Two Old Churches in Pampanga

Last August I joined a group of friends on a day tour of Pampanga.  It's north of Manila, about a drive of an hour and a half.  We had a special ten-course lunch scheduled at Bale Dutung, but had the morning free to visit a couple of old  churches and take photos.

The San Guillermo Parish Church of Bacolor dates back to Spanish times.  After the original church (constructed in 1576) was destroyed in an earthquake, it was rebuilt in 1897.  In 1991 half the church was buried in lahar during the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo.  In one of the photos below you'll see that the arched windows on the sides of the church are now as low as the tops of the pews.

From Bacolor we traveled to Betis, Guagua - an old town famous for hand-carved furniture.  Built in the 18th century, the Parish Church of Santiago Apostol (St. James the Apostle) is known for its splendid retablo art.  Its facade is quite simple and relatively recent, but old carvings decorate the church door and selected pieces of the church's original wooden furniture.  The altar is rich with more carvings, gilt and saints.  But the showstopper is the church's ceiling, painted in the early 20th century.  We were requested by church staff not to use flash photography, to protect the artwork.

The lovely thing about these churches is that they're still working churches, serving loyal parish families throughout their town's history.  If you have a long weekend coming up, a map, a camera, and a sense of adventure, this sort of trip is immensely rewarding.

Dining at Bale Dutung

When our American friend Tom said he'd finally visit the Philippines last August, Carlos immediately organized a trip to the province of Pampanga, complete with a ten-course lunch at Claude and Mary Ann Tayag's restaurant, Bale Dutung.

"Bale Dutung" means "house of wood".  If this house looks somewhat familiar, it's because it was featured in Anthony Bourdain's Philippines episode on No Reservations.  Here's the Pampanga clip on Youtube, showing artist and chef Claude Tayag's restaurant.

Mary Ann Tayag welcomed the seven of us warmly.  We had to call ahead and reserve, so the Tayags could put us together with another small group in order to make the 12-head minimum.  We chose the "Anthony Bourdain menu", which referred to an all-Kapampangan lineup of dishes.  As each dish was served, Mary Ann would annotate, explaining the origins and flavors of each dish.

A salad of wild ferns and tomatoes topped with half a soft-boiled egg.

Grilled chicken buttons (it's the behind, folks!) with brown rice.

Quail stewed in soy sauce, garlic and vinegar (adobo), with egg pan de sal.

Lechon taco.  Each diner is served only one ( in order for them to be able to appreciate the rest of the ten-course meal properly), but the fixings are buffet style.

Beef bone marrow.  You get a wooden popsicle stick to scoop out the delicious marrow, plus a straw to help you get all the juices.

A thick guava-flavored soup called "bulanglang", featuring "ulang" (large river prawns).  There's a small serving of plain rice inside the banana leaf package.

Seafood kare-kare (a stew with peanut sauce).

The courses I didn't photograph were the appetizers (crackers and dip made of homemade herb pesto, "taba ng talangka" or crab fat, and "balao-balao" or fermented rice flavored with shrimps); the coffee and dessert (maja blanca with corn and young coconut).

The meal took us four hours to consume!  It was amazing how we could all still stand up at the end of it all.  Claude visited our table and signed the books we bought.  He and Mary Ann co-authored the book Linamnam, a regional food guide to the Philippines (Anvil Publishing, 2011).  Claude also styled Kulinarya (A Guidebook to Philippine Cuisine), by Glenda Rosales Barretto.

Was it worth it?  Foreign visitors and locals who aren't too familiar with Pampanga cuisine (like myself) can definitely check this menu out.  Some of the dishes were known quantities with a distinctly Pampanga/Tayag twist.  Some, like the balao-balao dip and the guava-redolent bulanglang, were exotic. If that doesn't strike your fancy, there are also other menus to choose from.  I truly enjoyed Mary Ann's entertaining and informative spiels, and learned a lot about Pampanga's rich history and culture through its food.

What to do after an afternoon of eating?  We decided we all wanted a richer dessert, and went all the way to Kabigting's a few towns away in Arayat, for white halo-halo (with pastillas milk candy instead of ube jam)!

Thank you, Tom, for visiting the Philippines, because if it weren't for you, we wouldn't have thought of going on this Pampanga food tour!

