How to Celebrate the World AIDS Day Effectively

This is a commendation blog for the Valenzuela City Health Department for their successful implementation of the World AIDS Day celebration through a “Group Spoken Poetry Contest” with the theme, “Know your status. Get treated. Be treated.”

I was invited as judge to the said contest probably because I used to teach Philippine Literature in our local university and I was a member of the Gender and Development (GAD) Council – Technical Working Group (TWG), who has demonstrated ample understanding on the essential and pivotal role of gender responsiveness in nation building.

Spoken word poetry is a type of performance art which became popular a couple of years after I graduated in college. Unlike the old Tagalog delivery of poetry which sounded like a “Balagtasan sing-song,” a spoken word uses a distinct voice inflection to dramatize its message. Some use musical accompaniment, usually via a string instrument, to deliver the content piece more meaningfully.

 This activity is really worth emulating because of its carefully conceptualized program flow. Here are my observations why I say that the City Health Department celebrated the World AIDS Day effectively:

1.       The activity enjoined young literary artists to promote AIDS and HIV awareness campaign. This is not your ordinary no-brainer information dissemination campaign but a contest that appealed to young intellectuals. Majority of the contestants were young adults who expressed the depth of their understanding about the virus.

2.       They inserted an Open Forum about understanding the sickness better while waiting for the announcement of winners. It was an intelligent adlib when the project coordinators encouraged the audience to ask questions about AIDS and HIV. Some of the questions raised were (1) the difference between AIDS and HIV, (2) the possibility of an infant to acquire AIDS when the mother is a virus carrier, and (3) the precautionary measures to avoid the illness.

3.       Their panel of judges is knowledgeable of the technicalities of the contest. The panel of judges were consisted of Ramil Esguerra from AIDS Society, John Kenneth Maquiling who is a Filipino teacher in High School, and yours truly who is a performance art teacher and enthusiast.  

4.       Their message was consistent and clear. Bottom line, the whole program invoked that we are all responsible of our health conditions. If we want to live longer and we do not want to infect our loved ones with virus, we should never be afraid to get ourselves tested.

This Group Spoken Poetry Contest was held on December 13, 2018 at the Valenzuela City Hall AVR.

As I wonder what would be the City Health Department’s activity next year, I am pretty certain that it is going to be something with substance again.

Congratulations!

Features and Benefits of the PLV World Card

A couple of days back, I attempted to use my faculty ID at Tully’s Coffee to check if I can really get a discount. I did.

I got 5% off on the pastry product I bought, and my drink got an automatic upsize! How cool is that?

Tully’s Coffee is my go-to place whenever I need to wait for someone or something. That time, I just wanted to make use of my remaining 30 minutes prior my evening class so I went there to do something on my laptop and of course, do my favorite thing in life – to eat (I had to stuff my belly because my class practically ends after dinner time). 

So here’s the big question for those who are wondering about this faculty ID that I am referring to? Ladies and gentlemen, it is the PLV World Card.

PLV or the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Valenzuela is a public university here in our locality. The local government unit opened its additional world-class campus on January 19, 2018 in Barangay Maysan. During its launch, the PLV World Card was also introduced, to give the PLVians a better experience of studying in a high-tech academic institution.

Aside from getting discounts from the university’s partner merchants, what is the PLV World Card good for?

1.       Entrance Access to Campus – Before the students enter the campus, they need to tap the card at the turnstile. Their parents will be alerted via SMS every time they go in and out of the campus gates.

2.       Access to Academic Details – If the students need to view their grades and class schedule, or if they want to check the latest university updates and announcements, they may simply proceed to the designated kiosks around the campus and use the card as passkey to their desired information.

3.       Perform Cashless Transactions – The PLV World Card is also designed to have a debit card functionality. Vendors in the campus have POS to facilitate the cashless purchases of the cardholders. One may deposit money or “load” this special debit card at the cashier’s office in PLV Maysan campus.

4.       Get discount from partner merchants – Tully’s Coffee Shop is just one of the many partner merchants where the card may be used. One will know if an establishment honors the PLV World Card if the logo below is displayed. Promo period per merchant varies so, you have to be a little more conscious about that.

Photo Credit: Iskay dela Cruz

The 12 Qualities of a Thriving Artist

Last semester was my first attempt to teach the course, “Reading Visual Arts.” It was a challenging assignment because I am no art major and I have been most comfortable in teaching oral communication and business communication for the past few years. I only have my Humanities 2 subject way back in college as my humble background, a course where I learned some art studies basics.

Upon finding out that I will handle the said course, I rushed to the PLV library in Maysan to look for reference materials for my syllabus. Fortunately, my friend Michael King Urieta was the library’s featured Book Icon that month, which meant that a good number of his books are lent there for a month (King is my go-to person whenever I need books for the subjects I teach. He even gave me a useful book in Philippine Literature which is among my prized possessions as a teacher).

King’s collection did not fail me. I got at least four interesting art books where I was able to extract useful information for inclusion to my syllabus. While browsing through the readings, I was able to stumble upon an article on “The Myth of the Starving Artist,” which debunked the notion that there is no money in art. The article emphasized that artist will not starve is he or she knows how to thrive. 

Here’s the Myth of the Starving Artist (text not mine):

1.       The starving artist believes you must be born an artist.

The thriving artist knows you must become one.

2.       The starving artist strives to be original.

The thriving artist steals from his influences.

3.       The starving artist believes he has enough talent.

The thriving artist apprentices under a master.

4.       The starving artist is stubborn about everything.

The thriving artist is stubborn about the right things.

5.       The starving artist wants to be noticed.

The thriving artist cultivates patrons.

6.       The starving artist believes he can be creative anywhere.

The thriving artist goes where creative work is already happening.

7.       The starving artist always works alone.

The thriving artist collaborates with others.

8.       The starving artist does his work in private.

The thriving artist practices in public.

9.       The starving artist works for free.

The thriving artist always works for something.

10.   The starving artist sells out too soon.

The thriving artist owns his work.

11.   The starving artist masters one craft.

The thriving artist masters many.

12.   The starving artist despises the need for money.

The thriving artist makes money to make art.

What these pointers made me realize is that, artist or not, one should know how to "sell" himself or herself to potential clients. This  entails people skills and of course, intelligent grit to succeed.