ROSES FOR BREATHING LIFE

It is so strange to me why our musicians and artists are obscured from society except when some have their own public relations writers.

Reading about and listening to Tchaikovsky's and other European composers, I could deduce that they revolved in their societies rather very freely and were regarded well by the aristocratic and government officials.

On the other hand, our society is so hewed to commercial media Composers, serious musicians are only known during the performance of their works. After that they then retreat to the shadows or to teaching where the academe could give them the respect and recognition that they deserve. This is also why graduates of the arts and music prefer teaching rather than facing the rigours of making a name for themselves in society head on - teaching makes them connect with the Muses daily while sharing their knowledge with the youths. In the larger society however, they have to struggle, with social recognition barely attained unless they set up a non-government cultural organization that could give them that bigger push to pursue their calling while assiduously asking for grants and funds from private and public institutions.

Which are the grantmaking institutions in our country? National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Cultural Center of the Philippines and local government cultural councils which have very political standards - closeness or loyalty to the officials - rather than pure talent and/or genius. Private foundations also exist that build ties with the public for advocacies. I approached an NGO foundation for the environment to inform and promote the need for public attention to the plight of the dugong, an endangered species. It was rejected without reason. So I asked them, what kind of information are you talking about in your mission? No reply.

Some venues exist to provide artists and musicians free spaces to perform however they can also be demolished especially if they are attached to a political agency like the local government. The Coconut House at the Quezon Memorial Circle which had all the necessary permits was suddenly padlocked for no reason at all. But recent reports said that a commercial restaurant will come in to fill up the lot.

What makes the CH worthwhile saving is that it provided space for painters, musicians, composers, poets and other artists to exercise their skills and perform. Adults - seniors and young people converged in the area to exchange ideas, and perform to the public. CH also offered a menu that was healthy- with coconut as the basic ingredient - coconut juice, instead of spaghetti. coconut meat.  The food was patronized and even by government employees working at nearby departments around Quezon , Memorial Circle. They held meetings and engaged in camaraderie there. Thus, the CH had provided an outlet to various sectors and promoted the products of coconut workers, coconut landowners, and factories with  picked raw coconut from the trees reaching the tables of CH customers.

Ironically the CH is just across the Philippine Coconut Authority charged with protecting the coconut industries.  It is highly pathetic that such a venue will be lost to commercial monopoly interests that are skewed mainly to catering to the food fares that can be easily had in all parts of the country and around the globe. What kind of exposure should they still get from such a very small space as the CH lot? Is the city in dire need of financial resources? It is 2nd to Makati in terms of generation of income!

I think the national government officials should step in and protect as well as preserve small groups whose only raison d'etre is to put into praxis their revered principles of helping the masses, the powerless in society, the marginalized and destitute workers and ordinary folks; to make them enjoy promenading in the clean air of th QMR park and enjoy Filipino culture at all times.

The Quezon Memorial Circle is a park not a commercial venue for the many restaurants for the affluent that could easily put up businesses in any  part of MetroManila and/or the world. It is a park and built to invigorate the people physically as well as feed their minds with healthy and peaceful thoughts, not constantly being fed with "buy, buy, buy," and other come-ons like clothing which are not even produced locally but are imported. Manuel Luis Quezon's descendants should come in and provide a better perspective as to how the park should develop, be maintained, and for whom.

In London, the Regent Park in the heart of the city is full of plants and trees. The roses bloom in all their glorious ruby red. Then weekly, the crowd there is treated to Shakespearean scenes performed by real acting and costumed troopers regardless of how many members of the audience there are. The show must go on. And you, the audience will be treated to original Shakespearean English. In summer of 1981, I saw a brief scene of  the Tempest when I visited the park together with Amina Patel, one of the collective owners of a Victorian house where I also lived.

Amina and I bought a few roses in the city after the visit to the park. Upon arrival, our housemate John, a collective owner also, asked us: " Where did you get the roses?" And Amina replied, "From the Regent Park, John, where else?"  John sighed and rued: "Oh, no. That park is the people's park. Those roses are the people's." "Oh. f____ the people, John," Amina said. And Amina and I winked at each other. She had known how John always has that intense belief for socialist principles. That summer, John who would spend hours reading the Guardian newspaper from page to page every morning, left for Cuba for his vacation.

Do you see, Folks, how the city is peopled by those who value even roses as being owned by the people? Radical or not, to value roses is to smell Mother Nature and breathe the fragrance of being a living member of the whole universe.

Some local officials win in the elections without a comprehensive view of culture which they should cultivate and nurture in their constituencies instead of making powerfully wealthy business interests the only beneficiaries of their administration. A strong cultural program for the city is a barrier to the people's developing nefarious activities like drug-pushing and illegal drug-taking. It will give them a sense of strong self-importance and identity that in this part of the globe, their inner minds and souls are protected, fed with delightful and educational fares, and make them see the value of existence.

The Civil Service Commission has a lot of work to do, while the Comelec must include in its requirements for putting up candidates that sincerity to pursue existential goals, not money-making businesses.