I want this book! The Life and Art of Botong Francisco

My first recollection of Botong Francisco’s paintings is seeing a faded and worn print of the well-known Katipunan painting fixed to my late grandmother’s wall in 1996. It hung there unceremoniously, dusty, and crumpling from the humidity with the rest of her old magazines and albums. My Dad asked to take it home with us to Winnipeg along with a faded calendar of Botong’s work. In the days that followed, I remember my Dad holding that image and flipping through the pages of that calendar reminiscing about his childhood and the celebrity Angono received as home to this master, this national artist.

If you don’t know Angono, it is renowned as the country’s official “Artists’ Paradise.” In my numerous sojourns “home,” I would argue that each child is raised there with the same reverence for art as football might be for the average American. I recall music and art surrounding me and I dare say there isn’t one Angono child who is not raised without either. Public spaces are filled with the sounds of Lucio San Pedro especially during All Saints Day and giant murals of Botong’s work exists in each barangay. This was my dad’s Philippines. This is why I want this book.

For 135 bucks, I can buy this book on Amazon although I admit it is pricey (that’s not including shipping!). However, it is the first ever retrospective to honour the work of our very own hometown hero.

Botong’s paintings is interpreted here in an Angono barangay. Pictured here is Botong’s interpretation of Filipino marriage during pre-Hispanic times .

Mangingisda (Fishers) is another favorite of mine. Can you see the struggle and pride in a day’s work here? It makes me think of my grandparents.

Botong Francisco is considered one of the “most important Filipino artists” by publisher, Vibal Foundation. I must also argue that he is the first to be celebrated as a Filipinianist, as an artist of pure Philippine inspiration. for depicting scenes in Philippine history and conceptualizing its past in ways traditional history had yet to remember, Botong is rightfully a hero. The popularity of his life’s work coincides with the country’s growing nationalism after gaining independence from the US and again decades later after People Power.

Botong’s Katiputan is a permanent fixture near the EDSA shrine.

This book includes paintings, sketches, costume designs, photographs, documents, and film stills outlining his lifelong career and obsession as an artist. It is finally the comprehensive tribute he deserves to be remembered for his life and contributions not only to Angono, but to the Filipino identity as a whole.

A suave image of a youthful Botong from Malacanang Palace