#FEATURE | Humanities Festival 2020: A Festival Within an Online Environment
by Talia Araña, Sam Gianan, and Gwen Valimento
O n one Friday, usually meant for a non-academic day, students entered the meeting room for a seminar. The seminar was about writing during the pandemic. After enough students had entered, the speaker appeared.
He turned on his microphone and introduced himself. Some students then turned on their cameras. The setting of the seminar was then revealed: a Zoom meeting, with only a few cameras turned on. This was how this school year’s Humanities Festival was held in the midst of the online setup.
Every Friday from December 4 to 18, students, teachers, and staff gathered for webinars and activities that educated and inspired the students on different topics related to the humanities subjects.
Due to the pandemic, Pisay ended up using an online set-up for schooling. This caused all of its events to be held online, including this year’s Humanities Festival, or HumFest. With a new set of challenges brought about because of the digital situation, some thought that the festival would not happen for the year. But thanks to the hard work of the steering committee in terms of planning, preparation, and even the handling of several activities, the festival was able to come to life.
Planning by the steering committee
Planning the annual festival was indeed challenging, as noted by the head of the Social Science Unit and steering committee, Ma’am Sarah Eisma. Aside from learning how to conduct Zoom webinars, put Youtube videos, manage a Facebook page, and make a pubmat, she mentioned the difficulties in coordination with the rest of the steering committee as everything was online. For the opening ceremony, teachers made the effort to come to school from the provinces to prerecord videos to formally open the event.
With all of these difficulties, different stakeholders from the whole Pisay faculty came together to bring about a successful festival. Ma’am Kornellie Raquitico, a Grade 11 English teacher, even mentioned that she was an accidental emcee for the opening event as the original emcee had an emergency.
Remembering that she wasn’t smiling for the entire hosting, she laughed, saying, “I am the type that wants to be prepared… my preparedness leads to confidence.” Even though there were these small mishaps, she nevertheless commended Ma’am Eisma for pulling the event off really well.
“The fact that we were able to bring or give a good one is already the best thing that ever happened for Humfest 2020,” Ma’am Raquitico said.
Preparing for the Opening Ceremony
One of the highlights of the festival was the opening ceremony. This event, which is present in every HumFest, kicks off the festival with different performances prepared by students and teachers. Even with the online set-up, we were thankfully able to have performances that somehow gave the school community a feeling of festivity and togetherness.
Performers from Kamalayan, Sagala and a Batch 2022 student band, The In Bituin, all shared their respective experiences in preparing for the opening ceremony.
“Malaking part ng HumWeek yung Sagala, sadly onti silang nagperform kasi hindi lahat kinaya mag-video dahil sa dami ng reqs,” said Cheeno Montalbo, one of the few members of the club who were able to submit their videos for the presentation.
[Sagala is a big part of HumWeek, sadly only a few people were able to perform because not everyone was able to video due to the huge amount of reqs.]
“Iba pa rin yung kasama namin lahat during training. ‘Pag HumWeek, yun talaga yung first performance ng Sagala, pero ngayon hindi namin masyadong kilala yung ibang members. Hindi rin napapakita yung real greatness ng choreo dahil solo siya pinerform.”
[Being with everyone during training really is different. HumWeek is usually Sagala’s first performance, but now, we don’t really know the other members. Also, the real greatness of the choreo isn’t shown because it was performed solo.]
The choreography was initially meant to be performed as a group in a competition last March — one of the many events that had to be cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic.
Time pressure was another challenge for most, if not all of the performers. According to Montalbo, Sagala only had one session to study the choreography.
Meanwhile, Kamalayan’s preparation started in the last week of November. They were only able to have two meetings before the actual performance, but thanks to the members’ “bright ideas,” they were able to write, record, and edit a successful showcase of spoken word poetry.
“Nagbigay sila ng mga bright ideas na pwede naming maisulat sa script — tungkol sa pandemic, mga nararanasan nila, whether good or bad,” said Ma’am Lerma Espina, the adviser of Kamalayan.
[They provided bright ideas that we could add to the script — about the pandemic, their experiences, whether good or bad.]
Sadly, many of the students were not able to perform due to internet connection problems. Despite this, Ma’am Espina was still glad to see their enthusiasm and support for their club. “Natuwa ako kasi andoon yung willingness ng Kamalayan na magperform. I’m so happy and proud of them,” she said with a big smile on her face.
[I was happy because I could see Kamalayan’s willingness to perform. I’m so happy and proud of them.]
“Sabi nila, ‘Ma’am, grabe ang galing [ng] nagawa natin! Nakadalawang meeting lang tayo!’” Laughing, she added, “Well, that’s Pisay. Mahilig tayong mag-cram.”
[They said, ‘Ma’am, what we did was so good! We only had two meetings!’ Well, that’s Pisay. We like cramming.]
The In Bituin also had difficulties in juggling time, especially while studying their parts on their own. Gab Alteza, the band’s drummer, mentioned in an interview, “Normally, we would all practice together but due to the pandemic, we weren’t able to. It’s sad.”
