PH theatre mourns passing of art designer GA Fallarme
"I am heartbroken," admitted visual artist Bon Labora over the sudden demise of his first-degree relative GA Fallarme, a prizewinning theater designer and projectionist.
According to Bon, an equally awarded painter, writer, filmmaker, vlogger and polymath, GA, Gerard Alexander Fallarme in real life, had been not only his longtime friend but a critic as well.
"We've been too close because we appreciate works of arts in various fields. I am a fan of his theater assignments and if he had time, he would visit my website, react to my files, attend openings of displays of my art exhibits or watch my films, features I collaborated with colleagues or documentaries I produced, wrote, shot, edited and directed," said Labora whose mom is an older sister of GA's dad.
Two of Fallarme's recent theater collaborations as graphic artist include the musical adaptation of the 1992 Whitney Houston film "The Bodyguard" at the Proscenium Theater, as well as "Pingkian: Isang Musikal," a theater treat from Tanghalang Pilipino (TP) on the heroic lives of Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto that ended its re-run seven days before his death.
Fallarme's work on "Pingkian" earned him the Outstanding Projection and Video Design Award from the 2025 Buhay Awards, the award-giving body for theater arts.
"I will surely and sorely miss him," lamented Bon.
Being cousins, Labora and Fallarme both hailed from Romblon Province, in an island called Concepcion, also known as Sibale Island or Maestro de Campo Island, off Mindoro Occidental.
Being cousins, Labora and Fallarme both hailed from Romblon Province, in an island called Concepcion, also known as Sibale Island or Maestro de Campo Island, off Mindoro Occidental.
"I will miss taking care of our grandmother's ancestral house in Romblon when we take our vacation," quipped the teary-eyed Bon.
According to the visual artist, he and GA would travel from Manila by bus to Batangas Province port to be taken by a Ro-Ro (Roll On, Roll Off) vessel to Calapan City in Mindoro then to be transported by land either by van, bus or jeepney to Pinamalayan town and then to be whisked away by a motor boat to Concepcion.
"It was just a one-hour sea ride," said Bon.
"We rarely take the route to Bicol or Masbate because it would take seven to eight hours by sea to Romblon proper. It is a farther trip than Mindoro," he shared.
GA remains lie at the Funeraria Paz in Paranaque City until October 24, 2025, to be followed by interment at the Manila Memorial Park the following day.
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