* a brochure of Rafael ‘Ka Paeng’ Pacheco given to us;
on the cover: Jubilee Cross (2000) and Lakeshore Madonna (1996)
While rummaging through my stuff and storing them away from vermins, I pulled an old brochure of a Filipino artist we met many years ago. He’s name is Rafael Pacheco, more often called ‘Ka Paeng’ or ‘Paeng’.
To refresh my mind I went back to my records and found that he visited San Pablo City, Laguna way back in September 2001 and had a short talk and show of talent at the now defunct Carlito’s Restaurant and Art Gallery. We were kids back then, able to draw, sketch, and paint and so were invited to meet the artist (many thanks to our high school officials back then who allowed us many things to explore).
It is widely known that he is self-taught and went to pursue a painting technique that would soon be attached to his name: the finger painting technique. I remember Ka Paeng as a big man with big arms and how he made a finger painting on a large canvas with music to accompany him. I vaguely recall that it was an integral part of his creations.
Searching on the internet, I am glad to learn that he is still around, albeit old, and already has an art gallery named after him. It is my hope that we could go to his place Morong, Rizal to visit him and see his artworks.
Another Morong Artist
As I went through the notes and praises on the brochure, I was more than surprised to learn that Pacheco and another artist, whom I personally knew and who figured greatly in my life, are town mates. He’s none other than McLarry San Antonio. And though his life was cut short because of an illness, he left an inspired family and a body of artworks that are only waiting to be seen by the Filipinos. I shall soon write about this other Morong artist.
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