SAKA, or Sama-Samang Artista para sa Kilusang Agraryo, was recently invited by arts center Para Site to visit Hong Kong and share about the struggle for agrarian reform in the Philippines. They produced a booklet entitled, “Three Songs, Three Recipes.” SAKA, an alliance of artists concerned with genuine land reform, rural development, and food security, bonded with migrant workers over food and music.
By TRINA FEDERIS
Bulatlat.com
HONG KONG – Food waste accounts for one-third of municipal solid waste in Hong Kong.
In 2021, this means 3,353 tonnes of food waste, making this the largest waste category in Hong Kong. In a city that survives on wanton commercialism, what is the connection between Hong Kong and a recipe booklet?
SAKA, or Sama-Samang Artista para sa Kilusang Agraryo, was recently invited by arts center Para Site to visit Hong Kong and share about the struggle for agrarian reform in the Philippines. They produced a booklet entitled, “Three Songs, Three Recipes.” SAKA, an alliance of artists concerned with genuine land reform, rural development, and food security, bonded with migrant workers over food and music.
Browsing the material, one would immediately see that on the opposite page of each song is a recipe that SAKA concocted during the pandemic. During this period in the Philippines, meat was especially expensive, hence the vegetarian recipes included in the booklet. The chef’s kiss is the colorful butterfly on the cover made out of food scraps.
The context of the recipes (Curried Corn Soup, Green Papaya Salad, Puso ng Saging Burger) was equally interesting. SAKA, aside from contributing their skills in making placards and murals, also supported strikes and other working-class actions by cooking. And yes, the recipes included are some of those they have already tried and tested.
The songs chosen, Dapat Bawiin by Patatag, Buhay at Bukid by Buklod, and Hindi Namin Kayo Titigilan (originally a poem by slain peasant advocate Randall Echanis, and then put to music by Barangay Peasant Combo), serendipitously were about progressing from being awakened to the conditions in our society, to linking arms with other oppressed people, and taking action respectively, according to Sara Rivera of SAKA.
The booklets were distributed to migrant Filipinos and native Hong Kongers who attended the sharing on Nov. 5. There, Aly Cabral (also of SAKA) jammed with those present, teaching them the songs in the booklet. Cabral and Rivera shared how sharing food and music is important in working together towards social change.
The sharing is part of the series of events Para Site set up in line with the exhibit Offerings for Escalante, a collaborative exhibit by Enzo Camacho and Ami Lien. The project, an awakening of sorts for the two artists, focused on the famine, and the inherent violence in such conditions, during the time of the dictator Marcos Sr. Initially drawn to the area by the painting Angry Christ (located in St. Joseph the Worker Chapel in Victorias City, Negros Occidental), they then soon discovered other issues in the area and wanted to document the reality of the situation and how the people powerfully protested. Escalante is a city in Negros Occidental, Western Visayas.
Offerings for Escalante comprises Decomposition Animation, where a hole-ridden leaf transforms into a skull; Langit Lupa, a film that plays on the hour, features the memoirs of the survivors of the Escalante massacre; and the visual artworks made out of food scraps from the community.
According to Camacho and Lien, they thought of using food scraps, as it was abundant in the community. The collection of food scraps was a form of collective action, with members of the community gathering food scraps with them.
The exhibit runs from 21 October 2023 until 8 February 2024 at the art center Para Site in Quarry Bay. It is open to the public from Wednesday to Sunday, 12 – 7 PM. (RTS, RVO) 
