Virginia “Gini” Cruz Santos graduated from the old College of Architecture and Fine Arts in 1987 with a degree in Advertising and went on to become one of the minds—and hands—behind Disney Pictures’ latest animated offering, the top-grossing comedy The Incredibles.

As one of the animators of the film, Santos created characters that are fast becoming favorites among the young and the not-so-young alike. In this story of superheroes forced out of retirement to save the world, she worked on the characters Elastigirl (voiced by Academy Award winner Holly Hunter) and her super-kids, as well as Frozone (voiced by Academy Award nominee Samuel L. Jackson).

Her other credits include Toy Story 2, A Bug’s Life, Monsters Inc., and Finding Nemo.

Santos was born in Pasay City and moved to Guam with her family when she was three years old. She eventually returned to Manila to finish high school at St. Scholastica’s College, Manila.

After college, Santos went back to Guam to work for an advertising agency, a post she said wasn’t challenging enough. She then went to New York to study Computer Art at the New York School of Visual Art.

For her graduation thesis, Santos created a short animated film called The Eclipse which she sent out to different animation companies, among them Pixar Studios. In 1986, Pixar hired her, and she has been with them eversince, a job which she said she just “stumbled” into.

“Actually, it was really funny,” she said. “Animation was the farthest thing from my mind. “

Santos said although her art is mainly computer-based, it doesn’t mean that a lot of the “hard” work is taken away. “Pixar doesn’t want to stress the high-tech side of it. They needed to see my portfolio to see if I had the eye for aesthetics,” she said.

Santos explained that most of the work is still anchored on the “traditional” side of the art.

“A lot of people get attracted to the tech side, but for me that’s just a tool,” she said. R.R. Reyes, with reports from Philippine Daily Inquirer

But thanks to a Chinese relative, Salvacion was saved and was to live 70 more fruitful years, most of which were dedicated to the superb craftsmanship and sophistication of the Philippine vogue.

“Slim,” as Salvacion would later be known, was the founder in 1960 of Slim’s Fashion & Arts School, the first and oldest fashion school in the country.

A UST fine arts alumna, Slim established the school along with older sister Purificacion, who would later play a key role in her journey. Now on its 50th anniversary, the school has been a powerhouse for some of today’s premier designers such as Oskar Peralta, Cesar Gaupo, Bobby Novenario, and Eddie Ocampo, to name a few.

Slim’s memoirs and gala of creations are showcased in a biography titled SLIM: Salvacion Lim Higgins, Philippine Haute Couture 1947-1990 (Slim’s Legacy Project, Inc., 2009) authored by her children, Mark Lewis and Sandra Louis Higgins with Lisa Guerrero Nakpil and photographer Neal Oshima.

Mentor and student

Peralta, the first Filipino designer to be published in Vogue Magazine in Paris, boasted of being one of the few students Slim mentored personally.

“There were lessons about proportions, sketching, and the color palette,” Peralta recalled. “But the best learning comes from experience. Having been taught personally by her, and being in the same fashion show with her would rank first in my [fondest memories of her].”

As a student still making a name for himself, Peralta recalled an instance when Slim urged him to change his name from “Oscar” to “Oskar” apparently for more sophistication.

“She was a mother to us, you can see in her workmanship her principles in life,” said Peralta, adding that their beloved teacher taught them more than just the right fabrics to use or the perfect colors to match.

“For her, every gown had its own story,” he said.

But like Peralta, Slim was once a student herself. A native of Legazpi City, she traveled in 1940 to Manila to study in the then UST Department of Architecture and Fine Arts, under the tutelage of National Artist Carlos “Botong” Francisco (who was said to have been “one of the first to notice Salvacion’s eye for color and declared it often enough to the rest of the class).”

“Nature and nurture” went hand-in-hand with the talented Slim, whose formal schooling only enhanced her keen eye for aesthetics.

