Tuesday, May 31, 2011

 
Resurrecting the “Pintado” Tattoo
Paper delivered at the “TATU” Symposium, Leyte Heritage 
Festival 2008, Price Mansion, May 18, 2008, Tacloban City
By: Dulce Cuna Anacion, M.A. Art History 
There are many Ethno tribal motifs proliferating to this day because 
the art of tattooing has became a popular, albeit lucrative endeavor. 
Tribal motifs like those gathered by collector Lars Krutak and 
“Indiana-Jones”-like researchers Vince Hemingson and Thomas Lockhart 
have been discovered and recreated, but none has ever delved into 
the mystery of the vanished Leyte Pintado tattoo. Of course, 
since the local inhabitants’ practice of tattooing was abruptly stopped by the 
Jesuits in the 1600s with religion, tattooing in the island of Leyte has extremely
vanished and all  we could do now is merely speculate on the tattoo motifs and 
designs which were  recorded  by  the Jesuit priest and chronicler Francisco 
Ignacio Alzina, who  also avers that  the tattoo phenomena  is a universal experience. 
He had great misgivings on the practice and considered it as a “work of the devil”:
“I am inclined to think that these people imitated the custom
from newcomers to the Islands; or that one of their braggarts
started the practice himself to give an appearance of greater
ferocity; or that one of their ancient priestesses instigated it.
These devil-women, to whom the devil appeared in a tattooed
body might have started the custom in imitation of him. (I am
told these women practice their calling even before Faith
reached these Islands). Whether this custom was started by the
people themselves or whether their common enemy taught it
to them for his own ends (none of which was good), it is a fact
that all Bisayan men tattooed themselves with the exception of
those they callAsog.”1
It was Alzina, in his monograph “Historias de las Islas el Indios de Bisaias…
1668” who
termed tattooing as “paint”. But it is only one chronicler’s word against t
he others:
"The Bisayans are called Pintados because they are
in fact so,
not by  nature although they are  well-built,  
well-featured and white, but by painting their entire 
bodies from
head to foot as soon as they are young  
men with strength and courage enough to endure the
torture 
of painting. In the old days, they painted t
hemselves when they had performed some brave deed. 
They paint themselves by first drawing blood 
with pricks from a very sharp point, following the design 
and  lines previously marked by the craftsmen 
in the art, and then over the fresh blood applying a
black powder that can never again be erased. 
They do not paint the whole body at one time, but part by part, so that the 
painting takes many days to 
complete. 
In the former times they had to perform a new feat of bravery for each 
of  the  parts that were to 
be painted. The paintings are very elegant, and well proportioned to the
members and parts where 
they are located. I used to say there, captivated and  astonished  by 
the appearance of one of these, 
that if they brought it to Europe a great deal of money could be made 
by  displaying it. 
Children are not painted. The women paint the whole of one hand and 
a part of the other."2
1Alzina, Francisco S.J., “Historias de las Islas y Indios de Bisaias…1668”
2Ib id.,


KAHIT NA ANONG MANGYARI --JUAN DE LA CRUZ BAND


The Juan de la Cruz Band was one of the first rock and roll bands in the Philippines. In December 1970, the band was featured in the first open field rock festival in the Philippines, the Antipolo Rock Festival. The band's popularity gained momentum in September 1971 when it backed up the production of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). Then in December of the same year, the band garnered its crowning glory when again, for the first time in the Philippines, a rock group on its own, backed by a full symphony orchestra (the National Philharmonic) was presented in concert at the CCP.
The band originally had six members: Wally Gonzales (guitars and vocals), Rene Segueco (organ and vocals), Clifford Ho (bass and vocal), Romy Santos (wind instruments), Bobot Guerrero (drums), and Sandy Tagarro (lead vocals). Sandy Tagarro left the band before the band's first album "Up in Arms" was released. Wally Gonzales, in an interview later credited Edmund "Bosyo" Fortuno of having coined the band's name though Bosyo's collaboration with the band was not until 1981 with Juan Dela Cruz Band's 6th Album in which he was the drummer along with Joey "Pepe" Smith. (Wikipedia)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_de_la_Cruz_Band

Monday, May 30, 2011

KADANGYAN MUSIC VIDEO. SHOT IN PHILIPPINES


“The beauty of every place in the world is its own culture”
– Kadangyan

The Ifugao term Kadangyan means Rich in Culture. This particular group specializes in ethno-tribal rock music, likewise plays in an acoustic set-up, provides natural ambient music and performs different kinds of Filipino native rituals on different venues and special occasions.



The band is composed of visual and performing artists who shared the same passion and advocacy. After a few performances and positive feedbacks from the audiences, they have received several invitations from different event organizers and then on they started entering the mainstream.

The band was officially formed on the month of October way back year 2000 in Cebu City, with members coming from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The group is composed of Bhava Mitra (vocals), Agit (bass), Saryo (drums), Bhakta Raja (high percussions) and Govinda (main percussions).

A fusion of different Filipino traditional beats with an element of today’s modern music using indigenous instruments which were mostly hand made and adding up the modern drums and bass guitar thus producing a distinctive Kadangyan sound and music. Ever since, the group wants to implement this kind of music to the society. They want to promote the appreciation of the Filipinos to the Philippine ethnic music and revive the vanishing Philippine culture. With their passion in this craft, they also wanted to show their concern to the environment and humanism.


In 2002, the band released their first independent album. Included in the ten tracks CD is the song “Kaluluwa” which is a universal soul chant and a call for rain. Aside from the Ms. Earth competition, the group has performed in events such as “Sarap to sundown”, “Octoberfest 2004” in Mindanao and Fete dela Musique 04-07 in Manila. Currently, they are working on their next album.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

http://www.no2mininginpalawan.com

MUZIKATBP CONDEMNS MINING IN PALAWAN!

Kamao - Skychurch

In 2000, Philippine hard rock/metal trio Sky Church released Unaware, Unwarned. The group comprises three Dela Cruz brothers, who play guitar, bass, and drums. All three members sing, although lead vocals are credited to Russell Dela Cruz. The music of Sky Church is menacing, hard-edged, and raw, much in the manner of Pantera and early Metallica. The vocals of Sky Church are gruff and growling, akin to the growl-throated vocals of Pantera.
Band Members

* Robert Dela Cruz - Vocals, Drums
* Russell Dela Cruz - Vocals, Bass
* Rommel Dela Cruz - Vocals, Guitar

For rock musicians in the Philippines, it’s a small world after all | ABS-CBN News | Latest Philippine Headlines, Breaking News, Video, Analysis, Features

For rock musicians in the Philippines, it’s a small world after all | ABS-CBN News | Latest Philippine Headlines, Breaking News, Video, Analysis, Features

Friday, May 27, 2011

This is a FREE Concert Featuring our country's top Acts...See You there!

Faspitch - A Day Before Pisces

Faspitch, a band hailed from Cebu. Another head-turners from the Queen City of the South.

Isn't it that most of the great artists here in our country, are from the south? Then isn't it also

ironic that some pinoys tag southerners as "BISAYA" or in ways baduy, jologs,etc.?

Now whose "BISAYA" then?

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Incubus new Upcoming Album "If not now, When?"