Boac, Marinduque – The College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS) of Marinduque State University (MarSU) is launching a new season of Art Talks and Heart Convos beginning February 6, in celebration of National Arts Month. The series coincides with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ weekly Art Fridates activities and will run throughout February.
This year’s edition is spearheaded by third-year BA Communication students enrolled in Communication Elective 4: Creative Cultural Development (Comm Elect 4) for the second semester of academic year 2025–2026. The class has been divided into four groups, each representing cultural clusters across the province: Monserrat de Marinduque (Boac and Mogpog), San Bernardo de Marinduque (Gasan and Buenavista), San Juan de Marinduque (Santa Cruz and Torrijos), and Isla de Marinduque.
The overarching theme chosen by Comm Elect 4 is moryonan, explored in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals.
– February 6 (Friday): Group 1 will open the series with Moryonan sa Mogpog, featuring municipal tourism designate Jayson Mistal, moryon group president Maria Go, local sculptor Gilbert Monsanto, and the Samahan ng Moryon sa Mogpog. In Boac, the group will also present interviews with members of Mistah: Kwento sa Likod ng Panata.
– February 13 (Friday): Group 2 will spotlight the newly formed Moryon organization Credencious in Gasan, with its leaders and members, while also examining the origins, faith, and current practice of moryonan in Buenavista.
– February 20 (Friday): Group 3 will highlight emergent traditions in Santa Cruz with insights from tourism officer Yolanda Elegado and RR Rañeses of the I Love Santa Cruz Collective. The group will also present the history of Moriones in Torrijos through local historian and administrator Reijohn Mendones.
– February 27 (Friday): Group 4 will conclude the series with discussions on the roots of moryonan and the faith behind the mask, featuring Fr. Dionisio Santiago and the narrative of San Longhino. The final screening will also showcase local variations of moryonan across Marinduque, with contributions from Msgr. Rolando Oliverio, tourism officer Rino Labay, and cultural researcher Luigi Malangis.
The weekly sessions will be streamed via social media platforms, offering audiences across Marinduque and beyond an opportunity to engage with the province’s rich cultural heritage. Through these dialogues, MarSU aims to deepen appreciation of the moryonan tradition while linking it to contemporary themes of sustainability and cultural development. (RANDY NOBLEZA)
