Film on APO MABINI Showing July 28 at the Open Air Auditorium, Rizal Park

From July 17-23, the annual celebration of the National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week is held in the Philippines as a tribute to Apolinario Mabini, one of our national heroes. He was paralyzed at the height of his career as a lawyer. Despite that, he became the Chief Adviser of the first Philippine president Emilio Aguinaldo. Mabini was our first Prime Minister, and the first Minister of Foreign Affairs. As part of the post-celebration of the NDPR Week, the National Parks Development Committee shall screen the one-hour educational documentary at the Open-Air Auditorium in Rizal Park tomorrow, July 28, 2019 at 7:30 pm. Admission is FREE!

Note that Apolinario Mabini was elected officer of the LIGA FILIPINA founded by Jose Rizal, another great hero after whom the place where it shall be shown, Rizal Park was named after. Rizal was executed at the then Bagumbayan, now called Rizal Park on December 30, 1896. Mabini born on July 23, 1864 died on May 13, 1903.

 

Advertisement

In Celebration of 2016 Philippine Independence Day, PULE Screens at Rizal Park Visitor’s Center

I just came to know today, that the showing of our documentary PULE: Utak ng Rebolusyon / Brains of the Revolution will push through tomorrow, June 12, as part of the nation’s celebration of the 118th Philippine Independence Day. The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) has informed me this week about the National Parks Development Committee’s interest to show our historical film on Apolinario Mabini, first Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister.

It is unquestionably timely since a segment that led to the declaration and proclamation of the Philippine Independence in 1898 is part of the docu. Venue is at Rizal Park Visitor’s Center in Manila. Moreover, viewers can relate to the historical significance of Jose Rizal [after whom the park was named] as his martyrdom is also included in the film. Rizal’s death was a turning point in our history.

Incidentally, the day Apolinario Mabini was summoned to come to Cavite by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, first President of the Philippine Republic was on June 12, 1898. Aguinaldo ordered the making of the first Philippine flag, and the composition of the national hymn by Julian Felipe in time for that celebration.

PULE was produced by Miryad Visyon in collaboration with DLS-CSB School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies (SDEAS) and the NCCA. It will be screened at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Admission is free!

For photos when first screened at DLS-CSB Theater, click: https://advocacine.wordpress.com/2016/02/10/pule-screening-photos/

“This is a MAKE OR BREAK election.” – Maite Gallego

On behalf of MyRizal, Ms. Maite Gallego accepted our invitation to be one of our three gracious guest speakers last February 10 when we premiered “PULE: Utak ng Rebolusyon.” The film is about Apolinario Mabini, Secretary of the Supreme Council of the Liga Filipina founded by Dr. Jose Rizal. Ms. Gallego’s presence made our simple event extra special I told her. I thought that finding the time to be with us, and with the audience largely consisting of Deaf people was simply amazing.

Ms. Maite Gallego of MyRizal with John Baliza interpreting in FSL for the Deaf Audience

Her speech inspired us all:

“Kayong lahat, Mirana, Silent Steps at Tum Tum [Mendoza], ay nagpatotoo sa Ikatlong Utos ni Apolinario Mabini sa kanyang Decalogo: “Linangin mo ang mga sadyang katangiang kaloob sa iyo ng Diyos, sa paggawa at pag-aaral ayon sa iyong kakayahan…upang matamo ang sariling kadalisayang ikatutupad mo sa tungkuling bigay sa iyo ng Diyos sa buhay na ito.”

Together with you, we celebrate not your DISabilities, but rather your ABILITIES! We salute you!

Decalogo 3 Read by Abner Manlapaz

Retired U.P. Manila Professor Fernando Sison, M.D., one of my guests, in his “Personal Thoughts on the Film Presentation PULE: Utak ng Rebolusyon” wrote: “Maite Gallego, a great grandniece of national hero Jose Rizal’s contemporary, Maximo Viola … consistent with the theme of the film, “Love Your Country After God And Honor, And More Than You Love Yourself”, exhorted the audience to conscientiously apply the lessons of this film in their current lives, specifically, during the May 2016 presidential (and other national elective positions) elections, by voting for candidates with integrity, honesty, and with the needs of the people foremost in their hearts.”

