Badong The Great

Salvador Bernal... The national artist. The father of theater design. The fashion designer who once dressed the presidential family. The man who introduced Philippine theater design to the world. The guru of younger designers from prestigious universities. The eloquent poet. The man of glamour and taste. The genius.... The titles do not end here. Yes indeed, Salvador Bernal can do it all! How could one man be so talented and so intelligent at the same time? Yes he was this amazing man, but he was also my ever-humble grandfather. Until now I am still in awe that I am actually related to this man! Whenever I see him I would shy away, because his presence was so empowering. Whenever he would talk to me I would get so conscious.... What does he think of me? He must think I'm incapable!


Today, my grandfather was buried at his birthplace - Dagupan. For the passed couple of days, I learned so much more of him than I already knew! My grandfather is the most creative, most intelligent, wisest, man I've ever met! I am not just saying this because we're related! Of course, he must be a national artist for some reason! One of the new things that I learned about him was how he defined originality. During the days when he was a production designer, the local productions were sensitive to budget limitations. Due to this constraint, he harnessed the design potential of inexpensive local materials, pioneering or maximizing the use of bamboo, raw abaca, abaca fiber, hemp twine, rattan chain links and gauze cacha. One of this production sets had these immaculate chandeliers, and, believe it or not, they were made of plastic pens! My art teacher always told me, "You can only be truly creative if you can create beautiful things out of very little material!" Salvador Bernal was not only a creative man he was also a man of great taste! Another thing that I admire is how he generously shared and passed on his talent, skills, and knowledge to his students and protégés. One thing I wanted to experience in my life was to become a student of my lolo. Sadly, that opportunity passed.


My lolo's blood runs through me... The art flowed from one generation to another, all coming from my great grandmother lola Banding down to me. A lot of people have been asking me to pursue this "art thing" and I've persistently refused because I didn't see anything great in me. But now, I'm finally awakened... You shouldn't be scared of taking these opportunities. Fear is a sin, because you're hindering yourself from making the best out of yourself.


Now, it's time to take this painting seriously! The light has shone on me. Art school here I come!

The future

I love my baby cousins! They're the best models! They're so "artistahin", it's crazy! I can't believe my cousins have been auditioning for commercials already. They also take voice lessons and they seem very serious about making a career out of it. I was so dumbstruck during my cousin's seventh birthday party, because she completely took the stage like! She was dancing and singing so confidently like a pro. Did I say she's only seven? I remember, when I was their age I was pressured to perform by my parents. I had stage fright and I absolutely hated the extra attention. Their generation is so different from ours. It's so entertaining to see my cousins performing at their own will. They clearly know what they want - to be famous. Maybe just for now. But, who knows? That's how all stars emerge.

Ancestors?

Here's a painting a talented artist made of my sister, my mom, and I, wearing our traditional Balinese costumes. No, not really! This is a painting in our hotel room and, coincidentally, they look just like us! My dad was the first one to notice. Indonesians and Filipinos really share the same blood, but what are the chances that they would look just like the three of us? I wonder if the artist used real models or painted these women from his own imagination. If they are real people, I'm pretty sure we're related!

Barong

During our trip to Bali, my parents scavenged for a special souvenir to bring back home. We decided to go to a painting collection store to find something distinctively Balinese. There were some striking paintings, but they actually look very similar to traditional Filipino paintings, which we have an ample amount of exhibited in our house. Then I saw the Barong paintings... Before going to the store we watched a dance-drama about a Bali-Hindi myth, which I did not quite understand. Even though I couldn't really follow the play, I was intrigued with the mythological Barong character. He is the leader of the forces of good and an enemy of Rangda, the demon queen. Barong and Rangda balance good and evil in the world. Apparently, each region in Bali is protected by their own Barong, modeled after a different animal. Up until now, I cannot make out what animal the Barong is and the mystery makes the character so appealing. As soon as I laid eyes on the first Barong painting, I had to tell my parents to get it. My parents ended up getting the painting above (second picture). Imagine that painting framed on a white wall... I tell you, you can feel the life and energy! Having the Barong on our wall reminds me of my spiritual journey to Bali. The Barong represents the traditional cultural values, such as animism, that the Balinese cherish to this day. I feel like we did not only bring home a masterpiece, but also our own Barong protector.

Salam dari Bali!

I feel so fortunate to be able to escape the country so often with my family. I love traveling to the most unexpected places like Turkey, Russia, Hungary, and Czech Republic. After every journey, I always feel enriched with the different cultural values and lifestyle I was so graciously exposed to. I always believed that opening yourself to other cultures, other than your own, elevates your individuality to a completely different platform. Being recognized as a global citizen is something that I've always wanted to attain.

Three months ago, my family and I embarked on a journey to a neighboring country, Indonesia. Although, we only stayed in Bali for a few days, it was well gratifying. I must say, I was impressed with how the Balinese strongly incorporate their traditional values into everything, specifically their art, theatre, dance, clothing and architecture. In this time-changing world, we only get to see small glimpses of our old ways. In Bali, the centuries-old tradition and culture remains vivid everywhere. Thousands of these antique temples still stand in the island. The unique style is strongly characterized by their religion. Balinese temples are not closed and are rectangular courtyards open to the sky. The shrines and altars are dedicated to the various Hindu gods. These temples are clearly valued by the locals; therefore, replacing them with contemporary buildings is not an option. The spirituality they infuse in their architecture creates a peaceful presence that can be felt by all. No wonder artists and performers around the world travel to Bali to be inspired!