The Legacy of Betis - Recently Updated Pages

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ruston — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:38:53 CDT

All Souls’ Day still not over for Betis folk
By Ian Ocampo Flora
Thursday, November 08, 2007

GUAGUA -- While most people have stashed away the left over candles and are now focused on the upcoming Yuletide season, Betis folk still troop to the public cemetery here in what could be the country’s longest commemoration of the departed.

Though the Catholic Liturgical calendar places the commemoration of the dead on November 2 (with most people trooping to the cemeteries on November 1 instead), in Betis the commemoration starts from November 1 and stretches until November 9.

Marites Jingco, 56, a resident of San Juan Nepomuceno, said the tradition of commemorating the day of the dead was already an old practice that have been handed to them by their forebears.

“We go to the cemetery during the afternoon but during November 1 and 2, we usually stay from morning till late. The next days we only visit for a few hours” Jingco said as she places a “recycled” candle from Wednesday’s visit.

According to Fe Pineda, secretary of Saint James Parish here, the tradition of celebrating the All Souls’ Day for nine days originated from Catholic practice of a nine day novena. The novena focused on prayers offered to the dead for nine consecutive days, culminating on the 10th day which marks the end of the novena and the religious celebration.

“The usual practice here is we offer mass in the cemetery for the dead for nine days. It has become a personal devotion of the people here to attend and complete the nine day novena.),” Pineda said, adding that the highlight of the commemoration is usually during the first two days and on the 10th day when the mass is held in the morning.

Jingco, on the other hand, said there are suggestions to make the tradition into some sort of tourist attraction. “There are those who are suggesting to make it into a tourist attraction, but I believe that would take away the importance of the tradition. The dead should not be used to make money. Besides, there are other things that we could show here in Betis,” she added.

Betis is famous for its woodcraft industry, its old Augustinian Church and a throng of ancestral houses. The tradition of All Souls’ Day commemoration in Betis will end on Saturday.

Home

ruston — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:54:55 CDT

Inside you can see things that could fire your imagination and touch your senses.
This site will serve as boat that will take you to the many intersections
of facts and riverbank of tales about this town.
Every page is an experience.
Malaus ko pu kening lugar a awsan ming
"Modern-Day Athens of the World"!
Welcome to the fascinating world of BETIS!

Wilfredo Tadeo Layug

ruston — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:25:15 CDT

Willy Layug: His Life and Art With Betis Galleria

Carving on the classical foundations of Betis’ wood carving tradition; In the vanishing culture of this town, wood sculptor Willy Layug has carved his own niche as the premier artist of the craft in the small town of Betis, Pampanga for more than 30 years. Within his shop, Betis Galleria, his talent and job as a “escultor” (wood carver/sculptor) paved the way to new trends and dynamic style in religious icon-making and retablo-building in Betis.

His works grace magnificent churches here in the Philippines and in other foreign countries. Acknowledged by National Artist Napoleon Abueva as “the number one in the country in the arena of ecclesiastical art”, his daunting style in realism of representing religious icons using wood material, is a new feat that has never been done by any “mandukit” born in Betis. In fact, Layug continues to break the barriers of the town’s wood carving traditional processes by introducing new techniques which he learned from his researches in Europe specifically in Calle Betis, Seville, Spain.

Wilfredo Tadeo Layug in real-life or “Willy” as he is popularly called in Betis was born on December 05, 1959. He was a son of a “matenacan dadaras”, a boat maker. The “matenacan dadaras” in this town were highly revered because they were believed to be the predecessors of the builders of the galleons during the Spanish Colonial Period. Thus, Layug’s inclination to woodcarving founds its roots in this, his father’s vocation.

The proximity to the river was advantageous for his family’s livelihood and for his hobby. Instead of playing with kids of his age, at 8 years old he started sculpturing from clay mud along the banks of the Betis River. This hobby became his life-long passion which led him to work as a pulsayser (a pattern-maker and a one that draws the isometric view of an icon or a furniture) of a small talyer (workshop house) in the neighborhood.

Occasional sentiments from Mr. Layug included comments that his childhood was deprived because he was already working for his family’s daily sustenance at a very young age of his life. He took pride as he narrated this stage of his life story.

His drawing skill was exceptional which allowed him to do full renderings of the icons and furniture rather than creating outlines as guides for wood carvers. Copying from estampitas and catalogues, his skill in visual representation was developed dramatically and designing and drawing became part of his everyday routine. His high school years as a scholar of the former Mayor of Guagua, Baby Eusoof and as a working student under the apprenticeship of Apung Juan Castro, a notable master sculptor at that time, and a certain Pedro Datu was the period when he honed his great talent in both drawing and sculpting.

As an apprentice, he started out making reproductions of religious images with the usual/conventional iconoclastic representations—St. Michael defeating satan; The Holy Family; The Crucified Christ, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Peter and St. Paul and the like. It was during this time too, the 70’s, that reproductions of rebultos and malasantos were in-demand. He started with small pieces and eventually made copies of his own memories from catalogues and pulsays. His first carved figure was an image of St. Francis de Assisi.

According to Willy Layug, one of the most inspiring things that pushed him to pursue a career in sculpture was when he received a World History of Art book given by his uncle Gregorio Culala. The book displayed magnificent works of Greek and Roman sculptures and works of Michelangelo and Bernini. He wanted to imitate these masters. He envisioned in his mind that he will get to see these classical pieces in the future. And he knew that morphing a huge tree trunk to a divine figure could take him there. This affirmed his decision to become a sculptor.

