Benjamín Roberto "Behn" H. Cervantes (August 25, 1938 – August 13, 2013) was a Filipino artist and activist. He was highly regarded as a theater pioneer, teacher, and progressive thinker who was detained multiple times during martial law in the Philippines.[1]

Behn Cervantes
Detail of the Wall of Remembrance at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani, showing names from the 2016 batch of Bantayog Honorees, including that of Behn Cervantes.
Born	Benjamín Roberto H. Cervantes (1938-08-25)August 25, 1938 Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, Commonwealth of the Philippines
Died	August 13, 2013(2013-08-13) (aged 74) Muntinlupa, Metro Manila, Philippines
Known for	Activism against the administration of then-President Ferdinand Marcos through theater and film
Notable work	Sakada (1976 film)

He directed the film Sakada (1976), about the struggle of Negrense peasants at a sugarcane plantation. Copies of the film were seized by the military under the Marcos dictatorship.[2] Musical scorer Lutgardo Labad described the film as "a major cinematic coup that unearthed the inhuman conditions of our people then."[3] In 1981, the film won a Dekada Award for Best Film of the Decade.[4]

At the University of the Philippines (UP), he founded the theater group UP Repertory Company[5] in 1974 "to combat the censorship that was in place during martial law."[4] He was also a member of the Upsilon Sigma Phi fraternity. He was also founding member of the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) and the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Filipino.[5]

Cervantes’ name is on the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Wall of Remembrance,[1] which recognizes heroes who fought against martial law in the Philippines under Ferdinand E. Marcos.[6]

Work on stage and in film

In theater

Among Cervantes’ work as stage director are Guys and Dolls, The Short, Short Life of Citizen Juan, and Iskolar ng Bayan.[7]

Cervantes appeared in many stage productions as actor, including The Mikado, Waiting for Godot, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Cabaret, and M. Butterfly.[8]

He also worked on activist plays, including Pagsambang Bayan and Estados Unidos versus Juan Matapang Cruz.[4]

In film

Cervantes directed Sakada in 1976 while the Philippines was under martial law.[2][4] The film about sugarcane plantation workers "was a thinly-veiled criticism of the country's feudal power structure."[4] It starred Rosa Rosal, Robert Arevalo, Hilda Koronel, Alicia Alonzo, Pancho Magalona, Bembol Roco, Gloria Romero,[4] and Tony Santos Sr.[9] After the movie had spent three weeks in theaters, Marcos ordered the military to seize copies of the film.[4][2] The film led to Cervantes' arrest.[4] Sakada received its first screening on Philippine television in 2005.[2]

He also directed Bawal, Ito Kaya’y Pagkakasala, and Masikip, Masakit, Mahapdi.[10]

He appeared in the films Bomba Star, Aguila, When I Fall In Love, Memories of Old Manila, Waiting in the Wings, Alas-Dose, Ang Anak ni Brocka, and Barako.[10]

Activism

Cervantes took part in the 1984 Welcome Rotonda protest, during which pro-Marcos forces hosed down and fired tear gas at several thousand peaceful protesters gathered at Welcome Rotonda.[11]

In 1985, Cervantes and fellow filmmaker Lino Brocka attended a nationwide transport strike in sympathy with public transportation drivers who organized the strike against rising gas prices. Cervantes and Brocka were arrested and charged with illegal assembly, which carries a penalty of life imprisonment.[12] They were released after 16 days.[13]

He was a member of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines.[14]

Awards

• Life Achievement Award from University of the Philippines Alumni Association[4]
• Aliw award for Life Achievement in Theater[5]
• Cultural Center of the Philippines' centennial award[5]

See also

• Bantayog ng mga Bayani

References