Casa San Miguel
Special Thanks to: Mr. Noel Tamayo
Noel's Pilipino
Folkdance Glossary
for the use of his "Tinikling" midi
Courtesy of Mrs. Lourdes Magsaysay
for Zambales Tourism
Click on thumbnail to zoom
Casa San
Miguel is set amid a mango orchard in a town nestled between the
mountains and the sea. The orchard was established in 1921 by Ramon L.
Corpus and served as his family retreat-by-the-sea. It was the frequent
site of many family picnics and musical gatherings. In 1993, his
grandson, Coke Bolipata, designed an Art
Center to replace the old house that burned.
Casa
San Miguel was built on the belief that art, in
its various forms, can extend beyond its boundaries to create a more
aware and fuller human being for an enriched humanity. It further
believes in an internal transformation to bring about communal, national,
and global change with culture as the means to this end. The center is
committed to the continued development and support of the Filipino
artist, and to the development of new artists and audiences for the next
generation.
Ramon
Corpuz Hall
Designed for intimate concerts, this hall can also accommodate chamber
orchestra concerts, theater plays, operettas, and even some ballet
productions. It has all the basic features of a concert hall: a
300-person seating capacity, full air-conditioning, a seven-foot grand
piano, and crisp, clear acoustics. The hall also offers a view through
tall panels of the mango trees in the orchard that surrounds the
hall.
Outdoor
Theater
The 1,000-seat circular outdoor theater serves as an alternative venue
for productions that seek to incorporate and utilize the natural
surroundings. It can also accommodate performances requiring more space
such as full-orchestra concerts and elaborate theater and dance
performances.
Anita
Gallery
Located in the Western wing of the Center, and visible through glass
panels from the Ramon Corpus Hall, the Anita Gallery is a two storey
visual arts gallery ideal for many types of exhibits including painting,
sculpture, pottery, and other historical and educational
presentations.
Here
is a sample of the 4th Season 1996-97 events:
| July |
ANGONO
ARTISTS Paintings |
| August |
NORMAN
JAVARATA Photographs |
| September |
NICO SEPE
Photographs |
| October |
U.P. FINE
ARTS STUDENTS Paintings |
| November |
PUNDAQUIT
APEC ARTS FESTIVAL EXHIBIT |
| December |
PLET
BOLIPATA Paintings |
| January |
PUNDAQUIT
BAROQUE FESTIVAL EXHIBIT |
| February |
SALAKAY
Sculptures |
| March |
CHAMBER
MUSIC FESTIVAL EXHIBIT |
| April |
FESTIVAL OF
THE EARTH EXHIBIT |
[top]
Facilities:
ARTISTS
RESIDENCES
Consisting of 7 bedrooms, this haven for visiting artists occupies the
third and attic floors of the Center. Every room is connected to a porch
overlooking the orchard with views of Mt. Pundaquit and Mt. Maubanban on
one side and the South China Sea on the other. A tower sits above the
entire structure, providing a 360-degree view of the San Antonio
landscape.
THE
SUNKEN TERRACES GARDEN
The Sunken Terraced Garden was designed to offer the visitor with a
meditative retreat while waiting for the beginning of a performance or
enjoying a picnic snack. The garden features a miniature stage where
masses are held on Sundays, and where outdoor film showings, community
plays, and concerts can be mounted.
CASA
GENERAL STORE
The store is the place to be after your tour of the Center. Books,
postcards, candies, community crafts, souvenirs and refreshments are
available at very reasonable prices.
Pundaquit
Festivals
Every year,
between October and April, the thematic Festivals feature artists of
different nationalities including the PUNDAQUIT CHAMBER PLAYERS (CASA San
Miguel's Resident Ensemble) working on a diverse range of themes in
concerts, performances, and exhibits at CASA San Miguel's various venues:
Ramon Corpus Hall, the Outdoor Theater, or Anita Gallery. Now entering its
4th season, the Pundaquit Festivals are being brought to Davao, Cebu, and
Metro Manila.
