(IN)ARTICULATED

My first ever work that was used in an actual event. It’s...

Wed, 30 May 2012 23:12:44 -0400

My first ever work that was used in an actual event. It’s not much but I’m proud of myself for finishing this in what, an hour? :))

Anyway, today marks the start of my summer vacation. I know I’ve got one week left before the start of classes but I’m gonna make the most out of it. I’ve been busy the whole summer - but I’m never gonna regret it. :)

Just this summer, I was able to walk (and run) the length of Espana going to Quiapo under the noon sun, take a bath with 10 or so people in the eyes of the public, sleep out in the open on a rocky beach, and so on. In short I was taken out of my comfort zone. I was able to open my eyes to reality. Of course, with the help of all the people that have guided us in this CWTS class under the ever-so-fierce Ma’am Roselle Pineda.

This CWTS class made me empathize with majority of Filipinos. Before, I didn’t bother to ask why people are poor, or why the rich are well, rich. But now, not only did I ask those questions, but I also got answers to them, and more. I got to experience and feel why the marginalized are the way they are. We got to talk with people whose voices matter most - our workers, our farmers, our fisherfolk. In this past summer, I realized that there are a lot of voices being muted by those few who seemingly (and undeservingly) have power and control over our country. I learned a lot of things not heard by a lot of people, and I am very thankful that I was given the opportunity to hear those things.

Now, I am happy to say that I will be one with the people’s fight. I think that it is our duty to make these muted voices heard. This CWTS class has made me think of the bigger picture; and I am vowing to help repaint that bigger picture of a society with equitable distribution of resources and right in my own way.

PS job (albeit basic as hell lol) for CWTS class. :)

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:00:00 -0400

PS job (albeit basic as hell lol) for CWTS class. :)

On Cuba, the Philippines, and the US

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:57:00 -0400

My mom and I were talking about the forum that the Center of International Studies hosted on the anniversary of the attack at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba. I was telling her how the Cuban ambassador to the Philippines, H.E. Juan Carlos Arrecibia, discussed the US, its blockade on Cuba, and its alleged black propaganda against the said country.

“Eh pano ‘yan, friends tayo with the US, anong reaksyon ng mga tao nung binabatikos nya yung States?” she asked me.

To which I replied, “Cool naman maging anti-US sa UP e.”

Being a UP alumna herself, she probably understood what my remark was all about. US imperialism and neo-colonialism have long been part of what student activist groups have been protesting against. Along with this is its influence on the Philippine government and economy, not to mention military exercises by the US Army held here. For many years, there has been an anti-US sentiment among activists, especially from student groups in UP.

The same couldn’t be said outside the University, however. Although many Filipinos may express their love for our nation and apprehension towards American movement in our country, I believe that the neo-colonial project that the United States started a century ago still flows in the veins of Philippine society. This is evident at how many Filipinos equate living in the US to a better life, among others. To illustrate an example, I shall use a personal experience of mine. I remember my mom asking our former house-help what her goal in life is. The girl’s answer? To marry an American. Unfortunately, I don’t believe she is alone in sharing that goal. Moreover, Filipinos (at least in my personal observations) prize imported products, especially from the US, more than locally-made goods. This glorification of the US just goes to show how much (or how little, perhaps) our country has moved on from American rule. Academics say that the Philippines is more Americanized that Hispanized – something which I believe holds true, what with colonial mentality, among other legacies of US rule, still alive in our society. Now, I think that this neo-colonialism of the US partly drives the ignorance and lack of appreciation of many Filipinos of what is truly (and forever will be) ours – our heritage. The commercialization of our world has augmented how we see our heritage. Slowly, we are favoring ‘development’ and global competitiveness over guarding our precious cultures and traditions. For example, indigenous peoples of Mindanao, like the T’boli, are slowly being encroached upon by the pressures of the changing world we have.

A country sharing a similar case to ours is Cuba. Like the Philippines, the Caribbean nation was also a Spanish and American colony, with the latter rulers pushing their colonial project even amidst opposition from Cubans. Moreover, many Cubans also flock to the US for greener pastures – there are almost one million Cuban-Americans in the States. However, the main difference is that if the Philippines and Cuba were children of the States, the Latin American country would be considered as the ‘problem child.’ For the longest time, they have been at the receiving end of US opposition. This, perhaps, has lead to that country remaining true to the nation founded in it, something which doesn’t necessarily hold true for the Philippines, at least from what I deduced from the ambassador lecture. Although I have no information on Cuban heritage and the influence of American action in the said country, I believe H.E. Arrecibia made it clear that they didn’t welcome US culture the way our country did. Furthermore, their loyalty to their nation, at least basing from the short video shown, remained intact amidst US intimidations. However, even though I was impressed at how adamant they were in undoing the ‘mental colonization’ the US has done to people regarding Cuba, I wish that the ambassador didn’t skimp on discussing the communist/socialist agenda of Fidel Castro and his country’s role in the Cold War. I think that that part of his nation’s history was evidently under-discussed, and I believe that the lecture would have been more interesting had he decided to explain it further.

