Showing posts with label Angono. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Angono. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Rizal: Nemiranda and the Blanco Family Museum

After lunch, we visited the Nemiranda Art House which houses the Angono School of Arts. Of all the galleries we visited today, this is the one I've already been to during the Higantes Festival in 2006. In fact, we had a sumptuous fiesta lunch courtesy of the artist himself.

There were several paintings on display in his gallery. But one painting called Isang Kahig Isang Tuka struck me because of the powerful symbolisms used. It's a woman giving birth to her sixth child. Behind her on the left are her five other children holding cigarettes and garlands of sampaguita which they sell on the street. In front of them is a plate with a single piece of galunggong. Behind her on the right is her husband drinking. While beside here is the statue of the Sto. Nino and placed under it is an unused condom. Sad but true, this painting tells us about realities here in the Philippines don't you think?

Our last stop was the Blanco Family Museum. The family of Jose "Pitok" Blanco and his wife Loring is so unique because they and their children namely: Glenn, Noel, Michael, Joy, Jan, Gay and Peter Paul are all master painters in their own right. And they all follow the school of Realism, depicting subjects as they appear in everyday life.

Walking around the museum was a wonderful experience because of the beautiful images of the country and beyond which they have captured in their paintings. This is indeed a must visit for everyone.

I had to leave early since I had to catch my class. So I was not able to join the group when they visited what is probably the oldest existing artwork in the Philippines, the Angono Petroglyphs in Binangonan. But since I've been there already, just check out my previous entry on it.

Part 1: Art gallery overload in Angono, Rizal
Part 2: Lunch at Balaw-Balaw Restaurant in Angono

Related entries
Viva San Clemente! Higantes of Angono, Rizal
Angono is the Art Capital of the Philippines
Angono Petroglyphs in Binangonan, Rizal

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Rizal: Lunch at Balaw-Balaw Restaurant in Angono

As part of Havila's tour of the Angono area, we visited the Balaw-Balaw Folk Art Museum of the late Perdigon Vocalan for lunch. It's more known as the Balaw-Balaw Restaurant which serves both local specialties and exotic foods. For the brave, try ordering uok (larva of beetles that are found in coconut trees cooked as adobo or steamed in tamarind fruit and tomatoes just like escargot), nilasing na palaka (frogs marinated in wine and cooked as adobo), kamaru (a popular Kapampangan cricket dish), Soup No. 5 (cow butt and balls), bibingkang abnoy (aborted duck eggs cooked in banana leaves) or palos (freshwater eel cooked as adobo).

There are also unusual salads such as rose petal salad, rose petal tempura, bougainvillea salad, or crispy alagaw leaves (like crispy spinach or kangkong). But for today, they served us the traditional foods.

If you're a group, you might to their Minaluto which is a little of everything such as chicken and prok adobo, various seafoods and vegetables, steamed with a heaping mound of rice and served in a large bamboo container lined with banana leaves. Minaluto is another term for binalot or a meal with rice packed in banana leaves. It's a little over PHP1100++ if I remember it right.

Above and around the restaurant are paintings and sculptures of Vocalan, a lot of them! Indeed, the place was a feast for the eyes, mind and stomach.

Part 1: Art gallery overload in Angono, Rizal
Part 3: Nemiranda and the Blanco Family Museum

Related entries
Viva San Clemente! Higantes of Angono, Rizal
Angono is the Art Capital of the Philippines
Angono Petroglyphs in Binangonan, Rizal

Monday, March 31, 2008

Rizal: Art gallery overload in Angono, Rizal

Angono, Rizal is indeed the Art Capital of the Philippines. It's actually the center of an artists haven which includes the neighboring towns of Binangonan and Morong, an area which abounds with art galleries, museums, shrines and studios.

We went around Angono today courtesy of Havila since they wanted to show us the wonderful and conducive environment their communities are built in. So after a brief tour of their various developments, we went to Angono.

Our first stop was the house of Carlos "Botong" Francisco, National Artist for Visual Arts, along Dona Aurora Street. When Botong was still alive, his house also served as his studio. In front of it is the gallery of its current occupant, his grandson Carlos "Totong" Francisco II named The Second Gallery.

Dona Aurora Street is actually famous for its concrete street murals, contemporary works by artists Charlie Anorico, Gerry Bantang and Ebong Pinpino depicting the different paintings of Botong Francisco. Almost every house has at least one mural. And we were lucky to chance upon Charlie Anorico working on a new mural.

