DAVAO CITY – A local artists group from the Southern part of Mindanao will be representing the Philippines in an international music festival in Uzbekistan today until August 30.
Kuntaw Mindanao, a group who hails from Tagum City in Davao del Norte, will perform their original compositions in the Sharq Taronalari International Music Festival.
Neil Cervantes, the artistic director of Kuntaw Mindanao said they received a message from the Cultural Center of the Philippines through its regional art center, the Musikahan sa Tagum Foundation, Incorporated, informing them about the music festival.
Cervantes said they got the support of CCP and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) for them to perform in what is to be their first and biggest international event.
Sharq Taronalari (Melodies of the Orient) is a biennial festival since 1997. The event takes place in Samarkand City and is initiated by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov.
The city was included in the World Heritage List of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (Unesco) and is called the Pearl of the East.
The festival aims to popularize, preserve and develop the best achievement of traditional music; educate the young generation to continue national traditions and expand international creative communications.
Cervantes, who also plays the gong and the kulintang for Kuntaw, told Davao Today that their playlist includes Kubingan, Una, Dilaab, and Kalinaw, all of which are their original compositions.
“Basically all songs are about people’s movement towards social transformation for freedom, justice, and genuine peace,” said Cervantes.
He said the music for their songs “is a fusion of indigenous sounds and western influenced music.”
Cervantes shared that the festival will feature performances from around 10-15 countries each day.
This is the third time that the Philippines joined Sharq Taronalari. The first one was in 2005 and the other one was in 2009.
This year, Kuntaw Mindanaw was also included in the six performing groups that were granted with local tour grants by the CCP. According to the CCP website, the 2015 Local Tour Grants aims to support and motivate local performing groups “achieve artistic excellence and promote local art and cultural expressions in various venues and communities” by providing them with local tour grants.
Cervantes said they believe the government should give full support for the development of local arts and culture.
He said artists should be seen as “a force to reckon with in nation building”.
“There should be enough budget for the development of arts and culture program including infrastructure building or centers in provinces to make it accessible for local artists to rehearse and perform,” said Cervantes.
The Kuntaw Mindanaw members include vocalist El Felicilda, drum beater Romar Cinto, acoustic guitarist Bobot Mende, drum beater Lester Lavares and bass guitarist Ronald Dalogdog. (davaotoday.com)
