Kidlat Tahimik turns spotlight on ‘kapwa’ and Indigenous ingenuity

Walking slowly into the hall, Kidlat Tahimik chanted a familiar graduation cadence that grew louder as campus journalists enthusiastically joined in.

Garbed in a red-and-blue, geometrically patterned “habing Iloco” bahag layered with a black toga, headdress and native overcoat, he reached the stage to share his passion for promoting kapwa — a distinctly Filipino value that he believes can help preserve the national identity.

Kidlat Tahimik engaged participants in the 30th Word Cup National Campus Journalism Contests, held in Baguio from Oct. 9 to 11, through oral storytelling that segued into his short films.

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His “lecture” was a stage performance aided by locally carved wooden figures. Together, these elements took the audience through a range of emotions. It was an eclectic and distinctive way of presenting his ideas on kapwa and the importance of Filipino heritage.

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Recounting his journey, he told the audience that after completing his advanced studies at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in the U.S., he returned to his native Baguio with the intention of making a film.

He reflected, however, on how applying Western filmmaking formulas to local stories could distort representations of Filipino culture and values. What kind of film, he wondered, would “Sex and the Terraces” have been?

For Kidlat Tahimik, the rice terraces stand as a testament to the advanced knowledge of farming and engineering that existed long before the Spanish conquistadors arrived.

Beyond scientific knowledge, he also urged the audience to recognize beauty.

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A film recounting his experience in a wooden race car illustrated this point. He clad his car in pine, preserving the texture of its natural bark. Against a smoothly carved, aerodynamic competitor, his car fell short in speed.

He lost the race, but his choice reflected his appreciation for natural beauty.

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Enrique de Malacca

His challenge to the idea that Ferdinand Magellan “discovered” the Philippines came into focus through his retelling of the voyage.

The film opened with Magellan purchasing a wooden chest that happened to contain a person. That person, later baptized Enrique de Malacca, became Magellan’s enslaved interpreter.

Through this portrayal, Kidlat Tahimik emphasized that the inhabitants of the islands already possessed their own culture and knowledge systems before Magellan’s arrival.

Although Enrique could not write in Magellan’s language, he could record his experiences through carvings. He was also shown adapting to Western practices, such as taking a hot bath in a tub.

Enrique’s ability to learn a complex board game and defeat Magellan further illustrated the film’s message: Indigenous intelligence and ingenuity existed long before Western influence.

Kidlat Tahimik presented Enrique as possibly the first person to circumnavigate the world. In his telling, Enrique’s ability to communicate with people in Cebu suggested a return to a familiar linguistic and cultural world.

He used this interpretation to challenge a historical narrative centered on European explorers and to draw attention to the overlooked role of an enslaved interpreter.

‘Indiogenius’

Kidlat Tahimik’s term “Indiogenius” brings together “Indio,” a colonial label associated with prejudice, and “genius,” a recognition of intelligence and creativity. The pairing challenges the supposed contradiction between the two.

Like literary expressions that place seemingly opposing ideas together — such as Shakespeare’s “cold fire” and “sweet sorrow” — the term invites audiences to reconsider familiar meanings.

Under Spanish colonial rule, “Indio” was used to classify native inhabitants and carried connotations of inferiority. Filipino reformists, including José Rizal, challenged these prejudices and asserted the dignity and capabilities of the Filipino people.

By joining “genius” to “Indio,” Kidlat Tahimik reclaims the term as an expression of pride.

In his view, the builders of the rice terraces exemplify Indiogenius: Their knowledge and creativity produced a heritage that endured through Spanish, American and Japanese rule.

Kapwa

The Word Cup crowd cheered when the 84-year-old Kidlat Tahimik introduced a film featuring his German wife, Katrin Muller-de Guia, speaking about kapwa.

The mood turned emotional when he revealed that earlier that morning, before coming to the hall, they had scattered his beloved wife’s ashes on a nearby mountain.

In the film, Katrin de Guia recalled an experience when she first traveled to Baguio: “I was offered peanuts which I took, and later they offered me some more, which I also took. I have no idea why they are doing that.”

“I was so surprised when I met my mother-in-law and she offered me her bed while she slept somewhere else,” she related. “Germans will never do that,” she quipped.

It was through studying psychology, which she described as her second love, that de Guia deepened her understanding of pakikipagkapwa.

Reflecting on these experiences, she explained that “you need not take everything that is being offered to you.”

Her account highlighted how seemingly simple gestures — sharing food or offering a place to rest — could express a deeper sense of connection with others.

For Kidlat Tahimik, kapwa affirms the worth of Filipino culture and a way of life that has never been inferior to that of the West.

A ‘night out’ with a national treasure

Kidlat Tahimik brought the same energy beyond the stage. He said being with young people and eager learners gives him energy.

The evening after the national contest wrapped up, Kidlat Tahimik joined about 20 members of the Word Cup Secretariat and the president of a local media association for dinner.

There, he jokingly laid down the rules.

“Don’t call me sir, call me Kuya or Tatay instead. If you call me sir you have to render a salute,” he said.

Shortly after 9 p.m., the group decided to visit Ili Likha for coffee and tsokolate de baterol.

The visit turned into an impromptu tour of the venue nestled in Baguio’s commercial district. Its unique design and artistic atmosphere make it stand out.

“I asked construction workers to ensure the design is different, pwedeng kahit anong shape basta hindi square,” Kidlat Tahimik explained.

He said he had recently received visitors in the dap-ay, a circular, open-air area covered by a tent, with a traditional hut nearby.

“The Mamburong or local spiritual leader or priest prayed and offered chicken. Then the liver showed a split and the Mamburong said I will have more years ahead. Matanda na ako, kaya pa ba?” he said.

He showed how he used tree trunks not merely as cladding for concrete but as a design reminiscent of the wooden cart of his youth.

“What can you notice in these tree trunks?” he asked.

When no one provided the answer he was looking for, he pointed upward.

“See, the trees are inverted, the roots are on top.”

He said that whenever a big tree was felled by a typhoon, he would call the mayor’s office and volunteer to clean up the debris and repurpose the tree as cladding for Ili Likha.

The venue uses discarded bottles of various shapes and broken tiles of different colors as siding or dividers. Local artists also sometimes volunteer to contribute their design concepts to Ili Likha.

Two wood carvings — one of the local Goddess of the Wind and another of Hollywood’s “god of the wind” in the image of Marilyn Monroe — decorate the entrance to his small private cinema.

Inside are repurposed tree trunks made into seats or benches and a carving of a ship with Magellan’s image on its bow, depicting the idea that Enrique de Malacca used Magellan to circumnavigate the world and return home.

Between sips of hot chocolate and coffee, Kidlat Tahimik signed books about kapwa on his wife’s behalf.

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The group barely noticed that it was well past 11 p.m. For those who found another source of inspiration in kapwa, it was a fitting way to end the day.