Theo & Philo Artisan Chocolates

I've bought Theo & Philo artisan chocolates three times in the last month alone. My family and I end up enjoying it before I even think of taking photographs. The Green Mango & Salt bar above is the remaining bar in my stash. It's my favorite flavor: unique and very Filipino in taste. The pretty packaging proclaims: "By the Philippines, For the Philippines, Of the Philippines." What's not to like?

I found out about Theo & Philo from my friend and neighbor Karlo, via Google+. He recommended I get it from Echo Store in Podium, which sells sustainable, eco-friendly and proudly-Filipino products. Now I am a sucker for quality local products - I comb trade fairs for products like this. The website says the cacao is from Davao and the sugar, from Bacolod. I just HAD to try it.

On my first purchase, I chose Dark Chocolate and Labuyo (chili) flavors. The Dark Chocolate was of very high quality. It had depth, and a delicious, bittersweet flavor. The following day we tried the Labuyo. It was Dark Chocolate with an appealing, spicy end note which everyone (with the exception of my 6yo niece) enjoyed. Apparently it's one of the bestsellers in the Theo & Philo lineup of flavors. On my second purchase a week later, I got Milk Chocolate and Green Mango & Salt. I'm not a very big fan of generic milk chocolates per se, but was glad that this version had a high cacao content and wasn't very sweet. The Green Mango & Salt was a happy surprise. There were dried bits of green mango interspersed with occasional rock salt crystals in a Dark Chocolate matrix. I loved the contrast in flavors and textures! On my third purchase a couple of weeks later, I bought TWO Green Mango & Salt bars, and one flavored with Barako coffee. Embedded in the Dark Chocolate were crushed bits of roasted Barako (Liberica) coffee beans. Crunchy-gritty, with the full flavor of coffee. Another winner!

They make wonderful gifts, don't they? Christmas is coming and I'm already thinking of who to give them to. I've posted about them on Facebook and by now a number of my friends have tried them too. I've already given some balikbayan friends a selection of flavors. In fact, I'm looking for Calamansi and Ginger for my next purchase. Echo Store doesn't always carry all the flavors (it depends on the delivery, and of course some flavors are more popular than others), but you will be able to find them in these stores. Each bar is PhP 95, and so worth it.

I'm so happy with such a quality product - it's definitely worth our support.

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I'm not affiliated with Echo Store, but am a regular customer.

Memories of a Forgotten War

The photo above is of a film shown on a curved screen - part of the Lopez Museum's curved spaces which lead viewers toward areas of its current exhibit, Deleted Scenes, that deserve special attention. The exhibit's theme deals with information on the fringes of Filipinos' knowledge and awareness of history, as depicted in arts and literature - the things that are easily forgotten. The bench can only seat up to four persons, but that's how intimate the Lopez Museum is - four of us invited bloggers were soon riveted to the scenes before us.

Memories of a Forgotten War (2001) is a short film directed and co-produced by Sari Raissa Lluch Dalena and Camilla Benolirao Griggers. It is also a family affair, with writing and design contributions from sisters and fellow artists Gabriela Krista Lluch Dalena and Aba Lluch Dalena. Writing credits are shared by Gabriela Krista Dalena, Camilla Griggers and Lilia Quindoza-Santiago.

The war in this case is the Philippine-American war (1899-1902). People are aware of it only as street names or landmarks, such as Pinaglabanan Bridge ("the bridge fought over"), but are no longer aware of their stories. We remember that the Spanish-American war ended with Spain selling its colony to the US for a mere USD 20 million. People remember only vaguely that there was a time during the First Philippine Republic that Filipinos resisted the control of its new colonial master, and its policy of Manifest Destiny. What we remember is our Liberation from the Japanese Occupation by American forces in World War II, the glamor of Hollywood, and the now hollow claim that we speak the best English in Asia, thanks to them.

This movie takes the national and makes it personal. The film unfolds with the narrator (Griggers, a Filipino-American college professor) retracing her Filipino roots in an attempt to establish her sense of identity. As the American daughter of a Filipino-American mother, she was not merely searching for answers about why she and her mother were not acknowledged by her American grandfather. She asked the questions, "What makes me American?", "What makes me Filipino?", and most importantly, "Why do I need to know this for myself?" It's a common story being asked by the people around the world whose countries are former colonies of imperial powers, that have since become ethnic melting pots.

