The Unfettered Soul of Humanity: Tao Rin Pala 50: Heritage
June 09, 2024
The Unfettered Soul of Humanity: Tao Rin Pala 50: Heritage
By Jillian Hannah Uy, UPCM Class 2026
As the cool January turns to a scorching May, as dusk turns to night, UPCM’s various halls fill with the sounds of footsteps and rising voices serenading the emerging starlight. Classes and organizations hammer out practice schedules within the college’s limited spaces, while spare rooms are commandeered for performance planning and props making. Meanwhile, sheltered under the facade of the iconic Calderon Hall, UP MSS holds near-daily work sessions to hash out the program and stage design, as they’re gearing up for the event of the year.
Truly, it is TRP season once more.
Parodos
UP Medical Students Society (UP MSS), the oldest and largest medical organization in the UP System, consisting of 162 current members and 1464 alumni, aims to nurture and unite all medical students through cultural, academic, and socio-civic activities to produce well-rounded and humane doctors. Tao Rin Pala (TRP) is their annual chorale competition and variety show, which is meant to be a celebration of the UP College of Medicine (UPCM) and Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Medical Community’s artistry amidst the drudgery of daily medical work.
Started in 1974, TRP is their response to the seemingly uncrossable chasm between the consultants, residents, and medical students. It seeks to unite the community in a gathering that, for once, was not about endless exams, OSCEs, monitoring rounds, or duties, through song and dance. This night of laughter and cheer was given the name, “Tao Rin Pala,” by the late Dr. Bobby dela Paz as a reminder to UPCM and PGH that the art of medicine is only an aspect of our humanity — that we belong to a much larger community.
What was initially conceived as a simple interbatch chorale competition, however, would rapidly evolve far beyond its humble beginnings, when TRP 30 & 31 Director Winlove Mojica, MD transformed it into a much broader sharing of talents – one that more closely resembles the theatricality and grandeur of TRP today.
It is a milestone for every UPCM doctor to shed their inhibitions and perform onstage to an audience of their peers. To UP MSS President and TRP Head Rene Louis Singson, “TRP is everything that MSS stands for. It’s about breaking stereotypes, breaking boundaries, transcending hierarchies.” In TRP, there are no students, clerks, interns, residents, fellows, or consultants. Everyone is a performer in the grand stage of life.
Backstage
In recent years, holding TRP has been more challenging due to the unstable landscape that heralded the start of the 2020s.
At the start of the pandemic, as UPCM scrambled to hold their classes online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UP MSS responded in return, reimagining the beloved stage show as a podcast series and later, a collection of video performances. To UP MSS, celebrations like TRP are doubly as important in times of crisis, as it reminds the community that beyond the curtains of despair lies a spotlight of hope. No matter how it is presented, TRP is primarily a celebration of the people. Thus, TRP 47: Voices and TRP 48: On Film were born.
TRP 47: Voices Poster
TRP 48: On Film Poster
As the world began to open up, UP MSS was faced with the further struggle of retransitioning the online event back to the traditional stage show that was once the highlight of their seniors’ medical school experience. 2023 was a year of reclaiming what the world was forced to abandon, but it was also a year of uncertainty. The calendar shift, along with the erratic schedule of face-to-face classes, meant that a final schedule could not be pinned down until the last minute; instead of the usual December extravaganza, it was slated for May. That year’s program was being prepared by batches who had never seen the event in its full glory, yet MSS was determined to celebrate the 49th onstage. Against all odds, they made it. A wild gamble, hence TRP 49: Wildcard.
TRP 49: Wildcard Poster
And now, the inheritors of 50 years of glorious tradition, MSS enjoins the UPCM community to celebrate their golden jubilee. “A sunset of fifty years dances across the grounds of UPCM. Tonight, we bask in its glow.”
Proscenium
TRP 50: Heritage is, at its core, “a love letter to medicine, celebrating fifty years of unapologetic humanity.”
The brainchild of TRP Director Stefan Marcus Ong, the 50th installment of TRP calls back to its roots as an ode to humanity with the theme of Heritage, enshrining the community’s traditions, passion, and resilience onstage.
The first subtheme, Tradition, captures the guiding light of familiarity amidst the new. It explores the evolution of tradition – how the enduring rock has weathered the test of time. It recalls, with gratitude, the giants on whose shoulders the community stands on to scale barriers they once deemed unreachable. Yet, TRP 50: Heritage highlights that the more tradition changes, the more it stays the same. This subtheme is a callback to shared joys and adversities – an invitation to witness the past that shapes the shared future.
Resilience, the second subtheme, distills one of the most important characteristics of the doctor – the strength to face challenges head on, to endure what life throws at them, and to never falter. It is a war cry, a visceral reaction to the unending struggle of the art of medicine, and the menagerie of emotions that ensue. Resilience is a celebration of how the crucible of adversity has forged the sword of those who emerge victorious.
