Book launch: A Bridge for Silay

Melted by fires deep in the earth
Spewed out from its cracks as our rebirth
Cooling and hardening into land
Older than humanity, older than the island

In a new exhibit, The Center for Art, New Ventures and Sustainable Development (CANVAS) presented A Bridge for Silay, featuring artworks by Ronson Culibrina that tell the legend of the “devil’s bridge” of Talim Island in Binangonan, Rizal. The exhibit is part of CANVAS’ Tumba-Tumba: Stories and Spaces which ran at the UP Vargas Museum from June 11, 2021 until July 30, 2021.

The artworks are part of the new picture and story book of the same title which tells the story of a young woman, her village, and how they find their strength in each other. A special project with Agay Llanera and The Working Animals Art Projects, the book was launched at the exhibit when it opened on June 11. Ronson Culibrina, the creator of the artworks for this exhibition and publication, resides on the island.

A Bridge for Silay is based on the legend of Puente del Diablo in Barangay Pila-pila in Binangonan, Rizal. Although Puente del Diablo is not officially part of Talim Island, its proximity to the dagger-shaped island makes it a popular stopover for tourists in the area. With its rocks seemingly fashioned into blocks shooting up twenty meters into the sky and reaching out a hundred meters into the water, Puente del Diablo looks like an unfinished stone bridge.

Tumba-tumba: Stories and Spaces is the third time for CANVAS to turn the Vargas Museum into a children's museum in order to give visitors a glimpse of its vision for what a children's museum ought to be: visually engaging, memorable, and fearlessly interactive.

A Bridge for Silay is available via Looking for Juan, where every purchase is matched with book donations to two children from the poor and disadvantaged communities in the Philippines in support of CANVAS' One Million Books for One Million Filipino Children Campaign.