Students Visit an Old Man in his Green House

Students Visit an Old Man in his Green House

“No one should be alone in his old age..."

- Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

In appreciation to my student-guests and their advisers from UNP, with special mention to Cristina Agustin, John Carlo Quibilan and Carl Gian Jimenez, who made beautiful illustrations of my humble home and myself. 

                                                                                 

I am an old man now, way past 80, retired from government service and the academe, 

a "balikbayan" in my hometown and birthplace, and a "Prodigal Son" who found later in life that tradition and values, together with knowledge and wisdom, are vital elements to attain unity and peace, compassion and love; that age can defy to a certain extent "time and space" and connect a senior citizen like me with the younger generations, share with them beautiful experiences in life, rekindle idealism, and keep the torch of hope burning in helping make our world a better place to live in.

What lesson can I impart to them as students of a prestigious university, if not something complementary, experiential and in situ, that is, where the action is, lesson that is not only contemporary but obligingly urgent and vital, such as expanding the realm of fine arts into humanities giving emphasis to its Latin word humanus - which is  to bring into awareness and integrate the humane factor of knowledge into all aspects of life and living, with the concept of brotherhood, and in the universal sense, humanity. 

They would come by group or team to my ancestral residence, and would find me attending to my art which I would gladly explain, and sometimes demonstrate, like painting a canvas or a wall with a mural, then show them my works influenced by the evolving schools of art, some "experimental" notwithstanding;  citing our own Luna and Amorsolo of the "old school", Monet and Cezanne of impressionism, Van Gogh, and later Picasso et al, who opened the floodgate of abstract art, ultimately paving radically to photography and computer art -  if ever we recognize these as bona fide fine art, yet these tools are vital in integrating art as a whole, and in weaving a fine tapestry for our postmodern world.  

I would walk with them under the trees many of them considered "heritage" having spanned three generations or more, and explain that a garden is a living gene bank, and in particular indigenous species we call "native," like native santol, tamarind, mango and the like - these being rare to find today  There is a plant nursery where seedlings of fruit trees and palms like betel nut and anahaw are grown to support tree planting projects of local schools and the community.  The garden itself is a park - natural park of sort, with little modification if at all, of nature's own design. Not so many young people have seen a narra tree, bitaog or palomaria, neem, molave.  It is an orientation of agriculture and forestry linked with ecology and, on the other side, humanities or integrated arts.    

Students in fine art at the University of Northern Philippines visit 

the author's family art gallery, museum and reading center.

 

 

Representative works of the author showing conventional and modern art.

 

Homage to an 18th century icon at the author's residence  

Lighter moments at the Art Gallery and Botanical Garden (arboretum and fishpond)

           

                                                                         

The Green House 

(Side Gate and Street Corner Views}

“It's a fort of green trees around,

that buffer against noise and wind,

filter dusts and glare of the sun,

residence for austere living” - avr

 

Integrated Children's Workshop at the San Vicente Botanical Garden , San Vicente, Ilocos Sur.

On-the-Spot Workshop at the Botanical Garden and Arboretum 

"Take time out from TV, computer, malling;

life's so dull, busy yet empty;

The left brain's overworked, the right idle,

growing up is a sad story." - avr

"Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another. Never confuse movement with action. The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice." - Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

A visit to an 18th century Basi wine cellar 

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur 

 

Original basi wine cellar and jars (burnay) date back to the

 18th century across six generations of continuous operation, 

interrupted only by the Second World War for five years. 

 

The cellar attracts researchers, students and tourists for its historical 

significance with the Spanish Galleon Trade, and technology of 

the old folks in making basi and its related products, principally 

vinegar (sukang Iloko).  

By now this jar of basi is 13 years old.  Unless opened, it remains longer 

in aging. The general rule is, the longer wine is aged, the more mellow it 

becomes.  It's not really so.  There are other factors to consider like 

damaged clay cap and leaching.  And there's the basic rule that "only 

good wine mellows with age" (So with man, they add.) 

Crystalline golden color and pleasant wine aroma meet the happy

connoisseur after the desired aging period is reached (at least two 

years in the case of Rotor Basi). Fresh and direct from the jar, the 

harvest is bottled, sealed and labelled (as shown below), according

 to customers' specifications intended for an occasion like

 wedding, Christmas, exhibit, and the like. 

House guest picks a fruit wine of his choice,  Fruit wine making 

follows the basic fermentation-aging process in basi making.

There are 20 kinds of fruit wine developed in this cellar from different 

fruits growing locally like macopa, aratiles, duhat and guyabano. 

Stamp commemorating the Galleon Trade. 

Scene of a Galleon trading post in Ciudad de Vigan in Spanish time. 

"The Manila-Acapulco galleon trade* in the 18th century was undertaken by Vigan Chinese mestizo traders who exported local products such as basi, tobacco and abel to Europe and other parts of Asia..." Pia Roces Morato, Thorns and Roses

                                      * Manila-Acapulco galleon trade 1565–1815

                                

Basi jar lying on the sea floor where a galleon ship was wrecked. 

Basi sparked one of the major revolts against Spanish rule by the natives when wine monopoly was declared by the government. This meant virtually taking the industry from the hands of the natives. The short-lived uprising took place in Ilocos, with the final battle fought on both sides of the Bantaoay River which runs through the towns of San Vicente up to San Ildefonso, which are today the major suppliers of Basi principally to tourists in Vigan, UNESCO's world heritage city, and one of the cultural wonders of the world.

                                 Basi Revolt of 1807, one of 14 big paintings by Esteban Villanueva