Eduardo Pañares, a higante maker, says it doesn’t matter if he wins or loses in the higante competition what matters is that this is his offering for the blessings given him by the Santo Niño.| Contributed photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — When God showered gifts, Eduardo Pañares may have been fully awake.
The 55-year-old artist from Barangay Mabolo in Cebu City is also gifted in music and dance as well as intellect.
While he found love in his artistic designs, Pañares also had notable achievements academically after two degree programs, Psychology and Accountancy, with flying colors.
Pañares, a certified public accountant (CPA), also finished fifth in the 1993 CPA licensure examinations.
These gifts and every little blessing he and and his family received, Pañares said, were the inspirations for his “giant” offering every Sinulog.
When Sinulog started in 1981 where the grand parade was purely of street dance offering for the Señor Santo Niño, Pañares, who was then in his fourth year in high school, was among the dancing contingents from Abellana National School.
Family offering
When the higantes were included in the Sinulog Grand Parade in 1983, Pañares and his elder brother also started to make entries for the giant figures dancing in the Sinulog beat during the parade.
“My elder brother was talented with carving. I have more on the ideas and concepts. That was when we decided that we will collaborate for our Higante entries in Sinulog,” Pañares recalled.
The giants, Pañares said, served as his family’s offering to the Holy Child to whom they had been devotees of since he could remember.
“Nahulog na lang pod ni og thanksgiving sa kahitas-an for the blessings. Every little thing, I count it as a full blessing. Kung unsa nga talent ang Iyang gihatag nako, akong ibalik Niya,” says Pañares.
(Whatever talent that He has given me, I am offering it back to Him through creating the giants.)
But Pañares journey in making higantes has also been into the bottom low before making the family name carve its legacy in the higante making scenes in Sinulog.
“Katong pag-una namong apil, medyo depressing kay naninguha mi nga makalusot pero usahay di man gyud buligan sa maayong palad. Frustrated gyud mi ato,” Panares said.
(Our first experience of joining the higante competition was very depressing. We tried so hard to win but sometimes our efforts and our wishes would not be granted. We were so frustrated by that experience.)
Challenges
Their first failures, Pañares said, even prompted them to stop making higantes for a couple of years. But they momentarily halted in offering the giants had awaken, rather than dampen, their desire to offer to the Señor Santo Niño.
“For around 3 years, every Fiesta Señor, murag naay kuwang namo kay naanad mi nga magprepare mi og ingon ani. That was the time we decided nga mangapil lang mi bahala nag madaog or dili,” Pañares said.
(For around three years, every Fiesta Señor, we felt that there was something missing because we have gotten used to preparing the higante. That was the time then that we decided to join again regardless if our higante will win or not.)
It was in the late 1980s that Pañares’ entries consistently made it to the top list of the higantes.
Pañares said the higantes were the offerings in the Sinulog that he and his family had been able to make given their talent and resources.
From mud to styrofoam
At first, Pañares used clay to mold the shape of his higantes. Pañares recalled even getting the mud that he used from the construction site of a mall in Mabolo.
As time went by, Pañares said he opted to explore other options for the materials to be used as base for his higantes to improve his works. This landed him to using styrofoam now.
Pañares said he would already start conceptualizing for his Higante entry for the Sinulog as early as the first week of October of the previous year.
“October first week naa na ko idea sa concept. Karon naay makit-an nga bag-o or suggestions sa akong mga friends nga pwede nako i-add sa akong higante, ako na i-consider then i-merge. Inig actual na, lain na. Nag-evolve gihapon siya,” Pañares said.
On the first week of October, I already have an idea on the concept of my Higante. And from there, if I can see something new or given suggestions from my friends if I can add these to my higante, I will consider it and then merge it. When the higante is done, it will come out different from my original concept. It evolved.)
From the styrofoam base, Pañares adds at least seven layers of coating for the Higante’s skin to make sure that it would endure possible rains during the parade.
Final step
Making the clothes for the higante and assembling its parts take the last vital steps in making the giants, Pañares said.
Despite the taxing process of making the higante, Pañares said his goal would always be to give his best for it as an offering to the Señor Santo Niño and in honor of the talents that he has been gifted with.
“Although nakaplace mi, wala mi nag-apas sa award. Ang amo kay ang appreciation nga makuha sa public viewing. Worth it imong kahago and ma-compensate in ways nga di kabayran og kwarta,” Pañares said.
(Although our Higantes can win, we are not after the awards. What we are after is the appreciation that we can get from the viewing public. Their reaction is worth the sacrifice and hard work that we put on our creation and that can compensate in ways that could not be paid by money.)/dbs