93. ROY T. GONZALEZ, 1st Filipino Design Genius to Conquer Europe's Fashion Houses

IMAGE 1:  DESIGN WIZ. 22-year old Roy T. Gonzales, works on designs for the House of Cardin at his Paris office. Pierre Cardin handpicked the young Filipino to join his fashion house after seeing his award-winning designs while a student at the famed Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. Image: Sunday Times Magazine

In 1964, a young Filipino design student placed first in a class of 80 students from  France’s premiere fashion school Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. It was a historic triumph in the fashion capital of the world for the unassuming Kapampangan boy who displayed his mastery in cutting and designing to beat competition.  Little did his professors and classmates know that Froilan “Roy” Gonzales, had long prepared for this, living and breathing fashion design in all  his 20 years.

His auspicious win would presaged a long career in Paris, where he would conquer the elite fashion houses of the city—the likes of Cardin, Patou and Lecoanet-Hemant, the Versace and Calvin Klein of that period.

Undoubtedly, his creative genius was in his genes, imbibed from both his grandmother and mother, prominent couturiers back in Manila. But the course of his career was also shaped an influenced by a unique background, the kind of story that movie dramas are made of, and which must be retold.

IMAGE 2: ALING BELTA, MODISTA PAR EXCELLENCE. Roy’s design genius was inherited from grandmother Roberta “Belta” Paras, whose own drama-filled life story tested her will and shaped her character. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

Roy’s grandmother was  Roberta “Belta” Tablante Paras, a woman of extraordinary talent and character, very much ahead of her times. She was the daughter of Modesto Paras, a juez de paz of Angeles, Pampanga and Juliana Tablante. Early on, Belta showed dexterity in handling needle and thread; she could cut and sew clothes with such skill that she started making a name for herself as dressmaker of note. Thus, in 1902, the young modista opened her Angeles shop.

IMAGE 3: JOSEFINA PARAS. Roberta Paras’ love-child with prominent Angeles doctor, Dr. Jose Tayag, and Roy’s mother, at her communion. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

By a twist of fate, she would fall in love with Dr. Jose Tayag, a prominent Angeles doctor who was very much married man.  Her father disowned her, so she fled to Manila, heavy with the child of Dr. Tayag. Yet, she managed to open a small dressmaking shop in Quiapo on Fraternal St. near the Pasig River in 1912. She would give birth to her daughter, Josefina,  on November 9, 1912, but once she recovered, the single mother went back toiling in her little shop.

IMAGE 4: CLIENT CALL. Lola Belta gained a reputation for her beautiful bridal gown creations. Her early commissions include this bridal gown of Socorro Brigida Naval for her wedding with Zosimo P. Ricafort. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

Her ambition and determination paid off; her creations—from bridal ensembles to ball gowns and formal wear found a steady stream of clients, many from among Manila’s elite. So in 1918, she moved her shop to Binondo in where her business gained more ground

IMAGE 5: R.T. PARAS BUILDING, along Rizal Avenue, housed a school of dressing as well as the fashion shop of Roberta Paras. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

But there was more to come. With her substantial earnings, Belta invested on a property along Manila’s premiere commercial center, Avenida. She put up her own R.T. Paras Building at 859 Rizal Avenue, which housed not only her couture shop but also a school of dressmaking. The last venture, too, flourished, and Belta’s fashion business was now a big-league enterprise.

IMAGE 6: ALING BELTA WITH GRANDCHILDREN, TITA & ROY GONZALES. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

Roberta Paras lived long enough to reap the rewards of her dreams and enjoy them. She remained selfless in the midst of her success, welcoming even Dr. Tayag’s children to her house in Manila during their schooling in the University of the Philippines, and treating them as her own. Most important too, she managed to pass on to daughter Josefina her passion for her art and craft, her exacting eye for good design, and her fine taste in fashion couture. These too, were not lost on grandson Roy, who, at a young age, was a witness to her grandmother’s talent, work ethics, and strong family values that  that would serve him well as a design student in Paris.

