"There are many ways nowadays for one's love of country to flourish such as through graphic novels, literature, and other media forms. But we also thought, 'why not through games?'," says Tapaya. Another realisation of the couple is that with families being locked in the comfort of their homes, the concerning issue of too much use of gadgets prohibits families from genuine bonding and interaction.

Under their co-founded business IsTorya, Tapaya and Cruz launched, at the recent ToyCon, two Filipino card games that aim to teach Philippine history in a fun and visually appealing way. Through this startup company, they have released products that cater to a wide range of audiences, including non-art collectors. At first, they released Pet Puppet products to enhance storytelling activities for children. This time, it is the history, heritage, and culture of our nation and our people that take the spotlight through the two card games they devised.

"With IsTorya, we want to tell stories that will make more people appreciate Philippine history and culture," says Cruz. "Our goal is that our love for our country grows. If we don't teach our kids history, if we can't distinguish the truth from disinformation, and we can't have access to correct information about our past, our love for our country might diminish and we wouldn't be able to know what is true and factual," Cruz explains.

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The gameplays for both Patandaan and Sangandaan are quite easy to follow, which makes one enjoy it so much and end up playing multiple rounds in one sitting.

Patandaan has 100 cards of various personalities prominent in our history and culture. The deck includes former Presidents of the republic, National Artists, heroes and heroines, and many more. The main goal is for the players to remember (in Filipino, 'matandaan') these popular names in our history, and be reminded of their legacies as written in their respective cards. The gameplay is much easier compared to Sangandaan as each player, in his turn, draws a card from his hand with an older personality (in Filipino, 'mas matanda') than the one laid out by another player on the table (hence the title of the game, 'patandaan', or the battle of who is older who). The birth years of these people can be found on the corner edge of every card. To make the game more exciting, there are interrupting cards similar to the classic game Uno, which reverses the turn of players, changes the year date to beat, or requires one to follow the year of the previous card.

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Sangandaan (in English, 'crossing', 'crossroads', or 'branches') is a game that highlights significant events in our history or in the lives of historical Filipino figures, every 100 years (in Filipino, 'sandaan') in our country's quincentenary. It is played by two teams of two to three players. They will face each other at the table where a booklet is laid out at the centre where centuries are written to serve as a timeline guide. Team A will draw a card from the deck, read its description, and ask Team B which century the event happened. If the answer is correct, Team B has one point and will be given the option to either play or pass. Playing further in this turn will require Team B to guess the exact date of the event and have two more additional points. Choosing to pass is a safer choice, securing the team with the single point they earned from that turn. Unfortunately, the single point earned will be forfeited if the team continued playing in this turn but answers incorrectly. Teams take equal turns in drawing cards and guessing the centuries, with a race of points to 10, 20, 30, or even higher.

Tapaya and Cruz find that the game sparks interest among kids, provoking them to study further the significant historical events, be aware of the dynamics in our politics and governance, our colonial history, our struggles during World War II, and even way back to our pre-colonial way of life. On the horizon, they are thinking of developing Sangandaan further by adding expansion packs that focus on decades within a specific century or adding events that happened prior to the 1500s.

The Importance of Knowing Our History

Distinguished historian, writer, professor, and curator Dr Ambeth Ocampo served as Tapaya and Cruz's consultant and fact-checker. It took them two years to finish the game and the cards, including fact-checking, editing the descriptions, designing the cards, and polishing the gameplays.

Tapaya, who has had a penchant ever since for Filipino folk tales, myths, and history, believes in the importance of teaching history in this day and age more than ever. "It [my body of work] started with stories, most especially the legend of Bernardo Carpio," shares Tapaya. "My love for Philippine history was enriched when I entered the University of the Philippines (UP) and got to know distinguished professors there," he says.

On the other hand, Cruz had a hard time appreciating history classes during her elementary years. Later she had a teacher who could explain the lessons excellently and effectively in her high school years. "I remember this teacher saying that whatever is happening in the present will be history tomorrow. So this teacher required us before to always read the newspapers and share with the class what we've read before we begin our formal lessons. That's when I started becoming more aware of our current events," Cruz says.

Tapaya shares that in a historical timeline, he finds that events are connected to things that have happened in the past, like branches coming out of a linear trunk known as time. "Nagsasanga-sanga (It branches out)," they both say, making a pun on the game they invented.

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With Ocampo being attacked by Internet trolls and some celebrities who believe that "history is like chismis (gossip)" a few months ago, Cruz and Tapaya express their disappointment in finding history being given respect that is less than what it deserves.

"Rodel's body of work stems from his fascination towards Bernardo Carpio, who is a product of both history and folk tale or myth. Yes, folk tales or old wives' tales could be deemed as 'gossip' or 'hearsay' in today's context, but no, I still don't think so," Cruz says strongly. "Likening history to gossip loses its credibility and sacredness for historians. These tales and myths rooted in our Filipino culture are products of our shared consciousness as a people. When we start to have that [negating] philosophy, children might not be interested anymore in learning our history because they become confused with regard to its authenticity. I believe history should be taught in a way that is interesting and engaging, abling learners to understand why it is important and significant to our time today. Our games are just introductions for children and some other people on our own history and it is up to them if they want to delve deeper," Cruz says. "We're doing this simply because we love our country," Tapaya says. "In our own little way, we want to help the scholars to let their works reach today's generation amidst the rise of digital technology where learning can be manipulated or misconstrued," he continues.

