Youtube l Mediterranean Sojourn
@ Trattoria Poggio Antico, McKinley Hill, Taguig
May 24, 2014

The tastes, sounds and sights of Italy and the Mediterranean region, featuring Animaguitara’s Jonathan Agbayani Gonzales and selected artists of Art Tempo Manila.

A guitar mini-concert complemented by an art exhibit, as guests relish Italian gourmet specialties.

Mediterranean Sojourn is indeed a synesthetic experience. Animaguitara is run entirely by performer-educator Jonathan Gonzales with independent curator Laya Boquiren.The mini-concert will feature two guitars. The repertoire shall include compositions  by guitar greats inspired by the Mediterranean. On the other hand, Art Tempo Manila is an art group convened by Juno Parungao. The exhibit will feature Cora Patarata and Rex Rosco. Their paintings are inspired by  their travels to the Mediterranean. The idea came in 2006 when Jonathan Gonzales started performing the pieces, his wife’s favorites in his itunes. Incidentally, Rosco and Patarata’s works are reminiscent of the colors of the Italian countryside.

Jonathan Agbayani Gonzales formally trained in a music conservatory under Filipino Guitar Maestro Jose Valdez. He has taken Master classes under Jorge Orozco (Spain), Angelito Agcaoili (USA), Theresa Calpotura (USA), and Miguel Trapaga (Spain).

A versatile performer, Jonathan Gonzales not only frequents institutional classical concerts of his alma mater. He has also had his fair share of performances through music outreach programs, chamber music and solo recitals funded by both private sector and the state. He has been featured in a series of shows for the National Arts Month Festival by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). Jonathan Gonzales is also a well-rounded musician, often wood-shedding to play Rock, Funk, Blues, and Jazz through a Berklee Music module. Teacher Jonathan designed the programs of Animaguitara as an effort to redefine music education in the contemporary period.

For several years now, Jonathan Gonzales has maintained linkages with prestigious institutions such as the Ateneo Grade School and the St. Paul Pasig GIFT Program. (From http://animaguitara.wordpress.com)

The colors of Corazon “Cora” Gaufo Patarata’s artworks speak of glee.

Cora was born in Manila in 1957; she grew up in Baguio City and had lived and worked in Washington D.C., Beijing, Bonn, Berlin, Stockholm, and Vancouver. These places influenced her color palette and themes. She sees the inner glow of nature as her artworks remind us of our responsibility to take care of our beautiful planet. Cora actively exhibits in Greenfield Business Parks in Pasig. Her past exhibits include Rhythm of Colors, Seasons of Contemporary Art, and More than Flowers and Chocolates in Primos Cuisine and Lounge jointly curated by Minnette Marasigan and Juno Parungao.

Another talented artist regularly exhibiting in Greenfield Business Parks is Rex R. Rosco. 

Rosco’s art reveals dispositions, emotional transitions, spiritual evolutions as  these are manifested in human behavior. His involvement in public service, like medical missions, have instilled in him the ability to understand the complexities of humanity and the human condition. The evanescent evolutions Rosco strives to capture speak of impermanence and because everything changes,life is nowhere and somewhere all at the same time. Rosco’s background in architecture allows him to capture these fleeting forms in many dimensions.

Aside from his several exhibits in Greenfield, Rosco has also exhibited his works in Canada.