We commemorate and pay tribute to Ricky Abad and Floy Quintos, two great artists and mentors.
“And when October goes
The same old dream appears
And you are in my arms
To share the happy years
I turn my head away to hide
The helpless tears
Oh, how I hate to see October go”
(“When October Goes” with lyrics by Johnny Mercer)
As we commemorate the dead this weekend, we’d like to pay special tribute to two great artists and mentors whom we have collaborated with and learned from. This coming November, at a University convocation in Ateneo de Manila, these two will be honored with the prestigious Tanglaw ng Lahi Award for Excellence in Arts and Culture.
Ricardo G. Abad
“Ricky Abad, as we call him, is a master at delicately and artfully interweaving sociology and theater and generously shared his knowledge, expertise, and passion. He was our sociology-anthropology professor, and discussions — even quizzes — in class were very open and fun. He also served as our School Forum head, so typical administrative concerns were discussed with Ricky’s humor and artistic flair.
Ricky dedicated his life to the art of theater, which he deemed a means for social change. With great creativity, Abad worked at inculturating, localizing, and decolonizing Western productions to reflect Philippine realities. Abad’s brilliance — on and off the stage — influenced generations of theater artists, critics, researchers, and enthusiasts, reaffirming the power of theater to inspire, instigate change, and transform for the better.
As dear Dana Cosio-Mercado, a member of Tanghalang Ateneo, aptly paid tribute to their moderator upon his passing, she said, “You probably could not find a more angsty group of kids than kids in a college theater troupe. And it probably takes nerves of steel for an adult to want to be this troupe’s moderator.
“And yet Ricardo Abad was just the man with just the right mix of nerves of steel and dramatic flair to take on the role for Tanghalang Ateneo for several decades.This meant that Ricky was crucial to bolstering the fragile egos of students young enough to be his children until they themselves grew older and had their own children.”
It’s true that Ricky played many roles — as moderator, director, actor, teacher, and department head. But his best roles were likely those that allowed him to be exactly who his students needed him to be: a wise mentor, an indulgent uncle, a present parent. He filled gaps for many of us who were still bumbling, struggling, angry with the world, and taking ourselves too seriously.
Like Dana, we remember Ricky would sit in the bathroom-turned dressing room in Gonzaga, or at his office in the Sociology-Anthropology department, or in the dark tech booth of the Rizal Theater, or over a drink in Tia Maria’s, and wisely counsel those who were on the brink of failing or dropping out to keep themselves together to avoid this from happening. Many of them managed to graduate, although not in a linear fashion. All of them in the theater org may not have been “na-TA” but we all were definitely “na-Ricky,” for the remarkable influence he had over them to varying degrees.
Now that we are about to have our 7th Noel in Arete this coming December, we will certainly miss Ricky.
Like Dana, Gabe, Ron, Missy, D Cortezano, and the rest of us whom you have lovingly worked with, we say, thank you for the many lessons on and off the stage, for helping us nurture lifelong friendships, for showing us it was okay and necessary to be passionate about something we loved, for helping us find our place in the light, for showing that even the smallest of roles offstage like handing out a prop at the right time was just as important as being the lead in a play, for laughing and crying with us, for accompanying us in our angsty, troubled youth, and for being there in celebrating our victories, big and small.
Florencio Antonio Quintos II
Floy Quintos’s body of work delved into the intricacies of Philippine culture. He was a force of energy and ideas, and his spirit of joie de vivre was palpable in all his creations.
Mentored and influenced by Tony Mabesa, Nick Joaquin, Peter Shaffer, David Henry Hwang, Mario O’Hara and the early Severino Montano, Floy developed his trademark sharp wit and wisdom.
The Ateneo citation noted that two of Floy’s most successful theatrical productions, “The Kundiman Party” and “Reconciliation Dinner,” were deeply political plays staged or restaged close to the highly polarizing 2022 presidential elections. In Quintos’ hands, a political play was never ruthless; it could also be entertaining. These two plays, including “Angry Christ” and his very last acclaimed opus “Grace,” will be part of a book collection to be published soon by the UP Press.
An art collector and curator, Quintos also was generous in sharing his knowledge, especially on indigenous arts, now carried on by his sister Camille.
We are particularly moved by Floy’s composed yet fun and deep presence. His words continue to affect us especially when he said, “Writing is the loneliest of professions. You take all the input that everybody’s given you. All the data, all the research, the meetings, the briefs. You have endless brainstormings, chika sessions, meetings with clients, but in the end, when push comes to shove — baby, you’re all alone.
“You’re all alone, and you sit down with your lonesome and you write it. Accept the solitude. Embrace the discipline. Relish the process. “
Charlette San Juan, in her tribute in Positively Filipino, so endearingly said, “The opportunity to witness Sir Floy’s brilliance firsthand is a privilege unmatched and irreplaceable. In a theater world that is often marked by cruelty, Sir Floy stood out as a beacon of kindness and above all, goodness. He epitomized the ideal theater artist we all aspire to be: generous, astute, and dedicated. While I take pride in my involvement in these productions, I can’t help but yearn to experience their magic as an audience member, to fully appreciate their impact from a different perspective.
“As we mourn the loss of Floy Quintos, let us also celebrate the indelible mark he has left on the world. He may have bidden us farewell, but his spirit will forever linger, echoed by his unforgettable stories that remind us of the power of art to transcend boundaries and unite us in shared humanity. He leaves behind a legacy that will continue to inspire and captivate audiences for generations to come. Let us honor his life by embracing the transformative power of storytelling and striving to make the world a more compassionate and understanding place.”
Truly, Floy’s works were not merely plays; they were profound reflections of the world around us, shedding light on issues ranging from social injustice to the fragility of the human condition, so even if he were not to be named as such yet, for us, Floy is National Artist in the breadth, depth, and substance of his life’s work.
