by Vernie Caparas
With eyes that acknowledged every student seated in that 120-square-foot-workshop at Bahay Migrante, just across Mountain View Cemetery on Fraser Street, the Maestro began his 4-hour masterclass in mural painting. “I have been using art, specifically painting, in working for young children with traumatic experiences in Mindanao. I noticed that, after a day or two of painting, their eyes swell with tears while their brush strokes fill their canvases. Painting became their expression of deep-seated hurt, pain, and trauma. There is in painting a form of self-expression coupled with silence that releases emotions only they are going through – something that does not come out with counselling when children remain tight-lipped with blank stares.
Painting allows you to stay silent, look deeper into your core, and reflect on your circumstances. I want you to focus on painting what your heart and consciousness suggest. This is how you start your healing journey.”
A day after the LapuLapu Day massacre on 26 April 2025 traumatized a huge number of individuals, the internationally renowned artist couple – Norberto “Bert” Monterona and Mylene Maranoc – lost no time in contacting members of their organisation, the Philippine Artists Network for Community Integrative Transformation (PANCIT). Migrante B.C.’s artistic arm, PANCIT has had Bert Monterona as its founding chair and lead muralist since 2012. With Monterona’s unassuming yet powerful presence in the Filipino community, a team of approximately 15 people signed up for his masterclass in mural painting. The team consists of both well-trained and budding artists – an intergenerational mix with various intensities and layers of trauma wrought not only by the tragedy but also by institutional, filial, communal situations magnified by racialization and discrimination in their adoptive British Columbia, Canada.
Around two weeks after the crime that only solidified the disadvantaged Filipino communities’ demand for justice and peace, the United Way of British Columbia (UWBC) launched the Kapwa Strong Fund. The Fund – seemingly the B.C. government’s response to popular assessments of its neglect of security essential to events such as the April 26 festival – appears to be the Government’s psychosocial temporary appeasement that appeals to the Filipinos’ sense of altruism or otherness and that approximates Bayanihan – strength in unity. Migrante B.C. lost no time in applying for this Fund.
(Day 1 Class Notes, 17 May 2025)
Waiting for the Fund was not an option for Maestro Monterona, “even without the funding, we will help our community heal through the art of mural painting”. Initially scheduled for 12 consecutive four-hour classes on Saturdays (May 17 – August 2), Monterona’s Masterclass in Mural Painting for Trauma Healing extends to October 2025 to accommodate late joiners who acknowledged their need for healing.
The Maestro and his students.
Since Day 1 of the masterclass, the artist couple have been providing nourishment for the body as artists often forget to eat, plus canvases, paintbrushes, acrylic paints, and the workshop for mural painting art learners to transport their hurts and traumas onto every pigment and fabric of the canvas.
When asked about the merits and demerits of being Maestro Monterona’s better half, Mylene Maranoc discloses ” I am so proud to have him as my life and art partner. He is very humble and unassuming despite several international awards to his name. We always aim to produce very creative and powerful works that emphasize our vision, our culture, our struggle for the community and the nation. We have no ambition of being recognised for our works that we have fun doing in our free time.”
With the release of the UWBC Fund around two months after its launch, the artist couple continue to train young artists in that tiny workshop on Fraser Street and 32nd Avenue. The young officers of Migrante B.C. – Diane Zapata and Christian John Demanarig – collaborated with PANCIT heads to ensure the timely and proper allocation of the Fund. Monterona appointed Calic Raya Tolentino – a digital artist who has been carving his artistic leadership niche in the Filipino diaspora – as Project Coordinator of his masterclass.
Tolentino, through Monterona’s mentorship, has been the lead liaison officer for PANCIT’s participation in events post the LapuLapu Day tragedy: PinoyFest 2025, Arts Heal, Archbishop John Stevens’ visit to St. Mary the Virgin South Hill Church with Pastor Expedito Farinas, with each event marked with artists’ public engagement.
Tolentino emphasises, “tuning out my worries and overthinking as my brushstrokes simultaneously clear my mind,” when asked how he responds to Maestro Monterona’s trauma-informed mural painting class. “Tito Bert’s approach allows me to think and to process my emotions better. It leads to liking what I create and to liking myself”.
The Maestro’s PANCIT masterclass culminates in the 2025 Art Exhibit, “Healing Colours,” at the Sunset Community Centre on Main Street in Vancouver, B.C. To open on October 24th and to run until November 7th, the exhibit features 12 artists with their socially empowering artworks: Nora Angeles, Alda de Aza, Vernie Caparas, Marina Hamoy, Erie Maestro, Mylene Maranoc, Sasha Novell-Solacito, Lory Riego O, Katharine Spark, Calic Raya Tolentino, Rodel Valin, Diane Zapata.
Here are some of the artists’ works:
PANCIT welcomes everyone to Healing Colours – a tribute to the community whose grieving for lost lives takes on the form of mural painting under the tutelage of Bert Monterona. The art exhibit opens on October 24, 5:30 pm, at the Sunset Community Centre. Save the date!