IMAGE 7: INANG, THE SUCCESSOR. Josefina “Inang” Paras (with  Roy), continued the R.T. Paras fashion house and her business savvy helped grew the family enterprise. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

When Roberta Tayag Paras passed away in 1952, her daughter, Josefina, took on her mantle and embraced her new role as the head of the fashion house. She brought to the table, her sharp business acumen honed by years of being an assistant to her mother as a teen. She finished her high school at St. Theresa’s College and earned a Commercial Science degree from Jose Rizal College. She also enrolled at her mother’s dressmaking school, and successfully completed that course too.

 “Inang” (b. Nov. 9, 2012) as she was fondly called, married Francisco Gonzales of Camiling, Tarlac who gave him two children, Robertita (Tita) and Froilan (Roy). The two would tag along with their mother when she reported to the shop of their Apung Belta, staying close as the elders managed the affairs of the day.  Tragically, at age 9, Tita would  drown in a summer swimming accident that would test Inang’s faith and spirit. A woman of weaker constitution would have spiraled into profound despair at this great loss, but Inang pulled herself together, buried her daughter, and carried on with what she had left—her son Roy, and her mother’s legacy, now a flourishing fashion business she had promised to run.

IMAGE 8 : ON THE MOVE. The House of R.T. Paras at the new Quezon Boulevard location in 1957. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

Inang proved to be as strong-willed as her mother, but on her own, she was also a visionary of sorts. In 1957, Inang moved R.T.Paras to a new location in Quezon City, an area that was then just being developed. A spanking, modern building was built to become the all-new House of R.T. Paras Haute Couture.

IMAGE 9: A WEDDING GOWN CREATED FOR BRIDE NONNIE AGUINALDO. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

This proved to be a smart move as the fashion house even became even more popular, its elite roster of clients growing by leaps and bounds. In its heyday, the House of R.T. Paras got to dress all the First Ladies of the country (except Dra. Loi Ejercito), beginning with Mrs. Aurora Aragon Quezon . Presidents Corazon Aquino and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo were also valued clients. Manila’s 400 came knocking at the doors—the Cojuangcos, Aranetas, Tansecos,  Lagdameos , among others.

IMAGE 10: THE SON ALSO RISES. Young Roy Gonzales showed his design skills early, using his school notebooks to sketch and do fashion illsutrations.Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

Froilan “Roy” Gonzales (b. Mar. 23, 1944) remembers distinctly how, as an 8-year old, he started sketching his own designs in his school notebooks. He was just 13 when the House of R.T. Paras opened in Quezon City. Although not a stranger to the comings and goings in the house—client consultations, design discussions, cutting, sewing, endless fittings--the pace of activities have quickened at an accelerated rate. And, he was absorbing, as he was observing everything with much interest.

Roy’s horizons expanded when his mother took him to her trips abroad, traveling to such places as Hong Kong, Egypt and Europe, with the last making the most impression on him. He was an Economics sophomore at the Ateneo when he made up his mind to help continue the legacy left behind by his grandmother, now in the able hands of his hardworking mother. And so, still in his teens, he decided to study Fashion Design in Paris no less, home to the world’s leading fashion houses.

IMAGE 11: PARIS, HERE I COME. Roy Gonzales was admitted to the hallowed fashion school, Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

Roy enrolled at the famed Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, a fashion school founded in 1927. For almost four decades, the school have been turning young talents into polished,  highly-skilled professionals who are seen to chart the course of fashion and the fashion industry. Beginning in 1960, the school started creating international affiliations, paving the way for Roy, a Filipino, to be a student of the school.

His first place award for school year 1963-1964 drew the attention of Pierre Cardin, the French-Italian designer who would take the fashion world by storm for his avant-garde unisex creations—including the bubble dress launched in 1954. Taking an interest in Roy’s talents, he handpicked him for an interview one day in June 1964.  Roy strode in to meet Monsieur Cardin armed with his sketches, that so impressed the design icon that he hired him on the spot.

The Filipino designer, who had just turned 20, was quickly put to work on the Spring Summer Collection of the House of Cardin. The Op Art collection reflected the rage of Paris at that time, marked by stark, geometrical patterns, with a bold splash of orange and yellow, the colors of the season.  Unlike in Manila, it was not just the dresses that Roy designed, but also the accessories to go along with the look, including hats, jewelry and shoes.

