Hail to the 'king of the road'

 By Jaimes R. C. Sumbilon

They say you cannot be called a true Filipino if you have never experienced a ride in a jeepney, the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines.
The jeepney is a colorful postcard of Pinoy life. It paints a picture of variety and spice, accompanied by the sound of a “barker” calling and shouting to every passersby, or the chant of “para” that tells jeepney drivers their passengers would like to get off. Our humor is evident in the placards that say “Barya lang sa umaga,” “God bless Judas not pay,” “Bayad muna bago bumaba,” “Basta driver, sweet lover” and a lot more sayings that are already marked in Pinoy mentality.
Considered as the “king of the road,” the jeepney has become the main land transportation for most Filipinos. Besides the cheap fare, commuters take jeepneys because they are ubiquitous and accessible to anyone, since more than half a million of them can be found plying the streets and thoroughfares of Metro Manila alone.
Although not 100 percent Pinoy, as jeepneys evolved from vehicles made in America and used in carrying soldiers and weapons during the World War II, we gave the jeepneys a new face and characteristics through local ingenuity and resourcefulness.
A typical Philippine jeepney has a colorful and glittering ornament around in its body with color lines, witty signs, a specific name, inventive interiors and accessories and, of course, the trademark of the jeepney — one or two small aluminum horses on the bumper, that, according to folks, symbolize “additional horsepower.”
All these details make the Philippine jeepney very special, that no other mode of public land transportation can banner Filipino artistry and creativity better than this iconic vehicle.

Road to makeover
Through the decades, the jeepney has proven essential for Filipinos’ daily lives. Rain or shine, hike on oil price and fare or not, they are ready to stop to serve their Pinoy masters.
Perhaps, it is the best time for their masters to pay tribute and appreciate the importance of the jeepneys in the country’s transportation industry.
In the partnership with the Department of Tourism (DoT), other government offices, private sectors, transport groups led by the Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines or Fejodap, and other non-government organizations, the corporate social art drive Jeepney Arts Festival was successfully kicked off last Sept. 20.
The festival gave homage to the renowned jeepney as a true icon of Filipino artistry, resiliency, ingenuity and entrepreneurship and conducted through a series of events.
One was the four-day camp dubbed as the “On-the-Spot Jeepney Painting” that happened from Sept. 20 to 23 at the SM Mall of Asia Open Grounds, wherein Filipino artists, students, local government officials and concerned individuals gathered in the spirit of bayanihan or volunteerism in painting and dressing up these iconic vehicles of new, fresh and pleasurable looks.
“With some of the country’s relevant and revered institutions onboard, this project allows the Philippine jeepney to showcase the spirit of bayanihan and creative excellence intrinsic to very Filipino. The project will remind us once more who we really are as Filipinos and as a nation,” shared Clang Garcia, managing director of the Jeepney Arts Festival.
Some 50 jeepneys that came from different parts of metropolis were painted with images depicting the Philippines’ tourism destinations such as Mayon Volcano, Chocolate Hills, Rice Terraces and other tourist spots. Also placed on the jeepneys’ walls were some of the country’s natural resources such as the coconut tree, pearls, anahaw and narra tree; and endemic species like the Philippine eagle and deer, kalabaw (water buffalo) tamaraw (Mindoro dwarf buffalo), pilandok (mouse deer), butanding (whale shark) and the world’s smallest primate, the tarsier.

Paticipants take their parts for the "On-the-Spot-Jeepney-Painting"

Apart from smearing the jeepney’s exterior, the creativity and uniqueness of Filipinos were emphasized further as participants were given the option to also upgrade the vehicles’ interiors by re-doing the walls and floors, re-upholstering the seats and adding more decorations.
After the makeover, the Grand Jeepney Parade was launched last Sept. 24, where the rehabilitated and upgraded jeepneys, bannering the country’s rich heritage and world-class destinations, plied the routes of Pasay-Ayala as virtual roving museums.

