Painting by Plet Bolipata; composition by Cynthia Alexander

In “Looking for Juan,” a collaborative project among seven artists and seven musicians, we see the many faces of the Pinoy.

There’s the overseas Filipino worker who, in musician Cynthia Alexander’s song “Sino,” leaves with big “hopes of red hair and high heels/nails, lips, and promises in my blue maleta [suitcase].” Each night she prays “to the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost . . . to keep [loved ones] safe and warm.” We don’t know whether she has fulfilled the dreams she “swallow[ed] her pride” for, but she dreams of coming back “to home and green mangoes.”

Cabangon’s “O Juan” is equally timely, bringing to the core every Pinoy’s struggle of making ends meet and the question of whether going abroad is all worth it:

Ang buhay pa ba ay gagaan . . .
Kailangan pa bang mangibang bayan
at tuluyan nang iwan buhay na kinagisnan . . .

“Batang EDSA” by Elmer Borlongan; composition by Dong Abay

Then there’s the Pinoy child who, instead of being in school and enjoying childhood, is raking it out in the city’s highways, selling cigarettes and sampaguita leis to earn a living. Artist Elmer Borlongan’s “Batang EDSA” is a biting commentary on the danger these kids face every day, just to earn a few pesos to bring home to their families. Borlongan’s work brings to canvas rock musician Dong Abay’s song “God Bless Our Trip.”

Iho na tindero ng dyaryo at sigarilyo
Higpit ang kapit sa estribo
Kapit ay medyo delikado
Baka masagasaan ng rumaragasang sasakyan
Maging kaawa-awang biktima ng hit and run . . .

Being Pinoy
“Looking for Juan aims to recapture the idealism that I had back in college—of wanting to make a difference,” says Gigo Alampay of nonprofit arts and culture group Canvas, who worked with Ambient Media on getting these artists together for the show. The result was 14 paintings and 14 songs, all meant to explore the Pinoy identity. An album featuring these songs and the artworks will be released in November.

Artist Plet Bolipata, whose work “Paperdolls in the Airport: Mga Bagong Bayani (Our New Heroes)” was the inspiration for Cynthia Alexander’s composition, remembers that Pinoy identity was an issue that she grappled with during her college years, which she spent in the States.

Bolipata’s Paperdolls, in which we see a bubble-wrapped figure left behind in the airport, is actually a “very personal” work, shares the artist, and represents the death of her father, who was a strong supporter of the arts. The tikbalang, a figure in Philippine mythology that is known to confuse travelers, represents the obstacles to finding one’s identity.

Similarly, Loquy’s “Hanap,” which spurred an artwork by Alfred Esquillo, articulates that frazzled search for identity:

Hinahanap ang sarili sa mga kanta ng iba
Hinahanap ang sarili sa mga salita ng makata
Nalulunod sa iba’t-ibang impluwensya
Natabunan ang sarili . . . di na makita . . .

Joey Ayala, echoing that raw sentiment of Filipinos who, while swapping citizenship for a greencard, remain Pinoys to the core, hits the chord in “Bugtong“: “Baguhin man ang pangalan/Ako pa rin ito.”

Images with lyrics from Daniel Tayona and Canvas