'Lahing Kayumanggi' features woven baskets, nipa materials and salakots. (Photo by RUDY LIWANAG)

Sleek and graceful lines dominate the architecture of the massive building of the NAIA 3 terminal.  With its tasteful light grey and yellow interior color scheme, the building’s look is at once clean and impeccable.  Travelers going through the terminal wouldn’t think of littering in the premises – the place looks too immaculate to ruin so people are compelled to be more disciplined.

The terminal is user-friendly and the people who work in it are much more courteous than their counterparts at other Philippine airports. Yet this huge concrete edifice feels a tad impersonal and cold.  It’s as if the place is too modern to be a venue for any occasion that might be considered traditional.

Thankfully, Terminal 3 has a tenant who has the ability to create a sense of character and warmth in any place. Lifestyle designer Rachy Cuna rents one of the booths at the pre-departure area. His booth sells gourmet ice cream. Whenever he’s there, the terminal suddenly turns pleasant and jolly. The elaborate pink shirt he wore during a visit looked very uplifting to anyone who happened to see him. The colorful outfit, coupled with the congenial personality, is relief from the frantic activities that happen at every airport.

Yet Cuna felt it takes more to make people passing through the airport feel good. “This is a beautiful building,” says Cuna. “But there is nothing here to make passengers feel merry during the Christmas season. I felt it would be nice to have something for the passengers to look at. Something to remind them that Christmas is just around the corner, particularly Filipino Christmas traditions and everything that is Filipino.”

Thus, Cuna met with his landlord, or the officials who manage NAIA 3. He presented his case: the building needed to feel more Christmas-y. It could benefit from something to remind travelers of their heritage as they go on to their respective destinations. It had to be uniquely Filipino and something that travelers could stop to look at as they lugged their luggage to the pre-departure area. “Fortunately, the airport authorities were very receptive to the idea,” says Cuna.

They offered the hallway near the check-in counters, which offered enough space for Cuna to create an art-installation show. So once he got the go-signal, he immediately set out to work on the pieces. This was in November. A couple of weeks after, the airport had a colorful exhibit of artworks dubbed, “Rachy Cuna Para sa Mundo.”  The pieces depict the local Christmas spirit in a humorous and inventive manner. Materials used were strictly indigenous and recycled. Cuna has long been a champion of Philippine raw materials. The décor is made of bamboo, buri wood, old “cuatro canto rum bottles,” and salakots, among all others.

Each piece of art presents the various ways Filipinos mark the Christmas season. Most memorable is Cuna’s sweet ode to the Filipino drinkers, dubbed "Tagayan."

“Those guys who spend Christmas night getting drunk at the sari-sari store. I’ve even installed a bench for them to sit on,” he laughs.

Airport officials have hinted that the amusing artworks may find a permanent spot in various areas of the terminal. Perhaps it’s time for Rachy Cuna to start working on the two other terminals.