Angono artists portray Calungsod's life

Hoping to inspire Filipinos to learn more about San Pedro Calungsod, an art exhibit featuring works from Angono artists opened on Monday, a day after Blessed Pedro Calungsod officially became the second Filipino saint in canonization rites officiated by Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican.

 

With the theme "Evangelizing Presence of Filipinos in the World," the exhibit features 60 paintings on the life of Calungsod, a teenage Catholic missionary from the Visayas who died a martyr in Guam more than three centuries ago.

 

While the paintings display the artists’ individual styles and skills, all of them express Calungsod’s Filipino-ness and his dynamism, a press release said.

 

Asked to portray Calungsod as “very Filipino” and “always on the move,” the artists were encouraged to show him wearing bakya (thick, wooden shoes) as the Marianas Islands, where Calungsod did much of his missionary work, had rugged terrain.

 

Daryll Tudela's "Sa Pagaabang" shows Calungsod before he joined the Spanish Jesuit missionaries, led by Fr. Diego Luis de San Vitores, to a voyage to evangelize natives of the Mariana Islands in 1668. In the painting, Calungsod is shown with a guitar. 

 

His time doing missionary work is shown in paintings like Bong Amore's "Tough Missionary Life," and Francis Jose’s untitled piece, which shows Calungsod reading from “Doktrina Kristiyana” to a group of children. A colorful mosaic by KR Motoda also shows Calungsod with children gathered around him.

 

In 1672, Calungsod went to Tumon village in Guam to aid San Vitores in baptizing a newborn baby, a scene brought to life in Jesusito Borja's "Baptism of Chamorro People."

 

It was this baptism that led to Calungsod’s death. It is believed that Calungsod and San Vitores were assaulted by the baby’s father and the village chief, Mata’pang, who refused to have the sacrament performed based on the belief that the baptismal water was poisonous.

 

The Filipino martyr was hit by a spear, and ultimately killed by a blow to the head with a sword.

 

Calungsod's death is depicted in several paintings in the exhibit, including untitled works by Gilbert Merino, Jhun Anthony Reyes, and Herbert Pinpino, as well as in Jerome Choco's "The Death," and Daron Ponce's "Pananampalataya sa Harap ng Kamatayan." 

 

San Vitores was also killed during the encounter, and it is believed that the bodies of the missionaries were thrown into the sea and were never recovered. Edwin Moreno depicts this scene in his painting "Pagtatapon ng Bangkay sa Laot."

 

An untitled piece by Jan Blanco also shows significant events in Calungsod’s life. Meanwhile, Bong Anore's painting shows Calungsod as he is often portrayed, bearing a palm as a symbol of his martyrdom.

 

Calungsod, an artist too

 

The exhibit is a fitting tribute to Calungsod, who not many people know was a bit of an artist, too. Before Calungsod joined the Spanish Jesuit Missionaries to the Ladrones Islands, Calungsod was a sacristan in Taytay, said Angono Mayor Gerardo Calderon during the exhibit opening yesterday. Calderon explained that during this time, Angono and Taytay were connected by a huge river, and those coming from the other parts of the Distrito de Morongo had to go through Angono to reach Taytay, as Calungsod would do. 

 

From 1666 to 1668, the young Calungsod stayed at the St. John the Baptist parish in Taytay, Rizal. It was during this time that he cultivated his passion for the arts as he learned how to draw and paint, according to Nebrao, who heads the promotions and merchandise team for Calungsod’s canonization. 

 

According to Calderon, this connection is why the Angono artists were invited to interpret his likeness. "This will be the legacy of the Angono artists to put a face on Pedro Calungsod so that we can emulate him forever," said Nebrao, representing CBCP Media Office Director Pedro Quitorio, at the exhibit opening.

 

"Through these paintings I believe we will be able to know more about him and our call to become missionaries... Tinatawag tayo ng Panginoon upang maging mabuting tao tayo, and to give them inspiration, of course, is no less than San Pedro Calungsod," Justice Jose Reyes said during the exhibit opening at the Eastwood Mall Atrium. 

 

Recalling the message of Pope John Paul II in 1985, when Calungsod was beatified, Reyes said Filipinos, especially the youth, are being called upon to become modern day missionaries. According to Reyes, this does not mean that we should all become saints, but that we should strive to be good people, as Calungsod did.

 

"Even though he was only a teenager, Pedro Calungsod already showed his willingness to devote his life to God," said Trina Ong, marketing manager of Megaworld.

 

"He is an inspiration to the Filipino youth and a shining example for Christians all over the world. We hope that through this exhibit, more people will be able to discover the life of Pedro Calungsod and draw strength and encouragement from his example," said Kevin Tan, First Vice President and Commercial Division Head of Megaworld.

 

The exhibit was produced as a collaboration between the National Commission on the Canonization of Pedro Calungsod and Angono artists' groups like the Angono Ateliers Association, Angono Artists Association, the Neo-Angono Artists, and the University of Rizal System-Angono. 

 

The exhibit runs at the Eastwood Mall Atrium from October 22 to 24, and at the Holy Family Chapel, Eastwood City from October 25 to 26. –KG, GMA News

 

For more information, call the Megaworld Lifestyle Malls Concierge at (02) 7099888 or visit their website.