BAGUIO CITY – This October, 23 Sampaguita Artists Collective, in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples Education for Arts, Culture and Empowerment (IPEACE), presents an experience for all residents and tourists of Baguio City through its project, the Salimisim: Culture and Arts Festival at E. Jacinto Street, Baguio City.
The festival has opened on October 1, 2023, with a mural groundbreaking ceremony at said street, and with a culminating activity on Sunday, October 29, 2023.
Throughout the festival’s four-week run, artists, performers, poets, and musicians had showcased their talents and skills with the various genres of art as buskers at the Salimisim Festival open stage at E. Jacinto Street.
Everyone has been invited to witness and take part in sharing their art, music, poetry and dance at the Salimisim Festival open stage.
The Salimisim: Culture and Arts Festival is a grand community-centered celebration of culture and the arts.
Through extensive research, immersive experiences, and securing free prior informed consent from the involved communities, the festival aims to be a space where people can exchange knowledge, and deepen each other’s understanding of the diverse cultures and ethnic backgrounds of all Filipinos.
The name “Salimisim” is a beautiful fusion of the words “sali” (to join, or to get involved) and “salamisim” (to recollect, or to remember).
These two words evoke the essence of the festival–an invitation for all to come together and honor the rich ancestry and heritage of Baguio City’s cultural and art scene from where it gained its title as a UNESCO Creative City.
For this year’s Indigenous Peoples Month, the Salimisim: Culture and Arts Festival runs in tandem with the IPEACE-lead 11th Baguio Gong Festival, which has the theme “Teneb: Honing Indigenous Knowledge for Cultural Integrity”.
The collaboration of the two festivals underscores the organizing team’s fierce endeavor to craft a creative and cultural celebration that demonstrates true collaboration, upholds cultural integrity, and resonates deeply with the community.
The centerpiece of the Salimisim: Culture and Arts Festival is a mural on E. Jacinto Street, Baguio City, that combines visual and literary elements painted by local, talented artists.
E. Jacinto Street will become a portal through which people can traverse through the various stages of Baguio City’s heritage–from the city’s inception, through its transitions, and to its enduring continuity.
All events for the Salimisim: Culture and Arts Festival are sponsored by Search Mindscape Foundation.
The Salimisim Festival mural project is funded by Metrobank Foundation Inc., and the mural paints are provided by Boysen Pacific Paints.
The month-long celebration is supported by Mayor Benjie Magalong and the Baguio City LGU, Fridge Media, Barangay Malcolm Square, Captain Imran Baniaga and Saima Baniaga, Metrobank Baguio-Magsaysay, Agetyeng Travel & Tours, Grand Sierra Pines Hotel, Balai Studio Cafe, Ili-likha Artists’ Watering Hole, Waynu and Jo Kapuno.
ABOUT THE SALIMISIM FESTIVAL ARTISTS
Bringing the large-scale murals into life are artists Ronald Allan de Leon, Kim Antonette Lopez, Elizardo Ituriaga Jr., Avrane Blas Pagadian, Ane Janelle Muena, and Anthony Garlejo.
Poet and writer Joshua Inman will host the weekend slam poetry mics at the Salimisim Festival open stage.
There will also be a one-of-a-kind jeepney tour called “Trip Down Memory Lane” in cooperation with Agetyeng Travel & Tours, that will feature poems from our local writers.
To commemorate all forms of the arts, the Salimisim: Culture and Arts Festival has also invited musical acts to perform at the festival’s open stage including BUM or Baguio ukulele man Richard “Ardi” Basa, cultural film and music duo HanGiul, former Tawag ng Tanghalan champion and Astrafellas soprano Chantal Salonga, percussion collective Kadwa Drum Beats, and Baguio hip hop group TFB/The F*cking Bandits.
Also joining the roster are violinist and Baguio busker Nestor Abellera, multi award-winning singer songwriter Kyle “Prynne” Mendoza, buskers extraordinaire Yiwan, Raine Valenzuela, and M.C.E.
Joey Ayala is a well-established singer-songwriter who is most notably known for his style of incorporating Filipino Ethnic Musical Instruments into modern songs.
His songs run deep with embodiment for the Filipino’s life.
Songs like “Agila” speak of the constant yearn for freedom, but with the true state of the environment and the condition of the real-life eagles, it seems that freedom is one thing designed to be unreachable.
Joey Ayala At Ang Bagong Lumad will be performing alongside Mingor Chi Kultura, duo Kyle and Fritz, and TFB/The F*cking Bandits for the culminating ceremony and VIP night on October 29, 2023.
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