The new insignia of Kultura is a Dragon forming the letter K. The fresh face of Kultura is a way of showing a rebrand, a reboot of sorts for the arts desk of the Center for Student Affairs (CSA). 2014 marks the triumphant return of some of its pillar events, an unexpected turnaround from the preceding years of close to zero projects.
Though the revamping of Kultura was a long overdue process, it wasn’t until Duke stepped in that it actually transpired. Kultura used to be the epitome of art in the University. It produced plays, exhibits as well as concerts for the UA&P Chorale. Now, students see it as a place where they can get their reservation slip signed.
What happened to Kultura?
Pre-Kultura Culture
The arts community in the University was in full swing even before Kultura institutionalized it. A classroom play for the Filipino class of Ms. Ruiz gave birth to Rock Opera Company, the oldest organization in the history of UA&P and CRC. Originally staging Filipino plays, they eventually opted to stage original plays, a longstanding tradition of ROC.
“Original Filipino plays have become ROC’s branding. You can even say it has become its culture,” says Christian Vallez, former ROC president and CEO of Overmind, a creative consultancy. Christian was among the first wave of students who experienced writing and staging original plays. He was only a freshman when his first play was staged by ROC; now he has ACASIA, a theater company that produces several plays annually.
ROC members continue to write and produce original plays today, showing their talent despite having no formal training in the arts. Ever the rebellious group in the University, they carry with them a certain level of tenacity that they carry on even post-college, showing others that even with limited resources, they can accomplish anything they want.
But Rock Opera Company wasn’t the only student organization staging plays in the campus. Viare was a different breed, but they created beautiful things just like ROC did.
Production Services Inc., or PSI, was a group of students who produced co-curricular activities like graduations, equatorials and the like. PSI was behind the first Shakespeare Week, a collection of short plays based on Shakespeare’s plays which was a competition between different Shakespeare classes. This became the jump off point of several alumni to create Viare.
“It was put up in 1993 by a group lead by some alumni; founding president is Francine Valero Racho. First moderator is Carlos Carino. I was one of the few freshmen who joined Viare at that time,” said Tinette Villanueva-Miciano, former Kultura moderator and alumna, in an online interview. “Players” was their first official production, and even back then they focused on the production side of theater.
“Viare used to be very active and pioneered the production system that has come to be the basis and standard of how plays are produced now,” continued Tinette. “The process was refined through Kultura, set up in 1995 by ex-Viare members and founders.”
In terms of music, the school had the CAS Choir: a collection of faculty, staff and students who wanted to sing. The Pioneers had a lot to do with all these different orgs; how could they not, wherein as pioneers, they had all the privilege to do so.
“We had that pioneering spirit that went ‘Let’s try this, let’s try that.’ Yung kanya-kanyang interests, we just did it. And more than anything I really attributed to that pioneering spirit, and being a trailblazer because precisely we felt we owned the school.” said Chesie Galvez-Cariño, another former Kultura Moderator on founding the art community of UA&P.
“CCP in Pasig”
Kultura was created in 1995, envisioned to be the center of arts in Pasig. As the arts arm of the University, it dreamed of having a world-class Chorale, to carve a name in the university theatre circle and to continue producing art events, all while showcasing university talent and building a pool of young artists.
And do this, Kultura did. Headed by Carlos Cariño, the first play of Kutura was “Masdan ang Inyong Ina,” produced in collaboration with Rock Opera Company and Southridge. The production was a mish-mash of ROC members old and new, CAS faculty who were alumni, as well as high school students from Woodrose and Southridge. Marie Puyat, [place position here] and current Dullang ROC moderator, was a highschooler from Woodrose when she first starred in the musical.
Calling “Masdan” a spectacle is an understatement. It was the grand opening of many years of artistic development not only for the students but for the school as well.
“It dreamt of being the CCP of Pasig,” recalled Tinette. “We had concerts by the Manila Symphony Orchestra, exhibit of paintings by the Blancos of Angono, performances by the Madrigal Singers.” Carlos wanted to inspire the school by bringing all these big industry names into UA&P, and Chesie followed suit. Tinette, however, saw a different angle in terms of living up to the mission vision of Kultura.
Tinette’s background was in theater, so it was natural that she wanted to expand Kultura via that avenue. She wanted more than one University play, entered the University Chorale in local and international competitions, as well as develop an avenue for the budding artists in the university to develop their talents despite not having an art program. The Kultura Young Artists Series, is one of those avenues.
“We didn’t create them, we just helped along by giving them a stage all to themselves,” said Tinette.
Quite a number of alumni artists who were once connected with Kultura are now making a name for themselves. Paul Yap and Armi Millare of Up Dharma Down are successful mainstream artists that continue to race up the charts with their songs. Chino David of the Manila Symphony Orchestra and Silent Sanctuary is another person Kultura has featured. Val Chua, one of the last artists featured before Kultura’s hiatus, is starting to gain a name for herself with her watercolor artworks, partnering with other artists and retailers for collaborations.
In 2005, the UA&P Chorale went on a trip to Preveza, Greece to compete in an international choral festival, where they swept the competition by bagging three gold medals in Mixed Choirs, Chamber Choirs and Mixed Youth Choirs. They also received a Special Prize for Best Performance of Folklore Music. Tinette recalls how the Chorale funded the trip themselves, and how it was an exhilarating experience overall.
