BAGUIO CITY––The eldest son and namesake of National Artist Kidlat Tahimik died this week in Madrid, Spain, where the acclaimed Baguio filmmaker had just concluded on March 6 a six-month exhibition about the country’s colonization by the Spanish empire.
Kidlat De Guia passed away in his sleep, according to friends. The family has yet to issue a formal statement and funeral details, although brother Kawayan posted a photo of the siblings, which he describes as “taken 12 hours before his departure.”
Kawayan did not reveal details about his older brother’s death except for a grief-stricken tribute: “To you, my brother, our brother, our friend, our partner in crime, the playful eye, the comfort zone, the bearer of good and bad news, you, my friend, you! The backbone. My love, our love, love.”
Condolences from the art world have also been circulating online.
Kidlat’s father had shipped most of his art pieces to Spain to stage a post-colonial art installation portraying the “perspective of the colonized” at the Palacio de Cristal that began in October last year.