Cultural program held to pay homage to late artist
IN A celebration of both culture and the life of a national artist, the Loyola Schools recently paid tribute to the late Salvador F. Bernal, National Artist for Theater Design and a former professor of the university. Put together in partnership with the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the event “To Remember and to Sing” was held at Escaler Hall last January 6, the eve of Bernal’s 67th birthday.
Present were National Artist Virgilio Almario, actor-director Laurice Guillen, Ateneo de Manila University President Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ, Vice President for the Loyola Schools John Paul Vergara, School of Humanities Dean Maria Luz Vilches, and Interdisciplinary Studies Chairperson Jonathan Chua, among others. The event was also attended by the late artist’s colleagues, students and friends, as well as the Bernal–Floro clan, led by Bernal’s sister, Teresita Bernal-Tabora.
The man fondly known as “Badong” received the nation’s highest accolade for artistry in 2003, the Loyola Schools’ only in-house awardee to date. He died October 26 last year due to cardiac arrest in his home in Cubao. After a tribute at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and a mass at the Church of the Gesu, Bernal was buried in his hometown of Dagupan, Pangasinan.
The “renaissance man’s” opera
The tribute to a man Vergara hailed as a “renaissance man” featured musical pieces offering a glimpse into the style and taste of the late professor.
Naomi Sison and Camille Lopez Molina gave powerful renditions of Bernal’s favorite arias, such as “Casta Diva” from Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma and “Lascia ch’io pianga” from Georg Friedrich Händel’s Rinaldo. Peter Porticos accompanied them on piano, as did the Faith Gospel Singers for some acts.
Tanghalang Ateneo staged an excerpt from his last theater collaboration, Sintang Dalisay. The performers wore the bright, rich, Samal-influenced costumes Bernal designed, a stark contrast to the more somber colors worn by most other performers that night.
With oboe and piano was “Let Me Say Goodbye,” a lilting tune based on a poem Bernal wrote for his friend, the late Doreen Fernandez, when her husband died. As a finale, the ensemble sang the Regina Coeli from Pietro Mascagni’s Cavelleria Rusticana.
His many facets
Short clips about Bernal’s life and style were also shown, from his life in the Ateneo during what was considered as the “golden age” of the liberal arts to his successful career as an artist.
Other video clips showed Bernal’s influence on theatre designs for plays, his first being Paglipas ng Dilim. The last clips showcased his literary laurels, such as his sweep of all the top prizes in Heights’ poetry competitions in 1962 and 1963, and his anthology, The Firetrees Burn All Summer. It also explained how his aesthetic as a poet was likewise found in his designs.
Reminiscence
Longtime friend Leovino Garcia, associate professor of the Philosophy Department, recounted his friendship with Bernal since 1962, saying that the man was a visionary “who remained so confidently rooted in his own culture that he had no need to proclaim his being Filipino.” Echoing Bernal, Garcia also made a fresh call for a dedicated fine arts theatre in the Ateneo.
Former Artistic Director of the CCP Nicanor Tiongson said that while they were close friends during the martial law era, he and Bernal respected each other’s political differences. When Tiongson went underground, Bernal once refused him sanctuary as the latter disapproved of activism, finding it senseless to oppose the Marcoses as that would hurt his blossoming career.
He added that he later tried his best to guard Bernal from the CCP’s internal politics. “This move did not make me or Badong popular with the clique of power trippers in CCP,” he said.
Garcia added that Bernal disliked politics, which he found distracting to his art, even though the national canvas gained political color during the martial law years. “He got his national artist award without politics. That’s very hard to do.”
Bernal’s relatives were given the book To Remember and to Sing: Our Memories of Salvador F. Bernal (1945-2011), which contains their eulogies and reminiscences of him, as well as write-ups on his legacy. Bernal-Tabora gave a speech in gratitude on behalf of her family.
“Thank you for your generosity of spirit and kindness to your former student-professor. It was in the Ateneo that Badong experienced the academic freedom, solace, peace, security, refuge and stability which permitted him to become the artist he aspired to be,” she said.
