BAGUIO CITY – Promoting communal spirit inspired by Salimisim, Baguio City based artists led the official opening ceremony to celebrate the Gong Festival 2023 on October 1 at E. Jacinto Street.
Salimisim, a word originated from “sali” means “to join” and “salamisim” which stands for “recollection,” meant an invitation for everyone to join in looking-back at Baguio City for the past several decades through art, music and poetry.
“It empowers everyone who wants to be creative. So yung presence ng artist for this event are to motivate and to inspire yung mga upcoming artists,”said Ronald Allan de Leon, one of the key artists for the event in an interview.
In addition, De Leon mentioned that they are aiming to finish a mural on the stretch of the area inspired by the community to be presented for the culminating activity on October 29. This will showcase nature along with Cordillera and Maranao cultures. The mural has the vision to make people feel safer on crossing E. Jacinto Street.
Moreover, this year’s celebration unveils the theme “Honing Indigenous Knowledge for Cultural Integrity” with a goal to promote the communal spirit of indigenous people.
Guillienne Sanchez, one of the organizers, stated the event promotes culture, heritage and collaboration between the Muslim Communities and Cordilleran Community.
“We just want to showcase that people are living in harmony, people have respect towards each other’s cultures and traditions. And of course we want to empower the local artists as well na mabigyan ng opportunity na makapag paint sa malalaking spaces like this,” Sanchez said.
In the speech of Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, he highlighted his appreciation to the artists and shared his continued support for them on giving light to the city through arts. Upon his presence, he also observed some of the problems in the area which he also addressed with an immediate action.
Furthermore, Gong Festival President Chao Sudaypan extended his gratitude to their partner artists for this event. He also mentioned the inclusivity that the event is promoting for everyone to join.
“You may be an indigenous person, or you may not, or you consider yourself as a native, you are very much welcome,” Sudaypan stated.
The opening ceremony ended with an indigenous performance and a wall painting participated by the city officials, indigenous people and artists.
Gong Festival will partake in a month-long celebration with various art and indigenous performances. The culminating activity will also highlight a performance from Joey Ayala together with Bagong Lumad. Article by Adrian Mas