SKY PAINTER. Roberto Crisostomo inherits his father's passion for fireworks.

He may have put on hold his love for painting but Roberto Crisostomo discovered a different, even bigger canvas to paint on.

“The sky is my canvas,” says the 24-year-old vice president of La Mancha Pyro Productions. “I’m like a sky painter. For me, they’re not just fireworks, I look at them as artworks, as design. All my repressions are coming out here. I have certain beliefs and philosophies, and I want to send that message across by visual appreciation. I want people to feel alive. I think that’s the best thing that fireworks bring to people,” Roberto says.

Roberto, along with his siblings Lorenzo and Miguel, have inherited their father Ricardo’s passion not just for fireworks, but also for mounting a grand kind of spectacle that is never known to Filipinos before through the much-awaited World Pyro Olympics.

FIREWORKS FASCINATION

“Originally, my plan was to paint. The last painting I did was of my lola. I wanted to take up Painting and Arts Management but I ended up taking Business Management,” explains Rob, who belongs
to a family of artists and writers. His lola was an avid painting and pottery collector, while his maternal aunt is award-winning movie director Marilou Diaz-Abaya.

Rob’s fascination with fireworks began at 14 years old. “A bunch of foreigners were conducting the fireworks show for the Philippine Centennial celebration in 1998, and a lot of them got sick. My dad said that my brother Miguel and I were needed at the barges to help out. That was my first pyrotechnic experience,” he recalls.

Nevertheless, young as he was, he learned everything through the course of his “training’’ so much so that he became a reliable little helper whenever there were big shows to mount.

After graduating from the Ateneo de Manila University, Rob spent months in Italy to train with the best pyrotechnicians.

He also has had internship with world-renowned Parente Fireworks in Italy, France, and Spain. In 2004, Rob had hands-on training with the Glorious Company of China, and Flash Art of Germany where he learned handling of explosives, manufacture of pyrotechnics, use of new technology in developing displays, conceptualizing, designing and setting up of a fireworks show.

The introduction of spectacular pyrotechnics show during the Philippine Centennial Independence Day celebration revolutionized the fireworks industry in the country, raising fireworks to an art form. From that first production in 1998, Rob and his family eventually started joining fireworks festivals abroad, putting the Philippines side by side the best in the world including USA, Canada, Italy, Germany, China, South Korea, Japan and Australia.

In 2002, La Mancha Pyro Productions was put up and three years later, they started venturing out into the big arena, hosting the first World Pyro Olympics, now considered the most prestigious international fireworks competition in the world.

“It was during the Christmas Season and it was like a Mardi Gras. It was such a big success, CNN even covered us. We got international recognition because not only it is the Olympics of fireworks, but also never has the world seen that kind of logistical preparation,” he relates.

ART AND SCIENCE

While Rob admits getting the design and artistic flair from his mom, he says that he got the science aspect of it from his dad. Attention to details, he says, is very, very important.

“Fireworks is entertainment but at the end of the day, people should not forget that it’s also explosives. If you’re not careful, people die. You can’t afford to make a mistake. It’s a mixture of art and science. I learned that from my dad. Never let that slightest detail go because that slightest detail could be the end of you.”

It helps that the Filipino is very artistic in nature. “We are known as artists in the world and we’re very malleable as culture. In pyrotechnics, we like flashy and very loud pyros. ‘Yung hindi nagpapatalo, and that’s what you see in every show we create,” he says.

Design wise, for instance, Rob and his team do not just deliberately fire the pyros in the sky without weaving a story through it. “It’s like writing a movie or a musical piece. We develop a theme around it. We develop a script, a storyline. Sometimes I get help from my friends who are writers and artists. Some people get the story, some people don’t, but there’s always a story in all the shows we do.”

Rob and his family are also pushing to professionalize the pyrotechnic industry. TESDA has in fact sought their help to revise the manual for pyrotechnics. “Ngayon kasi it’s all paputok lang. Now they want the actual programming and designing, and to come up with a program to get a pyrotechnics license. In the US and Europe, you have to get a license unlike here sa Philippines wala pang ganun,” he adds.

Seeing the process through, from setting up to actually painting the sky gives Rob that sense of fulfillment.

“What I like about it is the conceptualization and design, and then the outcome. When you affect people, like napapaiyak mo ang mga tao, because they’ve never seen anything like it before. The five days of labor and years of preparation, it all ends in 18 minutes, it disappears and it’s gone. Despite it being a fleeting moment, it’s embedded in your memory.”

Rob says that at first it was hard to make people understand the art of fireworks.

“There’s a difference between a fireworks and a world-class design. It’s like watching a movie. You’ll see it and you’ll know it. ‘Yung skeptics before they will say kahit dito lang ako sa malayo kasi makikita ko pa rin naman, and then they realize that they are missing out pala on other details like the low level effects.”

This year, Rob says we will be seeing more action from his group as the World Pyro Olympics, to be held at The Fort in Taguig City, will be participated in by nine countries, not only to showcase
their artistry and technical skills by shooting dazzling fireworks, but to exhibit for the first time fireworks that are synchronized with musical scores.

“We started preparing for the Philippine show February pa lang, starting with the concept. We’ll have hints of the native and international, and you’ll see all of that in the show. We want to show the world that we have something to be proud about, and we are of international caliber.”

(The World Pyro Olympics is slated on Nov. 21, 28, Dec. 5, 12, and 19 at The Bonifacio Global City, The Fort, Taguig City. It is supported by The City of Taguig, and media sponsors Manila Bulletin and Business Mirror, ETC, 2nd Avenue, MYX, Jack TV, DWLS, DZBB, Yes FM, EasyRock 96.3, 99.5RT, 98.7 DZFE, and 105.1 Crossover. For details, visit www.worldpyroolympics.com)