Echaves: M12, Part 3

FOUR of the awardees chosen by the UP Alumni Association, Cebu chapter for “Tatak UP” 2015 were in the field of Arts, Design and Culture.

For two of these, Bienvenido Fernandez Jr. and Lucien Letaba, economics’ loss became arts’ gain. Graduates of UP Diliman, they first took the route of economics but then discovered other passions.

Fernandez shifted to mass communication. His long years as an educator were as mass com teacher at UP Cebu College and St. Theresa’s College. He has produced 50 documentaries for GOs, NGOs, and private corporations, over 500 special events videos, and eight Cebuano indie films.

Now on full-time teaching at the USC architecture and fine arts, he continues his advocacies for street children’s opportunities, and founding groups like the United Artists of Cebu with 120 members. He’s also a convenor of the Coalition for Better Education, and leader of the Cebu Filmmakers and Screen Actors Guild.

Letaba teaches economics at the University of Cebu (UC). But his passion is in graphics design, particularly in desktop publishing, website design, and multimedia presentations.

Schools like UC and Benedicto College credit him with the development of their brand design.

Towards creating change through songs, he is also a composer and musical director of stage, television, film, commercial productions, and festivals, all numbering a hundred.

Awardees Joel Oporto and Allan Nazareno are UP Cebu High School graduates. Oporto proceeded to USC for his civil engineering, while Nazareno to the Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepcion for his Bachelor of Music.

Oporto’s contribution to the development of Cebuano culture is as perennial judge for the past 27 years in the screening committee for the Cebu Pop Music Festival.

This composer, musical scorer for movies, arranger, producer, and recording studio engineer-designer cemented his interest when he was finalist in the national competitions of the Yamaha guitar festival.

Fond of organizing musical groups, he was president of the Cebu Classical Guitar Society for three consecutive years. He recently set up the Gitara Cebuana, a program that teaches guitar to selected children within Cebu, and teaches guitar and string method at the Tabor Hills College, Talamban.

Nazareno has traveled far and wide to spread and promote the love for theater and music which he says UP Cebu High instilled in him.

He proceeded to build and develop musical theater programs in schools, and sent him on teaching assignments at his alma mater and then to Guam, Switzerland, the UK, and eventually Hong Kong where he resides.

This musical director and choreographer laments that “not many see the value of theater education in the school curriculum….nor its transformative and life-changing power…The ideas of global mindedness and service to others are instilled in their learning of theatre.”

While HK-based, he frequents Cebu for his costume design and production, convinced that the Cebuano artistry and creativity are second to none.

Last February, he produced “The Little Mermaid” at a Montessori school in Mandaue. In August 2016, he presents Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Joseph and the Technicolored Dreamcoat” at SM City Cinema.

(lelani.echaves@gmail.com)

Trending

No stories found.

Just in

No stories found.

Branded Content

No stories found.
SunStar Publishing Inc.
www.sunstar.com.ph