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Hats off to the people who made sure PHL looked good at the ASEAN gala dinner
For the ASEAN Summit’s 50th anniversary celebrations, the presidential social secretary, Annalyn Tolentino, called on three of the country’s top creatives to stage BRAVO ASEAN, the special gala dinner on Sunday.
There were around 1,500 expected guests that included world leaders and the association’s delegates.
Director Monino Duque took charge of the evening's 30-minute entertainment that unfolded on the stage designed by Gino Gonzales, while designer Ito Kish created the various spaces allocated as receiving, staging and photo-op areas.
Kish's responsibility encompassed over 2,000 square meters that included a gazebo (a holding room for VIPs) walled off with kraft paper and decorated with simple white sofas along with Al Valenciano’s basket lamps.
A grand façade — made from 300 pre-cut metal tubes that held together the mesh material printed with the traditional bahay na bato silhouette — served as the gateway to a garden dotted with sofas from Pampanga furniture maker, Betis Crafts.
Kish also designed the photo-op wall adorned with 119 white lanterns (made in Taytay) that surrounded the ASEAN logo.
For the banquet hall, Kish sought the services of Bicol’s weavers who made the outsize gold-painted baskets (the biggest at 2 meters long) for the mammoth chandelier that required a 300-kilogram, 14 x 5 meter metal frame.
It was the last project Kish accepted before announcing the closure of his store last June. “I also didn’t accept any other projects after that because this is something na para sa bayan,” Kish admitted. It is also one of his biggest endeavors: “For the 6-day ingress, I had a total of 280 people working 24/7,” Kish explained.
Duque isn’t a stranger to grand productions, but the ASEAN gala is something more special. “We had to put our best foot forward because an event of this magnitude and significance is not going to happen again soon; we could not do it small,” Duque explained.
“I wanted the show to be almost completely devoid of Filipinana,” Duque continued, “and I didn’t want to see any of the forms such as ethnic patterns, the national flags, etc.” He enlisted stage designer, Gino Gonzales, who, according to Duque “was the only one who could do what I wanted.”
“His specific direction was to create something sculptural that’s visible from all sides, hovering from the ceiling. We didn’t have enough money for the initial idea. That was a blessing in disguise because I had to think hard for a substitute,” Gonzales explained. He then decided on using paper, calling on Japanese designer/artist Wataru Sakuma who produced 5,000 handmade discs, some leafed in silver and gold.
The gala took six days to set up with 600 performers (some from as far away as Davao and Bacolod) and 800 staff and suppliers involved. For most, events of this scale are a nightmare.
But BRAVO ASEAN seems to be an exception with Kish, Duque and Gonzales admitting that they had a wonderful experience, due in large part to the Social Secretary Tolentino’s ethos.
RELATED: ASEAN gala dinner set-up at SMX
Gonzales described her as the “the perfect government official who trusted people and didn’t micro-manage. She was congenial with everyone, so we were motivated to help and protect her.” Duque and Kish cited her respect for others’ opinions and her practicality: “May malasakit sa gastos. Some of the elements we used for the ASEAN activities last April were used in Pampanga for the welcome ceremonies,” Duque disclosed.
“We were instructed not to spend for one night only. All the furniture were rented; the parols, baskets, pati bumbilya will be reused for Malacanang,” Kish added. — LA, GMA News
