My Moleskine inspired takas at the TAKATAK ATTACK!

"Take a trip down memory lane: Takatak Attack Kids who grew up watching “Batibot” have seen the art of Taka, or paper-mache figures made by craftsmen in Paete, Laguna. While a Taka can be any figure or form, the most popular mold is that of the horse. Check out Takatak Project’s first exhibit, “Takatak Attack”, where brightly colored Taka horses take center stage. The roster includes over 50 artists, and pieces are for sale so you can take home a Taka after." (from YAHOO She)

For this event, I created sets of takas inspired from my Moleskine Art. "Wake Up" and "Catch of the Night" will be at the exhibit starting July 21, 2012 and will run until August 4, 2012.

Baghajit and Ondine at the ROBOTARS CUSTOM SHOW #2

ROBOTARS CUSTOM SHOW #2

July 21, 2012 at the Vinyl on Vinyl, Malugay St. Makati

My two customs, Baghajit and Ondine will be joining 40+ others on this special event! See you guys there!

Catch For The Night

Catch For The Night
By Christian Oliver A. Cruz

Last summer, the whole family went to Donsol where they say we will be able to see the gentle giants of the sea, the biggest fishes of all... the Butandings! So excited was I! I even read books about them. They open their big mouths and in the planktons go. I wonder what planktons taste like.

We rode on boats and headed out to the sea. So excited was I! I made sure not to blink because I wanted to be the first to spot them. I looked to the front. Then to the right. Then to the back. Then to the left. I made sure to look all around. Hours passed and still no butanding. Soon the boat headed back home. My little sister was crying, "Why are the butandings sleeping? Wake them up mommy!" I wanted to cry too, but I didn't. I wonder why they didn't show up.

My little sister was still sobbing as she slept beside me that night. As soon as she was sound asleep, I left the bed and looked out the window. It was a clear night with the moon and stars up in the dark sky. A lot of stars tonight. There's the Big Dipper. There's the Small Dipper. Hmmm, I wonder what that one is. As I stared to that group of stars, I noticed it started to move! Soon, other group of stars moved as well! Suddenly the moon shone bright, illuminating the whole sky to reveal what the moving stars were!

I rushed to the bed, woke my little sister, "Look up to the sky! Look up to the sky! The butandings! The butandings! There they are, up in the sky!"

We ran to the beach, to the nearest boat and sailed up to the night sky. Up and up we sailed high up to the night sky! Awesome sights galore! Butandings everywhere! Golden starfishes shining bright! Fiery jellyfishes zooming by.

I told my sister, "I want to catch a butanding for you, so you'll never cry again!"

"Thank you Kuya, but I don't think that's a good idea," she replied.

"But I'll catch one for you anyway!" I flung the net out and caught a huge butanding, its star-studded body struggling.

"Kuya! Stop! Look at him. He's crying!" I looked at my catch and there it was staring at me with tears in its beady eyes. I felt shameful of what I was trying to do. "I'll be fine Kuya, don't worry," my little sister whispered to my ears. Together, we released the butanding back to the night sky as it rejoined the other moving stars.

We came back to the shore, back to the room then back to bed, where my little sister and I went back to sleep. This time, no sobbing.

The morning sun woke us up. As we were packing our luggage for the long trek home, Dad and Mom said, "Don't worry kids. Perhaps we didn't see the butandings today. But all the more reason we'll be back here next year!" I caught my sister gleaming at me with a pretty smile. I winked back at her. So excited for next year!

Waking Up

"How can you prove whether at this moment we are sleeping, and all our thoughts are a dream; or whether we are awake, and talking to one another in the waking state?" Plato

The Virgin of Balintawak

After reading Ambeth Ocampo's column at the Philippine Daily Inquirer entitled "Virgin of Balintawak", I suddenly remembered where I read or saw some images about the virgin before. I retrieved from my little library the book I bought to feed my private history curiosities, Ileto's "Pasyon and Revolution, Popular Movements in the Philippines, 1840-1920" and there it was, the virgin and the child drawn on the cover. I also remembered seeing this back when I was still in second year college when I visited the Philippine Independent Church near our school. I have always been fascinated by how the Katipuneros seem to intermingle local mythology, religious zealousness and nationalistic aspirations in their way of life. I've cited Bernardo Carpio before, and this is another example.

