Kilusang Mayo Uno/Gabriela in Protest
signed and dated 2009 (lower right)
oil on canvas
35" x 40" (89 cm x 102 cm)

PROVENANCEAcquired directly from the artist by the present owner


Alice Guillermo stresses in her 1987 book Social Realism in the Philippines that "realism in Philippine social realism…is a shared point of view which seeks to expose or to lay bare the true conditions of Philippine society as well as to point out solutions by which these conditions are changed and transcended to achieve a truly human order." Pablo Baens Santos expounds on this definition and engenders art as a compelling avenue in forwarding the objective interests of the Filipino masses in their crusade toward national democracy. An original member of the Kaisahan (Solidarity) during the repressive and oppressive Martial Law years, Santos emerged as one of the foremost social realists of his time. Santos' exposure to mass media during his stint at The Manila Times enkindled the flames of his activism. In 1976, he became one of the founding members of the Kaisahan, the Philippines' first organized social realist artists' collective that combated the cultural apparatus sponsored by the dictatorial regime. In its 1976 manifesto, the Kaisahan laid its aims and principles. "To be true works of imagination, our works of art should not only reflect our perception of what is, but also our insights into what is to be. We grasp the direction in which they are changing, and imagine the shape of the future." Even after the ousting of the dictator in 1986, Santos remained steadfastly committed to the role of art as a powerful instrument in arousing, organizing, and mobilizing the oppressed. Such is the case with this 2009 piece. For context, 2009 was a tumultuous transitional year. Failure of the regime to address the culture of impunity, graft and corruption scandals in the government, and skyrocketing poverty levels tormented the Filipinos. In the work at hand, Santos shows the militant progressiveness of the Filipino. The two central figures invite the viewer to be awakened by their plight and join them in exposing and fighting the ills of a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. Behind them are texts conveying their unceasing calls to the government to honor and respect their rights. Also inscribed are the names of national democratic organizations, the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) and Gabriela. Founded on May 1, 1980, the KMU is the Philippines' genuine, militant and anti-imperialist labor center, organizing workers in their collective struggle for genuine representation and their right to employment and humane work conditions. On the other hand, the Gabriela National Alliance of Women, named after the Ilocano heroine Gabriela Silang and founded in April 1984, consolidates Filipino women, mainly from the marginalized sectors of society, in their collective fight for their rights amid a macho-feudal society. The KMU, Gabriela, and other progressive organizations have been at the forefront of heightening people's socio-political consciousness by consolidating their grassroots organizing and tireless persuasion. Despite being two different organizations, they uphold the idea of intersectionality. Workers, peasants, women, students, the LGBTQIA+, and the Filipino masses are all exploited by the maladies of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat capitalism. The hammer and sickle at the very center of this piece represent proletarian solidarity—the workers and peasants, the maker of the country's wealth, at the vanguard of a path towards radical change. One interesting figure in this work is the woman on the left. Her right hand is raised as if in the act of blessing, resembling Christ's Salvatore Mundi pose. Instead of Christ being the savior, Santos upholds that it is the masses, "through their collective strength, that can prevent any force that wants to undermine the progress of society." As Mao Zedong once said, "the masses, and the masses only, are the makers of history." Thus, activistmartyr Emmanuel Lacaba's famous words, "Awakened, the masses are Messiah," are immortalized. (A.M.)