This search is the framework for a point of view of Philippine history not commonly known, or shared. The marriage between the narrator's grandmother and grandfather has a parallel story to the colonial takeover of the Philippines by the United States. It's not as romantic as you'd like to think. War never is.

I did not know, for instance, that there was a mass murderer named Gen. Jacob Hurd Smith who ordered the Balangiga Massacre in Samar, who made sure his army had a "take no prisoners" approach, killing everyone, even children old enough to carry a weapon. Insurgency was a natural result of Smith's actions and orders.

I did not know, also, that American colonial troops massacred a thousand Muslims in the volcanic crater at Bud Dajo, Jolo, Mindanao.

I wanted to weep, as our narrator's gentle voice became somewhat stern, matter-of-fact and condemning as she described it. But this is what happens in war. People get drunk with power. People die. Does it make me angry? Only for the moment, because this happened over a hundred years ago. Why do we not know these things? I know there was a movie made of the Balangiga massacre, but I did not watch it. Maybe I should. I want to know why the Balangiga bells are still being kept as war booty in the US and not returned to the Philippines. They are part of OUR history. There is an interesting book out, by Rolando Borrinaga, The Balangiga Conflict Revisited.

History is written by the victors (and the powerful). All this unpleasantness of war has led to attempts to rewrite history. Despite overwhelming evidence, some people still claim that the Holocaust never existed. Or that the world is flat. So what is real? What is true? One needs to see other points of view in history, to best appreciate it.

Sari Dalena's film is so apt for the Deleted Scenes exhibit. After watching it, you will be forced to ask yourself: "Who am I?", "What do I know?" and "Why do I want to know?"

Deleted Scenes runs at the Lopez Museum from November 12, 2009 to January 9, 2010. The Lopez Memorial Museum is at G/F Benpres Building, Exchange Road corner Meralco Ave., Ortigas Center, Pasig City. For more information, you may call them at (632) 631-2417, or email them at pezseum@skyinet.net. The Lopez Museum is also on Facebook. Become a fan today!

DELETED SCENES at the Lopez Museum

"My grandmother never told me these stories."
- Angel Velasco Shaw

A few days ago I had the good fortune to be invited by my friend, museum worker Ricky Francisco, to join a group of bloggers on their tour of the Lopez Museum. For those who have heard of it but have no idea where it is, it's at the ground floor of Benpres Building in Ortigas Center, opposite BPI. The Lopez Museum has an excellent research library, as well as a premium collection of Filipino artworks and historical artifacts. Visitors would be surprised to realize how intimate its exhibit space is, and for exhibits like Deleted Scenes this intimacy works.

Deleted Scenes (which runs from Nov. 12, 2009 to Jan. 9, 2010) is the Lopez Museum's participation in Zero In, an alliance of Metro Manila museums that share a common exhibit theme running simultaneously. The current theme, "Periphery", deals with information on the fringes of one's consciousness, everything on the edges of what is common knowledge that is often disregarded. In her notes curator Eileen Legaspi-Ramirez says, "This exhibition quite simply began with a question: what do I not know? Or what do I stumble upon just on the perchance that I have the time (and certainly the interest) to spare to look up what has been intentionally left out from what will get to me?... Deleted Scenes modestly explores such omissions both in pictorial and literary accounts of national history as well as in purported narratives hinged on representation that a museum such as the Lopez hesitatingly but inordinately lays out." Co-curator, artist Claro Ramirez, designed the spaces to best reflect this concept.

Featured artists include Lyle Buencamino, Dada Docot, Sari Dalena and Al Manrique. However, also on display are works currently in the museum collection, such as those by Danilo Dalena and BenCab. But mostly what were displayed had never before been exhibited, as intellectual significance and logistical concerns usually determine what goes into the final cut. In our guided tour, Ricky Francisco explained that for years only museum workers had ever viewed the late Social Realist Al Manrique's sketchbooks which contained his powerfully raw art because exhibiting them would have created political repression, both for the artist and the museum. They languished in storage until exhibiting them had become relevant and eye-opening.

Charcoal pencil sketch of striking workers.
Untitled, by Al Manrique.

