Buwan ng Wika and the Filipino Language

August is the month for honouring our national language, Filipino. It’s the time of the month where we celebrate the “Buwan ng Wika” or for some “Linggo ng Wika”. This is accompanied with songs, dances, stage plays and poems that are all in Filipino.

But why do we have to learn Filipino?

For eight year old, Ram Cosmo from Maria Montessori International School, he says “So that we (children) will be able to know how to speak our national language”. Yet, just like all other children, he finds it difficult to learn.

According to Teacher Ryan Jore, Filipino Elementary and High School Teacher from Benedicto College, “Most of the students are really having a hard time learning Filipino, given the fact that most of them are required to speak English now that more schools are adopting the “English Only Policy” or EOP.” He also added that, “Our own dialect is also a factor”.

Whether or not it has been difficult from the start, as Filipinos and as the children of today, we must open our options to learning our national language. Quit thinking that it is hard to master! It’s a matter of practice and appreciation. That is why we set aside a month just for this.

Buwan ng Wika is a month long celebration of our national language. It is more than the songs, dances, and presentations on stage – it is about learning to love Filipino and the Philippines. Surely our school has laid out different activities and programs for this month. Don’t hesitate to join! Be part of this celebration and take to heart all that you’ll be doing. Then you’ll learn to love Filipino as it is.

Our national language is a very colourful one and indeed isn’t very hard to learn. Filipino can easily be learned if we have fun! So let’s celebrate August with a “Masigarbong palakpakan!” as we make way for Buwan ng Wika.

First published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper, August 7, 2011

Subtle Visions

WHAT does it take to convey a message without having to shake the world?

For visual artist Patricia Mendoza, “subtle choice of colors” would best answer this question. “Subtle” is also the name of her second solo painting exhibit, which was held at the Chiye Mori Library at the 856 G Gallery, AS Fortuna St. in June this year.

When asked about why she used this title, Mendoza, a teacher by profession, explained: “I want my colors to be just that: subtle. The subject matter can be only a micro expression or a gesture, things that don’t really shake the world.”

Mendoza is currently teaching animation and art courses in the University of Cebu while pursuing her love for painting.

Attended by her colleagues from the art industry and by aspiring young artists, “Subtle” gave viewers a glimpse into the artist’s train of thought. One of her former students from the University of Cebu, Farrah Tunacao, said, “Ms. Pat is an easy teacher to be with. When it comes to painting she’s good. She has her own signature strokes.”                                             

True enough, award-winning graphic designer Saul Sander Martinez also said the same thing. “There is an unusual colour combination which makes it all interesting. She has her own signature style, [and has] continuity.”

This professional artist, who graduated from the University of the Philippines–Cebu with a degree in fine arts, used acrylic for her medium. She had a neutral colour scheme such as brown, beige, peach, and powder blue.

“People tend to judge paintings by their colors,” Mendoza said. “For them, when it’s bright, it (brings with it) a heavy message; when it’s a bit cool, it’s laid back. My choice of using these colors is a form of establishing communication when they look at it.”

When asked about her best painting in the set, she pointed out two of them. One was titled “He Wants to be that Guy” and the other was “Landscapes.”

The first painting has for its subject a cousin of hers who screwed up his face, creating a facial expression hard to describe. Is it fear, disbelief, surprise, or disgust?

This work also speaks of life, when we don’t really know what to do, and there is no need for us to pretend we are someone else, or someone we want to be but never will.

The second one is a subtle reference to the female figure but it can also be seen as on the literal level, a picturesque scene, hence the name, landscape. It can even refer to Mother Nature.

There were other interesting paintings in the exhibit that were titled as simple nuggets of wisdom to life, such as “It’s not what it seems,” “You can’t bridge some gaps,” “Learn to deal with it,” and “Don’t be a jerk.”

Simple yet hard to grasp, and for the painter it took a couple of colors on each canvas to convey what her thoughts were.

It takes a viewer a few moments in front of each work to go beyond the paint, to understand the artist’s message. Beauty is truly more than skin deep. 

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on August 23, 2011.

Experience of design

Opportunities for experience seldom come especially in a student’s life. Thus, it’s best to grab every opportunity. Axel Que, a junior taking up Bachelor in Fine Arts, major in Product Design at the University of the Philippines Cebu did and deemed the experience as worth it.

                His journey with art started when he was young. It has been Axel’s first love even before college. He used to design costumes for events like festivals, programs and the like. Even in his childhood, he would sketch a lot and stack his works. After finishing high school, he was bound to follow his dreams of enrolling in a university that offered a bachelor degree in fine arts, a promise that he used to tell himself. He enrolled at the University of the Philippines even though he didn’t have theories to back him up, only experience.

                Several months into his degree program, he began to understand slowly the basics of design. With this knowledge and his experience, he easily ranked top of his class. “Axel is very diligent in class,” says his classmate Kenneth Gallardo. “Even if our projects are hard, he always does his best to come up with the most outstanding design.”

                Last summer, he was invited by world-renowned designer Mr. Kenneth Coponbue to work for him for two months. Not for allowance nor for grades but for the worthwhile experience. “I got to glimpse the real world and how designers really work,” he commented.

                It all started during their second semestral exhibit of school year 2010-2011 at the University of the Philippines - Cebu. Coponbue, a critic of the said event, scrutinized his works on his table and invited him for a two-month internship in his office at the Interior Crafts of the Islands with a group of professional designers. He said yes, of course, without hesitation. Yet, he didn’t know what to expect in mind.

                His stay inside the office wasn’t easy as a design course. “This was a totally different world,” he said. “There were deadlines to meet and the entire process of designing a product was very tedious. It would take the company weeks and even months to finish one. I was really pressured.” However, all his efforts paid off when he was able to spearhead a design of a cabinet and a planter’s box.

                On the other hand, he was able to learn a lot from it and he wouldn’t trade that for anything else. He said that all the things he learned in school prepared him to face the two-month experience. “Inside, I knew how to innovate, to think out of the box and to make variations of a simple sketch.”

                 He dreams of being a top fashion designer in a few years from now, adding that his background on product design would take his career up a notch. For the past three years, he has designed gowns for school fashion shows and has spoken to design students from other universities. To date, he is still designing gowns for fashion shows (both in and out of the campus) apart from being a student.

                His field of expertise may be a bit difficult. But for Axel, nothing is impossible. As UP Fine Arts students would say, “Imadyina ang Impossible” (Imagine the impossible). His secrets are to keep on hanging to the inspiration of continuing his art and researching what’s the latest. “At times we want to give up but I’m telling you don’t. Saying ‘I can’t go on’ are just words but your actions can still go further,” he said as an advice to students like him.

                So if there are opportunities knocking on you right now, go for it. You might be in for the experience of a lifetime.