At one end of Poblacion Itaas are the busts of the towns national artists namely Botong and Lucio San Pedro, National Artist for Music. At the opposite end, the notes of San Pedro's immortal lullaby Sa Ugoy ng Duyan are inscribed on the walls of one of the houses. Indeed, a walk through Dona Aurora Street in Pobalcion Itaas gives us a glimpse of Botong's paintings.

Part 2: Lunch at Balaw-Balaw Restaurant in Angono
Part 3: Nemiranda and the Blanco Family Museum

Related entries
Viva San Clemente! Higantes of Angono, Rizal
Angono is the Art Capital of the Philippines
Angono Petroglyphs in Binangonan, Rizal

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Rizal: Angono Petroglyphs in Binangonan, Rizal

From Nemiranda, we were able to ask for directions to the petroglyphs. We were on the right track since the Angono Petroglyphs are inside the Eastridge Golf Club. So from his studio, it was a three-kilometer drive up and down a steep road. At the guard house, you simply say you're on your way to the petroglyphs. The site is close to the Antipolo entrance of the golf club. You had to enter through a tunnel cut into the hill to get to the other side where the petroglyphs are located.

The Angono Petroglyphs were discovered by Botong Francisco in 1965. Dating back to 3000 B.C., the 127 human and animal figures depicted are said to be the oldest works of art in the Philippines. They are actually at the boundary of Angono, Binangonan and Antipolo. I guess these art works really bolster the claim of the area as the center of art in the country. Neighboring Binangonan is host to the residence of national artist for painting Vicente Manansala (who was from Macabebe, Pampanga), which is a declared National Historical Landmark of the NHI.

Sadly, there are traces of vandalism near some of the figures. It just shows how some Filipinos value their heritage. These rock carvings are National Cultural Treasures and are under the care of the National Museum. In 1996, they were included in the World Monuments Watch as one of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the world.

I realized that the fact that there was no obvious signage to the place served as a temporary protection since only people who appreciate it go out of their way to look for it. If it was popularized without the proper security and all, some shallow-minded people might think it a novel idea to carve their names beside the petroglyphs! So I guess it's better that way for the meantime.

From there, we proceeded back down. Our last stop was the Catholic Cemetery to check out the final resting places of Botong Francisco and Lucio San Pedro. I laud the local community for regulary holding tributes for them there. The tombs are actually ordinary raised vaults and I feel that Angono, with its artists community could improve them and transform them into real monuments.

Anyway, that's it for now. Where am I off to next?

Part 1: Viva San Clemente! Higantes of Angono, Rizal
Part 2: Angono is the Art Capital of the Philippines

Rizal: Angono is the Art Capital of the Philippines

Since Angono was small anyway, we decided to try our luck and drove towards the hills since that would be the best place to look for them. We made a turn towards the Eastridge Golf and Country Club and saw a sign pointing to the Nemiranda Family Museum. Now this is something I wanted to see having heard of the artist from television features to newspaper and magazine articles.

The entrance fee to the museum was PHP30 but since it was fiesta, they let us in for free. And the great thing about our visit was we got to meet the artist himself! Normally, they also offer lunch for visitors at PHP150 per head if I'm not mistaken. But he kindly offered us and other visitors to partake of the lunch which was served since it was fiesta. The food was great!

We had a nice chat about his place and how Angono transformed itself into the Art Capital of the Philippines. There are so many art galleries in the town such as his, Blanco Family, Vicente Reyes, Orville DR Tiamson, Ang Nuno, etc. I also asked him about the higantes and its history. He also shared with us his experiences with Botong Francisco, how his father and Botong were very good friends and how he could have been the last artist to talk with Botong before he passed away since they chatted (Miranda was a junior college student then) on the morning the very day Botong died.

Part 1: Viva San Clemente! Higantes of Angono, Rizal
Part 3: Angono Petroglyphs in Binangonan, Rizal

Rizal: Viva San Clemente! Higantes of Angono, Rizal

Today, I finally got to visit the town of Angono, Rizal which is known as the Art Capital of the Philippines and the hometown of two national artists namely Carlos "Botong" V. Francisco for painting and Lucio D. San Pedro for music. Our purpose was to check out the annual Higantes Festival as well as the fluvial procession in honor of the town patron San Clemente held every November 23.

