ANGELES CITY -- A number of people witnessed the Kapampangan interpretation with a modernized twist behind the story of Judas, entitled “Tulauk: A Lenten Sarsuela,” on April 16.
The activity was directed and written by Andy Alviz at Nepo Park, Angeles City. It was played throughout the night with the use of the Kapampangan dialect and music.
The director added a bit of twist of modern and fun for the audience to feel the essence of entertainment and timeliness.
The special participation came from the audience themselves.
The sarsuela is now known as the fourth volume of Alviz’s finest works of art. It is also the encore presentation, which was performed at Sta. Rita Ecopark last April 7, Friday.
At the end of the show, the members of Arti Sta. Rita were called back to the stage to be recognized with the presence of Alviz, Randy Del Rosario, Father Deo Galang and Archbishop Emeritus Paciano Aniceto.
“We're not only spectators, we're not only witnesses of the death and the resurrection of our Lord, we also should have a deeper and personal understanding about our Lord's love, His mysteries and His resurrection. We should bear in our hearts that this drama (sarsuela) intends to let us know that regardless how hard our situations are, we should wholeheartedly accept them. The life of Christ is our life, the sorrows of Christ are our sorrows, the pains and agony of Jesus are our pains and agony, the triumph of Jesus is our triumph,” Archbishop Aniceto said.
A gifted painter, Manuel Madrid, who is one of the performers, was also acknowledged.
“Now that it’s already over, I find it very overwhelming. We hope that we opened the minds and the hearts of the people who watched and make them realize that there is a God above us who is guiding us and will always be there for the rest of our lives. We also hope that we’ll be able to wake up with the ‘tilaok’ of the rooster that there’s a God,” said Aiko Casipe, a member of the Arti Sta. Rita.
“It’s the community, the people who came to all of the shows. We’re inspired by Apung Ceto, by the Catholics who flocked and never got tired watching and listening to the stories, and the young people who came to see the show. We’re inspired by the people on the stage who come every summer time and our staff. We are just inspired because we know that God loves us,” Alviz said.
“There is Judas in all of us, and that’s why he is emphasized in this story. There is a lot of goodness and at the same time, we can’t avoid committing betrayal in our lives. We want to tell everybody that every mistake we make, even towards God, even if we’ll ask for forgiveness, no matter how heavy our sins or mistakes are, we will still be forgiven,” he added. (Nicole Reneé David, HAU intern)