Mga kwento sa likod ng Mr. Antique 2009

Despite the incessant rain that night of the pageant on April 18, patuloy sa pagrampa ang 13 candidates ng Mr. Antique. Si Rihanna naman ang favorite ng mga judges dahil pinapayongan lang sila. Pero kahit si Governor Sally Perez ay tumigil hanggang natapos ang kalahati ng talent competition. Tuwang-tuwa siya sa mga ipinakita ng mga kandidato.

Pero as usual, dahil nga kontes ito at hindi natin hawak ang taste ng mga judges, marami ring tanong kung bakit si ganito ang nanalo at hindi si kuwan. Labas na kaming organizers diyan dahil wala naman kaming pinipili. Love namin lahat ng mga candidates dahil puro mabait at walang ni isang pasaway sa kanila. Unanimous kami sa pagsabing we had better candidates this year.

Pero ito ang aking opinyon: Hindi ko bet ang nanalo dahil may mali sa hugis ng ulo niya. Sa unang labas pa lang mukhang sea urchin ang ulo niya, nakakontak lens pa, at super eye-liner. I think may pustiso. Matangkad nga siya, maganda naman ang build, mukhang disiplinado, at nakatsamba siya sa Q&A. Sa totoo lang muntik na siyang hindi nakapasok sa top 5. Tie sila ng candidate number 6 (Ralph Flores) na matangkad din at maganda ang body proportion (skinny talaga ang in ngayon). Pero nang pinabreak ang tie, 4-2 ang vote ni number 13 (Manuel Jorilla). Mukha namang poised to win si 13 dahil kapanalo na ng isang pageant somewhere. Siya din uli ang piniling magrepresent ng Antique sa Mr. PYAP 2009 na gaganapin sa Antique National School sa April 24.

Yung first runner up naman na candidate number 10 (Charlie Balsomo) ay super face nga pero kulang sa height. Ang siste pa, ewan kung sino ang nagtrain sa kanya, napakarami niyang kakornihang ginawa sa stage. May pabow-bow pa, may paupo-upo, at ang hindi ma-take ng maraming bading sa crowd, may pasandok-sandok siya sa pool at binuhosan ang body niya. May ka-cheapan lang. Kung bakit siya ang nanalo, dahil short-listing ang proseso ng bawat judge (pinapili bawat judge ng 5 bet niya sa bawat category), at sa huli ay interview portion. Kung maganda-ganda lang ang sagot niya, at mas magaling ang pronunciation niya, siguro siya nga nagwagi.

Mas bet naming mga vading si Number 5 (Ralph Eduard Camaya). Naka-skinhead siya at malinis siyang tingnan. OK lang ang body proportion; hindi nga lang matangkad. Baka hindi lang siya masyadong napansin dahil wiz siya join sa talent competition, gayong dancer naman siya sa isang local group. Wagi siyang Mr. Photogenic at 2nd runner up, kaya dalawa ang tropeyo niya. Balanse na ang kanyang barbel dahil may kabigatan ang winning trofi na gawa ni Alan Cabalfin.

Maganda ang height at moreno si candidate 2 (June Dioso), na dating sumali na at nanalong 2nd runner up nung 2008. Mas gumanda pa nga ang katawan niya ngayon, altho mas kumapal ang balbon. Medyo may konting sira nga lang ang ngipin niya ngayon na pwede pang i-laser, kung seryoso siyang maging modelo. Pero baka nagsawa na rin ang judges sa kanya dahil recycled beauty siya, but the fact na nakapasok uli siya sa top 5 ay bongga na rin.

Si number 11 (McLaurence Saligumba) ang pinakadark horse, at kahit artista ko siya ay hindi ko inasahang pumasok siya sa top 5. Hapi na rin ako sa kanya. Kahit si Gov Perez ay napansin siya. Siguro bentaha talaga ang may alam sa teatro dahil marunong mag-cut ng space at magprojek. Yun nga lang 4th runner up lang siya dahil sadyang kulang sa height si Macmac. Cute lang talaga. At maputi siya. At medyo naglalenga filipina sa interview.

Isa pang bet ko pero hindi man lang pumasok sa top 5 ay si Marte Jun Granada. Batang-bata pa siya, pero supertalented. Siya naman ang napiling Mr. Binirayan o Best in Talent. Sing and dance ang bagets, at napaganda ng dimple. Gusto ko rin ang pagka-moreno niya, kaya lang baka batang-bata pa nga para manalo. Pwede pa siyang magpa-buff at sumali next year.

Sa talent department naman ay obvious namang winner si Marte. Yung iba naman nagpakita din ng galing; in fairness walang nakakahiya sa kanilang mga numbers. Kahit si Number 3 na nag-Ifugao costume at hindi nag-undie para mukhang authentic ay nagkaimpress ng mga matrona. Makinis naman ang behind niya. Yun lang, halatang isang bading na wiznowang sa totoong tribal dance ang nagkoryo. May mga movements pa siyang pambabae, at at headress ay halatang hiram sa Miss Gay. Pero seryoso naman si Ralph sa ginawa niya, at kahit nagpeek-a-boo daw ang notes ay keri pa rin. Hindi ko nakita yun, pero dalawang production assistants ang nagsabi na sight daw talaga nila ang pinakatago-tagong junior ni Raphy.