“Mga limang beses ko nirevise [yung part ko],” said JC Austria, the lead guitarist of the band. [“I had to revise my around part five times.”] “It’s hard to hear the parts since we don’t play together.”
Aneko Delfin, the rhythm guitarist, shared a similar sentiment. “Adjusting to online performance is harder,” she added.
Nevertheless, there were still some advantages of having an online presentation. “Yung maganda rin sa online [set-up] is mas napeperfect natin yung ginagawa natin. We could also add different parts that we couldn’t add before,” said Jan Manzano, the band’s keyboardist and sub vocalist.
[Another good thing about the online [set-up] is that we can perfect what we’re doing.]
When asked about their memorable experiences, Jana Malaya, the lead vocalist, answered with words that brought smiles to the members’ faces. “Overall, the level of hype for performance was lower in the sense that we didn’t see who we were performing for,” she admitted. “But despite that, we could still see the energy from the audience in the sense that some people were messaging us and emailing us during and after our performance to congratulate us.”
Delfin then added, “It was fun to have something to work on, because with that, we could look forward to giving a performance to people.”
Aside from the students’ performances, another highlight of the opening ceremony that many look forward to is the teachers’ presentations. On top of the heavy workload of online classes, several teachers were still able to showcase lively TikTok dances to the delight of the school community.
“Every HumWeek naman may performance yung teachers [that students look forward to], but it’s a game changer now that they utilized TikTok well,” said Montalbo.
Though it was a struggle for organizers to make the celebration festive due to the online setup, many teachers and students still expressed their gratitude regarding the success of the opening ceremony.
“Dati, walang laman yung drive folder [containing the video performances] nila. But at the end of the day, magsasama-sama naman pala lahat,” Ma’am Raquitico said, joy evident in her teary-eyed expression.
[Before, the drive folder containing the video performances was empty. But at the end of the day, everything came together.]
“Just like in real life, no matter what you do or activity you organize, at the end of the day, everything will be done. After a little difficulty, if you believe that, people will help.”
Experiencing the old and new
There were a few notes from Ma’am Espina, also a Filipino teacher who likewise helped organize the festival.
She reminisced about the bonding that was formed between friends and sections, which included the cheering, the friendships, and the arguments. The sections were also very competitive back then. She found the ups and downs to be part of Humfest.
“Nakakalungkot, as in,” she said. “Looking back, buhay na buhay yung mga corridors sa mga exhibit, mga pagkain na galing sa labas, yung ichecheer natin yung mga kaibigan. Lalo na yung bonding ng [mga] section[s] sa Humanities Festival, yung makikilala mo yung bawa’t isa, yung mga individual differences ng mga tao. Manalo, matalo, minsan may mga awayan.”
[It was really saddening. Looking back, the corridors were filled with life from the exhibits, the food from outside the school, the cheers of the students for their friends. Especially the bonding of the sections during the Humanities Festival, getting to know each other and each person’s individual differences. Whether they win or lose, or sometimes argue.]
Unfortunately, our freshmen have not yet been able to experience the full physical Humanities Festival set-up. Nevertheless, some Grade 7 students were still able to enjoy the online activities.
“Before the festival, I didn’t know anything about it except that it was about humanities and all I thought about it was a talk about Values Education and what not. I think my expectations were partly true except that I was able to hear interesting stories from different speakers and got to participate in nice activities,” said Gab Madulara, a student from 7-Opal. He also hoped that the festival could be held in a face-to-face set up next time.
MJ Dela Cruz from 7-Jade expressed similar sentiments. “It was fun, having to experience various activities. It was like an extra part of school, no books to study but I’ve learned some things. I would have liked to experience it normally, without the virus so we could experience the festival physically at school. It took some time off our weekends but I think it went fairly good,” she said.
Such an experience was new to many freshmen as noted by Kyle Felarca, also from 7-Jade. He particularly enjoyed the online webinars and speeches.
“Their speeches were very inspiring and interesting for me,” he said. “They talked about their experiences in Pisay and how they gave back to the community.”
Madulara also expressed that the Humanities Festival was a break from requirements and a good bonding experience for their class. He particularly enjoyed the event, “Connecting in the Time of Physical Distancing”, because he was able to bond with his classmates.
Dealing with the online setup
This event was truly different from the past ones. Ma’am Eisma mentioned how the very essence of social interaction was limited to social media interaction. Instead of taking selfies or and group pictures, we ended up taking screenshots. Ma’am Raquitico echoed the same sentiment — how its physical counterpart in school is still better with the concessionaires and the hot gym.
Due to the online setup, the preparation was also impacted by the challenges presented by internet, emails, and other online features.
An event that was affected by the online set-up was the “Madz Et Al 2020” Concert. It was a virtual concert featuring different choirs such as Himig Paraluman, Himig Roseña, and Kilyawan Consortium of Voices. Martin Bayhon, a Grade 8 student and a member of the Kilyawan Consortium of Voices, said, “The concert’s message of ‘Our Voices Will be Heard’ is something we really need right now: a time of just staying at home and how even if we are isolated, we can still use our talents to spread joy and happiness.” Their choir composed the song they performed, which was about how the youth can work together and help those in need, all to make a brighter future for the next generations.
