JOURNALISTS HONORED IN LEGARDA MURAL PROJECT

August 26, 2023 Metro BLISTT

BAGUIO CITY

Five late journalists including the late grand dame of Cordillera journalism are feted in a mural along Legarda Road. The third phase of the Baguio climate action wall sees the faces of former Baguio Midland Cecile Afable, Geronimo Evangelista, Narciso Padilla, Jose Nicholas Ilagan and Ramon Dacawi painted on the nine foot high wall and renderred with help from young artists under the Free Arts Lessons of councilor cum artist Leandro Yangot, Jr. Thee should be seven and
not five since the wall should have included the likenesses of the late Domecio Cimatu, Jr. and “good friend” Wilfredo Cacdac, said Yangot during his speech and apologized to the family of the two late journos.

Calling it a sort of mea culpa, Yangot later said they will include the two in a post launching effort.
“It is a sort of mea culpa, we intended to include my good friend Willy and Domci,” said Yangot after awarding certificates of appreciation with Mayor Benjamin Magalong and city administrator Bonifacio dela Pena to young artists and their mentors as well as family members and representatives of the late journalists that included Ilagan’s widow Laarni, a former staff of Evangelista, and their children Sam-ang and Tallek and Cimatu’s brother Franklin, editor of Baguio Chronicle.

The Baguio Regreening mural is the third artwork at the Legarda Road corner Marcos Highway. The first was the biking mobility mural followed by the Save the Buyog mural. Yangot has the Baguio Educators Arts Guild and Sin Agi as partners in the free art lesson program which has now the artist apprenticeship effort, the flagship component of the said program.

Pigeon Lobien/ABN