School of Humanities (SOH) Executive Officer Carissa Dawn Villanueva (IV AB Hum) said this in anticipation for the activities of the Fine Arts Week, which was held together with the School of Humanities Week on January 19 to 31.
The joint celebrations aimed to unite the different sectors in SOH, as well as revive Filipino traditions and exhibit talents from the school, said Villanueva.
Highlights of the two-week celebration included the “Hit Lit Night” and the “Magyabangan Tayo Debate” on January 28, the “Todo Patintero” game on January 23, and productions such as Entablado’s Ang Unang Baboy sa Langit.
SOH also held exhibits, talks, workshops, a book launch, and a collectors’ convention. An “Everything SOH Shop” was also put up during the joint celebrations.
The main theme for the two celebrations was pop culture, said Villanueva. They were titled “Arete,” which means “excellence,” or being the best one can be, in Greek.
Fine Arts Week was organized by SOH’s Sanggu officers and SOH orgs.
Pinoy pride
“It is important to remember and bring back our Filipino traditions…because they are our way of teaching values and lessons like leadership, humility, and sportsmanship,” said Villanueva.
Yabang Pinoy (a group promoting Filipino pride), the SOH Board, and the Association of Interdisciplinary Studies Majors (AISM) aimed to recall these traditions through the “Todo Patintero” mini tournament and the “Magyabangan Tayo” debate.
The mini-tournament, held in the Matteo Ricci field, was Arete’s way of reminding the community of the Filipino heritage, said Liza Angela Cortez (II AB IS), co-project head of the tournament.
Unexpected rain during the tournament dissuaded some participants from playing, but the event pushed through.
“It was still fun because some students were still set to play, despite the strong rain and the mud,” said Rachel Marra (II BFA CW), in a mix of English and Filipino. Marra was supposed to play, but watched the other students play instead, because of the rain.
The Magyabangan Tayo Debate broke away from conventional debate matches, with students displaying their skills in reasoning on aspects of Filipino culture. For example, one debate topic was whether “Kuya Kim” Atienza or Ernie Baron was the better weather reporter.
Celebrating literature
Heights and the Literary Society (LitSoc)’s Mini Writers’ Workshops taught lessons on poetry, creative non-fiction, and fiction.
Jan Brandon Dollente (IV AB IS), co-project head for the Mini Writers’ Workshops, said the goal was to debunk the idea that writing is a solitary act. “When you hear what others have written, you will learn from what they did, and did not do,” he said in Filipino.
The English and Filipino Departments also celebrated literature through “Hit Lit Night.” The night featured a balagtasan, poetry reading, and fashion show of literary characters, among others.
AISM and the SOH Board organized the collectors’ convention, and the “Kaleidoscope” thesis exhibits of Interdisciplinary Studies majors.
The Modern Languages Department, Humanities Organization, and the dean’s office also organized various lectures such as “Light, Color, and Race: Can Filipino Art Be a Source of Philosophy?” which tackled how Filipino painter Fernando Amorsolo depicted philosophy of his age.
Creative Writing students staged theses plays Balangao and Sa Kuwarto. Theater Arts majors also had their own productions in Psychosis and the theses plays Love Letters, and North Diversion Road.
Filipino Instructor Edgar Samar launched his award-winning book, titled Walong Diwata ng Pagkahulog, during the two-week celebration.
Promotions
While Arete had many activities that honored the arts and the Filipino identity, some events had problems with promotions.
Marra, a participant of the mini-workshops and “Todo Patintero,” said, “The activities should be well advertised. I’m from SOH, but I wouldn’t happen to know the events if I didn’t know anyone directly involved in the events.”
Mara Alexandra Parungo (II AB Lit Eng), who attended the “Hit Lit Night,” said she enjoyed the night, even though few people attended. “Maybe next time we can make a bigger deal out of it. Hype it up, so that more people would want to go,” she said.
Iris Angela Ferrer (III AB Philo), one of the organizers of Apart Visual Arts Collective’s exhibit “Pop! Goes Your Art,” said the point of the celebration was to exhibit what the different arts can do. “Sayang lang kasi (It’s just a shame because), if we have that much talent—which we do have that much talent—it’s not given that much attention.”
