CCP’s ‘Pasinaya’ turns 10, ‘goes the extra mile’

The annual “Pasinaya,” the one-day open house festival by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) marks its 10th year on Sunday, March 16, with the theme “Pasinaya 2014 goes the extra mile.”

Pasinaya 2014 serves as the CCP's first dry run for showcasing festivities marking the Philippine hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2015.

Chris Millado, CCP artistic director and vice president, said the “Pasinaya 2014 goes the extra mile” also refers to the organizers' move to expand and hold simultaneous events beyond the CCP Complex.

“The expansion of Pasinaya 2014—to include other cultural institutions in the area surrounding the CCP—makes Manila and Pasay the most creative destinations during the celebrations,” Millado said in an interview.

“We hope to infect Pasay City and the City of Manila with a spirit of creativity. Pasinaya 2014 transforms Manila and the art and culture mile between the CCP Complex and Intramuros area into the most creative places on earth even for one day,” Millado added.

Jam-packed with events, crowds

Millado said this year’s Pasinaya involves 150 shows in music, theater, dance, visual arts, film, and literature and the participation of 3,000 artists from 300 different artistic groups, with a projected viewership of over 50,000.

Attendance last year peaked at 50,000—the maximum capacity of the CCP—without violating the Fire Code, he said. The target of 75,000 to 100,000 people for Pasinaya 2014 prompted the organizers to “go beyond the confines of the CCP Complex,” Millado said. “Otherwise, the CCP will be violating the Fire Code.”

All these numbers make the annual Pasinaya “the largest one-day, multi-arts festival” in the country, he added.

Millado said on top of the performances, there will be workshops and lecture-demonstrations in various venues, including the museums and galleries.

In an extraordinary move, seven museums and galleries partnered with the CCP in the Pasinaya 2014, opening their doors for cultural performances, Millado said.

The participating art institutions are the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, National Museum, Bahay Tsinoy, Casa Manila, Museo Pambata, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts Gallery, and the 1335 Mabini Gallery.

“Pasinaya 2014 is a rare occasion for museums and galleries in the Philippines to host cultural performances,” Millado said.

All for decent prices

The CCP also partnered with The Jeepney Company, an association of jeepney operators whose mission is to elevate the lowly jeepney into a “colorful moving art pieces reflecting Philippine culture and society” to ease travel from CCP to different venues, Millado said.

At least 15 jeepneys painted with iconic Philippines sceneries will transport the Pasinaya viewers to different venues for free.

The jeepneys will be transformed into “performance venues,” with musicians serenading passengers on their way to their destinations, he added.

One unique feature of Pasinaya is its “pay what you can, see all you can” donation scheme. For as low as a P50 contribution, one can enjoy a sneak preview of the 2014 - 2015 CCP Performance Season.

Millado said ticket prices to the shows of the participating cultural groups cost at least several hundreds of pesos, and sometimes more than P1,000.

Sunday’s festivities start with the 7:30 a.m. pre-show by the Marine and Bugle Team together with other marching bands at the CCP. This will be followed by the official opening ceremonies and a street parade.

Jeepneys will start ferrying viewers to and from CCP and other venues between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., while performances outside of the CCP main building are as scheduled at 2 p.m., 3 p.m., and 4 p.m.

Culture and history
        
In a separate interview, Sandra Palomar, the Metropolitan Museum director, said Pasinaya viewers can enjoy the following exhibits: National Artist Napoleon Abueva’s “Abueva: the Power of Form,” “Winter Garden: the Exploration of Micropop Imagination in Contemporary Japanese Art,” the semi-permanent exhibit “Philippine Contemporary Art Exhibition,” and the Met’s permanent exhibits of gold and pottery from the 8th to 13th  century, religious art pieces, and paintings by Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo.

Meah Ang See, director of Bahay Tsinoy in Intramuros, said viewers can enjoy their Parian scenes and replicas, complete with life-size reproductions of Chinese immigrant laborers-artisans and other artifacts capturing life in the “Chinatown” during the Spanish period.

Ang See said Pasinaya 2014-related special events will include lectures and demonstrations on several traditional Chinese games and calligraphy workshops from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Sandra M. Martinez, chief of the tourism promotions division of the Intramuros Administration, said their Casa Manila, a 19th century “lifestyle museum,” will shed light and educate Pasinaya viewers on aspects of Philippine society and culture during the 19th century.

The Casa Manila patio will be a venue for folkloric musical ensemble performances.
        
National Museum Director Jeremy Barns said Pasinaya viewers will be surprised to see developments and improvements at the museum, notably the restored galleries.
        
The courtyard of the Museum of the Filipino People, one of the buildings comprising the National Museum Complex, will be the venue for performances of opera, classical music, and folkloric groups.
        
Maricel Montero, Museo Pambata executive director, said their children’s museum will focus on workshops on turning recyclables into arts and crafts and shadow play performances.
        
With the CCP as the lead organizer, Pasinaya 2014 is also presented by CCP resident companies, namely the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, the UST Symphony Orchestra, Ballet Philippines, Philippine Ballet Theater, Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group, Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company, National Music Competitions for Young Artists, Philippine Madrigal Singers, and Tanghalang Pilipino.

A “People’s Gala” at the CCP Main Theater will close Pasinaya 2014. — VC, GMA News