A Night With Horacio (Part 2 of 4)
I watched Amigo en el Señor on March 27, 2016. At first, I second-guessed attending. I had a lot to do for my classes and was tired from the whole day. However, as soon as the concert began all my apprehensions were gone. It was a night that reminded me of how much Father Horacio de la Costa influenced the Ateneo community and left a mark on Filipino culture and society. The concert presented the audience with a well-rounded representation of de la Costa as priest, historian, political commentator, poet, and friend. It was a modest presentation fit for a man averse to pretension, a man who was authentic throughout his life.
When the lights dimmed I was expecting someone to introduce the concert, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that it began with the Jesuits who were circling the audience moments ago walking up to the stage to sing. When I heard Jesuits were going to sing at the concert, I imagined older priests who could pass off as titos and grandmas. Instead, the Jesuits looked like they were in their late 20s or early 30s. These were young priests. It acted as a reminder to the audience that de la Costa was once this young. He was not always a heralded figure. He was not just the embodiment of a Renaissance man. He was someone who had friends and family. He was a man who joked around and underwent struggle. He was once a student, figuring out his life.
After the opening performance, a short video played. In this video, people who knew de la Costa spoke about who he was during his lifetime. Each person interviewed talked about him in a positive lights. The video ended with a photo of a young de la Costa speaking at the podium. His words were suddenly being spoken aloud and an actor who bore a faint resemblance to de la Costa stood by the mic appeared. He introduced himself as Horacio de la Costa. I admit I was a bit jolted by this; however, as the concert went on I realized this was done to humanize de la Costa, to concretize his presence and make him seem more like an actual human being. It showed the audience that although de la Costa is no longer with us physically, his presence and influences endures. He is as much a figure of the present as he is of the past. His words are as relevant in the present as they are in the past. One example of this was how de la Costa’s political commentary was used in light of the current presidential campaign. His words provided an enlightening perspective on each of the presidential candidates and what they stand for.
Throughout the performance, certain audience members (who were obviously directed before the Amigo el en Señor concert) stood up and asked de la Costa questions that concerned them. At first I thought this was gimmicky, but the variety of people who asked—from a PolSci student to a fifth grade student—reminded me that de la Costa wrote enough to address the concerns of a sundry of people. He was not a solipsistic scholar who wrote what merely concerned him, but about the world and the people around him. He was humanistic in the sense that he cared about a wide array of topics that concerned numerous sectors of society. This device of using the audience also showcased de la Costa’s approachability and openness.
Every segment of the concert brought out a different facet of de la Costa’s personality. Sibol’s rendering of “Jewels of the Pauper” showcased his talent as a wordsmith. The reading of his historical account of the Spanish era brought out the fervent and passionate historian in him. The reading of a letter of farewell illuminated him as a friend. The performances in Amigo en el Senor made de la Costa come off, not just as a dedicated scholar, but as someone dedicated to the flourishing of others. He was someone who anyone could talk to without fear of being reprimanded. He lived as as someone who did not discriminate, as someone who was human and loved humanity and all its aspects—art, history, music, politics, charity, religion. They, even we, the audience, were not honoring a man who could never be touched, but a human being who exemplified that being human is not a detriment to achieving greatness, rather it is a necessary part of it.
“He wrote very often about the “poetic mind,” which refers to an ethical social vision. Given the Philippines’ background of being a collectivist culture, knowing how to be a part of the community ethically was indeed a very relevant topic. In a collectivist culture, one is very much concerned with the value of all the people in his/her community, this value weighing heavily enough to warrant deep reflection and examination. In his poetic works, he focuses on painting a picture that show that people are part of an organism that have vitality and a mystery that escapes the measurements that science provides. In many of his works he uses everyday situations and people to provide perspective to the different parts of Filipino society and culture. “
- Enzo Mendoza
“Fr. De La Costa’s works could be used as a weapon against oppression to people who use their power in an abusive way.”
- Angelo Posadas
“Father Dela Costa mentions in his essay, Jewels of the Pauper, that we as a people are very poor except for two things, our music and our religion. Perhaps this is why we Filipinos take great pride when we say that the Kundiman is Filipino music.”
- James Ang
“Ateneo celebrated the integrity, success and life of the man who has always been at the forefront of the Humanities in the Ateneo… Father DLC had already stated that music is a secret to our survival as a people, for it is through music wherein we become a more resilient people. ..we hold on to music when we are in need of something to hold on to, and faith solidifies our strength to go on with the battle that we are in every day. Music has always been part of our life, and as an Atenean, Father de la Costa will forever be part of mine.”
- Gabe Querubin
“Of the many things about Philippine Culture that Fr. Horacio de la Costa S.J. has written about, perhaps one of the more interesting topics is his take on the Kundiman. Something quintessentially identified as Filipino music, but is arguably not so much local in origin. It is an appropriation of Spanish classical music that has since evolved into something distinctly different that it cannot be called anything else but Filipino. After all, he does point out that our national culture developed because it opened itself to influence from other cultures and incorporated these into its own autochthonous resources. These foreign influences did not stay intact, as they too were influenced by our culture in the same way that they have influenced ours.”
- Pomz Campos