Magaling ding kumanta si Jeeven Casabuena (number 9 yata), pero talbog talaga ang sing and dance ni Marte. Hindi ko pa rin maisip kung bakit nag-tie pa sina Marte at Manuel sa Talent. Gayong original composition ang kay Marte at magaling ang execution, ang kay Manuel naman ay pang-videokeng rendition ng "One in a Million You."

As usual, in any talent competition may mga OA talaga. Katulad ng napakahabang dance ni Elvin (forgettable naman), at performance ni Jrnel (infairness marunong naman siyang mag-dance. Halata lang yung pilit na pa-Antiqueño flavor para punuan ang kakulangan ng skill at mastery.

All in all, successful naman ang Mr. Antique 2009. At palagay ko mas maraming sasali sa 2010. Wish naming organizers na makabuo ito ng magandang image at tangkilikin ng marami. Maganda ang sabi ni Gov Sally sa speech niya bago siya umiskyerda: Wish daw niya na ang mga kandidato ng Mr. Antique ay magsilbing magandang modelo sa mga kabataan, na pagsikapang gumaling ang talento, at hindi maging pasaway sa bayan. Sana nga.

Edsel H Moscoso (1952-2008)

Antiqueño artist "Totong" Edsel Moscoso died of leukemia on December 21, 2008. He was a great loss not only to the artists, but also to the Antiqueño community. He was a Bugal kang Antique awardee, 1993.

I was first introduced to him at Piedra Restaurant in 2003, when my first book THE RISE OF KINARAY-A. He had been asking around for a copy. He would drop by everytime he was in town.

I took this picture of him in his house in Madrangca in April 2007. It was Binirayan festival, and he invited me and Cecile Locsin Nava to have lunch with him. In August 28, I prepared an opening ritual for his 42nd solo exhibition at the Ayala Museum. He was very enthusiastic about telling me his next would be in Switzerland. No one expected that following exhibit at the UN in Geneva would be his last. His nephew Chad told me he came home from Switzerland very sick.

I wrote about that Ayala Museum show in Kinaray-a, and published it in the souvenir program of the 1st Karay-a Arts Festival in October 2007. Totong was very happy when I gave him a copy. It was the first time he was written about in Kinaray-a.

The last time we saw each other was during the Komedya Fiesta at the University of the Philippines on February 15, 2008. He insisted on paying for the muscovado I bought for him. But those were really from Marlene Liao. He told me he was so inspired by the komedya I directed he wanted to make a komedya series.

He did not show up in Binirayan 2008. He was preparing for his Geneva show. At the 2nd Karay-a Arts Festival in October 2008, somebody told me he was there, sitting under the shade of EBJ Park's very old pine trees. He was wearing a cap, and obviously did not want to be recognized, said my source. He was already very sick at that time.

Edsel was one great artist who was very proud about his roots. On February 11, we will open an exhibit of Edsel's works at the Museo Antiqueño. I went as far as Silay City to borrow his nude sketches from Lyn Gamboa. And as for my own tribute to him, I translated into English that article about his 42nd show "Antiqueños, Homage to my Kasimanwas" at the Ayala Museum.

Totong’s Tribute to Antiqueños

On August 28 to September 10, 2007 perhaps every Antiqueño who have visited Greenbelt Park at Makati has seen the ubiquitous poster boldly titled “Antiqueños.” And perhaps, they have – just as I had – felt a little nostalgic or teary-eyed with joy and pride, and restrained the urge to shout and jump for joy amidst the rush of cosmopolitans going to and from work or the malls. To find “Antiqueños” in the posh and upmarket mall complex in Makati City is almost unthinkable.

“Antiqueños: Homage to my Kasimanwas” was the 42nd solo exhibit by Antiqueño painter Edsel Moscoso. Born and raised in Bugasong, Moscoso made a name for himself among art collectors in Manila and abroad. This turned out to be his second to the last exhibit; his last was in Switzerland before he came home very ill. Paying homage to his fellow Antiqueños in his 42nd exhibit was a very significant step for Moscoso. It was the first time in his entire career as painter that he announced in his exhibition that he is an Antiqueño, and that his paintings are images of Antiqueños.

Edsel Moscoso was a big name among collectors and art critics. He shows were much written about in newspapers and magazines, but none mentioned about Antique. His paintings were regarded as Filipino, but never Antiqueño. National Artist Nick Joaquin in his column in Manila standard wrote of Moscoso’s paintings: “(they) tell no story – except that eternal story of born, live, love, work, suffer and die – but they do make a point of retelling that story as the story of how the Filipino is born, lives, loves, works, suffers, and dies.”