Because of the noticeable talent, Baby Eusoof took the 14 year old Layug to the then solicitor general and former Pampanga Governor Estelito Mendoza and requested for a scholarship grant for a college degree in either Fine Arts or Architecture. Without hesitation, Mendoza acted on the request and immediately looked for a school that will best fit the raw talent of Layug. At that time, Layug could not decide what specific major he would choose and what specific University he wanted to attend. He was also in a dilemma of making a choice between attending college and working because he was the bread winner of his family.

Mendoza suggested the University of Sto.Tomas where Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Fine Arts was offered as a course that can perfectly develop Layug’s talent and drawing skill, technically. The National University in Manila and the University of the Philippines were other alternative choices.

In 1978, Willy went to the University of Sto.Tomas where he took up Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Fine Arts major in Painting as a scholar of Solicitor General Estelito Mendoza. He studied and worked at the same time—to acquire knowledge for his art and to earn for his family.
Although his expertise was in wood sculpture, his mastery of the brush garnered him several awards. He got the third prize in 1982 in an On-The-Spot Painting contest of the City Gallery. In the same year, he got the first prize in the 1982 Annual U.S.T. On-The-Spot Painting Contest . Outside of his own school, he became a semi-finalist to the 1981 U.P. Veterinary Medicine On-The-Spot Painting Contest and a Finalist to the 1982 Blessed Lorenzo Ruiz Martyr Painting Contest.

But despite of these successes in school, the untimely death of Layug’s mother, Rita Tadeo Layug in 1981 shattered him for a time. Willy, having a very close relationship with his mother, felt that he just lost the prime mover of his dreams and ambition. He wanted to quit the degree in UST and become a full time sculptor. But due to some encouragements and inspirations from his peers and friends in college, he went back to school to finish his course.

As part of the restoration of the Fort Santiago in 1981 as proposed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos P. Romulo, Willy Layug was commissioned by Director Esperanza Gatbonton for the simulation of the damaged relief sculpture of Matamoros (St.James’ Slaying the Moors) on the pediment of Gate of Intramuros. Based from the damaged original bas relief, Layug reworked the piece in molave wood. He took apprentices from Paete, Laguna and completed the whole project in 3 months. This is one of the major works of Layug that gave him a good standing and high esteem.

This whole project was spearheaded by Ms.Imelda Marcos, the Minister of Human Settlements.

Career Path

Willy Layug finished his thesis in UST and completed his academic requirements but never
attended his graduation rites dated March 20, 1983 because it was the date of his marriage to his long time sweetheart, Florentina Canasa. He was also busy working, running errands for his family and getting commissioned jobs from clients. One of his major projects was from the late Tourism Minister Jose Aspiras, a project to do 4 carozas which was used in the festival in Agoo La Union.
His projects under Aspiras never ended with these 4 carozas.Layug did a couple of them and was also the one who repaired the baldachino of Our Lady of Charity in Agoo.

After graduation, life as a family man became difficult for Willy Layug. Like many other artists, he experienced a slow-paced career rise because he could hardly get big projects. He had contracts from clients but the profit was only enough to sustain a family and capital for projects.

Then came the People Power Revolution in 1986. There came a time when, with his wife, Florentina, he maintained a swamp cabbage (kangkong) at their backyard as part of their daily sustenance for food. Having two cans of sardines on weekends as the main meal for lunch and dinner was a taste of luxury for the whole family during those harsh times.

Layug considered this period as a turning point in his life. He had his own family to sustain but projects were very elusive. He had a lot family problems especially the ailing condition of his wife. In 1989, through some”important” people, he consulted Condrado Escudero, owner of Villa Escudero about referrals. He was given a gallery at Casa Manila and through this, he was able to connect to priests and bishops because of exposure. This connection led him to meet Bishop Soc Villegas, then the secretary of Jaime Cardinal Sin. Bishop Soc Villegas introduced him to Jaime Cardinal Sin for referral to some potential liturgical projects.

Given the fact that Layug was in a state of financial straits and had no budget to fund a project, Cardinal Sin offered him P100,000 as an investment which was given by Caritas Manila. Out of the the P100,000 offer, Layug only received 30,000 pesos. This marked a new beginning for Willy.
In 1991, he was able to acquire a house in Sitio, a small geo-community between Barrio Sta.Ursula and San Agustin in Betis.

Because of his increasing financial resources, he bought a lot which he used as a workshop for his growing business. It was in this workshop that he built a temporary shelter for his family. This was also the time when he registered Betis Galleria as the official name of his business.

His big break came in 1987 when he was commissioned to do the lecterns and baldacchino of the Sto. Domingo Church along Quezon Avenue in Quezon City. He pioneered the making of detachable relief icons which he applied on this project.

His investments continued to grow. He had a minimum of 2 churches to work on per year which were basically retablo-making and installations. From the initial P30,000 budget, Willy Layug started earning millions from works on churches and on private referrals. As his career ascended, he hired more workers and craftsmen who joined his Betis Galleria. From the earnings obtained from a certain commissioned work which was the Sto. Nino de Tondo, he bought his own car, a Toyota Tamaraw FX, which he used as for his business transactions with clients. That was 1994.

In 1997, he met the Most Rev. Oscar Cruz D.D., Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan and established a long time friendship. It was during this period when Willy Layug focused on retablo-making and his name became popular in the ecclesiastical art world. He started receiving offers to do parochial churches and even cathedrals. To date, Layug has done major retablos of 3 of the main cathedrals in the Philippines namely: The Cathedral of St.Joseph in Nueva Ecija; the St.John Cathedral in Lingayen-Dagupan; San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod and the Cathedral of the Immaculate Concepcion in Urdaneta, Pangasinan (which to this day is still a work-in-progress).