It was a unique experience to be allowed to handle and photograph the sketchbooks. This is part of the intimacy that the Lopez Museum allows the visitors to experience, as viewing the work promotes a visceral reaction. Beside the two sketchbooks (one had editorial cartoons/sketches in pen and ink) was a box of latex medical gloves, so visitors could turn the pages without damaging the artwork. We were also instructed not to use flash photography for the same reason.

Ricky Francisco explains the book installation, as Digital Filipino's Janette Toral takes a closer look. With us were bloggers Azrael Coladilla and Arvin Ello.

These books had always been part of the Lopez Museum Library, but because the subject matters were foreign and quite diverse, they had never previously fit into any conceivable theme, until now. One interesting set contained the documented proceedings of the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials!

The exhibit not only covers visual art, but leads one from paintings to cinema. This bridging triptych, "No Fighting In The Museum", "Removing Subject Matter From Painting" and "Scene from Garrison 13" depicting 3 cut scenes from various LVN productions, is by Lyle Buencamino. One commonly asked question for works of this type is, "If you painted it from a photo, does that count as art?" If an artist selected the scene that had the impact and portrayed the details in his chosen style, I'd say yes. If Buencamino hadn't chosen these scenes to paint, would we have seen them? I think not.

"Soldiers (Heroes of the Past)" by BenCab. A familiar painting, but the subject matter anchors together some forgotten or little-known details in Philippine history.

Ricky points out a very interesting book, a kind of Rosetta Stone translation of various Philippine scripts / syllabaries. Did you know, for instance, that the alibata or baybayin script as we know it today is only ONE of the many modes of Indo-Sanskrit-derived Philippine handwriting? As we can see, the Lopez Museum not only has artworks, but valuable research aids available to visitors, whether students or professionals.

One last image I'd like you to consider is this piece of imperialistic propaganda, "Uncle Sam: I Didn't Know I Liked Melon So Well" (Judge, July 16, 1898). It depicts the very sort of thing Mark Twain was debating against (yes, Mark Twain was a great friend to the Philippines):

I'm going back - to view Dada Docot's documentary, and to write about it. I did say the Lopez Museum is an intimate viewing space, but there is so much in this exhibit that is worth looking at more closely.

I'm also writing another blog entry on Sari Dalena's film, "Memories of a Forgotten War" next. (Which war, you ask? Why, the Philippine-American War. There was a tragic time at the turn of the old century, when the Filipinos resisted a change in colonial rulers, and suffered greatly. Given our lifestyles today, this is something that many no longer remember, nor choose to remember.)

The Lopez Museum gives us that rare gift, of opening our eyes not only to what is before us, but also to what is around us that is easily taken for granted.

Deleted Scenes runs at the Lopez Museum from November 12, 2009 to January 9, 2010. The Lopez Memorial Museum is at G/F Benpres Building, Exchange Road corner Meralco Ave., Ortigas Center, Pasig City. For more information, you may call them at (632) 631-2417, or email them at pezseum@skyinet.net.

A Little Pinoy Humor

My friend Carl dropped by to deliver some fountain pen ink, and to check out where his kids were going to attend Halloween. While we were chatting at the steps of our building, HE notices the business name. So I whip out my phone cam.

Nothing innocuous about a truck delivering bottled water. Until you enlarge this photo and see that the business name is "Watering Heights". LOL!!! Of course the humor is totally wasted on the bewildered guy making the delivery.

Pass The Reproductive Health Bill NOW

Reposting this, from Carlos Celdran (in Filipino):

Yes, Lea Salonga supports it too. If you would like to support this campaign, you can repost this video in your blog or social networks. Thank you.

National Artist Awards Controversy, A Primer

Some of these links were previously mentioned in All Choked Up, but I'm reprising them for a more updated and cohesive blog entry. They are in nearly chronological order.

National Artist Awards (Wikipedia)
National Artist Awards Brouhaha: Artists Speak Out (Spot.ph)
What They're Saying About National Artist Dagdag-Bawas (Gibbs Cadiz blog)
Statement from BenCab on National Artist Awards (Spot.ph)
Palace Choices of 4 National Artists Protested (Inquirer.net)
Two NCCA Commissioners Speak Up (Gerry Alanguilan blog)
At Large, Rina Jimenez David (Opinion, Inquirer.net)
'Massacre' of National Artist Awards Rued (Inquirer.net)
'The Corruption of Culture', PENMAN by Butch Dalisay (Philstar.com)
CCP Deplores Arroyo's National Artist Picks (Inquirer.net)
National Artists Ready Protest (Manila Times)
Carlo J. All The Way (Lourd De Veyra blog, Spot.ph)
Caparas, Guidote, Malacanang Defend National Artist Selection (Spot.ph)
Cecile G. Alvarez on Cory and National Artist Status (Manila Bulletin)
Frank Rivera, In Defense of Cecile Guidote Alvarez (Gibbs Cadiz blog)
Caparas Hits Back At Critics (GMA News)

