Saturday, August 09, 2008 Pampanga artists converge for heritage painting contest By Jovi T. De Leon
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- About 60 professional and amateur artists from all over Pampanga converged and took up their easels and brushes for the city's on-the-spot painting contest held at the Heritage District, Consunji Street here.
The artists put into canvas the ancestral homes of the Lazatins, Hizons, Consunjis and other structures declared by the National Historical Institute five years ago as heritage edifices.
City Tourism Officer Ching Pangilinan said the competition is part of the City's twin celebration commemorating the 254th founding anniversary of San Fernando and the 104th anniversary of the transfer of the provincial capital from Bacolor to this city.
She added that the project is a core advocacy of Mayor Oscar Rodriguez, who has pursued programs on arts and culture.
"By preserving our heritage and harnessing our cabalens creativity in the visual arts, we can certainly realize our vision of making this city a Habitat for Human excellence by 2030," Pangilinan said.
Of the 60 painters who fielded their entries, 22 are professionals, 20 are college students and 16 came from various high schools in the province.
The pool included Mely Sapnu, a 13-year-old handicapped student from the Pampanga High School, who was out to prove that physical disabilities are no barriers for one's dreams like her aspiration to become a world-class visual artist.
Winners of the contest will be announced on Monday, and will be put on exhibit at the City Hall's Plaza Vidal until August 15.
