4. Making a Museum: THE CKS ARCHIVAL COLLECTION

So, this is the reason why I have been on my toes every Saturday morning. I have been tasked to create a permanent museum display for the second floor of the Center for Kapampangan Studies, centering on choice pieces from our archival and historical document collection.

ON THIS SITE WILL RISE. Our former office had to be converted to an instant museum. The full lighting had to be changed and display cases had to be adjusted.

Remember this empty space vacated by the CKS office months ago? Well, it is now, slowly but surely taking shape into a museum wing that will host CKS’s valuable paper materials—from historical documents, original photos and manuscripts, rare books and other antique and vintage ephemera.

MURAL, MURAL ON THE WALL. Our resident archaelogist, Joel P. Mallari conceptualized the backdrop for the museum, which traces the history of the province’s ancient written word (Remember too, that the 1st printing press of the Philippines started in Lubao!).

 WALL PAPERED. I found these early Kapampangan newspapers--El Imparcial/E Mangabiran-- used as cabinet liners. They date from the first decade of the 1900s. I had them framed and now hang on the walls of our paper museum. Other framed newspapers that you will see include "Ing Cabbling"and "Ing Katiwala". 

The most difficult part of creating a display is always materials sourcing. As this was envisioned to be a display of our archival collection, we had to discipline ourselves and think “paper”.

 RESTING ON YOUR LAURELS. These brass laurels were used to crown the province's poet laureates and can now be seen at the museum.

 We rummaged through the donations of CKS patrons and came up with materials from the families of our poet laureates (we found original drafts of their works, written in longhand), the university’s own collection (for books and vintage pictures) and even from my own stash of paper ‘junque’.

 PASYON SHOW. This display features rare, handwritten and bound Kapampangan pasyon (loaned from Fray Francis Musni), early handwritten and printed novenas and original pages from libros bautismos, rescued from Pampanga churches.

The next step was sorting and classifying the materials under major display categories, to include Literature, Politics, Education, Religion, Industry, Leisure and Photography, among others. Creative content titles were generated per display:

O CAPTION, MY CAPTION. Resident artist-videographer Leo Calma created these exhibit titles. A lot of editing went into this phase of the work, as some clusters had a lot of materials, while others had very few. And we wanted to present a collection, not just plain accumulation.

 SCHOOL DAZE. Old textbooks, notebooks, educational materials from the American period. Note the small Rizal bust, cast from an orginal mold made by National Artist Guillermo Tolentino.

 LOOK IT UP IN THE DICTIONARY. Rare book collection includes Fr. D. Bergano's Arte de la Lengua Pampanga (both the 1863 and 1917 ed.), Kapampangan Dictionary by Luther Parker, early Doctrina Cristiana, Pampango-Tagalog-Spanish Dictionary (1915) and vintage grammar book.

 As icing to the proverbial cake, I had to add a few props to add mood to the displays. I scoured thrift shops, second hand stores and my bauls to come up with old-fashioned frames, an antique box camera, a small bust of Rizal by Guillermo Tolentino, estampitas, a fob watch, a pair of spectacle and even People Power mementos. Perfect finds, considering I had a shoestring budget.

 HISTORY IN A SNAPSHOT. Old Kapampangan album pages with photo documentations of Pampanga in the good old days. Note the antique box camera used by early photographers.

The museum is still a work in progress; some displays need to be beefed up with more materials (anyone out there with Philippine Revolutionary materials from Pampanga?), the captions aren’t in place and the museum sign has yet to be done.

AMUSING, AMAZING MUSEUM. The Center for Kapampangan Studies Archival Collection. ready for viewing by October 2008.

Nonetheless, I am personally happy with the results, and early previewers of the exhibit, I heard, were impressed by the organized displays. Next time you come to Angeles City, drop by to view our Archival Collection at the second floor of the Center for Kapampangan Studies building. And get an eyeful of our province’s rich historied past.  (30 August 2008)

3. COLLECTING OLD PHOTOS

I started collecting old photos over two decades ago, because—to be honest—they were the only antiques that I could afford. Back in the 80s, a nice sepia photo would go for five pesos, same price as an old color postcard. At the start, I would practically get everything that struck my fancy—scenic spots, old Manila places, movie star fan photos.

A decade ago, when I planned on writing about my town’s local history, I decided to look for Pampanga photos to help visualize my essays. My interest for such photos intensified when I joined the Center for Kapampangan Studies of Holy Angel University, and I found myself contributing to its growing old photo archive.

