Mad-Mla 6: Of Diplomats and Art

When I was in Madrid, I met a most amiable diplomat, Consul Jose Ma. Cariño, in church, of all places. His family was seated in front of me, and during the Peace offering, we exchanged smiles of acknowledgment, the type that’s given to every kababayan one meets in a foreign land. After the mass we shared a few stories and he gave me his card.

Later that week I made a cold visit to the Philippine embassy, just to check out what’s to see there (a friend also advised me to register my name, to let them have a record of me as a student in Madrid). I asked if I could see the Consul, half expecting to be turned down, but after stopping by the cultural affairs department, I was escorted to his office.

I came home from that visit with sincere joy in being Filipino. Here was a man who was a diplomat for the right reasons: he loved his country, and he loved promoting it to others, and I met him (or more precisely, he met with me) with no agenda–not because he was the friend of a friend who called in a favor, or because he was campaigning for office.

Belinda Olivares-Cunanan describes him as a writer, historian, and diplomat:

The son of retired Ambassador Rosario V. Cariño, Jomari began his love affair with Spain by taking primary education in Barcelona. Over the years, he has wandered around museums, flea markets, churches and private collections in search of various art works by Filipino and foreign artists on the Philippines as well as artifacts-a labor of love for him…And what a story he had about life in colonial Philippines and the colorful lives our “ilustrados” lived in Spain.

Love afair with Spain–certainly something that resonates in me…

Cunanan goes on to say that Cariño:

…catalogue[d] works by Philippine artists in Spain, with the assistance of Ricky Jose. Their research found its way into four books written by such writers as Santiago Pilar, Felice Sta. Maria and Brenda Fajardo that have won various book awards here.

These books are:

• “Jose Honorato Lozano, Filipinas 1847.” Contains the paintings of Lozano, the foremost Filipino painter of the 19th century and a disciple of Damian Domingo. The son of the keeper of the Manila Bay lighthouse, Lozano charmingly chronicled the day-to-day life in Intramuros and Binondo.
• “Discovering Philippine Art in Spain.” Sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs as part of our centennial celebration.
• “Album, Islas Filipinas 1663-1888.” A compilation of Filipino and foreign artists’ works on the Philippines, featuring the fabulous collection of Teyet Pascual on Damian Domingo and Justiniano Asuncion. It also shows the collection of drawings from the famed “Malaspina Expedition” of Museo Naval and Museo de America in Madrid. Admiral Malaspina, an Italian in the Spanish Crown’s employ, traveled to South America, Australia and Asia to gather information on animal life and flora in the 1780s. A number of drawings on RP life at that time are included in the book.
• “Piña, El Tejido del Paraiso.” Inspired by Lourdes Reyes-Montinola’s pioneering work on this wonderful fabric.

I remembered this little encounter with the Consul when I came across the lecture below, which focuses Lozano:

Stories About Preserving Cultural Heritage
October 14, Saturday
2-4pm
Lopez Library

Fee is Php50.00 for Museum Foundation members and Php100.00 for non-members.

This is the ninth in the series brought to us by The Lopez Memorial Museum, in cooperation with Museum Foundation of the Philippines. The focus is on Jose Honorato Lozano (1821-1885), the foremost visual chronicler of 19th century Philippines and his albums. Albums are sheets of paper with drawings in graphite or pen-and-ink sketches or watercolors bound together and serving as souvenirs or catalogs or illustrations to reports. Among the albums are the Ayala Album, the Nyssens-Flebus album and the Broken album. There is also the Gervasio Gironella Album in the Biblioteca Nacional de Madrid. Some distinctive features of the albums include architectural and landscape details and images of the natural riches of the Philippines.

The association of Lozano with letras y figuras as well as the distinctions and nuances which earlier studies have failed to see have resulted in the misattribution of the albums. To discuss this and other issues that cropped up the course of the albums’ discovery attribution or authentication, repatriation, dividing the albums, etc. is Ms. Sonia Ner, former academician, art manager, director of Ayala Museum and executive director of Asia Society Philippines who has conceptualized and edited Jose Honorato Lozano, Filipinas 1847 and co-authored Album de las Islas Filipinas which featured two of Lozano’s albums.

The Lopez Memorial Museum is at the ground floor, Benpres Building, Exchange Road corner Meralco Avenue, Pasig City. Museum days and hours are Mondays-Saturdays, 8am-5pm, except holidays.

The Lopez Memorial Museum and Library is a subsidiary of the Lopez Foundation, Inc. Please visit our website at www.lopezmuseum.org.ph

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Other posts on Madrid-Manila:

Mad-Mla9: Relearning Spanish
Mad-Mla7: Finding Travel Buddies
Mad-Mla 5: The English Language
Mad-Mla 4: Metro and Unlimited Rides
Mad-Mla 3: Painting Club!
Mad-Mla 2: Pedestrian Life
Mad-Mla 1: Introduction