Birth of ‘Slim’

Slim was enjoying learning art within the University, but this had to take the backseat when World War II broke out. Life grew harder when her father, businessman Don Luis Samson Lim Katiam had to leave his family for his own safety. Margarita Navera Diaz, the Lim matriarch, took over the household with seven children who would soon learn “gritty persistence at the knee of their mother.”

Slim was determined to continue her studies, following her brother Jose’s wedding in Manila. While waiting for the new school term to start, she sent sketches of her designs to the Manila Times, then the country’s most influential broadsheet. It was also then that she began to name herself “Slim.”

Thus, began the talented Salvacion’s journey of a thousand designs, with her exquisite creations as her golden ticket to the fashion industry.

With her designs getting fair attention, she put up an atelier with Purificacion and family friend Consuelo Barberan at a flat on the district of Malate in 1947, which soon moved to its last location in Taft Avenue. The shop enticed well-heeled clienteles and other members of the Filipino elite, due to Slim’s “fresh and trend-setting designs.” Among her patrons were Miss International Gemma Cruz-Araneta and Armi Kuusela, the world’s first Miss Universe.

Next level

After a string of successful local fashion shows, the premier couturier embarked with her friends on a trip to Paris in the 1950s, where they saw some of the biggest names in international fashion, including Christian Dior and Cristobal Balenciaga, among others.

Slim set off to New York and enrolled at the Traphagen School of Design, one of the first American institutions to offer advanced cutting and pattern-making. She returned to Manila in 1952 and was then asked to create Filipino costumes for actress Micheline Presle for the movie “An American Guerilla in the Philippines,” starring Tyrone Power.

Since then, Slim became one of the first Asian couturiers to appear in the American press. This kind of attention intensified when Slim created much of then First Lady Leonila Garcia’s wardrobe during her and President Carlos Garcia’s visit to the White House in 1958, as well as a nationalistic gown presented to former US First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. The gown is now part of a permanent collection at the Smithsonian Institution.

Already successful with her fast-paced career, Slim married businessman Hubert Lewis Higgins and consequently opened her fashion and arts school on Taft Avenue. Together with Purificacion, Slim worked on the school’s curriculum and other academic materials while she was pregnant with Mark Lewis.

Curtain call

Slim continued to revolutionize Philippine fashion until she reached the pinnacle of her career. But in 1984, she was dealt with a shocking revelation—she was diagnosed with cancer.

However, the persistent and highly professional Slim did not let her sickness get in the way and instead went about her routines as a designer.

In 1987, Slim received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Filipino Designer’s Group for her contributions to the fashion industry. The following year, she moved to San Francisco and received treatment at the Stanford University Hospital.

In 1990, Philippine fashion lost her for good.

Philippine couture has never been the same since the passing of Slim, who revolutionized the era of ternos and stunning Filipinianas. But her true legacy lies not only in her creations, but in the succeeding generation of designers trained in her fashion school.

“I have found that it’s best to focus on one idea and build on that,” Slim once said. “Young designers sometimes tend to have a rush of clever ideas that they then cram into a single work, when these could have been divided into two, or even three, gowns.”

Slim was posthumously accorded the Hall of Fame Award at the 1990 Manila Fashion Designers Awards, which also showcased her last collections. In 1997, the quintessential designer was bestowed the Achievement Award at the Filipino Fashion Achievement Awards.

Last November, Slim’s body of works were exhibited at the National Museum of the Philippines. The exhibit runs until March this year. Included in the exhibit are yardsticks defined by the most explicit combinations of line, color and form, as well as gowns of elegant shapes and different fits. Her combinations of shades had a way of emphasizing the innate beauty of morenas, mestizas, and the occasional redhead complexions.

“She was the epitome of beauty in its simplest ways,” Peralta said. “Her gowns, even without the beadwork, would look astonishing and never plain.” M.R.B. Maranan

In celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Fine Arts program in the University, the College of Fine Arts and Design (CFAD) presented Visions at Platinum, showcasing the works of Thomasian visual artists of the four disciplines—painting, advertising, interior design, and industrial design—from Nov. 8 to 18 at the GSIS Museo ng Sining.

