If Trees Could Talk Participating Artist Mark Salvatus holds workshop for buskers

Ibaan, Batangas—The If Trees Could Talk International Art Biennale site was buzzing with excitement on June 15, 2024. As elementary school pupils toured the exhibits, the artists of Busktangas gathered for an activity of their own.

Busktangas is a movement comprised of young buskers based in Batangas.

The young musicians sat down with Mark Salvatus, one of the participating artists of the biennale, for a workshop. This project, “Let It Bear Fruit,” is based on Emilia Malabanan’s 1916 ethnographic paper titled “Folksongs in Lipa, Batangas.” Salvatus described bearing fruit as a gradual process that takes time. Similarly, writing is a process that doesn’t produce instant results; it takes time to create a work of art.

The participants were tasked to create a song inspired by their surroundings, which included the locality of Ibaan, the environment, animals, and other things. The song they’d come up with would be theirs to perform beyond the workshop.

With pens and papers out, the buskers spread out, scribbling lyrics and experimenting with melodies on their guitars.

At the end of the workshop session, the group performed their song under the shade of mango trees. They wrote a song in Filipino about achieving freedom and fully owning it.

A non-profit that works with the creative community to promote literacy and explore national identity, CANVAS publishes its award-winning children's stories and donates their books to benefit children in public schools and poor communities throughout the Philippines. Its “One Million Books for One Million Filipino Children Campaign” promotes independent reading and creative thinking in Filipino children, while also exposing them to the best of contemporary Filipino art and literature.