The Grand Jeepney Parade

“Apart from our aim to bring back the glory of the Philippine jeepney, we also sought to equip the men behind the wheels with valuable knowledge. For this reason, our friends from the DoT also provided a training program for participating jeepney drivers and immersed them in vital topics such as values formation, the culture of tourism, proper handling of passengers, and road safety, among others,” said Garcia.
This noteworthy initiative makes the jeepney not only a major means of transportation, but also as the country’s iconic vehicle promoting art and tourism.

From streets to art galleries
In the final salvo of the Jeepney Arts Festival, a live auction called “Tribute Arts for Philippine Jeepneys” was held at SMX Convention Center last Oct. 6 in cooperation with the Design Week Philippines and ManilaArt.
The event was part of the annual ManilArt Fair 2012, the hottest contemporary art fair in Asia, where the exhibition featured more than 1,400 paintings and sculptures from more than 600 Filipino artists.   Displayed in “jeepney booth” were the works by some of the country’s noted Filipino artists such as food columnist and multimedia artist Claude Tayag, industrial sculptor Ral Arrogante, jewelry designer Nicole Wisenhunt, contemporary artist Jinggoy Buensuceso and shoe designer Maco Custodio.

Ral Arroganato's Qiapo-Quiapo

“We are proud to showcase a fascinating line of Jeepney pop arts that transcends the ordinary through the hottest artists in town,” Garcia said, adding, “Drawing generously from their skills and marrying them with their representations of the iconic Philippine vehicle, their masterpieces are visual treats that evoke a range of symbolic messages.”
The art show encouraged everyone to appreciate local talent as it aspires to spark both the artistry and creativity intrinsic to the Filipinos.
The exhibit featured jeepney pop art and creative masterpieces ranging from paintings, sculptures, jewelry, shoes and other forms of artworks, which included Ed Coronel’s Crossing, Roberto Marquez’s Kutsara Art, Arrogante’s Quiapo Quiapo, Buensuceso’s Zoom, Wisenhunt’s Jeepney Bumper, Roen Capule’s Jip-Bibo and Henri Cainglet’s Where Had All The Horses Gone?

Roberto Marquez’s Kutsara Art

Sculptor Arrogante, one of the featured artists whose works was part of the exhibit, used scrap and recyclable materials like synchronizers from an old car’s transmission, some parts from air-conditioning units and gears from an electric heater in his Quiapo Quiapo masterpiece.
“The jeepney will remain a Philippine vehicle because through the jeepney, we have learned how to recycle, how to repair because we are not manufacturers so doon tayo sa pukpok pukpok lang, kanya-kanyang styles. It is individualized, it’s form of expression that is why there are many accessories so they can express themselves,” he said. “It is very important to jeepney owners what they called accessories. The more accessories you have, the more progressive ‘yung pagiging owner mo ng jeepney. So that’s how they gauge what are good in their jeepneys through the amount of accessories that you put in your jeep.”

Nicole Wisenhunt’s Jeepney Bumper,

Meanwhile, jewelry designer Whisenhunt interpreted the jeepney through by making a fascinating necklace, which she called Jeepney Bumper. “Jeepney is the moving icon of the Philippine culture. I took part with this project because I believed that jeepneys have the strength and image to bring tourists in the country.  (In my masterpiece) I chose to use cheerful colors because it felt like jeepneys are such happy forms of transportation,” she revealed.
Proceeds will go to the rehabilitation and training programs for the next Jeepney Arts Festival. The auction will also benefit the two chosen charities — the Operation Smile and Isang Litrong Liwanag.
“The Jeepney Arts Festival is our way of taking that first gear toward revolutionizing the Philippine icon. We aim to take this social undertaking on a yearly basis until such time that the creative brilliance and community values of the Filipino people are embodied in the Philippine jeepneys,” Garcia ended.

Henri Cainglet’s Where Had All The Horses Gone?

Ed Coronel’s Crossing

Maco Custodio's Jeep Shoem

Jinggoy Buensuceso’s Zoom

Well, it only takes one ride to appreciate the Filipinos’ genuine creativity behind the Philippine jeepney. Never mind the traffic. -- Jaimes R. C. Sumbilon