As early as June of this year, the San Jose Centennial Commission is created and Mayor Romulo “Muloy” M. Festin of said municipality in Occidental Mindoro is the Chairman of the Board of Directors (BOD). Various activities were laid up until its culmination on May 15, 2010. The Commission is expected to conduct activities such as slogan and logo making contests and the much anticipated theatrical presentations, etc.
This event and celebration is important and the organizers deserves a tap on their shoulders for this selfless effort. Even psychiatrists remind us that the loss of sense of time is a symptom of personal deterioration. Cut a man off from his memories or his vision and he sinks to a depressed state. And same is true in a society, community or municipality.
Man is a “historical” being. We must recall the past not only by recording it, or by making a cultural presentation (or related activities) out of it, but by anticipating the future not only by preparing for it but by conjuring up and creating it. We are taught that history is not to be viewed as a jail to escape or as an antique to be preserved but as a dimension of reality that enlarges and illuminates the present. In a sucess-and money-oriented society such as ours, we need celebrations that are less trivial but more inspirational and posed current challenges.
Any celebration or commemoration that is only sugar-coated, superficial and has no sustainability is doomed to fail before it is started because in this kind of program or project, what is usually being sought is not public conscientization but public relations. Usually, our public and civil anniversaries and celebrations (including Fiestas or other religious celebrations) doesn’t provide an inspiration to change any social problem, concern or predicament that we are in. It does not give inspiration to fight injustice and other structural and social “sins”. It even made as a temporary social anesthesia being capitalized by the ruling few, including local politicians. It is only designed and intended to astonish and catch the public eye. No more no less.
Most of the celebrations of this sort in the past lack real verve or feeling. Yes we are enjoying because the plays, the dances, the musicals, the slogans, the markers, are all there. But under the surface of the Dionysiac carousing we feel something is missing. When we wake up the next morning, we often wonder why we bothered. And we just laced our celebration with fancy icings but vague with meaning and essence for it failed to move us to act or collectively push us to give our own life and limb for the sake of our beloved town, like what Fermin Baretto did many years ago facing foreign invaders.
To celebrate the centenary is to inspire us to act on the most pressing problem of our town. What a shame to celebrate our 100 years of being an established municipality if they did not even lift a finger to our biggest and dirtiest public mess called San Jose Public Market. Not to mention the immorality of the Small Town Lottery (STL), our mega chaotic drainage and garbage management systems, to mention a few.
But hopefully, the upcoming San Jose Centennial would bring not only gay moments but a transforming celebration as well…
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(Photo by SanJoseOccidentalMindoro.com)
gay moments, norman? ibig mong sabihin ay miss gay competition na nakahanda para sa sentenaryo ng san jose? (MS)
ReplyDeletemost importantly, woman is a "historical being". One of the reasons why we are in a very messy situation because "cleaning up" is seen as a woman's work. Thus, the ever macho leaders do not understand the word.As much as I want to celebrate, I have an idea that we are just celebrating for the sake of celebration and not because we have to remember the great women and men who came to Pandurucan and shape it to become what it is today.
ReplyDeleteThe centennial celebration of San Jose must be seen by the young generation as an important event that could stir their emotions to act bravely on the injustices committed to the people, even if it means shedding blood.
The celebration is also very problematic to me because the focus is only on the bravery of the "men" and the missionaries (who were men).Where were the women of Pandurucan?What did they do during conflicts? Their roles in building this place?
Unless you remember herstories, I don't think this celebration is worth a dime (or my time).
To MS:
ReplyDelete"gay" or "happy" o "masaya" ang ibig kung tukuyin diyan. No pun intended. But on the second thought, parang ganyan ngang kompetisyon ang mas naaalala (o mas gusto) ng mga tao sa ganitong selebrasyon. Pagalingan ng mga "masasayang" tao ...
To Eunice:
Nice point and thank you ...
to MS: wahahaha, ganun talaga yun.kasama na sa kultura eh. Pero although I do not have anything against gays, huwag naman sana magkaroon ng gay competition or any beauty pageants (both gay and women pageants). Kasi ang mga ganitong kompetisyon ay mahigpit na tinututulan ng mga feminista. Hindi ito nag-aangat ng dignidad bagkus isang daan upang maging "produkto" o pang-aliw ang mga kababaihan at ang gay. Hindi makatao.
ReplyDeleteWala nga naman sanang ganyang kumpetisyon ano MS. wag salaulain ang kahalagahan ng sentenaryo.
more basically than foregoing gay or women pageants, the concept and the practice of competition itself need to be played down. it's obviously a carry over of the rule of the jungle, where only the fittest survive. and, human as we are, competition is but a part of our nature. at home, there is sibling rivalry. in school, there are dean's listers and honor rolls. business is literally cutthroat. even religious groups outstage one another with claims over dogmatic correctness and by sheer number of faithful. rivalry between and among media establishments is very common. between (or should i say, among [to include the members of the third sex]) genders, there is seldom a synergy.
ReplyDeletenonetheless, as human civilization progresses, the human nature that is aggressive and tending towards competition must give way to human essebce that is inclined towards cooperation, peaceful co-existence, and community living (MS).
pls check ur email to read my article at the Migrants. eunice
ReplyDeleteCentennial celebration ng San Jose... wow!
ReplyDeleteKaso, parang gagamitin sa pulitika hikhik! Sakto sa election!
"..knowing me, knowing you.. ahaaaa... there's nothing we can do..."
To Alipin ng Langit :
ReplyDelete"Parang" o "tiyak"?
"There's nothing we can do..?"
so we need people who will "...be fighting here for you and me, for liberty, Fernando...?"
(with apologies to ABBA)
Thank you for dropping by...