While preparing for his presentation, Bayhon experienced many struggles in recording and submitting his video. For one, he had to wait for the right time to start recording due to background noise, which was very common in his area. Internet connection was also a problem, and it took him almost 11 hours to upload his part.
Despite these challenges, the performers were still able to give memorable performances that delighted many of their virtual audience members. In fact, one Grade 7 student shared that the concert was one of her favorite Humanities Festival experiences.
“I enjoyed listening to various songs that people sang. Even though the virus is hindering us from being together, through music and technology, they were able to connect everyone with their wonderful music and voices. That gave a light to my day because music is really nice to hear especially during these times,” said Dela Cruz.
However, the virtual nature of the event, along with the persistence of the steering committee, also gave us a variety of activities that wouldn’t have been possible to hold in physical classes.
One of those activities were the PETA plays. PETA themselves approached Ma’am Espina, asking if the school was interested in watching the musicals. Grades 7 and 8 watched 1896, a musical about the Philippine Revolution through the eyes of Emilio Aguinaldo. Grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 watched Si Juan Tamad, Ang Diyablo, at Ang Limang Milyong Boto. The play focused on a young voter named Juan Tamad and his experiences with the electoral system.
Ma’am Espina chose the plays due to the themes they presented. 1896 had more historical subject matter, while Si Juan Tamad, Ang Diyablo, at Ang Limang Milyong Boto was more mature and focused on political topics. She also noted how some Grade 12 students were already fit to vote, and that the play could educate them more about voting.
This year’s virtual set-up gave all six batches a chance to watch Filipino plays, when in physical classes only a select few would be able to participate under school funding because of expensive tickets. “We got funded by the school to watch the plays, para there’s a different kind of art aside from things like Netflix,” said Ma’am Espina.
It was challenging for Ma’am Espina since there are some students who were not able to receive emails. Some of the students also had the emails in their spam. In the end, all her hard work was worth it, as a lot of students enjoyed the plays.
Organizers were also able to invite prominent speakers such as Vice President Leni Robredo for our opening ceremonies, and Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto and Kabataan Partylist Representative Ms. Sarah Elago for one of the Social Science webinars.
Wrapping up the festival
“All things, good or bad, must come to an end.”
This was the caption of the final event of this year’s Humanities Festival — the closing ceremony, held on YouTube. The first part of the video featured a speech by Ma’am Melody Hernandez, who introduced the Himig Paraluman group who performed later on.
“During this pandemic, I realized that this is not the time to get what we want. This is the time to appreciate what we have,” she said. “[…] Indeed, music — humanities as a whole — are powerful tools to spread love, hope, joy, healing, happiness and peace.”
This performance was followed by well-deserved acknowledgements and thanks to the Steering Committee, the Humanities Faculty, the Management Committee, the chiefs of the Student Services Division, Division of Student Affairs, and Finance and Administrative Division, the performers, resource speakers, technical support group, and maintenance staff.
The acknowledgements closed with heartwarming words from Ma’am Sarah Eisma. “Naging hamon nga po talaga ang pag-oorganisa ng ganitong gawain dahil bagong-bago nga po ang platform na ating ginamit sa pagdiriwang ng Humanities Festival 2020. Ngunit naging madali ito dahil po sa ating pagkakapit-bisig mula sa admin, mga kapwa guro, hindi lang po sa humanidades kung di pati sa STEM units, sa mga staff, at sa mga mag-aaral. Mahalaga po ang maging bahagi ang bawat isa upang maging matagumpay ang pagdiriwang ng Humanities Festival 2020.”
[Organizing this event was truly a challenge because we were all new to the platform that we used in the celebration of the Humanities Festival 2020. Nevertheless, this became easier because of how the admin, teachers, not just from the Humanities unit but also the STEM units, the staff, and the students all worked together. It is important for each person to take part in the celebration of the Humanities Festival 2020 for it to be successful.]
The ceremony ended with a video commemorating all the activities of the festival, along with notable quotes by some of our key speakers — including none other than the Vice President of the Philippines, Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo.
“Sa pag-aaral ng kultura, lipunan, kasaysayan, wika o sining, nakasalay ang forward motion ng sangkatauhan sa pagkakadugtong-dugtong natin. Malaki ang papel niyo…ngayon pa lang ay tinatawag na kayong isadiwa ang pagiging iskolar ng bayan,” she said. “You are never too young to make a difference, hindi kayo bata lang, Pilipino kayong may kakayahang iangat ang kapwa at magpanday ng tunay na better normal. Mga young scientist na tapat sa katotohanan, mulat sa mga aral ng humanities at nakatuon sa pagsisilbi sa bayan. Tiwala ako, magagawa natin ito.”
[By studying culture, society, history, language or arts, the forward motion of the people rests on the shoulders of our connection. You all have a big role…even now, you are called to manifest your role as scholars of the nation. You are never too young to make a difference, you are not just children, you are Filipinos who have the capability to help society and forge a new, better normal. You are young scientists who stand by truth, educated on the studies of humanities and dedicated to the service of the nation. I believe that we can do this.]
