Thursday, September 10, 2009
Cory Aquino....sang pagpupugay @ SM Mall of Asia Atrium
Top caliber Filipino photojournalists launched a commemorative photo exhibit in honor of former President Corazon "Cory" C. Aquino on Wednesday, September 9, coinciding the 40th days after her death.
The exhibit, being held at the SM Mall of Asia Atrium, showcased 60 large-print pictures taken by wires and print photographers during Aquino's 5-day funeral proceedings - from her wake in La Salle in Green Hills to her burial at the Manila Memorial Park in Paranaque City.
Chief photographers Alfredo "Bullit" Marquez of the Associated Press, Erik de Castro of Reuters, Ted Aljibe of Agence France-Presse, and Dennis M. Sabangan of the European Pressphoto Agency (EPA) decided over lunch one day that they should launch a tribute to Asia's democracy icon.
"The late president was an inspiration, given the legacy of democracy that she has left for all of us. It was simply impossible to ignore that," Marquez said.
"We initially treated this as a single incident - the passing away of our former Madame President Aquino. Then we saw the outpouring of support of the crowd, so we figured, since we moved only a few pictures to the agencies, why don't we come up with an exhibit?" said Marquez on ANC's "Media In Focus."
They chose photos among thousands captured from August 1 to 5 by teams of photographers. Some of the photos were published in major newspapers both here and abroad.
Erik De Castro noted that each photographer, who normally carries 2 cameras, was easily able to fill up his 4-gigabyte media cards, the electronic chips where image files are kept.
He said the wire agencies were more forgiving that day, accepting photos even beyond their regular quotas.
"On a normal day, we transmit about 5 to 10 photographs. But during that event, we transmitted about 40," he said.
Overwhelmed though journalists should maintain objectivity when covering the news, the photographers said they were overcome with emotion while they were covering Aquino's funeral.
"Nag-usap-usap kami. Sabi ko 'Erik, naiiyak ako.' Ang approach ko ay, try to be objective as much as possible. Pero kung minsan maiisip mo, Pilipino ka rin. So it's sort of hard to balance this," Marquez said.
(We talked. I told Erik, 'I want to cry.' My approach is to try to be objective as much as possible. But sometimes you think, you are a Filipino also. So it's sort of hard to balance this.)
People of course are different and unique as Ted Aljibe said he waited until he finished taking photos before he allowed himself to turn emotional.
"Ang iniisip ko, I have to produce pictures first. Kasi kailangan muna may itra-transmit muna kasi may mga boss kami na naghihintay," he said.
(I thought, I have to produce pictures first. Because they have to be transmitted because our bosses [at the wires agency] are waiting.)
Many of the photographers who took shots have been on the beat since the 1980's and had covered Aquino through the years.
When confronted with the scenes at Cory Aquino's funeral rites, they could not help but think about the similarities between the former president's funeral and that of her husband, Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. in 1983.
Marquez, who covered the Ninoy funeral in 1983, said the crowd's outpouring of support, grief, and yellow confetti seemed reminiscent of Ninoy's. "I thought to myself, maybe it's history repeating itself," he said.
De Castro was particularly struck by the crowd's euphoria.
"Nakita ko sa Makati yung euphoria ng mga tao... yung pagshout ng 'Cory! Cory!' at ganyan. I said, iba ito. Siyempre may mga matanda na nakita siguro nung [1980s] yung Friday rallies. Ngayon, even people in their 20s [were cheering]," he said.
I agree with Mr de Castro, even if my place of work is in Buendia, we can still feel the outpouring of support from people.
My favourite moments are the sea of people that poured onto the streets to watch Aquino's funeral rites offered photographers countless photo opportunities.
By threading their way into the crowd or riding at the back of their designated pick-up trucks, each photographer was able to capture moments from unique vantage points as I emvy those photographers. They are just fortunate as they have the license, passport and privilege to capture these historic moments.
Sabangan said his favorite picture is of a family sitting atop their shanty and holding a Philippine flag, with people holding up their hands in the "Laban" (L-shaped) sign in the foreground.
The photo was taken along the South Luzon Expressway near Quirino Highway. "Parang nakakatuwa yung transition na naranasan nung tatay na iyon. Parang, 'Ito yung kalayaan namin noon.' Diyan pumapasok yung diskurso na hindi binibigay ang kalayaan, kailangan paghirapan," he said.
(The transition from father to children struck me. It's like he was saying, 'This was our freedom then.' That's where the discourse comes in that freedom is fought for and not given.)
Ted Aljibe's eye captured a woman who was crying and flashing the "Laban" sign as Aquino's funeral cortege passed by along Ayala Avenue in Makati.
"When I saw this, I said: this is a picture that shows how ordinary people loved the former president. It wasn't fake," he said.
The photojournalists definitely had their memorable moments on duty. De Castro said he was perched atop a flyover at the South Luzon Expressway when a man went in front of him and blocked his view.
"Tapos sabi ko, 'Kuya huwag ka diyan!' Tapos sumagot siya, sabi niya, 'Ate ako!' (I said, 'Get out of there, sir!' Then he said, 'I'm a Miss!')," De Castro said, laughing.
"Then I saw the yellow flowers (wrapped in ribbon and encircling his head like a crown). Sabi ko, 'Wow, that's a good picture!'" he added.
Bullit Marquez got his golden photo-op when he positioned himself along the South Superhighway, as the funeral cortege passed.
Spotting a crowd of people holding turtledoves, he waited for the birds to be released and jumped up so that his camera could get a better view.
The timing was perfect. His photo of doves flying above Aquino's coffin landed in the New York Times. I feel goosebumps as I write this.
Other photographers whose works were included in the exhibit are Philippine Daily Inquirer's Ernie Sarmiento, Joan Bondoc, Rem Zamora, and Lyn Rillon; the Philippine Star's Val Rodriguez, Joven Cagande, and Ed Gumban; and Manila Bulletin's Tony Pionilla, Rudy Liwanag, Linus Escandor, Robert Viñas, Ali Vicoy, and Roel Umali.
Also included are AJ Rosales of the Manila Times; AP's Aaron Favila; Bobby Ranoco and Cheryl Ravelo-Gagalac of Reuters, Jay Directo and Noel Celis of AFP; Rolex dela Peña, Francis Malasig and Alanah Torralba of the European Pressphoto Agency; and, freelance photographers Noli Yamsuan, Egay Montana, and Jay Morales. Report based on ANC's "Media In Focus."
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