I do agree that the coming Presidential Election in May is quite crucial, and the leaders must be properly chosen. With so many corrupt, greedy and self[I]sh politicians who in their hearts are bereft of nationalism and true love for our country, our future is truly at risk. The right choice must be made indeed. One good vote is critically important.

In her rousing and relevant speech, Ms. Gallego said:

“Noong isinulat ni Mabini ang Decalogo, ang kalaban ay ang mga dayuhang sumusupil sa ating Bayan. Ipinaglalaban ng ating mga bayaning si Rizal, Bonifacio, at Mabini ang ating KALAYAAN.

Ngunit ngayon ang ating ipinaglalaban ay ang ating KINABUKASAN. Ang kalaban ay KATIWALIAN.

Alam ba ninyo na ang ating susunod na Pangulo ang pipili ng sampu sa labinlimang Justices ng ating Korte Suprema? Tanong ko sa inyo: Sino ang talo kung corrupt ang ating mga corte? Sagot: ang mahihirap, dahil wala silang pambayad sa pagsuhol ng huwes, at ang mga matitino at tapat na taong nasusuklam sa mga gawaing ito.

Because of the importance of the upcoming elections, I say to you that we are at a TIPPING POINT in our country’s history.   This is a MAKE OR BREAK election.

Do we move forward and build on the reforms that were already started, or do we move backward, reversing the gains of the past six years, going back to a government steeped in corruption, or worst of all, to the darkest period in my living memory, the Martial Law years?

The answer is up to you. I am entreating you: please choose wisely. Many people vote based on an agenda, or based on a tribal mentality: “sino ang kilala ko? Sino ang matatawagan ko? Sino ang magpapayaman sa akin?”

Hinihikayat ko po kayong lahat na sundin natin ang Ikalimang Utos ni Mabini: “Pagsumikapan mo ang kaligayahan ng iyong bayan bago sa sarili mo.”  Bayan bago sa sarili.

Ipaglaban natin ang ating kinabukasan. Maraming salamat po.”

[Excerpts from the Congratulatory Speech on the Premier of Pule: Utak ng Rebolusyon, February 10, 2016 by Ms. Maite Gallego]

The film was produced by Miryad Visyon in collaboration with DLS-CSB School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts was launched at DLS-CSB ARG Theater.

Mi Ultimo Adios [in FSL] in South China Morning Post?

Surprisingly yes!!! I came across an article written three years ago by Clarence Tsui. Ngayon ko lang ba naman nakita! Ay sus!!! He says:

“Of the seven short films lined up for the first omnibus screening at the second Hong Kong International Deaf Film Festival, Mi ultimo adios stands out for its political and cultural significance.

While the other pieces connect on a more personal or sentimental level – from the romantic tragedy of Love Before Sunrise to the morality play of The $10,000 That Did Not Exist and the paranormal drama of Whispering Hands – Filipino director Mirana Medina’s 15-minute film is the first attempt to channel one of her country’s founding political texts into Filipino sign language.

Written just before his execution by the Spanish colonial authorities in 1896, Mi ultimo adios (My Last Farewell) was Jose Rizal’s final testament of his love for a country he felt was being trodden underfoot by intruders from abroad. Smuggled out of prison by his family, the poem was first published in Hong Kong the following year before being translated into dozens of languages and becoming a stirring manifesto for self-emancipation movements across the world.

With her film, activist-filmmaker Medina has provided Mi ultimo adios with yet another voice. In her previous advocacy documentaries, she noticed the translation of text into Filipino sign language was more poetic than literal. A video record of a rendition of Rizal’s text was the logical next step, and Medina has provided a moving depiction of this artistic process.

[Source: http://www.scmp.com/article/993034/mi-ultimo-adios]

Coming soon in July 2015 is The Sublime Paralytic – also made to give Deaf access to information about one of our great heroes, named Apolinario Mabini!!!

Sign Up Against PORK!

Yesterday, I went to Luneta to sign up against all pork! Will post my video coverage asap! Nearly done with editing.

The Holy Pig

The mighty pig was atop a truck parked in front of Quirino Grandstand right across the monument of Rizal in Luneta

The place above is special to me and my Deaf friends as this was one of the settings we used for the interpretation of Rizal’s ‘To the Filipino Youth” in Filipino Sign Language.