The brochure for the “Antiqueños” exhibit says: “Moscoso’s art identifies with the Filipino rural community. He spent part of his life in the simplicity of the rural environment.” I wonder if this was a conscious effort to generalize, or if the writer was not at all aware that the “rural environment” that mapped Moscoso’s imagination as artist were the mountains, valleys and seas of Antique, and the Antiqueño fisherfolks, peasants, and vendors. In short, as artist Edsel Moscoso was first appropriated by the Filipino, before he was possessed by the Antiqueño. In other words, he was first discovered by the nation, before he was owned by the province. Or perhaps, it was Moscoso who first saw the nation, before zeroing in on his hometown.

In “Antiqueños: Homage to my Kasimanwas” Moscoso comes full circle. It a journey of an Antiqueño as an artist. The artist had come home, and he was warmly welcomed by the Antiqueños. The exhibit opening on August 28, 2007 was attended no less by Senator Loren Legarda, who traces her roots to Antique, and Governor Sally Zaldivar Perez and her entourage of Antiqueño supporters and friends.

Moscoso, well-remembered by his family and friends as Totong Edsel, was born on January 30, 1952 in Bugasong as the sixth child of Dr. Julito A. Moscoso and Remedios Atillo Hermoso. He started drawing before he went to school at Bugasong Elementary School, and finished Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines. In 1975, he was chosen as one of the 13 Outstanding Young Artists of the Art Association of the Philippines, and he participated in various group exhibits before he had his first solo show at the Kilusang Gallery, followed up with another at the Galeria Buglas in Bacolod City.

In the 80s, Moscoso ventured into holding exhibitions abroad, like San Francisco, Italy, Beijing, Moscow, Sweden, Germany, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, among others, which gave him renown as an international artist. In 1986 he studied at the Center for the Study of Medieval Art and Culture through a scholarship from the Italian Government. He finished summa cum laude at the Pontifico Instituto di Archeologia Christiana in Rome.

Moscoso’s career as an artist is a long list of solo exhibits all around the globe. He kept coming and going if only to show off his canvasses of the ordinary folks – sakadas, peasants, fisherfolks, farmers, vendors, salt-makers – little people in varied poses of daily living, carrying their burden of baskets, sugar canes, fishnets, sacks of rice. They are pictures of simple yet industrious and hardy folks, of peasant women framed by halos, evoking divinity in their earthiness. Perhaps these are the images that enchant Moscoso’s collectors. He called his paintings “manscapes.”

At the dawn of the new millennium, Moscoso went home to Antique and built his house atop the rocks of Madrangca Beach in San Jose. His dream house facing the sea gave him a view of Madrangca’s picturesque sunset, and perhaps it was this that convinced him to stay in Antique. His house was his sanctuary, and he filled it with his art collection from the different places he had been to. He wanted to make this as a creative space to become home to artists and writers who wanted to get inspiration for their works.
In his 42nd solo exhibit, just after an exhibition in Seoul, Korea, and before a scheduled exhibition in Switzerland, Moscoso proudly announce, after a long journey around the globe, that the people clothed in gold – as Nick Joaquin had it: the golden Moscosos – are Antiqueños. It was the greatest honor Moscoso gave to Antique and her people.

It's Binirayan time!

Buri hat from Cadahug, Lauaan, Antique

At about this time of the year, our office is bustling with activity and every available space is littered with posters, brochures, costumes, souvenirs, knick-knacks, event proposals, etc. It means only one thing: It's Binirayan time!

Binirayan Festival 2008 is here again. It will officially open on April 13, with the showcases of young theater artists from Bacolod, Iloilo, Capiz, and Antique. The regional Kampo Kabataan 2008, a summer theater arts camp to be held at Madrangca, San Jose closes on that day, giving the Binirayan launch a regional flavor. The EBJ Freedom Park will witness presentations by these young performers, ending with a party with the San Jose's S.O.S. (Satisfy Our Soul) band. Guests of honor are Governor Sally Perez and National Youth Commissioner Raul Dominic I. Badilla.

Other activities in Binirayan are the Cultural Caravan in Barbaza on April 16, Search for Mr. Antique 2008 on April 18, Senior Citizens Night in Patnongon on April 19, Lin-ay kang Antique Talents Night in Bugasong on April 20, Children's Festival in Hamtic on April 21, Komedya Valderrama at EBJ Freedom Park on April 22, Lin-ay kang Antique prejudging in Pandan on April 23, Pasundayag Expo & Food Fest opening on April 24, and the three-day highlights on the 25th to 27th.

April 25
Biray kang Barangay from Pantalan to Malandog Beach

Lin-ay kang Antique press presentation
Torch Parade from Malandog to San Jose
Bugal kang Antique Awards
Fireworks Display

April 26
Binirayan Confab at The Pinnacle Suites
Dog Show by Antique Kennel Club
Search for Lin-ay kang Antique 2008 Coronation Night

April 27
Parada kang Lahi
Malay-Ati Competition
LGU & Employees Fashion Show
Fireworks Display

Visit Antique in Binirayan. For inquiries, email birayfest@yahoo.com.ph, or call 036-5407343 or 09275830174. Kruhay!