Filipino Web Magazine : September 2024

Saturday, 28 September 2024

Fly in the Ointment at The Maestro's Art Show

Volume 6, Issue No. 12

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of Romar Media Canada, The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail.com) and the Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .

Our latest as of Saturday, September 28, 2024

~ Something that happens once in more than sixty years is quite a rarity. And that "something" was the one-man art show by esteemed artist Romi C. MananQuil. For it to come about deserves to be celebrated, as what family, colleagues and friends did exactly three weeks ago at Neilson Park Creative Centre. Then a spectacle of a sideshow materialized to diminish what the artist himself referred to as "the most significant art show in my life."

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ROMI C. MANANQUIL, THE MAESTRO

Side Spectacle at One-Man Art Show

Fly in the Ointment: A "Queen" and Her Handler

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“It is a great thing to know the season for speech and the season for silence.” – Seneca, The Elder

TORONTO - The passage from Psalm 95 "a time to be silent and a time to speak" finds relevance in the unfolding Promethean odyssey of artist Romi C. MananQuil, The Maestro of Canada's Filipino community.

His shining moment exhibiting his best paintings in over six decades was, in my mind, being eclipsed by a sideshow that's totally irrelevant in this rare one-man art show at Neilson Park Creative Centre three weeks ago.

"This event is sort of very historic in terms of my artistic journey. For me, it's the most significant art show in my life," MananQuil says just before the official program began on Saturday, Sept. 7.

The emcee, Livvy Camacho, gave a brief but deep background while Michelle Chermaine Ramos, vice president of Philippine Artists Group, humanized him in ways only another artist would know. And then a guest spoke, and another, and finally, Consul Katrina Isabelle Borja-Martin.

The speakers in-between Ms. Ramos and Consul Martin were out of place, in my opinion. Quite notable was their brazenness. I ask myself repeatedly: why can't they just stay in the sidelines and let The Maestro enjoy his day without being obliged to talk about a past circumstance?

I know, I know, somebody long dead had awarded The Maestro a medal from his allotment as a federal official and because of that, the next of kin seemed, or felt, entitled to speak and remind everyone of the gesture?

I had no knowledge of which came first - The Maestro's portrait painting of the official while he was in office, or the conferring of the medal after which he rendered him on canvas?

And then the spectacle followed of a girl on stiletto heels wearing a sash and a crown as tall as the Eiffel tower on her head. Well, what earned her a moment to talk at an art show far removed from a beauty contest?

That scene, a distraction, continues to bother me. Something needs to be said out of respect for The Maestro. And that's where the passage "a time to be silent and a time to speak" fits.

If there's a sequence to be followed, and this is mine alone, the two other speakers - the "queen" and her handler - should have been kept out of it. An art show is an art show, not a fiesta of wannabe queens.

Consul Martin, who was appropriate for the occasion, was instead placed last, practically diminishing her stature as an official representing the Philippine government. (I must admit that I mistook her for a beauty contestant and didn't video-record her speech. I realized later that she was a consul. Sorry).

Her words mattered. What did not were the "queen's" and her guide's. Perhaps they forgot that her importance could extend as far as vouching for The Maestro to be honoured officially for his contribution to the arts world.

The Maestro has reached a momentous turning point in his life, transitioning from comics illustrator, art instructor, and graphic artist, to the fine artist that he is now.

It's a milestone that had to be celebrated, not with some counterfeit queen and her administrator trying to steal his thunder, but with family, art colleagues and close friends.

I've been fortunate to have been invited, for long ago, I wanted to interview The Maestro at length about his art works. "Tocayo," he told me during an earlier exhibit by the Philippine Artists Group, "huwag kang mawawala sa Sept. 7 sa art show ko."

Ever since I met him years ago, we've been calling each other "tocayo" because we share the most romantic name Shakespeare had given the main character in his novel Romeo and Juliet.

Romi C. MananQuil's art show comes once in a lifetime. With that, he's actually giving us a gift - the gift of creativity that can only be glimpsed in his paintings.

