On the Wings of Culture

Pintado Dance

Raul Agner 2005

Acrylic on canvas

Culture and the Arts include all forms of creative expression that fall under any of the so-called seven arts: literature, music, dance, theater, film, visual arts, and architecture. These are distinct from the more anthropological sense of culture as a complex whole that encompasses the totality of learned and shared behavior acquired from being a member of a particular society. The latter, though, is a rich source of inspiration, memory, imagery and abstraction for the former which have been dubbed as the elitist meaning of the term because their artistic and creative output can be appreciated only by a few who have a specialized training or background.

That Culture and the Arts are elitist is however quite a sweeping statement. While there are works that seem esoteric and profound for the ordinary viewer or listener, there definitely are many that people can relate with, enjoy or be moved by. It is important to point out that there are works that are done purely for aesthetic reasons – the art for art’s sake variety - and there are those that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also rich and powerful in meaning and message as far as content is concerned. Just to name a few examples, the poems of Jose Garcia Villa, the paintings of Arturo Luz and the songs of Lea Salonga represent the first kind. But Rizal’s Noli and Fili, Juan Luna’s “Spoliarium,” and the films of Lino Brocka belong to the second category.

But elitist or not, there’s no gainsaying the fact that culture and the arts in general have the potential, nay, the power to influence our way of thinking and behaving and even bring about a better quality of life. In other words, aside from entertainment, they are effective tools and important components of education. It is within this context that the university has been earnestly integrating into its academic life various cultural performances and activities. One single important step it has taken in this direction was the major makeover of the theater in 2005. Since its completion, the renovated facility continues to reap cultural dividends that have brought about a different and enriching experience to students and the whole community. The buena mano dance drama performed by the Integrated Performings Arts Guild (IPAG) of Iligan raised awareness of certain Mindanao dance forms and environmental issues. The series of screenings of i-Witness documentaries offered object lessons in truthful journalism and painted a clear picture of pressing issues like poverty, environmental degradation and ordinary people’s heroism.

As of late, the doubleheader “Welcome to Intelstar” and “Pragress” of Tanghalang Pilipino were hilarious but deeply enlightening plays, the former a veritable litany of the ironies of a call center job, the latter a sarcastic characterization of corrupt government bureaucrats. And the hip jazz ballet Hi-Skul Musikahan staged by Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s Ballet Manila mesmerized the audience with the endless possibilities of creative fusion of dance forms. If culture and the arts can make one wiser because they open up his eyes to the truth; if they can make one more human and humane because they inspire him to be creative and resourceful, sympathetic and compassionate; if they give one a sense of spiritual well-being because they bring him to an other-worldly dimension of serenity and inner bliss; in short, if culture and the arts do make one a better person, a better citizen and a better Adamsonian, then they should continue to play a major role in the university.

In the face of a stiff competition in the form of commercial entertainment and computer gaming that vie for young people’s attention, the serving up of the best oeuvres possible becomes a great challenge. Done consistently, the appreciation of the real value of culture and the arts will prevail and negative attitudes towards their necessity, including some misguided individuals’ whining about the cultural fee, will eventually sound hollow.

If the Falcon symbolizes the university’s aspiration for excellence, culture and the arts can be one steady wind that pushes up her wings.

"Resilience"

3rd Prize, 2006 Art Association of the Philippines (AAP) Annual Art Competition (Drawing Category), pen and ink on acid-free paper, Artist's collection

Drawings

Street Vendors, pen and ink on paper

...AND MILES TO DRIVE BEFORE HE SLEEPS

Raul Agner

Ever since, he is always a picture of equanimity, the dizzying network of roads he has traveled - as if represented in miniature by his silvery hair - notwithstanding. Still at it after more than thirty-five years, his face shows no telltale symptoms you expect would register as wrinkles and creases from dealing with the city's unforgiving traffic, rude motorists, badly maintained roads and long out-of-town drives.

