I found Benedicto Cabrera’s art while looking for artworks to replicate for a school project. He made a series of paintings with a girl named Sabel, an impoverished young lady whom he viewed as a symbol of isolation and despair. Much like how I chanced upon BenCab’s art, the painter found Sabel on the streets of the Bambang area in Tondo, Manila where he grew up. Through a bit of research, I found that Sabel was a scavenger. With each painting, BenCab depicted her in a different light, style, and perspective. She became his muse for many works.
Articles say that as the painter grew up in Bambang, he was surrounded by many colorful characters. Within that crowd was Sabel, a woman walking barefoot through the streets – someone who’d clearly been robbed of a comfortable life due to circumstance. Her clothes were made out of throwaway plastic sheets, making different shapes and highlights as she scavenged for food. In the midst of a busy and bright city such as Manila, she was a glimpse of reality, a peek into the challenges those marginalized have to go through.
It made me realize that ’til now, people with similar circumstances are still being ignored and pushed aside without being given an ounce of empathy.
When I saw BenCab’s paintings of her, it opened my eyes to how much different the lives of the marginalized are. In his paintings, she still puts in the effort to smile despite her appearance telling a different story from how she felt. When I saw his painting of her (in a sea of other people) it made me realize that ’til now, people with similar circumstances are still being ignored and pushed aside without being given an ounce of empathy. It emphasized everything I knew about the resilience of Filipinos. How despite knowing that they deserve to be living a better life than what they lead presently, they refuse to move.
Despite her smiles in other paintings, she wishes for more.
In another painting BenCab had made for Sabel, he showcases her having the same makeshift plastic clothing but folded neatly, in mimicry of a kimono. To me, it symbolizes how despite her smiles in other paintings, she wishes for more. And why shouldn’t she? Everyone deserves to live life with their needs met – enough for them to have wants. His paintings make us look at the reality of the people left behind and ignored by those who are supposed to help them rise from their circumstances, how despite wanting to be more than what they have it’s almost impossible to even start. BenCab teaches empathy by continuously painting Sabel – smiling and dancing, seemingly content with all she has. He shows that underneath her circumstances, her plastic clothing, is a human being, with her own wants, wishes, and feelings.
Art like the paintings BenCab made of Sabel are direct mirrors to the reality of our country; we shouldn’t forget the kind of feelings these paintings are able to relay to us by just existing. Most importantly, we should be putting emphasis on the meaning and symbolism of each painting intended by the artist. Sabel should haunt every artist and citizen’s mind upon seeing her.
Cover photo taken from Salcedo Auctions
