Legacy in ink: Nonoy Estarte’s life, works get recognition in Cagayan de Oro

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – It has been nine months since the self-taught artist, Pennessencio “Nonoy” Estarte, was laid to rest, yet the kind of life he led continues to garner accolades because he etched cultural meanings to his work.

Sixteen of Estarte’s pen and ink sketches, depicting places and events of historical significance in Cagayan de Oro, are on exhibit at the City Museum along Fernandez Street in time for National Arts Month, starting this week and running until April 30.

Nicolas Aca, chairperson of the Cagayan de Oro Cultural and Historical Commission (CCHC), said on Thursday, February 22, that the artworks on exhibit were Estarte’s creations months before his passing. 

These were originally intended to be part of an art exhibit to raise funds for the Cagayan de Oro-based artist’s medical expenses, he said. Estarte, a person with a spinal curvature who had experienced breathing difficulties for years, died on May 22, 2023.

Estarte was born on August 1, 1950, in the village of Buug, Ipil town in the now Zamboanga Sibugay province. He left his hometown in 1977 due to personal safety concerns after he exposed abuses of government officials in his illustrations that were surreptitiously published and circulated there.

That year, he traveled to Cagayan de Oro and became an illustrator at the Jesuit-run Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan’s Philippine Folklore and Folklife Center under the mentorship of the late Jesuit priest Francisco Demetrio, a renowned historian.

Estarte’s artworks would later be printed in 15 volumes of Father Demetrio’s Dictionary of Folk Beliefs and Customs, and in the Illustrated Folktales series.

As a young man, his enrollment application was turned down by a Manila-based school of fine arts allegedly because of his physical condition. The setback did not prevent him from pursuing his passion, and his artworks soon gained international exposure through German publications.

Years later, he became a resident artist and, subsequently, assistant curator at XU-Ateneo’s Museo de Oro. He retired early in 2003 due to his deteriorating health, after 26 years of service to the Jesuit-run university. 

“This exhibit is a tribute to Nonoy Estarte’s well-lived life,” said Aca. “This time, these artworks are no longer for sale.” 

Aca said he was uncertain though if these would be kept in the City Museum. A family member has been designated as caretaker of the Estate art collection, he added.

Cris Rollo, the country program manager of the UN Habitat and former chairman of the Committee on Visual Arts of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA), said, “I pay tribute to his (Estarte’s) profound influence in the Mindanao art scene by sharing some of his last works richly illustrated in paintings of its myths and legends of which he had deep knowledge and love.”

At the opening of the Saulog Exhibit on Monday, February 19, the city government, through Cagayan de Oro Mayor Rolando Uy, presented the family of the late septuagenarian artist with an official citation. Resolutions from the city council and the CCHC, both acknowledging the late artist’s contributions to the city’s culture and history, were read.

Local officials commended Estarte’s initiatives for imparting artistic skills and instilling a love for culture and local history among the youth. – Rappler.com