Fil-Am activists, scholars, artists start Marcos Martial Law era archive

DJ JoelQuiz, (Joel Quizon) projecting images and vintage film/video footage by DJ Un-G (Gary Gacula Gabisan); the audience recalled the dark days of Martial Law as they danced to the disco beat and the light show projections on the wall. INQUIRER/Florante Ibanez

HOLLYWOOD — A group of community activists, scholars and artists on Sunday, December 3 celebrated the start of an archival art project to document the “anti-Martial Law and Anti-Marcos resistance era.”

Utilizing a live Disco DJ JoelQuiz, (Joel Quizon) and screening of images and vintage film/video footage by filmmaker-DJ Un-G (Gary Gacula Gabisan), the celebrants recalled the dark days of Martial Law as they danced to the disco beat and the light show projections on the wall. Imelda Marcos loved the Disco Dance Era as shown in the Broadway musical “Here Lies Love.”

Fresh and fried lumpia (including veggie alternatives), Christmas cookies and other snacks as complimentary refreshments fueled the attendees on the second floor of the Thymele Arts Center.

Professor Christine Bacareza Balance of University of California Irvine, the principal organizer of the event, explained that “Afterlives of Martial Law” is a year-long collaboration between the Department of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Irvine and Visual Communications (VC).

From left to right, video DJ Un-G (Gary Gacula Gabisan), Professor Christine Balance (UC Irvine) and Disco DJ JoelQuiz, (Joel Quizon), headlined the Afterlives of Martial Law/Disco Manila Dance Party held at the Thymele Arts Center in Hollywood December 3. INQUIRER/Florante Ibanez

It is generously funded by the UCHRI, Kababayan at UCI, Orange County & Southeast Asian Archive Center, School of Humanities at UC Irvine. The project is collecting and documenting Philippine martial law era materials as well as oral interviews of participants in the US-based resistance movement .

An example of Anti-Martial law materials being digitized by Visual Communications. VCA

Next up in #AfterlivesOfMartial Law will be a writing workshop and performance with Jason Magabo Perez, writer-professor and author of This is for the Mostless, at UC Irvine, planned for January 18, 2018.

Participating artists and scholars include: Prof. Lucy Burns (UCLA), Elaine Dolalas & Michael Nailat (This Filipino American Life), filmmaker/DJ Gary Gacula Gabisan, filmmaker Marie Jamora, Prof. Bliss Lim (UCI), Stefanie Lira (Ph.D. candidate in History, UCI), filmmaker/DJ Joel Quizon, Prof. Jason Magabo Perez (CSU-San Bernardino).