THE CREATOR OF MALMON: BANZ
by Buddy Garbanzos
To look at Malmon, one would imagine that the creator would be a perennially
grouchy man, even if he is a Beta Sigman. This is not so. "Banz" Bernardo A.
Banez is a gentle person. Soft-spoken, he moves quietly, pensively observing,
smiling with a diffident humility. But, when he laughs, it is loud and clear,
betraying a zest for life and a full appreciation and gratitude for the
blessings that come with being alive.
Life has dealt Banz some rough cards. Born on Christmas Day in Baguio City, he
was seven years old when he was orphaned. An American plane bombed their house,
killing his parents and a sister.
Forced to fend for themselves, Banz spent days begging in the streets of Baguio.
He shined shoes. His diet consisted of sayote roots, and grilled horse's skin.
Along with his surviving sisters, he moved to Manila. He worked as a conductor
for Quiapo-Divisoria bus firm. He also supported himself performing with a combo
in night clubs. He also had a stint as a commercial model.
It was tough going for a long time. Banz tells of living by himself with a
kitten. He sold empty bottles just so he can go on and graduate from Jose Rizal
College High School. He struggled on, until he finished his B.A. Fine Arts,
major in Advertising, in Diliman. The flames of the forge of life strengthens
those, who by their innate nature, are already strong. Yet, the same forces
which strengthens character also sensitizes the heart of the artist.
And, that is how Banz is. He plays chess. He signs. He teaches painting at the
College of the Holy Spirit, where students benefit from his experiences and his
encouragement.
He paints. And, he paints well. With several exhibits under his belt, he has
consistently won prizes in national competitions, particularly in the watercolor
category. When he is not teaching, he joins his artist friends that includes
many of the leading painters in the country.
He is also a black-belt karateka. His devotion to the study of martial arts has
immersed him into the arcane depths of karate, arnis, kungfu, and aikido. From
these disciplines, he stills his mind and brings peace to his soul.
The tranquility of his spirit finds expression in his paintings. Landscapes of
earth, sea, and sky. Broad smooth strokes blended to create the calm balm of
peace.
He has expressed himself in the silk-screened Caltex Christmas cards of the 60s.
He has been commissioned to do murals for large residences, banks, and
commercial centers. And, because what we create reflects that which is within
us, Malmon is also of these.
Banz recalls how Malmon came about. It was in the period between 1959 and 1960.
He was with cartoonist Larry Alcala in animation. At that time, he worked with a
man, hairy and bald, thick eyebrows and thick lips.
"Pag nagtrabaho ang taong ito, palaging mali-mali. Ala Peter Sellers gumalaw; at
saka, ngongo pa magsalita. At kaya pala mali-mali, eh, color blind pala ang
mama. Imagine, working in an art agency tapos color blind. Kaya minsan,
nabulilyaso ang trabaho, nagalit ako at sinabihan ko siya, 'talagang balbon ka
magtrabaho. Sinagot ako, ‘Who me, malmon?"'
According to Banz, the man was very angry. His thick lips curled in a snarl. His
eyebrows glowered. "At nanlilisik ang mata! That was the time when I drew the
cartoon character Malmon."
For a while, there was Malmon International. This was an organization put
together by Banz and his fellow workers at the art agency. Hailed as the
president of the group who was Malmon's inspiration.
Banz brought Malmon to the Karate Klan of the fraternity. Soon, the bearded
Malmon, with his leg raised in the classic sidekick position, was in the
identification cards of the Klan. Stickers and silk-screened T-shirts followed.
Banz said that Malmon was so popular that when a group of Beta Sigmans were
putting up posters, other group of brods would follow them and take down the
posters as souvenirs.
He recalls that it was Bobby Manansala, of the mid-60s, who was the most avid
collector of Malmon originals. For whatever reason, Bobby was also known as
"ahas" to his friends and to those who knew him well, Banz continued.
One of the things that the fraternity did was to hold a contest among Beta
Sigmans to look for a Malmon poster on a Meralco somewhere in EDSA. Oliver Jumao
has won that contest. In addition to the original Malmon poster, Oliver also won
a Banz painting.
Over the years, many Beta Sigmans from all over the country, from different
schools, would come to his place for original drawings of Malmon. Among others,
the East Coast, USA Beta Sigma, requested for a Malmon drawing. Banz produced
Malmon in a Captain America uniform. This has, since then, been adopted as the
Mascot of the Beta Sigmans in the US Eastern seaboard. Banz takes justifiable
pride in his creation. He talks of a karateka, a red-belter, at that from New
Mexico, USA who asked for his permission to use Malmon as the official patch.
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Postscript, by NormanB:
1. In a chat group, and among all Betans, there are two concerns.
(a) Is Malmon patented and copyrighted to hopefully/legally protect it from copycats?
Brod Darwin Bañez, UPD'92, Banz' son, has confirmed that Malmon is registered with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and is copyrighted. The owner of Malmon is their family.
(b) May the brods freely use Malmon?
Brod Darwin only requests the following: (1) the likeness of Malmon be always that of Banz' drawings or sketches; and (2) no royalties if used by the fraternity as souvenir items, but those earning from it must give something back to the brotherhood or the family.
On this matter, I am reposting (from Picture-an 3) the commendable gesture from the New York Chapter in 2010, as documented by Rolly Reyes.
2. The first time I met Banz was in early 1966 after our finals in Dec. 1965. It was at the Betan karate practice ground at Diliman Campus Area 11, where Brod GM Johnny Chiuten'60 lived, to start our martial arts training as new brods. Banz was the president of the UP Beta Sigma SOMA. Sharing a few of my remembrances of Banz from the 1990 pictures below.
At the 1st Beta Sigma International Homecoming in Dec. 1990: Banz doing caricatures of brods and Iking Agana checking out one.
Here's mine at the back of the souvenir poster. After, he gifted me with the three watercolor seascapes below.
3. Finally, our UPBSI website has a large collection of Banz' works at "Malmon Treasures" (at side bar). If you have more to add (calling Bobby 'Ahas' Manansala), please send to my email. I just added these last two.
