In the recent years there have been a lot of changes in the
city of Baguio, most of the city parks and forested areas have been removed and
most of the open spaces have been converted into private spaces reducing the
number of tourist spots people can visit.
A lot of tourists are saying that Baguio city is no longer
what it used to be, it has slowly become a bustling city without any clear
direction.
Areas like John Hay and Burnham Park is slowly being
converted into private areas and people are being charged before they can enter
areas that were once free for public use.
Because of this there has been a steady decline in the
number of tourists coming in and out of Baguio, the number of people visiting
the city during the Panagbenga has also declined due to the inability of the
city government to provide efficient services and interesting events to make
sure that the visitors will deem it worthy to visit the city.
Because of this the role of the Baguio artists has
increased, if there is one thing that can save Baguio tourism that is the
creativity and originality of Baguio artists.
People are always looking for new
information, the next best thing and Baguio has yet to learn how it will
provide this to the people.
Understanding the
Baguio Art community and what it has to offer?
If there is one thing that will separate Baguio from other
provinces in the country, it is the level of artistry that the place can offer.
Baguio inspires a lot of people to take an interest in writing,
poetry, painting and other ways to express them because of the inviting
atmosphere.
It is easy to get inspired in a city that has pine trees and
fog in the afternoon.
The people of
Baguio live in one of the most romantic cities in the Philippines.
When we speak of the Baguio art community we mean to say the
street artists and the trained artists in the city of Baguio.
This will also include the theater performers and the dance
performers who continue to make Baguio interesting.
Baguio does not have the natural resources that other places
can offer; we do not have vast oceans and beaches that people can visit.
We cannot compete with other provinces when it comes to
natural resources, but what we can promote is the level of creativity that the
Cordilleran culture can offer.
Poetry Scene in
Baguio:
Unknown to many people here in Baguio, a group of writers
and poetry slam artists are active in providing
shows that feature poetry slam artists' performance for relevant issues here in
the city of Baguio.
One of the frequent supporters of these kinds of events is
Mt. Cloud Book Shop owned and managed by Padmapani L. Perez.
Poetry slam artists like Jennifer Carino, Rey Gelo Aurelio,
Dumay Solingay, Jessica Faye Marino, Pryce E. Quintos and many others frequent
the area.
Almost every month a poetry slam competition is being held
in Mt. Cloud Bookshop. Students and people from all walks of life are invited
to listen to the poets deliver their lines.
The topic will change every now and then, on several occasions
there has been a focus on HIV awareness.
Poetry slam artists of Baguio have taken the time to create
poetry pieces that provide information and expression of what HIV is.
The idea is to spread awareness to reduce the stigma and to
remove the prejudice against HIV patients with the help of poetry and stage
performance. 2nd Scarlet Letters from Baguio is one example of how poetry can
be used to spread awareness.
It is a a poetry slam for HIV-awareness co-organized by the
AIDS Society of the Philippines and the Baguio Writers Group, co-sponsored by
CHILD and Hill Station.
In order for art to be useful in society, it has to be able
to bridge the gap between imagination and reality, it has to be useful, and it
has to be able to move people to act.
There have been times wherein the poetry slam contest
focused on inspiring people to love nature and plant trees.
It is with the belief that there are many ways to spread information;
poetry is one way to move the people into action.
Poetry slam artists are just one sector of the Baguio artists
moving to help Baguio better, a small group that is not yet given ample
attention by the local government.
It is with the hopes that by featuring the works of various
Baguio artists' groups we can help Baguio get recognized for the talent that it
has to offer to the world.
More contributions of Baguio artists are waiting to be
discovered, each of this groups will be tackled extensively in the coming
weeks.
Mt. Cloud bookshop where the informative poetry sessions are being held is located at Casa Vallejo Plaza, DPS Compound Access Road, Baguio City in
2600 (074) 424 4437
…to be continued.