On a typical Monday morning, he sits quietly behind the wheel of the university's spanking new bus while waiting for the nursing students bound for apprenticeship duty somewhere to fill up the seats. Inside, the bus smells factory fresh, its upholstered seats still wrapped in protective plastic covers which, vis-à-vis the students' clinically white uniforms, should be unnecessary. Outside, the exterior surface is flush with pictures of athletes, students, facilities and buildings - purposely done so the bus doubles as a humongous mobile billboard. This forty-seater, the latest addition to the school's fleet, is a world removed from the antiquated blue, snub-nosed oddity that he used to drive from way way back. That quaint artifact must be rotting somewhere but through it he once transported regular passengers from a lakeshore town to San Marcelino St. and back, in the process collecting memories he might someday in retirement get occasional flashes of. For example, he might remember them as super-behaved boys in prayerful silence on the way to school but as a boisterous lot on the return trip. He'll surely recall how on the way home they freely released their tension from studies by storytelling, arguing, singing, flashing the "peace" hand sign (so '70s) to every chick in sight and covering their noses from the stench of duck droppings upon finally reaching the access road to home sweet home. He might also remember that often the departure from school was stalled because some were still gaping at a skillful Iñaki or Oyarzabal swipe with the cesta over at the Jai-Alai building or sneak-quaffing beer at the walkway carinderia.

But the point in this bus driver's life is that he has parlayed hard work to ensure the success of his children who have earned college degrees and landed decent jobs. Quite a feat for a humble but dedicated driver. But not only that. Somehow, he is also part of the success of a lawyer in Manila or a fitness consultant in Alberta. There's no doubt that he is partly behind the professional achievements of an accountant in the Philippines or part of a Florida real state broker's thriving career. No one can question that whatever good deeds a Vincentian priest in Lebanon or in the Philippines has done is, again, partly due to him. In short, he has contributed a small part to his former regular passengers' attainment and realization of successes, dreams or calling. He steered them safely en route to their destinations, a role akin to being a benefactor to a beneficiary or a patron to a protégé but inconspicuously outside the pale of the limelight.

This down-home, portly man is one of life's many important little people. He has played his role to the hilt and is happy with it. Last time we checked, he still goes by the name of Mang Tony. And while he has experienced all kinds of roads, he still has "miles to drive before he sleeps and miles to drive before he sleeps…"

The Top and Nothing But

Raul Agner

His father, a retired overseas musician, has all the reasons to play one cool triumphant rock anthem on his guitar or keyboard these days. So does his Alma Mater, Adamson University. For Levi Layague Miranda has just nailed one feat in his relatively quiet academic life: garner the topmost spot in the latest board exams for chemical engineers given last April 21-23, 2008 at the Manuel L. Quezon University in Manila.
Equally proud are her mother and two siblings who saw in him an average student who was nevertheless serious with his studies in spite of a sickly frame. After third year at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, he was refused reenrollment after incurring a second long absence due to illness. When he applied for transfer at Adamson, he was readily admitted and went on to graduate on October 2007.
Levi was born on November 29, 1983 in Las Pinas City to Liberato Miranda, a Batangueno, and Sylvia Layague, an Ilocana. He attended high school in Molino, Cavite. After his stint at the PLM, he moved to Adamson in June 2004 where he had to repeat his third year studies to catch up on the demanding chemical engineering course. His enjoyment of a full academic scholarship for two semesters meant he was able to cope up with the rigorous studies. Then the course became just too heavy that he couldn’t maintain the grades required by the scholarship program. He didn’t enjoy that benefit in his last years in the school but he enjoyed studying anyway, thermodynamics being his favorite subject. When pressed for his favorite teacher, he declined to name one but hastened to say that all the professors he studied under were helpful and very professional. It also helped that the university’s facilities were excellent enough to respond to the needs of the students. These included the library, where he loved reading technical books, the laboratories that had new equipment, the air-conditioned classrooms and the relatively spacious campus.
When the results of the board exam were released, none was more surprised than himself because he didn’t expect to land at the top. Aside from his generally average performance in college, he found the exam really hard not even the one-year review he undertook was a guarantee he’d make it. That’s all water under the bridge now for this simple Adamsonian who chose a course that was her mother’s frustration (only a year short of her graduation at UST). One thing is sure though, he was not wanting in hard work, dedication and discipline. At the moment, he’s just happy to have made a milestone for himself and the university. Not used to being lavished with attention and praise, he appears a bit awkward when congratulated but acknowledges them the best way he can.
On May 25, 2008, he will join other new chemical engineers for the formal oath taking at the Manila Hotel. His proud family will be around to bask in the honor of his rare first-place achievement. The whole Adamson community warmly congratulates him for bringing a big honor to the institution. All Adamsonians at the moment are just happy and proud to be members of the tribe of Levi.

