Artist and humanitarian still going strong at 65
While others consider age 65 as a time to retire, sit back, enjoy the fruits of one’s labor and pamper oneself, Danny Rayos del Sol is busier than ever. “There’s just so much to accomplish, now that I realized I had more years spent in my past than what is remaining in my future,” declares the lone ostrich egg artist in the country.
He thus marked his 65th birthday with an auction of donated artworks by his artist friends to benefit his Mirasol Outreach Foundation Inc. (Mofi).
Donors included the eminent glass sculptor Ramon Orlina, who launched his 570-page landmark book, “Visions in Glass,” at the just-concluded ManilArt. The coffee-table book written by the art critic-artist Cid Reyes is a comprehensive narrative in words and pictures of the world-renowned artist’s journey of over half a century of elevating glass sculpture into its present niche that he can proudly claim as his own.
A day after Rayos del Sol celebrated his birthday, Severe tropical storm “Kristine” (international name: Trami) battered the Bicol region, Eastern Samar and other provinces, causing widespread flooding and landslides. Kristine left about 85 people dead and dozens missing, and caused over P3 billion damage in agriculture, P3.3 billion worth of infrastructure damage to over 38,000 schools nationwide and thousands of displaced families.
ManilArt
Response to disasters
In partnership with Secours Populaire Francais (SPF), Mofi mobilized for disaster relief operation. Rayos del Sol and his wife Tess prepared blankets, mats, towels and toiletries and coordinated with the Philippine Navy for easy transport of goods to those in need in Bicol.
Mofi was formed in 2013 to address the needs of the victims of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan). It left over 7,000 dead and missing, and affected more than 13 million people in 44 provinces.
Rayos del Sol initiated a Facebook post calling for donations, which elicited an overwhelming response from friends and strangers here and abroad. One of them was an Indonesian partner of SPF.
From their partnership rose the Mofi. The foundation is now a regional coordinator in Asia for SPF in emergency relief operations as well as in recovery and rehabilitation efforts in many countries reeling from disasters.
“A lot of my work was life-threatening and life-altering. Stories I heard and witnessed were haunting,” says the artist, who also initiated projects like the “COVAID Art Auction for Frontliners,” “Art for a Living,” “Help Victims of Taal Volcanic Eruption,” “We Care for Victims of Typhoon Odette” and many more.
In the remote island of Vanuatu in Micronesia in 2015, Rayos del Sol helped victims of Cyclone “Pam.” He and wife Tess also got involved in the recovery and rehabilitation of Nepal when it was hit by the catastrophic Gorkha earthquake that same year, and in a number of calamities that hit Indonesia.
Says Rayos del Sol, “The Gorkha earthquake had nonstop aftershocks up to 6.8 in Richter scale. In Kathmandu. I could still smell the stench of rotting flesh when we arrived. Five days after we left Nepal, there was another big quake that severely damaged the hotel where we stayed.”
There was an epidemic of tuberculosis, typhoid and cholera in Beira, Mozambique, when they did their mission in 2019 after Cyclone “Idai” left 1,500 people dead and many more missing.
Back home, they endured a three-and-a-half-hour roller-coaster ride on the treacherous waters of the Sulu Sea to bring relief goods to Typhoon “Vinta” (Tembin) victims in 2017. And they distributed PPEs to COVID-19 front-liners in various hospitals when the vaccine wasn’t available yet.
Accidental artist
A gift of 10 ostrich eggs from the farm of his good friend from the Manila Times, Dante Ang, started Rayos del Sol’s art of carving on the eggs religious images and icons, or mandala (geometric configurations of symbols). His first solo exhibition in 2007 titled “Whimsy” was followed by another solo exhibition, “Pananampalataya,” in 2008. Both exhibits sold out.
What followed were more shows and collaborations with other artists. He then carved Philippine ethnic patterns on cow and carabao skulls and horns.
Rayos del Sol got back to painting, which he started after he finished his MBA at Ateneo Graduate School of Business. His first solo painting exhibit, “Luna,” a showcase of abstract-cubism-expressionism, followed by another solo exhibit using mixed media, “Hele,” at ManilArt, met with resounding success.
With all the humanitarian work he does on top of his prodigious artistic output, he has also been a curator since 2014 of the ManilArt as well as the Annual Sculpture Review. During his watch as head of the National Committee on Art Galleries, a subcommission of cultural heritage of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts, art fairs in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao were held.
On the home front, the unica hija of the Rayos del Sols is all praises for her parents. Belay is taking up her Master in Marine Science, major in Marine Biotechnology, at UP Diliman. She produced the video shown during her father’s birthday.
The parents can sit back and bask in the glory of siring a child who they can depend on. Says Belay, “I’ve been helping out in our gallery (Galerie du Soleil in Taguig). I’m making an effort now to get to know the artists, gallerists and more. In terms of humanitarian work, I’ve always shown support, but hopefully, I can be more hands-on with the Foundation, too.”
That must be music to Rayos del Sol’s ears as he continues to do what he loves most: “To do my art (to be a cultural worker, help other artists to have a platform for their genius), and to continue my humanitarian work. There’s nothing more rewarding than to see the smile of the children you help and receive the hugs of lolos and lolas after our mission. They feel there’s hope because of the things we do for them.”
