither an office nor a bank account and zero funds.

TOEING THE GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT PROCESS LINE 

I submitted the first projected budget in July, which ran up to P5.9 Million or, with a 10% contingency fund which I usually allot to all projects I manage, about P6.5 Million. After more pencil pushing, on August 12, 2019, we submitted the final proposed budget of P5,370,000.00 to City Budget Officer Leticia Clemente, then the focal person to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) and de facto person-in-charge of all Creative City initiatives of Baguio.

The City Government of Baguio committed P2 Million for the festival. We requested for the funds to be released to BACCI which would be then subjected to liquidation, but we were informed that the LGU cannot do this, the disbursement of the funds would be made directly by the City Budget Office. We raised the concern that much of the needs of the festival do not conform to the current procurement process of the government. For example, we intended to commission installation art pieces and under the current procurement process, each “job order” would have to be bid out in a process that’s designed to award the project to the lowest bidder. Besides, the project management team needed mobilization funds. After several meetings, we had no choice but to give in to the conditions set by the City Budget Office. We carried on without any cash on hand.

That’s two million, we needed over three million pesos more to cover all the expenses of the festival.

STARTING FROM ZERO 

The Baguio Arts Collective, Inc., formed in 2018 but only formalized and legalized in early 2019, was still in its infancy. The current organization structure includes a Board of Directors chaired by Adelaida Lim who was also president, officers which included Carl Taawan as Corporate Secretary and Rommel Marcelo as Treasurer and an Executive Committee headed by Maricar Docyogen as Executive Director. In the executive committee are artists representing certain sectors: visual arts, literary arts, woodcarving, weaving, etc.

I was essentially coming in as a third-party service provider as Creative Director and Project Manager, and with me and under our agreement, the whole project management team which included a production manager, stage managers, production assistants and a documentation team, among others. The basic arrangement was in exchange for our services, BACCI would pay us the total project management cost we submitted that was approved by the board and executive committee.

While we have learned that the organization had zero funds available at the time, the assumption was that the organization would be taking care of fund-sourcing – or that at least, it wouldn’t be up to us to source out funds to pay ourselves.

ORGANIZATIONAL, FINANCIAL ISSUES AND OTHER CHALLENGES 

In August, barely four months until the festival, we were faced with a dilemma: while the festival’s rationale, outline and calendar of activities were ready, things wouldn’t move until funds became available, and BACCI had yet to identity personnel to work on that.

Adding to our woes was the lack of an office. Aside from Mt. Cloud Bookshop and Café by the Ruins Dua which was already closing shop to move to a different location, some of our meetings were hosted by Rocky Cating at the family-owned Solibao Restaurant on Session Road. We needed to have a permanent office space soonest. Several options were considered for this, including the newly-built though unutilized museum beneath the flagpole at City Hall, but after inquiring with the City Administrator about the possibility of allowing BACCI to use the space as the festival secretariat, we were told that the city’s legal office beat us to it.

The Baguio Crafts and Productivity Center (also known as the OTOP Center) was forwarded as an option, though the building was in the process of being bid out to a lessee. But upon learning that the bidding process has not been initiated yet pending the finalization of the terms of reference, we wrote the mayor, the DTI Regional Director and the president of the Association of Barangay Captains for permission to use the 2nd floor as an office. Our request was approved, and sometime in September, we moved in.

We had an office, but we still didn’t have mobilization funds. So just to get things moving while we waited for the organization to find a solution to this dilemma, we drafted the first solicitation letter addressed to the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), one of the major contributors to the previous year’s staging of the festival. In that letter dated August 15, 2019, we aimed for the stars and asked for two million pesos to cover majority of the events calendared in the festival. The proposal was essentially approved, albeit with several documentary requirements that BACCI needed to submit but didn’t have at the time, and also with a slightly lower net amount of below P1.8 Million.

One of the requirements for the approval and release of the TPB sponsorship was the organization’s financial statement, which, as mentioned, at the time was non-existent. Despite having a zero-balance, I pointed out the need for a financial statement because since BACCI’s incorporation, it had engaged in activities that involved financial transactions such as when it was provided with free booths during Panagbenga 2019’s week-long trade fair, “Session Road in Bloom,” which, at the time and in fact to date, along with EntaCool, have neither been liquidated nor audited. We raised the concern that without those, we may not be able to secure the sponsorship of TPB.

But even with the TPB sponsorship almost confirmed (we say almost since the contract has not been signed yet pending the required documents), we still didn’t have cash on hand. Whatever we needed, we’ve had to personally provide from representation expenses to office supplies.

Meanwhile, some BACCI officers stepped up starting with board member Brenda Villanueva who donated P2,000.00, followed by then newly-installed board member Venus Navalta who donated P20,000 which was earmarked for the opening of a bank account for BACCI. Rocky Cating lent an extra inkjet printer.

