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One way to tell that you’re already in the town of Guagua in Pampanga is when you begin to see sculptures & furniture prominently displayed on the side streets. Here, they sprout everywhere like an artsy prelude into discovering a tradition that has lived through time.
Pampanga is known for many things - delicious cuisine, beautiful lanterns, & heritage churches. But when it comes to woodcraft, all roads lead to Betis, a district in Pampanga famed for sculpture & woodcarving.
Woodcraft in Betis traces its roots back to 16th century in Sta. Ursula when Spanish colonizers arrived in a place where “dukit” or sculpture was already a thriving art. But just like how Spain influenced this art form across the country, they taught how to perfect the proportions of carving human forms through images of saints. In this way too, they influenced the conversion of the natives to Christianity.
Betis, from the Spanish word Hispania Baetica was once a fishing & farming village. While sculpture wasn’t popular back then, it wasn’t totally an unknown art. In fact, there were already many artisans in town who were used by Spanish colonizers in creating wonderful art like the 1607 baroque church of Santiago de Apostol.
The development of sculpture in Betis only saw its renaissance in 1922 when Juan Flores came back to his hometown after studying from the master sculptors in Manila. In Pampanga, his kabalens or town mates adore him as Apung Juan.
Trained under Maestro Graciano Nepomuceno & Maximo Vicente, he taught his fellow Kapampangans the intricacies of woodcarving. Soon, “talleres” or workshops flourished in Betis, from homes & spilling out into the streets.
While most sculptures that came out from this era are “imagen” or saint images, woodcarved furniture & secular images also began to sweep the world. In 1972, Apung Juan won grand prize in Richard Nixon’s Sculpture Competition.
Apung Juan is not only recognized as the catalyst of change by turning a lowly place into a world-famous woodcarving town. He is also looked up to by all sculptors in the country as “matecanan mandukit” or master sculptor.
Under his tutelage, he produced a national artist for painting, Vicente Manansala & a presidential merit awardee in ecclesiastical art, Wilfredo Layug among many other maestros that helped shape the nation’s sculpture industry.
Betis furniture got its first shot at fame in the 60s when overseas trade of furniture flourished. Among the biggest name in the industry is JB Woodcraft that supplies high-quality furniture in international showrooms, celebrity & royalty homes.
But just like any old tradition, woodcarving in Betis is experiencing the onslaught of modernization & globalization. The younger generation had lost interest in it & favors secure employment in big cities than to carve. What once was a town filled with thriving workshops, has become a loss of identity due to a dying art form.
There are only less than a hundred “mandukit” left in Betis today & most of them are in their 50s. This is the reason why Wilfredo Layug established Mandukit Anluagi Sta Ursula (MASU), an organization of sculptors, to help preserve the tradition & craftsmanship.
Dante Blanco is one of the members of MASU & is a protégé of Layug. He has lived his life on paet (chisel) at a young age of 10. Today, he owns his own “taller” called Scultura de Blanco & has represented the Philippines in various international competitions.
Such is the story too of Luisito Cayanan who still makes his artworks in his home in Betis. Although his training was on “imagen”, he is riding on the tides of time by creating surreal & non-religious pieces in adobe, ivory or wood.
Dukit is a time-honored tradition & culture in Betis. It has changed the lives of many, it transformed & put its town’s name in the world’s art map & molded the shape of Philippine sculpture.
But the fate of dukit still remains on how the succeeding generations will chisel its survival. Apart from having a new breed of sculptors, the industry needs patrons who will consume its art. They need us to appreciate their masterpieces. They need us to breathe more life in continuing a time-honored tradition.
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