A callback to the tentative first step in the long and arduous journey of training to be a Filipino doctor, Passion recalls the roaring flame of desire to serve the underserved that once pushed the youth to embrace that chance. It enjoins the community to break free from the shackles of drudgery, to set their emotions free, and to let their talent shine through – in the limelight and let the passionate claim the future as their prize.
Finally, there is Humanity, a quiet wish for reflection about the present and future. At its core, humanity portrays the grand pas de deux between ambition and life. The pursuit of ambition requires strength of will and the willingness to sacrifice for their dreams. And yet, even as duty hours pass by and the to-dos pile up, the young doctor must never forget to make time for the important things in life. Find joy in the smallest of things and see the good in everyone, because who else will believe in humanity but the humans themselves.
Cyclorama
TRP, however, is more than just a variety show. The spirit of advocacy lives on in the current generation of UP MSS members through their commitment to supporting academic and sociocultural development.
To highlight the role of healthcare workers in protecting state democracy, UP MSS conducted Gunita: A Philippine Health Situationer last April 5, 2024. Dr. Gene Nisperos, a known doctor-activist, served as their keynote speaker; Dan Limbaroc of UPCM 2026 was the student reactor. This event discussed current societal issues and their historical parallels.
In the spirit of inclusive education and empowerment, UP MSS has declared that the Aurora A Quezon Elementary School (AAQES) and their SPED program will continue to be beneficiaries of the UP MSS Scholarship Fund. AAQES is a public elementary school in San Andres, Malate with a special education program geared towards both the gifted and talented, and those with intellectual and learning disabilities. UP MSS commits to supporting selected students in this program.
UP MSS also reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the Kulay Group of Artists, a collective composed of artist-inmates based in New Bilibid Prison, whose passion for creative expression forms the center of their rehabilitation. Art pieces from the Kulay Group of Artists were featured in the PGH Elevator Lobby from April 22 to May 10, 2024, with sales proceeds going to the UP MSS Scholarship fund, the money earmarked for inmates and their families.
Curtain Call
“This performance is my call to the world, carrying the voice of a spirit bursting with humanity. May it live forever.”
TRP 50: Heritage was conducted last May 10, 2024 in St. Cecilia’s Hall in St. Scholastica College. The program featured three original songs from the current batches of preclinical students and integrated clinical clerks; and 17 performances from the medical organizations, fraternities, sororities, UPCM classes, and PGH Departments.
Opening the grand celebration was the youngest batch of medical students, UPCM 2028, with their dance number, Star-studded.
UPCM 2027 swept the board, as the TRP 50 Chorale Champion, Best in Original Chorale Piece and Best in Performance, showing off their singing prowess with Kay Layo Na, Kay Layo Pa. Choirmaster Khrushchev Magcaling explains that their piece centers on their journey as physicians, a continuation of journeys past. “It is recognizing and honoring the legacies of those who have come before us, and embracing their inheritance of service to take the journey of medicine further, deeper, forward. Just as they are our shining stars sending us warmth and care from days long gone, we are their guiding light as we take them into a stronger and healthier tomorrow, one impassioned step at a time”
UPCM 2026 performed Ikaw (Pamana), an original song dedicated to the present generation of medical students. Composer Adrian Matthew Poblete highlights that “the piece is about one’s journey in finding meaning in the lens of the past… and ultimately discovering that we are the gift to a future once dreamt of.” The UPCM Class of 2026 won the Most Attendance Award.
UPCM 2028’s Hakbang underlines the strength of will medical students need to face the journey ahead. The choir has shared that their piece is “an overview of the victories and the many defeats [they] have encountered, the overarching pressures of doing well from a nation who is expecting much from us, and the way in which we rise above it all: by taking it one step at a time.”
Similarly, in the realm of dance, UPCM 2027 once more took home the crown as Best in Choreography with their production on the struggles of a medical student. On the other hand, the People’s Choice Award was presented to the Mu Sigma Phi Sorority, with their performance also under the theme Resilience.
Other winners include Phi Lambda Delta Sorority for best costume, Arvin John Malapo (UPCM 2027) for male stunner, and Alyssa Guevara (UPCM 2026) for female stunner.
Tao Rin Pala was hosted by Pia Juneea Nebrada (UPCM 2025, MSS 45 – Fortified), Jemil Austin Lacson (UPCM 2025, MSS 47 – Quarantine-Siete), Ryan Miguel Rivera (UPCM 2028, MSS 48 – COW48UNGA), Alyanna Sophia Fusingan (UPCM 2027, MSS 49 – VOY49ERS), and Lorenzo Joaquin Tan (UPCM 2028, MSS Applicants Batch 50).
Congratulations to the UPCM & PGH Community for once again proving that beyond the sterile walls of the hospital, your doctors are tao rin pala.
