BAROT (wire) man Lito Malaggay has made a name for himself crafting trophies and even life size robots – from wire.
The 39–year–old Baguio–based artist from Mountain Province and Abra discovered his talent in crafting sculptures though wire back in 2000 and decided to make it a livelihood.
Malaggay’s craft features the Cordillera region’s culture, dance and stories.
Malaggay crafts various designs, incorporating the region’s unique culture which portrays the war and unity dance, tribal dance, peace pacts, kayabang (weave basket), and “banga” (pot) dance.
“The times are fast changing. I want to preserve and showcase the culture of the Cordillera through my work,” he said.
The trophies, garbed in traditional weaving designs which he personally sewed in the wire crafts can be made in an hour, a day or weeks depending on the design and size of the craft.
Other works include copper bracelets, camera wire, tournament and fun run trophies, wedding souvenirs or tokens, horseback rider, and pen holders.
His works have travelled through local communities in the region, supplying his work to neighboring provinces in country such as Pangasinan, Isabela and Manila and recently, his wire works reached Hong Kong during the Miss Cordillera 2019.
Malaggay’s crafts was recently displayed in the 4th Cordillera Environmental Summit.