Having a series of commissioned jobs, Layug was never really satisfied with the outcome of his sculptures. As a prolific artist with a formal background in Fine Arts, he felt that there was something missing in his works. He wanted to learn new styles and techniques in sculpture. He wanted to deviate from the traditional norms of local carving.

In 1999, armed with enough funds he decided to go to Europe with his wife to do some research.
In his desire to gain more knowledge of Europe artistry, he visited places such as Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria and Poland. He tried to analyze the different styles specifically the one applied in retablos inside European churches. He found out that the grotesque style in Germany was quite different from the style seen in Rome. The idea of modification was also prevalent in these places.

Upon his return to the Philippines, he brought home the “realism” influences and “contrapposto” stance (Italian term for human figure sculpture with a counterpoise) of Europe. His sculpture began to transform from the orthodox stiffness to a dynamic and “plastic style”. With a burning passion for new knowledge and learning, he went back to Europe in 2003. But before he did another European tour, Willy Layug, already recognized for his magnificent contributions in the field of ecclesiastical art, was awarded by the provincial government of Pampanga as the “2002 Most Outstanding Kapampangan Award in Ecclesiastical Art (MOKA)”. Willly Layug, the once 8-year old boy who made clay sculptures along the Betis River living his dream

Bayuntau (A New Person)

Bayuntau in Capampangan simply refers to a male adolescent who just came from the stage of puberty ( bayu” means new while “tau” means a person.). Willy Layug was now a bayuntau- truly a new person with a new concept,technique and style for his art—

With his continued research and through Instituto de Cervantes, Layug met Mr. Joey Panlilio, the Museum Curator of De La Salle-Dasmariñas. Mr. Panlilio referred him to Director of Instituto,Rafael Galban one of his important contacts: a Spanish Sculptor named Jose Antonio Navarro Arteaga who manages a talyeres in Calle Betis, Seville Spain.

Will Layug excitedly accepted the referral because the place where Arteaga was located was very much connected to his roots—Calle Betis. Aided by some research, he discovered that the town of Betis where Layug was born took its roots from this place. It was noted that according to Antonio Pigafetta, biographer of Ferdinand Magellan, their ships passed along the Betis River in Sevilla, a part of Andalusia a year before they discovered the Philippines in 1521.

On March 18, 2007, he went to Seville in Spain and spent the whole month as an apprentice under Maestro Arteaga. Arteaga,a sculptor of liturgical pieces especially religious icons (escultor de imageneres). He was taught age-old techniques but were basically new to Layug—clay modeling. This clay modeling was part of the process Arteaga showed in doing a piece of sculpture. In his hometown, Betis the making of sculptures started with the chunk of wood itself in a subtractive method, Layug discovered that this clay-modeling technique was far more efficient because it served as guide to model the actual sculptured piece, thus minimizing errors.

The workshop had 2 sessions—a week of sculpture and of painting which were divided into day and night schedules, respectively. What fascinated Layug was the process used for “encarna”(painting an icon). Painting the sculptures was a tedious effort and required a lengthy procedure. The materials used were cola de kunejo, stucco, ducco and processed by estofado (quilting) and dorado (gilding). Painting a sculpture was a 7-way treatment. Au contraire, a Betis encarnador immediately placed a sanding sealer or muniegu fa before the final coating, Willy Layug called Arteaga’s technique: Antigong Tekniko where several layers of paint were put on the surface of an icon and then rubbed with abrasives to make it smooth as silk. This was basically a meticulous process of concealing the pores of the wood inside preventing any breakage and leaks before an icon underwent estofado and durado It made the finished sculpture durable. In the gilding process, real gold leaf were applied. Gold leaf was not readily available in the Philippines so Layug bought and brought the gold leaf to the Philippines.

Willy Layug applied these techniques on some of his works which resulted in additional expenses. In a community of mass-reproductions of furniture, the “estofado” technique was an expensive treatment thus limiting his clientele to those who could afford.
But Willy Layug’s goal was not to increase his profit. What matteded to him was personal growth and satisfaction. Layug,the artist longed for a dynamic style not limited to religious/liturgical images but to do sculptures of life that reflected everyday reality.

The Betis Galleria

“What [Layug] learned from Seville is really the height of ecclesiastical art. It is really something to have here around. I hope our seminarians will come here and revive their interest in good art in our churches,” according to Napoleon Abueva.,the highly-revered national artist as he gazed through the icons created by Willy Layug.
(By Tonette Orejas, Philipppine Daily Inquirer, March 18,2008)

March 16 this year, Willy Layug opened his newly-built showroom Betis Galleria along Gapan-Olongapo Road, Pampanga. The opening was attended by several prominent people of Pampanga including Betis furniture Tycoon, Myrna Bituin of Betis Crafts, Andy Alviz of Artista Rita, Bishop Pablo S. David and his brother, Prof. Randy David and wife, Ms. Carina David, Archbishop Paciano Aniceto and Bishop Robert Mallari, Center for Kapampangan Studies; chairman Robby Tantingco and colleague Alex Maynardo, Prof. Corazon Hila of the UP College of Fine Arts Art Theory Department, and Governor Among Ed Panlilio. National Artist Napoleon Abueva graced the occasion by cutting the ribbon for the opening of the Galleria. Media coverage from Sunstar Pampanga, CLTV and ABS-CBN came to witness the unveiling of the showroom.

The Betis Galleria showroom was and is basically a showcase of the evolution of the artist’s works. There were mounted retablos and icons, applied with the “estofado” technique and some elements of baroque style.

According to Abueva, Layug is a master not only in sculpting but in painting, done in a very realistic way. Abueva added that Layug is number one in the country in the arena of ecclesiastical art. He had the eye for coloring, especially in the handling of gold and silver. (By Tonette Orejas, Philipppine Daily Inquirer, March 18,2008).

