Behn Cervantes

Benjamín Roberto "Behn" Holcombe Cervantes (August 25, 1938 – August 13, 2013) was a Filipino artist and activist. He was highly regarded as a theater pioneer, teacher, and progressive thinker who was detained multiple times during martial law in the Philippines.[1]

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Holcombe and the surname or paternal family name is Cervantes.

Behn Cervantes
Detail of the Wall of Remembrance at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani, showing names from the 2016 batch of Bantayog Honorees, including that of Behn Cervantes.
Born
Benjamín Roberto Holcombe Cervantes

(1938-08-25)August 25, 1938
Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, Commonwealth of the Philippines
DiedAugust 13, 2013(2013-08-13) (aged 74)
Muntinlupa, Philippines
Alma materUniversity of the Philippines Diliman (BA)
Known forActivism against the administration of then-President Ferdinand Marcos through theater and film
Notable workSakada

He directed the film Sakada (1976), about the struggle of Negrense peasants at a sugarcane plantation. Copies of the film were seized by the military under the Marcos dictatorship.[2] Musical scorer Lutgardo Labad described the film as "a major cinematic coup that unearthed the inhuman conditions of our people then."[3] In 1981, the film won a Dekada Award for Best Film of the Decade.[4]

At the University of the Philippines (UP), he founded the theater group UP Repertory Company[5] in 1974 "to combat the censorship that was in place during martial law."[4] He was also a member of the Upsilon Sigma Phi fraternity. He was also founding member of the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) and the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Filipino.[5]

Cervantes’ name is on the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Wall of Remembrance,[1] which recognizes heroes who fought against martial law in the Philippines under Ferdinand E. Marcos.[6]

Work on stage and in film

In theater

Among Cervantes’ work as stage director are Guys and Dolls, The Short, Short Life of Citizen Juan, and Iskolar ng Bayan.[7]

Cervantes appeared in many stage productions as actor, including The Mikado, Waiting for Godot, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Cabaret, and M. Butterfly.[8]

He also worked on activist plays, including Pagsambang Bayan and Estados Unidos versus Juan Matapang Cruz.[4] He also directed Sigaw ng Bayan, which was about the Philippine Revolution.[9]

In film

Cervantes directed Sakada in 1976 while the Philippines was under martial law.[2][4] The film about sugarcane plantation workers "was a thinly-veiled criticism of the country's feudal power structure."[4] It starred Rosa Rosal, Robert Arevalo, Hilda Koronel, Alicia Alonzo, Pancho Magalona, Bembol Roco, Gloria Romero,[4] and Tony Santos Sr.[10] After the movie had spent three weeks in theaters, Marcos ordered the military to seize copies of the film.[4][2] The film led to Cervantes' arrest.[4] Sakada received its first screening on Philippine television in 2005.[2]

He also directed Bawal, Ito Kaya’y Pagkakasala, and Masikip, Masakit, Mahapdi.[11]

He appeared in the films Bomba Star, Aguila, When I Fall In Love, Memories of Old Manila, Waiting in the Wings, Alas-Dose, Ang Anak ni Brocka, and Barako.[11]

Activism

Together with fellow filmmaker Lino Brocka and other artists, Cervantes initiated the Free the Artist, Free the Media Movement to oppose media censorship during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. The movement led to the formation of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines in 1983.[9]

Cervantes took part in the 1984 Welcome Rotonda protest, during which pro-Marcos forces hosed down and fired tear gas at several thousand peaceful protesters gathered at Welcome Rotonda.[12]

In 1985, Cervantes and Brocka attended a nationwide transport strike in sympathy with public transportation drivers who organized the strike against rising gas prices. Cervantes and Brocka were arrested and charged with illegal assembly, which carries a penalty of life imprisonment.[13] They were released after 16 days.[14]

He was a member of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines.[15]

He is believed to have coined the term edifice complex in the 1970s to describe Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos's practice of using publicly funded construction projects as political and election propaganda.[16]

Awards

See also

References
  1. "CERVANTES, Benjamin Roberto "Behn" H. – Bantayog ng mga Bayani". Bantayog ng mga Bayani. November 29, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  2. Pangilinan, Jen M. (June 24, 2005). "Sakada premieres on TV after 30 years". Philstar. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  3. Tariman, Pablo A. (August 17, 2013). "Behn Cervantes, 74–drama and defiance to the last". Inquirer. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  4. "Activist director Behn Cervantes, 74, dies". GMA News Online. August 15, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  5. "Behn Cervantes, 74". University of the Philippines Diliman.
  6. "Martyrs & Heroes – Bantayog ng mga Bayani". Bantayog ng mga Bayani. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  7. "Stage actor-director Behn Cervantes dies at 74". ABS-CBN News. August 19, 2013. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  8. Torre, Nestor U. (April 30, 2016). "Behn Cervantes' seminal contributions to activist theater recalled–and affirmed". Inquirer. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  9. Olea, Ronalyn V. (August 23, 2013). "Behn Cervantes, People's artist". Bulatlat. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  10. Lo, Ricky (August 23, 2009). "Days of Blood & Rosa". Philstar. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  11. Mendoza, Ruel J. (August 15, 2013). "Filmmaker and activist Behn Cervantes passes away at 74". PEP. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  12. Sabillo, Kristine Angeli (November 25, 2016). "Look: Photographer shares dramatic images from anti-Marcos protests". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  13. "From the archive, 8 February 1985: Marcos regime arrests outspoken Filipino film director". the Guardian. February 8, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  14. "Catalino O. Brocka | Human Rights Violations Victims' Memorial Commission". Human Rights Violations Victims' Memorial Commission. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  15. "Cervantes, Benjamin Roberto". Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  16. Geronimo, Jee (February 24, 2016). "Martial law speak: Words that defined the anti-Marcos movement". Rappler. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
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