Kuwentong Peyups
Atty. Dennis Gorecho
Kidlat Tahimik on “Kapwa” as a cultural brake (preno)
National Artist Kidlat Tahimik is a known advocate of “kapwa” (shared identity and relationality) concept as a cultural brake (preno) against Western consumerism and colonial values.
More than 250 young campus journalists in the recent 30th Word Cup in Baguio City had the privilege to meet personally Kidlat Tahimik as he explains the indigenous Filipino philosophy of “kapwa.”
Kidlat Tahimik is widely celebrated as the “Father of Philippine Independent Cinema” and was awarded National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts in 2018.
Born Eric Oteyza de Guia, Kidlat Tahimik (meaning “Silent Lightning”) emphatically shared with the young crowd during the closing ceremonies the “kapwa” concept popularized by his late wife, German-born ethnographer and author Dr. Katrin de Guia.
Katrin’s book “Kapwa: The Self in the Other. Worldviews and Lifestyles of Filipino Cultural Bearers” (2005) is a compendium of academic theory, artistic commentary, journal entries, and deeply personal reflections collected from Katrin’s combined years of studying Sikolohiyang Pilipino under Dr. Virgilio Enriquez at the University of the Philippines..
Katrin defined “kapwa” as the Filipino core value of shared identity and interconnectedness, not merely as an abstract concept, but as a living philosophy that could heal both individuals and nations.
“Kapwa” teaches that the self is inherently intertwined with others and the natural world.
The book discussed “kapwa” in the lives and works of Baguio artists Santi Bose, Roberto Villanueva, Rene Aquitania, and Kidlat, as well as New York-based documentarian Angel Shaw, Boracay artist Perry Argel, and film director Kanakan Balintagos.
Kidlat uses his landmark postcolonial films – such as Perfumed Nightmare (1977) and Turumba (1983) – to critique Western imperialism and elevate local, indigenous worldviews over corporate globalization.
Kidlat considers culture as more than heritage. It is a source of identity, creativity, kapwa, and knowledge that can shape how we understand development and our place in the world
“Kapwa is an embracing culture – one where we include others in our sense of self , help one another and move toward a shared destination.”
The young writers witnessed how Kidlat Tahimik has been transforming traditional academic speeches into live, unconventional art performances.
Rather than delivering standard lectures, he uses installation art, native costuming, and theatrical narratives to convey his message of “indogenius” (indigenous creative genius) and anti-colonialism.
Dressed in a graduation toga, traditional Cordillera-inspired jacket and loincloth (bahag), Kidlat acted as a graduate of the fictional “University of Hollywood”.
During the performance, he narrated the journey of a Cordilleran filmmaker who returns to the rice terraces to reject formulas of sex and violence in favor of local truths
He juxtaposed the Ifugao wind goddess Inabyan with the Western icon Marilyn Monroe to contrast local storytelling with the “Hollywood wind goddess.”
He critiqued the colonial educational system—which he argued reduces education to a basic “3 Rs” (Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic) corporate pipeline.
“I call it a cultural preno. Culture is an engine of a people, a collective engine to move in one direction. But our culture also has a preno system to balance your forward thrust. It’s like a sports car engine. Even if your engine is really good, but if you don’t have a good preno system, you will never get to your goal,” Kidlat said in an interview.
Kidlat graced the closing ceremonies days before the first death anniversary of Katrin who died on October 12, 2025 at the age of 75.
The Word Cup Philippines is the country’s longest-running, practitioner-led national campus journalism conference, workshop, and contest program.
The annual event, which draws participation from student publications across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, continues to serve as a vibrant platform for young journalists to hone their craft.
Since its inception in 1994, Word Cup Philippines has promoted responsible journalism and nurtured future media practitioners.
The event featured talks and workshops and sessions that tackled essential topics in writing (news, editorial, feature, sports) , editorial cartooning, mobile journalism, broadcasting, photojournalism, media ethics, and current issues affecting various sectors of society.
It aimed to provide authentic, hands-on journalism training rather than abstract lectures or pre-packaged fact sheets. Participants learn by covering live press briefings, community events, and real-time simulations.
The participants include students from elementary, junior high, senior high school . tertiary and college levels along with school paper advisers, language and communication arts teachers. (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.)