It was National Heroes Day! Rizal must be sad while witnessing the event — people marching to Luneta to hold a protest rally against corruption. Though clothed differently, the same social cancer he wrote about is eating up the society. It must be hurting for him and all our other heroes who fought and died for our freedom from tyranny and foreign oppression. Now, the fight is against our own leaders who are misusing their power.

For detailed reports, click below:
http://www.manilatimes.net/rallyists-pork-sparse-spirits-high/121622/

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/08/25/14/who-showed-anti-pork-barrel-rally

 

Rizal Descendant Ms Lisa Bayot To Join Us in the Premiere Showing of “A mi Patria”

On June 19 next month, Ms. Lisa Bayot, co-founder of MyRizal website [myrizal150.com] will join us as one of our guest speakers in the premiere showing of our film, A MI PATRIA [5 Poems of Rizal in Filipino Sign Language]. Like Atty. Ramoncita Reyes, our guest speaker in the launching of ULTIMO ADIOS last December held as part of NHCP’s celebration of Dr. Rizal’s death anniversary, Ms. Lisa is a Rizal descendant from the Saturnina Rizal branch of the family. I met her during UA’s launching. She has accepted my invitation to join us in the event, together with Ms. Maite Gallego, a descendant of Maximo Viola and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo. Viola, a close friend of Rizal actually helped him in financing the publication of Noli Me Tangere, his first novel. According to Wikipedia, the “original manuscript had already planned to be destroyed by Rizal because of financial inability to pay for its publication. Thus, the first 2,000 copies of the novel were printed. In deep gratitude, Rizal gave him the last galley proofs and the first published copy, “To my friend, Maximo Viola, the first to read and appreciate my work-Jose Rizal, March 29, 1887, Berlin.” – Rizal wrote.”

The title of my omnibus film was in fact taken from the Dedication page of Dr Rizal’s Noli.

A Mi PATRIA – 5 Rizal’s Poetry in Film Interpreted in FSL Previews Tomorrow

The collection of Dr. Jose Rizal’s poetry [in film] done in four languages: Filipino Sign Language, Filipino, English and Spanish will finally be previewed tomorrow, May 18 at 1pm. The viewing scheduled at PEN Learning Room at DLS-CSB SDEAS is limited to performers, production staff and a few guests only. It is just my SOP to show it to the staff before any premiere screening is held to welcome suggestions to further improve the film, if and when necessary. Its public / premiere showing is targeted next month, June 19, the start of the 151st celebration of Rizal’s bday. Notably, A mi Patria was made exactly 100 years after the first film on Rizal in the Philippines was produced by the Americans, Yearsley and Gross. The film features Aldrin Gabriel, Mark Gaspar and Romalito Mallari as Rizal; Jorelle Faytaren as Maria Clara, and the Silent Steps.

The title “A MI PATRIA” / INANG-BAYAN / TO MY MOTHERLAND [FSL version] – which has taken a year to finish came from Noli Me Tangere, Dr. Rizal’s novel. It is the dedication title of Rizal in the said book. A MI is thematic; it centers on Rizal’s love of country and/or patriotism. All are inspiring poems; some sad, others hopeful. The poems interpreted in FSL are: A Filipinas, A la Juventud Filipina, Canto de Maria Clara, A las Flores de Heidelberg and Ultimo Adios. Rizal started writing poetry from his teenage years.

SDEAS will facilitate the special screening tomorrow.

100 Years After the First Film on Rizal Comes “A mi Patria”

The first film on Rizal was made in 1912. According to Vicente Salumbides’ Motion Pictures in the Philippines,  (c. 1952), a certain Mr. Yearsley who owned the Majestic Theater on Azcarrage St. near Bilibid, produced the silent movie, “Life of Dr. Jose Rizal / La Vida de Rizal.” Another American, E.M. Gross who operated the Zorilla Theater at Azcarraga [now Rizal Avenue] and Evangelista in Sta. Cruz, Manila also produced a film on Dr. Rizal’s life. Both films were simultaneously shown in Manila theaters.

100 years later, or this year [2012], A mi Patria – consisting of Rizal poetries in film were produced and soon to be released. In four languages, the Filipino Sign Language [FSL] version has a 10-min short biography of Rizal. It was finished last December but will be released this year. The spoken language versions: Spanish, English and Filipino were finished in February. Honorio Lopez acted in Rizal film in 1912; our versions have Aldrin Gabriel, Mark Steven Gaspar and Romalito Mallari as Rizal. All three of them are Deaf.

