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TL;DRThis compendium was inspired by another answer for this question, one that was no doubt well intended but whose conclusions I disagree with profoundly. This answer contains corrected and reinterpreted statistics, personal experience and a wildly celebratory, positive view of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.I encourage all who have wondered sadly about the state of Aboriginality in Australia, to at least scan this and take the corrected statistics on board. It's not necessary to watch all of the videos - I've included these only to better illustrate the amazing diversity of Indigenous experience in Australia today.It's not my intention to argue with anyone's experience - but simply to give a balanced view. I've used a lot of upper case and bold here, not to be aggressive, but to allow you to find the relevant statistics and important information if you should choose to scan this answer.(Edit: Don't take the following to mean that I believe Australia or Australians are any more racist than any equivalent country in the world. Yes, there is plenty of racism here - just as there is in every other country in the world.)ABOUT ME:I don't identify as Indigenous, though some of my family do. It's somewhat silently accepted that there’s Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) ancestry on my mother's side of the family.(((( MY GRAN'MA))))My brother is regularly asked by Indigenous people where our people are from or who our family is or even 'Where your mob at?' When I was younger, this also regularly happened to me. I joke to my brother that I must have gotten whiter looking as I’ve aged.Mob generally means tribe and/or extended family. Traditional Indigenous people had very strong web of kinship ties and the interest in placing themselves and those they meet in relation to each other and the land they come from remains strong for many of them today.My stepsons identify as Indigenous, as their mother (my dear friend, my ex's other ex) is Aboriginal/Islander/Asian, with parts of her family hailing from Torres Strait, where some of the world's most beautiful people are born due to intermarrying between the local islanders and the Asian people (generally Chinese) who worked extensively in the pearling industry in the 1800s.I've also had many close friendships and creative partnerships with Indigenous people including staying with friends at remote communities.I don’t want to sound like one of those annoying white people who say ‘Some of my best friends are black…’ - but I do want to demonstrate that I’m not talking through my proverbial with this answer. I have a strong interest in this part of Australian culture and more personal experience than most white Australians.This is me about 10 years back with Bill and Rose Thiaday on an Aboriginal community called Wooribinda a few hours inland from Rockhampton in central Queensland. Bill and his brother, Mick Thiaday developed a network of radio stations throughout outback Australia which have given remote communities a connection to the modern world they couldn't have dreamed of 20 years ago. They are tough, dedicated men and there are many such elders working hard to undo the damage colonisation has done to their culture.Okay. Let's get started. Murri Myth Busting.MYTH NO. 1) INDIGENOUS PEOPLE GET ALL THE WELFARE:Some people complain Indigenous people get more welfare than white people in the same position, seeming to believe that being Aboriginal or Islander is like some kind of never-ending credit card. The following link explains the basic financial strategy of successive governments as they try to address Indigenous health and housing issues:Australian Human Rights CommissionWhile it is true that Aboriginal people are eligible for some minor alternative benefits to white Australians, this issue is blown out of all proportion by those white people who object to it. It is not nearly so much as those who have been manipulated by the politics of envy believe (One Nation (Australia)) and is not nearly so easy to get hold of as some imagine.The middle class welfare available to families - Family Assistance Payments, baby bonus, tax breaks - is at least equal to and far exceeds individual Indigenous assistance in many cases. Disadvantaged white people also have access to low cost loans to buy government housing through the Housing Department.For example: Pathways shared equity loanThere are many reasons that some ATSI people require extra assistance with things such as housing and employment.One is that many businesses are reluctant to hire obviously Indigenous people without some form of government incentive. Yeah, it’s confronting and we don’t like to think about it - but it’s true. It’s true in Queensland and it’s true in Melbourne. Hopefully it’s not as true as it once was - but right here in the 21st century, it’s still true nevertheless.Also, many landlords won't rent to Indigenous people.Some personal anecdotes:1) My landlord once said to me, 'We don't rent to blackfellas. Only time it ever happened, this bloke had his friend come around and rent the property. By the time I found out, it was too late - if you kick them out, you're in big trouble with the law.'When I asked him how it went, he said, 'Oh, yeah, good. He was very clean. Left the place really good actually.''Ah, so that would have changed your mind about the whole issue then.'He looked at me like I was crazy. 'No way. We were lucky. He was one of the good ones.'That landlord was as nice a guy as you'd ever meet on any other subject you could mention.2) A white friend was applying to rent a house with a mutual friend who happens to be Aboriginal. He hadn't been able to get away from work, so she'd done all the business with the estate agent and it was a big YES. The owners had accepted the application and were pleased with both of their professions, their rental histories and credit ratings.He felt he really should make the effort to go in and meet the agents and so the next time she went in there, he went with her.A few hours later, she got a call from the agent saying the owners were very sorry but they'd actually just that day found someone privately to rent to.3) I was once in a taxi heading home and to make conversation, said to the middle-aged woman driver, 'I've thought of driving cabs, but I always worried it would be dangerous. Ever had any trouble?''Nah. Never. But I only drive during the day, and I never pick up blacks.'Er, what?Imagine your life, if strangers who held an undeserved low opinion of you had this kind of power over such things as whether you work, whether you get a place to live, whether you can get a ride home in the rain, for god's sake.Another area in which some Indigenous people need extra assistance is health. The statistics are clear. Australia wide, Indigenous life expectancy is about 17 years less than white Australians. Many people believe this is due to alcohol abuse.However, the vast majority of Indigenous people do not abuse drugs or alcohol.In fact, statistics show that 37% of ATSI people do not drink at all, as opposed to 22% of white teetotalers. Read more at this link:Reconciliation Australia MythbustersThen of course, there is the terrifying suicide epidemic which affects all Australians, young and old, white and black. But the Indigenous numbers are particularly alarming.Suicides accounted for 4.2% of all registered deaths of people identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in 2010, compared with 1.6% for all Australians.Read more here: Australian Bureau Statistics - 3309.0 - Suicides, Australia, 2010I have a personal connection to this statistic - my stepson is a part of it. He committed suicide in 2010 at the age of 28.This is a slide show of his funeral:I was torn about including this video. I don't want to feel that I'm using his death to make a point. But then again - why shouldn't I? His death and that of those like him are exactly why this point should be illustrated.Some people say that people like my stepsons 'don't look very black', as if therefore, they don't need to have any problems with racism, as if therefore, they somehow choose discrimination by declaring themselves, as if they should somehow deny that part of their heritage and...What? Try to pass for white?What are they supposed to do when half of their family is black, as you can see from the above slide show? While it may be true that they won't be pulled over for Driving While Black as often as their darker-skinned cousins, they certainly get pulled over just as often when they have their family in the car with them.They feel angry to see their family treated this way. They feel sad to see them suffering injustice. They feel guilty to be treated a little better than their cousins when they go out in to the world just because they are fairer of skin.I feel all those things for them, too.2) INDIGENOUS PEOPLE HAVE AN IRRATIONAL REACTION TO BEING DISPOSSESSEDI’ve seen it claimed that Indigenous people have an ongoing hatred of whites which was not assuaged by PM Kevin Rudd's official apology in 2007 and that this is borne out by their treatment of the police.But really, while most Indigenous people I know have stories of prejudice and bigotry they have experienced, there are very few who hate all whites. Most take all people as they find them, just like any reasonable person does. Amongst the Indigenous people I know, the only ones who hate all police, sight unseen, are the criminal element.Just like any other racial group, really.Which brings us to...3) INDIGENOUS PEOPLE ARE TAKING UP ALL THE PRISON BUNKSIt is commonly incorrectly claimed that, although they only make 2.5-3% of Australia's population, Indigenous people make over 80% of prison populations.The correct statistics are:26-27% of the prison population Australia wide are of Indigenous descent. If you remove the aberrant Northern Territory numbers from the equations, the rate falls to 17%.In the Northern Territory, the least populous region of Australia, the figure climbs to between 80 and 84% depending on whose figures you are using. It's important to note though, that the Northern Territory also has the highest Indigenous population: 33% compared to - remember? - Australia-wide 2.5-3%.With a population of 233,300 it is the least populous of Australia's eight major states and territories, having less than half as many people as Tasmania.