I have my opinions, but I hope that reading more about the issue will help you form your own. There is more protest about Caparas and Alvarez, because of qualification and delicadeza issues, rather than the other two "presidential prerogative" awardees. There is no doubt that Francisco Manosa (Architecture) and Jose "Pitoy" Moreno (Fashion Design) are already internationally recognized senior artists in their respective fields. Part of the protest concerns Music candidate Ramon P. Santos (who garnered the highest points after rigorous screening) being dropped from consideration in order to accommodate the four previously mentioned candidates.

There will be a "funeral" march Friday, August 7, 2pm, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Let's see what happens.

Later:
August 7 Editorial (Philstar.com)
Shouting Match Erupts In Artists' Protest (Inquirer.net)
Artists Offer Black Roses for the Death of the National Artist Awards (PEP.ph)
SC Blocks Conferment of National Artist Awards (GMA News)

All Choked Up

We are just in the middle of the year, and the loss of a musician and a heroine of democracy has impacted greatly on our collective attention. Earlier, we were shocked by the untimely death of Michael Jackson. On Wednesday we bury our beloved Corazon Aquino, who will be deeply, deeply missed. The cup of personal grief for these two individuals runneth over with tributes and farewells (some heartfelt and raw, some artful, some so copiously sanctimonious they make you cringe) - you know the kind, you read them on all the social networks.

Kris Aquino has managed to make her account of her mother's last days all about herself, yesterday, on The Buzz (it's a Youtube series, in Kris' trademark Taglish). Of that tendency, we are not surprised. She had her moments, where she successfully left her script and explained why the Aquino family did not accept the government's offer for a state funeral. She had me at "NOW you want to honor my mom?" The Aquinos became at odds with the Arroyo administration in recent years. Kris was complaining about the government proposal/threat to pull out Cory's two remaining PSG security staff, on the pretext of unit dissolution and "accounting", after Cory publicly criticized Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. GMA News says Malacanang Palace has apologized, full story here.

Hillary Clinton and Kirstie Kenney shared some very kind words in a recent ANC ambush interview.

Am all choked up, watching the GMA7 News Tribute Live Stream. Was on EDSA 23 years ago, tear gas, flowers and all. Losing Cory is like losing one's own mother. We are bereft, and hard-pressed to find another whose qualities include the purity of intention to serve.

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While we're on the subject of Death, or on another plane of meaning, Loss of Significance, do read about the controversy surrounding the National Artist Awards. The Filipino Art Community is all choked up - with anger and dismay - about it. Spot.ph has a good primer on the controversy. Inquirer columnist Rina Jimenez David minces no words in her column about certain "awardees". Another Inquirer article describes the selection process as a massacre, emphasizing the cinematic schlock one awardee is known for. (Would you call a film career based on massacre movies and other people's comics as grounds for receiving a National Artist Award?) Quite the travesty we have here.

In his column in the Philippine Star, The Corruption of Culture, our friend Prof. Butch Dalisay reminds us that "executive privilege... cannot command the obeisance and respect of artists, who are accountable to a higher order of sense and sensibility, beyond the reach of lobbies, Charter change, Executive Orders, and blind ambition".

100 Years of Baguio City

A big thank you to mason28viz for posting this on Youtube. As a city, Baguio turned 100 years old this year.

My dad grew up in Baguio. In 2006 he and Baguio City High School Class of 1956 celebrated their 50th Golden Jubilee. He and his company were among the rescuers during the major earthquake that destroyed the historic Pines Hotel. We have a photo of him and his colleagues with then-President Fidel Ramos at Malacanang Palace.

