Words and Photography By George Pontino Jr.
NOTE: NO PHOTOSHOP MANIPULATION OR EFFECTS APPLIED IN ALL PHOTOS
Every culture has its folklore and undying urban tales about encounters of the other kind. Every All Souls Day or All Saint's day, we get to hear these stories from circle of friends who love the excitement of being scared from gripping details of a visit by a multo (phantom) or a fateful meeting with a kapre (a tree-dwelling monster that loves to smoke). Even the TV networks pumps up Halloween season annually by interrupting their usual broadcasts in exchange for a night of scare fest. The usual suspects they feature are the white ladies, aswang (mananangal), lost souls, haunted houses and roads like Balete Drive or an unexplained phenomenon where WWII soldiers can be heard marching in a certain spooky place.
"Murto" Model: Dianne Valerie Galvan
Perflab Behind the scenes
Some of you may have elders who have lots of bedtime stories that could make you awake all night, cringing in fear. The headless phantoms, sound of chains, crying babies or tyanaks, tiktik, witch, or the infamous "Tenyete Gimo aswang" could be their mere inventions to make us sleep early or to behave well. But we took them by heart and these became a rural heritage that we just can't forget and pass on another generation even in we're in an urban setting. Well, our dreams turned into nightmarish hell thanks to our elders imaginative minds.
"Bagat" (Ghostly Road Encounter) Model: Michael Amante
"Sota" of Mt. Kanlaon (Mediator between entities and humans) - Model: Adam Henoch Riolo
In 2009, I was invited by Fundador Tipon to interpret the paranormal entities into a series of photographs to be used for Perflabs Waxworks V: Km13 (Kilometrahe Trese) as promotional materials. So, with my camera gears and lights, I took the creative plunge, met the group at the Negros Museum and with few hours of photography session, we nailed it successfully. Thanks to the actors, actresses and the entire Perflab group, everything was seamless. The effort of the whole group is commendable and shooting became so smooth for me because of their sheer professionalism in acting, makeup, preparing props and costumes.
"Sota", Murto and Bagat
White Lady
Through Waxworks, the urban legends were given new twists and the Negrese audience had the change to experience it virtually through a trip around the Museum-turned-haunted-place during the week pre-All Saints Day. It's a sort of a horror room but with that artistic discipline. A group of willing individuals move from to place to place and get to experience "bagat" as they pass through each themed area. The whole thing is an interactive exhibit complete with creative lights, creepy props, haunting performance, storytelling by wax-like folklore creatures, makeup and sound effects. The characters were Murto (Ghost) from the spanish word Muerto which means a dead person, Sota of Mt. Kanlaon, the mediator of the entities and humans and finally Bagat (Ghostly Road Encounter or apparition along pathways)
She can't Rest in Peace
After our successful photoshoot session for the first theme
Bagat, a Hiligaynon term for ghostly encounter, is a Filipino culture that's a very popular urban legend. Waxworks V was heavily inspired by this notion and that's why, that year, the group called it Kilometrahe Trese. Trese being a play on the number 13, an unlucky numeral and Kilometrahe of course is a measurement and in Philippines, is usually a landmark for the travelers." Indeed, traveling alone at night may well be a curse for anyone who meets the paranormal...well, he's just an unlucky one. WATCH OUT FOR PART 2 SOON
LOCATION MAP OF NEGROS MUSEUM:
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