“CCP’s Pasinaya highlights the unique artistic traditions of the country’s regions, ensuring that local culture remains a living, maturing force”
We doff our hat to the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the nation’s premier destination for arts and culture, dedicated to preserving, developing, and promoting Filipino artistic excellence, for spearheading the celebration this weekend of the National Arts Month.
Marking National Arts Month on Feb 7-8 in highly multilingual and multi-ethnic nation of 117 million people is crucial for fostering national identity, preserving diverse cultural heritage, and promoting social change through artistic expression.
It unites the population – over 175 distinct ethnolinguistic groups and languages, driven by its archipelagic geography and diverse colonial history – by showcasing regional talents and shared stories, strengthening social cohesion.
The milestone 2026 Pasinaya Open House Festival, themed “Paglikha sa Kinabukasan,” will be held across multiple venues, primarily at the CCP Complex, Circuit Makati, Aliw Theater, Rizal park Luneta and the Metropolitan Theater, with regional expansions to Visayas and Mindanao.
Not the least, we commend GUMIL Filipinas, the 57-year-old close-knit association of Ilokano writers here and abroad, and its chapter in the national capital region, which marks its 60th milestone next December, for participating in this multi-arts festival.
GUMIL members will provide a coup d’œil into the culture of the Ilokanos, who make up nearly 13 percent of the country’s population, where they will showcase oral traditions mixed with contemporary stories and music.
We shout approval to Manong Diego Band for their pieces decked with satire and allusion – Mighty Rasing (vocals/guitar from Isabela); Joker Maranion (vocals/guitar, Cagayan); Rene Boy Abiva (drums, Nueva Ecija); and GF President Ariel Sotelo Tabag (bass, Cagayan).
We also congratulate Benn Cabacungan (Ilocos Norte) who will perform dallot, the improvised chanted poetry – believed culturally picked up from the terms daniw (poem) and pallot (cockfight) – a blend of storytelling, wit, advice, and negotiation, often delivered with a serious tone in the beginning and turning humorous later.
We give our hand as well to Anna Lisa Gaspar (Ilocos Norte) who will have a “dramatic reading” of Angalo and Aran, the central figures of the creation mythology of the Ilokanos in the Philippines, often referred to as the “Adam and Eve” of the Ilocos region, depicted as giant, creator beings who shaped the land, sea, and sky before humans inhabited the earth.
The participation of GUMIL, led by its president Tabag and GUMIL Metro Manila President Faye Flores-Melegrito, book translator from Caoayan, Ilocos Sur, endorses GUMIL’s primary mission to promote, enrich, and preserve Ilokano literature and culture.
The GUMIL participants will showcase theirs at the Pagtatanghal part of Pasinaya on Feb 8 at the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez parking lot of the bayside CCPComplex.
Their participation also underlines GUMIL’s vision which involves empowering Ilokano writers to develop their craft, document their heritage, and contribute to national and international literary landscapes.
CCP Pasinaya, the country’s flagship multi-arts festival provokes a deeper appreciation for Philippine arts and culture in the younger generation as it travels to Tagum City in Davao del Norte, Iloilo City, and, for the first time, to Roxas City, Capiz, underscores the significance of engaging Filipinos – especially the youth – in shaping the future of the country’s creative landscape.
By bringing the festival closer to communities nationwide, the CCP says it hopes to encourage broader participation and inspire future generations of artists and audiences to sustain and elevate Philippine arts and culture.
“CCP Pasinaya seeks to go beyond presenting art – it aims to foster a culture of active art making where Filipinos, especially the youth, are not just spectators but co-creators in our creative landscape,” CCP Artistic Director and Pasinaya Festival Director Dennis Marasigan said in a statement.
Over the years, the festival has expanded into a dynamic hub for arts appreciation, education, and creative collaboration. It embraces a “workshop-all-you-can, watch-all-you-can, and pay-what-you-can” approach, providing audiences with what CCP calls flexible ways to participate, learn, and immerse themselves in the arts.
This Pasinaya is significant for the Philippines since it highlights the unique artistic traditions of various regions, ensuring that local culture remains a living, maturing force; acts as a platform for diverse forms of Filipino art – visual arts, music, dance, theater, literature, and cinema – that reflect the country’s multi-ethnic background.
The initiative, set by Presidential Proclamation 683 in 1991, provides opportunities for artists to showcase their work, boosting their livelihoods and promoting local talent.
There is literary muscle here in that art serves, in the words of Sen. Loren Legarda, as a “soft power” to connect the Philippines with the global community, sharing its rich narrative and ingenuity, encourages innovation and creative expressions among all generations and strengthens social ties and fosters a sense of shared humanity and collective aspiration.