[1]Of course this means that while the percentage may sound high, it’s a high percentage of a low number. In other words, it’s actually a low number. Don’t forget, statistics lie like a mofo.More here: Northern TerritoryLet's look a little further into this terrible misinterpreted statistic.Northern Territory routinely puts people in jail who should be in hospital.In the Northern Territory, Aboriginal people with a cognitive impairment who are found mentally impaired under Part IIA of the NT Criminal Code are incarcerated in maximum-security jails in both Darwin and Alice Springs.More here: Issues in the Northern Territory (ADJC)So we can't really know who among the 84% percent of the NT prison population really belong there. Add to this the NT's policy of mandatory detention and you get a real Injustice Stew.Here is a small list of some of the crimes for which NT Aboriginal people have gone to jail under mandatory sentencing:Margaret Nalyirri Wyndbyne, 24, receiving one can of beer value $2.50: 14 days jail.Jamie Wurramara, 22, stealing box of biscuits and orange cordial on Christmas day value $23: 1 year jail.Samual Eupene, 23, goods in custody of seven pearls found on beach, value unknown: 14 days jail.Joanne Coughlan, 27, criminal damage of an electronic till by pouring water on it. Damage bill paid by defendant: 14 days jail.Chris of Gunbalanya, 18, receiving petrol value $2: 28 days jail.Robert of Nhulunbuy, stealing two cartons of eggs value $8: 14 days.Kevin Cook, 29, stealing a beach towel from a clothes line value $15: 1 year.Liam Edwards, 16, stealing $20 he claimed he found: 28 days jail.Brett Willoughby, 19 stealing one bottle of Stoli value $2.04: 14 days jail; andJohnno Johnson Wurramarrba 15, stealing textas, paints and liquid paper value about $50: 28 days. Died in custody.More here: Shane Stone and the NT’s mandatory sentencing regimeTo be fair, the Northern Territory's mandatory sentencing laws were watered down in 2001 after being legally challenged by the Federal Government. However, they remain the most draconian in Australia and in May this year, the newly elected conservative government beefed up the mandatory sentencing laws once more and well, I don't think Tony Abbot's Federal Government will ride to the rescue this time.In summary:The Northern Territory jails black men at a rate of almost 6 times that of South Africa during the last years of Apartheid, the most racist regime in recent memory.Again, Australia wide:Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners comprised just over a quarter ... of the total prisoner population. The age standardised imprisonment rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners was 1,914 per 100,000 adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.More here: Prisoners in Australia, 2012This statistic tells us many things, but perhaps the most important piece of information is ignored:Over 98 000 ATSI people per hundred thousand are NOT in jail!Let me spell this out for you.THE VAST MAJORITY OF ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDERS ARE LAW ABIDING CITIZENS WHO WILL NEVER SEE THE INSIDE OF A JAIL.4) INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AND THEIR INSATIABLE THIRSTMany people believe that alcohol abuse among Aboriginal people is 'rampant'.While it is true that there are communities where alcohol abuse and petrol sniffing are tearing the people apart, as previously mentioned in this answer, 37% of Indigenous people do not drink at all.In 2008, around one in six Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people aged 15 years and over (17%) drank at chronic risky/high risk levels, which is similar to the rate reported in 2002 (15%).More here: The Health and Welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, Oct 2010 The Australian Bureau of Statistics.While this is a worrying statistic, what is once more left out of the picture is the fact that:83% OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE DO NOT ABUSE ALCOHOL5) INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AND HEALTHSome people believe that all Aboriginal health disadvantage is due to 'lifestyle factors', basically meaning excess alcohol.In fact, a great deal of it is related to the problem of remote area medical assistance. Urban Indigenous people still have a higher incidence of diabetes than non-indigenous people, but much lower than those in remote communities.Diabetes/high sugar levels were reported by around 1 in 16 Indigenous people. Diabetes/high sugar levels were more common among Indigenous people living in remote areas (that is, communities/small towns) (around 1 in 11) than among those living in non-remote areas (that is, big towns/cities) (around 1 in 20)More here: Review of diabetes among Indigenous peoplesIt's worth turning this statistic on its head, as well, to get a clearer picture of how the vast majority of Indigenous people actually live.Yes. The incidence of poor health is high and some ATSI people are victims of a quicksand of sickness, addiction, discrimination and poverty, but the vast majority are in good health and look after themselves in order to stay that way.15 out 16 INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AUSTRALIA WIDE DO NOT SUFFER FROM DIABETES.Furthermore:IN URBAN AREAS WHERE HEALTH SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE, 19 OUT OF 20 INDIGENOUS PEOPLE DO NOT SUFFER FROM DIABETES.6) INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AND COMMUNISMIt's also been said here on Quora that :Aboriginals have large extended families and property is expected to be shared. For example, if one was to buy a new car it wouldn't be abnormal for a 2nd cousin to 'borrow' the car for several weeks.For most Aboriginal people that I know, this is simply not true.For some in remote communities, there is a need to regularly travel many hundreds of miles to main townships for supplies of one kind or another. But since there's little use for vehicles within the small communities, it's true that cars and other transport are kind of seen as communal property to be used according to need.It's also true that some desert Aboriginal people have an entertaining relationship with their vehicles, as shown by the TV show, Bush Mechanics (TV Mini-Series 1998). My brother who worked in remote South Australia as a mechanic for 30 years, assures me it's all true. He’s regularly seen Aboriginal people drive into town with the most ingenious quick fixes on their vehicles which have often got them many hundreds of kilometers across the harsh Australian desert.However, if any of my urban Indigenous friends' family were to take their car for 2 weeks without permission, there’d better be a bloody good reason.7) MORE INDIGENOUS ALCOHOL ABUSE AND UNEMPLOYMENT, BUT NOW WITH A SIDE ORDER OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND RENT ARREARS!I've seen it written here on Quora that:Along with alcohol abuse and unemployment comes a range of issues including domestic violence. Furthermore, 60% of those removed from public housing in the past 2 years were aboriginal. Reasons include non-payment of rent, disturbances & damage.I would be interested to know where the '60% of evictions from public housing' statistic comes from. But again, let me counter with another statistic that shows more clearly how many Indigenous people live their lives.HOME OWNERSHIP RATESAround one in eight Indigenous households (18,350 or 12%) owned their home outright (without a mortgage secured against the dwelling) and a further 38,650 (24%) owned their home with a mortgage.More here: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Home Ownership: A snapshot, 2006Again, there's a sad disparity between white and black households, but 36% of Indigenous people are just mosying along through life living the great Australian dream of never having to deal with discriminatory landlords and real estate agents or the bureaucrats at Public Housing ever again.A common misconception among white people is that Aboriginal people willingly destroy the houses they are given by the government.Sara Hudson from the Centre for Independent Studies in St Leonards, NSW, says that “although vandalism to houses is evident in some communities, the widespread assumption that Aborigines destroy their houses is false” [3].Rather, “studies conducted over a seven-year period (from 1999 to 2006) found that the major causes of ‘house failure’ were lack of routine maintenance and faulty construction and design.”“Of the 4,343 houses surveyed in 132 communities, only 11% passed national standard safety. In 50% of houses, there was no tub or bath to wash a child in, and only 35 per cent of houses had a functioning shower.”Architect Paul Pholeros has 30 years’ experience in Aboriginal housing. He says that 60% of housing problems arise from poor maintenance, 25% from poor initial construction and only 8% from damage and abuse by its tenants [8].The problem is not the people. The problem is shitty housing.—Paul Pholeros, architect [9]The state of Indigenous housing across remote Australia is the most visible and enduring evidence of the failure of governments, over decades, to address Indigenous disadvantage.—Jenny Macklin, Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister in 2009 [4Read more: Aboriginal houses8) THOSE DARN MURRI KIDS GOING ALL AMERICAN GANGSTA!I've also read this statement on Quora:Aboriginal youth don't generally learn their culture from their elders. Hence they try to identify or dress as black 'Americans' ie 2Pac t-shirts with bandanas and jeans hanging below the butt.Yes, it's true that some Indigenous youth have co-opted black American hip hop trappings. But not because the elders don't teach them about their own culture.Teenagers all over the world adopt American culture for better or worse - from Coca-Cola to rap, American cultural imperialism, aided by unlimited advertising budgets, pervades the world and annoys the shit out of parents everywhere.Is it really so surprising that Indigenous Australian youth would identify more closely with Tupac than with Hanson (band)?It is hilarious, in that way where it hurts to laugh, that European civilisation would do everything it possibly could to stamp out Aboriginal culture - breeding programs, cultural indoctrination with Christianity, outlawing language, the Tasmanian genocide - and yet come back at contemporary Indigenous people in 2013 with the accusation that they don't teach their children the ways of their ancestors.Besides which, it simply isn't so.Many Indigenous people and communities are far more dedicated to teaching their children the old ways than most white people, for whom putting on a DVD of a TV comedy from America in the '60s is about as far as they get with exploring the roots of their own culture.Here is a chess table that my stepson, David, made for me.Pretty freaking cultural, I'd say. Like most Aboriginal paintings, it tells a story from his peoples’ oral history. Aboriginal people did not have a written language, but their history was recorded in paintings. Sadly, in this case, he tells the story of how his Indigenous ancestors were forced to scatter from their country and set down in strange places throughout the whole of the continent. This story was handed to him by his Aunty from Cardwell who was very old when I met her in the early 90s.9) ABORIGINAL PEOPLE AND RELIGIONAnother mistaken belief about Indigenous people is that they don't have a religion.Many Aboriginal and Islander people do in fact have a religion. There are Aboriginal Catholics, Protestants and Muslims. There are even Aboriginal Jehovah Witnesses - I know this because one came to my door once and tried to give me a Watchtower, just like any old garden variety J.W.Deacon Boniface Perdjert from Wadeye, Northern Territory.