It's like he's restating what colleagues in the art world already knew - that he is The Maestro who deserves the respect and accolade of both mainstream and the Filipino community. (Copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved).

Monday, 23 September 2024

The Folly of a 'Community Service Award'

Volume 6, Issue No. 11

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

Our latest as of Monday, September 23, 2024

~ The whole shebang looks like the organizers are pulling the wool over our eyes with one of their awards going to a schemer who steals video footage and exults being mistaken for a ranking diplomat. It's an insult, a degradation of Filipino values to pass the award recipient as a "role model for compassion, dedication and service." Just the same, the former driver popularly known as "kabise" is enabled in opulent ceremonies weeks ago in the City of Niagara Falls.

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GOLDEN BALANGAY FOUNDATION

Bestows Community Service Award to 'Kabise'

Ostensibly for Taste of Manila Festival, No Kidding

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“People always clap for the wrong reasons.” – J.D. Salinger

TORONTO - More than a dozen individuals the non-profit Golden Balangay Foundation considered "outstanding Filipino Canadians" were honoured with its "Golden Balangay Awards" during a recent ceremony in the City of Niagara Falls.

Somehow, the foundation's search for a recipient of its "community service award" ended with the choice from a field of 12 of the self-declared founder of Taste of Manila (ToM) festival, Rolly Mangante, the erstwhile driver at the Philippine Consulate here.

Just how he bested 11 nominees is unclear. Who vetted him? The voting process, the foundation says, is performed online by a panel of judges consisting of "previous winners and/or respected individuals, community leaders, professionals, etc."

Not to doubt the integrity of the anonymous judges, but I suspect they might have been carried away by social media blitz undertaken by a bullnecked, land-based (as opposed to seaborne) Facebook chameleon who in a span of several months has refashioned her online identity as frequent as changing garment.

Since the face could not be improved upon by tons of makeup, the chameleon had to dig deeper into her Halloween vault to find a suitable younger-looking face. At times I wonder if the face is someone else's, or just rented from Madame Tussaud's wax museum in London.

As a journalist dedicated to telling the truth, I take issue with the choice of Mangante. He isn't the role model they made him to be, regardless of his perceived success in marketing ToM to unsuspecting patrons.

For how could the judges ignore information - accessible to anyone using the computer - about Mangante, his many claims, and disgraceful conduct promoting ToM?

At the opulent awarding ceremony at the Sheraton Niagara Fallsview Hotel on Sept. 7, the foundation bestowed on Mangante its community service award along with recipients of other awards.

The award, according to its website, "recognizes an individual who is making a significant contribution to their community through their time, actions, talents and dedication in their volunteer activities; demonstrates qualities of compassion, and service to either one organization or a variety of volunteer activities; and serves as a role model for compassion, dedication and service."

That the foundation gave the award, however shadowy it is, to Mangante speaks more about the foundation and its officials than about Mangante himself. It'll be a folly to make him a paragon of virtue, or as they put it, "a role model for compassion, dedication and service" in the Filipino community. WTF?

What "compassion"? During the Aug. 17-18, 2024 ToM festival, Mangante and his minions fulfilled his vow to punish on-site vendors who refused to "donate" to ToM by erecting a steel fence in front of their establishments, effectively denying customers access to their stores.

City authorities contacted by this reporter said the fence was illegal as the city did not sanction its installation on the street (Bathurst) and sidewalk, which are city property, not private property. (Video at: ToM Organizers Install a Monument to Their Greed - a Steel Fence).

Mangante had heated verbal exchange with one of the storeowners who complained against being blocked by the fence. Witnesses said Mangante called the police and allegedly reported that he was being assaulted.

Could we assume those establishments which were not obstructed coughed up the money demanded by ToM organizers? How much?

What "dedication and service"? Mangante was so desperate to promote his wife, Nieves Mangante, as "first lady" (according to someone moonlighting as a writer), and his close friends that he had authorized stealing film footage and photos of earlier ToM festivals from The Filipino Web Channel, spliced them with images of politicians like MP Marco Mendicino, Toronto Mayor John Tory, Councillor James Pasternak, and partner Cecile Araneta.

