La CASA Azul in Calumpit ― an ‘Art Exhibit’ in Progress

By J. Nava Cruz
Riyadh-Saudi Arabia
August 11, 2018


 Carrying a panoply of thematic narratives and social advocacies, J. Nava Cruz, an OFW writer-artist based in Riyadh, is slowly wrapping-up by piecemeal, since 2016, a ‘community art exhibit project’ using their almost 81-year-old house and lot, which by now, has been a familiar name and structure in their social locale: the ‘La CASA Azul’ with its ‘Nava Cruz Gallery/Rukn Al-Arabia’ located in Panducot, Calumpit, Bulacan.

Just April 2018 last, Nava Cruz has diligently narrated through a 212 Pages, 10 chapters,   cultural art-book the story, history, mission and vision statements of their ancestral home, which he and his father named, ‘La CASA Azul’ (LCA) after the death of his mother in 1998.  The cultural art-book, “La CASA Azul… A Passage Between Two Worlds” (Philippine Copyright of 2018) highlighted the various social advocacies LCA would like to impart and campaign in front of the visiting public, let alone, the array of family heritage & cultural pieces inclusive of a number of World War II documents and many of the cultural and social art specimens from various countries patiently and meticulously collected during the course of time, and right now, on display inside the four corners of LCA.



 Since ‘LCA community art exhibit’ still need to complete a number of artistic and creative requirements, and still not yet open to the public except for ‘arranged visits’, albeit, passersby and ‘arranged-visitors’ can vividly see, think and feel the many social themes LCA imparts and instills to the public minds such as: giving value to the greatness and beauty of the Filipino families; preservation and protection of family heritage & traditions, culture and history (the roles of Filipino homes and art galleries in civic culture); campaign for protection and compassion for everything old (family abodes, buildings, elderly people); cultural integration and cultural embrace through meetings of cultures; historical awareness; building understanding and respect in the midst of differences; understanding the issue of migration diaspora (OFWs & Their Belongings via art exhibits and published books); the importance of becoming history keepers; the significance of promoting the culture of reading and writing, among many others.



So far, the LCA premise was used and took part during the film production of the award winning-short film ‘Missed Samonte’ (Best Film & Best Story during the 2013 Second Imphal International Film Festival in India), while the Nava Cruz Gallery was constructed and used as the cover photo of a Filipino suspense-thriller novel (See Me @ :06 AM) published in 2016, and now, serves as a repository for the many art specimens used on the pages of this ‘semi-fictional’  novel. 



Just this April 2018, the vintage wall of La CASA Azul was featured as the cover photo of the cultural art-book, “LCA… A Passage Between Two Worlds”, which has graced the 2018 Philippine Independence Day Celebration through an art exhibition in Riyadh, and as (tentatively) scheduled, will soon be again exhibited at the Embassy of the Philippine in Saudi Arabia through a ‘Diplomatic Reception’ Event this coming October 2018.   Moreover, its “Rukn Al Arabia” (Corner Al Arabia) housed the many Arabian items and cultural pieces, which is now an LCA powerhouse collection.

 As of this writing, Nava Cruz is all out to continue this January 2019 some of the remaining requirements for ‘LCA art exhibits’, despite his shoestring budget,  such as building a neutral place and space for everybody, (the Fortress of ‘U’ — ‘U’ stands for ‘understanding’) at the family vacant lot donated by his siblings side-by-side with a totally different structure of a Filipino eatery (My Own Food) and a small-market-space (Kainan/Tagpuan @ km 5), which his group will promote to local and international patrons in order to come-up with revenue to support the day-to-day maintenance expenses of LCA and the various free workshops LCA would offer to the public. 



In addition to this, Nava Cruz plans to come-up with an interactive library through converting the bungalow house his eldest sister, Mrs. Milagros C. Cruz donated, and where the visitors can read books, indulge in a social debate, read poems and enjoy casual tete-a-tete. 



For a start, this coming March 2019, LCA will offer free workshops to ten (10) successful applicants through a ‘Vocation Vacation/Job Shadowing Program’ with focus on literary writing (short story writing), art gallery management, art collection management, public speaking and personality development;  food culture; journalism/film-making techniques, OFWs Life in Focus (forum & discussions) with art exhibitions & art appreciation, village walk, yoga and reiki, historical tour of Bulacan Province, among many others.

 

For the record, J. Nava Cruz, the in-house artist/gallerist of LCA (The Nava Cruz Gallery/Rukn Al Arabia) is a registered author-writer/editor with the National Book Development Board (NBDB) of the Philippines, a summer filmmaker, educator/documentarist. Nava Cruz maximizes his time and talents doing a day-job at a certain corporate headquarters in Riyadh while simultaneously concludes his writings and artwork for submission and finalization every Summer in the Philippines. 

As of this writing, he just started the first few pages of his second Filipino novel, a back-to-back love story, ‘Itago Natin S’ya sa Pangalang Yagakota Ohli/Ang Lihim ni Janina Comanache” while eyeing to come-up with a film adaptation from the story of ‘LCA… A Passage Between Two Worlds’.