 IMAGE 12: DESIGNS BY ROY. Some of Roy’s designs for the House of Cardin reflected the style of the season: op art. Creations include dress inspired by a kimono, day dresses, and accessories like hats and pieces of jewelry.Image: Sunday Times Magazine, 8 May 1966 issue.

As Cardin’s lone fashion designer, Roy reported daily at the Cardin workshop that occupied a whole building along Rue du Fauborge Sainte-Honore, on Paris’ 5^th Avenue. He worked directly under Cardin, and a small staff that includes a business director (who took care of contracts involving the sale of patterns to American department stores), two Frenchwomen  and a Swiss who staged Cardin’s fashion shows.

His rigid schedule begins from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and then from 2:00 pm. to 7 p.m., a full 8 hours that involved sketching and designing. Cardin would then choose the ones he liked for production. In his first attempts, only a few would be selected by Cardin from his scores of design. Being a quick learner, he was soon averaging about 5 approved designs for every 10 sketches submitted. “I think I know Cardin’s taste by now”, he says, “which is for me an accomplishment”.  The cutters and seamstresses are then put to work to execute the design, and when finished, are shown off by models to prospective clients.

IMAGE 13: TWO TERNOS, by Roy T. Gonzales. Even in a foreign land, Roy also designed Filipiniana pieces. These ternos, designed 40 years apart, shows a tri-colored terno and a terno specially designed for her mother, Inang. Images: Sunday Times Magazine/  A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

In the six years (1964-1970) with Cardin, Roy got to know many high-profile customers of Cardin, like actresses Jeanne Moreau (who was romantically linked with his boss), Greek superstar Melina Mercouri, Natalie Wood, Bridget Bardot, Mme. Dewi Sukarno and Mme. Claude Jacqueline Pompidou, First Lady of Prance.

From the House of Cardin, Roy worked for a year (1972-1973) at the House of Cerruti, founded by Italian stylist Nino Cerruti. As an assistant modéliste (model maker), he created the patterns of a garment based on a sketched design, which showed his cutting skills at his best.

IMAGE 14: JUDOKA JACKET of white cotton pique damask, edged in braid over pleated black satin trousers. Jean Patou designed by Roy Gonzales. 1978. Image: https://www.shrimptoncouture.com

It was at the House of Patou that Roy’s star would shine even brighter. The venerable couture house was founded  by designer Jean Patou, who died unexpectedly in March 1936. His sister Madeleine, together with husband Raymond Barbas,  continued the House of Patou which have come to include world- renowned designers like Marc Bohan (1954–1956), Karl Lagerfeld (1960–1963) and Jean Paul Gaultier (1971–1973).

Enter Roy Gonzales, now with more fire, more experience tucked under his belt. Starting as a modéliste, he proved his worth for five years, where his technical wizardry in design served him well, indeed.  

IMAGE 15: PATOU IN THE PHILIPPINES! Roy T. Gonzales, design head of the House of Patou, brought the Jean Patou Collection to Philippines in 1976. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

In 1976, Roy returned to the Philippines, to stage a homecoming fashion show at Hotel Intercon featuring his designs worn by statuesque Patou models. The show was a smash hit; Manila revelled in his international success, which further elevated the quality high-fashion reputation of the House of R. T. Paras. The next year, Roy was finally named design head of Patou, thus establishing him firmly as a world-class fashion genius.

In the summer of 1977, Roy  presented his summer collection for Patou that was hailed as “one of its prettiest collections in recent years”. Here, he deftly replaced traditional blouses with little waistcoats. He also featured a lot of strapless dresses which doubled as evening skirts when dropped from bust to hip. Singled out as Patou's best was a fluttery shirt of red-striped beige over a red dotted beige skirt and topped by a beige canvas waistcoat. The collection  was noted for its eminently European, ultra-feminine look.

He made quite a splash at the fall couture show held in July 1977 in Paris with such eye-turning numbers such as a vest made of feathered patchwork and a batwing cardigan sweater. In the 1978 editorial of Vogue Paris, his sumptuous designs for Patou were featured on the pages magazine considered as a fashion bible.

