Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio
MANILA, Philippines — “Ambition is important but it should be balanced with the acceptance of reality.”
This was the message of playwright, professor, poet and puppeteer Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio to some 5,000 graduates of the University of the Philippines Diliman during the 108th university-wide commencement exercises on a rainy Sunday morning.
Bonifacio, who has associated her stellar career in literature and theater with her long tenure in the university, told the 2019 graduates that although they have plenty of goals, they must learn to prioritize.
The National Artist for Theater also cautioned that chasing dreams might not always be a smooth ride.
“In our desire to reach our dreams, sometimes we will fall. Learn how to get up. It’s not the end of the world. This only means that there is something wrong or lacking in our efforts,” Bonifacio said in Filipino.
“That’s why we must strive to succeed. Finally, [you must] serve with honor, with excellence and without expecting rewards,” she said.
The keynote speaker reminded the scholars to love others as much as they love themselves.
She said it was the people who would be the graduates’ rock in both times of need and happiness.
“And you must also love your country. If you really love your country, you will fight corruption and you will find solutions to the grim effect of climate change,” said Bonifacio, who is also a professor emeritus at the Department of English and Comparative Literature of the College of Arts and Letters.
Puppet master
The puppet master is known as the Grand Dame of Southeast Asian Children’s Theater.
Together with her husband, Manuel Bonifacio, she established a small children’s theater beside their former home on Mabini Street, Area 1, UP Diliman campus.
They have staged numerous puppet shows and workshops in this theater.
The creator of the 2006 play “Sita & Rama: Papet Ramayana” said she had lived on the campus for 29 years.
In her speech, she said living on campus inspired her to think and create.
She said no one thought she’d spend seven decades in the university—as student, library assistant, teacher, friend, wife and mother.
“UP has molded me into what I am today and I am thankful for all the lessons that I have learned here. This is where I created my oeuvres that I dedicate to our people,” she said.
It was through UP that she was able to study in the United States, Bonifacio said.
As a Fulbright scholar, she created plays that were in touch with her Asian heritage.
In 1973, she was again given the chance to study around Asia and observe the art of puppetry in neighboring countries, like the “bunraku” of Japan and “wayang golek” of Indonesia.
Bonifacio created Teatrong Mulat ng Pilipinas in 1977.
“Why did I choose the name ‘mulat’? Because I wanted to open the eyes of the youth to the richness and beauty of the Filipino and Asian stories and culture. It is important to first recognize our own [culture] before the foreign culture,” she said.