My collecting interest soon expanded to include Manila Carnival Queens—spurred by top collector and dealer Tony Ronquillo, who gave me a photo of the 1915 winner, Concepcion Medina of Masbate. I paid fifty pesos for it, which I thought was reasonable. Religious photos—churches, altars, santos, nuns, priests, first communicants, carrozas, funeral processions, Marian images—soon found their way into my albums. I was also drawn to color Filipiniana and ethnic postcards, but I have become more selective because of the steep prices they command in the market.

Today, I have over 3,000 photos—Carnival photos alone number 1,800 different pieces. My early photos were saved from our old family albums, the rest mooched from relatives and bought by the boxes from antique dealers (old photos weren’t much in demand in the 80s—who would buy photos of dead people?). Well, it seems that today, a new legion of old photo collectors have sprouted, and the consequence is that the supply of old photos have dwindled. The rise of online auctions and live auctions can also be partly the reason why prices have skyjacked in recent years.

A typical circa 1920s Philippine photo with an ordinary subject (e.g. portraits of people, wedding) has an average starting bid range of $5-9. Rare, historical subjects can command even more (e.g. photos of heroes, historical events). Carnival photos, which were once so commonplace, are priced from a low of Php250 (portraits) to a high of Php1,000 (rare court scenes and provincial carnivals) . The highest price I have paid for is for the 1908 complete court, which set me back by Php3,000 on ebay. Fellow collectors would kid me later that I was the one responsible for increasing the market value of Manila carnival photos.

In the course of my pursuit of old photos, I have also met wonderful, like-minded individuals who offered tips along the way, shared their collection and enriched my knowledge about this once-affordable hobby of photo and postcard collecting (or, to be precise, deltiology). As previously mentioned, Tony Ronquillo, an expert auctioneer of Bayanihan Collectors and a formidable collector of photos was an early influence. His shop at Makati Cinema Square was a favorite haunt in the late 80s and I would often visit him at his Zobel Roxas apartment where he would allow me to dive into his overstuffed garage piled with boxes and boxes of old photos and ephemera. Too bad he has relocated back to Parañaque.

Ed de los Santos, a quiet and unassuming architect, forsook his day job to become a topnotch dealer, just like his father, Atty. Jorge de los Santos, a world-class collector himself. Ed’s interest include revolutionary documents, patriotic photos and presidential memorabilia of all sorts. He is often seen on TV showing off his unusual items like love letters Quezon wrote. He has also filled in most of the missing pieces I need to complete my Carnival collection, unloading the bulk of his Carnival photos to me and me alone.

When I was in the U.S., I also corresponded with and traded photos with the legendary Mike G. Price—a former U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in the 70s who has undisputedly the biggest Filipiniana postcard and photo collection in the world. His house in Michigan is a virtual photo museum and the range of his collection is simply mindboggling. He collected everything and anything Philippine, even if he has certain “flavors of the month” – like photos of Mindanao, Davao, tribal groups etc. I would often go against him on ebay – he was also a Carnival collector; I had more losses than wins against him.

One card though—postmarked in Stotsenburg (Pampanga)—became mine when I pipped him at the end of the auction. Later, he e-mailed me and asked me to look at the picture closely, because he said it is not what I thought it to be—a Pampanga scenic spot. He pointed out that the mountain in the background is not even Arayat and the people posed before it were not Negritos but some Mindanao tribes—their costumes say so. When I scrutinized the photos, the mountain looked different indeed, and so were the tribesmen. Having learned from the master, I agreed to swap the photo for a rare photo of a Thomasite teacher and his students taken in—Mabalacat, my hometown! That photo made it to my book in time.

One other time, he sent me a photo with notations to look at one of the subject—a woman vendor with crossed eyes. He said to keep an eye on this woman, as she would appear again in other photos taken in turn-of-the-century Angeles. True enough, in one of the photos in my collection—I found the same woman, this time with a basket on her head, but cross-eyed as ever. Mike concluded that these were apparently posed pictures, and not really candid as we thought them to be. Mike’s expertise and passion for detail are truly amazing and I am grateful for those valuable tips.

And what purpose do photo collections serve? For me (and perhaps, for other collectors too) old photos are windows to a time gone by, catalysts for memories, and stories, offering glimpses as to how our forebears looked, lived, loved, dressed, earned their keep, practiced their faith, amused themselves, and more. By freezing time, identities and events gain a sort of immortality, every time we take a peek into our albums.

