As the EDSA People Power anniversary rites unfolded for the nth time last February, we couldn’t help but notice the apparent loss of public engagement in this historic event that abruptly altered the course of our country’s history.

Though there was the usual token participation by government and a number of representatives from civil society, as well as relatively earnest efforts by the media folk to rekindle the significance of the event, there was, on the whole, little else to call to mind the people’s valiant acts to liberate themselves from the Marcos dictatorship.

The media had, for its part, admittedly made dramatic impact in renewing interest in the event, now well over 22 years, but save for the fact the recollection merely entailed a cursory retelling of the heady events now fragmented in collective memory. Not only have many of the principal players come and gone (and a number permanently detached from the scene), the event itself has been taken over by traditional politicians and their cohorts out to grab the limelight.

One major component of the February People Power celebration that remains grossly overlooked is the major role of the Filipino artist has played in capturing the spirit of ’86, that is, by reliving the tides of passion that engulfed the nation as it made a heroic stand to oust Marcos. There had been, to be sure, a number of artists who carried the banner of the People Power aloft, but those who truly captured the meaning and plumbed the significance of the event, have remained unnoticed for their work, and perhaps, by now, totally forgotten.

One such artist is Fred Villanueva, a native of Hagonoy, Bulacan, and whose mural on the subject remains a well-kept secret to this day. Indeed, only a number of people, including former Pres. Fidel Ramos, now Sen. Gregorio Honasan, and the former First Lady Imelda Marcos, have seen the mural and come face to face with the imagery. The mural, measuring 10 ft. by 30 ft., proudly hangs on the walls of Caffe Maestro Restaurant, in Nicanor Garcia St. in Bel-air, Makati, almost 10 years from the date of its completion.

The owner, Ermil Napa, has chosen to remain low-profile all this time about his most treasured art work, which has not received any kind of media coverage, perhaps due to sheer ignorance. Napa, a restaurateur and art collector has been more famous for his involvement in recycling hardwood from remnants of old houses and those salvaged from demolition projects and converting them into beautiful reproductions of colonial and 18th century pieces.

The story of how Napa acquired the mural goes back to the time he first heard of Fred Villanueva as a painter of delicately rendered portraits of the Filipino, such as the mother-and-child icon, and the mag-anak as symbol of familial solidarity. Now 65, the artist was commissioned to work on the mural in 1997 and completed it after more than a year later. The winner of various art competitions, he has done a number of other murals such as “History of Tarlac,” now hanging at the Tarlac Provincial Capitol, the Aquino assassination, which he finished back in 1989, and a number of other works.

The EDSA People Power mural is, thus far, his most ambitious work to date, both in terms of scope and substance. Began in the early part of 1997, as a commissioned project for Napa, he managed to finish it in late 1999. When Napa finally saw the mural, he was totally mesmerized by the great effort by the artist to closely adhere to the events being depicted as well as the spirit it captures on the Filipino. He did not suggest or recommend any changes and was totally pleased at what he had seen. He knew the artist had shown the true essence of being Filipino, and that in the face of great adversity, his faith and courage come out to the fore.

What became luminously clear is the artist’s rendering of the dramaturgy unfolding before our eyes: from the admonition of the late Cardinal Jaime Sin to come out and join the rebels who had taken refuge at Camp Crame, the sudden massing of civilians at the periphery of EDSA in front of the military camp, the heroic stand by supporters to face the military might sent to quell their ranks; up to the hasty departure by Marcos and his family, courtesy of the American military whose presence is symbolized by the helicopter that flew the family away from the mob and onto the waiting plane that would take them to their exile in Hawaii.

The mural is, above all, an accurate representation of what Villanueva had documented and depicted through the various personages, the places and details, and most important of all, the message that he believed must be perceived by the viewer when looking at the mural. Working in a style clearly reminiscent of the Cubist tradition, as reflected in the works of National Artist Vicente Manansala, as well his predecessor, Carlos “Botong” Francisco, Villanueva has etched the images of those historical days in February, in soft, mellifluously undulating hues, totally devoid of artifice and pomposity. The mural, it is safe to deduce, tells the story of the Filipino as he reaches the crossroads of history, and makes one final heroic stand to become free and united at last.

Now, as it makes renewed bid to recall a historic event, the EDSA People Power mural must be accorded its preeminent place in our time and indeed for all time, as today’s generation of Filipinos slowly succumb to lapses of memory and moral judgment must heed the legacy of EDSA. It is likewise fitting that this art work be given its rightful place in the pantheon of our history, and the artist and creator his rightful due.