At the end of it all, both Cuba and the Philippines have histories so intrinsically linked with each other. Colonized by the Spanish, taken over by the Americans. The difference is that Cuba resisted American action – and based from the forum, they are successful in that front, at least, even though their country is also suffering from problems like poverty. Although both countries weren’t spared from what I like to call the ‘American Dream Syndrome,’ or a people’s mindset that everything’s better in America, Cuba managed to still keep itself founded on the ideals of their revolutionary leaders like Fidel Castro and Che Guevarra, which in my opinion, isn’t applicable to our country anymore, as unfortunate as it is.

cr： henry bar photo by： eileen do not edit／cut the...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:52:37 -0400

cr： henry bar

photo by： eileen

do not edit／cut the logo。

He’s lost so much weight. ;__;

Finding the Grays

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:38:48 -0400

I used to think gray was useless, something like a stillborn child of black and white.I don’t think that’s the case anymore, for me at least.

It’s really not easy for me to put my thoughts into words. For one, I’m used to drawing/painting what I feel, and two, I tend to overthink and over-analyze when I write. In fact, I had to redo this essay for quite a number of times before I could hit it right. I could have easily grabbed a sheet of paper and a pencil plus some markers and drew. However, since this CWTS class asks us to go out of our comfort zones, I thought that I might as well write instead of draw – something that I’m comfortable with, being an art student.

I must admit, however, that while I was doing this, I was picturing editorial cartoon-like drawings that I could do instead. In my mind, there were the usual editorial cartoon staples – the laughing, Barong and Amerikana-clad demons meant to represent greedy lawmakers and businessmen, the workers who were sweating blood, and their children who had to carry everything on their weak shoulders, for they will have to once their generation grows up. It was nice to look at in my head, but my hands were never able to lift that pencil and grab that sheet of paper. Maybe because it was too safe for me. It was too safe to resort to that idea of corporate greed and how it destroys workers’ lives. However true it is, I wanted the story of the demons, the workers, and the children to go beyond the pencil lines and paper edges.

From my viewpoint, the demons are what they are – demons. They abuse the power that they have tricked the Filipino people into giving them. They find ways to make themselves richer, and everyone else poorer. They insist on destroying the environment for ‘progress.’ However, let’s not look at things as either black or white. I haven’t mentioned that if I drew instead, I would have used gray ink. Why? I think that we need to look beyond the whites and the blacks of the paper and think of the many tones of gray in between. There is much more to the demon, the worker, and the child than what the black ink of my drawing (that never existed). For example, we just couldn’t conclude that every businessman and lawmaker is a ‘demon.’ Why? We can’t deny that the yields of mining and logging are of great importance to our lives at present. In fact, this essay would have also been non-existent if not for mining (products of mining may be found in laptop computers). If not for logging, I wouldn’t be able to sit comfortably in CWTS class for there is no wooden chair to sit on. This is what I am saying in looking at the grays – let’s not be quick in concluding that every rich person is selfish and greedy for there are some (I’d like to think this way) who use what nature has given us in a sustainable way.

Like the demons, there is also a world between the black of the ink and the white of the paper that make the shape of the workers and the children. Many of them are suffering, yes. Many of them are in poverty, yes. And these problems need to be addressed as soon as possible. However, what many people don’t see, in my opinion, is that there is a way that they could continue mining without being abused and oppressed. For me, the answer is responsible action. Responsible mining. I may not be a Mining Engineering major (and for this very reason I wouldn’t elaborate much further) but I know that there is a way of striking a balance in practices like these (mining, logging, fishing). Many people, as I can observe, seem to see it only in black and white, and I think that it is partially because of mass media who, more often than not, fail to see the gray areas in between. They say that mining should be banned, logging should be stopped. What they fail to see is that it’s not mining or logging per se that destroys everything. It is irresponsible mining or logging.

I’m no apologist of greedy businessmen who cut more than a hundred pine trees for a car park (No offense, SM, really.) These people also only see the blacks and whites of the paper, even though they say otherwise. What people need to see is the full range of greys between black and white. Gray doesn’t necessarily strike a good connotation with everyone. We are told to be brave and take a stand on ideologies and not hover on the gray area in between. However, in this case, I think that the gray areas hold the answers that mass media, among others, project as either only black or white. There are many muted stories and sides, in my opinion, on the topic of the environment, especially on mining. However, I believe that by looking at the gray areas, we could strike a balance between black and white – a balance that would advocate for responsibility towards the environment.

Created mostly for CWTS class. Also an attempt to resurrect myself in the Tumblr world. :)

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:27:14 -0400

Created mostly for CWTS class. Also an attempt to resurrect myself in the Tumblr world. :)