CONFIRMING TPB’S SPONSORSHIP AND BACCI’S LACK OF FINANCIAL HISTORY 

Towards the end of September, while the Tourism Promotions Board has confirmed its intention to sponsor the festival, formal arrangements have yet to be made. I offered to personally meet with Ms. Rona Olaivar, Events Services Specialist of TPB and the person assigned to coordinate the sponsorship at their office in Manila to finalize the sponsorship. One of the concessions I requested TPB was that in lieu of the usual financial statement, could we just submit a bank statement in its place? With the opening of the official BACCI bank account, it was the only document relating to the collective’s financial circumstances that was available at the time. The meeting was held on September 27, 2019 at the TPB office during which we were able to finalize the details of the sponsorship, and I came back up to Baguio with the primary list of documentary requirements that we needed to provide. I say primary because items would be consequently added to that list by TPB.

In one meeting with members of the executive committee, Ms. Maricar Docyogen committed to preparing a financial statement, and also mentioned that BACCI may have around P30,000.00 in revenues from the Panagbenga event.

A meeting was called to form a “Finance Committee” composed of officers of BACCI. In that meeting, Rocky Cating was assigned as head of the committee along with BACCI Treasurer Rommel Marcelo and a report was also finally submitted by Ms. Docyogen detailing the financial circumstances of BACCI’s previous undertakings. She also turned over the amount of P10,000.00 representing, according to the financial statement she submitted, revenue derived from the aforementioned activity.

Executive Ms. Docyogen would eventually beg off from being directly involved in the operation of the organization for the month October due to personal commitments, and many of the other members of the executive committee could not commit to helping with BACCI’s administrative and financial concerns. Rocky Cating would eventually travel abroad. This left Mr. Rommel Marcelo (BACCI Treasurer) who committed to supervising the cash flow of the organization and Mr. Carl Taawan (BACCI Corporate Secretary) whom we have also included in the project management team as Logistics Coordinator. Then there was Ms. Brenda Villanueva, member of the board of BACCI, who volunteered to help with the staging of Jamming on a G-String, one of the major events calendared in the festival and Ms. Adelaida Lim, BACCI President, who made herself available to officially sign documents on behalf of the organization as much as possible.

But BACCI still didn’t have a dedicated marketing or fund-sourcing team. It became apparent that the responsibility of sourcing funds not only for the festival but also for our own professional fees would fall on our shoulders.

MORE FUND SOURCING EFFORTS, PRIVATE SPONSORS RESPOND 

Between the City Government’s and the Tourism Promotion Board’s commitments, we’ve covered roughly 80% of the festival’s financial requirements. We drafted more letters addressed to potential sponsors.

The first to respond was Victory Liner Inc. who agreed to be a major sponsor. And thanks to Ms. Lim’s efforts, this was followed by the entry of HABI – The Philippine Textile Council also as a major sponsor. Then, to our surprise, Boysen Philippines, which usually provided sponsorship in kind (usually in the form of paints and other related products), signified their intention to come in as a major sponsor providing both cash and paints. The regional office of the Department of Tourism committed to covering our printing and other promotional needs, while Converge, a new internet service provider making their presence felt in Baguio, offered connectivity on-site for the duration of the festival.

Towards the end of September, we were still short by two or three hundred thousand, and the team have been consumed by fund-sourcing efforts that the actual execution of the festival’s programs have taken a backseat. We decided to make do with what we had by that time, streamline the line-up of activities, set fund-sourcing aside already, and finally begin pre-production work on the events and activities of the festival.

THE NEED FOR BRIDGE FINANCING 

Time flew in October, but things were finally moving. And then we received word from the Tourism Promotions Board that their sponsorship would be released in the form of reimbursement, meaning after the festival. By this time, all major events were already in motion, financial commitments were piling up and the limited funds available to us from our major sponsors were dwindling fast.

We needed bridge financing, I informed the board of directors and members of the BACCI executive committee. We, members of the project management team, have already advanced over a hundred thousand to cover various expenses. Loaning the needed amount from either banks or private individuals was proposed and approved.

But the lack of financial history proved to be difficult for BACCI to secure a loan.

Board Member Venus Navalta offered to help with this problem by directing her company, IPG Media Brands Chief Financial Officer Nette Samson to assist us in getting a loan. But she could only assist us in getting a loan either from Security Bank or Cashalo, which both required numerous legal documents and collaterals to secure, both of which BACCI did not have. Carl Taawan offered to negotiate with a known event financier for a loan of 200K to 300K, but eventually that financier didn’t have available cash at the moment. Maricar Docyogen would eventually offer to loan the festival 100K – we put that on stand-by because as much as possible, we wanted to secure financing for the full amount we needed so we wouldn’t have to deal with several lenders.

By the time the Undas weekend holiday ended, we were only able to secure an initial loan of P500,000.00, and it wouldn’t be enough to get the festival through its 9-day schedule. It was already November 4, and the opening ceremony was a mere 12 days away.

*The above is part of the full terminal report for Ibagiw 2019 that was submitted to the Mayor, the City Budget Office, the Council for Baguio Creative City and BACCI. The full report is published here. 

We started the project with the organization having no funds, no office, no assets.

We close the books on Ibagiw leaving BACCI with close to P200,000.00 in cash, two officers of the organization compensated, three months’ worth of retainer for an accountant/lawyer, and a functional office.