Intramuros is hotspot for CCP and NCCA arts and culture festivals in 2014

“Tara, let's walk.”

It was a simple invitation extended by Intramuros administrator Atty. Marco V. Sardillo III to Chris B. Millado, Vice President and Artistic Director of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Yet, behind those three words was a desire to move beyond traditional spaces in Old Manila.

“[He was only talking about Fort Santiago, so I went,] 'you know what? Out of the box.' I said, 'Tara, let's walk', so we walked all the way to Maeztranza, and then I showed him the space. Sabi ko, 'Isn't this fantastic? Can't you just imagine people performing here?'” said Sardillo.

The invitation was given and taken on Thursday, November 7, when Millado was looking for venues the CCP could use in their Pasinaya Festival for March next year. The two-day weekend event will celebrate all manner of arts. At least 00 artists from disciplines such as music, theater, dance, visual arts, and cinema are expected to come and strut their stuff.

Venues of the likes of Raha Sulayman, Aduana, and even certain streets will see theatrical and musical performances, folkloric dancing, clown shows, and even tiangges and workshops. But Intramuros is only the northern tip of this cultural iceberg.

“The idea is, we're going to transform Intramuros, Roxas Boulevard—all the way to CCP—as the Arts and Culture Mile for at least a weekend in February, so it becomes the most creative place on earth for two days,” explained Millado.

Pedestrianizing the arts

Roxas Boulevard's Baywalk, Ermita, Malate's galleries and cafes, and even hotels and restaurants willing to lend their walls and foyers are to be part of Pasinaya.

The two-day celebrations were moved to March in time for the National Commission for Culture and the Arts's Philippine Arts Festival, which are to last the entire month of February. The PAF will also hold some events in Intramuros.

“We really hope that that's just the start of the cooperation between the Intramuros administration and the Cultural Center of the Philippines and other cultural agencies, because we want Intramuros to be a home, a hub for the arts and culture,” said Sardillo.

The young administrator shared that the Walled City already had art events on its own, part of its efforts into becoming as pedestrian-friendly as possible.

Last October 20, a showing of Manuel Conde's 1950 classic "Genghis Khan" was held at the CBCP parking lot, where enthusiasts, passers-by, and even street children sat down to watch the epic.

“That's what's great about the arts—it cuts through social class. It doesn't care, 'cause we all respond to it,” gushed Sardillo.

Sardillo, who also sits in the NCCA's board, added, “We want Intramuros to be an inclusive space. We need to really pedestrianize the arts and bring it down to the level of everyone, so it's accessible to everyone.”

His philosophy of inclusion also foresaw Car-Free Sundays last October. In place of cars, the entire stretch of Gen. V. Luna saw vendors, performers, and on November 10, urban poor children being trained by the Manila Jeepney Football Club.

“Isn't it exciting to think of the streets not just for cars, [but] really for people to reclaim it so that they could start using it again?” said Sardillo.

'Your break from the rest of the world'

Even the upcoming events of CCP and NCCA in the area seem to be great opportunities to conceive new uses for Intramuros' cobblestone spaces.

“Intramuros shouldn't be just a place where time stood still; it's a place where people can slow down, sit down, and just enjoy a nice performance, play dama inside one of these jeepneys... That's what I think is essential. Intramuros is your break from the rest of the world,” the administrator said.

Part of his enthusiasm for rehabilitating Intramuros came from his recent appointment to the core of Old Manila. Appointed as the Intramuros administrator last August, he envisions the district as the new default destination for the young denizens of Metro Manila—a dream that may come from the lack of time he spent there as a youth.

“My only memories of Intramuros is coming here, field trip, eat lunch—packed lunch—and leave. But sabi ko nga sa kanila, if you can help me fall in love with Intramuros, and be able to recapture that moment so that I can share how it is like to fall in love with Intramuros, and that's a challenge,” said Sardillo.

“I love it. I love it, I love it, I love it so much,” he concluded. — VC, GMA News