ALMOST SONGS OF THE BAKUNAWA

DESCRIPTION

This first ritual, "Latík," is a response to a Filipino folk dance called "Maglalatík" that I found in an old book that belonged to my Grandmother (she used to teach Filipino folk dance). This indigenous dance was originally meant to portray the battle between the Moros and the Christians over latík, which is the residue left after the coconut milk has been boiled. In the dance, the Moros wear red, and the Christians wear blue. Both sides wear coconut shells on their body to produce intricate percussive patterns. The legend goes that the Moros won the battle, although we all know what the Christians ultimately colonized the Philippines for over 300 years, converting the mass majority of the population to Catholicism. My ritual is a gesture of healing and reclamation, in which I pour the coconut milk over the red cloth and offer it up to my ancestors. The latík was, and always will be, ours.

CREDITS

• The harp music was an arrangement created and performed by my dear Mark Golamco. I sent him the original music of the dance, and asked him to re-interpret it on his harp, with his own intention. What you hear in this video is just that. The vocals overlayed on top is my own improvisation.

• Maria Maea hand-wove the palm basket that I used to hold the ancestral red cloth. I now hang that basket over my bed.

• The mask I am wearing was hand-sewn by my mother, Marilee Tobin. She used a piece of traditional Piña cloth that my grandmother owned as the fabric of the mask. Piña cloth is a traditional filipino textile made of pineapple fiber.

• The bluescreen footage is video I took of my Mother’s beautiful garden. During the making of this project I was trying to create a portal to the Philippines--I realized that my mother’s garden is the most beautiful portal to my source I could imagine. You see both of my parents in it towards the beginning.

• The wig I’m wearing was made by Adela-María Pagán for the cover of my album, “BAKUNAWA.” I am so glad that I got to bring it back for this related project.

• A/V engineer and editing by Chloe Scallion

• Co-edited by Micaela Tobin

• Co-production and assistance by Carmina Escobar.