CFAD Dean Jaime delos Santos said approximately a hundred artists lent their work for the exhibit.

The works bore witness to generations of Thomasian artistry. Print Association of the Philippines president Raul Isidro’s “Farmer’s Day,” a gold and red-dominated print, showed his expertise in printmaking. Mario Santiago’s watercolors “Saintly Aquarium number 4: Pope John Paul II” and “Saintly Aquarium number 5: Mother Theresa” celebrated key religious icons of our time Younger artists have also exhibited their works, as well as CFAD faculty members. The paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, graphic designs, and furniture designs took up most of the museum’s exhibit space.

With more and more young artists emerging, Delos Santos says CFAD is geared towards further excellence.

“The students are so young and yet they are already very creative,” he said.

He mentioned Ronaldo Ventura, a CCP 13 Artist awardee at 32. “Most of the seasoned artists do not achieve this until they’re 50 or 60,” he said.

Ventura’s painting, “Warming,” was also in the exhibit. Featuring his trademark luminescent style, a man with a volcano head with a faint world map as his background implied global warming.

The exhibit is the first anniversary exhibit in 40 years, and since the Fine Arts department separated from the College of Architecture in 2000.

Most Fine Arts students are deeply involved in painting and sculpting, “but we have to earn a living,” Delos Santos said. So in 1956, the Advertising Arts program was introduced, to be followed by the Interior Design baccalaureate program the next year. Though relatively young, the Industrial Design department celebrated its silver anniversary two years ago.

The college has a long tradition of excellence. National Artists like Arturo Luz, Ang Kiukok, Victorio Edades, and J. Elizalde Navarro are alumni of the then College of Architecture and Fine Arts. University of the Philippines-educated masters Vicente Manansala and Carlos “Botong” Francisco taught generations of Thomasian artists. Once called the “Bastion of Modern Art,” the college is very proud of its alumni, as many have gained international prestige, while some are leaders in the local art scene.

With the 18 other art schools in the Philippines vying for the top spot, there is much competition for CFAD. But as Visions at Platinum has shown, with the quality of its alumni, the college can hold on to its long, illustrious, and continuing tradition of Thomasian excellence. Florian C. Garcia

 

The 20-foot quadricentennial Swatch “beatman” stands at the Plaza Mayor following its unveiling last December 18. Photo by I.A. Martinez

The 20-foot quadricentennial Swatch “beatman” stands at the Plaza Mayor following its unveiling last December 18. Photo by I.A. Martinez

THE NATIONAL Museum has declared the 82-year-old UST Main Building, the Central Seminary, the Arch of the Centuries, and UST’s open spaces as “National Cultural Treasures” ahead of the University’s Quadricentennial in 2011.

This is the first time for an educational institution to join the roster of National Cultural Treasures, with the majority of such structures being churches, and the rest being terrestrial landmarks, intangible cultural property, and movable objects.

The January 25 declaration followed the unveiling of the nearly century-old painting “The Foundation of the University of Santo Tomas by Archbishop Benavides,” restored through the Museum of Arts and Sciences’ Heritage Conservation Fund.

Section 3 of the Cultural Properties Preservation and Protection Act states that a “National Cultural Treasure is a unique object found locally, possessing outstanding historical, cultural, artistic, and/or scientific value, which is significant and important to this country and nation.”

The countdown to UST’s 400th year officially began last December 18, with the unveiling of four “quadricentennial symbols” before a record crowd that bore witness to the University’s “most memorable” Christmas celebration.

An estimated 50,000 people who attended the annual Paskuhan saw the launching of the quadricentennial flag, countdown clock, song, and prayer at the “Countdown, Count Me In!” program themed “4 horas, 4 dias, 400 days, 400 taon,” which represented the three cultures— Spanish, American, and Filipino— that defined UST’s history.