(PHOTO: BETH DOHERTY, ACBC)World class athlete Tony Mundine, an Aboriginal and observant Muslim, faces Mecca to pray.A delegation from the Gubbi Gubbi people welcome His Holiness the Dalai Lama to their country.The guys in this picture will likely finish their smoking ceremony, sit through the service, then wipe off the clay, throw on a t-shirt and head out to the footy field to watch the game, or maybe home to throw a prawn on the barbie and knock back a couple of tinnies.And of course, since this is Quora, I'll specifically mention there are also atheist Aboriginal people.Dreaming is more of a spiritual philosophy than a religion and is often practiced/ believed in tandem with religious beliefs. It's a beautiful, magical world view and the basis of it has echoes of Jung's Unconscious Archetypes and Plato's Theory of Forms.Dreaming says that we here on earth are but reflections/copies of the Ancestors who reside in the Dreaming. Everything you see on earth has a magnificent, perfect prototype that lives in the Dreaming, best described as another dimension that exists alongside us and can project itself into this one as necessary. For instance, any old kangaroo that jumps in front of your car is a mortal reflection of KANGAROO. We ourselves are reflections/ projections of the original MAN and WOMAN. Even objects that are inanimate to us, are reflections of perfect spirit objects in the world of the Dreamtime.Any of us can be inhabited by our 'prototype' spirit at any time. Any kangaroo can become KANGAROO if there is a need. This is why traditional Aboriginal people pay so much attention to the natural world. Absolutely anything can be infused with Spirit and become a messenger from the Old People at a moment's notice, returning again to its mortal state just as quickly. This is how a traditional Aboriginal person might explain those instances of a child being able to lift a car off someone or a dog rescuing a baby from a burning house - they temporarily embodied SPIRIT, as was needed at the time.SOME RANDOM BITS AND PIECES YOU MAY FIND INTERESTING...Indigenous peoples are not one culture. They are similar to Native Americans in that there are many tribes with many different set of laws and customs, linked but separate. For instance, the didgeridoo is seen as synonymous with Aboriginal culture across the country. It's actually a north central Australian instrument. The people around where I live don't use them except, in recent years, for fun. Also! Didgerdoo isn't an aboriginal word - it was coined by a journalist trying to convey the sound it makes to his readers.I've come across the perception from a few people internationally that the term 'abo' is not offensive here. It is. I think the perception comes from the Rolf Harris song Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport. This song was recorded in 1960 or so before Indigenous people were considered citizens in their own country and basically refers to Aboriginal people as chattels. It's true that it's not as offensive as the N word. It doesn't make you a monster in the way that saying the N word appears to in the US, but no, don't do it - it's definitely not cool.As with the N word in other countries, some ATSI people may choose to refer to themselves and their friends and loved ones in this way. That doesn’t mean you can. Aboriginal people most often refer to themselves as Murri in Queensland and Koori in New south Wales. I'm not familiar with other states. Blackfella and whitefella are also common terminology among Murris and can be used in a matter of fact way to refer to someone's race if you know the people well. They are not really considered offensive, but are presumptuous if used with too much familiarity.A cultural difference in language which could be misinterpreted by those from other countries is the practice of calling Aboriginal Elders Auntie and Uncle. Generally only other Indigenous people and white family will do this. Don't get the wrong idea if you see this happening. I presume it would be a great offense in the US because of slavery, but the Elders consider it a mark of respect here and whites who are invited to be part of the family in this way feel honoured.And, oh yeah. We don't use the term Native here. I've learned here on Quora that it's cool for Native Americans - but yeah, don't do it here. The word native is very strongly tied to our native fauna and Aboriginals were once considered a part of that.It's worth mentioning here many white Australians deny the use of the term genocide for what happened to the Tasmanian Aboriginal people. There was no intent to kill all Aboriginals off, it's commonly claimed - it wasn't a genocide, it was an accident.Personally, I believe that point is moot but I don't want to argue. Let's just agree that:Colonisation occurred in 1803 and the British developed a policy aimed at ridding the Tasmanian mainland of Aboriginal people. The colonisers didn't really mind whether the Indigenous people moved to the outer islands or died.By 1833, there were only 200 left due to war and diseaseThese 200 surrendered under the false promise of having their lands returned to them and were exiled to Flinders Island where they continued to die of disease and miseryIn 1847, Tasmanian Aboriginals were again transferred, further away from their homelandsIn 1876, Truganini, widely considered to be the last full blooded Tasmanian Aboriginal, died.Those Indigenous people who now identify as Tasmanian Aboriginal have mostly European ancestry and are the descendants of Palawer women who were abducted and kept as slaves by European sealers in the Bass Strait.====================================================This is my most comprehensive Quora answer yet. It's also my most important one. It's a subject I'm passionate about and, compared to your average white Australian, knowledgeable about. But I'm no expert, my answer is not in any way a last word.I'm not saying that the things most often mentioned about Indigenous people - alcoholism, domestic violence, high unemployment - are not problems in some places, but they are not actually what the overwhelming majority of ATSI life experience is all about. These stats, supposedly gathered to help them, are often used as just another way to beat Indigenous people up.When we talk about Indigenous Australians, it's as if the conversation can only be about the extremes of Indigenous experience - those who excel in some field, those at the very top, or those who have been beaten by life, those at rock bottom. It's as though the overwhelming majority of those who occupy the middle ground of everyday life don't even exist.Sometimes they look like this...Sometimes they look like this...But they're here, getting on with their lives and making the best of it.Cathy Freeman is one of Australia's greatest athletes and when she won Olympic Gold at home in Sydney 2000, the nation couldn't have been prouder. That is how successful an obviously Aboriginal person has to be to get positive attention.Still, she kept insisting on carrying the Australian Aboriginal Flag along with the Australian Flag whenever she won, and well, that just pissed a lot of people off.CATHY FREEMAN FLAG CONTROVERSY, SYDNEY 2000In the lead-up to the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Australian sprinter Cathy Freeman was warned she would risk losing her medals if she chose to fly the Aboriginal flag.The warning was a reference to Freeman's actions six years earlier, where she draped an Aboriginal flag along with an Australian flag around her shoulders for a victory lap after winning a medal at the Commonwealth Games.It was the political nature of the gesture that most upset officials. “Because the Aboriginal flag is not the national flag we would be concerned the athletes are putting themselves at risk of breaching rule number 61 of the Olympic charter,” a spokesperson for the AIC told media.The Aboriginal flag was declared a flag of Australia in 1995.Many Australians don't realise that the Aboriginal Flag has been an official flag of our country for over 20 years. Come on, cobbers - catch the f*&% up.Being Aboriginal means everything to me. I feel for my people all the time. A lot of my friends have the talent but lack the opportunity.- Cathy Freeman, after winning Gold at the '94 Commonwealth games.That Indigenous Australians have to work so hard to get positive recognition, when negative attention is never further than a headline away, reminds me of the quote by Ginger Rogers - that she did everything Fred Astaire did, backwards and in heels.For those of you still with me, just a little more on the the amazing variety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island culture and experience:I've mentioned remote communities a few times in connection with the social problems that a lot of people talk about. But the truth is that there are plenty of beautiful, healthy, happy kids on most communities as well and those kids are doing fun, contemporary, creative stuff.Here are The Woorabinda Boys performing their original song No More Drugs.And this is an hilarious bit from The Chooki Dancers of the Yolngu people of NT as they interpret Zorba the Greek. Many of them have no English, but they have a great sense of humour.Here is an ARIA award performance of the Oz classic Treaty by Yothu Yindi. Australians loved the song, but unfortunately, it didn't help much in getting the longed for treaty happening. So far.This was filmed at The Laura Festival ( Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival ) a biennial celebration of Indigenous culture. Most Aboriginal traditional dancing is called Shake-a-leg and tells each tribe's Dreamtime story or some other part of their oral history. A lot of older people, white and black, call all dancing shake-a-leg, which I think is kind of cute. I have been invited to dance with the words, 'Hey, wanna shake a leg?'And now, to cap it all off, a little eye candy. Hot Murri guy playing with his dij - oh my! Derek Pharms is a master of the dij.TL;DR. Again.All in all, the most important thing that you can know about Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is that they are far, far more than a great big bunch of horrific statistics. They are a great big bunch of individuals.Some of them are very traditional and some of them are very modern and the rest of them fall pretty much along the continuum between.Most of them are probably pretty much like you.They go shopping at the supermarket. They eat takeaway occasionally. They put a lotto ticket in every week. They watch Disney films with their babies and they have trouble controlling those babies once they become teenagers. Most ATSI people would be no happier that their teenagers are co-opting US ghetto culture than most white parents are, but there's not a lot they can do about it.Just like any other parent.

