There’s an elderly couple walking toward the town’s church, one carrying a rolled-up banig under her arm. A hungry churchgoer is earnestly waiting by the bibingka stall. A rooster is being woken by an alarm clock. Another couple is all bundled up—fur coats and all—and ready for the nippy December weather.
These are just a few of the scenes in National Artist Larry Alcala’s “Slice of Life” which, even after many years, can still make one spend hours on end scrutinizing each and every detail—and searching for the artist’s profile, which is always cleverly hidden.
Titled “Remembering the Joy of Paskong Pinoy,” it has been chosen by Unicef as their Christmas card cover this holiday season. The limited-edition set of cards is part of the UN children’s agency’s Christmas fundraising campaign. It depicts the classic Simbang Gabi landscape, from sleepy parishioners rushing to make it to Mass to food stalls stationed outside the church, enticing everyone with puto bumbong and steaming cups of tsokolate.
Award-winning illustrator and children’s literature advocate Ruben “Totet” de Jesus, who provided curatorial guidance for Alcala’s exhibition at SMX Convention Center earlier this year, thinks Unicef made a wise decision in having Alcala’s “Slice of Life” for their Christmas cards this year.
“It’s good to go back and try to see his art again, for those who have been following him all these years,” said De Jesus, who’s also one of the founders of Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan. “At the same time, for the kids who didn’t get to see or follow his artworks when they were still in circulation, it would be a refreshing way to introduce them to him, to his art, to his way of portraying the Filipino way of life, and the kids will also see themselves and see what is good in us as Filipinos.”
Fun and quirky
Alcala’s “Slice of Life” series portrays every imaginable scene that happens in Philippine society—from fiestas and school openings to beach trips and even the mundane ones such as tricycle terminals—that showcases the good, the fun and the quirky in being Filipinos. De Jesus believes it would be nice for the younger generation to see and learn about Alcala and his art, and perceive the side of the Filipino that the National Artist came out with in “Slice of Life.”
“With the things happening around us, with all the uncertainties, the pandemic, the wars, all the unfortunate things happening in our world, in our country right now, it’s very important to look back at things that the kids probably have not been able to appreciate or experience in the past several years,” De Jesus said. “They see it here (‘Slice of Life’) and they can even talk with their parents about it and share their experiences.”
De Jesus hopes interest in Alcala’s art will go beyond Unicef’s Christmas cards, that art schools would talk more about the National Artist and his art, and that even those in their younger years of education would get to know Alcala and be encouraged to follow his example of inspiring pride even in the most ordinary things of being a Filipino through drawings and storytelling.
“I’m very thankful to Unicef for choosing Mang Larry this year because, first, it will give us a chance to look back at our distinct way of celebrating the holiday season,” said De Jesus. “Second, it’s a way to be proud and to be happy of that side of our being Filipino.”
There is also the aspect of hope in Alcala’s art, according to De Jesus. “It gives us a way to look ahead in a more hopeful, positive manner. At makikita natin ang ating mga sarili sa art ni Larry Alcala.”
Get a set of 10 Unicef limited-edition “Remembering the Joy of Paskong Pinoy” Christmas cards featuring the art of National Artist Larry Alcala for a one-time donation of P1,000. Visit donate.unicef.ph/campaign/christmascards.
