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| Salvador "Boy Abiera, owner of the Abiera Museum of Arts in Maasin City |
The Abiera Museum of Arts at Brgy. Tunga-tunga in Maasin City, Southern Leyte is every Maasinhon’s pride. The locals would willingly brag about this museum with any history buff, visitor, or acquaintance.
In the city's fast-paced life, the Abiera Museum of Arts not only stands as a premier place for people who may have lost grip of their sense of history but also serves as a solid reminder of the dedication, diligence, and desire of one Maasinhon art luminary: Salvador "Boy" Abiera.
The prized collections
"The Abiera Museum of Arts is definitely a time machine!" one British visitor commented moments after experiencing the enormous charm of the Abiera museum.
Displayed across some 60 square meters of the modest residence of Abiera is a great variety of art collections and artifacts, literally occupying every nook of the house—from the walls, bedrooms, living room, kitchen, and ceiling.
Some of his prized collections include a stone oil lamp from Jerusalem presumably dated back into the time of Jesus, fossils from the Cenozoic era, a 12th-century burial jar, Chinese porcelains, old bladed weapons like the kris, and a sword believed to be brought by Ferdinand Magellan's men when they landed in Limasawa island in Southern Leyte in 1521.
The visitors will be mesmerized by Abiera's cornucopia of personal collections—from keys, amulets, old coins, religious icons, shells, stones, crystals, embroidered works, early musical instruments, sketches, drawings, paintings, war memorabilia to stuffed exotic wildlife (which Abiera preserved himself), such as the civet cat, piranha, albatross, and great brown herons from Japan and Australia.
In 1994, curator S. Van Dyck of the Australian Museum recognized and commended Abiera's vertebrae collection, particularly of a humpback whale excavated from Libagon.
Portrait of an artist
Abiera is a former three-termer town councilor (1988-1998), a taxidermist, and a painter. An architect by profession, Abiera started buying and collecting artifacts in 1946.
He was 22 years old when he got his firsthand training in taxidermy—the art of preparing and stuffing the skin of animals ready for an exhibition—from a friend who was an embalmer. He learned it to "preserve" his dead pet bird.
Since then, he has preserved more than a hundred birds and other animals.
He started painting in 1966, with his masterpiece in oil canvas: Col. Ruperto K. Kangleon, World War II guerrilla hero and Southern Leyte's foremost senator (1954-1958).
Despite the many offers from other museum owners in countries like Brazil, Germany, and Japan, Abiera turned down invitations to sell his collections.
"I cannot turn my back on my dream of bringing back the history and treasures of the past and preserving the richness of our natural and cultural treasures for the enjoyment and appreciation of my fellow Southern Leyteños," Abiera told this writer in an interview.
For over 40 years since he first opened the Abiera Museum of Arts for free, thousands of local and foreign patrons have received firsthand lectures about his collections.
With his selfless works, the local government unit of Maasin lauded him with numerous awards and recognitions, notably when his museum represented Maasin (then a town) and won the award in the country's Centennial decoration contest for the 1st to 3rd class municipality level on June 12, 1998.
The provincial government of Southern Leyte recognized him as one of the Outstanding Southern Leyteños for 2010.
With his museum, Abiera also envisioned Maasin city as one of the frontrunners in Eastern Visayas's tourism industry. (By Ronald O. Reyes)
This article was first
published in Eastern Visayas Tribune weekly in 2003. Revised versions of this
article by the same author have also appeared in the following sources:
8 Magazine Travel/Lifestyle
(July-September 2012)
Leyte Samar Daily
Express:
http://leytesamardaily.net/2013/04/abiera-museum-of-arts-a-museum-for-the-people/
Manila Standard Today:
http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/04/22/abiera-hosts-leytes-art-museum-2/
Sunstar Tacloban:
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/tacloban/feature/2013/04/23/abiera-museum-arts-museum-people-279092