This is the first of two essays on this topic that were published on my blog Earthsign and on the Australian Independent Media Network during 2013.Old Tired cynical and arrogant: Part 1This is a tale of two political parties: the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the Liberal Party of Australia. The ALP was founded in the 1890s and the Liberal Party in 1945 so as political parties go they are old and as often happens in old age they have arguably grown tired, cynical and arrogant. These two old parties have dominated Australia’s political landscape since the middle of last century.There is a third old party, the Nationals (founded in 1913), the permanent minor coalition partner of the Liberals. And a young party, The Greens. They are not central to this story. For better or worse around 85% of Australian voters vote for either the ALP or the Liberals. It is these two old parties who have shaped the Australia we live in today and whether we like it or not, whether we care or not, these parties between them are now shaping the Australia of tomorrow. This story is not about the probable imminent destruction of the Gillard Labor government. It is not about the disgraceful role played by a financially challenged, over-concentrated mainstream media in the shaping of Australian choices at the ballot box. Important as these stories are in their own right they have been endlessly discussed elsewhere.This is a story of the forces reshaping these two old parties and their profound implications for the future of our democracy. It starts with the rapid decline both in membership and perceived social relevance of both the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the Liberal Party of Australia. Much has been written about the internal problems of the ALP and according to Margot Saville at Crikey more buckets of ink are about to be spilled between now and the end of the year on the question of ‘What is wrong with Labor?’ We all know that Labor’s membership base is collapsing but little is written about the corresponding decline in Liberal Party membership.Political junkies know that the decline in Labor’s membership is due to the marginalization of rank and file members and blatantly undemocratic internal processes but are less aware that the same applies to the Liberals.Report number four for the Democratic Audit of Australia conducted by the Political Science Program of the Australian National University summed up the situation succinctly for both these ‘old’ parties:The picture with regard to internal democracy is a bleak one. Low party membership probably means even lower levels of active participation. And ordinary party members may have little opportunity to engage in debate that would conform to deliberative principles, that is, principles concerned with the quality of debate. Pre-selection is a key party activity and work by (former Labor minister) Gary Johns suggests that the major parties don’t meet even basic principles of fairness in the way they conduct these processes.Further cause for concern arises out of the extent to which parties rely on large private donations. Public funding only exists in some jurisdictions and, even when it is available, parties continue to attract high levels of private funds. There is much debate about the need for increased financial accountability and about the effectiveness of rules for disclosure, particularly given that these rules vary considerably across the country. (Jaensch, Brent and Bowden, ‘Australian Political Parties in the spotlight’, ANU, 2004)Little has changed for the better in the subsequent decade. This post is part one of an examination of the consequences for our democracy of these changes and the growing gap between them and the electorate. So I’m going to write about this. The story needs to start with some facts.Who belongs to the old political parties?The short answer is old people. Writing for Inside Story Norman Abjorensen states that the median age of Victorian Liberal members in 2008 was 62 (presumably higher in 2013) against the median age of Victorians of 43. There is no reason to believe that the membership of their coalition partner the Nationals is more youthful. According to Latham, 55% of Labor’s national membership is in the ‘concessional’ membership category, largely retirees. Given the strong influence of the Union movement over the ALP you might expect that a high percentage of Labor members would be members of trade unions. You would be wrong. Latham shows that roughly 5800 unionists Australia wide belong to the ALP. About 16% of the membership. This is less than 0.5% of the membership of ALP affiliated unions, hardly a resounding vote of confidence in the continued relevance of the ALP by the members of the Unions whose dues bankroll the Party.How many people belong to the old political parties?LIKE MOST other western liberal democracies, Australia has experienced a steady decline in membership of political parties, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics putting total party membership at just 1.3 per cent of the adult population in 2006 – the same percentage as in Britain, where there is growing concern about dramatic falls in member numbers, and much lower than many European countries. So in 2013 about one in every hundred Australians belongs to a party. There has been some discussion of the decline in ALP membership lately. Mark Latham’s Quarterly Essay ‘Not Dead Yet’ charts a membership collapse “from 150,000 members nationally in the 1930s to 50,000 in the 1990s to just 11,665 members who voted in the ballot for the ALP national presidency in 2011.” Latham probably overstate the scale of the decline as Wikipedia gives a membership figure of around 35,000 nationally. The 2010 Bracks, Carr, Faulkner Review of the Party put the number at 36,000 and after Prime Minister Gillard called for a membership drive numbers are thought to have risen to as much as 44,000 in 2012. Whether this is a temporary halt in the decline or something more permanent this is still well below a membership of 50,000 twenty years ago. Hardly cheering. It also raises the question of why, if the total membership was 35,000 people only one in three members would bother to vote in a ballot for the national president in 2011?Estimates of the membership of the Liberal Party tell a similar story. One source gives a national membership of 78,000 for the Liberals and a surprising figure (to me at least) of 100,000 for the Nationals. cites a State membership figure of 13,000 from a 2008 internal party review of the Victorian branch of the Liberal Party, down from a peak of 46,000 in 1950 when the population was far smaller. Whether such a figure in Australia’s second most populous state is consistent with an national figure of 78,000 seems questionable.To place these membership numbers in context if we accept that the current ALP membership is 44,000 and the current Liberal Party membership is 78,000 Labor has about the same membership as the Adelaide Crows AFL club and the Liberals just exceed the somewhat more successful Collingwood Football Club.Australia’s population is roughly 22,300,000. A total of 719,582 Australians are members of an AFL Club.The ALP has 44,000 members and the Liberal Party has 78,000 members. My computer’s calculator tells me that this means:One in every 31 Australians belongs to an AFL club.One in every 506 Australians belongs to the ALP.One in every 286 Australians belongs to the Liberal Party.Australians are more than nine times more likely to belong to an AFL club than to the Liberal Party and about seventeen times more likely to belong to an AFL club than to the ALP. Now perhaps this is not a fair comparison. Membership of an AFL club promises pleasure and the sense of belonging and requires nothing in return. Membership of a political party which offers nothing to ordinary rank and file members unless they become part of the Party elite and requires some contribution of time and effort is unattractive to busy Australians balancing the pressures on time and money of daily life.Why is membership of the ‘old’ political parties declining?The reasons for this can be quite specific. For example Abjorensen cites the example of the Queensland Branch of the former National Party.The former National Party in Queensland, now merged with the state Liberal Party, suffered a massive exodus soon after John Howard was elected leader of the federal Liberal–National coalition in 1996. An internal report, never made public, identifies a single reason for the abrupt slump – Howard’s clampdown on guns in the wake of the Port Arthur killings in Tasmania. The party went to considerable lengths to keep this quiet for the sake of Coalition unity, but the Queensland Nationals were fatally wounded and have never recovered their previous clout. Many of the disgruntled ex-Nats found their way into One Nation, where they caused mischief for their old party. – See more at The parties democratic deficit.The former National Party in Queensland, now merged with the state Liberal Party, suffered a massive exodus soon after John Howard was elected leader of the federal Liberal–National coalition in 1996. An internal report, never made public, identifies a single reason for the abrupt slump – Howard’s clampdown on guns in the wake of the Port Arthur killings in Tasmania. The party went to considerable lengths to keep this quiet for the sake of Coalition unity, but the Queensland Nationals were fatally wounded and have never recovered their previous clout. Many of the disgruntled ex-Nats found their way into One Nation, where they caused mischief for their old party.The former National Party in Queensland, now merged with the state Liberal Party, suffered a massive exodus soon after John Howard was elected leader of the federal Liberal–National coalition in 1996. An internal report, never made public, identifies a single reason for the abrupt slump – Howard’s clampdown on guns in the wake of the Port Arthur killings in Tasmania. The party went to considerable lengths to keep this quiet for the sake of Coalition unity, but the Queensland Nationals were fatally wounded and have never recovered their previous clout. Many of the disgruntled ex-Nats found their way into One Nation, where they caused mischief for their old party. – See more at The parties democratic deficit.But in the case of both the Labor and Liberal Parties the decline of membership is a function of the increasing centralization of decision making in both Labor and Liberal parties. This process has increasingly marginalized the rank and file members. Abjorensen again:There is a body of largely anecdotal evidence that suggests rank and file members of both main political parties find they have very little input into the parties’ processes, namely policy and pre-selections. Indeed, the more these are centralised, the less relevant local branches and their members become.In respect of the ALP Latham comments that:Compared to other community organizations the return on ALP membership is minimal. Active Branch life has been reduced to a hard core of the ageing party faithful. plus members of parliament and their staff and others hustling for elected office. … Branches go through the motions of monthly meetings and debate, knowing that their resolutions will be ignored by the Party hierarchy.The ‘Party hierarchy’ is driven by two overlapping substructures of the affiliated unions and the factions. According to Jaensch et al:In the Labor Party the factions and the unions are parallel, if not unified sub-structures. The factions have their organisational and numerical bases in the unions, and the unions spearhead the faction leaderships and decision-making. … the 2002 Rules Conference decision to set 50:50 as the national union to member vote will have no effect on faction (or union) domination.The hold of the factions and unions on ‘their’ candidates does not relax after their election. Appearing on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Lateline program on 24 June 2002, former South Australian ALP Senator, Chris Schacht commented:I want to have an open mind in debate within the party and hear the debate before I make up my mind about how I should vote on party policy—not to be directed by what a factional leader says you