While looking at this bust image of Florencia Beltran Caedo I can't help but figure out the epic features of my mother. I cannot deny the fact that she really is my mother's aunt. My mother used to lived with them when she was only nine years old and she knew little about how famous is the late professor Tasyo then as a sculptor. My mother used to tell me that her aunt Florencia has tremendous love for animals that their entire house in Blumentrit has different species ranging from birds, monkeys, dogs, reptiles, and her favorite pet---cats. Of course, with lots of pets comes lots of smells too from their poops. Though their house then was filled with different animal entity still different people from different walks of life can't help but visit them to ask Professor Tasyo (Anastacio) of his service. Of course, out of love maybe, he cannot reprimanded his wife about the animals in the house just like that. Actually, one of the lost art work of professor Anastacio T. Caedo was entitled "The Problem". Again, the subject of this art work was his wife together with her pet dog and lots of crying children. This might be one of his creative way of saying there's actually some chaos in the house. Aside from receiving national projects like sculpting national figures, he also became famous for making costumes and prosthetics for actors and actresses way back then. Their neighbors would climb over their gate never minding the poops of animals just to catch a glimpse over famous actors and actresses coming in to Tasyo's house during the prosthetics making. Much has been told about the late Anastacio T. Caedo like of that being one of the model of the UP Oblation with Virgilio Raymundo. His mentor Guillermo Tolentino decided that he would take the physique of then amatteur body builder Anastacio and the proportion of Virgilio Raymundo (brother of Paz Raymundo, creator's wife) and voila! Oble comes to life. If you try googling his name you would see vast of his work here and abroad. You would also wonder why he did not accept the honor of being a national artist not once, not twice, but thrice. My mother too didn't know the reason behind that, she only certain that her aunt Florencia is one true lucky woman because she found a man who thinks she's a real work of art. Aside from being a classical realist in tradition of his mentor Guillermo Tolentino ,Tasyo is one great lover, a romanticist guy in a shape of a humble artist. |
