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By Maria Veronica Vernie G. Caparas* That fateful LapuLapu Day Festival on 26 April 2025 not only quashed the future of eleven lives; it bared the grief, loss, outrage, and trauma of migrant communities. The three levels of governments lingering disregard for migrants long-sought recognition of their right to equity, justice, and security on all fronts was likewise exposed. And the migrant communities began bracing themselves for the task ahead: heal amidst the protracted struggle for resource equity and rights recognition. Internationally renowned muralist couple Bert Monterona and Mylene Maranoc guided 12 aspiring artists in their healing journey through four-hour mural painting workshops held over twenty-three Saturdays (May 17 October 18). The resulting exhibition, Healing Colours, runs from October 24 to November 7 at the Sunset Community Centre on Main Street in Vancouver, BC. Two to four months into the project, the initiative gained vital support from United Way BCs Kapwa Strong Fund and the Sunset Community Association. L-R Rosa, Precious, Vernie, Rowena, Shahira, Babette, Ate B, JR. Rosa looks closely at Lory Riego's Dreams Take Flight & Mylene Maranoc's My Work is My Life & My Art is My Healing. Monteronas Sarimanok, jointly painted with the public and the Philippine Artists Network for Community Integrative Transformation (PANCIT) on Pinoy Festival in June 2025, hangs from the Centres polygonal roof. Such a commanding colorful mural of the Sarimanok an introduction to the richness of Philippine culture and heritage instantly awes and piques every visitor.A few paces from the mini hall for daycare toddlers, Ezra Larsens sculpted LapuLapu stands, as if inviting art enthusiasts and community sympathizers to a spectrum of colors full of aspirations, frustrations, hopes, and shattered dreams. At the Opening Night, Philippine Consul General Gina Jamoralin was overheard saying, Erie Maestros Flowers and Yellow Ribbons for Mary Jane is my favorite. Then the Philippines Ambassador to Indonesia where Mary Jane Veloso the alleged illegal recruiters drug mule has been jailed since 2010, Jamoralin represented the Philippine government in appealing for Velosos clemency. Healing Colours must have refreshed Consul General Jamoralins memory for the need to push for Velosos total freedom after fourteen years of incarceration, and not a transfer of country jails. To date, Mary Jane languishes in a Philippine jail for a crime she has been forced to pay. Will she be denied justice that has long been delayed? Maestro's painting is Consul General Jamoralin's favorite. Four days after the opening, more guests filled the Centre. The colors are strong. The community has come together to support each other and through this, I see a wonderful display of resilience. You can beat me down but Ill come back stronger, says a woman in her 60s, seen admiring the murals with her husband. I have two daughters. One that went with her son to the festival earlier in the afternoon. Another went half an hour before the tragedy happened. So its incredibly painful to hear that such a celebration can be mired in tragedy. Asked how healing might begin, she replied, I think the government should spend more time listening to what people have to say. These elected officials are there for a reason: to help us and support us in as many ways as they can. Communication must go both ways. Weve got to keep at it if we dont grease the wheel, the vehicle stops running. A couple admires Calic Raya Tolentino's mural. Suzie, a 69-year-old Filipina daycare owner, came with three children and an assistant. Suzie expresses similar thoughts, We have to let the government know of our needs. Its not terrorism. Its not hatred. Its mental health. She then caps her visit with, This is a homage to the dead. A big deal. Im glad I saw it. Daycare children walk the aisle of murals with their teacher. Daycare children are drawn to Alex Katarina's Jeepney - Kabuhayan (Livelihood). Vancouver-based Rowena, a Filipina single mother of two, planned to go to the festival with her kids as April 26 marks her sons birthday. She delights in the city governments 40km/h speed limit marker on Fraser Street. For Rowena, this newly installed marker will make drivers more mindful. She hopes, in the future, they will put up concrete barricades for people to feel safe. I have been scared to go to events since that day. I want to see more efforts from the government for mental health and for reaching out to the families of the victims. I think its the governments job to make them feel safe