The manipulated video was then used to promote a virtual ToM festival at the height of the coronavirus pandemic when in-person events were prohibited. (Video at: Social Climbers in PESO Steal Street Festival Content)

Social Climbers in PESO Steal Street Festival Content

The Golden Balangay Award to Mangante should not be foisted on the community. I have no doubt it will be used to further elevate himself the same way he tried to convince people in Manila to support ToM by showing my videos running in The Filipino Web Channel.

He was not content with stealing; he had to show how he supposedly managed a festival to great success, which is again false! The untold truth - kept secret for a long time - is that the whole ToM affair was being run by the low-key Teresa Torralba, his chief of staff.

Mangante was incapable of making arrangement with Toronto officials; he's linguistically-challenged, that's why he spoke in Tagalog during the award ceremony. Remember when he said "abonizing" to mean advancing payments for certain dues? That's bastardized Tagalog-English word not in the dictionary.

All the while it was Teresa Torralba calling the shots on behalf of Mangante who people thought was a good manager. But giving credit where credit is due, Mangante was a good driver (of a motor vehicle).

In Mangante's Golden Balangay Award by the foundation, our best Filipino values are sacrificed for some friendly pat on the back in consideration of what . . . money? Nobody knows, no one's telling.

Monday, 16 September 2024

Alleged Public Service Plus Entertainment Equals Money

Volume 6, Issue No. 10

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

Our latest as of Monday, September 16, 2024

~ The summer has kicked off a wide assortment of events, some funded in whole or in part by federal, provincial and municipal governments, to promote the heritage and culture of the different ethnic minorities. In the Filipino community, festivals are a dime a dozen, and are marketed, ostensibly, as a service to its people. But the truth is that they're driven by money and the potential to gain tons and tons of it. The Taste of Manila (ToM) festival is a standout in this regard.

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ENTERTAINMENT GALORE

Money, Not Service, Drives Local Events

Summer Saw All Kinds of Community Happenings

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“Two things destroy a weak man: money and status. After that he goes blind.” – from "Decadence and Downfall"

TORONTO - At the beginning we're regaled with words sugared with plans to benefit the community and improve the well-being of those in dire need of help.

Many associations thrive on this ploy and wrap themselves in some form of government protection, for example, by registering as a non-profit, or as a charitable organization, or as a foundation.

Left unsaid, of course, is the driving force behind the purported civic-mindedness - money, and the potential to earn lots of it.

"When people are driven by greed," says an essay on money, "they will do whatever it takes to acquire more money, even if it means stepping on others or engaging in unethical behavior."

Reading that excerpt reminds me of the recent Taste of Manila (ToM) festival and what it did to hapless storeowners who were physically isolated from their customers by a steel fence that ran from end to end of their storefronts.

That essay also leads me to other organizations that thrive on misleading the Filipino community with lofty projects, bountiful prizes, and other imaginative etceteras, which are at best theoretical. One fine example is the spectacle that happened in Brampton.

Seducing the public and prospective sponsors with high-impact proposals, for example, building a basketball court, or a sitting room for seniors, or an all-expenses-paid round trip to Mars, seems to be part of the strategy to win support.

A representative example that comes to mind is the plan - it sounds so fanciful - to build a community centre presented by a nascent Taste of Manila in July 2014 through its alleged founder, Rolly "kabise" Mangante.

It's to his credit that Mangante, a former driver at the Philippine Consulate, could dream big, could get public approval, could recruit believers, could enlist politicians, could transform fantasy to reality to what we know as Taste of Manila (ToM) festival.

Heck, he's got the balls, man. His Canadian dream is a dream come true, especially with ToM recovering from its dire straits in 2018 to becoming a cash cow today.

Not only that, he has risen from a life of obscurity behind the wheel to unforeseen prominence. He's now "Tito Rolly" to politicians. Isn't that remarkable?

