A LOT OF BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS WENT INTO THESE LIVES HONORED BY CCP

It was an evening of appreciation for the Philippines' artistic stars, with wild applause and loud cheering normally heard at pop concerts, a reassuring state of affairs for art and culture in the country.

- RICKY TOLEDO & CHITO VIJANDRE

The Gawad CCP para sa Sining, after all, is the highest award given by the Cultural Center of the THULU by NING CALA Philippines (CCP) to Filipino artists and cultural workers who have achieved a level of excellence and have fired the country's collective imagination in dance, music, theater, visual arts, literature, film and broadcast arts, and architecture and allied arts.

As each awardee was called to receive a medallion and plaque at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater, our thoughts traveled back to some of their most memorable works that were also given homage through performances by the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO), foremost talents like the Loboc Children's Choir which also received an award, Bayang Barrios, Popper Bernadas, the Ateneo Chamber Singers, Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group and Alice Reyes Dance Philippines.

These were fitting rewards for a life dedicated to art, "a lot of sacrifice, a lot of hard work, a lot of blood, sweat and tears," as Lea Salonga, singled out for her theater achievements here and abroad, shared onstage. To drive home the point, she added: "And that's not even a cliché!" She recalled her beginnings as a child actress at Repertory where her two mentors, Zenaida Amador and Baby Barredo, taught her discipline and truth as guiding principles in her career, serving her well to this day.