must vote and if you don’t follow it, you might lose your pre-selection.With regards pre-selection of candidates for the Liberal Party; when John Howard was Prime minister no Liberal Party pre-selection took place without close Prime Ministerial scrutiny. A tick from the Party Leader and the patronage of powerful party figures to whom there are direct personal and professional links were both necessary for successful pre-selection as a candidate for the Liberal Party. Local members who too strongly disagree(d) with the consensus of the powerful risk(ed) their displeasure and the possibility of negative consequences.The importance of powerful patrons is well illustrated by the rise to Parliament of Liberal Party rising stars Josh Frydenberg and Kelly O’Dwyer.In a 2009 piece for Crikey Andrew Crook wrote:…the grassroots doily conventions have been steadily eroded in favour of hand-picked or factionally-“flagged” candidates. In most states, hopefuls will have already jumped through numerous social hoops and fronted “pre-pre-selection” selection committees designed to weed out the rabble. Just like Labor’s preference for industrial officers and backroom numbers men, the idea of a Thatcher-loving shopkeeper rising through the Liberal ranks has been eclipsed by blue-chip blue bloods like Kelly O’Dwyer in Higgins and Peter Dutton in Dickson/McPherson.In the Labor Party the situation is no better. Andrew Crook in this Crikey piece paints an equally depressing picture of the process for pre-selecting candidates within the ALP.For the most part, internal democracy is a charade, and there is generally no legal requirement for “private” party structures to open up their processes. … The disjuncture with the electorate is startling. In Victoria, outcomes are determined by numbers that represent around 0.1% of the ALP primary vote in any given lower house seat.Discussing the ALP Abjorensen says:The rapidly declining relevance of its shrinking membership and the capture of its factions – and with them the party machinery – have seen Labor become little more than the plaything of unrepresentative cliques. Poor-quality candidate selection and scant attention to policy are the inevitable outcomes, not to mention the corrosive effect of even greater public cynicism and further disengagement.This position is supported by a profile of the Seat of Batman, site of a controversial pre-selection battle, which reveals the arcane tribal nature of ALP structure.The 2010 Review of the ALP internal processes and structure conducted by respected ALP elders Steve Bracks, Bob Carr and John Faulkner Faulkner supports this view of the party. Its assessment of the disillusionment of the rank and file members was that it is deep and widespread.The following are verbatim extracts from face-to-face consultations and submissions made by members to the Review process. They are a sample of what members and supporters believe is wrong, and what needs to change, in our Party. The Review Committee was struck with the consistency and strength of the views put to it.“As a party member for nearly 39 years it seems that branches are now treated as irrelevant by head office — only good for handing out on election days.” — Member, Sydney“A branch member no longer has any power and hasn’t for a long time.” — Member, Melbourne“Many branches feel very frustrated and ignored these days.” — Member, Adelaide“At the moment, the party branches are dying, because the rank and file are given no voice in the Party. The members and branches no longer have any say in preselections or in policy. Unless this trend can be reversed, we will become a party that exists just to provide a path for ex-trade union leaders and ex-staffers of politicians to enter parliament.” — Member, NSW“The [issue is the] rise of the central Party apparatus and the decline of the branches. If the resolutions of branches are ignored, if the rules of the Party are ignored, if pre-selections are determined by head office and not the relevant electoral councils, if we remove democracy as the beating heart of our Party why would people join a branch, why would people get involved in our Party, why would people vote for us?” — Member, NSW“The demand that branches be respected meant that a branch’s local knowledge and concerns should be taken seriously. There was a sense that the party leadership did not take seriously or wish to involve itself with a branch’s participation in issues and policies that profoundly affected its members and its local community. Branches, it was argued, could be at the forefront of pivotal community battles.” — Branch submission“The grassroots organisation of the ALP used to be something that we left the Liberals for dead in.” — Member, Cairns“Members have given up. They feel that their only function is to turn up on polling day and spend a day in the sun handing out how-to-vote cards. Members want to be involved at a local level at a bare minimum.” — Member, Queensland.In the case of the ALP at least the disillusionment of the rank and file members is surely also driven by the ongoing series of scandals and corruption that have dogged the party for decades and continue despite attempts at ‘root and branch reform’.Thus the disillusioned membership of both these old parties is not only shrinking but it is also aging rapidly. In Part Two I will argue that despite awareness of the process its causes and consequences neither party has acted to halt or even slow this rate of decline and I will outline the profoundly disturbing implications of declining membership of these two parties for all Australians.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This is the second of two essays on this topic that were published on my blog Earthsign and on the Australian Independent Media Network during 2013.Old tired cynical and arrogant: Part 2In Part One of this story I described the disastrously declining membership of both the Liberal and Labor Parties. I discussed the reasons for the disillusionment that is the immediate cause of this decline. In Part Two I will canvass the reasons for the structural change that are driving this loss of members, what these parties have done to counteract this (nothing effective) and the likely corrosive consequences for our democratic processes.Why have the old parties centralized power and decision making?Abjorensen’s generic answer is that this is the inevitable result of the increasing professionalization of politics. Professional politics leaves nothing to chance. Such as the possibility of loose cannon candidates causing havoc during election campaigns. This is probably the primary motivation in the Liberal Party. However in respect of the ALP according to Latham, the problem is also strongly grounded in the shrinking influence of the unions within the Australian workforce. In Australia only 18% of workers now belong to a union and as little as 10% of Australian workers belong to unions affiliated with the ALP. As their power in the workplace has waned so the Union leadership has strengthened its power within the ALP. This process has been aided by the long term decline in branch membership which it has in turn strengthened.In any organization power flows to the centre whenever a critical mass of grassroots participation is lost. This concentration of influence usually results in self-serving processes and decisions, generating ethical problems and further disillusionment among rank and file members . . . Over time, the preservation of power internally is regarded as a higher priority than satisfying the organizations external goals.Latham continues:In effect Labor has split into two organizations, each operating in a different sphere of political activity. Branches go through the motions of monthly meetings and debate, knowing that their resolutions will be ignored by the Party hierarchy. At the Party’s centre, the branches are viewed as an irritation, a mid twentieth century anachronism . . . The union/factional wing of the Party has divorced itself from the rank and file. thus modern Labor is living an institutionalized fallacy. It is two parties in one. Two divisions pulling against one another . . . These two organizations have little in common beyond the name Labor and a romantic attachment to the notion of working class struggle.What have the old parties done to correct this situation?As far as I know the nearest thing this century to a review of the Liberal Party ‘s internal procedures and practices is the review of the 2010 election loss conducted by former Howard government minister Peter Reith in 2011. Although primarily an analysis of an election campaign, among the report’s 34 recommendations for action to be undertaken were a number of changes to the Party’s internal procedures aimed at empowering the membership. These included measures aimed at the democratization and standardization of pre-selection procedures and the direct election of the National President by the members on a one member one vote system.The Labor Party has commissioned two internal reviews of its operating procedures and processes. The most recent, the Bracks Carr Faulkner review of 2010, made 31 publicly available recommendations intended to comprehensively address the Party’s internal malaise and decreasing relevance to the community. The parallels with the restructuring recommendations of the Reith Review of 2011 are striking but more striking is the fate of the Bracks, Carr Faulkner Review. In 2013 Crikey’s Ben Westcott asked what happened to the report and its recommendations?Two years on from a comprehensive review to overhaul the Labor party, the party has squibbed on most of the significant reforms proposed. The report, written by Labor identities Steve Bracks, John Faulkner and Bob Carr in 2011, is gathering dust on a shelf. And the federal Labor government is at a catastrophic low in the polls as it appears to be on course for an electoral wipeout.The 2011 ALP National Conference rejected in whole or in part, (most) of the thirty one (publicly released) Faulkner, Bracks, Carr recommendations to increase the role, influence and say of the membership in Party affairs. These recommendations if adopted would have restrained some of the power of those currently in control of the Party. Eighteen of the recommendations were either completely rejected (8) or adopted in weakened form (10). The unrepresentative union power brokers are still firmly in control of the ALP. Elected politicians are beholden to the power brokers in the Party and threaten their own pre-selection if they fail to toe the line set by their factional allies. Attempts at reform are sputtering out and Party membership will presumably continue to decline. It is impossible to reach any conclusion other than that the Labor Party is broken and unable to repair itself.What does it mean to the 99% of Australians who are not members of the old parties that they find themselves in this situation – who cares?Probably very few people do care (yet) but we all should. It already impacts on all of us and the impacts may become far more severe in future. The decline in the membership of the ‘old’ parties has a number of consequences that effect us directly. It means that they have increasing difficulty finding the numbers needed to carry out the traditional voluntary tasks allocated to party members. Staffing