Well, being "Tito Rolly" to all could bloat one's ego. Feeling powerful because of ToM, he could command obedience. Unethical, illegal, or whatnot, he demands compliance.

That's what happened to my footage of several ToM events. He had the gumption to steal videos and photos to suit his agenda, promote his wife, friends, and partners. And his underlings simply follow.

The Unredeemed Promise of Taste of Manila; Is the Money Gone?

Transparent? Yeah right. Indeed there's no indication any ToM official reacted to a complaint on why ToM erected a fence to impede human traffic at the site of five establishments on Bathurst St. during the Aug. 17-18 festival.

I interviewed some vendors in Little Manila for this story who told me that Mangante put the blame on unnamed SPARC officials for installing the steel fence. Lawyer friends said the construct was illegal for many reasons.

It seems Mangante is deflecting. In 2023, vendors complained to me that he had threatened to block their store fronts if they did not comply with his demand for a "donation."

The vendors deemed it was an "extortion," a flat-out shakedown. Why would they donate to ToM when they need not have booths because their stores are right where the festival takes place?

"Money can make people pretty evil," says one of the survivors in this movie series on Netflix entitled Outlast. The statement invigorated me to write this article.

The Socratic Method is even more profound: "Some view money as a means of security and comfort, whereas others perceive it as a source of power, status, or even self-worth." (Copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved).

Monday, 9 September 2024

Maestro Romi C. MananQuil's Homage to Life

Volume 6, Issue No. 9

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

Our latest as of Monday, September 9, 2024

~ The Filipino community is fortunate to have a master in arts in the person of Maestro Romi C. MananQuil who, for 14 years, led the Philippine Artists Group of Canada as president. This month, the maestro is celebrating his "more than half a century of passion and creativity" with a show at Neilson Park Creative Centre in Etobicoke. The show runs until September 22. Gazing at his paintings transposes to an era of simplicity, selflessness, and hard work. More importantly, they reinforce love of country.

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ARTIST ROMI C. MANANQUIL

The Maestro In Our Midst

Toronto Is Home to Eminent Filipino Artists

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” – Aristotle

TORONTO - Unexceptional is the right word to describe what I know of the arts. Bluntly put, I am neither connoisseur nor art critic, but I do have a healthy appreciation for paintings, sculptures, and music. My amateurish opinion is largely based on personal perception.

The little that I learned from two semesters of a humanities subject in college in the Philippines many years ago has been my guiding light in viewing the works by the great artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Michelangelo, Rembrandt; our very own Juan Luna, Fernando Amorsolo, Botong Francisco, Vicente Manansala, Hernando Ocampo, among many others.

I've encountered them all, not personally, of course, but through their paintings. I've seen Luna's Spoliarium in the National Museum and The Blood Compact in Malacanang Palace in the course of my previous work as a foreign correspondent.

I absolutely agree with Filipino historian Ambeth Ocampo who wrote in 2000, and I quote: "The fact remains that when Luna and Felix Resurrección Hidalgo won the top awards in the Madrid Exposition of 1884, they proved to the world that indios (Filipinos) could, despite their supposed barbarian race, paint better than the Spaniards who colonized them."

It rings true in Toronto. One need not look beyond our community. Here, a slew of distinguished artists topped no less by a master, Maestro Romi C. MananQuil, lives and leads a creative life putting stunning images on canvas and other media.

It would seem superfluous for him to talk about himself; the paintings he has done in the last six decades speak for him as a patriot, a loving husband, father, grandfather, neighbour, friend, colleague, mentor.

We may have resided in different parts of the homeland prior to settling in Canada, but Maestro MananQuil has captured an important period in one's life journey without having to be by his side.

I refer to at least 10 of his paintings - immortalized on canvas - exhibited currently at Neilson Park Creative Centre and during a recent show by the Philippine Artists Group of Canada which he headed as president for 14 years.

What's so striking is his rendering of the most consequential chapter in the Filipinos' bloody march to freedom, fought courageously to the death against a foreign power that had colonized the country for over three hundred years.

