Augustinian the
Volume LXV • Number 4 May 15, 2019
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Freedom Within The Four Gray Walls by everild dominique a. camique
“Ili-ili tulog anay, wala diri imo nanay…” While the metal strings of the guitar vibrate, the haunting voice sang. The song faded out into the words being said, “I know in God’s perfect time, I could be with my family again, and be a person they want me to be. A good mother to my children, and a good daughter to you, Mama.” This is one of many stories that were told on the 23rd of November, 2018. Stories that were inspired by the women who were locked in four gray walls, congested inside one holding cell, behind the bars that prevent them from being part of the outside world. These are the women of the Iloilo City District Jail, Female Dormitory, whose tales inspired the event, Her Stories, a celebration of women through the performing arts.
Of Passion Her Stories is part of an established project, the Hilway Arts Project of the Fine Arts Major Organization (FAMO), led by Ma. Rosalie Abeto Zerrudo. It is where women can exercise their own sense of freedom in prison, through the stories of objects. It is anchored for the empowerment of women in times of disasters. “The women, in particular, that we are talking about are the women in prison,” said Zerrudo. “It is really actually telling different kinds of persona, and characters of women or universal archetypes, who are actually trying to reclaim back their dignity, and their lives.” Zerrudo’s efforts were noticed by the Zonta Club of Iloilo City 1, Inc., in which Zonta invited her to talk with the club itself, regarding turning Her Stories as a fund-raising event,
whose main beneficiary is the women in the Iloilo City District Jail, Female Dormitory. “They were so inspired, they wanted to raise funds, and extend their support to the women in prison, so they asked me if it’s okay that we can actually become the beneficiary of this project,” said Zerrudo. “They were able to raise some funds, and it was also helpful for to address some of the needs of the women.”
Of Women The event was celebrated with the different performances by the several performing arts groups of the University of San Agustin, namely the USA Band, USA Choir and Troubadours, Kawilihan-USA Dance Troupe, and the USA Little Theatre (USALT). The University-wide event was spearheaded by Eric Divinagracia, the artistic director of USALT. “Basically, the concept is celebrating the women through the arts, so we are celebrating the woman in her roles in society, the woman as student, the woman as mother, the woman as lover, the woman as leader, through songs, dances, and theater,” said Divinagracia. Entering the USA Auditorium, the audience was greeted by the familiar sounds of Disney that were played by the USA Band, led by Arvhien Lava Ardonia. With songs from Moana, Mulan, Beauty and the Beast, and Frozen, it was a reminder of one’s childhood. The experience from watching these films is reminiscent of feeling the strength and hope from the characters that portrayed such spirit in times of difficulty. The Kawlihan USA performed three routines depicting the woman as a
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Student, an Artist and a Leader. It started with “Aral sa Hall” where they displayed the carefree years of high school, clad in school uniforms with a routine that can be described as cheerful and happy. “Chorus Line”, the routine that showed depicted the struggle of being an artist, where the individual is not only one vying for the recognition, one must learn how to stand out from the rest, and to pick yourself up after every downfall. Finally, they fully portrayed the power of a woman as a leader, in their performance of the famous dance of the Maranao people, Singkil. Whereas the hopeful tones were heard from the USA Choir and Troubadours, of their rendition of the songs of “When You Believe,” “Tagumpay Nating Lahat,” and “A Better World.” “When You Believe” was sang in relation to the segment of the Woman as a Daughter, and the latter songs were sung for the Woman as a Leader. Their voices carried across the auditorium, stringing hearts along the way for their soulful expressions of the songs reverberated everyone who was there that night. Finally, the USALT brought us all home with their powerful enactment of the play “Maria Clara” and “Si Inday Hilway”. Maria Clara was inspired by the character with the same name, in the previous works of Jose Rizal. But there was one story that was received by the USALT, it was of a working student that was being battered by her father, resulting it being a tragic comedy. “We wanted to portray and then we wanted to emphasize that the woman, despite the fact that she was being abused, can rise up and transcend the abuse, so that is the story of Maria Clara, ” said Divinagracia. He explained that when one looks at Maria Clara, frailty is
US A PUB PHOTOs • BJ B. ESCARILLA
An Expression of Strength and Resilience through the Various Archetypes of Women
the first thing that one notices, considering that she is a very weak character. But if you look beyond the face value, one will see the strength behind the
of Ma. Rosalie Abeto Zerrudo, entitled PDL 700. PDL means Persons Deprived of Liberty and 700 because of the 700% congestion rate inside the prison.
“The heart of it is that if the woman loves, she is free, so despite the fact that the prison seems to be a very daunting symbol for the lack of freedom, and yet there is still a possibility that freedom can be experienced in the prison.” gentle eyes of the character “She stood between Damaso and Ibarra. If there are people in the house, she took care of them, in behalf of the father. She gave the locket to the Kitongin, which is basically taboo in the society back then. But she did all those things, so Maria Clara is a story of a woman trying to get back her voice, against someone who is supposed to love her,” shared Divinagracia. Another powerful performance was that of their second play, “Si Inday Hilway.” It was inspired by the narrative
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“emotional, heavy and driven with passion.” “We were trying to advocate for them as they can’t do it outside, so we became their voices and made society hear their plea,” said Yra, “I was able to draw more attention to those women that in contrary to the negative perceptions of other people, we were able to see them as mothers, daughters, and wives just like other women.”
Of Freedom
It was where Zerrudo collected stories from the women in prison, and was able to come up with a narrative and a performance speech in which she performed it in the University. “The heart of it is that if the woman loves, she is free, so despite the fact that the prison seems to be a very daunting symbol for the lack of freedom, and yet there is still a possibility that freedom can be experienced in the prison,” Divinagracia said. One of the stage managers of the event, and actor of the play, Eunice Yra described her experience with the event as
Being locked inside of the prison, whether it be of what wrongdoing one has done in their past life, or was innocent, but ended up being in the wrong place at the wrong time, it is impossible for one to experience a sense of freedom, and a sense of belonging. But through these events, through these projects, one can feel that sense again, and may bring back the person that was lost along the way. Her Stories is one of the many projects that have been done for this women, granting them the sense of freedom that they lost, while being locked behind those four gray walls.
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