Layug had only known Napoleon Abueva last year when the two were on the same terra-cotta seminar in Dumaguete. They met and exchanged views in art until Abueva decided to invite Layug to exhibit the latter’s work at the Yellow Door Gallery in Rockwell Center in Makati. Willy Layug is now preparing for this exhibit.

Influence of Abueva may be seen in new subjects that depict the modern ordinary life. Although Layug will never leave his common subjects on Catholic faith, he is now making studies in creating everyday scenes that he planned to execute using the “estofado” technique.

Right now, his “estofado” technique can be seen in several 2-dimensional paintings done recently. Mostly seen in portraits, after covering the entire panel with gold leafs, pigments were applied to conceal it. When the pigment and oil paints dry, Layug used the gold underneath as highlights of the subjects in the pictorial field. This was done by scratching the surface—a technique use during the Middle Ages especially on the Byzantine Icons.

Willy Layug’s living legacy to the Betis people seen through his works, deviates from the conventions he grew up with: timber is transformed into a divine figure deified through faith and belief- truly, a feat to be proud of.

The Retablos of the 8 Chapels of Betis

ruston — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 04:00:45 CDT

Outstanding Betisenos

ruston — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:50:01 CDT

4 named most outstanding Betisenos
By Ian Ocampo Flora
Sunstar Pampanga, Sunday, December 30, 2007

GUAGUA -- Four individuals who hail from the district area of Betis have recently been recognized in a ceremony here that highlighted their achievements in their respective fields.

The Betis Fiesta Committee, through the Circulo Betisenos, has awarded the Most Outstanding Betiseno Awards to four distinct individuals: Roberto Huang, Margarita Songco, Bishop Eduardo Guiao, and Bishop Pablo David.

The awards aim to give due honor to outstanding sons and daughters of Betis.

The Circulo Betisenos is a brotherhood that envisions a community that cares and concerns itself with the welfare and progress of its citizens, which taps and unleashes its potentials and strengths towards economic, social, and moral upliftment and geared towards maximum professional achievement.

The awardees were chosen based on stringent criteria.

The four were honored at the Saint James Parish of Betis Friday with award plaques ingeniously carved by master artisan wood carvers.

Florentino Torres, Fiesta Committee president, said the event showcases to the people of the area the best role models and inspirations that they could emulate.

One of the awardees, Roberto Huang was former president of Coca Cola Bottlers Inc. (2003) before his current stint as president of San Miguel Beverages, Inc. and general manager of domestic operations of the brewery. "Boy," as he is fondly called, hails from San Juan Bautista Betis here.

Another notable awardee is Bishop Edgardo Guiao who is founder and president of Jesus Revival Church, Philippines. He comes from San Juan Betis. He also founded St. John Academy of Guagua. He is the current president of the Christian Minister's Fellowship of Guagua and co-founder of Jesus Saves Christian School. He is recognized as the first ordained bishop of Christian Minister's fellowship in the Philippines.

Margarita Songco is Neda-NDO assistant director general for four years (since November 2001). She worked for the Neda Agriculture Staff, National Planning and Policy Staff, Social Development Staff and the Trade, Industry and Utilities Staff for most of her professional career. She was also Assistant Director General for Investment Programming of the NDO and the Director of the Trade, Industry and Utilities Staff of Neda and Neda deputy director-general. Songco hails from San Miguel Betis.

Probably one of the most prolific of the four is Bishop Pablo David, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Fernando. He has been distinguished for standing up for certain social and political issues in the province. Bishop Ambo was appointed as Titular Bishop of Guardialfiera in May 2006 and was ordained Titular Bishop of Guardialfiera in July 2006. He is brother to media personality Randy David.

Torres said the four are just the beginning of the roster of prominent sons of Betis. He added that the years to come would see more names added to the growing list.

The Legend Called Juan Flores

ruston — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:18:23 CDT

Born on June 24, 1900, the highly-revered Juan Culala Flores single-handedly did something for his town that he had never imagined. That is re-living the material culture of Betis which is woodcarving when he was still alive. Re-living means taking back the old glory of Betis as if it was Greece and making it “grand as Rome” through the empires of mandukit he had taught. Exaggerated as it maybe, Flores indeed made a local version of the Renaissance in Europe through his effort of imparting his magnificent skills to the Betis natives, thus elevating the life of the community sunk within the flood of poverty after the post war period.

Maestro Apung Juan Flores could have just stayed in his town and remained a fisherman just like his father. But making sculptures through mud which he gets from the riverbank along the Betis River in Sta.Ursula became his life-long passion. He never wanted to collect fishes from the water. He wanted to be different.

At 18, he went to Manila where he worked as an apprentice to notable sculptors like Maximo Vicente, Isabelo Tampingco and Eulogio Garcia. Through this apprenticeship and at the same time accepting projects on a commission basis, he honed his skills and developed his own style. But unlike others who usually forgot about their roots after earning a fortune, Flores decided to go back to his native barrio which is Sta.Ursula in Betis. And things were never the same again. He was like an aging salmon who got back to the spawning ground to assure the continuity of the breed by producing new offsprings. So he taught a lot of disipulo (apprentice) which he even helped in starting up with their own talyeris.

“Eman rugu megkaymut. Basta atin ya sang pera king bulsa, isaup at isaup ne. Eman pin mikwalta uling keng ugali nang ayta (He never got rich because of his generosity. As long as he has something to take from his pocket, he always give it to the needy),” stated 52-year old Ating Isabelle as she presents to me the citations and certificates her father got during his prolific years.