Here are some excerpts from Gregorio Aglipay's "Novenary of the Motherland" pertaining to the virgin:

“When he was still living, the journalist Aurelio Tolentino used to say that one night when Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto and other comrades were sleeping in the house of Sore in Balintawak, one of them saw in a dream a beautiful Mother dressed in the style of the farmers of Balintawak, leading a pretty child by the hand, dressed like a farmer with short red pants and holding a shiny bolo, crying Liberty! Liberty!

“The beautiful woman approached the one dreaming and said to him, ‘Be careful.’

“When the dreamer woke, he told his comrades what he had dreamed, saying that the Mother and Child had the face of Europeans though dressed like Filipinos.

“Because of this, they did not follow their plan to return to Manila for their regular work but decided to wait in Balintawak awhile. It was not long before news came that the Guardia Civil Veterana had raided the press of the Diario de Manila and captured a number of Katipuneros and their papers.

“Because of this dream, Aurelio Tolentino adds, ‘the first soldiers of the Katipunan wore red trousers.’

“But for this dream, Andres Bonifacio and his staff would have been captured and we would still not be free even now.

“The Mother of Balintawak reminds you constantly of your sacred and inescapable duty to make every effort possible to obtain our longed-for independence; and she is the sacred image of our Country.’ The voice of the people will constantly resound from our pulpits, reminding you of the great teachings of Rizal, Mabini, Bonifacio and other Filipinos, and these teachings of our greatest compatriots will form the special seal of our National Church.”

Further on: “The Mother of Balintawak symbolizes our Country, and the Katipunan child expresses the Filipino people, the rising generation which longs for independence, and both figures consistently reminds us of the tremendous sacrifices of the liberators of our Country and of our sacred and inescapable duty to follow them, also making all possible sacrifices on our own part to achieve our independence.”

And: “In this image of the Motherland, we symbolize all our natural drive for national independence. The Virgin-Mother is the Country, for the Country is the only mother that can truly be called Virgin, Virgin as it is of all lust. The Katipunero child represents the People, eager for their liberty, and their spokesmen, prophets and evangelists are the great Filipino teachers: Rizal, Mabini, Bonifacio, and our other countrymen whose modern sapient teachings will form the best national Gospel.”

Back Home To Where The Wild Things Are...

"There are so many beautiful things in the world which I will have to leave when I die, but I’m ready, I’m ready, I’m ready.” - Maurice Sendak (June 10, 1928 – May 8, 2012)

Here's my tribute to one of the greatest writer and illustrator of children's literature, who has greatly influenced how I see the world and recreate it through my humble art. He's back home to where the wild things are...

The Last Guardian of Matukad

This piece is based on a legend on one of the scenic islands of Caramoan in the Bicol Region of the Philippines. Pristine white beaches, ancient caves, breathtaking diving spots and overwhelming land masses. In the island called Matukad, there can be found a beautiful lagoon but you can't see it unless you climb a steep wall of jagged rocks. The story goes:

"According to the locals, once upon a time there were 2 giant milkfish, each about 2 feet long, that were residing on the hidden Lagoon inside the island. These 2 milkfish were considered sacred by the locals and were believed to be guardians of the place. One day, a fisherman went to the Lagoon, caught one and brought it home for his family to eat. Right after eating, everyone in that house who ate the fish died. Since then no one dared to go near the remaining giant milkfish." (courtesy The Backpack Chronicles)

I was lucky enough to see the lone fish in the mysterious lagoon and wondered what went on its mind, now that it is the last guardian of Matukad. And hence I wrote:

"Am I to swim these waters forever alone? The shadow of my being, cast against the basin floor by the high noon sun constantly reminds me of you. But my shadow pales in comparison to you, for it can never mimic the grace and fluid elegance of your movements as we danced the mystical dance. I am mere words and thoughts, but you were poetry in motion... I am creation embodied, but you were inspiration personified... I construct the world around us, but you enhanced it beyond imagination... I am just strong, but you endured... until that fateful moment the mortal captured and consumed your sanctity. It is bliss to live in these magical waters with you by my side, but with you gone forever? It has become eternal hell. Nature has lost its balance and this lagoon that we have been destined to protect together will no longer be hidden. I must endure but I will diminish... The sadness of losing the innocent beauty of our world is great, but I am willing to accept it, if it means that we will be together again... reunited in a time and world where men will never ever seek and destroy us..."