IMAGE 16: GET WELL SOON! An illness forced Roy to slow down and check-in at a French rest house where he would convalesce. While recovering, he was visited by his mother Inang. Photo: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

But a debilitating illness befell Roy, which would hound him for months, so in 1981, he took off from work to recover in a country home in France where his mother, Inang,  visited him. His convalescence however, took more time than usual,  and he sadly decided to quit the House of Patou in 1982, and return to the Philippines for a much needed rest. Roy would be succeeded by the equally brilliant Christian Lacroix as design head in 1982, and who, in a matter of years, become a fashion superstar.

Back on his feet in 1982, Roy returned to Paris and  was signed up as by Dorothée Bis as its modeliste-stylist . The ready-to-wear house was founded by Jacqueline and Elie Jacobson in 1962. It would earn repute for its stylish sportswear line, that included knits.

In 1984, he would start a long and illustrious career at Lecoanet Hemant, which was founded by Didier Lecoanet and Hemant Sagar in the ’80s, right on the street where Roy first worked for Cardin, close to the Elysée Palace. The fashion house became known for a unique style that mixed eastern and western elements, most evident in the drapings reminiscent of the Asian sari, that characterized most of their creations.

IMAGE 17: ROY IN THE PARIS METRO, after a 1984 Didier Lecoanet Hemant Sagar fashion show 1984. Photo:  Jean-luce Huré, http://snap361.com/ig-tag/roygonzales/

Draping was one of Roy’s area of expertise being a superbly-skilled technician, and he would leave his mark in this haute couture house that was patronized by European aristocrats, Middle eastern blue-bloods, as well as the international jet set crowd. He would stay with Lecoanet Hemant until 1998.

By then, Roy’s mother Inang was already 86 years old. Away for more than three decades, he finally decided to come home for good in 1998 to spend time with her. It was also the perfect time to take over the reins of the R.T. Paras Couture House which her mother had so productively ran by herself with her loyal staff, and which had set a record by becoming the longest continuing haute couture shop in the country. Indeed, the name “R.T. Paras” was top-of-mind when it came to creating opulent wedding gowns, smart corporate attire, suits and formal wear.\

IMAGE 18: HER MOTHER’S SON. Roy Gonzales and her mother Josefina Gonzales at the pinnacle of their success, Photo: Ruppert Jacinto, A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

 Comfortably settled in Manila, Roy indulged her mother’s passion for dinners, dances and costume parties with her ‘amigas’. They were even planning the 2002 centennial of the House of R. T. Paras, plus her 90^th birthday. Roy had already designed a fabulous terno for her mother to wear for the said occasions. But Inang would not be there to see the celebration of their milestone of the design empire that she helped built; she passed away on January 28, 2001. It was a most heartbreaking moment for Roy, and he would reflect later on that “her absence scooped out a portion of our lives…and for me, it was a bucketful.”

On November 9, 2002, on what would have been the 90^th birthday of Inang Gonzales, the House of R.T. Paras celebrated its 100^th year, marked with a spectacular fashion show and an exhibit of vintage Paras gowns at the NBC Tent, Fort Bonifacio.   The beaming Roy chose to call it a “family reunion”, as it was attended by many patrons of the house, veritable members of Manila’s who’s who.

Roy Gonzales now holds high the torch of the esteemed fashion business that was begun a century ago by his Apung Belta and his beloved mother, Inang. But he also keeps the fire close to his heart, as he strives to continue the legacy of the house—now solely  his own.

These days, Roy has totally immersed himself in the local fashion scene, and his couture creations been seen everywhere—from the President’s State-of-the-Nation Address to gala balls and fashion runways. Part of his continuing journey is his mission to share and impart his couture knowledge to budding designers and students. In 2010, Roy was one of the mentors in the Designer Fashion Workshops  organized by fashion professionals in collaboration with iacademy.

The trailblazing Filipino who conquered the leading fashion houses of Europe and who paved the way for other local designers to leave their mark in the international fashion scene, can afford to rest on his laurels, no doubt.  But he chooses not to, for while he holds high the torch of the fashion business started a century ago by his Lola Belta and Inang, he also keeps the fire close to his heart. Now infused with the lifeblood of three generations, the House of R.T. Paras lives on.

 SOURCES:

Gutierrez, Lydia C., The Wizard of Op. Sunday Times Magazine, May 8, 1966, pp. 50-51.

A  Century of Couture, R.T. Paras 1902-2002, Le Recueil des Anniversaires

Tayag, Claude. My Tita Inang, TURO-TURO column,  6 October 2002 https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/sunday-life/2002/10/06/178780/my-tita-inang

https://prabook.com/web/froilan_tayag.gonzales/775456

Shrimpton Couture: Photos of Patou Designs,

https://www.shrimptoncouture.com/blogs/curated/shadows-and-lights-on-the-new-evening

 Photo, Vogue Paris, 1977. Photo by Helmut Newton. http://snap361.com/ig-tag/roygonzales/

 The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois · Page 28, Publication: Thursday,  October 27, 1977, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/73127955/

 Image: “Surprise Encounter ! Didier Lecoanet Hemant Sagar in the Paris Metro after their show 1984 and Roy Gonzales”,  Photo Jean-luce Huré, http://snap361.com/ig-tag/roygonzales/

 

 

62. MABINI ART: From Tourist Souvenirs to Mainstream Masterpieces

WALL-TO-WALL ART. Filipinana paintings done in the so-called Mabini School style fill the walls of Serafin Serna's studio

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 For over 80 years now, the 2-kilometer street located in once-genteel Ermita has been the nexus of touristy and artistic activities—Mabini Street---which, in its heyday,  teemed with art galleries and shops, making it Manila’s most colorful alley.

MABINI STREET AT NIGHT. 1957

Mabini was known in the late 1800s as Calle Nueva, and, like Calle Real (now known as  M.H. del Pilar St.) ran straight and parallel to the bay, starting from Wallace Field in the north and ending at the Pasay boundary. Back then, the Ermita-Malate district was peopled with Manila families from the principalia class, along with many Spanish and Spanish mestizo residents. After the 1860s, Ermita expanded as a suburb, along the main calles of Real and Nueva, which provided Manila with an important link to the Cavite harbors where the galleons landed.

MUSLIM COUPLE, by Crispin V. Lopez (1903-1985). From the Collection of  

Øcsalev Thor, Used with permission.

When the Americans came, they too were drawn to the quiet dignity and exclusivity of the suburb which characterized the uppity residential streets—Calle Nuevo included. Renamed during the American occupation as A. Mabini St. to memorialize the “brains of the Revolution”, the street slowly began its transition as a shopping destination, along with the Escolta and the walled city of Intramuros.

DAVID MEDALLA AT WORK AT HIS MABINI STUDIO.

By the 1930s, as the country opened its doors to the world, Manila’s population swelled to include international residents and visitors. Hotels, serviced apartments, posh homes and clubs sprouted along the area.  Joining the Germans, Dutch, Swiss and English traders were the Americans and their families—soldiers, teachers, diplomats, government officials, businessmen, adventure seekers, and tourists—whose fascination with our  exotic islands stimulated a demand for manufactured cultural souvenirs to send back home as gifts and travel mementos.

BARRIO STREET. Gabriel Custodio. 

 Mabini St. and its peripheries became the go-to place for such tourist souvenirs. The Little Home Shop ran by the Metcalfs on 676 A. Mabini was one of the first shops to offer “a treasure trove for the seeker of the unusual”. It carried everything from Moro brassware, embroidered piña and Igorot dresses. Nearby was Philippine Shell-Craft that created stunning remembrances of shell and mother-of-pearl. Also just a walk away, on 620 Mabini, was Manila Art Craft that specialized in reptile leather goods, trays, cards, candy boxes and other novelties.

The war decimated much of Ermita, but when peace settled in the country and rebuilding went underway, the proud district rose from the ashes with a renewed sense of optimism.  With the promise of independence fulfilled in 1946, the new country continued its spree of reconstruction and rehabilitation.

HARVEST TIME, By Serafin Serna.  He trained under Prof. Teodoro Buenaventura before enrolling at
the U.P. Fine Arts. His biggest commission was decorating the Philippine Pavilion at the New York’s
World’s Fair with murals and brass sculptures in 1964. Øcsalev Thor Collection, used with permission.

 Mabini St. attracted artists like Paombong-born Miguel Geronimo Galvez Sr., to open his own visual arts shop in 1949. Galvez had honed his painting skills as a sit-in student of Prof. Teodoro Buenaventura at the U.P. college of Fine Arts along Taft Avenue. Simon Saulog, from Imus, also located his studio cum shop along Mabini.

STARTING THEM YOUNG. Art along Mabini St.. 1952.

The early artists that gravitated towards this street painted in the realist tradition—led by such names as Galvez and Saulog, plus Ben Alano, Fermin Sanchez, Cesar Amorsolo,  Jose Bumanlag David, Elias Laxa, Romeo Enriquez and Gabriel Custodio.  Like master Fernando Amorsolo, the conservatives painted idyllic pastoral scenes, landscapes and ruralscapes, nipa huts set against mountain backdrops or rice fields, and other folkloric themes. Abiding by tradition, they painted what they saw-- the more real, the better.

Left: YOUNG RAJAH, by Jose Bumanlag David, 1955. The works of this Pampanga artist was often featured on
the pages of Graphic Magazine in the 1920s. Left: T’BOLI ELDER. By Fortunato Jervoso. Pasay-born Jervoso
learned painting via the International Correspondence School , Philadelphia from 1934-37. Alex Castro Collection.

BATHING BEAUTY, by Victor T. Cabrera. 1956. This U.P. educated artist
trained with Vicente Manansalaand Antonio Dumlao. His works--landscapes,
portraits, historical paintings--were characterized by " a silky, finished quality",
 evident in this painting.Alex R.Castro Collection.

The  distant Far East from a Western perspective was always imagined as exotic, wild and tropical, an isolated part of the world—with swaying palm trees, bare-breasted island women, mysterious Mohammedans and mountain folks. These conceptions were consistent with the imageries that Mabini artists managed to deftly capture on their canvasses. Tourists, with tastes far different from art connoisseurs, snapped up these artworks, simply as remembrances of their Philippine experience. Not only where these paintings affordable, but the paintings were also portable to hand-carry home.

SIDEWALK ART EXHIBIT. Mabini St. 1952.

 “Commercial fine arts”, was a term first used by Fabian de la Rosa to describe  art associated with advertising—billboards, illustrations, magazine covers. It would later come to refer as well to the products of the “Mabini School”, meant to be sold and generate money. Anybody with a fairly good hand could churn out paintings of the same style and hackneyed Filipinana themes. As expected, academically-trained artists and aficionados of high art thumbed their noses at these creations—hastily done, painted in multiples, and cheaply priced.

MARANAO FISHERMEN. By Romeo Enriquez, 1953. A  much sought after portraitist,
 Enriquez established his studio-gallery along Mabini St.
 Øcsalev Thor Collection. Used with permission.

No matter, the demand of tourists for commercial fine arts  intensified during this period.  Mabini St. assumed a bohemian air of some sort, as classicists and the rising modernists congregated in the area. The convergence would eventually lead to a clash in 1955, when, in a contest mounted by the Art Association of the Philippines (AAP), the modernists won over the conservatives, prompting a walk-out of some 20 realist painters. They also won the support of non-AAP members who join them in their outdoor shows in front of Manila Hotel, that elicited much attention from the public.

 

BANCA RIDE,Oscar T. Navarro. 1964. Alex Castro Collection.

Indeed, times were changing in the city’s landscape too. By the end of the 50s, the offbeat color of Mabini—often likened to New Yorks’ Greenwich Village—was starting to pale in its appeal. Alongside residences, quaint souvenir shops and art galleries arose in quick profusion, an amalgam of dress shops, 3^rd rate motels, cocktail lounges, sleazy bars and unsightly tenement buildings and barong-barongs. But the artists stayed on, both the good, the bad and the downright phony.

  

LAPU-LAPU AND BULAKNA, by Rod Pasno. 1960s.

The output was more commercialized—velvet nude paintings that American servicemen favored, copies of famous European paintings (Da Vincis’s Mona Lisa, Last Supper), his ‘n hers ethnic kitsch (Rajah & Rani, Lakan & Lakambini, Moro & Mora, Igorot & Igorota) and Tiki crafts to decorate American dens and bars. Aesthetic rules could also be broken, based on the dictates of the buying customer. Thanks to the promotion of tourism, Mabini art—despite its reputation as cheap souvenir art for the tourist trade—enjoyed a ready, and steady market.

ISLAND GIRL, by Ben Alano, 1952. Alano maintained a studio in Ermita 

for over 20 years. Øcsalev Thor  Collection, used with permission.

True talents—in the persons of Paco Gorospe, Salvador Cabrera (Bencab’s brother), Roger San Miguel, and Leonardo Zablan, would emerge from this 60s decade, representing the second generation of Mabini painters with exceptional skills that were yet to be recognized. Galleries continued to proliferate in the area—Gorospe, Zablan and Lopez had theirs along Mabini—which gained major patronage from hotels, embassies and corporate buildings in need of interior decoration.

 

SUMMER FIELDS, Isidro Ancheta, 1904.

Pistang Pilipino (later, Sining Pilipino) a one-stop commercial arts and crafts center with 200 stalls, was put up along Mabini in the 80s, and carried many souvenir paintings of Filipino artists, in varying grades of finish and quality.  These artists, many of whom remained nameless,  constituted the third wave of Mabini painters that began painting in the 70s through the 90s.

MABINI STREET IN 1957.

The political turmoil and the economic instability of the mid 80s dealt a severe blow to Philippine tourism, and Malate-Ermita business felt the impact more than any other district.   Alternative commercial centers like Greenhills and Makati drew more “quality” crowds as opposed to Mabini, which suffered from its ‘red light district’ image.  Regular crackdowns on illicit trades didn’t help in hastening Mabini’s decline. Many art galleries closed, and while Pistang Pilipino remained open until 1995 and then relocated, its business was never the same again.

 

MANOBO ELDER. By Crispin Agno. 1955. Alex R. Castro Collection.

But just when everyone thought that Mabini art was on its way out,  a new breed of art aficionados began rediscovering them in other parts of the world with the advent of the the internet in the mid-1990s. Filipiniana paintings from the mid-century and older began appearing in online museums as well as international selling sites, gaining a core group of patrons, mostly overseas Filipinos.

 

GALLERY ON THE STREET, 1957.

 It must be recalled that in the course of 50 or  so years, thousands of these Mabini paintings made their way to other countries, especially the United States, where they either hung in homes or stashed away for keeping, passed on to descendants, to be recovered in estate, garage sales, auctions, and flea markets.  

 

GRAND OLD LADY. By Miguel Galvez, 1937. Miguel left Paombong to work in the household of
his uncle-artist PrOf. Teodoro Buenaventura, who enrolled him at the U.P. Fine Arts. He was the
first artist to open a studio on Mabini St. in 1949.

International online selling sites like  ebay.com and liveauctioneers.com  regularly offered vintage Philippine paintings as early as the late 80s, posted by sellers who picked such pieces from rummage and yard sales, and sold outright or thru bidding.

From a few dollars, the prices for these Philippine works  have quickly escalated to hundreds, even up to thousands of dollars. A quick check on ebay’s current inventory (as of July 2018), features a 24” x 20” Simon Saulog 1959 painting of a Filipina gathering palay that is priced for sale at $1, 650. Two Crispin V. Lopez portraits are more realistically priced at $299 each.

 

Add captionLeft: SAN MIGUEL ARCANGEL, A painting copied from Sanzio Raphael. Signed "Rafael Sanzio
por Dumlao". By Antonio Dumlao.1955. Right: ORACION EN EL HUERTO. By Domingo Celis. 1951.
He is one of the first graduates of the UP school of Fine Arts in 1914.

American museums, like the Field Museum of History in Chicago, keep many good examples of this kind of genre paintings. Since 1989,  Geringer Art based in Honolulu, Hawaii has also been studying and marketing fine Southeast Asian paintings, including Filipino works wrought by artist who began their careers in Mabini,

In 1992, a book based on the art collection of Jorge B. Vargas, the former Executive Secretary of Pres. Manuel L. Quezon, was written by Prof. Santiago Pilar Albano on the occasion of the Vargas Centennial Celebrations. The book, PAMANA, featured write-ups and photos of paintings of many Mabini luminaries, raising further awareness for Vargas’ vintage paintings which he bequeathed to the University of the Philippines, where they are now housed at the school’s Filipiniana section.

WINNOWING RICE. By San Fernando-born Patricio Salvador of U/P. 1967.

Suddenly, collectors and critics from here and abroad began taking a more serious look at these artworks and the painters that created them, finally acknowledging their significance and their place in the development of Philippine art history.

 

BALIK-TANAW EXHIBIT in Chicago. Courtesy of Victor Velasco

In June  2013,  Filipino expatriate Victor B. Velasco assembled Filipiniana paintings found in the U.S. in a representational exhibit in Chicago entitled “Balik-Tanaw: Philippine Images Beyond Nostalgia” . The exhibit featured the paintings of Mabini artists and others who worked in the same style like Serafin Serna, C.V. Lopez, Hernando Ocampo, Crispin Agno and Isidro Ancheta.

OLD SPANISH CHURCH. Elias Laxa of Macabebe,Pampanga. 1964.

Art collector Mr. Jack Nasser, founder of Philexcel Business Park and a pioneering investor  in Clark Field, Pampanga,  began amassing Mabini art paintings beginning in the 1960s. When he passed away, his widow, Ariella Nasssr-Moskovitz, organized the Jack Nasser Collection and put the artworks on permanent display at the Philexcel Art Center, inaugurated  in 2016. The paintings on exhibit, many done by Oscar Navarro and Paco Gorospe, is open to the viewing public.

WEDDING GIFTS, by Simon Saulog, 1954. Commissioned by Heacock’s Department Store in Escolta. 

Alex R. Castro Collection.

Perhaps, the most convincing proof that Mabini Art had indeed gained mainstream status as well as respectability  in the art world is the inclusion of paintings in the two premiere auction houses in the Philippines—Salcedo Auctions and the Leon Gallery Auctions. Along with the like of Amorsolo, Bencab and Manansala, examples of Mabini Art are now being offered on regular basis on the prestigious auction houses—and doing very well.

MABINI STREET, 1976.

For example Cesar Buevantura’s “Planting Rice” had an ending price of Php 303,680 from a staring bid of Php 120,000. The “Barrio Scene” painting of Romeo Enriquez sold at Php 163.520, more that quadruple its initial Php 40,000 bid. Oscar Navarro’s “Sailboat”, which had a starting price of Ph 16,000, was snapped up for Ph 46, 700. Simon Saulog’s “Nude”, was had a tag price of Php 30,000, and which sold at Php 327,040. Finally, Antonio Dumlao’s painting, “Bountiful” ,  with a starting bid of Php400,000, ended with a realized price of Php 759,200.The prices are still far away from the millions people pay shell out for a Manansala or a Bencab, but selling is brisk and the demand remains strong.

BAHAY KUBO BY THE BANKS, by Felix Gonzales,1955. Gonzales
owned a gallery at the Manila Hotel then moved to Mabini. Many of
his children became artists like him.

The popular art form persists and endures today, although slowed down by the vagaries of tourism industry and fads of taste. In some nooks and crannies of Mabini and neighboring M.H. del Pilar, there are still a handful of studios which continue to churn out canvas after canvas of nipa huts, tinikling dancers, grazing carabaos and toiling farmers—objects of beauty that have also become idealized expressions of our culture. In those holes-in-wall may yet arise another Amorsolo, de la Rosa or Manansala, but what is clear is that Mabini Art, once disparaged by local patrons, is finally receiving the appreciation it deserves today.

SOURCES & REFERENCES:

Mabini’s Arty Street, Sunday Times Magazine,  6 January 1957, pp. 14-15, photos by Ben Santos

Castañeda, Dominador C., Trends and Influences in Fine Arts, PROGRESS 1955. Pp. 26-34

Quingco II, Oliver, Hartung III, Klaus W. Revisiting Mabini Art, Transwing ® Jane Hartung, e.k., 2013

Albano, Santiago Pilar, Pamana: The Jorge B. Vargas Art Collection, Committee on Arts and Culture, Vargas Centennial Celebrations, U.P. Vargas Museum, 1992

Balik-Tanaw: Philippine Image Beyond Nostalgia, exhibit catalog 2013

Castaneda, Dominador, Trends and Influences in Fine Arts, Progress 1955. Pp. 27-33

ERMITA Magazine, 1976 issue

The Dynamics of Change in Tourist Arts

https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/dynamics-change-tourist-arts