Pinoys - A Race of Artists? Really?

Whenever I see a performace abroad, more often than not, I get amazed at the spectacle. I see how much effort they put into preparing for the said production: the elaborate production design, the on-point lights, the background music, the organized front of house, the precise direction, etc. As a fan of performing arts, I get chills and have that twinge of jealousy. I want to be in the shoes of those artists.

And then I have that smirk and think that Filipinos can do better than the performers. We are after all, "a race of artists" as per Mikey Bustos. Then like any Filipino, I would think about Leah Salonga, the Jabbawockeez, and all the part-"Filipinos" who made it big (Bruno Mars, Nicole Sch... of the Pussycat dolls, Rob Schneider, etc) just to convince myself that we really are a race of performing artists. 

But if we are a race of performing artists, then how come art is not such a big thing in our country? No one cares about the theater industry except the thespians who still market their plays to schools for their plays to be an obligatory requirement for a course. Our hit films still rely on overused chliche love strories: a love triangle where one has to choose between rich or poor, a perfect guy vs the bestfriend, a new found love vs the ex, and... basically that's it. They just switch the actors and directors so marketing will really be based on personalities. Our singing contests only patronize singers who can reach the high notes of standard songs and sing the same way as how the original singer sang it. And of course, the contestant must have a sob story to win.

Don't get me wrong. There are great artists out there. Have you watched a play in CCP recently? There are a lot of philosophical and defiant plays out there. There are also a bunch of talented flimmakers who either show their films to private screenings or to Cinemalaya. And there are musicians who write great music and refuse to sing Karaoke.They just don't sell. So maybe, we are not a race of artists after all. Like any race, performing artists are a minority.

Or maybe it's because real artists tend to be snobs.  They do not really care about selling their art, they just care about doing it. For a playwrite, a director, a filmmaker, or a composer, he or she just wants to showcase it and show it to the people "who matter" than to the masses who wouldn't get it. Going mainstream is being a sell out.

So in this case, especially in a third world country, art is for those who can afford to do so. More often than not, those who pursue art are those whose family can still provide them or those who have another career just to keep them alive. These people are not necessarily the most talented but because they are the ones who pursue it, they are the ones who eventually develop their talents. There maybe a few people who don't fall under this category so I salute them for having the balls to do so.

So it's still possible that we really are a race of artists but most of us just can't afford this lifestyle. It's just sad to think that the next Francisco Baltazar might be somewhere out there studying nursing because he's the eldest in the family and he has an ailing mother. Again, don't get me wrong. I think this is noble but it's just a pity he cannot pursue what he really wants. Or a potential Eli Buendia might be forced to sing "Through the Fire" with the exaggerated hand gestures because this will be the only way he can win the amateur singing contest of Brgy Maliwanag. Naturally, he will lose because he was not meant to sing that one.

I don't want this entry to end so sad so I'm posting here the video made by Mikey Bustos where he said we are a race of artists. Enjoy!