Dr. Ferrer, a faculty member of the UP College of Music, talked about the relevance of the sarswela as a Filipino art form, including as a medium for Filipinos to critically examine contemporary society and inspire transformation. She presented video clips of a recent production of Severino Reyes’s “Walang Sugat,” a traditional sarswela. Prof. Alegre’s talk focused on the contemporary Waray sarswela. The UP An Balangaw Performing Arts Group, which she founded 40 years ago in UP Tacloban College, performed excerpts from the Waray sarswela “Lunop han Dughan” written by Prof. Alegre and Samlito Abueva.
Around 120 students from UPTC and Sagkahan National High School attended the forum, which marked the conclusion of UP Tacloban’s National Arts Month celebration.
