We remember today Lorena Barros, who was killed in Mauban, Quezon on March 24, 1976 while fighting to bring down the Marcos dictatorship. According to the Bantayog ng mga Bayani, βMedical treatment was promised by her captors if she would cooperate with them, but she said she would rather die for her beliefs. She was shot in the nape. She was 28 years old.β Barros was a granddaughter of a ππ’π΅πͺπ±πΆπ―π¦π³π°. Her mother was part of the HUKBALAHAP guerilla resistance.
The artist Basilio βBillyβ Pangilinan reimagined Barros in a particular way. Thanks to the ciphers noted down by the biologist Rio Constantino, who curated the Alas ng Bayan 2.0 exhibit, we know the following:
ππππ: Barros was a member of the UP Writers Club, and the founding chair of MAKIBAKA. She graduated from UP Diliman in 1970.
ππππππππ: Barros is wearing a maroon sash reminiscent of the π΄π’π£ππ’πΊ: worn by UP graduates. Her uniform is also purple, which is a color associated with the feminist movement. [CONGRADS is campus lingo, a combination of βcongratsβ and βgraduationβ]
ππππππ ππ πππππ: The π£π’πΊπ£π’πΊπͺπ― on the rocks behind Barros spell out βDangalβ and βHusay,β the motto of UP.
ππππππππππππ: Speaking of rocks, we decided to give Barros powers related to geomancy/earthbending because of the ideals she followed in life: Lorena being of the earth and the people who till it, and also a defender of the motherland as well.
πππ ππππππ ππππ: When Billy first brought up the idea of undead Philippine constabulary, Duterte was president. Today, however, the ghouls of the past have literally clawed their way back into power in the form of the Marcos Jr. presidency. If Billy and I had known just what the future had in store for everyone, maybe we would have added an extra ππͺπ€π© or two in the background to further highlight the irony (and urgency) of our times. [A ππͺπ€π© is an undead evil monster in Dungeons and Dragons.]
Art often gives us new perspectives. Did you spot other gems in Pangilinanβs art? What about the other Alas ng Bayan pieces? #PastsRevisited #AlasNgBayan