I have just readied the preview copy of A mi Patria / Inang-Bayan / To my Motherland. Since it may be too long to preview over two hours of the film in all four language versions – I will just project the FSL version [50 mins], and the spoken language versions totalling to nearly 27 mins as follows: Sa Filipinas [Read in Filipino, Interpreted in FSL, Captioned in English]; To the Philippine Youth [Read in English, Interpreted in FSL, Captioned in Spanish]; Awit ni Maria Clara [Read in Filipino, Interpreted in FSL, Captioned in English]; A las Flores de Heidelberg [Read in Spanish, Interpreted in FSL, Captioned in English] and Mi Ultimo Adios [Read in Filipino, Interpreted in FSL, Captioned in Spanish]. All poems were written by Dr. Jose Rizal. The preview is temporary scheduled on May 11 and will be limited to all those involved in the project: production staff members, performers and a few stakeholders. Public viewing will be held on June 19, 2012 in celebration of Dr. Jose Rizal’s 151th birthday.

Rizal Exhibit at the National Library in Madrid

For those who are interested in history, sharing to you the message of Ms. Beatriz Alvarez Tardio [3rd from right], a Spanish national, one of the poem readers in my omnibus film, “A mi Patria” [originally titled: Mga Natatanging Tula ni Rizal sa Wikang Senyas / Selected Poems of Rizal in Sign Language]. Ms. Tardio read “A las Flores de Heidelberg / To the Flowers of Heidelberg / Mga Bulaklak ng Heidelberg,” in Spanish language. The poem was interpreted in Filipino Sign Language by the Silent Steps members.

Dear friends,

I hope you are all fine and in good health. Here is the link to the Rizal exhibit at the National Library in Madrid. Everything is on the web (except for the wine and tapas you can have in Madrid after having visited the exhibit).

 

Under “Estudios” you will find the official catalogue, with bilingual texts (Spanish-English): http://www.bne.es/es/Micrositios/Exposiciones/Rizal/Estudios/

My article is the following “Rizal’s difficult position within Spanish literature”:

http://www.bne.es/es/Micrositios/Exposiciones/Rizal/Estudios/seccion5/

Best regards from Spain

Beatriz Álvarez Tardío

Anthology of Rizal’s Patriotic Poems_A mi Patria

Finally!!! I now have the list of my omnibus film consisting of five Rizal’s poems each x four versions and their durations, as follows:

A mi Patria: Filipino Sign Language [FSL] version – 47:33 mins. [with English subtitles]; Deaf Interpreters: Aldrin Gabriel, Mark Steven Gaspar, Jorelle Faytaren and Romalito Mallari

A mi Patria: Spanish Language version – 24.27 mins [with Filipino subtitles and interpreted in FSL by the members of the Silent Steps]; Poem Readers: Belen Tangco, Fernando Ramos, Anna Marie Yglopaz, Beatriz Tardio-Alvarez, Wystan de la Pena

Inang-Bayan: Filipino Language version – 28.32 mins. [with English subtitles and interpreted in FSL]; Poem Readers: Apolonio Chua, Roselle Pineda, Jannette Pinzon, Crisanta Flores, Vim Nadera

To My Motherland: English Language version – 26.10 mins [with Spanish subtitles and interpreted in FSL]; Poem Readers: Apolonio Chua, Roselle Pineda, Jannette Pinzon, Belen Calingacion, Rex Flores

Featured Poems: A FILIPINAS, A LA JUVENTUD FILIPINA, CANTO DE MARIA CLARA, A LAS FLORES DE HEIDELBERG and ULTIMO ADIOS.

It took me a year to finish these films. At this point in time, I have yet to do the DVD authoring. It’s worth the effort though. And definitely more fulfilling than working on Manila Kingpin which I alternately did with Project Rizal! But what a waste to work on a film where you have put in a lot of your time, mind and energy then lost its film form, meaning and sense because of producer’s interferences! Really better to work on your own. Budget was a problem but it’s just one of those realities I have learned to contend with.

In A mi…, I met new people specially some of Rizal’s descendants, made new friends, learned new things, but above all, met new challenges, and SUCCEEDED!!! I have met a lot of good, positive people with creative minds! And I worked with group of people full of dedication and commitment in their hearts.