After a parade of costumes from the Spanish colonial era to the 21st century, the four-hour program started with the recitation of the quadricentennial prayer by Fr. Pompeyo de Mesa, O.P. over a candle lighting ceremony at the UST field. This was followed by the lighting of the 80-foot Christmas tree and University grounds, and the revelation of the quadricentennial flag.

The “Q flag,” designed by Fine Arts Regent Fr. Edgardo Alaurin, O.P., and former Varsitarian assistant art director Jonathan Gamalinda, bears the sun and the Dominican cross from the UST logo along with an embroidered “2011” at the center, the statue of UST founder Miguel de Benavides, the Main Building, and doves. The upper horizontal half of the flag is colored yellow to symbolize St. Thomas Aquinas, while the other half is colored blue symbolizing the University’s Marian devotion.

The image of Benavides’ statue is found at the left side “to signify [UST’s] passion for education,” while doves soar from his finger tip as a symbol of the Thomasian free spirit.

“We included the doves in the sky to give the impression of the vastness of the sky, God’s grace, and the spirit of a flying bird,” Alaurin said.

Alaurin and Gamalinda were assisted by Fine Arts professor Romeo Remalante, also a former Varsitarian artist, in designing the flag.

The flag’s design was a modified version of a painting created by Dante Lerma, one of the participants at the quadricentennial logo making contest three years ago.

The flag was raised simultaneously with a dance number from the Salinggawi Dance Troupe, drum rolls from the Yellow Jackets, and an exhibition from the Main Building.

A star-studded program followed with Thomasian beauty queen and UST alumna Miriam Quiambao as host, while actor JC Cuadrado gave away raffle prizes such as net books and gift certificates worth P5,000 each.

Thomasian entertainers graced the show–  singer Jamie Rivera (College of Commerce), comedienne Beverly Salvejo (Science), former Pinoy Dream Academy “scholar” RJ Jimenez (Engineering), internationally acclaimed singers Isay Alvarez (Arts and Letters) and Robert Seña (Fine Arts), actor Polo Ravales (Education), and dancer Archie Alemania (Artlets). Bands Sandwich and 6CycleMind, both managed by a Thomasian, also performed.

The 20-foot tall countdown “beat man” clock designed by Gamalinda signaled the start of the countdown by 12 midnight. It was manufactured by Swatch, the Swiss watch company.

“What the people see is not yet the final design of the beat man. But the colors are correct. We are just waiting for the finalization of details including the permanent location of the beat man,” Gamalinda said.

He said his design was inspired by the UST seal, which includes the lion and sea lion symbolizing the Royal Seal of the King of Spain, and the Seal of the City of Manila, respectively, the Papal tiara, and a flower for the Virgin Mary.

“When people think of UST, it has to be the combination of these four seals without one of these, UST is not UST,” Gamalinda added.

The quadricentennial song “Ako’y Isang Tomasino” composed by Gerardo de Leon and arranged by award-winning composer Jimmy Antiporda (both from Engineering) was sang by Thomasian singers Apple Chui and Aicelle Santos with Rhap Salazar and the UST Singers. This was followed by a 10-minute fireworks display at 12 midnight which culminated the program.

The “Q song” proclaims the University as “a strong institution standing the test of time,” Rector Fr. Rolando de la Rosa O.P., said in his opening speech.

“We are the University of Santo Tomas. We are older than the Filipino nation, older than Harvard, older than any university in Asia and the New World, but younger in vision, in our faith, in our hope, in our love because we are blessed with unending grace,” he said..

FOLLOWING the “Maguindanao massacre” that killed at least 57 people, including 31 journalists, the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) encouraged aspiring journalists to stay courageous and be “transformational leaders.”

“One of the values that our students need to learn is courage, [and to have] courage is to stand up for what is true and right,” said CEAP president Msgr. Gerardo Santos in a press conference at the UST-Tan Yan Kee Student Center last December 3.

