In a city that thrives in art and culture, there’s always an unfortunate time when the hype dies down and it’s reduced to a mundane, everyday concept. It’s a sad reality that’s also due to the radical shifts in modernization, especially in Baguio City. But it doesn’t have to be that way. As culture meshes with the modern age, the call for a deeper understanding of culture and how it could aid the growth of Baguio has to be heeded now more than ever. That’s what Cordilleran artist and teacher Tor Sagud believes in—connecting culture and modernization through art.
Sagud’s exposure to art stems from a desire that burned as a kid and continues to rage to this day. His inclination with various Philippine cultures is apparent as we talked about his beginnings and his book, one that echoes much of his work. “Dito sa Cordillera, we give importance to kinship. Sana mas ma-enforce pa natin ang kinship, dahil hindi naman siya nawala,” Sagud says. It’s from this love for Cordilleran culture that he decided to help out in a way that gives a spotlight to Baguio’s local comic book artists and writers.
Sagud has come up with an educational book about the Cordilleras and its various tribes, titled “Igorotak.”
The book sports modern animated illustrations of the different tribes of Cordillera, with accurate and well-researched descriptions of what makes it so. It started as a random passion project, but now Sagud believes that it can help bring about employment opportunities for artists, giving them the chance that he struggled to have in his early heydays as a comic book artist. Aside from that, “Igorotak” also aims to be a primer to the culture of the Cordilleras as it targets tourists and little kids as its direct audience. To have a unique appeal in the national and international front, Sagud chose the contemporary approach to comic book art in representing the culture of Cordillera.
“Igorotak” dons the potential of becoming a local smash hit. Sagud is also the co-chairman of Gripo Comics, a local comic book artists’ group based in Baguio, which is responsible for spreading the love for creating original comic books featuring the mythology of Cordilleran lore. The group offers an apprenticeship program intended to help aspiring comic book artists get their gears rolling. “Igorotak” is the result of this intimate collaboration.
‘Igorotak’: A Small Project with a grand four-fold vision
Apart from featuring culture and the beauty of Cordillera in the educational book, “Igorotak” is more than plainly a collaborative project. In fact, Sagud sees the book as something that would help bring about real change in the region’s ecology, employment, and more. “Igorotak is a book for a cause. Ginawa ko itong book na ito para magkaroon ng cultural preservation,” Sagud says. “The first goal of this book is to provide more jobs, kasi, ayun nga, maraming nagsasabi na wala silang trabaho. Ang naisip kong solution dun is gumawa na lang ng bagong trabaho.” The artist hopes that “Igorotak’s” proceeds will allow for the creation of jobs entitled to Cordilleran artists, Persons with Disabilities, and Senior Citizens.
“The second goal of the book is for cultural preservation and the funding for research and development. Magfo-focus kami dun kasi medyo nasisira na yung agriculture natin. ‘Yun sana ang gusto kong ilapit sa ating mga experts, later on, kung mai-generate natin,” Sagud adds.
“Our third goal is magkaroon ng reforestation, kasi nakakalbo na yung mga bundok natin,” the artist continues. “Meron tayong tinatawag na ‘deforestation’ at ‘reforestation.’ Magpe-play kami doon para mas mabilis ang pagtubo ng mga puno. Meron tayong mga foresters dito sa Baguio City na pwede nating konsultahin. Imagine yung Burnham [Park] noon na kine-kwento ng mga lolo’t lola natin noon na ang ganda, possible pa nating maibalik yun; maging practical lang tayo.”
For this extraordinary vision to come true, Sagud aims to sell at least 1 million units of “Igorotak.” The fourth goal is the trickiest part. Should the book hit a million copies sold, Sagud wants to bring the baseline up to 2 million to make way for a grander vision in terms of what Baguio City can have. “First, within Baguio City, [gusto nating] magkaroon ng rice field at fishery. Possible din po ang mga ito. Kumo-konsulta na din kami sa mga experts,” Sagud proudly says. In such a small project like this, Sagud believes that it can spur greater ripples that would affect not just the art community, but Cordillera as a whole.
“If ma-inject pa natin itong book sa curriculum ng DepEd, mas makaka-generate pa tayo ng mas malaking fund for our goals,” Sagud says.
It’s heartening to see Sagud burn with so much passion for arts and the region. After being dubbed a Creative City two years ago, I’ve seen the vision that different artists have for their home city. Others want to promote our culture on a grander scale, others pushing for a more determined fight for the government’s lasting support in their creative ventures. Sagud, on the other hand, amazes me with his solid belief in what a small act can do to spark attainable change in society, let alone one’s perspective as an artist.
When asked about the changes he wants to see in Baguio’s artists now that we are under UNESCO’s Creative Cities network, Sagud stressed the importance of unity and collaboration, saying, “Maraming magagaling dito. We are clustered into a small space; it’s a matter of cooperation.”
“I have a bigger target [aside from being] a creative city, [and that’s] to turn [us] into a creative region,” Sagud declares. “Kasi ide-develop natin yung tourism. Imagine this, mayroon tayong Panagbenga. After that mayroon namang festival sa Sagada. So, iki-clear natin yung tourism flow para pagkatapos ng mga turista dito, diretso naman sila doon. Tapos kung may next na festival naman sa Apayao, diretso sila doon.”