UPCM 2027 won the TRP 50 Chorale Championship, including awards for Best Original Chorale Piece and Best Performance
UP Medical Students Society
The UP Medical Students’ Society (MSS) is the oldest and largest medical organization in the
UP system, with over 1,400 alumni and nearly 200 undergraduate members, providing an environment for present and future physicians to exchange ideas while building relationships in a spirit of camaraderie. MSS pushes its members to open themselves up to opportunities and become well-rounded physicians, through college events like Tao Rin Pala, inter-school events such as the Interscholastic Clinico-Pathologic Conference, and community events like our Deaf Education Advocacy. For its work, MSS has been awarded the 2018 Gawad Chancellor for Outstanding Student Organization and recognized as one of 2020’s APMC-SN Ten Outstanding Medical Student Organizations. Now in our 50th year, we move forward as one MSS family, leading with our unofficial motto, “At MSS, We Can!”
UPCM 2027 “Kay Layo Na, Kay Layo Pa”
Every UPCM student knows the daunting memory of what it is to be in LU4 (2nd year med school), filled with the countless amount of lecturers and books one needs to study for their weekly exams. You will know an LU4 student when you see one, for most if not all have those hard-filled gazes filled with exhaustion. We call this year “HelLU4”, a fiery pit of agony as we count the days of struggle towards the finish line. There are days when HelLU4 makes you forget what it is you are fighting for; you persist to just survive one day at a time. However, as you sit in the halls of MSB, you come to realize that your fellow batchmates are here with you, reminding you of what it is like to be human through laughter and joy and sadness. It only takes a single step-- only takes showing up-- to inspire each other to make things happen. We may have already made it this far in the road to becoming healers of the people, yet there is still so much more we have to do-- and that is what we are fighting for.
UPCM 2027 proudly presents: Kay Layo na, Kay Layo pa.
Other awards: Best in Original Chorale Piece, Best in Performance
UPCM 2026 “Ikaw (Pamana)”
As we stand bare and helpless at the foot of the mountain of our dreams overgrown with dreadful challenges to face, we hold dear the legacy of those who came before us. The heritage of bravery, resilience, courage, and wisdom born from stories of their struggles, cries, failures, triumphs, happiness, hope, and new-found comfort and home, has formed a tapestry that guides us in every step of our journey, and has brought us together to reach our peak. In this song, we want to share that we may start as lost and confused, but with this heritage that serves us our breath of fresh air, our little push to make one more step, and our strength to finish this journey strong, we still continue slowly, unerringly towards our dream. Let our people realize that the most important treasure that we can unearth and inherit is us — ourselves. We are the inheritors of a glorious past, the beacons of hope, and the shapers of a prosperous future.
To our past, our present, and our future, UPCM 2026 proudly presents: Ikaw (Pamana)
Award: Most Attendance Award
UPCM 2028 “Hakbang”
From time and time again, a great many have dreamt to become healers of the nation. This
impassioned drive pushed them to undergo the first step in realizing that dream: the long arduous years of medical school. First year medical students, filled with optimism, often see the journey ahead as something they can take in all at once. Their short-lived innocence, however, may damn them to the inferno of disorientation and hopelessness—consign them to their fears of taking another step. Advices such as “taking baby steps” might feel insincere and be overly cliche. However, it is this GUIDING PRAXIS to which we owe our strength and perseverance to redirect, encourage, and regain trust in ourselves. This might just be all too familiar to the vast majority of us. But we must remember that we are here now, still moving onwards, however difficult and back-breaking the journey may be.
With heart, Class 2028 proudly presents: Hakbang.
UPCM 2027
The struggles of being a medical student effectively embodies resilience. The rigorous academic demands, emotional challenges, and long hours reflect the resilience required to navigate and persevere in the face of adversity. Additionally, highlighting the commitment to healing and the pursuit of knowledge showcases the tenacity inherent in the medical student journey.
By embodying the struggles firsthand, our performance aims to convey the strength and determination needed to overcome obstacles on the path to becoming a medical professional.
MU SIGMA PHI SORORITY
Ever since, women have been blazing trails and forging paths as they advocate for the well-being and holistic health of a human person. Despite the early years of being unrecognized, the flame that these women carry have allowed them to break barriers and transform society. The flame that resides within Florence Nightingale allowing her to revolutionize healthcare is the same flame that drives modern day women to fight for reproductive rights and mental health awareness. The performance is an ode to the victory and well-deserved recognition of the feminine flame that has been and is continuously shaping the landscape of healthcare and wellness.
PHI LAMBDA DELTA SORORITY
Throughout history, women have been systemically marginalized and denied equal rights and opportunities across the board. While notable strides have been made, women continue to be underrepresented in many fields, including medicine which historically and persistently remains male-dominated. As a sorority comprised of dedicated female physicians, the Phi Lambda Delta Sorority endeavors to ignite a sense of empowerment among women, encouraging them to assert themselves, amplify their voices, and always remember their true value.
Male Stunner: Arvin John Malapo
Female Stunner: Alyssa Guevara