Nick joaquin aka Quijano de manila'

Philippine novelist, poet, playwright, and essayist writing in English, the National Artist for Literature. Joaquin is widely considered the best postwar author in his country.Born in Paco on Calle Herran, as the the son of Leocadio Y. Joaquin, a lawyer and a colonel of the Philippine Revolution, and Salome Marquez, a schoolteacher. After three years of secondary education at the Mapa High School, Joaquin dropped out of school to work on Manila’s waterfront and in odd jobs. On his spare time he read widely at the National Library and on his father's library. English had became the official medium of instruction in 1898 after the Spanish-American war. Especially through the work of short story writers English became the most developed literary genre and virtually all Spanish literature ceased.

He has written largely about the Spanish colonial period and the diverse heritage of the Filipino people. Often he deals with the coexistence of 'primitive' and 'civilized' dimensions inside the human psyche. In his short story 'The Summer Solstice,' set in the 1850s, Joaquin portrayed the collision between instincts and refined culture. Doña Lupeng first rejects ancient beliefs, but under the spell of the moon, she becomes possessed by the spirit of the Tadtarin cult - she does not want to be loved and respected anymore but adored as the embodiment of the matriarchal powers.

"He lifted his dripping face and touched his bruised lips to her toes; lifted his hands and grasped the white foot and kissed it savagely - kissed the step, the sole, the frail ankle - while she bit her lips and clutched in pain at the windowsill, her body distended and wracked by horrible shivers, her head flung back and her loose hair streaming out of the window - streaming fluid and black in the white night where the huge moon glowed like a sun and the dry air flamed into lightning and the pure heat burned with the immense intense fever of noon." (from 'The Summer Solstice' in Tropical Gothic, 1972)

He has influenced and inspired generations of both Filipino & foreign writers . We celebrate & embrace this mans works, poems & literary works that embodies the true filipino spirit.

check out some of his works:

• A Question of Heroes, 1977
• Stories for Groovy Kids, 1979
  
• Manila, My Manila, 1990
• Tropical Baroque, 1979
• Manila: Sin City and Other Chronicles, 1980
• Anatomy of anti -hero jose rizal
  

dr. jose maceda

Jose Maceda (1917 -2004)
, Dr. Jose Monserrat Maceda was named a National artist composer, musicologist, teacher & performer. hes ideas reach the early begginings of concrete music in paris & by his contemporaries like john cage stockhausen & pierre henry, he explored the musicality of the filipino deeply. maceda embarked on a life long dedication to understanding & popularization of filipino traditional music, maceda researches & field work have resulted on an immense number of recorded music taken from the remotest mountain villages & farthest island communities. he wrote papers that enlightened scholars . both filipino & foreign about the nature of philippine traditional music expression from a strictly eurocentric mold.

Usually performed as a communal ritual , his compositions like ugma - ugma 1963 pagsamba 1968 udlot udlot 1975 & 100 transistor radios are monuments to his unflagging commitments to philippine music. other major works including agungan , kubing , aroding siasid suling -suling.


His profession and his research took him many places in the Philippines, Sarawak, Thailand, Kalimantan, Africa and Brazil. Moreover, we celebrate & share with you jose Macedas amazing contribution as a pioneer ethnomusicologist & experimental sound artist whos works trancended both music & culture into the next level..

check out:

Gongs and Bamboo: A Panorama of Philippine Musical Instruments

Jose Maceda

Winner, National Book Award, Music, 1998

This panorama of music instruments starts with older bamboo and other instruments of undetermined age, going on to two types of gongs—flat in Northern Luzon and bossed in the South. These two areas may be viewed as pocket cultures comparable to other pockets in Borneo, Sumatra, other islands in Southeast Asia, and the mountain regions south of, and including, Yunnan province of China, thus placing the music of Luzon and Mindanao in a larger geographical context.

Talaandig bukidnon mindanao Philippines

The Talaandig are one of the indigenous groups in the province of Bukidnon, Mindanao Philippines who has continued to preserve and promote its indigenous customs, beliefs and practices despite the strong influx of modernization and change. The Talaandig population is roughly estimated to be at about 100,000 people or more. The members of the group are found in barangays and municipalities surrounding the mountain of Kitanglad, the historic domain of the Talaandig people.

The Talaandig has two methods of healing illness. One is through a religious ceremony. Another is through the application of traditional herbal medicine. Illness is treated by means of a religious ritual when the Mananambal (healer) who is usually a Baylan, a prophet or medium believes that the illness is inflicted by spirits. Traditional herbal medicine, on the other hand, is applied when the cause of the illness is natural. In most cases, ritual is prescribed only when the natural healing power of herbal medicine fails to cure the sick

The Annapurna Experience

There isn't much cultural roots music you can hear in the Philippine airwaves these days or as many people labeled it ethnic music, as musicians & bands here are more concerned & focused with Western styles & pop cover songs, but we are proud to bring you these groups achievement & contribution to the global music scene" started out as Waling-Waling during the early 90s as they were hailed as one of Philippine music cultural bearers, composed of Nonoy & Pinky alcalde Jun claudio Rosa maninantan. They released 3 albums during a span of a few years playing & weaving music together Dakilang Layunin (Noble Purpose) is one of them, released in 1993. The band combines various philippine indigenous instruments with electric guitar and drums, which results in a truly engaging & uplifting brilliant sound. The group's name, Waling-Waling, is a significant choice, as it is the name of an endangered Philippine orchid, and is indicative of the band's concern for the environment. The album's lyrics deal with a concern for humankind and nature, and the need to treat one another with respec." Now started playing with there new group ANNAPURNA EXPERIENCE, Two Bacolod-born musicians, Nonoy Alcalde of Waling-Waling and Dyotay Soluta collaborating using electric and acoustic guitars, Asian and African percussion, bamboo flutes, faglong, synthesizers ,is an important group that shapes both conciousness & spirit..

Links: http://annapurnaexperience.multiply.com/

EXPANSIONS NOW

Expansions is devoted to all the true lovers of universal music, world cultures & arts that trancends all the bounderies into infinite possibilities..