Perched On An Elevated Landscape

Raul Agner

It was a long and winding path that Christian Ceasar Pineda had to tread before he was finally able to set foot on a more pleasant landscape. His difficult climb to the second uppermost spot in the March 2008 Landscape Architect Licensure Examination goes back to when he was but a kid.
A 1994 BS Architecture graduate of Adamson University, Chris and his siblings grew up shuttling between their mother’s and their father’s – sometimes their uncle’s – house after their parents separated. He was barely four then and this moving about extended all the way to his college days. Born in Quezon City in 1972 to Ernesto Pineda and Nancy Evelyn Pineda, both of Pampanga, he graduated valedictorian from the Ramon Avancena High School in 1989. He then enrolled in Adamson, enjoying a full PESFA (Private Education Student Financial Assistance) scholarship from the beginning until he finished his course.
Today, Chris Pineda is based in the Middle East working for WS Atkins, an internationally renowned structural engineering, design and architecture company. He is the Senior Landscape Architect there and is happy to be in the center of all the mega architectural buzz and boom in full throttle that part of the globe. Sure the job pays well but it is in being able to give something big as a Filipino and as an Adamsonian that he finds most fulfilling. But in spite of the lofty perch he is in now, this Falcon cannot forget his stay in the University. He reminisces with joy and pride the good old days in Adamson when he and his friends had to help each other out especially during the advent of the feared thesis defense. Spending late nights in other friends’ houses, sweating out on projects, cramming for the deliberations and developing teamwork and camaraderie are valued memories. He and his friends even creatively fashioned a way of coaching each other during the thesis deliberations by signaling to each other keywords that instantly recalled answers to difficult questions. “The difficult times,” he says, “are the most memorable. My days in Adamson were very straightforward. I wouldn't really say there were a lot of happy moments. I was there for a purpose, to study and graduate so I can have a good job. I even enrolled during summers so I could graduate in five years.”
Asked for some personal reflection, he waxes philosophical. He likens life to an architectural structure where his parents who gave him good education are the foundation, his siblings the shell – walls and roof that give protection, his friends and society in general the landscape that gives color and meaning to life and God the terra firma where he stands. “Take away any of these and I’ll surely crumble,” he states.
His message to fellow Adamsonians: “We all have the potential to make a difference. No matter how small or simple our contribution may be, the ripple effect will be enormous. We are Adamsonians.”
Architect Pineda may be up high in the firmament of early success but his feet remain rooted in the ground. He is a precious addition to the numerous alumni the current crop of Adamson students can draw strength and inspiration from.

Angles: A Photo-Essay

At night, on the wall next to the ST gate, the names of the university and the congregation that runs it, and the year the school was founded glow with silvery luminosity. Stainless, each letter is backlit by neon tubes that follow its contour. Not quite diamond but very close to it, the color of the letters may remind us of the 75th anniversary of the school last 2007.
The whole assemblage is an interesting subject for amateur photography and so, one evening, I clicked my merry way, unmindful of the questioning look of some passers-by while relishing the ethereality of the moment.
Viewed up front, the whole text is easily readable. Shot up close from different angles, they hardly make any literal sense but present a different reality that borders on the abstract and purely conceptual, even surreal. Each shot can stand on its own and engender many associations and interpretations. It is amateur photography imitating art.
It is also photography imitating life. Life is a camera that allows people to view reality from the angle they choose, hence the multiple and differing points of view, opinions, beliefs, takes and spins anywhere you go, with tolerance and respect making their peaceful coexistence possible.
Huh! The letters brought us this far...