I was sure enough excited when I saw Benedicto Cabrera or Ben Cab, as most colleagues and people from the same field calls him, inside the National Artists Hall of the National Museum last June 17, 2008, a Wednesday. Benedicto Cabrera, together with Abdulmari Asia Imao, Napoleon Abueva and Virgilio S. Alamario fyi, are our national artists for visual arts (Cabrera), sculpture (Imao and Abueva) and literature (Almario), were also present on that event. It was cutting of ribbon that day, meaning, the opening of the gallery to exhibit works of the nine UP College of Fine Arts honed national artists: Fernando Amorsolo (1972), Guillermo Tolentino (1973), Carlos Francisco (1973), Napoleon Abueva (1976), Vicente Manansala (1981), Cesar Legaspi (1990), Jose Joya Jr. (2003), Abdulmari Imao (2006) and Benedicto Cabrera (2006).
My TFA180 class, handled by dean Colayco, a class of freshies of college secretary sir Tot(? oops ganyan ba spelling =p) and some members of the CFA admin and faculty staff were carried by a service bus and set off to the museum in Manila, when around 16:15, we arrived.
By 17:00, the occasion started and Director Corazon Alvina of the National Museum (also a UP alumna) gave her opening remarks. Director Alvina, if you’ve seen her too, looked a bit like Dora the explorer with a mixture of Jessica Zafra’s style. She got the hair of Dora’s and the glasses of Jessica. Haha. I must know! She borrowed a ballpen from me! I didn’t know she was the director but I was courteous by nature, that I gave my ballpen and beamed with great honor because she looks honorable too! She was dressed in a kimona (not kimono!!!) and saya in a very proper way. Imagine yourself standing inside the hall with lots of spectator when suddenly, a woman dressed in an expensive traditional clothing borrows your pen?! What an experience. =)
A lot of respectable professionals gave their own speeches on that afternoon. Next to Director Alvina came Dean Colayco and then Dr. Patrick D. Flores introducing the book: Lineage of Mentors that costs Php3, 000. The book features the nine UP CFA national artists and the history of my dear college, CFA beginning in the 1800’s as Escuela de Bellas Artes to School of Fine Arts (SFA) during the first five decades to its merger with architecture in the 1960’s being College of Architecture and Fine Arts (CAFA) and finally becoming College of Fine Arts in the 1970’s. (see opening essay written by Prof. Ruben D.F. Defeo in the book) Current UP President Emerlinda Roman was definitely invited too on the occasion and uttered words of proudest compliments to UP CFA for this affair happening in addition to UP’s centennial celebration.
About a quarter before 7 in the evening, Entwined Voices Chorale group occupied the platform and sang UP Naming Mahal, the UP anthem written by Teogenes Velez, Liberal Arts student and Nicanor Abelardo for the melody. Oh, I just love that song. It’s more than a song or a poem!! UP Naming Mahal is every iskolar-ng-bayan’s heart and soul. *i wish I could go back in time during the years when Teogenes and Abelardo were still alive! Tapos kabarkada ko daw sila!! =p*