Ateneo Library of Women's Writings Opens “Daisy H. Avellana: Portrait of the Artist as Filipino”
Last February 21, 2018, the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies hosted the centenary exhibit opening of one of the country's unsung artists, Daisy Hontiveros Avellana. Entitled “Daisy H. Avellana: Portrait of the Artist as Filipino,” the event was held as part of a series of talks for Ateneo's Talakayan Alay Sa Bayan. This was just three years later than her husband’s own centenary exhibit, “Lamberto Avellana @ 100: The Artist as Atenean.”
Daisy Hontiveros Avellana was born in Capiz, Aklan and was immersed in drama and theater since her childhood. She would watch Spanish zarzuelas and Italian operas with her parents. She also displayed a talent for writing—at the age of 17, the Free Press selected a short story she authored as the year’s best. She later used this skill to bring drama to the radio, providing a hefty repertoire of both local and foreign plays for radio stations such as KZFM, KZRH, and DZPI. Eventually, she adapted National Artist Nick Joaquin’s A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino for theater.
The program began with Dr. Nikki Carsi-Cruz’s fiery talk, “Her Work, Our Heritage.” Carsi-Cruz set the room ablaze with passionate criticism of how Daisy's efforts as an artist have been reduced to merely playing the role of Candida in Joaquin's script. She lambasted the injustice that was given to Daisy’s recognition, projecting a screenshot of a shoddily edited Wikipedia article of A Portrait of the Artist As Filipino, with no mention at all of Daisy's contribution to its development other than portraying Candida. Carsi-Cruz emphasized that it was Daisy who rediscovered Joaquin’s work in a 1952 issue of Women’s Weekly Magazine, re-stirring interest in the work through adapting it to multiple performance media. One such adaptation is the recent movie musical Ang Larawan, shown during the 2017 Metro Manila Film Festival. Daisy's determination in reviving the work became a stepping stone for Philippine theater to achieve wider recognition within the country.
Carsi-Cruz continued her talk by expounding on Daisy's other achievements. After Daisy's thespian exploits while studying in the University of the Philippines Diliman and the University of Santo Tomas, she strived to establish a National Theater in the Philippines with her husband. In 1939, this was realized through the founding of the Barangay Theater Guild (BTG), a group of theater enthusiasts who partook in the couple's dream. The guild's 1955 staging of The Portrait of the Artist as Filipino in the outdoor garden of Intramuros gained unexpected popularity. The performance had 300 shows in different venues (schools included) and used different scripts to adapt to the audience. It became the longest running stage play in Philippine theater history.
Daisy, however, was not simply riding on Nick Joaquin’s fame as a writer. It was through Daisy’s own scriptwriting that The Portrait achieved its commercial fame. Carsi-Cruz's talk established how the event was aligned with one of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals: gender equality. Preserving heritage should ensure that Filipinos from all walks of life have their artistry and contributions duly represented, women included.
The second part of the program consisted of a narration of Daisy’s struggles in achieving her dreams in the form of a dramatic reading of “The First Act” from Daisy’s autobiography. This was read by Daisy’s own daughter, Ivi Avellana Cosio. Cosio recounts her mother's toil, joy, and sorrow during the year 1938, when she began the task of establishing a National Theater in the country. With only fifty members in the BTG, turning this dream into a reality was not without difficulty. Early productions had relatives of group members comprise a large majority of the audience. Daisy witnessed doubt spread among the BTG members with regards to the feasibility of their shared dream. She strengthened the group's resolve with a few meaningful words: “We believe in the Filipino artistic heritage—that it is in the Filipino people to respond to and love the grandeur, the humanity, and the magic power of theater.”
In the same year, she also became an expectant mother. This gave her hope for the future of both the theater and her family. However, this hope was short-lived as her first child, Marijo, died of bronchopneumonia less than a year since her birth.
To conclude the event, soprano Pia Regina Casing of the Ateneo de Manila College Glee Club and pianist Jonathan A. Coo performed a rendition of Levi Celerio's "Sa Ugoy ng Duyan," whose melody was taken from Lucio San Pedro’s “Suite Pastorale.” Casing captivated the audience with her interpretation of the lullaby Daisy sang to Marijo while she was still alive. The song begins with a wistful evocation of yearning for one’s mother, ending with a metaphor for the piercing anguish of Marijo’s passing.
The exhibit is now open in Pardo de Tavera and ALIWW sections of the Old Rizal Library Building, in hopes that the artistic heritage of the Filipino people lives on fully, with proper recognition of the stories and achievements often forgotten. Showcasing Daisy's contributions in radio, film, and theater, the exhibit hopes to show a more complete portrait of the artist not just as Filipino, but as Filipina as well.
SOURCE:
Avellana, Daisy Hontiveros. The drama of it : a life on film and theater. Anvil Pub.,
2009. "Commemorative stamp salutes Lamberto Avellana on his birth centenary –
a photo essay." Ateneo de Manila University. October 2, 2015. Accessed
February 28, 2018. http://www.ateneo.edu/interdisciplinarystudies/news/commem
orative-stamp-salutes-lamberto-avellana-his-birth-centenary.
Rappler.com. "Daisy Hontiveros-Avellana dies at 96." Rappler. May 13, 2013. Accessed February 28, 2018. https://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/28964-daisy-hontivero s-avellana-96.
National Commission for Culture and the Arts. "Daisy H. Avellana." National Commission for Culture and the Arts. June 3, 2013. Accessed February 28, 2018. http://ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/culture-profile/national-artists-of-the-philippines/daisy-h-avellana/.
Photos from the Ateneo Library of Women's Writings, copyright 2018