The
Festivals are a vital and most visible part of the CASA San Miguel's role
in linking the multi-sectoral communities of artist, educators, children,
farmers, and fisherfolk. It is the Festival that weaves CASA San Miguel's
programs to create dynamic and exciting collaborations with endless
possibilities.
Artist-In-Residence
Casa San Miguel offers short-and-long-term residencies to encourage
artists of many disciplines and nationalities who wish to make a
significant impact on the San Antonio and Zambales communities or their
discipline that extends beyond the immediate impression of a concert,
exhibit, or performance.
The
artists are provided with board and lodging, in exchange for which they
are required to devote a portion of their residency period to lecturing,
giving demonstrations and workshop-seminars; or to teaching skills to the
surrounding communities as part of their development and enhancement. The
artists also have the optional opportunity to present their products,
finished or unfinished (as a work-in-progress), at CASA San MIguel's
different venues.
Program
for Economic Development through the Arts
In a
fishing village that subsists almost exclusively on "gifts from the sea,"
CASA San Miguel takes the opportunity to demonstrate how art and culture,
on a practical level, can take as active role in the lives of a rural
community. By providing alternative livelihood means, art and culture can
now be presented as an economic tool to augment present existing
opportunities with the introduction of technologies for livelihoods that
can be sustained year-round, especially for those times when storms ravage
crops or will not permit fishing.
Osnofla
Books
Osnofla
Books is CASA San Miguels's book publishing arm for producing educational
publications that address the different issues of the youth and community.
This year, Osnofla published the first of a series of seven Zambales
folktales, all researched by resident artists, for release during the next
2 years. Currently, Osnofla is producing Water in the Ring of Fire, an
anthology of 18 folktales from the APEC economies, a project that
harnesses the collaborative efforts of the Philippines' promising writers
and illustrators. Other projects of the program include a community
newsletter to promote literacy among the youth of San Antonio.
Program
for Youth Development through the Arts
Casa
San Miguel has developed several youth programs that bring the different
sectors of the local community with visiting artists in an atmosphere of
learning. The goals of these interactions is to present an opportunity for
the community to share a direct experience of an artist's creative force
by watching them work from a simple impulse of an idea to a finished
product. By being first-hand observers and then initiators of this
process, the youth are challenged to cultivate their own creative forces,
which upon discovery, can alter their world view for a deeper
understanding of themselves and the world they live in.
Cuerdas
at Cuadros
Casa
San Miguel is proud to open its third session of the Cuerdas at Cuadros, a
Music and Visual Arts Program that runs every weekend for 12 weeks. The
program offers a rare opportunity for discovering one's creativity with
exposure to both Music and the Visual Arts. Children as young as 5 years
old may begin the program and are grouped together with other children of
a similar age group or developmental stage. Aside from music and art
making, the students also learn discipline from gardening and have access
to a children's library books, recordings, and videos. Each session
culminates in an exhibition and performance of the student's efforts. Open
to students from ages 5-16 within the Zambales community, the program aims
to awaken and develop the creative potential within each child, thus
facilitating self-esteem and confidence. The program seeks Zambales
talents who will undoubtedly emerge, fostering their gifts in an
atmosphere balanced by light-hearted fun, serious learning, and
cooperative teamwork. It is only a matter of time before Zambales can be
proud of its own resource of artists and own orchestra.
Informances
and Workshops
Together
with its Resident Artists, CASA San MIguel has created a series of
Interactive lectures aimed at developing an understanding, among the
youth, of the basic principles of art-and music-making. Designed to be
informal and informative, informances are easily mountable in a classroom
or auditorium, and can be reformatted for other sectors of the
community.
Submitted
by:
Mrs. Ceres C. Busa
Alusiis, San Narciso, Zambales
ZambalesForum (ZF) member
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