Volume 5, Issue No. 33
OPINION/COMMENTARY
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /
Our latest as of Monday, April 29, 2024
~ In person or virtual (online only), the identity people equate with the Taste of Manila (ToM) festival for the last 10 years has been the easily recognizable graphic design created by Consul Bolivar "Bing" Bao (since reassigned to another mission) of a driver inviting passengers to his vintage jeepney. A group of so-called artists is poised to replace it with a multi-colored illustration highlighting what appears to be the launching of relatively modern jeepney. Where does ToM fit?
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DISTORTING ToM's ICONIC IMAGE FOR 2024
Taste of Manila Goes Funky
SPARC Seems to Be Launching a Sarao Jeepney
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel
“A lot of people do not value art. Rather than admit they don't understand it, they tend to trivialize it." ―
TORONTO - The attempt to rebrand the Taste of Manila (ToM) festival starting this year is quite obvious in a new logo being posted on social media by its handlers.
The first time I saw it, I thought the purported non-profit SPARC (Society of Philippine Artists, Recreation and Community) was launching a remodeled jeepney from Sarao Motors in the Philippines. (See collage)
I can't understand where ToM fits there, or where the rebrand conjures images of scenes in Manila, such as street food, or of people in a hurry to get to their destinations through the old-fashioned workhorse. None of these. It's like SPARC promoting a refurbished Sarao jeepney.
SPARC is the chosen org to stage ToM sometime in August, a decision made by driver-turned-self-proclaimed-founder Rolly Mangante aka "kabise" over the objection of another contractor, IEC (International Entertainment Company), which had previously secured an agreement.
One of the components of SPARC is supposedly "artists". Its big but largely empty boast is that it's a "society of . . . artists . . . "
I purposely removed "Philippine" which it uses as a modifier in its title because I believe it's unfair to drag the name of the country into a shady scheme.
The latest rendering of the ToM logo showing a multi-colored jeepney amidst a polychromatic background assails the eyes and does not evoke a pleasant countenance. It's a mishmash.
Compare that to the comforting feel of the old logo which incorporates blue, red, white, and yellow - essentially the Philippine banner - with matching green and sky blue, and one feels a sense of belonging.
This old logo was the product of Consul Bolivar "Bing" Bao's creative mind. If a glimpse of Manila is to be discerned from a festival that carries its name, the jeepney, a World War II relic, had to be its familiar come-on. (Related video: Amusing Trivia: 'Tansan,' '19 Kopong-kopong,' 'Bata pa si Sabel' by Consul Bolivar Bao).
In the illustration, Bing's artistry shows a simple yet full grasp of Philippine history juxtaposed with the iconic CN Tower, a Toronto landmark, so there's no mistaking the place-name.
On the other hand, SPARC's adaptation of the ToM logo redirects attention to a relatively modern version of the vintage jeepney, thus defeating the all-time visage of a vibrant city.
In SPARC's jumbled take, the emphasis is on the vehicle; in Bing's, it's the character, the idea, the feeling, the smell, the taste, of Manila.
Which brings me to what has been my lingering suspicion, i.e. that the "artists" in SPARC are not artist in the sense of being a cognoscente. If there is, the art appreciation is limited to a splash of clashing colors.
Food vendors who have been demanding a refund of their money from last year suspect the "society of . . . artists . . . " actually has "con artists" in its fold. That is an opinion shared with me confidentially and has not been verified as of this writing.
I tend to agree. The new logo, I suppose, would be a good example of a lack of people in SPARC with artistic inclination. What it has are probably gossipmongers, fictitious social media influencers, and pseudo broadcasters.
An instance prior to SPARC was when it went virtual due to the coronavirus pandemic and had to steal photos and videos of past ToM festivals from my Filipino Web Channel. (Related video: Greed Breeds Contempt and Infighting in Taste of Manila).
The culprit, according to Cecille Araneta of International Entertainment Company, was ToM "founder" Rolly Mangante, a former driver at the Philippine Consulate, who authorized the steal.
(Full story at: Official Blames ToM and Partners for Stolen Footage)
The purloined images were then manipulated and spliced by a brother of a so-called "international reporter" in his "lunatronix" studio in Little Manila, posted online, and made to appear like they were their own. (Copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved).
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