“Having raised the money ourselves and having been turned down by Mancom the year before to compete in Italy, we were on top of the world,” said Tinette, “but I consider that win as one of the greatest achievements of kultura to this date.”
Co-curricular Education
Kultura was very much a co-curricular organization than extra-curricular. They produced plays and concerts where the students get to demonstrate their talents, but backstage students learned more. Nuggets of project management knowledge were implied in every production that taught the backstage crew. The same thing was done to the front-of-house crew, where they were given tasks to fulfill within a certain timeframe: call companies for sponsorships, manning the booths and collecting payment for the tickets, and attend the plays as much as the actors did, acting as ushers at every show.
These so-called “crew” were all volunteers. They were never forced to join the projects, but they themselves decided to work with Kultura. This kind of volunteerism started when Kultura was then lodged onto Office of Student Affairs (now CSA), and Doctor Mariano said to not require students to join, thus making it voluntary. Chesie recalls that this was where the spirit of volunteerism befell the University. Students were allowed to choose where they wanted to work – arts, sports, or civics – and the volunteers received mentoring in that field.
“When we joined all these arts orgs we learned so much that we would stay until 11, and okay lang! We wouldn’t let our studies get in the way, and then we would love it so much that we wanted to share it, which is why we came back to teach.”
This proves true in the number of alumni who have stayed with the University either as teachers or staff, wherein majority of them was actively involved in student-initiated events. Aside from the two theater organizations, the Arnis Varsity and school political party, this author had the honor of working for Marie Puyat as a front-of-house volunteer when he was still a student, something he regards highly as an important part of his education in the University.
Kultura Now
From Carlos to Tinette to the current Desk Head, alumni always had first dibs on the Kultura Moderator position. And much better so; who else would know the ins-and-outs of school and had been immersed by the culture so much that they wanted to give back?
As the current Desk Head, Duke has big shoes to fill. In a sense Kultura has become silent, unfamiliar to the current student body except as an administrative arm of CSA. He addresses that he has big plans for the arts arm, and he intends to bring back all the projects, plus more.
“We still have no venue for concerts, plays, musicals. That alone is a large factor as to why we cannot be ‘the Center for the Arts’ for now.”
As of this writing, Duke is busying himself with the re-launch of the Kultura Young Artist Series, one of the flagship projects of Kultura. He plans to feature the photographs of Erwin Canlas, a fourth year Integrated Marketing Communications student.
Considered one of Kultura’s pillar productions, the Kultura Young Artists Series showcases university talent in a school that did not have an arts diploma. It proved to be successful for quite a number of students who are now full-time artists, but after peaking in the late 2000’s, the KYAS was sliced off its roster of events due to unforeseen circumstances.
“No one had time to focus on the KYAS, so it became stagnant for quite a while,” explained Duke.
The UA&P Chorale is another Kultura pillar that is slowly gaining momentum. Thanks to its choirmaster Noemi Binag, an alumna who is now studying Music in UP, music once again echoes through the halls of CAS building every Tuesday and Friday night. They have concerts lined up that will lead up to an international music festival to be held in Taiwan this 2015. Noemi is responsible for the Chorale’s return to classic and traditional cultural songs, which gave the Chorale high regard from supporters and competition alike.
The vacuum in Kultura plays has left a lasting effect that rippled through the supporting orgs. Originally, the alumni from Dulaang ROC and Viare went back and took the role of actors and directors for Kultura plays. When it lay low, the alumni went back to their respective orgs.
“We had no in-house directors to create plays for us,” said Duke, referring to the exit of former moderators Joel Parcon and Tinette.
Thankfully, the orgs are slowly going against this trend, thus bringing back the student organization to the students. With regard to the return of Kultura plays, Duke quiets down and simply tells that everyone should just wait for it.
“We are currently processing it, assessing it. With the cooperation of one of the student orgs, there will be a Kultura play sooner than you think.”
In the two-year stay of Duke as Kultura moderator, he is quite proud about the Belenistas de Ortigas. Running on its third year this 2014, the Belenistas de Ortigas is an annual belen-making competition wherein different buildings from the Ortigas Center compete by constructing a belen as part of their façade. The recently-concluded exhibit of Laguna artists aptly named “Laguna: Ang Bagong Sining” was a subtle way of giving the Ortigas buildings a list of artists to help them win their competition.
“With Belenistas, we are making true to our mission in promoting the arts in Ortigas. Maybe not the whole of Pasig – at least, not yet.” said Duke.
Art is one of many ways for man to attain immortality. Some see it as a divine purpose, a sort of calling; while some do it for art’s sake. Kultura once believed in all three, purposing itself to immortalize the art of its students, whether in singing, acting or through visual arts. Somewhere along the way it has lost its course, slowed by the smoke that it has encountered along the way. As it slowly rises again, Kultura will once again be felt in UA&P, providing creative opportunities to students via its KYAS and plays, as well as inspiring them via the alumni of old who have done the same. Soon Kultura will gain momentum and become the “Center of Arts” it has dreamed of becoming since day one.