But veteran journalist and journalism professor Alice Colet Villadolid said courage should be accompanied by prudence and wisdom.

“A life and death event should not be covered by a journalist,” Villadolid said.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, an international media watchdog group, has named Philippines as the most dangerous place for journalists following the massacre, overtaking war-torn Iraq.

The group condemned the “gruesome and politically motivated” killings of 57 women, children and journalists, most of whom were in the convoy of Genalyn Mangundadatu, wife of Buluan, Maguindanao vice mayor Eshmael Mangundadatu, who is running for governor in the next elections. Heavily armed men stopped and killed the group which was on its way to file Mangundadatu’s certificate of candidacy at the provincial capital in Shariff Aguak town last November 23.

The rival Ampatuan family stands accused of being responsible for the worst incident of election-related violence in Philippine history.

CEAP statement

“We demand that our civilian and military authorities apply the full force of the law without fear or favor to this case, and bring justice to those responsible for this brutality,” CEAP said in a statement. “We expect our national leaders to address the systematic and persistent social problems that perpetuate lawlessness and abuse of power in the region.”

Notre Dame University president Fr. Edgardo Tanudtanud, O.M.I., CEAP Region IX director, urged the government to address the “culture of impunity” in the region such as “warlordism” and “proliferation of firearms.”

Nestor Lemana, S.R., CEAP Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao director, blamed the massacre on the government’s inability to penetrate the region.

“This could not have happened if the government did not give up the supervisorial responsibility over the area. Because of its inability to do what it supposed to do, [the government] delegated this responsibility to the local leaders who later on did these things,” he said.

Senior Cherrynelle Pontejos said the massacre has strengthened her dream to become a journalist.

“I became more inspired because of the journalists who gave their lives [for the coverage],” she said.

But for Anna Crestelle Pedrosa, also a journalism senior, the massacre only showed being a journalist in the Philippines would be perilous.

Freshman Trish Shishikura said: “I never thought of changing my course, but I am considering practicing journalism abroad instead,” Shishikura said.  

Cliff Harvey C. Venzon

Now on its 10th year, Inkblots 2008: the UST National Journalism Fellowship continues its goal of molding aspiring writers through a series of journalism seminars and workshops from the country’s veteran journalists.

Organized by the Varsitarian, the 80-year-old official student publication of the University of Santo Tomas, the three-day event will be held on October 20 to 22 at the UST Thomas Aquinas Research Complex.

Inkblots 2008 will feature seminar-workshops on news writing, opinion writing, lifestyle writing, sports writing, feature writing, cartooning and campus paper management.

Invited lecturers include Inquirer columnist Conrado de Quiros, sports columnist Quinito Henson, Tempo and Panorama’s Nestor Cuartero and former New York Times correspondent Alice Colet-Villadolid.

A brainchild of Christian Esguerra, the Varsitarian’s editor-in-chief in 1998, Inkblots has grown to be a fertile training ground for journalism students nationwide. It is open to all campus journalists, campus press advisers and journalism enthusiasts.

For registration and inquiries, contact Ana Mae Roa (09266855574) or Emil Dela Cruz (09063254523), visit the Varsitarian office at Rm 105 Tan Yan Kee Bldg, UST España, Manila, call 4061611 loc. 8235, or e-mail inkblots08@yahoo.com.

THREE UST Graduate School alumni were cited as outstanding writers by the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL) in the 19th Gawad Balagtas Rites last Aug. 27 at the Intellectual Property Office, Quezon City.

Prof. Florentino Hornedo, who teaches Philosophy and Literature at the Graduate School and the Faculty of Arts and Letters, was awarded the Gawad Balagtas under the essay category.

“The award was not that important for me, although it is very much appreciated. Because for me, what is important is that people read your work and appreciate it, award winning or not,” Hornedo told the Varsitarian.

