TAKING CARE OF THE NATION'S SOUL

There is something about dinners with the Asian Cultural Council that moves me.

- MILLET M. MANANQUIL

For instance, I was touched and did become teary-eyed at ACC's event last Nov. 12 at the Goldenberg Mansion. I realized I was in the company of men and women who take care of our nation's soul.

That is what the ACC Philippines is doing, according to award-winning production designer Gino Gonzales, an ACC grantee in the 1990s, who delivered his speech amid tears. I cried a little too, while he narrated how the ACC was a life-changing experience and how it was Josie Cruz Natori who took a leap of faith by choosing him "even if she didn't know me at all." But more of his tearful speech later.

First, an introduction: The ACC began in 1963 when John D. Rockefeller established this body "to promote international dialogue, understanding and respect through cultural exchange activities in Asia and the United States, to create a more harmonious and peaceful world. This is accomplished through grants that support artists, scholars and art professionals." In other words, cultural diplomacy.

ACC stalwart Natori, who has been onboard since 1995, is now the global chairman. She was instrumental in establishing the ACC Philippines Foundation in 2000.

ACC Philippines chairman Ernest Escaler opened last Tuesday's program by saying that the ACC's role is "primarily to invest in the development of Philippine art and culture by giving grants to promising Filipino artists in various fields who want to further hone their craft by doing studies in America."

Escaler noted: "No one embodies this mission of preserving and promoting Philippine art and culture more than our First Lady, Louise Araneta Marcos. Since 2022, LAM (as she is fondly called) has created a renaissance in Philippine art and culture which experienced a drought since 1986."