PAINTING AN ICON, PAINTING PACQUIAO
By Rich Mazon
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 27 Nov 2011
Pacquiao signs one of Jun Aquino's paintings.
The story of an artist and his creation goes hand in hand. Their venture together is a story in itself. Such is the story of a humble artist from Tondo who ended up in the big lights of Las Vegas during one of its busiest week. A week that features his real life model in action in a canvass called the squared ring. A week where his artistic creations were also on display just like his subject was too, here in the city known as The Entertainment Capital of the World. His creations, his paintings add to the spectacle that is Pacquiao - Marquez III.
Rodolfo "Jun" Aquino, arrived in the States on October 29th, with a brush, unfinished paintings and a dream of showcasing his talents here as an artist. The former Free Press political cartoonist was invited here by no less than Bob Arum himself to stage a one-man exhibit on his most popular subject, Manny Pacquiao.
He met Arum during the Manila leg of the Pacquiao - Marquez III press tour last September where a painting of his depicting Pacquiao and Marquez in action caught the eye of the famous promoter. Bob Arum expressed interest on his work right away and he invited Aquino to Las Vegas to showcase his paintings of Pacquiao in time for his fight with Marquez earlier this month.
Roach signs one of Jun Aquino's paintings at the Mandalay Bay Resorts in Las Vegas.
Freddie Roach posing with Aquino and Philboxing's Rich Mazon after signing the Pacquiao-Marquez painting at Mandalay Bay.
Jun Aquino poses in front of his exhibit at Del Toro Ristorante at The Palazzo Hotel in Las Vegas.
Photos by Jhay Otamias.
Aquino brought with him unfinished portraits of the champ, rolled it, tucked it in his luggage and took a Philippine Airlines flight to Los Angeles with only 300 Philippine pesos in his wallet which he showed to me when I interviewed him at the Dal Toro restaurant in Las Vegas where his paintings are on display. "It's still the same amount that's in here, still in pesos," he smilingly told me as he showed me the contents of his wallet. "I am very thankful of the Filipinos that I met here, they have been very cooperative and helpful to me. They helped with almost everything that I need for this project," he added.
Aquino's journey started with the champ's painting and Facebook. He posted his creation of Pacquiao and his dog running in his Facebook profile. The post found its way to Top Rank's Facebook page of Pacquiao and it became a hit instantly. It received 3000 likes and Aquino was swamped with friend requests, comments and even offers to buy the said painting.
He eventually met Rex "Wakee" Salud, a close friend of the Pacquiao's and was the one instrumental on him meeting the champ for the first time in August. Salud was skeptical of him at first, thinking that he was there to sell Pacquiao his paintings. "No, I'll just give this to Manny as a gift," he told Salud. "You are not going to sell it to him? I thought someone is offering you at least $500 for it? Salud asked. "No, all I want is that he signed another painting of mine which I want to give to my son as a gift, that's all. He can keep the other one for himself," Aquino immediately replied. Salud impressed by the response called Jinkee, the champ's wife right away and brought Aquino to the Pacquiao's to meet him on that same day.
Aquino recalled meeting the couple for the first time in their residence in one of Manila's luxury hotels. He remembered Manny playing billiards where he went in his suite with no less than pool ace, Django Bustamante. Another Filipino pool master, Efren "Bata" Reyes was also there at that time waiting for his turn to play against the champ.
When Salud introduced him to Pacquiao after his billiard games and told him that Aquino wanted to give him a painting, Pacquiao looked at Salud and then asked "Anu kapalit nyan? Magkano yan?" (What does he want in return? How much is that?) Of which Salud replied, "It's free. It's a gift for you. All he wants is that you signed the other painting which he will give to his son. That's it." Pacquiao was delighted with the response and immediately took a liking of the painting. He even talked about his dog Pacman which was with him in that painting. "I want to bring my dog here but he's already old," Pacquiao then signed the other painting which the ecstatic Aquino brought home to his son.
It was Salud and Jinkee Pacquiao who sponsored Aquino's trip in the U.S. His one man exhibit ran for six days at the Dal Toro Ristorante, located at The Palazzo Hotel in Las Vegas. It started on the day of Pacquiao's fight with Marquez on November 12 and ran till the 17th. It was originally slated to end on the 15th, but because of the overwhelming response to it, he has to extend the exhibit for two more days. All of the twenty three paintings on display were signed by Pacquiao himself. He signed the paintings on the day of the fight itself, all twenty three of them. Even with his busy schedule, the champ found time to put his special mark on Aquino's creations. "Pacquiao even chose the color of the pen to use to sign for each painting. I brought a gold, silver and black pen with me and he matched that with each painting," Aquino narrated to me. "Pacquiao knows something about art. He knows where to place his signature on the canvass. He even gave me suggestions on one of my unfinished work," he added.
One of the paintings was a special one as it bore the signatures of all of the main characters of the Pacquiao - Marquez trilogy. It was signed by Pacquiao, Arum, Juan Manuel Marquez and trainer Nacho Beristain in Manila during the press tour. The last signature was completed by Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, right after the fight on November 12 in Las Vegas. Aquino patiently waited for Roach to finish his after fight meal in one of Mandalay Bay's restaurant that night and politely asked the trainer for his signature which Roach willingly obliged to. He signed at a spot which Pacquiao reserved for him in the canvass. The painting although created months before this fight, depicted the action that just happened hours ago at the MGM Grand. As if, Aquino knew how it will happen ahead of time.
The plans are to auctioned the painting after it's run of exhibitions are over. The proceeds will benefit the Pacquiao's projects in their home province of Sarangani, which include the building of a provincial hospital and schools. Aquino said that he plans to bring his exhibition to the Philippine consulate in New York before it is auctioned off. He wanted the people in the East Coast to see and enjoy his paintings before it gets sold.
On the day where America celebrates Thanksgiving Day, Aquino is thankful of the opportunity given to him in the land of milk and honey. He is proud to display his talents as a Filipino artist here in the States. A talent recognized not only by his fellow Filipinos and fellow Pacquiao fans but also by other races. "They like the paintings. They pose and take pictures with it and of it during the exhibit," he said. "It brings me joy to see them appreciate a work of a lowly cartoonist from Manila here in Las Vegas. It's like a dream. It's still a dream to me," Aquino declared.
You can reach Rich Mazon at rrmaze24@aol.com for any reactions to this piece.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rich Mazon .
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