Filed under: art, musings and random thoughts, news | Tags: art, death, humanities, professors, sid gomez hildawa, teachers, U.P.
(photo from Inquirer.net)
What is it about artists and tragedy? Why are their paths often intertwined?
I learned about Sid Gomez Hildawa’s passing through a friendster bulletin posted by one of my friends, Cindy. It saddens me to read about his death; he was so young. He was my Humanities professor in U.P., and though I only had him for a sem, he was a very influential teacher and I enjoyed attending his classes immensely. Even then, more than a decade ago, he was larger than life. I did not have a personal relationship with him, but he was a great teacher, and his classes were very enriching and never boring. I remember I would always be excited to attend his class – his, and that of my other Humanities professor, Ricardo de Ungria, who is one of the country’s acclaimed writers.
I never saw or heard about Prof. Hildawa after that semester, but strangely, I feel a deep sense of loss and sadness now, after reading about how he spent his last few days. He could have had many more years to teach and inspire, and to somehow touch other people’s lives by sharing his knowledge and appreciation of art. I hope he died knowing that he made a difference, somehow.
News about his passing from the INQUIRER:
