Mauban, One More Time

The good writer-doctor, Dr. Luis Gatmaitan and I, together with CCP's Bing Tresvalles and Hermie Beltran spent a five day stay in Mauban for the Batang Sining Workshop 2012. Last year, we did the same workshop but with teachers of Mauban. This summer, we had children ages 6-12 years as participants. They were a joy to be with!

The Maubanin children were participative and very much eager to learn. They liked the movement activities and visual art projects. They were natural storytellers and writers of stories. If pick-up lines are trendy among Manila kids, Maubanin kids are crazy over those too. Thanks to the reach and power of TV and media, Dr. Gatmaitan and I had our fill of pick-up lines from Day 1 to Day 5 of the workshop.

 Another wonderful thing about the children in Mauban is that, they're in touch with their town's unique culture and local knowledge. Their group cheers bespeak of  Rizal Hill, the fabled hill where locals attest to seeing St. Elmo's Fire; Gat Uban, their local folk hero, a Dumagat who drove away the Moros; the Maubanog Festival, their town fiesta; and other tourist spots like Cagbalete, Alitap Falls and La Fella Resort.

The local government unit has something to do about this. The visible projects set out by the LGU's Tourism Office help raise the awareness of Maubanin culture and way of life. I have written about the many historical and geographical wonders of Mauban, as well, as gastronomic delights in previous blog posts. Going back there again revealed fascinating aspects of Mauban charm.

First, we met "Mamay". She is the town's buri weaver who looked like my maternal grandmother. The woven flowers I am holding in the photo is made by her. I did not ask Mamay how old she is, but it's obvious that weaving buri products is something she's done all her life.

Mamay is very grateful for the revival of this industry. The Tourism Office is working on a manual for those who will follow Mamay's footsteps. Buri weaving is a traditional art in Mauban it is being saved from extinction.  From this art, the LGU of Mauban has produced an industry that sustains the buri weavers and the collective livelihood of the towns people. I bought some of the woven flowers and buri bags as souvenirs.

On our free day, Ms. Anie Calleja, Mauban Tourism Officer showed us the Public Bath which was built in the 1700's.

It was a fascinating relic, an architectural ingenuity! The picture on the left shows Dr. Gatmaitan standing beside a water sprout. The basin like container catches the water that came from a spring which locals call Batis na Malinis. The batis (stream) is long dead and has dried up over the course of time. But the public bath stands till this day as a testament on the creativity, resourcefulness and local smarts of Maubanins.

How many public baths are there in this archipelago? This was a first for me and yes, I was impressed. See, it really is more fun in the Philippines!

After that trip to the public bath, we headed to Cagbalete Island. It was my second time there. I loved it on my first visit. As the saying goes, it was lovelier the second time around.

 Thank you to the LGU of Mauban; to CCP and PBBY for this wonderful experience of knowing my country piece by piece, one island at a time.

Batang Sining 2012

Day 3, 4 and 5 of CCP Batang Sining at Mauban Quezon

On the third day of Batang Sining, my camera had a major, major accident and I could no longer transfer photos to the MacBook. Good thing I have my iPod ready to capture those moments of learning and discovery. I have uploaded most of the photos in my FB account so I'll just breeze through highlights of the remaining three days of the workshop.

CCP Batang Sining was made possible by Mauban's Tourism Office with the support of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Department of Education and the local government of Mauban, Quezon. Super thanks to Ms. Anie Calleja, tourism officer and a true blue Maubanin, for making this possible. It was a memorable experience for me. I was with great company - Hermie Beltran, Bing Tresvalles and, friend and colleague (in the writing industry that is) Luis "Tito Dok" Gatmaitan were all experienced Batang Sining facilitators and speakers. The participants were amazing! They were naturally talented, spontaneous and very sincere! I learned a lot from their use of the Filipino language. Maubanins have, in fact, their own Tagalog-English Dictionary. The town is situated at the edge of Quezon province but they have a rich culture to call their own.

Day three and four activities consisted of puppetry, buri weaving, book making,  human art activity and storytelling. On the fifth day, participants practiced on their group presentations for the culminating activity in the afternoon. It was a fruitful and fun workshop indeed! 

Here are photos and stories on the last three days of the CCP Batang Sining workshop.

Teacher Isa concentrates on the illustrations of the book she is making. I think, this was the most challenging activity since it involved several cognitive skills at the same time. But the teachers delivered and much to our delight, a good number of teacher made books discussed the culture and traditions of Mauban. Mayor Dingdong Llamas was impressed when he saw these books on display during the culminating activity.

Teachers gamely sculpted their way into living and breathing human sculptures. They worked in pairs in the first round and then in groups. We had to emphasize the relevance of this art form as a visual art. More than trust and confidence at the hands of the sculptor there are basic concepts to consider when making this art form. Balance, synchronicity and concept. Then again, Filipinos in general are natural storytellers. Their art works have stories to tell.

We know about tandem telling, right? Here's a trio reading aloud Luis Gatmaitan's book on pregnancy and anticipation of a sibling. Naku, May Baby sa Tiyan ni Mommy was illustrated by Pepper Roxas.

One of the puppet shows I loved during the workshop was Unang Araw sa Eskwelahan by Group Alis-is. It tells of the first day experience of children in school. The puppets were made by teachers and they wrote a script for the show. The group was proclaimed one of the top four puppet shows so they had the opportunity to regale the mayor who watched the whole event from start to finish!

Here are two panel boards that display and showcase the art works, puppets and books made by the teachers. Hopefully, the teachers will be able to infuse their craft with more art and aesthetics as well as, use the art techniques we shared in the classroom.

The very supportive mayor of Mauban, Mayor Dingdong Llamas. He was never short of good things to say to his constituents, to us, guests and visitors and to his staff who worked hard to make the CCP Batang Sining a success! More power to Mauban! More power to all Maubanins!