Maestro MananQuil's "Himagsik," "Kalayaan," "Dr. Jose P. Rizal," "Pagtatanim," and "Lakeshore Morning" are visual images of a revolutionary and arduous past, and a seeming comfortable life in a new home in Toronto.

"Himagsik" and "Kalayaan" call to memory my two grandfathers, both members of the Katipunan, who had fought in Cavite province with General Emilio Aguinaldo in the revolution against Spain. They both survived but only one saw through the 1898 declaration of Philippine independence in Kawit.

Pleasant memories are rekindled, for me personally, by Maestro MananQuil's "Pagtatanim ng Palay" and "Sampung Kahig, Isang Tuka" which bring to life the years visiting my paternal grandparents in Naic, Cavite.

Travelling for hours by bus from Pasay City where the family had moved, to the old hometown, the highway scenery was a sight to absorb - large tracts of land in green and gold amidst moving shadows of farmers either planting or harvesting rice. They're gone now, replaced by mushrooming subdivisions and fancy homes.

Under their bamboo hut close to the shorelines of Manila Bay overlooking Corregidor island, my grandparents domesticated hens and other poultry, assuring them a supply of meat and eggs. Looking at "Sampung Kahig, Isang Tuka" makes me wonder how Maestro MananQuil acquired that singular essence of rural life.

Three of his paintings - "Jolens," "Kanyong Kawayan," and "Bisperas" - happily transpose me to an era of youthful abandon, undiluted innocence, and genuine brotherhood.

"Jolens" is a marble game, so-called for what's probably is its English equivalent - "hole-in". For lack of a playground, the streetwise dudes that my buddies and I were, played it in alleys or in some neighbour's backyard.

(To give an idea of how and what "jolens" is, I found this video on YouTube: "MARBLE GAME" in the Philippines" (Larong Pinoy / Traditional Filipino Game / Laro ng Lahi)

"Kanyong Kawayan" is an old-fashioned bamboo cannon traditionally used in many areas in the Philippines to welcome the new year with a bang. I grew up with the practice and was the one person, to my dismay, assigned to light it up.

(Here's what Filipiknow website says: "To make the bamboo cannon explode, it is propped up against a stone. Kalburo or wet calcium carbide is fed into the bamboo, until the kalburo reaches the base. Ordinary kerosene is sometimes used. A stick is then lit from a kerosene lamp and then applied on the hole, creating a booming sound. Periodically, one has to blow into the hole to free it from ashes)."

The maestro and his grandson Justin also happen to like "Kanyong Kawayan," which is also my favorite. (Video at the 2:50 mark https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZQaTOSmoU0).

Maestro MananQuil's "Bisperas" (Christmas Eve) depicts a tienda near a church while a young lady cooks bibingka and steams puto bumbong. This is exactly how it looked then. Through the years, the sight continues to remind me of a custom widely observed in our neighbourhood weeks before Christmas and up to days after the New Year.

His "Ligaw Tingin" and "Pa-Charming" are, for me, a vivid record of adolescent history. These paintings acknowledge Filipinos' inherent shyness even as both man and woman flirt with each other.

I remember those days when one felt having a crush on a lady but was too timid to approach or say anything, thus ligaw tingin, or roughly in English, courting at a distance by eyeballing her.

And if the lady knew he had eyes on her, she would pretend not to notice, feigning to be incognizant, or to put in Maestro MananQuil's words, "pa-charming" or in contemporary lingo, pakipot (coy).

In my neighbourhood, a friend was so enamoured with a store attendant through his constant "ligaw tingin." He soon realized his effort was not working. So he mustered the courage to tell her of his intention. For some time, she was "pa-charming," only to surrender her charms. Months later they were married and lived happily ever after.

I love these paintings if only for the fact that they're testimonials to a simple and blissful life, long gone but still occupy a special place in my heart, thanks to Maestro MananQuil.

His creativity translated into paintings through his adroit grasp of the brush is surely the reason he is a maestro - The Maestro actually - in the Filipino community in Greater Toronto Area, or perhaps in Canada. (Copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved).