By Jenny Ortuoste
The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), through its Intertextual Division (CCP-ID), launched on Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) [April 9] a memorial website that honors Filipino artists, cultural workers, CCP employees, patrons of arts and culture, and media personalities who passed away from March 2020 to the present.
Dubbed “Hanggang sa Muli: Pagpupugay at Pasasalamat sa mga Pumanaw” (Till We Meet Again: Honor and Thanks to the Departed), the memorial project may be viewed at its website and at its own official Facebook page.
According to CCP-ID Officer-in-Charge Beverly Wico Siy, the project was supposed to have launched last November but was sidetracked to April because of the pandemic. The day of the launch being moved to Araw ng Kagitingan this year made the event more meaningful.
“Ngayong Araw ng Kagitingan, ating ipinagdiriwang ang kanilang buhay, akda at ambag bilang mga anyo ng kabayanihan. [This Day of Valor, we celebrate their lives, works, and contributions as forms of heroism.],” Siy said
Speaking about the project, she explained that “Hanggang sa Muli is a virtual space where families, friends, and individuals may gather and connect online to celebrate their loved ones’ lives, great works, and enduring legacy to the country.”
Its purpose, she shared, is to “bring comfort during this difficult and challenging time, as it gives tribute and helps preserve the legacy of these members of the arts and culture sector.”
She added that the memorial website “also presents a chance for the younger generation to honor, learn, and gain inspiration from the dearly departed.”
The website is a work in progress and is being continuously developed and updated. People may send information about their loved ones that they wish to be memorialized on “Hanggang sa Muli.”
Among those who have contributed to the project are Architect Cesar Aljama, who sent details about his friend and fellow architect Guillermo H. Hisancha; and Maria Fatima Villena, who wrote an obituary for Mercedes Lactao-Fabros, Kundiman singer, storyteller, and reproductive rights advocate.
To date, the obituaries of 59 artists and cultural workers have been posted, and more are being written, as CCP continues to keep and tell the stories of Filipinos who have led their lives for the arts and their country.
