STS Vigan: Teaching Poetry + Old Spanish City + Pottery Making + Shopping

July 3-4, 2010: Pagtuturo namin ng tula sa mga guro ng Vigan, Ilocos Sur. Sulit na sulit ang mahabang biyahe. First time ko umapak sa Ilocos proper, at napakasaya ng karanasan.

Ang STS Vigan ang 4th leg ng Sining ng Tugma at Sukat 2010 project ng LIRA & NCCA na ginagabayan ko bilang Direktor. Nauna dito ang STS San Fabian, STS Baguio, at STS San Antonio.

Salamat pala kay pareng Mikael, na naging tour guide sa unang pagkakataon courtesy of his LIRA dabarkads. Hehe.

In lieu of the full album, heto muna ang ilang patikim piks mula sa aming trip. (Kapag nasa pic ako, ibig sabihin ay kuha ni miss Beng 'yun.)

Our venue: the grand library building of the ISNHS.

Yours truly giving an overview of the project.

A healthy number of delegates.

Dr. Michael M. Coroza helping out the teachers with their poems.

Mel, Debbie, and I enjoying the inimitable Vigan empanada.

Yours truly sitting on the ancient street. Mel, Mikael, Debbie sa sidewalk.

The boys, shocked (and embarrassed) at how Debbie's thing dwarfs their own juniors.

Panalo. Astig ang kuha ni ms. Beng. Pero mas astig ang talon ko (kaliwa). Naks.

The next morning. Mel, Debs, Miks, the Corozas, ms. Beng. Pag-alis namin 'to sa guest house ng ISNHS.

Kami sa labas ng bahay nina Mikael. Pagkatapos busugin ng bagnet atbp. Tenkyu po!

My failed attempt at making pottery.

Mikael's turn. Epic fail din.

Aba nadale ni Mel!

Sinadya daw 'yan ni Debbie.

Seryoso si miss Beng, hindi lang halata.

Last minute shopping bago umuwi.

Waiting for someone? (Dehins sa akin ang bag na 'yan. Hehe. Pasalubong ko para kay Ynna.)

* * * * *

Heto naman ang naging press release namin:

LIRA & NCCA’s Poetry Education Series Visits Vigan

The Filipino poetry group Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika, at Anyo (LIRA) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) will hold the fourth leg of the “Sining ng Tugma at Sukat (STS; Art of Rhyme and Meter) 2010” in the Ilocos Sur National High School (ISNHS), Vigan, Ilocos Sur on July 3, 2010.

The STS is a series of free seminar-workshops on poetry in Filipino in nine towns across nine provinces of Luzon from March to December 2010. Teachers of Filipino from public high schools are the intended beneficiaries. The STS is on its second year, with the first edition being held in 2008 when around 430 delegates in ten towns across Luzon attended.

This year’s first beneficiaries were San Fabian in Pangasinan, Baguio City, and San Antonio in Zambales. For STS Vigan, award-winning poet Dr. Michael M. Coroza of LIRA and Ateneo de Manila University will be the lecturer. The Department of Education – Region 1 and ISNHS are the event’s hosts.

The other beneficiaries of STS 2010 are Lucban, Quezon; Bataan province; Naga City, Camarines Sur; City of San Fernando, Pampanga; and Tuguegarao City, Cagayan.

The STS 2010 is one of the fifteen projects for LIRA’s year-long 25th anniversary celebrations. Founded in 1985 by the National Artist for Literature Virgilio S. Almario (alias Rio Alma), LIRA is the premier institute of poets in Filipino. In pursuance of its mission of enriching and promoting Filipino poetry, the organization holds a yearly five-month-long poetry clinic held for the most part in UP Diliman. The STS 2010 is an effort to bring part of this clinic outside of Metro Manila.

The project directors are Phillip Kimpo Jr., president of LIRA, and Beverly W. Siy, immediate former president and creator of the STS. The overall project coordinators are Mariane A.R.T. Abuan and Deborah Rosalind D. Nieto, while Mikael Gallego is the local coordinator for STS Vigan. To contact the STS team, email them at pamunuan@liraonline.org.

The programme.