Pasko sa Kabikolan Songwriting Festival

28 December 2006


I am attending this event tonight. I think it is just right to support our very own Bicolano songwriters and in my humblest way, be able to help - in the words of the organizers - "keep the flame of BIKOL CULTURE alive".

And why not?

I am someone who finds joy and contentment in wishing and working for development of self and my community.

And I personally believe that a rich and vibrant culture is a sine qua non for development not only of a person, but more so, of an entire society. And the arts hold a very special role in making and keeping a certain culture dynamic, significant, and splendid. Indeed, who could ever discount the critical place occupied by the theater in, say, New York and London? Or by film in Japan? Or by visual arts and opera in Italy? Or by literature in Greece? Or by ballet in France?

Yet, who could ever undermine, much more deny, the importance of music to our very own Bicolano culture? And of our culture to our growth as a society? And of our artists to our history, our unfolding saga, and our destiny as a nation?

With this having been said, UP President Emerlinda R. Roman's rather interesting take on this comes into mind. She recently said --

"A people without art are a people without soul. We keep complaining that our nation seems stuck in crisis after crisis, and that neither politicians nor priests, nor economists seem able to do anything about it. Perhaps it is to our artists that we should turn for guidance, for it is the artists who remember our past, interpret our present and imagine our future."

'Makes sense, right?

And so, while, for some reasons, I have the greatest deference for writers, filmmakers, and musicians, I personally have so much respect for the artists of the world...

--- Such beautiful souls, and beautiful minds.

See you all there!