again. Government-appointed mental health workers already knew there were lapses in the perpetrators condition. Rowena believes, the perpetrator must be held accountable. For JR Guerrero, son of the unsurrendered Hunters Guerilla Lt. Col. Honorio Guerrero, Caparas The Sun Still Rises in the Pearl of the Orient Seas revives memories of his fathers valor during WWII. The senior Guerrero and the authors father, Santos Alzona Caparas, freed soldiers held captive by the Japanese forces. JR, on behalf of the migrant communities, navigates spaces of resource allocation and rights recognition as Kiwassa Neighbourhood Houses Director of Settlement and Employment. JRs surprise visit to Healing Colours became more meaningful with the presence of Ate B, Babette, and Shahira. Having come from the war zone, Mindanaoan Beatriz Ate B to the Filipino community in Toronto gave a straightforward, Its hard for me to say anything about Healing Colours. I dont want to downgrade the tragedy that happened here as natural because it doesnt even compare to what I witnessed. The violence in the world cannot be captured. Ate Bs pain-contained stance uncovers more unseen traumas as she shares, In the early 70s, during the Marcos Sr. times, there were bombings in the communities. I was 24. I worked in a womens organization as a documenter of peoples thoughts and feelings about life, how they cope with daily violence and trauma. Theyre just grateful to wake up alive. Beatriz of the Obo Manuvu tribe also worked for nine years with human rights lawyer, Solema Jubilan, known for defending the rights of varying tribes people. Amid the killing of indigenous leaders and human rights lawyers, Beatriz and Solema ran an orphanage where there was no counseling and where children across different war zones did the kind of Healing Colours art. Beatriz first came as a Babaylan to Canada for a conference in 2016, on JRs invitation. Now married to a Canadian and despite the distance between the Philippines and Canada, Ate B continues to serve disaster-stricken communities in the Philippines. Babette joined the Healing Colours project early on. Very focused on community work, Babette decided to put aside her painting and help Bert Monterona lead muralist and founder of the Philippine Artists Network for Community Integrative Transformation (PANCIT) secure the Sunset Community Centre as an open space for the murals. Her efforts ensure that Healing Colours would become a shared space for dialogue and expression. JR and Babette share light moments while viewing the author's painting. Shahira, of Kathara Advisory Board, focuses on the rewards and the constraints of the Kapwa Strong Fund. For one, United Way BC came so quickly to pool a huge number of resources for people to process their grief. For another, the Filipino essences (of kindness, joy, generosity, perpetual table of food) came to the fore. Not only are we grieving collectively; we are grieving in a good way. Shahira proudly identifies as the daughter of an Ilocana and a Ugandan, and as the parent to three. She laments, Some organizations are struggling right now because the deadline for the Kapwa Strong Fund application is November 20th. Grieving doesnt happen in six months yet remains hopeful that there can be some understanding and some openness for grieving as a process. There is never a set timeline and to know that these resources are going to be spent in a good way even for individuals and communities to find their grounding in such situations. Regaining ones footing takes time. The unrelenting expectation of produce, produce, produce is part of the unrealistic expectations that western society is trying to get over and redefine. Part of that is just slowing down. Healing Colours has laid bare the continuing tragedy of inequity and un-peace to celebrate the migrants spirit of strength and triumph. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ This article is a continuing story of Maestro Bert Monteronas Masterclass in Mural Painting: Navigating Healing Beyond the 2025 LapuLapu Day Massacre that got featured in Pressenza on 29 September 2025.https://www.pressenza.com/2025/09/maestro-bert-monteronas-masterclass-in-mural-painting-navigating-healing-beyond-the-2025-lapulapu-day-massacre/ *Maria Veronica G. Caparas, a featured artist in Healing Colours, is a community volunteer, researcher, learning facilitator, and journalist. Vernie delights in reuniting with JR Guerrero and Babette Santos. Each of them served, at different periods in the early 2000s, as Multicultural Helping House Societys Youth Program Coordinator. She can be reached [email protected] Pressenza IPA
