UP Diliman arts festival commemorates 150th anniversary of Gomburza’s martyrdom

The following is a press release from the University of the Philippines-Diliman Office of Initiatives in Culture and the Arts.

In conjunction with the National Arts Month celebration this February, this year’s UP Diliman Arts and Culture Festival takes place from February to March 2022 with the theme, “kaMALAYAn: Pamana ng GomBurZa @ 150.”

The festival commemorates the 150th anniversary of the martyrdom of Fr. Mariano Gomez, Fr. Jose Burgos, and Fr. Jacinto Zamora, more collectively known as Gomburza.

This important chapter in Philippine history, which happened in 1872, may be considered as a historical turning point—an event that served as a fuse to awaken Filipino consciousness and sense of nationalism—that culminated in the Philippine Revolution in 1896. For many historians, Gomburza’s experience and martyrdom may be considered as a root from which the patriotic spirit had grown to fight the injustices of the colonial society.

This 2022, the commemoration intends to thresh out and meditate upon the spirit of Filipino consciousness and the concepts ALAY, MALÁY, and LAYA contained in the word “kaMALAYAn.” 

The festival features artistic and cultural projects such as lectures, conferences, webinars, workshops, exhibits, and art installations which will be held physically, virtually, or in a hybrid format. Echoing the pealing of the bells when the Gomburza were executed, these projects aim to create a soundscape—literal and metaphorical voices and sounds of a collective resistance to deceit and a profession of hope for a better future.

The following are the different project components for this year’s UPD Arts and Culture Festival:

1. Malikhaing Programa (Hybrid live/pre-recorded & livestream) 

• 18 March 2022 | 6 pm (Oblation Plaza)

2. Art Installation and Virtual Exhibit: ATANG, a sound prayer

• 18 March – 18 April 2022 (Oblation Plaza)

3. Webinar: Sining at Kamalayang Pilipino

• 23 February 2022 | 9 am – 12 nn, 2 – 5 pm (Zoom and UPD-OICA YouTube Channel)

4. Talastasan sa Kasaysayan Webinar Series: Philippine Nationalism Beyond 1872

• UPD Department of History
• 21 and 28 February, 7 and 14 March 2022 (Zoom and Facebook Live)
• For more details, contact Dr. Neil Martial R. Santillan at ndsantillan@up.edu.ph.

5. UP Diliman Kanlungan Talk Series (Episode 3): Kababaihan, Sining Pilipino, at Komunidad

• 2 March 2022 | 2 – 5 pm (Zoom and UPD-OICA YouTube Channel)

6. Exhibit and Online Program: Bulwagan ng Mga Bayani: Alay, Alaala, at Pagpupugay sa mga Bayani ng Pilipinas

• UP Asian Center Museum
• Exhibit Launch: 21 March 2022 | 3 pm (Zoom); Permanent Exhibit (ac.upd.edu.ph); Videos (Asian Center YouTube Channel)
• For more details, contact Danae Pantano at dmpantano1@up.edu.ph 

7. Conference: ​​Bagumbayan: Stories of Place and Identity (National Conference on the 150th Anniversary of the GomBurZa Execution)

• UPD CSSP Folklore Studies Program (Zoom and Facebook Live)
• 9 March 2022 | 9 am – 5 pm; 10 March 2022 | 8 am – 5 pm
• For more details, email folklore.upd@up.edu.ph or follow their Facebook Pages: https://www.facebook.com/BagumbayanConference and https://www.facebook.com/UPFolkloreStudiesProgram

8. HIMIGSIKAN sa Jingle Magazine: Malayang Tipaan at Kuwentuhan

• 25 March 2022 | 7 pm (UPD-OICA YouTube Channel)

9. Photo Exhibit: Dark Memories

• 15 March 2022 (UP Diliman Academic Oval)

10. OTHER INITIATIVES

The program also features virtual projects from UP Diliman units, that align with the themes of the festival.

• Lexicon Unpacked: Alay, malay, laya

• Living in The Philippines: Realizing Identity from Different Disciplinal Perspectives

For more information about the festival and its components, you may access the following link: https://bit.ly/UPDACF2022-Brochure.

You may also connect with the UP Diliman Office for Initiatives in Culture in the Arts (UPD-OICA) at specialprojects_oica.upd@up.edu.ph or like and follow the UPD-OICA on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube.

Commemorate with us by using the following hashtags: #GomBurZa150, #UPDArtsCultureFestival2022, #NAM2022. – Rappler.com