He may never got rich. But Juan Flores amassed a great wealth of recognition which Mr. Rolly Flores, one of his nephew believes as the ultimate legacy of his grandfather. In 1972, Maestro won the Grand Prize in the Richard Nixon’s Bust Sculpture-Making Competition which he presented to the President himself at Washington D.C., U.S.A. He was also the designer of the Mansion of the First Couple located in Batac, Ilocos Norte in 1974. A year after, together with some of his apprentices, he made the whole renovation of the Malacañang Palace of the President. His distinctive awards include the “Panday Pira Awardee for Pioneering Category” in 1977 and “Most Distinguished Son of Pampanga” in 1982.

Juan Flores might never existed for the young generation of today. To some, he might just be a legend. But unlike any other legends that were told, Maestro Apung Juan Flores was real.

Victor Ramos and the Ceiling Paintings

ruston — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:06:19 CDT

The Unpainted Legacy of Victor Ramos

To be associated with a top caliber artist such as the famous painter Simon Flores active during the late 19th century would be a compliment. And to be rated as great and of the same level as Simon Flores would also be an honor. Almost every amateur artist these days might long for this kind of comparison. But to have the masterpieces you’ve created mistaken for a work by a Master such as Simon Flores, that is a another story. Neglecting the role (or contribution) that you had to a particular work of art is a totally disenfranchising thing that shouldn’t be forgotten.

This is the case of the painter Victor Ramos y Gozum (1922-1986) who repainted almost 80% of the ceiling and mural paintings in the interior of the Betis church which most contemporary writers mistook for Simon Flores originals. Victor Ramos, together with Daning Henson from San Fernando Pampanga and a certain Mr. Pangilinan reworked the ceiling paintings in the early 80’s, commissioned by the Betis Fiesta Committee under Tatang Emias Roque. It was a flagship project for the town which was then headed by the late former Guagua Mayor Atty. Manuel Santiago. Based on Macario Ligon-originals (Ligon was an uncle and teacher of Victor Ramos in painting), repainting was done due to the decaying panels infested by termites and to avoid a more devastating effect on other parts of the church’s ceiling. Photographs served as guides for the painters in the restoration process which simulated the original ones especially the trompe l’oeil (fool the eye) effect of the vaults, frames and arches. The original ones were painted in the pre-war years by Macario Ligon of Barrio San Agustin Betis which was headed by the last Spanish friar of Betis named Santiago Blanco. Victor Ramos never had a hard time repainting the ceiling in the late 70’s to early 80’s since he was also the apprentice of Macario Ligon when the latter started painting it in 1939. He was only in his teens then.

Victor Ramos nurtured his painting skill despite being born in an impoverished family in Betis. Working as an apprentice under his uncle Macario Ligon, he became so interested with ecclesiastical painting which became his specialization. He entered the School of Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines Diliman, and after a year, made his way to work with Maximo Vicente, a well-known sculptor, in the post-war period. He became an encarnador, one who paints the skin of rebultos, and had several side jobs along Mabini and Hidalgo Streets in Quiapo before he came back to Betis and married his long time sweet heart Ester.

His important works include “The Genesis and Apocalypse“. Betis Church Dome.1985., “The Four Evangelists”. Betis Church pendentives.1985., “St.John Baptizing Christ”. Betis Baptistry.1972., “The Four Evangelists”.Guagua Parish Church.Undated.,
“The Four Evangelist”. San Guillermo Church of Bacolor Pampanga., “Fourteen Stations of the Cross”. Obando Parish Church. Obando Bulacan.1982.

Museo Ning Betis

ruston — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:41:21 CDT

The idea of renovating and restoring the ground floor of the church’s refectory to convert it into a historical mini-museum was one of the major projects of the Betis Town Fiesta Committee 2007. The Committee which was spearheaded by comite de festejo president Florentino Torres saw the need of a specific place which will serve as a an exhibition room where the collections of Betis Church’s artifacts, important historical data, old photographs and memorabilia, antique valuable pieces of the old families of the town and other significant documents pertaining to the celebration of its annual fiestas and traditions in the past and of the present will be showcased. The goal is to ignite awareness, interest and sense of pride among the townspeople especially the new generation Betisenos. After several considerations and consensus among the committee’s member, it was decided that the refectory of the church will be converted into a museum.

The whole refectory which housed several precious art pieces of the church remained undeveloped for several years since its renovation in the early 20th century; after it was accidentally burned down in 1908. Since then, it has become a storage room for baptismal and wedding records of the church and it was where the valuable 17th century relief wood sculpture of “Matamoros” was hanged on one of the brick posts of the ground floor; the two “Sagarado Familia” oil paintings believed to have been painted by Simon Flores Y de la Rosa which are still found on the south-side of the wall at the second floor; the “Monstrance of Santiago de Galicia” and the few remaining mural paintings of the original ceiling painter of Betis, Macario Ligon Y Nulud. Today, through the support and generosity of the Betis people and the burning passion of the whole Committee of 2007 to relive the crowning glory of the past, the ground floor is now transformed into “Museo Ning Betis”.

The renovation of the ground floor took five months to complete. The addition of several interior designs and furniture were actually recycled from a pile of old wood and broken furniture stocked in the refectory’s ground floor. Instead of buying new materials, the committee made use of these debris, some were restored and some were converted into brackets of the wall lamps on every post, the base of the chandeliers, the doors of the façade of the museum’s entrance, the architrave of the arched windows and even a couple of utilitarian tables which are now located at the secretary’s office. The conceived ambience for the whole ground floor was to make it look like the interior of a bahay na bato house.

