BAGUIO City has been always known to be the home of mixed martial arts champions.
So it's fitting that the city's sports complex inside Burhnam Park — the Baguio Athletic Bowl — is commemorating these warriors with a mural inside its hollowed grounds.
The 9ft x 24ft portrait, aptly titled "Heroes", sees Team Lakay coach Mark Sangiao flanking his seven prized pupils who have carved their names in the world of MMA.
And it feels just right that the man to do the job is someone who works closely with these champions.
Harold Banario, a bantamweight fighter at Brave CF and the younger brother of former ONE Featherweight World Champion Honorio Banario, was handpicked by Sangiao himself to paint the mural and honor his stablemates.
"I can say it's an obvious choice since they're my teammates and coaches, but perhaps they trust me and believe in my talent," Banario said.
"I'm very delighted since this is my first time doing a mural this big. It's an amazing feeling being chosen to do this monumental painting."
Among those joining Sangiao in the mural are two-time ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard Folayang, Brave CF Bantamweight Champion Stephen Loman, and reigning ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua Pacio.
Banario perfectly captured the intensity of these Igorot strikers with his strokes. Not a surprise, really, given that they've spent a lot of time together training at the legendary Lakay Central Gym in La Trinidad.
Painting the stable is an honor of a lifetime for Banario, who paints and even holds the moniker "The Artist."
"Actually, I've been doing art since I was a child. You can call it inborn talent since four of my siblings are also good at it," he said. "I think it was way back when I was in elementary, particularly in my first grade, where I drew random things and submitted it to my teacher. I was awarded for it."
Art also helped him cope with his shortcomings, especially when he tasted his first loss, a first round knockout defeat to Mark Abelardo back in 2015.
His love for the paints only grew from there.
"All of my paintings are allegorical paintings or symbolism, and it's more [about] human figures and drama," said Banario, who carries a 5-2 win-loss record and is raring to bounce back from his defeat to Gamzat Magomedov in December last year.
His "Beauty and the Beast" masterpiece, which featured Hollywood actress Emma Watson, even went viral in social media back in 2017.
Banario really treasured this task given to him by Sangiao as Team Lakay gets a fitting piece inside the 7-hectare Baguio Athletic Bowl, which has served as a training facility annex for the stable since 2003.
"Initially, the concept was Coach Mark's Idea. I just added and altered the composition since I always want movement in my artworks. I don't like stagnant or no movement at all in my works," he said.
Banario noted that finishing touches still need to be done on the mural. Because of the pandemic, he was unable to attend its formal unveiling during Ibagiw, Baguio's Creative City Festival last November.
But he's hopeful that before the year ends, his masterpiece will finally be shown to the public and honor the city's prized fighters.
"I've been delayed countless times. I completely understand the situation. Our authorities know better. I just wish I can finish it before Christmas or New Year," he said.
"They're family to me. It's almost a decade since I joined them and they helped me a lot in many ways, morally and ideologically. They mean so much to me."
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