Dante Buenaventura (1974 to 1988) and Filipino Cultural Activism -Part 1

Dante Buenaventura (1974 to 1988) and Filipino Cultural Activism – Part 1

Levy Abad

Courtesy of Magdaragat.com

When it comes to cultural organizing in Winnipeg, the name of Dante Buenaventura right away pops up. Dante Buenaventura was the star that showed up in May 7, 1974 that will guide the process of relevant organizing in the community.  In my research on the history of Winnipeg Filipino activism, I was surprised that everywhere I go in the city to interview leaders, Dante’s name was always mentioned in the conversation as somebody who started it all.  Dante Buenaventura was the organizer/founder of Magdaragat (Voyagers of the Seas or Seafarer) in June 12, 1977 (Magdaragat Philippines Inc. website).  Knowing the process of organizing, I can safely say that, more or less, it took him two to three years to build this organization. According to Felino de Jesus, Dante Buenaventura, for a time, was the artistic director of Kayumanggi, an earlier cultural organization under the Philippine Association of Manitoba (PAM).

Courtesy of Magdaragat.com

Most of the people in the community know Dante Buenaventura as a cultural artist and organizer, but only few know him as a homegrown activist of Plaza Miranda rallies (Plaza Miranda is a place in Manila where big rallies were held) during the First Quarter Storm of the 70’s when President Ferdinand Marcos was at the helm. In my interview with Gil Buenaventura, brother of Dante, over the phone on January 13, 2016 (2:20 p.m.), he told me that Dante was a founder of a theatre group called Kamanyang in the Philippine College of Commerce (PCC) where he studied and eventually taught. Teatro Kamanyang was the cultural arm of Kabataang Makabayan, the radical student movement in the 70s. Further, Gil told me that during those days, Dante was active attending rallies that made him (Gil) and his mother worried all the time.

Rey Pacheco, a long time journalist in the Philippines in the 70’s and a columnist of Pilipino Express, told me that he knows Dante Buenaventura, and that they usually see each other in big rallies in the 70’s.  One of the leading organizers of the Philippine Support Group (PSG) (an anti-dictatorship organization founded in 1983) told me that he was a member of the Kabataang  Makabayan (Patriotic Youth). My research on the organization Kabataang Makabayan gives clarity in my analysis of Dante’s style of organizing.  Kabataang Makabayan is an organization that believes in the importance of cultural approach to social change. A friend from the Chilean community, Pablo Herrera, reckons  that back in the late 70s when he talked to Dante about Folklorama, the latter told him that it is important in gathering and mobilizing people in the struggle against the Marcos dictatorship or in the case of Chile, the Pinochet dictatorship.

I asked Pablo Herrera what his recollections of Dante were. He said that, “Dante was humble and knew how to listen. He was devoid of arrogance, but once he learns that a person shares his principles, he did not have second thoughts of discussing his world view, the belief in struggle against oppression and injustice.” Pablo also added that he was able to talk to Dante about revolutionary theories, philosophy, politics and culture as an instrument in rousing and moving people to freedom.  One time in La Merage Restaurant, I heard the same thing from Rey Pacheco, “Dante will patiently listen even if he knows what a person is trying to tell. He is not insecure and not of the habit of trying to impress like an attention starved person.”

I found a poem written by Dante Buenaventura online, cited by his niece in her thesis titled, “I am a Filipino.”  The first few verses help one decipher his ideology: “I am a Filipino, I am the common man: the worker, the farmer.” He continued, ”I am Jose Rizal, Tandang Sora, Andres Bonifacio, Gabriela Silang, Apolinario Mabini….” It elicited some thoughts on what made him start his poem with, “I am a worker and a farmer (peasant)“ and also the reasons why he listed all the major revolutionary leaders of the Revolution of 1896. Felino de Jesus shared that “You can never hear him say hurtful words. When some people in the community sowed intrigues  against him during the time when he was gravely ill,  he told the members of PSG” to ignore whatever they say against us, we are doing something great, we have to go on serving the people.”

Note: Part 1 of this article has been published in "Migrant Perspective," The Diversity Times, February 2016, p. 10, Vol. 5, No. 2