BEATING TO THE RHYTHM. Three members of the quartet drum tin cans to produce music. Contributed photo. 

Story by Angelo Lorenzo

The stage was lit with lights within Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan’s theater hall in the afternoon of Saturday, Eleventh of November, as music blared and stories began to unfold. 

Tapping their palms over tambol (wooden hand-made drums), strumming their fingers over guitar strings, and shaking cans that were tied onto yarns (emanating chimes that likened to that of a tambourine), as well as vocalizing with the rhythm, a quartet of artists shared their experiences and their ordeals in life through performing music and songs. 

As members of the Dire Husi Initiative, a non-profit organization in Cagayan de Oro City that had rehabilitated some of its members who had undergone struggles due to marginalization, stigma, and economic and social challenges, the artists had long been devoted to using art as an avenue for change. 

This year, they had collaborated with the university’s Junior Marketing Association (XU-JMA), a student-led co-curricular organization of the Business Administration program under the Xavier Ateneo School of Business and Management. 

“Before these artists joined Dire Husi, they had difficulty in letting go of their past, but because of music and art, their lives have changed forever,” said Business Administration student Jerome Malack who majors in Marketing Management. 

Malack, who was appointed as a project head by the JMA president for the event, has proposed the possibility of a long-term collaboration which will advance the advocacy for local artists to profit from their craft and inspire passionate individuals to do the same. 

VOICE QUARTET. The quartet of musicians and artists perform an originally composed song during the concert. Contributed photo. 

The power of a voice

The concert, known by the local dialect as “Ang Kusog sa Tingog (The Power of a Voice): A Dire Husi Story,” showcased a set of segments that relayed how the members of the quartet found the power of their voices by playing music, composing their own songs, and performing in front of large crowds. 

Before they became members of the Dire Husi Initiative (“Dire” which means “here” in Cebuano; and “husi” which is a Manobo term for “friend”), performances had initially seemed an impossible opportunity, and belonging to a fellowship that treated all its members as friends and family was an unpaved path. 

As portrayed during the program, one of its members was once a street vendor who had aimlessly wandered the city to sell calamansi in a sack hauled over his back. The AVP that played prior to his segment showed him changing clothes in a corner of an alley, without a proper home to sleep at night. 

Another member was once a motorcycle driver who had brought hailing passengers over steep slopes towards their destination for a living. The youngest member grew up in a family of musicians whose father preaches as a pastor in a local church. The stage director of the concert had taken artistry as a profession for many years. 

As they became members of the Dire Husi Initative, art and music have become their primary focus. “Dire Husi has been in existence for 10 years now,” the organization’s chairman and founder Rhyan Casiño recounted. “We are hoping that we can inspire young people to pursue their dreams.”

A painter, sculptor, craftsman and a composer, Casiño has been organizing street art in CDO, an occasion that had introduced its members to the group and had eventually engaged in fellowship. 

ART AND MUSIC. Dire Husi Initiative chairman and founder Rhyan Casiño details how members of the group found their calling through art and music. Contributed photo.

Artistic authenticity

Throughout the program, spoken lines were minimal, while rhythm and gestures provided narration. Their struggles to come to terms with their ordeals to pursue their passion and discover their worth were manifested through grimaces and groans, while their triumph in realizing their potential was shown by wide bright smiles and revealed by sighs. 

Far different from a conventional contemporary concert, the stage contained customized musical instruments made of bamboo and tin cans and assembled by the Dire Husi artists. 

No verbal announcements were made to call for the next performer. The beat of the drums and the glare of the lights signaled transition, while the audience witnessed presentations that had been influenced by tribal dance steps. 

“Today’s generation of art is commonly defined by pop culture and mainstream media,” Malack pointed out. “But the kind of art that Dire Husi creates goes deeper than what is popular.”

“They give out something unique and authentic which makes it worthy of being appreciated by people,” he added. 

VOICE TRIUMPHANT. Axel Rose Casilac, a Dire Husi member, smiles to the audience as he interpretatively conveyed his life story by playing the xylophone made of bamboo. Contributed photo. 

Empowering art for profit

But art, regardless of its style, will still take the tedious path towards achieving sustainable gain. Although passion and talents are completely realized through dedication and devotion to the craft, they would need the appropriate skills for lucrative business. 

The collaboration between the XU-JMA and the Dire Husi Initiative has aimed to achieve this objective. The students could use the skills they have acquired from school to practice by promoting art and empowering those who made it as the source of their livelihood. 

Besides performing for events, members of the Dire Husi also sell handicrafts, hand-made musical instruments, paintings and sculptures to earn. Some of their artworks such as key chains and dream catchers woven with yarns and feathers were displayed and sold along with the tickets outside the theater before and during the concert. 

“Students from the marketing organization could use their potentials to good causes,” Dire Husi member Richel Petalcurin said. A former moderator of the university’s Student and Activities Development cluster, Petalcurin had introduced both organizations together during this year’s summer when plans for the concert were initiated. “The students don’t have to wait until they finish school to make an impact on the community,” Petalcurin further remarked. 

As long-term plans for the collaboration are currently being discussed by both groups, another concert might be held with the same purpose to promote the artists and their craft during the Xavier University Festival Days this late November and early December. 

“Through this partnership, it is both XU-JMA and Dire Husi’s goal to inspire each and every person to explore and assess the special skills we have and to discover what every person is truly capable of becoming,” Malack stated.

Resounding the concert’s message, the power of a voice enables those who could use their voices for others to realize and achieve their calling.∎

ANG KUSOG SA TINGOG. The official poster for the concert has been posted on Facebook as part of the marketing campaign by Xavier Ateneo’s Junior Marketing Association (XU-JMA).