Hornedo graduated bachelor of Secondary Education at UST in 1961, recieved his doctorate in Literature from the Graduate School in 1977, and a post-doctorate in History and Political Science from the Graduate School in 1985 and 1988. Hornedo has received several awards such as the 1989 Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature in Essay, The Outstanding Thomasian Alumnus (TOTAL) Award for the Arts and Humanities, the National Catholic Authors Award, and the Pilak Award for Philippines.

Merlinda Bobis, who took her Master’s degree in Literature in 1987, was awarded the Gawad Balagatas for Poetry and Fiction.

Bobis has recieved awarded internationally like the Australian Writers’ Guild Award, Ian Reed Radio Drama Prize, International Prix Italia, Steele Rudd Award for the Best Published Collection of Australian Short Stories, Judges’ Choice Award at the Bumbershoot Bookfair in the Seattle Arts Festival.

Bobis is currently based in Australia where she teaches Creative Writing at the University of Wollongong.

Stage actress and playwright Rustica Carpio who obtained her doctorate in Literature, meritissmus, in the Graduate School in 1980 was also awarded Gawad Paz Marquez Benitez as Bukod Tanging Guro ng Panitikan.

Carpio founded Mass Communication in Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and holds professorial chair in Humanities at the UST Graduate School.

The Gawad Balagtas Awards is given out by the 32-year-old UMPIL to unite Filipino writers and to promote Philippine literature.

Marc Laurenze C. Celis

During the inauguration of the building last Feb. 18, Fr. Lana told the Varsitarian that the University hopes that the new facilities would aid the colleges’ endeavors.

Next school year, CA and CFAD will vacate the Roque Ruaño Bldg., their home for more than 50 years, and transfer to the BeatoAngelico Bldg. The College of Science’s Computer Studies department will take over the space at the Roque Ruaño

Bldg. to be vacated by CA and CFAD.

Fr. Lana also said the building would strengthen the Dominican institution’s thrust in the arts and humanities.

‘It shows that the University and the Dominican Order are not only committed to performing well in technical subjects, but also in the arts and humanities,’ Fr. Lana said.

CA is only one of the University’s 10 Centers of Excellence (COE) as declared by the Commission on Higher Education, while CFAD has applied for COE status. CFAD is widely considered one of the top schools in the fine arts in the country, having been the birthplace of the modernist art movement and having produced several national artists such as Victorio Edades, J. Elizalde Navarro, and Ang Kiukok.

The Beato Angelico Building was first constructed in 1994 as the Fra Angelico Exhibit and Workshop Building that served as an exhibit and workshop area, as well as home to the UST Publishing House and Bookstore.

At present, the building’s ground floor houses a gallery, exhibition halls, workshop areas for building construction activities, and sculpture and ceramic laboratories for the CFAD’s Painting Department. Its second level would be for administrative and academic offices and faculty rooms. An auditorium and a multi-purpose hall are located on the third level.

On the fourth floor are the thesis consultation and lecture rooms, and a physics laboratory. The fifth level has four big computer laboratories, additional thesis lecture rooms, private consultation studios, and student organization offices. The

remaining floors have classrooms, design studios, construction materials library, model-making room, dark room, art and photography supply and storage area, and three spacious workshop rooms for the Painting and Advertising Departments.

According to former College of Architecture and Fine Arts Dean Yolanda Reyes, the chief architect in the redesigned building, Beato Angelico was meant not to overshadow the Main Building’s tower, the University’s decades-old landmark, but cohere with existing ones. The building’s foundation was initially for a 10-story building, but the ceiling restriction limited it to eight stories.

Despite the limitations, Reyes said she and her team of architects were still able to produce an energy-efficient and cost effective design.

For example, she said in some floors they came up with a design to make them airy despite the low ceiling.

Meanwhile, administrators, faculty members, and students of the two Colleges are very upbeat on their impending transfer to the new building.

‘We feel like we’re moving into a brand new house. We have everything we need (at the Beato Angelico Building),’ CFAD Dean Jaime de los Santos said.

By: Teodoro Lorenzo A. Fernandez