Today, the collections inside the museum comprised of “Matamoros”(17th Century relief sculpture), “San Jose Macaquera”(Attributed to the Sazon Family), 1800’s original icons of the Betis’ church retablo, a relief sculpture by Juan Flores Y Culala, “Salangsang Ning Ilog Betis” by Victor Ramos Y Gaza, “Madonna at Anac” by Willy Layug Y Tadeo and “Inventario de la Parroqia de Betis”
(an old notebook which gives account to the 1939-1957 inventory of Padre Santiago Blanco(1939) on the renovation of the church).

The consultants in the restoration procedure were Prof. Armando Burgos of the University of the Philippines Diliman and Prof.Regalado Trota Jose of University of the Philippines Diliman. Assistant to Prof. Burgos in the research and documentation process was Prof. Ruston Banal Jr, an alumnus of the University of the Philippines Diliman College of Fine Arts and a native of Betis. The consultant to the interior design was Ms. Imelda S, Torres, proprietress of FurnitureVille Inc.

The Holy Family

ruston — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:39:06 CDT

These two oil paintings are displayed near the window of the Betis Church refectory. They are believed to have been painted by Simon Flores in the late 19th Century, almost the same period when he painted the celebrated portrait of the Quiazons (Now in Metropolitan Museum of Manila under the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas Collections) of San Fernando Pampanga.

Although the claims are not yet proven as fact, some experts believe that they are not actually painted by Flores, but rather, they were done by the School of Simon Flores or an apprentice familiar with the Master’s style.

In addition, careful comparisons between the two paintings suggest that they were done by the same person. Although the painting on the right side which has an S.F.Y.R signature has subtle, more delicate and smoother brush strokes as compare with the painting on the left side which has a more rugged and “bravura” brush strokes, they were applied with the same technique and style. The difference in texture may have been a result of a restoration procedure done in the past to the painting on the left.

The two paintings has the same subject matter which is “The Holy Family”.

The Retablo

ruston — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:26:47 CDT

Philippine Daily Inquirer feature

ruston — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:04:18 CDT

‘Estofado,’ tedious painting, gilding process, comes of age
By Tonette Orejas
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:37:00 03/18/2008

BACOLOR, PAMPANGA – Estofado, a tedious painting and gilding process on wooden sculptures, has come of age in Pampanga. Sculptor-painter Wilfredo Tadeo Layug – born, reared and still based in the old woodcarving village of Betis in Guagua – has applied the technique locally, the high point of his apprenticeship under Jose Antonio Navarro Arteaga in Seville, Spain, since 2003.
Layug mounted icons, retablo (carved centerpiece of a church), altar pieces, relief sculptures and lecterns in his newest showroom. It is hailed as the first for estofado-styled ecclesiastical art in Pampanga. National Artist for Sculpture Napoleon Abueva not only opened the showroom. He lingered to enjoy Layug’s work.“He’s a master not only in sculpting but in painting. He’s done these in a very realistic way, very artistic. He’s number one in the country in the arena of ecclesiastical art. He really has the eye for coloring, especially in the handling of gold and silver,” Abueva told the Inquirer.
Estofado, according to Layug, requires a lot of patience and meticulousness because the wood is “covered by layers of paint that starts from putting a primer up to the gilding method.” Antigong tekniko (Antique technique) is his other term for this completely new trend in Betis. From afar, it gives the impression that an icon is wearing real clothes. The luxurious details of gold are actually the outcome of the careful gilding method.
Abueva said in applying the new style, Layug has departed from Betis’ traditional wood sculpting techniques. Only a few furniture companies, foremost of them the Betis Crafts, still use an old gilding method but not in the complicated way of the estofado, it was learned.
In the advent of commercial production, most household-based furniture makers have been carving pieces without putting finishing touches on them or by ending with the sanding process. “What [Layug] learned from Seville is really the height of ecclesiastical art. It is really something to have here around. I hope our seminarians will come here and revive their interest in good art in our churches,” Abueva said.
San Fernando (Pampanga) Archbishop Paciano Aniceto took Layug’s recent endeavor as “a sign that despite the negative situation that our country is in, ecclesiastical art in Pampanga is going to be more visually magnificent.”
The passion to explore, learn and improve the craft brought Layug to Joey Panlilio, museum curator of the De La Salle University-Dasmariñas, who, in turn, introduced the Betis artist to the Instituto de Cervantes for support and contacts with Spanish artists like Arteaga.

The Story of the Betis Church

ruston — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 11:32:11 CDT

The baroque-inspired Betis Church was built around 1660 and it was headed by Father Jose de la Cruz. The preliminary structure was made out of light materials which was composed mainly of wood and stucco. Fire broke out within the church several times due to these light materials so it was finally built with concrete materials in 1770.

In the last quarter of 19th century, Father Manuel Camañes dug an artesian well on the north-side of the church which served as a source of potable water not only for the Betis townsfolk, but to the other nearby towns as well. On the other hand, the present-day concrete fence with caryatids was built in the 2nd quarter of the 20th century.

In 1908, the rectory of the church was burned with fire and all the documents about baptism and other historical catalogues of the church turned into ashes.

Beautification of the interior part of the church was extensively done by the last Spanish priest named Father Santiago Blanco in 1939. The ceiling paintings were repainted by a native of San Agustin named Macario Ligon. His assistant named Victor Ramos, who was in his teen years then was also the one who restored these paintings in the 1970s.

During the Spanish-Colonial period, Betis is an independent town which has its own autonomy as a municipality. But due to migration of its inhabitants to the nearby Guagua in the American Period, it was merged to this town in 1904 under the Act 943.

Today, although part of the municipality of Guagua, the Betis church has its own parochial priest and has its patron saint named St. James the Great.

