The recent conclusion of the Padadyaw sa Tinampo competition has raised anew questions as to the judging for the winning teams. But more fundamental was the issue of how the dance should be performed. Terms like “standard,” “original” or “proper” have cropped up in the discussions. The idea is that there must be a “correct” way of dancing the pantomina. Really, this is the old debate of the “purists” vs. the “liberals” in the entire enterprise of heritage not only for dance but for all other expressive forms. Let me bring into the conversation my own thoughts as a cultural researcher and advocate.
This piece is based on my article “Pantomina Catanduanes: Choreographing Identity and the Politics of Dance in Insular Bikol” which appeared in the UGAT (Journal of the Philippine Anthropological Society) and the research by Dr. Estrella Placides and Chatita Lorenzana on Pantomina Catanduanes.
National political context
In the 1920s during the American period, the campaign for an independent Philippines came to a high pitch. Aside from the political component spearheaded by Filipino statesmen such as Quezon, Osmeña and Roxas, there was a cultural side of the campaign. There was a need to demonstrate that the Philippines has a thriving culture of its own that defines it identity. Along this line, Francisca Reyes-Aquino made an important contribution. She wrote her master’s thesis at UP in 1926 on “Philippine Folk Dances and Games.” It was the start of a life-long advocacy of Mrs. Aquino. She went around with Quezon in his sorties to the provinces. While he rallied the people for independence, she talked to the folk and documented their traditional dances. The whole point was that the Filipinos’ heritage is rich, as exemplified with their dances that can be at par with foreign dances. Later in 1953, she published the first volume of a series on Filipino Folk Dances.” That volume included pantomina which was a version from Albay. It came to represent the Bikol region.
Socio-cultural and historical context
Catandunganons had been dancing the pantomina since time immemorial, way before Mrs. Aquino inscribed an Albayanon version in her book series. We can assume for all other Bikol localities that they must have their own versions. It must be pointed out that traditional dances have very specific contexts. You do not dance from out of the blue; there has to be the proper context to perform a dance. As for the pantomina, it was performed for social celebrations, particularly weddings, fiestas, family reunions, or any social merrymaking. Note: the dance takes significance only by its context; outside it, it is deemed improper.
In October 26, 1945, Catanduanes became an independent province. The task at hand was province-building, that is to prove our worth as an independent socio-political community. Part of this enterprise was to rally the people for love of provincial homeland and forge collective identity. To this end, we saw the proliferation of expressive forms such as the popularization provincial hymns, of which came about three of them: Isle of the Eastern Seas, An Samuyang Isla and Catandungang Aming Bayan. Then came the Pantomina Canduanes. Originally, it was so much of the dance but the music. Mr. Antonio “Tang Tolin” Arcilla took the initiative to record the pantomina music in both its mayor and menor versions. He gathered a team of local singers and musicians and produced a 38rpm vinyl disc. It must be clarified that Tang Tolin took the liberty to choose the music, its arrangement and lyrics from the myriad varieties available. For example, he chose lyrics that was less sexually explicit and more wholesome for general consumption. In a short time, it became a hit as it was convenient to use. Before that, music had to be provided by live performers.
So that was the first instance of standardization of Pantomina Catanduanes, which hitherto was open for more variety and improvisation by performers. To illustrate, while there was a basic outline and conventions of choreography, particular dancers would improvise and invent steps. Indeed, certain dancers gained repute for their exquisite antics. To name a few in Virac, we saw famous pantomina connoisseurs such as Tang Codor Surtida (former mayor of Virac), former Congressman Jose Alberto and the father of Hablon Dawani, choreographer Rico Romero. According to the late Noli Rodrigueza, the first time that a Catanduanes version of the dance was performed in the Bikol mainland was during the Bikol Athletic meet in Albay sometime in the 60s with dancers such as Ms. Daisy Gapaz and Ms. Cathy Vargas.
A significant moment of pantomina’s evolving in Catanduanes was when it was politicized (napulitika). It happened that it became staple in pulong-pulong during political gatherings especially during election period. Politicians and candidates were herded to the dance floor and made to dance, with the expectation that they will do the sabwag or the broadcasting of cash as a show of both wealth and power, and worthiness of being inscribed on the ballot. Apparently, this was taken from the practice during weddings where paper currencies are pinned on the newlyweds as they danced the pantomina. So it came to pass that proficiency in dancing the pantomina had become a must for success in local politics. Outside of politics, the pantomina had become handy as a fund-raising strategy resorted to by organizations.
The pantomina evolved, especially with new contexts of its dancing. For example, it had been performed in schools during Pilipino Week programs as a representative of Bikol region in the national culture. For the last three decades, it has been performed as street-dancing in the Padadyaw sa Tinampo. It was an entirely new context that implied significantly on the status of pantomina in the scheme of our provincial collective identity. This will be discussed in Part 2.