2. GOOGLING ALEX CASTRO

ALEX CASTRO is such a common name that in the advertising industry where I work, there are about 3 or 4 other Alex Castros that I know. There was a time when a tukayo of mine—Alex Castro of Philippine Advertising Counsellors—served the same San Miguel account. As a result, documents and call reports meant for him were sometimes delivered to my office, and vice versa, causing panic attacks, considering the strict confidentiality clause observed by agencies and clients.

 In one advertising affair, we were even asked to present a creative award together and we were introduced thus—“To present the next award, ladies and gentlemen, here are--Mr. Alex Castro and Mr. Alex Castro!”. We launched into our scripted spiels in which we accused each other of being an impostor, amusing the audience no end. Of course, I always like to point out that I am the “more creative and younger Alex Castro”, he being with Client Service.

 One day, on a whim, I gave in to the irresistible urge of googling my name: Alex Castro—and I came up with a list of my namesakes—real people with varied personalities, occupations and persuasions—bound by a a common, ordinary, dime-a-dozen name.

 1. ALEX CASTRO, CEO and Co-Founder of Pluggd.

 Big boss of a digital company that provides video search and online video-ad targeting technology to content creators and video-sharing sites. (Wow! I can never be this Alex Castro because I am technologically challenged. I cannot differentiate a megabyte from a frostbite.)

 2. ALEX CASTRO, Foot fetishist, Hedonist, Atheist, Novelist.

 I just found this tukayo on flickr, where I am also a member. This Brazilian, who is now based in New Orleans, has “the best feet collection” on flickr, as one fan gushed. Wait till he sees my petite, size 38 foot.

 3. ALEX CASTRO, Councilor, Part-Time Actor

 A konsehal from Marilao, Bulacan who has just joined showbiz as Richard Gutierrez’s sidekick in the GMA movie, “My Best Friend’s Girlfriend”. (Mmm, I didn’t know my name had star potential..)

4. ALEX CASTRO, Artist. 

Just found his picture on flickr. (OK, I share his name, I share his love for arts. That’s it.)

 5. ALEX CASTRO, the Paint Master.

 Painter of miniature statues and figure models. (There is a remote correlation somewhere, since I am into painted religious statues—although this Alex Castro is heavily into action figures of the Conan the Barbarian type).

 6. ALEX CASTRO, Salsa Singer.

 Popular salsa singer—and a Pastor!—from Puerto Rico. He continues to perform and record today—so please listen to his music! By buying his CDs, you honor me.

 7. ALEX CASTRO, Star of American Gladiator. Exotic Dancer. Porn Star.

 I was fiddling with a laptop in front of my Client on one visit and I decided to google my name. Out came this Alex Castro photo—of a muscled “exotic dancer and bodybuilder from Cuba”. Boyoboy, was my client impressed! Little did I know that this Alex Castro would go on to greater fame by making it as the character “Militia” in the current U.S. TV series, “American Gladiators”. Of course, his shady background in the porn industry came to fore, and pretty soon, his revealing pictures were all over the place!

 So, what’s in a name? A lot. Just ask Google.

 (28 July 2008)

1. OH NO! NOT ANOTHER BLOG TO MAINTAIN!

 Multiply.com made me do it.
I was happy with my 3 blogsites when multiply.com announced midway through 2012, that the site will no longer support photo and blog hosting. It will focus on it being a site for commerce.

Long before blogspot and facebook and flickr, I was in multiply. In fact, Ive stayed the longest with this site—since August 2, 2006. Most of my early photos, reviews and articles were stashed safely here, or so I thought. I love reading people’s reactions and comments to my photos, and for like-minded friends , multiply was a great way to exchange notes on santos, paintings and collectibles.

All that sadly will come to an end this December. Much like moving house, I am now transferring most of my posts from my mutiply site, Mekeni’s Land, to this new space—hence, another blogsite. Multiply will no longer be relevant to me as I have no desire whatsoever to sell bath soaps, appliances, lingerie and used furniture online.

I will not be transferring all, however (I still can’t figure out multiply’s exporting tools ), and some postings--trivial, useless and embarrassing--will have to go. I will, however miss some photos, badly taken with my antiquated but trusty cellphone from some spur-of-the-moment adventure nevertheless.

But c’est la vie.
Life goes on. And so will my wanderings and writings. So here I am again, with my old multiply articles, reposted and rearranged like furniture in my new place of residence. Mekeniman of Mekeniland is now signing on!