Maki School Blog

Each country and their regions all have their own brand of music. Even if some may sound similar or have stemmed from the same genre, people always have a way of making it their own and refining it in ways that others cannot. Music truly is a magical blessing.  Among the many music forms of Africa, the one that really caught my attention was the Makossa genre. Makossa, known for being a funky dance music and quite literally meaning "I dance" in the Douala language had first started molding itself in the 1950s, it uses strong electric bass rhythm as well as having prominent brass. As the 1960s rolled in, the Makossa music genre had become the most popular in Cameroon. Later, the genre, despite some controversial artists, had become more and more popular and widespread to mainstream audiences. African music, much like most forms of music is made for a variety of things, whether it be events, protests, entertainment, etc. But the Makossa genre is generally made for entertainment...

 

  “Ang kalayaan ay ang magkaroon ng kaligayahang nais mo kaysa sa kaligayahang sinabi ng lipunan na gusto mo.”   Habang sinusulat ko ang sanaysay na ito, hindi lamang ako nakatayo bilang isa sa mga kabataan ngunit din bilang isang babae sa lipunan ngayon. Sa loob ng maraming daang siglo, ang mga kababaihan ay nakikita lamang bilang mga bagay ng pagnanasa, mga tropeong mananalo, at syempre, bilang property . Sa nakaraan, kung ang isang babae ay magsasalita ng kanyang opinyon o gumawa ng isang bagay na isasaalang-alang sa itaas ng kanyang antas ng talino, siya ay akusahan ng pangkukulam at maparusahan nang husto dahil dito. Sa katunayan, kahit na nagsimula ang panahon ng black and white telebisyon, ang mga kababaihan ay hindi pinapayagan na bumoto tungkol sa pinaniniwalaan na hindi sila sapat na matalino o sapat na lohikal upang pumili ng isang pampulitikang lider. Kung napakahirap na maging isang babae ng nakaraan, ano pa kapag ikaw ay isang woman of color ? Ang kasa...

  “Who Will Save You from Disaster?”   The National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) is a Philippine national group of various government, non-government, civil sector and private sector organizations of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines that is responsible for ensuring the protection and welfare of the people during disasters or emergencies. The NDRRMC plans and leads the guiding activities in the field of communication, warning signals, emergency, transportation, evacuation, rescue, engineering, health and rehabilitation, public education and auxiliary services such as firefighting and the police in the country. Basically, the NDRRMC is responsible for keeping natural and unnatural disasters and calamities in check while protecting the citizens of our beloved country. Many people would say that perhaps the NDRRMC isn’t doing their job quiet well considering the number of casualties that happen every single day in the Philippines. Not to...

The artwork that we were tasked to create today was meant to be inspired by the Surrealistic art movement.  The concept for the piece I made was originally nothing but a whim out of my perverse mind. I'm kidding, that's kinda edgy. Though the piece was originally a meaningless image in my head, it gained meaning the more I refined it. Of course, I did all of that in my mind as well.  Using my reoccurring concept of "old man inside an egg" I made a piece that I believe voices out an issue in our world--that, though I'd like to say today-- has been a constant and normalized topic. The subject is an old woman crawling into an empty egg. The woman's skin is sagging and cracked, her body frail and weakened by the tocs of time, her face crumpled into a nearly toothless wail. Her legs are dragged across the floor, as if she has lost the ability to walk. Her hands are outstretched toward the eggshells. The old woman symbolizes the women's fear of age. An aging wom...

 

  Alin sa dalawa ang naging madali sa iyo “Ang pagiging tao o pagiging makatao” ?   Para sa akin, ang pagiging tao ay mas madali kaysa magiging makatao dahil tayo ay isinilang na tao. Bilang isang tao, lahat tayo ay may kakayahang mag-isip, makaramdam ng emosyon, at may kanya-kanyang paniwala sa Diyos. Ang pagiging tao ay kailangan mo lang maging ikaw, gawin kung anuman ang gusto mo at wag gawin ang kung anuman na ayaw mo. Gaya ng sinabi ko, tayo ay ipinanganak na tao, hindi hayop, hindi halaman. Ang pagpapakatao ay ang pagkakaroon ng mga katangian at mga magagandang asal na tinataglay ng isang tao. Kailangan mong kumilos ayon sa kung ano ang tama o mali, gusto mo man ito o hindi. Katulad na lamang ng isang pangyayari na nangyari sa akin kamakailan, ako ay sinuyo ng aking pinsan na bantayan ang kanyang anak na apat na taong gulang dahil siya ay mag-ukay-ukay sandali. Kahit labag sa loob ko na bantayan ang kanyang anak dahil ito ay masyadong makulit at malikot, wala...