Kuraldal

ruston — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 10:43:30 CDT

A Ritual Dance for a Good Life:
San Juan Basa in Betis
by Ian Ocampo Flora
First published in Sunstar Pampanga
Wednesday, June 25, 2008

THE old road from Guagua town leading to the Betis district was noticeably sparse with the usual traffic.

An unusual occurrence, since the road is the most traversed route from Guagua leading to Bacolor town and the capital city.

But on Tuesday, during the feast of St. John the Baptist, motorists and drivers seemed to avoid the road while commuters woke up early to avoid being caught up in the middle of water cannons and rabid locals spewing water (sometimes rainage water) on unsuspecting passengers.

The people of Barangay San Juan in Betis, Guagua use a section of the road for a tradition that traces its roots since ancient times.

Similarly, other towns and villages in the country named after St. John the Baptist would actually observe the same peculiar custom.

Around 9 a.m., before the high mass in the local chapel, crowds would gather along the once busy street and transform it into a stage for what would turn into a myriad of water-throwing and splashing.

This might be the welcoming highlight for an adventure-hungry-visitor attending the "Kuraldal" in Barrio San Juan Bautista on its celebration of the feast of St. John the Baptist every June 24th of the year.

According to local artist Ruston Banal, two fire trucks have been commissioned for the event to shower people on the streets while dancing to the rhythm of the ati-atihan and marching bands each year.

The highlight of the event is a venerated bronze cross, which is being passed on to revelers. Banal said anyone "wanting to have a bountiful life all year round" would hold the cross high up in the air while being splashed with water.

This would continue until the cross is returned to the chapel or until every one is satisfied, in which case the ritual may drag until noon.

Banal said their version of the Kuraldal is a ritual also observed annually in the nearby Barrio of Sta. Ursula every month of July.

In the case of Sta. Ursula, Kuraldal is a ritual dance for a good harvest. In the past, this place was a fishing and rice-planting village. They believed that a ritual dance while walking from the heart of the barrio towards the Betis church would assure a bountiful harvest.

Ruston said in the '70s, Kuraldal was being accompanied by what the old people termed as Libad (fluvial procession) in Barrio San Juan Bautista. During the time when the Betis River was still wide and deep, boats are being tied up together to form several pagoda-like structures on a wide flat form, enough to hold large number of people.

However, silt on the river has stopped the Libad and only ritual dancing and water splashing on the street remained.

The fiesta celebration here still has the usual home feasts prepared for visitors but with the strange twist of having to take a bath, literally, before reaching the house you're supposed to visit.

The event attracts devotees, young and old, into a practice of folk devotion as interpreted by locals.

The Town of Betis

ruston — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 10:04:40 CDT

For a person who grew up in Betis, the paet of the mandukit is mightier than the pen of the writer or the brush of the painter. With his hands, the mandukit can make astonishing curves and foils out of hardwood. He can make them breathe as if they were real flowers ready to be smothered by bees and butterflies.

The woodcarving tradition in Betis, a simple town along a riverbank in one of the municipalities of Pampanga, reflects the people’s way of thinking. This art and industry has survived the rage of calamities as well as the advent of technology, continuously feeding the people generation by generation.

Very little is known about this Betis. There have only been a few articles written about the material culture of this town. Most of these only tackled the annual festivity celebrated on the 30th of December. This festivity is a tribute to the town’s patron saint, St. James of Campostela, or Santiago Apostol-the local name by the towns people. But when it comes to the origin of the town, as well as the world-class quality furniture that the people in Betis have, contemporary writers seem to ignore the significance and the talent of the mandukit. It was only recently that university researchers started to make some documentations of the woodcarving tradition in this town.

The carving tradition in Betis is as old as the town itself. Although it can be assumed that it progressed and gained an international reputation during the time of President Diosdado Macapagal in the 1960s when the Philippines started to become active in international trade, it was actually more than five centuries old. Even before the arrival of the Spanish colonizers, Betis people were well-known as blacksmiths, carvers, ship builders and carpenters.

It can be stated that one of the major factors in the implantation of Western culture in this town was when it became an encomienda in the 1770s. Being an encomienda meant becoming a melting pot of all things Asian and European. It was in an encomienda where trades and the introduction of what was new in Europe were being given which the native people learned to modify with ethnic materials. In the case of the Betis people, they easily embraced what was akin to their aesthetic sensibilities: furniture-making.

The first furniture carvers in Betis were not really originally from Betis. During the time when religion was a means to salvation and of business, Catholicism was also a weapon and played a major role to propagate Christianity. Augustinians needed to build churches by means of cheap but quality labor from the Chinese—foreigners who came first before the Spaniards.

It was from the Chinese artisans, with indios as apprentices, where the first rebulto and retablo were made. Beautification of the interior of the church was a must. The Chinese artisans were masters of this craft. Copying from prints and catalogs taken by the friars from Spain, these artisans who later became permanent dwellers in Betis taught the rudiments of wood carving through imitating printed images. The indios, who were probably great imitators, later developed their own technique.

Durin this time, there was a growth in number of elite. Several ilustrados in the Philippines and as well as from Betis who were able to visit European countries brought back European influences, especially in terms of taste. They wanted the interior of their houses decorated as if they lived in Royal dwellings. The elegant sillion de fraileros of the friars later became the common luklukan of the padre de pamilya.

It was from this germinal idea of luklukan that simple imitation had become profitable business. In the opening of the Suez Canal in the 19th century, furniture-making was at its full bloom in Betis. And the mandukit—he was making a full interior decoration of a sala set, grandfather clocks, console tables, side tables and history as well.

