Pinoy Team Brought Home a Delphic Gold and Silver Medal

I was so happy upon hearing this news from my former Theater Director EV Espiritu who also joined the international event and bragged their puppet shadow play. I was one of his former subordinate in Tropang-Paltok back in College. I so regret though that I wasn't able to participate with them for this one-of-a kind event. Now it burns my heart to - once again, fine-tune my body and practice my Mime-acting skills, so that on the 4th Delphic games, I could join the competition and represent the artistic side of mimist from Philippines, honed in the City of Baguio.

Extracted news from NowPublic.com by Art Tibaldo

Jeju, Korea - It is far real from that of a typical *Kiangan joke. An Ifugao woodcarver won over a dozen of international artists who joined the III Delphic Games 2009 in Jeju - Sculpture category. Ernesto Dul-ang, a semi retired artisan who has spent time working for an American Base in Baguio City and has done great works for the Baguio Mountain Provinces Museum grabbed the gold medal besting global competitors from Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, India, Germany and South Africa.

Following the overall theme “Tuning into Nature”, Former Baguio student and now a Manila based artist Leo Agtuca got the Silver medal in the Graphic Story Telling category edged by a certain Won-kyo Jueng of Korea who bagged the gold. Agtuca was pitted against artists from Norway, Mongolia and Korea among others.

With collaborations and consultations among the Filipino participants, Dul-ang carved a cedar timber and formed a human figure pouring water from an earthen jar into a base of mixed subjects while Agtuca creatively depicted a dreaming child in a bird's nest in paper then enhanced using a computer in the final work.

RP’s gold and silver medals made it to third place in overall standing during the recent Delphic games that is comprised of 460 delegates from fifty four countries with Korea bagging six gold medals, eight silvers and six bronze followed by Mongolia’s five gold medals. A Lira medal was also given to each of the nine RP participants for their creative rendition of a shadow play that was based on Filipino folklore and myths.

As the most senior among the RP contingent, Dul-ang spent every moment understanding the way of life in Korea maximizing every free time to look into the plight of Filipinos working and living in this Asian country. His first time to travel by plane and leave Philippine shores, Dul-ang found Jeju island of South Korea as a fitting destination for artists and craftsmen as noted by this writer when he interacted with many of the Delphic delegates.

Dul-ang is not well known locally but his totem pole portraying American presidents and notable personalities like Gen. Douglas McArthur gained prominence among workers of former US base Camp John Hay during the occupancy period of American Air Forces in the Philippines. Dul-ang’s work of icons and Igorot figures can also be seen at the Baguio Mountain Provinces Museum.

The RP team led by International Delphic Council President Prof. Divina Bautista are composed of; Edgardo Viray Espiritu, Claudia Wayway, Norma Lealey, Rishab Tipon, Nida Gabriel for the Shadow Play, Mila Lopez for Drawing, Ernesto Dul-ang for Sculpture, Rafael Kapuno for Mime Improvisation, Ruel Bimuyag for Percussion, Alexander Tumapang for Traditional Double Reed Woodwind Instruments and Art Tibaldo for Documentary Production. Representatives of Mayor Nestor Alvarez of the Science City of Munos also teamed up with the Baguio based artists and they also brought home a Lira medal each for their role in the Shadow Play.

The RP delegates were also joined by Delphic Philippines Secretary General Liza Ilagan, Businesswoman and Delphic Philippines Council member Narda Capuyan, DOT Director Purificacion Molintas and educator Dr. Reinaldo Bautista Sr.

For about 1,000 years from the 6th century BC to AD 394, the Delphic Games was a festival of culture and arts in ancient Greece and reborn after 1,600 years as an international festival of arts and culture with Russia hosting the 2000 games, Malaysia in 2004 and Jeju City in 2009 as a result of the IDC General Meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Check out the informational video in youtube about the Delphic Games from the International Delphic Council (IDC).