THE Mindanao Summer Peace Festival 2013 (SPF13) is all set to kick off its Luna Musikalawaig Festival leg at Ki Bathala Gardens, Lumbia, Cagayan de Oro city, beginning today, April 26 and ends on 28.
With the objective to promote in Mindanao peace, art, local culture and eco tourism, the SPF13 will showcase in the mornings various art and musical workshops, and in the evenings, musical jam and concert with performances from local, national and international bands.
A second leg will be in Zamboanga City, the Paz Musika Del Mar on April 29-May 1.
Activities such as drumming, traditional tattoos, yoga, fishing, tree planting, poi dancing and kids workshops on survival skills, cosplay, soil painting and tye dying, are all offered for a fee at the event.
Performances from Mush Project (Spain), Fantuzzi (USA), Isa Tabasuare, Siri Svegler and Thomas Walter from Germany, Sinyma (Manila), Purple Kush (Cebu), Go Wattatu (Malaybalay), Ruska (Cagayan de Oro), and many others will bring harmony to the event.
Visual and Performance art exhibits of Rhyan Casino, Agnes Arellano, Piaget Martelino, Michael Bacol, Kit Gresos, Rene Kieffer, among others will also be displaying their works in the venue.
In line with their advocacy of peace, the peace freaks behind SPF13, would like to encourage people to support local art and music, provide livelihood for the local community and to share different products of Mindanao.
In the core of this movement is the love for nature and the environment. Thus, the organizers themselves wish to inculcate to the people the relevance of rainforest, environmental awareness and the need to heal our vanishing flora and fauna not only in Mindanao but to the rest of the country.
In a press conference held Thursday at the newly opened Stargate Dream Vacation Resort in Taguanao, Jeminah Ferrer of Muni Productions and Hinelaban Foundation presented the SPF 13 also as a means to campaign for reforestation in the denuded forests in Mindanao.
Ferrer said that as “this is our responsibility as earth borrowers that we do something for the environment and not just proclaim that we are doing something,” and that “we are not fighting for the next generation but also for seven generations ahead of us.”
Redefine Mindanao
Raphael Kiefer, executive producer for Luna Musikalawaig, hopes to redefine Mindanao through the media. He explained that the SPF is not a short-term solution that the long-term plan is to make it known through education and environmental awareness. The advocacy will not be easy and fast to achieve.
“The activities in store for participants aim to bring people back to Earth.” Kiefer said that they hope to help people relearn the importance of conserving Mother Nature through more interesting and memorable ways other than simple, serious seminars.
“We’re trying to keep it light and fun; we want everyone to dance and sing along. Music is a language everyone understands, so the more different genres we put in there, the more people will understand,” Kiefer said.
Among the artists who graced the press conference are Fantuzzi, Siri Svegler, Isa Tabasuares, and Thomas Walter.
All of them expressed happiness to be part of this “enlightening” event.
Tabasuares who hails from Cagayan de Oro City but is now based in Berlin, is grateful for the opportunity to be able to perform and meet other artists through the festival who are working together to spread environmental consciousness.
Ms. Svegler reiterated that peace must come from within ourselves, and that what is happening now in the world is an on-going war on resources. This is shown by how people keep on wanting more and more to themselves, ever forgetting that Mother Nature is abundant and that she can always provide given that we take care of her well.
Fantuzzi, a festival lover who has performed worldwide in numerous festivals, calls on the youth, to be more concerned about nature and the environment before it is too late. Also, he promotes healthy diet and eating organic food to nourish our bodies and spirit.
Kat Dancer, a yoga instructor and massage healer stresses that whatever we do, DOES make a difference.
The participating artists themselves understand the roots of the problems of environment and that it is with pleasure that they spread the good word of peace and love and positivity.
They are challenging the media to write something positive that it may also encourage people to help in any way they can. They also stressed the importance of leading by example.
They even gave examples on how their respective countries have devised environmentally healthy habits, such as the use of renewable energy and the simple eco-friendly reusable shopping bags.
Finally, at the crowd’s request, the artists gave glimpses of wonderful things to come by showing of some of their talents.
Taking off his sandals, Fantuzzi sang one of his own compositions acapella, while moving to his own rhythm. Svegler, Tabasuares, and Walter also performed a song they had written as a trio, Svegler and Tabasuares’ perfect harmony and Walters intricate guitar riffs brought the press con to a satisfactory close.
The Luna Musikalawaig was launched in May 5, 2012, in a same festive manner and advocacy.
The Ki Bathala farm is a permaculture farm along the Kalawaig river owned by the Kiefers. The venue is in itself not commercial and preserved in its purest form. (Angela Bernice Cabildo-Devcomm Intern and Kuki Musni)