polling stations, organizing community events, participating in pre-selections, door-knocking and letter-boxing on behalf of candidates etc etc. This can be overcome through increased reliance on focus groups, direct mailing, phone polling and the use of radio, television and on-line vehicles to both elicit the information they require to target their actions and to communicate their messages. Where people are required, they can be employed. Put simply this means getting hold of more money from somewhere to run the political process. And what better source of money than the Australian taxpayer? If Tony Abbott hadn’t been so severely embarrassed by his colleagues and public outrage over the Gillard government’s proposed political donations legislation that he reversed his Party’s previous support for the proposal it may by now have become law. This bill substantially watered down the disclosure rules on political donations and handed all parties (the Greens included) a share of an extra $50 million+ a year as an ‘administrative allowance’ to ‘administer and monitor compliance’ with the legislation. Independent MPs Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor sounded a clear warning that the attempt to pass this bill bodes ill for the future of our democratic processes. Windsor said:If people out there have some concern about their democracy – and I think they should start to get a little bit concerned about this particular issue, because all this is doing is locking in the two giants, the two major parties, so that they have this massive advantage over anybody else who wants to enter the playing field. That’s what it’s about.They’re quite comfortable having both sides of the tennis court occasionally but they don’t want other players in the pack. So that’s what this is all about.It can be argued that this little attempt to grant themselves a bigger share of the taxpayer pie to run their own businesses is part of a larger trend. Blatant political advertising by sitting governments outside the context of an election is becoming rampant at both State and Federal level.They’re spending our money to tell us how good they are!Not only does the falling membership of the ‘old’ parties already cost us substantial sums of money but another inevitable outcome of the unrepresentative and at times corrupt practices that are used to select parliamentary candidates is a widening gap between community needs and expectations and the initiatives and actions of MPs whose first allegiance is to the party and its financial backers and the unrepresentative ‘players’ who underpin their continued pre-selection as an MP.Recently in Independent Australia Sandi Keane posted a thought provoking two part piece on the ‘cartelisation’ (very ugly word that) of Australia’s political system. This concept was new to me but I have since discovered that the cartelisation of Australia’s old political parties (or its symptoms) is much discussed in scholarly circles and even in the main stream media. Where have I been! Keane’s articles are an excellent starting point for anyone interested in the implications of this for the future of our democracy.A cartel is defined as:An association of manufacturers or suppliers that maintains prices at a high level and restricts competition.A coalition or cooperative arrangement between political parties to promote a mutual interest.Keane explains:A “cartel party” is a party that deals itself resources of the state to maintain its powerful position within the political system. The emergence of the cartel party in Western Europe was first identified … in the 1990s. Like commercial cartels, major political parties colluded by employing the resources of the state to ensure their own collective survival. Election campaigns were:‘…capital-intensive, professionalized and centralized, and are organized on the basis of a strong reliance on the state for financial subventions and for other benefits and privileges.’Sound familiar?The transition of the two major (Australian) parties from mass membership models to cartels for the elite has disenfranchised party members from the political process. The steady disengagement from their membership base has seen valuable ideas crucial to problem-solving and policy-making forfeited.I think Keane understates the case. Not only has the progressive and ongoing stifling of the people’s voice (in this case party rank and file members) caused ‘valuable ideas crucial to problem saving and policy making’ to be lost but it has disproportionately strengthened the voice of that ‘other constituency’, those who bankroll elections and seek to influence political decision making in return for their financial support. Depending on which party we are talking about this is either the industry and business lobbyists, the rural producers’ lobby groups or the unions. So if you are wondering whose interests have to be secured and where possible enhanced as policy is formed and legislation passed you might like to look at who funded the old parties in 2011 – 2012, how donations from the mining sector are currently flowing and how the party coffers are filling in advance of the September 14 election in 2013.In the business world Australia’s legislators have placed strong controls on cartel activity. An Information guideline from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ACCC states:While cartel activity has been illegal for more than 30 years in Australia there is now, for the first time, the additional sanction of criminal conviction for cartel conduct. The Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (the Act) provides major additions to cartel detection capacity, including search warrants and telephone interception. The criminal provisions provide a powerful deterrent to those who might be tempted to collude with competitors.Unfortunately for Australians with few exceptions our Parliamentarians have not shown the same willingness to regulate the probity of their own behavior. When Tony Windsor complains about the collusion between Labor and Liberal evident in the failed Gillard government political donations legislation in terms of its potential to strengthen the power of both these old parties he is complaining about typical cartel behavior. When these parties conspire to remove minor parties they would rather not have in the Federal Lower House by swapping preferences they are engaging (although in this instance the structure of our parliamentary system clearly permit it) in typical cartel behavior to limit consumer choice. When governments grant themselves vast sums of public money to engage in political advertising, as they increasingly regularly do – they are engaging in typical cartel behavior. If these parties were businesses their principals would be behind bars.So quietly, behind closed doors, at meetings, conferences and working dinners away from public scrutiny, our democratic processes are incrementally re-shaped to suit the interests of these old parties and their unelected financial backers from industry and the increasingly unrepresentative union movement. Aided and abetted by the distortions of an over-concentrated, lazy, often deliberately deceptive and disgracefully partisan main stream media the old parties and their backers quietly chip away at the foundations of our democracy. Because it happens one modest step at a time almost no-one notices. Does anyone care?

This online source can list down what you need to read (Contemporary Artists in Negros island). However, this list focused on Negros in Visayas, which showcased lots of visual ,literary, and theater /music artists rather than the usual actors/actresses as artists:1.ARTISTS IN NEGROS ISLAND2. As a labor force/artisan force…, Negrenses and Negorense are highly motivated, educated, skilled, trainable and entrepreneurial individuals. NEGROS:CENTER OF ARTS & CULTURE3. VISUAL ARTS -PAINTING Groups…4. Kitty—Now in her 60s, … hails from Dumaguete City, Philippines. It was difficult to break in the art mainstream as local art activities were rare if not well-defined. Her hurdles were mostly the absence of good system of communications and hard to find good materials were not as accessible. Despite the obstacles in the 80s, she still pursued her passion as an independent visual artist and by 1992,  Kitty Taniguchi‘s is a champion of feminine aesthetic and is among the few Filipina painters who had successfully intruded upon a male-dominated art world—a feat back then. A veteran painter CRISTINA” KITTY” SOLLESTA- TANIGUCHI5.  Charlie Co, born November 5, 1960, is a visual artist based in his hometown Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, Philippines. He is a co-founder of the Black Artists in Asia, a group known for its socio-political artworks in the 1980's - 1990's. Charlie has represented the Philippines in international exhibitions such as the "Asian Modernism" at the Japan Foundation Asian Cultural Centre in Tokyo Japan in 1995, the 23rd Sao Paolo Biennial and the 2nd Asia Pacific Triennial in Queensland, Australia both in 1996,the 2nd Clay Symposium and Exhibition in Gifu Prefecture, Japan and the Taegu Art Festival in South Korea in 1997. . CHARLIE CO6. Ascalon— A member Art Association of the Philippines awardee and Anaheim Art competition winner Dennis Ascalon who represented the Philippines in Utsonomiy Biennale and Art Traveling Exhibit in Kwangju. A Black artist in Asia and a famous Visual Arts DENNIS ASCALON7. Ossorio— Representative works of the Philippine-born pioneer of abstract expressionism and the go-between of Pollock and Dubuffet will be shown at León Gallery, his first exhibit in the country 2016.  In 2013, the Phillips Collection in Washington and Parrish Art Museum in New York mounted an important exhibit of the meeting between the abstract expressionist movements of the New York School and the Art Brut in Paris, thereby focusing on the unique interaction between Pollock and Dubuffet in the life and art of Ossorio. ALFONSO OSSORIO8.  Susan Canoy— is a Dumaguete artist who is known for her arts and crafts. As a single mother, she relentlessly pursues her art to express herself and to provide for her family. She has been exhibiting her artworks for more than two decades now. Her subjects are as varied as the medium she has been using. As a mother, her themes focus on women about their dreams, aspirations, family and frustrations. She also paints the lighter side of life like floral, landscapes, marine life and other subjects. Susan was chosen as one of the finalists in the prestigious Philip Morris Art Competition nationwide among her other awards. Her innate love for nature and living beside the boulevard, propels her to create more subjects which are not only a joy to have but they convey a feeling of peace,sadness and life’s challenges. She has been exhibiting her works locally, around the Philippines and her works were also displayed in Spain.9.  Since 1999, Jana Jumalon- Alano (b. 1980)— from Dumaguete City has exhibited in her home turf, in neighboring cities in the South, in Manila, and in Brussels and Rome. She’s an Honorable Mention in the Philippine Visual Arts Festival (PVAF) Competition in 2012, and a Juror’s Choice in the Visayas Art Awards of the Philippine Art Awards 2011- 2012. Her affiliations include HugisKulay Zamboanga, Panay Negros Arts Association, and the Art Association of the Philippines. JANA JUMALON-ALANO10. Paulio-Violeta— Visual Artist Art Teacher in Bais City Visual Arts Specialist at DepEd Cultural Worker in Mugna Sa Pantawan: Arts & Music Her works was featured in Yuchengco Museum in Makati EMPALZ VILLANUEVA PAULIO-VIOLETA11.  