Feels Like Heaven at Fairy Garden
Live Performance at Nordlys x P-noise Festival 2019 (Vol. 2 Manila)
“Bwakeva” is the gibberish name of my other character, who sings karaoke hits in an extremely edgy manner. She has a partner named Bwakigo. Both characters embody a kind of duality with contrasting traits: Bwakeva represents the extroverted, outrageous, and sexually bold, while Bwakigo represents the introverted, low-key, and non-sexual. This piece is a collaboration with painter/musician Maan de Loyola and is described as a performance of magical escapism. It combines the forces of ritual magic and entertainment while drawing inspiration from Philippine mythology and religious fanaticism.
Our collaboration began during my vacation stay at Maan’s family home in Bulacan. We filmed the first experiments of our performance in their forest-like garden, which was believed to be inhabited by supernatural nature spirits resembling fairies and elves, according to her aunties. We spent most of our time in that garden because of the unique energy we felt there, and later named it “Fairy Garden.”
This piece was performed at Nordlys x P-noise Festival 2019 in a basketball court chosen for its suggestive masculinity. We aimed to evoke power through our own version of a magic ritual by incorporating colorful DIY costumes and props, energetic dance movements, music from selected Filipino and foreign pop songs from the 1980s and 1990s, spoken lines from the 1976 film Minsa'y Isang Gamo-Gamo, gibberish chants, and bizarre performative actions. The ritual also originally included the symbolic sacrifice of a chicken, although this was not allowed to be shown due to potential risks and misinterpretation if recorded and shared on social media.
In the latter segment, all spectators were given white candles and encouraged to join the procession, while Bwakeva and Bwakigo continued performing and led them toward the next venue of the festival event. For us, this performance functions as a form of healing and a genuine ritual through which we send wishes and prayers to the cosmos.
This piece is dedicated solely to the late Gene de Loyola, Maan’s father, who was a well-known painter in the Philippines. He tragically lost his life in 2018 after being shot by a gunman.