DSCTA student wins 2026 Gawad Antonio Mercado Abad para sa Pinakamahusay na Tesis (Di-Gradwado)

The Department of Speech Communication and Theatre Arts would like to congratulate Gerard Mathew Dasmariñas Fernandez, Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication (Rhetoric and Performance), for receiving the Gawad Antonio Mercado Abad para sa Pinakamahusay na Tesis (Di-Gradwado) ng Kolehiyo ng Arte at Literatura (AY 2025–2026). His undergraduate thesis adviser is Assoc. Prof. Oscar T. Serquiña Jr.

This award-winning thesis, Seasoned by the Sea: Exploring the Salt Production Process of the Budbud Makers of Miagao, Iloilo as a Performance of Cultural Heritage, exemplifies outstanding undergraduate research and contributes to the study of performance, cultural heritage, and local knowledge.

Abstract:

This research analyzes the salt-production method utilized by the Budbud artisans at De Paul Artisanal Salt Manufacturing in Barangay Mambatad, Miagao, Iloilo. Situated amid the downturn of the Philippine salt industry, it examines Budbud preparation not merely as a source of income but also as a cultural activity and a labor performance maintained through physical work, familial recollection, awareness of the environment, and ongoing involvement in everyday life and social activities. It inquires about how Budbud creators convey their local knowledge and expertise in salt production via daily activities and methods that enable the art to thrive.

Anchored in performance studies methods such as critical ethnography, archival research, as well as discourse and visual analysis, this study investigates the different stages of Budbud production, carefully observing how salt producers navigate, make decisions, adapt, teach, and gain knowledge on the salt farm. Examination of data collected from two months of fieldwork shows that Budbud knowledge is gained, harnessed, and transmitted through intent observation, practice, modification, repetition, and interaction.

Local understanding suggests that salt production depends more on sensory perception and experiential insight than just on exact measurement. The findings show that Asinan de Paul’s growing recognition by tourists, scholars, organizations, and local communities enhances the prominence of Budbud as heritage. Furthermore, working bodies that continue to carry, repeat, and teach it contribute to its existence and durability.

Offering perspectives relevant to Philippine performance studies, heritage studies, and Western Visayan cultural studies, this research ultimately demonstrates how everyday labor and local practice can evolve into a crucial realm for recollection, comprehension, and cultural memory.

Congratulations on this well-deserved achievement, GM! The DSCTA community is proud of you.