Sollesta is a graduate of Silliman University in Dumaguete City, and international guest artist in residence at the clay studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in November and December 2008. His work at the US studio, "Women of Philadelphia Series," was based on his concept of "women of strength, character and temperament." During his stay in the US, Sollesta met with clay artists and potters on the 3rd Dumaguete Open Biennial Terra Cotta Art Festival Exhibit and Competition in 2010.  Terra Cotta artist, Painter and artist @ Mariyah Gallery DANILO “DANNI” SOLLESTA12.  Kristoffer Ardeña— is a curator who lives between Negros Island (Philippines) and Madrid (Spain). He is the recipient of various awards and scholarships: a full undergraduate scholarship at the Academy of Art in San Francisco, California (USA), scholarship awarded by the Ministry of Culture from Luxembourg, the Academy in Rome award and the Cajamadrid Generaciones in Spain. Individual projects include: Museo Carrillo Gil in Mexico, Selesar Sunaryo Art Space, Ruang Mes56 and Cemeti Art House (Indonesia), Vargas Museum and the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila (Philippines),Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo Museum (Madrid), La Conservera Centro de Arte Contemporáneo (Murcia), Spain. He has also participated in various collective projects, among them the 3rd Bucharest Biennale Romania. KRISTOFFER ARDEÑA13. Casero—  A visual artist–photographer based in Dumaguete City, Negros Island Region, Philippines. He received his BSC in Marketing and an Artist of the Year Award from Foundation University. As a natural artist, he fell in love and immediately got hooked on photography. Being born and raised in Dumaguete, the city has shaped Hersley’s perspective as a visual artist and is the stage for many of his paintings and photographs.  His works have also been recognized and published in international publications like the Lonely Planet, Cebu Pacific Smile Magazine,LA Times, View magazine in Germany, National Publication in Denmark, Los Angeles Times, Stern Magazine and have been given due acclaim in various blogs HERSLEY-VEN D. CASERO14. Dionson—  SIDLAK NEGORENSE AWARD 2016 :Arts  NIR Elementary Category @ the 2016 4TH VMC INTERSCHOOL ART CONTEST  Re-creative International Arts Festival 2016 Busan South Korea 1st Placer Elementary Category  He won the grand prize of " "2nd World Arts Competition - Re-creative International Remnant Arts Festival 2016" in Gangseo- Gu, Seoul, South Korea. YUL FAUSTO DIONSON15. PERFORMING ARTS group/s …16. Jumawan-Sauer—  Dance Icon of Negros Oriental ,Founder of the Foundation University Buglas- sayaw Dance Co. andSilliman University Dance Co. 1959  In 1972, she was guest performer of the Philippine House Consulate at Canberra in honor of Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. That year, she was choreographer and director of the Philippine Dance Performance in the First Folkloric Festival at the Sydney Opera House. In 1976, then First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos presented the Department, under her directorship, a plaque of appreciation for its involvement in pioneering classical ballet in the Visayas and all over the Philippines. LUCY PATRIMONIO JUMAWAN- SAUER17.  Mariant Escano-Villegas —started teaching dance in1973. Three generations of Dumaguete’s girls and boys learned their first dance steps under her watchful eyes. MEV took up formal ballet class with Isham Clark in San Diego, USA and jazz with Jun Appel. She studied the Russian Vaganova method for ballet under Luminitza Demutriscu, and passed the Royal Ballet Academy of Dance under Florence Sinclair. The MEV Dance Studio, located along Escano Beach Road, Brgy. Piapi, is an institutional member of CSTD International for ballet, jazz, tap and ballroom.  Member of the National Committee on Dance NCCA MARIANT ESCANO VILLEGAS18.  Nicole— was born, raised, and educated in the Philippines where she had a long professional career in dance. In 1993, she came to New York and continued to dance professionally with companies such as Connecticut Ballet, Ballet New York, Tampa Ballet and Ballet Memphis where she was principal dancer.  Prior to taking her Pilates Certification, Nicole trained under Sonia Orevillo who meticulously instilled her vast knowledge of the art of Pilates. In 2010, Nicole received her certification through the authentic studio, True Pilates.  Currently Nicole belongs to the Faculty of the Connecticut Ballet Center in Stamford.  Daughter of Dance Icon Lydia Gaston NICOLE GASTON CRUZ19. DRAMATIC ARTS groups…20. Leonardia—  Acclaimed theater director and Outstanding Sillimanian for Theater Arts Amiel Y. Leonardia made a quick visit to the campus. He is now based in Vancouver, Canada. Last time Amiel was on campus, he gave a lecture on “The Art of Theater Directing” under the Albert Faurot Lecture Series for Culture and the Arts. The lecture coincided with the staging at the Luce Auditorium of Elsa Martinez’s Coscolluela’s play “In my father’s House,” which Amiel directed. AMIEL YANSON. LEONARDIA21. Reveche— chairman of the Street Dance committee, MassKara Member of the National Committee on Dramatic Arts Artistic director CSA-B's Kanlaon Theater Guild Tanghal 6 Lecturer is a flagship project of the National Commission for Culture and the Art’s National Committee on Dramatic Arts RUDY REVECHE22. Inocian—  (born Rufino Duran Inocian, Jr.; March 17, 1951 – June 13, 2015) was a Filipino actor and comedian. He starred in various plays, such as Miss Saigon, Fiddler on the Roof, the film version of the Swedish crime novel Tatuerad Torso,and Sinbad JUNIX DURAN INOCIAN23.  Quesada-Palm —was a senior artist-teacher of the Manila- based Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA), and has performed for various groups including UP Repertory, Tanghalang Pilipino at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, and with the New York-based Ma-Yi Theater Company and Alibata. She also organized Dulaang Sambayananamong migrant workers living in Japan.  community theater, founded the Youth Advocates Through Theater Arts—or Yatta to the rest of us who have followed its development over the years.  Chairman NCCA National Committee on Dramatic Arts DESSA QUESADA-PALM24. LITERARY ARTS groups…25. Martinez— was born in Dumaguete, Negros Oriental; became a lawyer in 1970; and was arrested and detained for his activism during the martial law regime of Ferdinand Marcos. Global Filipino Literary Award in 2011 Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature winners in the year 1997 ATTY.DAVID”DANNY” C. MARTINEZ26.  Flores-Villasis— is an accomplished playwright and fictionist who has won a Philippines Free Press magazine first prize for a short story. That story, "Menandro’s Boulevard," rightfully starts the collection. And it may be claimed to have already taken its place among our contemporary classics in fiction.  Carlos Palanca Awardee in Literature BOBBY FLORES VILLASIS27. Martinez-Coscoluella— In 1999 she was instilled as a Hall of Famer in the Palanca Awards. In 2004 Outstanding Paulinian in the field of Literature during the 100 centennial celebration of St. Paul University http://Dumaguete.In 2015 Outstanding Negrense in the field of Education and in 2016 Outstanding Pinili Heritage Award in the field of Literature & Education. DR. ELSA VICTORIA MARTINEZ- COSCOLLUELA28. Lopez-Tiempo—National Artist Award for Literature (1999) Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature Cultural Center of the Philippines (1979, First Prize in Novel) Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas (1988) DR.EDITH LOPEZ TIEMPO29. R.Escalon Villanueva— Born on 16 September 1940, Msgr. Rodolfo Escalon Villanueva (known as the writer Renato E. Madrid ) is a priest of the archdiocese of Cebu and is perhaps more famous in the Visayas as a composer of liturgical music and plays both in English and Cebuano. His higher studies led to a Master's in English at the University of Sto. Tomas as well as a Master's in Music at the State University in Moncato, Minnesota, apart from his Philosophy and Theology at the San Carlos Seminary in Cebu. Apart from his famous liturgical works which include choral compositions, masses, musical drama and a three-movement piece for pipe organ, his published literary works include Devil Wings (1997); Mass for the Death of an Enemy(2000); and Southern  Harvest (1996). His awards include numerous Palancas and a National Book Award from the Manila Critics Circle. He is at present resident professor of Music and English at San Carlos Seminary College, has taught at the Silliman University school of music, the University of San Carlos graduate school, and is a lifetime visiting faculty at the Dipolog and Dumaguete Seminaries. FR. RUDY VILLANUEVA30. CULTURAL WORKERS …31.  Lopez —records our local traditions—the dances, performances, food, fiestas. More importantly, she points out the efforts of Vallehermoso Helping Hands Foundation to preserve those traditions Author ,Art Patron and Curator of Vicente Lopez Museum of Vallehermoso  Chairman of the Vallehermoso Helping Hands Foundation TERESITA “TESS” Z. LOPEZ32. Mapa— Negros Oriental GK Head Heritage Tour Guide in Negros Heritage Advocate Cultural Worker Former City Councilor of Tanjay Cultural Historian PLACIDO CESAR “CIDNI” MAPA33. Sinco— BOT Chairman & President of Foundation University Heritage & Cultural Advocate  President Entheos IT Estudio Damgo: First Filipino Design-Build Studio,by Foundation University VICTOR VICENTE “DEAN” D. SINCO34. Locsin— City Council Member Silay City 2013 – Present (3 years) Vice President for External Affairs, Heritage Conservation Society (HCS) Director of the Negros Occidental Historical Council (NOHC). NEIL SOLOMON “SOLO”LOPEZ LOCSIN,35. Larena— Started as theatre actor, dancer, stamp collector & Festival mover . Cultural Historian & Heritage Advocate Prime mover of Provincial, city and municipal historical exhibits Cultural Worker for the past 20 years Heritage Tour Guide Humanities Professor JOSEFINO “PENN”T. LARENA JR36. Hofilena—  Ramon Hofilena: The "Father of Heritage Conservation" in Silay City (Negros Occidental).  Since 1962, Monching has been welcoming visitors to his family’s ancestral house, the first Heritage House in Silay to be opened to visitors. Also, since his return from New York in the 1970s, Monching has also been on a life- long crusade to restore and protect Negrense cultural heritage. He organized the Annual Cultural Tour of Negros Occidental (ACTNO), the longest running (nearly 40 years) cultural tour in the world. RAMON HOFILEÑA37. Gamboa—  President :The Negros Cultural Foundation  NCCA -Committee on Arts Galleries & Museum July 2003 – July 2009 (6 years 1 month) Executive director of the Negros Museum LYN GAMBOA38. FILM & CINEMA39. Gallaga—  a multi- awarded Filipino film-maker. His most significant achievement in film is "Oro, Plata, Mata", which he directed after winning a scripwriting contest sponsored by theExperimental Cinema of the Philippines. He has received an award from the International Film Festival of Flanders-Ghent, Belgium in 1983; a Special Jury Award from the Manila International Film Festival; and the 2004 Gawad CCP Para sa Sining. PEQUE DE LUZURIAGA GALLAGA40. Torre—  Joel Rizalino Torre (born June 19, 1961) is a Filipino actor and producer who is best known for his numerous films such as thebiographical film José Rizal (1998), crime thriller film On the Job (2013) and the Historical period drama Amigo (2010), with the latter winning him the Best Actor Award at the 17th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival In television, Torre usually plays as a character actor JOEL TORRE41.  