Tag: Vol. LXXXIII

ONE GROUP built a robot, one that could keep an eye on thieves, using cellphone technology.

Not to be outdone, another group showed how “kamote” could help cure a blood clot-related condition. Still another one proved that with a little dose of yoga, patients suffering from osteoarthritis could still live a meaningful life.

Don’t look far for the year’s best researches. They’re right on campus; courtesy of some of the most creatives and sophisticated minds UST has produced.

Electronics Engineering majors Jennifer Jill Aquino, Seigfred Prado, June Andrew Rabin, Jade Antonette Rico, and Josyl Mariela Rocamora used 3G cellphones to control a robot.

COUNTLESS accounts of Jose Rizal have been written since his death in 1896, but it was not long until a member of his kin decided to compile the bits and pieces of the hero’s life through first-hand stories passed on from their generation to the next.

Asuncion Lopez Bantug, Rizal’s grandniece and journalism and education graduate of UST, provided a genuine portrait of the Filipino patriot in the biography Lolo Jose (1988) as she carefully recounted family narratives about the child who was once called “Pepe.”

‘Lolo Jose’

Bantug is the granddaughter of Rizal’s older sister, Narcisa. She is the eldest among her siblings Carmen Lopez-Consunji, Natividad Lopez-Francisco, and Leandro Lopez.

IN THE 19th century, the University of Santo Tomas began in a small compound in the walled city of Intramuros, standing by the Pasig River. Its edifice was marked by arched interiors and white-painted stone walls, while a lavish garden decorated the entrance.

In celebration of the 150th birthday of Jose Rizal, The Varsitarian looks back at the school the national hero had come to know and the academic environment he grew up in.

Rich history

The University relocated to Sampaloc in 1927 to accommodate the increasing number of students, while the land where the old Intramuros campus once stood was sold by the Dominicans.

JOSE Rizal not only ignited the Filipino’s fight for liberty, but also inspired other nations to embrace his deep sense of nationalism.

Through his writings, he showed how a people could rise from tyranny and define their national identity. Filipinos learned from him and so did the world.

Global hero

Jose David Lapuz, a UST professor and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) commissioner, described the national hero as “a profound Filipino, an Asian, and most especially, a citizen of the world.”

WAS JOSE Rizal a womanizer? A heretic? Was he mistreated in UST?

These are just some of the popular myths about the national hero, coming mainly from false accounts by history and misinformed fictionists. And these are the same popular myths that Augusto de Viana, chairman of the Department of History, seeks to debunk.

“Everything you hear revolves around the building up of the myth of Rizal,” De Viana said. “But he’s just an ordinary person who happened to have a drive to make the best out of his life.”

Misconceptions

So was Rizal a heretic? De Viana said perception was on his relationship with Josephine Bracken amid a conservative environment then.

WITH A line-up that boasts of 32 artists representing four generations of Thomasian education, Kulô is celebrating UST’s Quadricentennial anniversary as well as National Hero and fellow Thomasian Jose Rizal’s 150th year at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Bulwagang Juan Luna (Main Gallery) from June 17 to August 21.

LIKE Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, the women portrayed in Eros Basilio’s first one-man exhibit exuded the same mysterious aura that intrigued onlookers as Femme Series opened at the Ayala Museum ArtistSpace in Makati City last May 28.

Drawing inspiration from artists Michael Cheval, Cesar Legaspi, and National Artist Ang Kiukok, his present works are a fusion of realism and cubism. His artworks are also influenced by Renaissance and Gothic architecture.

“Raconteur” depicts a seated woman holding a small and thick book with its pages unfurling as she reads stories to her children.

On the other hand, “Woman of the Garden” depicts a demure woman covering her face with the back of her hand as she sits on a field of surreal plants.

FOR THE contemporary art scene, paying tribute to the National Hero is all about incorporating traditions with the changing time, as Looking for Juan and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) both held multimedia exhibitions in honor of Jose Rizal from June 3 to 10 and from June 14 to 17, respectively.

Screenings of Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere, storytelling sessions, and lecture-discussions were held at CCP. Several exhibits by different artists were held to commemorate Rizal’s idealism and ardor.

“It’s about presenting cultural events in a less than traditional way,” explains Karen Flores, officer-in-charge of the Visual Arts and Museo Division (VAMD) of the CCP.

NATIONAL Artist for Literature Francisco Sionil Jose is the fifth addition to Freeway’s National Artist Collection Series (Nacs). The clothing company launched the F. Sionil Jose line at The Row in Glorietta 5, Makati City, last May 31.

Included in the F. Sionil Jose collection are shirts, office wear, and semi-formal dresses that bear excerpts from some of Jose’s prose works. Artworks visualizing his famous fiction also appear on casual tees, blouses, polos and skirts.

“Now, I can say that I’m fashionable,” Jose said.

The launching kicked off with an introduction of his life and works and was followed by a Tertulia, a traditional ceremony where people gather around a storyteller while live music is played in the background.

THE THIRD J. Elizalde Navarro (Jen) Workshop on Arts Criticism upped the ante this year as the fellowship not only dissected papers that fell under the literary and the visual arts, but also covered pieces that tackled film, the performing arts and hybrids of various art forms and modern media.

Eleven panelists and 13 fellows joined the Jen Workshop at the Colione Bed and Breakfast in Baguio City from May 29 to June 4.

“This year was special because of the inclusion of dance, which is one of the more marginalized art forms in the country,” said Elka Requinta, a Thomasian journalist, Jen fellow and former dancer who is now a sub-editor at the Manila editorial desk of the Financial Times, UK.