01/07/2026
Aina!
Aina Ysabel Bonifacio Ramolete is a 3rd generation puppeteer, granddaughter of a national artist, and an alumna from the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman College of Arts and Letters (CAL). She grew up in a family of theatre artists. Her late grandmother, Amelia Lapeña Bonifacio was known as the Grand Dame of Southeast Asian children’s theatre, founder of Teatrong Mulat, and was recognized as a National Artist for Theater in 2018. Her mother, Dr. Amihan Bonifacio-Ramolete is also a puppeteer and a professor and former dean at CAL.
Aina’s childhood pretend play with toys was not the usual ball-jointed dolls and stuffed toys, but with the puppets her late grandmother would make and use for theatre productions. Her playing with her family’s puppets eventually inspired her late grandmother to create a role for her as a baby bird following a mother bird. The role was never in her late grandmother’s original play (Ang Paghuhukom) but was added so she could join their productions. From playing as a baby bird at the tender age of three, her experience and roles evolved and grew as she aged.
Enrolling in UP Diliman after graduating from UP Integrated School and passing the UP College Admission Test was an easy decision for Aina. A hard decision she had to make, however, was deciding on her college program. Her original program was BFA Industrial Design at the College of Fine Arts. She then shifted out to BA Creative Writing at CAL, and shifted again for the last time to the Department of Art Studies from the same college.
“Nag shift out ako kasi medyo nahirapan ako sa life, at medyo na lo-lost ako. Tas nag come across ako sa art stud[ies], tapos parang doon ko natutunan na ay may interdisciplinary track. So parang pwede kang mag-art stud[ies] pero may electives ka ng theatre, or ng ibang major na gusto mong imerge don sa practice mo,” she explained.
A breakthrough moment for Aina’s puppetry journey was her collaboration with Prof. Vladimeir Gonzales on the Filipino adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince, titled Prinsipe Bahaghari. The conception of Prinsipe Bahaghari came about because the book was a required reading in a creative writing course Aina took, which was her first time reading the French classic. This inspired her to think about adapting The Little Prince for a Filipino audience in collaboration with Gonzales. Prinsipe Bahaghari was initially a filmed performance for her thesis but was then later staged at Teatrong Mulat in 2023.
Aina’s growth and interdisciplinary education as an artist contributed in honing her unique voice as a puppeteer distinct from both her late grandmother and mother. In directing and designing Prinsipe Bahaghari, Aina reflected “Feeling ko yon yung challenge ko kasi all throughout my life, may ganitong legacy, may ganitong practice yung pamilya ko. How do I differentiate myself from them? And how can I make my own name? Na alam mo ‘yon yung fear na parang ‘shocks, nepo baby lang ba ako all this time?’ at ‘yon lang, hindi pinagtrabahuhan? Feeling ko with Prinsipe Bahaghari, akin siya buong-buo na ako yung nag-isip ng lahat, ako yung nag-oversee nung lahat. Tyaka doon din ako na-inlove with projection design at projection mapping, na parang feeling ko mas naging concrete in my head kung saan ko gustong puntahan yung path ng puppetry ko.”
In Aina’s undergraduate years, she cultivated friendships with her varsity team, the UP Varsity Pep Drummers and fellow creative minds at UP Dulaang Laboratoryo. She is most grateful for the CAL staff who make theatre productions and graduation ceremonies possible.
“I’m most grateful for the staff actually ng CAL, ng Palma, ng CHK for a time. Sila kasi always yung tumutulong sa’kin lalo na pagdating sa paperwork—sina Ate Jane, sina Ate Cory, sila yung reason kung bakit gumagraduate ang isang person kasi tinatrabaho nila all those things. Si Kuya Nap din na gumagawa ng float sa CAL, siya yung huling gumawa ng puppets ko for Prinsipe Bahaghari. So all these people, sila kuya Redgie na ginigising ako sa sasakyan kasi nag-woworry siya na ‘hala, naiwan ka sa sasakyan’ pero natutulog lang talaga ako doon, kasi maaga pa. So ayon, feeling ko sila Mang Jess, mga people sa PAV 3, lahat ng tumutulong sa sets sa props–all those people na parang hindi ko man sila nakakachikahan everyday, alam mo ‘yon, lagi silang naka-support sa students,” she said.
Aina learned from UP that “Hindi lahat ng magagaling na theater people na kilala ko ay gumraduate, at hindi lahat taga UP, so parang hindi siya about the titles, hindi siya about the degrees, it’s about [how] do you show up and your etiquette”. She advised aspiring practitioners and UP students to be curious as much as possible, learn as much as you can, and to respect fellow artists to maintain a happy work environment.
Graduating at the start of the pandemic in 2020, Aina found freelance work in theater productions and projects of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Metropolitan Museum of the Philippines. In 2024, she started her master’s degree in puppet arts at the University of Connecticut. When asked about her motivation in furthering her studies in her craft and raising awareness about puppetry, she said “big deal kasi talaga sa atin yung education, at para ma-recognize ka kailangan may master’s ka or PhD ka about it. Feeling ko yon yung naging main motivation ko na siguro, pag gumraduate ako from here, mas makikinig or mas valid yung mga sinasabi ko sa ibang tao, hindi yung parang chika-chika lang.”
Gaining new and varied experiences in both puppetry and other aspects of theatre is essential for Aina. Even if she grew up performing her whole life, Aina wants to have the puppetry formal education she’d learn from abroad to be shared back to the Philippines once she returns.
Text by Sabine Gochuico, UP Diliman Information Office
Photo from Aina Ramolete