Abelardo Dennis Florencio Ho (born 12 May 1981), more widely known as Dennis Trillo, is an award-winning Filipino actor, model and recording artist. Trillo is currently a contract star of GMA Network. He was known for his role as Eric del Mundo in the first ever gay-themed series on Philippine TV, My Husband's Lover aired on GMA Network in 2013.  Trillo received his first acting award in 2004 for his role as a cross- dressing spy in the 2004 war film Aishite Imasu 1941: Mahal Kita.[3] Now being recognized both locally and internationally, he still continues to work as GMA Network's "Drama King DENNIS TRILLO42. Magalona, Jr.— Pancho and his real life wife Tita Duran, appeared in numerous Sampaguita Pictures movies. Pancho and his wife were the most popular movie love team in the late 40s. He is the father of the late master rapper Francis Magalona with their siblings: Susan M. Contreras, Vicky, Victor (married to Ma. Angeles), Henry, Popeye "Pye", Malot, Maricar M. Martinez, and Martin. He also co-starred on some Hollywood movies that were shot in the Philippines, such as The Hook (with Kirk Douglas) and Merrill's Marauders (with Jeff Chandler). ENRIQUE "PANCHO" GAYOSO MAGALONA, JR.43. Sonora or S.Roces—  Jesusa Purificación Sonora (born July 28, 1941), better known by her screen name Susan Roces, is a Filipina actress and widow of Ronald Allan Kelley Poe, better known as Fernando Poe, Jr.She was a main cast member of John en Shirley, a comedy show that aired on ABS-CBN until October 2007.  Queen of Philippine Cinema 1950s to 1970s SUSAN ROCES44. Ignacio—  The theatre, TV and film actress.  Born in Dumaguete, Ignacio started to perform at age 4 and studied ballet with the Silliman University Junior Dance Troupe until she was 8. Ignacio also trained with stage luminaries Tony Mabesa, who taught her all aspects of theater including production and stage management, FRANCES MAKIL IGNACIO45. Brocka—  In the 1970s and the 1980s she had a staple of films she starred with Award Winning Actresses' Elizabeth Oropesa, Hilda Koronel, Gloria Diaz, and Daria Ramirez in a bunch of films her number of work also caught the eyes of Celso Ad Castillo, Ishmael Bernal, Danny Zialcita and Lino Brocka her prolific leading men include Philip Salvador, Eddie Garcia, Christopher De Leon, Dindo Fernando, and Joel Torre and etc. Her sexy and serious roles even caught attention in films like Working Girls and Dapat Ka Bang Mahalin? In the 1990s although her television success in Villa Quintana brought her praise she starred in Ligaya Ang Itawag Mo Sa Akin a prolific movie with Director Carlos Siguion Reyna with Rosanna Roces CHANDA ROMERO46. Romero—  Edgar Sinco Romero (July 7, 1924 – May 28, 2013) was an influential Filipino film director, film producer and screenwriter, considered one of the finest in the cinema of the Philippines.  Romero was named National Artist of the Philippines in 2003, and his body of work delved into the history and politics of his country. His 1976 film Ganito Kami Noon…Paano Kayo Ngayon?, set at the turn of the 20th century during the revolution against theSpaniards and, later, the American colonizers, follows a naïve peasant through his leap of faith to become a member of an imagined community EDGAR “EDDIE” SINCO ROMERO47. MUSIC ICONS…48. C.Elli— Foundation University Band, directed by Maestro Carmelo Elli  St. Paul University Band ,Orchestra and Voice Coach  Choral Conductor , Rondalla  Music Teacher  Studied Instrumentation and Composition Masters degree St. Paul University Manila  Native of Zamboanguita CARMELO ELLI49. Deypalan—  Deypalan completed his Bachelor of Music degree in conducting at the Chapman University, Orange, California and graduated magna cum laude with a Master of Music degree from the University of Southern California.  He is currently concluding work on his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in orchestral conducting at the University of South Carolina, where he is also a music teacher.  Deypalan has not only had the prestigious honor of conducting different choirs at Carnegie Hall in New York, he also performed before Pope John Paul II at the Vatican.  In June 2008, he conducted a world premiere of his original composition, Libera Me, for solo baritone, chorus and orchestra at Pasadena City College in Pasadena, California. NOVÉ DEYPALAN50. Tiongson Saga—Opera Diva Music Teacher now with the Philippine Madrigal Singers She is part of the group Philippine Madrigal Singers bag top prize at Int'l Choral Competition 2016 in Italy KATRINA TIONGSON SAGA51. Limbaga-Erojo—  Opportunities for graduate studies opened for Mathilda when she was already with COPVA. She first took up Ethnomusicology as a major under Prof. Priscilla Magdamo- Abraham and Prof. Frank Ingles, but later shifted to Choral Conducting -- what she completed in 2011.  Choral conducting is close to the heart of Mathilda. She was a member of the Silliman University Campus Choristers and had the chance to tour around the country and the United States with them in 1999 and 2001. She was second soprano, though preferred singing alto. ASST. PROF. MATHILDA LIMBAGA-EROJO52. Saavedra— MUSIC,HUMANITIES, English and Literature Teacher for almost 60 years Pianist Choir Conductor *Mother of Paulinian Humanities Mentor SPUD Glee Club ROSARIO FE “SARI” SAAVEDRA53. Kuh Ledesma — Maria Socorro Ledesma (born March 16, 1955), better known as Kuh Ledesma, is a Filipino pop and jazz singer, actress, (painter) model and fashion designer. She is known in the Philippines as the 'Pop Diva' and wants herself to be remembered as 'The Renaissance Woman' according to her in her interview on Tonight with Boy Abunda.  Ledesma has been performing for 35 years in the music industry which encompasses more than 1,000 concerts all over the world, numerous awards in the Philippines, and 20 albums in the Philippine recording industry. KUH LEDESMA54. MODERN ARTISTS…55.  Francisco G. Villanueva— is an artist in Negros Oriental who has embraced earth as mother lode sustaining a creative discipline which elevates primal clay to the statues of transcendent art. Inspired Creation is a Villanueva hallmark. These are figures, structures, forms retrieved from classical antiquity and Philippine landscape. Each figure is moving slowly into icon-hood and each structure’s architectural detailing resonates with the original temporal and spiritual concerns for which they had been built to accommodate. He started his artwork at the age of 10, and in 1977 doing head sculptures, he began sculpting facades of old churches in the Philippines. In his early 30s, Francis gained international recognition with his first one - man show at the Philippine Center, United Nations Complex, New York in 1980. FRANCISCO VILLANUEVA56.  Brenda Fajardo— The artist as scholar, educator and cultural worker  2013 Gawad CCP para sa Sining  began her career in the visual arts as a printmaker and graphic artist before moving on to painting. Most of her works carry strong historical and nationalist themes as well as depict folk and mythological tales. She is best known for her use of tarot-card motifs in her works.  She has held several solo exhibitions, locally and internationally. Her Baraha ng Buhay Pilipino (Playing Cards of Filipino Life) and Buhay Pilipino were notable exhibitions. She has also joined group shows in the country and in international exhibitions. BRENDA VILLANUEVA FAJARDO57–58. Prado—  Ramon del Prado is a self -taught animation filmmaker. He was born on May 1, 1982 in Dumaguete City Negros Oriental, where he grew up.  In 2005 he co-founded Tuldok Animation Studios, a non profit organization whose goal is to unite Filipino artists and animators together to showcase the Filipino’s artistic talent through animation  In 2007 he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship grant that gave him the opportunity to further study Computer animation at the School of Visual Arts in New York.  He dreams that one day the Philippines will be known alongside Japan, the US and France as one of the top producers of original animated content RAMON DEL PRADO59. Laxina— Freelancer at Aerial Videography and Photography. Music ( GUITAR Player), youngest Visual Artist. A family of Artists grandson of National Artist Eddie Sinco Romero, Literature icon Fr. Rudy Villanueva and nephew of Empalz Violeta a famous Visual Arts KENZO G. LAXINA60. Absin—  First Chairman of the Dumaguete Tourism Council  Civic Leader  Member Negros Oriental Tourism Council  practicing anesthesiologist  Board Member of the Dumaguete Festival & Arts Society Inc  BOT Member St. Paul University 20 years  Owner of the Dumaguete Christmas House 28 years Tourism Award for Arts & Heritage DR. RICO ABSIN61. GREAT ARTISTS …62. Villanueva-Perez—Bais Born and family of Artists Age 10 her first painting was bought by a French diplomat Cultural Landscape or British expressionism was her kind of Art A well –loved Visual Artist, Genealogists and Local Historian JOSEFA BAENA VILLANUEVA -PEREZ63. Lopez Sr.— It is a fitting occasion, ancient and new cellos making music in this concert organized in honor of the late Vicente Lopez Jr., the former owner of the two-century old cello in the Philippines .  Father of CLASSICAL Music cellists in the Philippines VICENTE LOPEZ SR.64. Gaston— That Golden Age saw Silay City-born mezzo soprano Conchita Gaston singing the Bizet opera at the New York City Opera in December of 1950, the first Filipino to sing the role.  A year after her 1955 recital at the Town Hall in New York, Gaston met the then very young conductor Leonard Bernstein, who found her good enough to be pitted with Beverly Sills in the “Rosenkavalier” duet, “The Presentation of the Rose,” at the Carnegie Hall. CONCHITA GASTON65. EK Tiempo— Tiempo was also a Rockefeller fellow. In addition to his career at Silliman, Tiempo taught fiction and literary criticism for four years in two American schools during the 1960s Fine Arts,Drama & Humanities Professor St. Paul . EDILBERTO KAINDONG TIEMPO66. Alvarez—Businessman/Entrepren eur Theatre Actor First President of the Dumaguete Festival & Arts Society Member of the Dumaguete Tourism Council Cultural Worker ARIES CHRISTOPHER BEJAR. ALVAREZ67. S.Magalona—  Negros' Helen of Troy/celebrated actress, briefly, during her time. Her beauty was legendary - the pictures on the wall validate that. Suitors would line up every evening. Some would even climb up a tree just get a glimpse of her beauty. She was born Susana Clarita Magalona August 17, 1921 in Parroquia de Saravia, Provincia de Negros Occidental, Philippines to Enrique Magalona and Consuelo Gayoso. Suzanne was wife of Philippine ambassador Hon. Joaquin Miguel Elizalde. SUSAN MAGALONA