Angono, An Artist’ Haven

In one of our many road trips more than two years ago, we discovered an exciting place teeming with murals  of one of our National Artists, Carlos V. Francisco popularly known as Botong Francisco. And here I thought, Balaw Balaw Restaurant And Food Gallery was enough for me but in a place where so many artists abound, you’ll be glad to discover something more. Botong Francisco,  was the second Filipino artist to receive the title National Artist in Painting after Fernando Amorsolo. He is well-known in the art of mural painting.

Dona Aurora St.  in one such place ,  the whole stretch of the street is literally teeming with Botong Francisco’s artworks. The sun was too hot on our backs so Nissa and I had to take some quick shots of the place. I even saw maestro Lucio San Pedro’s lyrics and notes of his composition, Sa Ugoy ng Duyan but I was not able to record it in my camera.

Bayanihan

Bayanihan, which loosely translated in English means helping each other is a typical Filipino trait that is still being practiced until now especially in the province where you only need to invite neighbors and relatives to help you with a particular work or task and they do.

Kaingin – 1945

Magpupukot -1957

Magpupukot means pulling in the net. The above picture is the actual painting where the mural was probably copied. Painting the lives of the fishing community was one of Botong’s favourite subjects. Angono, his hometown where he was based, was a fishing village.

Pista Sa Nayon – 1947

Pista, taken from the Spanish word fiesta (festival or feast) depicts revelry and thanksgiving. We celebrate many fiestas here in the Philippines. Such popular devotions and festivals are the Sinulog in Cebu, the Ati-Atihan in Aklan, and the Pahiyas in Lucban, Quezon to name a few. Philippine fiesta has its roots during the pre-colonial period.

If you have the chance to visit Angono, visit Aurora St. and you’ll surely be surprised by the richness of murals painted in almost every wall of the houses there.

And it’s more fun in the Philippines.

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Oh, Oh!

Imagine this!   I am grinning from ear to ear (if there is really such a thing) because I got more surprises than I bargained for.  I just received a  note from my brother Noel telling me  that he just paid one more year of Premium Account at Multiply.  And that means – unlimited storage of photos and videos,  and full resolution originals are kept forever.   I am simply grateful for having a brother who  supports and encourages my writing, who is forever praising me for learning new  tools  of the trade. Lately, I learned how to make videos, another plus for me of course!  And here’s what he wrote:

“Here’s your redemption code for another year of premium Multiply account.  Have a  merry Christmas!”

Yesterday, I got a surprise visit from a cousin whom I haven’t seen for quite a while.  We were classmates in grade school.  And we spent a few hours reminiscing  and  exchanging news about our other classmates  way back then.  She is a member of  The Lord’s Flock – LWUA Psalm Ministry and she gave me a copy of their  CD called Lighting  Paths, Touching Lives. It is an inspirational album  and I love all the songs in it.  I was particularly touched by the songs  People Need The Lord, Love  Is The Answer and the solo rendition of You Raise Me Up. The latter  has been my favorite since I heard Josh Groban  sing it  and when I found out that it was one of the songs played during Dad’s funeral three years ago, I can’t help but remember him every time I listen to it.  Thanks Cynthia for this wonderful gift.

And here are more surprises that I truly, truly appreciate.  Nissa gave them to me before she left for Tagaytay yesterday, a journal and a calendar for the year 2011.  The calendar  has  lovely  paintings by  our national artist,   Amorsolo.   They are from the art collections of Bank  of the Philippine Islands where she works.

Last year I received the Contempo, a collection of modern paintings from the same art collections of Bank of PI.  I even blogged about it because I found the paintings so lovely.  I remember now, one  of the artists, Ms. Phyllis Zaballero  found my blog on google and she left comments  when she saw that I included one of her paintings.  She told me that she no longer remember who had that particular painting of hers.  I am quite an  “ignoramus” when it comes to lovely works of art but I do know how to appreciate though.  When I met the great artist, Manny Baldemor  two years ago, I even became more enamoured with looking at such awesome creations by our talented artists.   How I loved to visit the 1851 Club of Bank of PI when I was still working there.  Their function rooms were full of these lovely collection.  This time,  in their 2011  calendar notebook and journal, they featured the paintings of Amorsolo, our National Artist.  He  is one of the most important artists in the history of paintings in the Philippines.  I took pictures of some of his artworks because I find them all lovely and fascinating, some of them are countryside scenery that I love.

Trade In A Colonial Shore (Galleon Trade) 1959

 

Burning of Manila (Ano Nuevo 1942)

 

Fruit Vendors (1924)

 

Woman Washing Clothes (Lavandera) 1947

 

Tinikling 1951

 

Hinulugang Taktak 1951

 

Tinikling 1953

 

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