I thought he might enjoy this video, as you all might :)

My Kind Of Good News

My friends may notice that I have been posting entries on a lot of Philippine-centric and sociological topics lately, particularly if they're forward-looking. Reading about economic recession levels, celebrity sex scandals, endless senate inquiries or political ambitions of various presidentiables gets old. It's really not the sort of thing you'd like to read with your morning cuppa on slow days when you need a sign that the day will turn out better than you expect.

It would be nicer to read, for example, about how the regular Pepe and Pilar achieve good things for others with their limited resources. Or how big business makes things work for our next door neighbors. Stuff like that make a good springboard for ideas. My kind of good news.

Here's a sampler of recent articles:

Wanggo Gallaga writes about how young entrepreneurs from Ateneo de Manila University win an international challenge, with their environment-friendly coco tableware. Team Philippines - Karl Santinitigan and Timothy Huelva - were commended for having a green approach (creating products from what was essentially waste material) , and a practical working business model. Their biodegradeable product, Areka! Leaf Tableware, is made from coconut palm leaves. The original product that inspired the modification was developed in India from the leaves of the Areca palm, and looks like this.

Tina Arceo-Dumlao writes about Text2Teach, a program developed to help teachers deliver information to students through familiar technology inexpensively: by connecting mobile phones (which function as media storage) to television monitors. School attendance increased! This program, supported by the Ayala Foundation and Globe Telecom, was a finalist at a recent Stockhom Challenge.

Online Filipiniana For All

While I was writing the earlier blog entry on what is worth saving, I remembered an announcement that Vibal Publishing made recently. Their excellent site, Filipiniana.net, indicates that they are in the process of digitizing as many primary sources - texts on the Philippines (its literature, culture, history, and related topics) - as they could, with the goal of providing FREE ACCESS to all researchers and interested individuals. This saves rare publications from the wear and tear of physical access.

One particular primary source of note is the 1907 publication "The Philippine Islands: 1493-1898" by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, known to many simply as Blair and Robertson. Here's another interesting description of the books. There is one actual full set at the University of the Philippines Main Library, the rest are with other universities, local historians or collectors. Our family's copies are the Cacho Hermanos facsimile reprints from the early 1970s which compressed the original 55 volumes into 19. These are considered rare because apparently the Cacho warehouse burned down shortly after the reprints were made. My mother bought ours from writer Alberto Florentino prior to his move to the US.

Filipiniana.net, as mentioned above, is putting together a "fully indexed and full searchable" full text collection for free. Jeroen Hellingman, however, is also digitizing his personal copies and putting them on the Project Gutenberg Philippines site. So far he has uploaded 25 out of the 55 volumes. This undertaking is HUGE, I have to admire that kind of passion and dedication. Other institutions are offering the digitized books for as much as USD 49 the set (exclusive of shipping).

The number of online academic Filipiniana sources is growing, and that's a good thing. Citing Wikipedia alone in one's paper just DOESN'T make the grade.

What Is Worth Saving?

One of the harsh facts of life, reflected in history, is the loss of knowledge from one generation to another. Sometimes the advances of technology render ideas and things and practices obsolete, and we are quick to shed these things along with our memories. We live in a world where we record the meaningful, the mundane and the mysterious in an effort to see what shapes our thinking and our identities.

There are parts of the Philippines that feel that tug of war between tradition and modernity. When we lost The Last Bagobo Weaver (Philippine Daily Inquirer, July 12, 2009), the Philippines lost someone incredibly unique, and I feel sad that no one is left now who knows how to weave Bagobo tube skirts, from harvesting and preparing the fiber, to the weaving and construction of this indigenous garment. How relevant is this to us today? I believe costume is part of identity, and craftsmanship is part of a larger tribal value system (read about Salinta Monon's value as a bride). Monon was recognized internationally for her work, but not in her own home town. The present generation of Bagobos prefer to find jobs that put food on the table regularly - a goal we can't fault them for.

The world has changed so much that there are many things we take for granted. Sometimes, when we don't realize what is worth saving, we have the great luck that someone else does. During a visit to the Philippines early last year, Australians Maria Cameron and her husband Ed Wise lived for five months with a Kalinga indigenous community in Ichinanaw. They returned the following year, on a mission to "help the tribe preserve its oral customs and traditions in storybooks." Such fantastic luck - they were funded!

As I read this news article my heart felt light again. In many cultures spoken word art forms relied on memory for preservation. Yes, the world has changed, but technology gives us the tools to remember when our collective memory can no longer hold.