Keeping Pinoy pride alive

By Dinah S. Ventura

03/12/2010

Harana in the city? Who ever heard of bringing this obsolete practice into an urban enclave such as Greenbelt in Makati? But bring the harana to the shopping crowd they did, and it was a great success.

Bravo Filipino commenced this year with a revival of a true classic — the harana. The Ayala Malls, together with the Filipinas Heritage Library, Ayala Museum, Globe and BPI, presents “Bravo! Celebrating The Filipino” with another series of world-class performances and exhibitions focusing on music, dance, fashion and photography, as well as film, literature and more of the visual arts.

The celebration started with a showcase of the best Filipino love songs in “Harana,” held at the Ayala Malls and the Ayala Triangle Gardens. Performers, including Isay Alvarez, Robert Seña, Bituin Escalante, Jan Nieto, Apple Chui and others, serenaded the public with our best kundimans.

“It started out with a collection of records in the library dating as far back as the 1920s, which became the whole basis for the idea of Bravo Filipino,” relates Maritoni Ortigas, head of the Filipinas Heritage Library, adding that it is always materials in the Library that involve aspects of the celebration, which was launched in 2008. Bravo Filipino, the brainchild of Don Jaime Zobel de Ayala, Ayala Group chairman emeritus, “paid homage to the greats of the past, showcased the talent of current creative icons, and introduced artists enjoying global success.”

Music certainly was the inspiration for the whole project, and continues to lead the main activities geared toward promoting the Filipino culture.

“Everybody’s so busy these days, doing things like Facebook and Twitter…Of course these are the times (for such forms of communication), but have you had a chance to really talk?” muses Zobel. “You’re just exchanging words — but at the end of it, do you really know the person? The art of communication has to go back to speaking from the heart the way the Filipino knows.”

In a roundtable interview, Don Jaime recounts the day of the harana at the mall. They had invited a young audience and told them that it would not take long (the harana, by its very concept, being made for a short period of time). They told the audience that it was experimental and asked them to see if the music would touch their hearts. “And for once, listen to the words,” exhorted Zobel. By the end of the show, some people were already singing along, and everyone had obviously enjoyed themselves.

Music being a form of communication, Zobel notes, “Every now and then, we must take the trouble to communicate with people because that is the essence of our nation —it is our soul. We communicate best through song, dance and art. Through Bravo Filipino, we are creating pockets of intimacy where people can sit in a chair and understand how things were made, for instance. Human contact is the essence of human life and understanding.”

Aside from enriching the Filipino’s cultural experiences by bringing art to the malls, Bravo Filipino has also helped the artists themselves reach out to a wider audience. “We were overjoyed that Bravo Filipino had given our local artists an avenue to present their creations, generating the recognition they truly deserve,” Zobel said.

According to Ayala Malls executives, “Bravo Filipino was recognized and given awards by various institutions such as the Gold Award for Community Relations and the Silver Global Maxi Award from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), the Anvil Award from the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP) and the Quill Award of Excellence from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).”

“We are proud to be part of a campaign that promotes and celebrates our rich artistic and cultural heritage, which we believe can spur love of country among Filipinos,” says Antonino Aquino, president of Ayala Land Inc. “This is part of the objectives of the Ayala Group, which is why, for instance, the Ayala Museum is situated within the mall complex. The second floor of Greenbelt 5 showcases Filipino artists and fashion designers. Art pieces were also put in the Ayala Triangle and Bonifacio High Street. Even in the way we masterplanned and designed the malls, art would always be supported. We are trying to reach out and educate the Filipino consumers, give them culture, art and a sense of history.”

Upcoming shows

“The point we are trying to make is how integral art is to the life of the average Filipino,” says Ortigas. “Art is really a part of the Filipino way of life. Almost 90 percent of Filipino homes have a guitar!”

This year, aside from teaching mallgoers what love songs every Filipino should know, Bravo Filipino will strive to change the mindset theta culture is “something you get dressed up for, like the opera,” to quote award-winning author and newspaper columnist Jessica Zafra.

This month, people can watch out for the concert featuring virtuoso classical pianist Cecile Licad, which will be held on March 18, 20 and 23 at Greenbelt, Alabang Town Center and Trinoma, respectively. It is noted that “Licad was one of the youngest musicians who received the Leventritt Gold Medal in 1981.” Her performance will be the first in a series of musical performances that is a prelude to the grand culminating concert on April 29.

On April 23, the Ayala Malls will also be hosting yet another unique fashion presentation with acclaimed fashion icon Inno Sotto. “We’re always on the lookout for the ones who are established and the ones who can be discovered,” says Zobel of the project’s selection of artists and talents. “Last 2008, we discovered Leslie Mobo at Harrod’s.”

A new facet of this year’s Bravo! is the ArtPark, set to be launched in May 2010. ArtPark is a series of public art exhibitions that aims to make art more accessible to the public and to generate greater awareness of our local artists’ works.

There will be a showcase of the works of five photographers training their lenses on handicrafts of the Philippines. There will be a chef, a doctor, engineer, a military guy and a businessman (Don Jaime himself) sharing their visions to the public.

Through film, literature, music and dance, Bravo! will present relevant facets of Filipino life that are a reflection of our history and culture.

“We hope that with Bravo! Celebrating the Filipino, people realize the many reasons to take pride in being a Filipino and that this renewed sense of self-respect will drive us into pushing our country forward, closer to our dreams of lasting unity and progress,” says Zobel, who admits growing up on zarzuela music from Spain, which his mother would play on the phonograph when he was a child.

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