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Cruz raises another pain point in learning: the search and usage of sources. As parents doubling as teachers to their kids, Cruz and Tapaya see to it that the research process does not only begin and end with Internet sources but it is far more important to research through books and other related literature. There is authenticity in such published works, Cruz says because the authors of it like Ocampo and other scholars mastered such disciplines and continuously researched them.

The fact that there is such an issue regarding our history and attacks on scholars, the more there is a strong need to defend them and the truths in our history, they say.

Shaping the Future

Currently, Tapaya and Cruz are collaborating with a writer as they are trying to come up with an illustrated short story that focuses on our pre-colonial history, particularly the Baybayin script, targeted to young audiences. They are also devising a new game that highlights important places and landmarks in the country. However, the two admit that it is difficult to devise a game, especially when they have their own kids as critics. The two laughs at the revelation but they agree that it's what makes the process exciting and comprehensive. 

"Even before the pandemic, we want the kids to have projects of their own. When they used to be in a traditional school, we see to it that they have extra-curricular activities where they can express their creativity," explains Cruz.

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The two devised a ticket system for their kids about seven years ago where they need to finish reading educational books, fiction novels, or any kind of literature that is not required in school to earn tickets that are convertible to cash or minutes of consumption of digital media through entertainment gadgets. They realised that they cannot prohibit their children from playing or spending leisure time but they don't want also for their learning to suffer. Eventually, this family culture cultivated the enjoyment of reading for leisure.

This parenting style extends to Tapaya and Cruz's limited use of gadgets and totally not using them during their meals together. "We also have a conscious effort to 'unplug'," says Cruz to which Tapaya adds, "They enjoy reading so much and bonding together without using gadgets. And when there is ToyCon, they would read and read to raise funds for whatever they want to purchase."

Their Love for Art

Aside from being hands-on with their kids, these revered artists reunited, artistically speaking, by mounting an exhibition together last 2020. Tapaya and Cruz, while pursuing Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines in the early 2000s, met during their freshman year and became friends. Although being together for more than twenty years, they have become successful in their artistic careers in their own right, with some people not realising at first that they have been married for more than ten years.

"We like that we are very independent, with us working for different galleries, and we like the idea that sometimes people don't know that we are married," Cruz says. Tapaya reveals that Garcia is his real family name and 'Tapaya' is his middle name. "We may not usually work as an artist-couple but we work side-by-side," explains Cruz. The two work in separate studios, which are not located in their house to instil in their children's consciousness that they are not merely working at home.

Being very supportive of one another, the two clarify that they try for the artistic influences they get from each other to not show in imagery but in concepts and philosophies. Aside from the fact that Cruz uses oil paint while Tapaya acrylic, their art is really distinct from each other in many ways. In their two-man exhibition titled Everyday Artinformal Makati, the things they've been doing together every day at home with their children were highlighted even the most mundane. At Art in the Park 2022, they became more playful in their works. Tapaya showcased toys of the chicken army and Cruz exhibited vintage typewriters as her newfound coping mechanism. Generally, Cruz's oeuvre delves into introspection and personal space while Tapaya's are identified by elements from world and folk culture. What binds them together is their talent in illustrating stories and narratives.

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"What I love about Rodel with his art is that he is always courageous," shares Cruz. "Every show would be different from one another because he always has many ideas. He is not limited to anything, and seldom cares about what other people would say about his art experimentations. But despite the variety, they are still all bound by his storytelling talent."

"Marina always gives her best in everything she does, whether in art, teaching the kids, or being a motivational speaker," shares Tapaya. "Since the beginning of her career up to now, she has many art experimentations as well throughout various media. What's fascinating about her is she is able to make a trivial object like a dress with a simple, personal story behind it to be expressed on a larger scale, with its symbolism deconstructed through art.

As evident in their longstanding career and reputation locally and internationally, Tapaya and Cruz are powerful figures in today's art scene. Driven by their shared love for stories and sentimentality over personal memories, they are able to master meaning-making and continuously honing it. Through their new venture, which name derives from the Filipino words 'istorya' (story) and 'torya' (sense/meaning), the couple draws inwardly to their desired goals for their children and transcends it into the challenges relevant to our society today.

"When we grow as artists, we want to make our art able to become the voice of the voiceless," says Cruz. "We should be sensitive to that inner voice that heeds us to change or at least do something about a certain problem as that inner voice could also be the voice of others around us. Expressing that inner voice's message or narrative through art that is comprehensible and affecting makes a profound impact."

"These card games we have devised are technically art," says Tapaya. "But it's art that can be appreciated by anyone, even by those outside the art scene. For me, art should always connect to the people especially to the peripheries of our society."

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