There were several fallacies about the history of this carving tradition. Many contemporary writers thought that it was just a recent phenomenon, that it started in the early 20th century. But based on the remnants seen in some old bahay na bato in Betis, this art and industry is much older. Some say that a certain Juan Flores, who was born in 1900 in Betis, was the one who introduced the art to the townsfolk. But Spanish accounts and documents from the National Archives in Manila state even farther back. According to these accounts, the Adrillanos and Nuguids as well as Davids, who already owned woodcarving workshops in the 19th century, were well- known because of their export-quality dukit.

Juan Flores may just be considered as an artist who re-lived the Betis woodcarving tradition when he won the Grand Prize in the Richard Nixon Bust Sculpture-Making Contest in Washington, D.C in the 1970s. Because of this recognition, he was commissioned by Imelda Marcos to do the chandeliers in Malacañang as well as the interior decoration of some sections of the palace. It was a good marketting medium that the Betis town was promoted through this.

Any furniture made in Betis is considered world-class. Most of the styles are copied from catalogues, but modifications of different styles make them unique. Eclecticism is almost synonymous to huge profit. The more elements carved on a certain piece of furniture would mean more clients that a certain showroom of furniture will attract. It is perhaps in this style that Betis furniture, although of European influence, came to have its own unique identity.

The wood-carving tradition in Betis, commonly known as dukit still exists today. It is a tradition being transferred generation to generation and has become a way of life for the people who live here.

Almost everything that is being said about the history of Betis’ furniture-making tradition was only derived from oral history transferred from generation to generation, half of it founded on myth. One story relates that the name Betis was derived from a certain species of a tree named Bassia betis merr. It was said that the tree was so huge it could shade a wide area of land, which later became the seven barrios that comprise the town today.

But there came a time that the tree withered, perhaps due to old age, and died. Because of economic reasons, the natives wasted no time in applying their productivity and started to carve and make different objects out of the tree’s debris. These creations were used for trade. Today, part of the folklore of the town is the belief that the very structural foundation of Betis church as well as the carved main door, which shows “Jacob Having a Dream,” and the retablo were made out of the wood taken from this fallen gigantic tree.

But this is just mere myth and part of the folklore of the town. The story is quite interesting and adds to the rich cultural heritage of Betis. The real story comes from Blair and Robertsons’ book, The Philippine Island printed in 1911.

While on their way to San Lucar from Siviglia (modern-day Seville in Spain), aboard a ship,
Magellan’s biographer Antonio Pigafetta recorded an account of passing through a river called Gadalcavir. The river is located in a place near a community of Moors called Gioan del Farax. This happened in the first quarter of the 16th century—a time when this fleet of Magellan’s never yet reached what was to be known as the Philippines.

Gadalcavir is an Arabic word, which means “a wide river.” The Moors were the ones who renamed this place after a conquest of the Vandals in the 8th century CE. But the original name of this wide river was Betis.

Betis was a pre-Roman name given to the wide river lying along these banks of the Iberian peninsula-the modern-day Spain. During this time, this western part of Spain that is now present-day Seville was called Hispania Baetica—the Latin name of the place where the word Betis was taken. Original dwellers of this place were the Romans.

In 1576, there were Spanish reports made by the fleet under the command of the last Spanish conquistador Juan de Salcedo about the Muslim inhabitants dwelling along the two major rivers in Pampanga: one was Lubao River, the other was what is now known as Betis River. The fleet tried to pacify the Muslims living in this place. But the Muslims resisted and could hardly be defied. It was perhaps because of the physical resemblance of Gadalcavir to this particularly wide river of Pampanga where the Moors dwelled that the Spaniards named the place as Betis. It took over a year before the Spaniards were able to pacify the place.

Betis, now an independent town of Guagua, was one of the Hispanized names given as well to other Pampangan towns in the last quarter of the 16th century. Pampanga was then ruled by the one notably named as Malangsic. He and his ancestors were originally from Borneo. Everything changed when the Augustinians arrived in these places. From then on, they started to build their churches. Starting from 1660, under the authority of Father Jose De La Cruz, the preliminary structure of a church in Betis was built. It took over a year before the final structure was finished. This church is still the same one that remains at the heart of the town. Today, it is called the Betis church, in the town called Betis.

Sources:

Published in UE Today.February 2007 issue. Edited by Mr. Bert Sulat.
University of the East. 2007

Blair, Emma Helen, d. 1911, ed. The Philippine Islands. (1493-1898)

Cavada y Mendez de Vigo, Agustin de la. Historia, Geografica, Geologica, y Estadistica de Filipinas. 1894. Originally published in Manila, Impr. De Ramirez y Grauder, 1876.

Coseteng, Alice M. L. “The Good Wood”. Filipino Heritage: The Making of a Nation. Vol. 4. Ed by Alfredo Roces. Quezon City. Lahing Filipino Publication. 1977-78.

Henson, Mariano. The Province of Pampanga and Its Towns (AD 1300-1965). 4th revised edition.City of Angeles, Pampanga. December, 1965.

Larkin, John. The Pampangans: Colonial Society in Philippine Island. Originally published in 1972 by the Regents of the University of California. New Day Publishers. Quezon City, Philippines. 1993.

”Marxist Sociological Perspective”. Art History’s History. Vernon Hyde Minor. Phaidon Press.1989.

The Furniture Samples

ruston — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 02:28:20 CST

Furnitures that are being made in Betis are considered world-class. Most of the styles are copied from catalogues but modifications has always been the case in this town. Eclecticism is almost synonymous to "huge profit". The more elements within a furniture would mean the more clients that a certain showroom of furnitures will attract. It is perhaps in this style why Betis furniture, although a European influence, made its way to have its own unique identity.

The Betis Church

ruston — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 12:59:52 CST