Santillan: Greater responsibilities

I GOT the privilege of attending the Oro Youth Convergence 4 as Nagkahiusang Magsusulat sa Cagayan de Oro's (Nagmac) representative. Not only that, Nagmac was also elected as one of the Special Advocacy Representatives for the Oro Youth Development Council (OYDC).

That may be a mouthful but it still couldn't contain my excitement over this great news. It's significant for me because the org started small four years ago. Would you believe it took a post on Facebook for this to start?

There was just something in me that wanted a regular event for artists in the city and I just practically sent a shout-out to the cyberworld. What's bizarre was that people actually responded. These were acquaintances but nevertheless yearned for the same thing in the city.

So, we had our first show at Chaibodia on February 28, 2014 and attended by at least 30 people including the performers.

At one point, Nagmac almost died. After Chaibodia, there wasn't any establishment that would welcome us. I've approached local establishments for us to perform at their place of business but just couldn't understand what poetry night or spoken word really meant.

But because of what I would say Divine Providence - people coming into my life at the right time - the community persevered and became an organization.

I've been saying it over and over but I can't help but feel overwhelmed at where Nagmac is right now. Before, we only organize poetry nights at dark and dank places in the city. We even had one poetry night at a former strip club. Now, we have had shows at Chingkee Tea and SM Downtown Premiere. Not only that, we even have our own publishing arm - Bulawan Books. We've published local writers including my own chapbook "Gikan da Babayeng Bilbilon." We've also partnered with educational institutions to conduct creative writing workshops and forums in the city.

I may be its founding chairperson but I can never claim all its victories on my own. These achievements never would have happened if not for the initiative and leadership of the Nagmac board members. It never would have been possible if not for our partners as well. For that, I am grateful.

It takes one person to have a brilliant idea but a whole lot more of people for that idea to come true. With that said, being part of the OYDC now is both exciting and daunting for me. Exciting because Nagmac gets to partner with the public and private sector in the city. Daunting because it poses more challenges I've never had before.

Pero kumbati gihapon!

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