But what a way to start my day! Since on the way to Angono, I got to witness Philippine road courtesy at its worst! Despite the fact that it was still early in the morning, traffic was slow no thanks to the jeepneys who had virtually occupied all three lanes of the road to pick up passengers. Ironically, the shoulders and parking slots on the side of Sta. Lucia East for example was empty and available for use. If we phase out jeepneys from the streets and replace them with an efficient transport system, I could bet you we wouldn't have traffic since most of the grind is a result of undisciplined jeepney drivers and that is virtually all of them!

You had tricycles on the left as well as center lanes when these slow creatures should use the right lanes. In fact, the law does not allow them on national roads! They are being tolerated and yet they cruise along the busy metropolis streets as if there are no vehicles impatiently following behind them. You had vehicles creating their own counter-flows. Indeed, what a way to start my day!

But my excitement overtook my impatience and lack of sleep especially as we neared Angono. The access road to the town was blocked so we had to enter it through a side street. We were able to park in front of the town plaza. From there, it was a 1 kilometer walk to the church where the parade and procession was going to originate from. We arrived at the church just in time for the ending of the Mass and the beginning of the festivities in honor of San Clemente.

It was one big party on the streets of Angono as the loud and rambunctious mardi gras-like parade made its way around town. Of course, there were the higantes, which are colorful paper mache giants measuring about ten to twelve feet in height.

I heard that higantes used to be found in fiesta celebrations around the country. One story of its origin traces back the roots of this practice to the Spanish colonial period. Hacienda owners were wary of expenses and thus prohibited all celebrations except for one annual fiesta. To make the best of a gloomy situation, the townsfolk borrowed an art form imported from Mexico by Spanish friars and created larger-than-life caricatures of their Spanish landlords, a sly joke to get back at them.

As Angono-based painter Nemiranda recounts, there used to be only two or three higantes at the start of the procession. But because of the large number of artists, which at that time included Botong Francisco, Angono was not only able to maintain this practice. The town elevated it to an art form thanks to creativity of the many artists of the town who made their own versions of the higantes.

But I would learn that the higantes are just one aspect of this merrymaking. Following them was the procession proper. But this was quite an unusual procession led by altar boys in shorts and rowdy revelers following close behind. Expect to get wet since water is flying all over the place as participants chant "Tubig! Tubig!" asking the people around to throw water at them. Just pray that you don't get hit by a water gun of some wise guy who gets his supply of water from the canal along the street.

The bulk of the procession was composed of parehadoras, groups of young girls from every barangay, in colorful costumes, wearing wooden slippers (bakya), and each holding a wooden boat paddle (sagwan), marching together and stomping the ground in a uniform beat as they walked around town followed by a marching band.

And there were various groups of townsfolk in themed spoofs of pop culture icons. I wonder how Kris Aquino would react if she saw who spoofed her and the 26K. Haha! Towards the end of the procession were the andas bearing three images. The first was that of San Isidro Labrador. A little further back was that of the town patron San Clemente escorted by the Knights of St. Clement in red t-shirts. And at the end of the procession was the image of the Virgin Mary escorted by a bevy of young girls in white dresses. Bamboo pole-bars with hanging ornaments were installed along the route. These were raised by levers on either side as an image passed under it.

We met up again with the parade at the town plaza where it slowed down as louder chants of "Tubig! Tubig!" could be heard, with the crowd summoning the operators of a water truck from Manila Water to hose them down and drench them wet! Everyone wanted his or her share of the water as if it were manna from Heaven.

But the activities did not end there. The images still had to be brought to the banks of the Laguna de Bay where they would be enshrined in a floating pagoda for a fluvial procession. We decided to take a tricycle going there since it was still a distance away. The pagoda was a simple tent constructed from bamboo. As the last image was brought on board, the pagoda set sail.

We didn't finish the entire procession since we wanted to visit the Angono Petroglyphs. On the way back to the plaza, we saw the Blanco Family Museum but since we were on a tricycle, we couldn't stop.

We got my car and tried to ask around for the petroglyphs. Everyone we asked from the tricycle drivers, the traffic enforcers to the car wash attendants (my car was full of mud so I had it cleaned) had this puzzled look on their faces when we asked about the petroglyphs. Ordinary people in Angono do not know that they have a national cultural treasure in their town. And there were no signages along the main roads pointing to it either!

Part 2: Angono is the Art Capital of the Philippines
Part 3: Angono Petroglyphs in Binangonan, Rizal

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