since today is Filipino-Spanish Friendship Day, I thought I'd put in the title in Spanish.
'langhiya nung Independence Day late yung Independence Day post...ni wala ngang post on Rizal Day hahaha the reason for this is that today was full of "happenings" na di pwedeng palampasin na hindi malagay sa blog...
I was at first ambivalent about attending the symposium at the National Museum since the location is soooooo muy lejos! But since we were invited by Prof Llanes at nagyaya na rin si Eleazar I guess I better take the opportunity since this would be the first time I'd step into the National Museum.
Turned out both Eli and I were like lost strangers sa kalakhang Maynila. It took us a few minutes to get our bearings and decide on the best route and jeepney to take us to the National Museum. The symposium was a whole day event but I had to wait for Eli since he had classes until 1 PM. Nagyosi na lang ang kawawang bata sa labas ng library para mawala ang gutom.
Back to our trip to the National Museum...it was a long jeepney ride and during the ride we fell into talking about the assigned research topics in our Kas 110 class. Eli was still undecided about which topic to write about -- he was thinking about doing a local history paper about Krus na Ligas. Our brainstorming turned to other matters and that was when I realized that long haired, hippie Eli was pretty much a bookworm like me. Turns out we both knew George Orwell -- I have read Animal Farm while Eli's read 1984. Thus we agreed on a book swapping of sorts -- I will lend him Animal Farm while he lends me 1984.
After about 40 minutes, we finally reached our destination. The Pambansang Museum used to be the old Legislative building--but that was not the place where the symposium will be held. Turns out it was the other National Museum building across the street. Thus Eli and I braved the treacherous avenue filled with cars, buses and ten-wheeler trucks to reach our destination. It was already 3 PM.
The first person that I met at the entrance to the conference hall where the symposium was held was none other than my profesora en español diez Maria Luna. So it was buenas tardes Maria, como estas?, estoy bien! por que estas aqui? para una clase del Profesor Llanes...it was a moment to exercise my insufficient Spanish pero since nagkaintindihan kami ni Ma'am medyo OK na rin hahaha. Our meeting was a bit ironic given today was a day for a meeting of Filipino-Spanish culture and history.
Since 3 PM na kami nakarating we were unable to hear the scheduled lectures. The conference hall was empty since the participants were on a tour of the museum premises. Hindi na kami humabol. What Eli and I did was we held our own tour of the nearby galleries featuring Filipino artists and Japanese photographers. We were joined by three other classmates in our Kas 110.
Viewing the various works of art displayed was a wonderful experience. To summarize: Pinoy artists -- supeeeeer talented! As in! my most favorite work was one entitled "Basta Driver, Sweet Lover" which is an artwork made using ballpen on cloth. the whole 3x6 canvas was covered with a complicated, intricate art design echoing Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel works or the Grecian frieze artworks. Second fave was a picture of a full sized man lifting a canvas -- kung titingnan mo sa malayo akala mo may taong kumakabit ng painting sa sulok. Astig talaga ang mga Pinoy! Hanep!
On the other hand, the Japanese photographers are weeeeeeeird! the most provocative work in my opinion was a set of pictures made by a photographer who shot exterior shots of buildings through the windows of a MENTAL INSTITUTION. It was, according to the photographer, an attempt to capture the perspective of the people locked in the mental institute. The pictures where then transferred on cloth/canvas and stretched over boxes which were then illuminated from the inside. Para siyang installation art and the effect of the images on cloth and with the lighting made it even more eerie. Kaya nga eh -- weird ang mga Japanese. Period.
Then we went into another gallery showcasing indigenous clothing. Some of which I believe are more than a hundred years old since the info on the display panels said that some of the articles of native clothing were displayed in the St. Louis Expedition held in 1904.
After a few moments of strolling around we finally made our way back to the conference hall. We were motivated to stay because of the free snacks, dinner and a book raffle. All of which I will blog about next time hehe
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