Kuwentong Peyups
Atty. Dennis Gorecho
UP Fair as platform where art and advocacy collide
“Ikulong na yan, Mga Kurakot” chant reverberated for four days at Sunken Garden of the University of the Philippines in Diliman during the 2026 UP Fair.
The stage during UP Fair is never just a stage as the week-long event serves as a platform for artists to combine music with social activism, calling for action against corruption and injustice.
The theme for 2026 is “Rak Kontra Korap “ that aims to give awareness on specific social issues each day: Kalye Tunes on Wednesday for urban struggles and the rights of the marginalized ; Quest on Thursday for queer empowerment and women’s rights; Elements on Friday for peasant rights and agrarian reform; and Rev on Saturday for ancestral land defense.
Originally held in September, UP Fair started in the early 1980s as an avenue or dissent against the Martial Law era of then dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
It was in 1984 when the UP fair was institutionalized as a fundraising activity by student organizations led for the University Student Council (USC) and considered the biggest student-initiated activity in UP Diliman.
What started as a simple “perya-like” event, the UP Fair was moved to February and has evolved into a full-blown celebration of Philippine art, music, and culture as well as a platform for change.
UP Fair has promoted several bands and talents, homegrown and non-UP alike, which include The Jerks, The Dawn, Buklod, Moonstar88, Yano, Sinaglahi, Patatag, Ebe Dancel, Lola Amour, Sponge Cola, Morissette and Eraserheads being the most famous among them.
The Eraserheads made their first performance at the UP Fair on February 1991 which came two years after Ely Buendia, Buddy Zabala, Marcus Adoro, and Raymund Marasigan formed the band in 1989.
They performed again at the UP Fair 1992 with their set included cover versions of The Knack’s “My Sharona” and John Lennon’s “Cold Turkey”.
Buddy and Raymund were my roommates for two years (1989 to 1991) at the Molave dorm during my last college years.
The final night (Rev) was hosted by Sigma Kappa Pi Fraternity and Sigma Delta Pi Sorority, which calls for the defense of ancestral lands and indigenous people’s struggles.
The performers included Ridleys, Moonster88, Apo Hiking Society, Over October, Shirebound, Hey June!, and Any Name’s Okay, and more.
It coincided with the celebration in Manila of the 42nd Cordillera Day at the Quezon Memorial Circle in honor of slain tribal leader Macliing Dulag.
It was in the evening of April 24, 1980 when soldiers fired at two houses in the village of Bugnay, Tinglayan, Kalinga that caused Macli-ing’s death from multiple gunshots.
He was one of the leaders of the Kalinga tribes opposing the World Bank-funded 1,010-megawatt Chico River Basin Hydroelectric Dam Project of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
Despite the lack of a formal education, Macli-ing knew that the project would eventually displace thousands of his people from their ancestral lands and destroy million worth of fruits, vegetables, and grains.
Macli-ing was killed by government forces in an attempt to silence him but his murder was a catalyst that united the peoples of the Cordillera in opposition against the dam.
One of his famous quote on the people’s reverence for the land, affirming their right to stay, states: “You ask if we own the land and mock us saying, ‘Where is your title?’ When we ask the meaning of your words, you answer with taunting arrogance, ‘Where are the documents to prove that you own the land?’ Titles? Documents? Proof of ownership. Such arrogance to speak of owning the land when we instead are owned by it. How can you own that which will outlive you? Only the race owns the land because the race lives forever.”
The Cordillara People’s Alliance (CPA) said in it’s website that “more than just a gathering, Cordillera Day is a political statement on present realities by the militant Cordillera peoples’ movement. It carries with it the historical advances of the mass movement for self determination and national democracy. It is the affirmation of principles and struggles for defense of the ancestral domain and for self determination and pursues what the Cordillera martyrs and heroes have fought for.
I joined in the 1990s three Cordillera Day celebrations: two in Benguet (Itogon and Mankayan) and another in Sagada, Mountain Province.
The music festival during UP Fair makes one cherish the concept of academic freedom.
The performances are manifestations of the culture of resistance and persistence of UP as a safe haven for civilized and intelligent discourse of all beliefs and forms of democratic expression.
The rhythm of resistance roars louder than ever.
More than a festival, it’s a week-long platform where art and advocacy collide which brings people together not just to revel in melodies but to rise in solidarity.
(Peyups is the moniker of the University of the Philippines. Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the Seafarers’ Division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan Law Offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 0908-8665786.)
