In the 1970’s, Osmundo V. Esguerra (who was called “Omeng” for short by his relatives and friends) was a master artisan and art dealer who traversed the country in search of antique artworks and furniture.
Because he wanted only excellent items to sell, he took photos of the pieces he was considering to purchase so he could assess first where to best display them in his shop. He would have these photos developed in a small photo booth owned by Sonny Camarillo at the Makati Commercial Center near Rustan’s, where he and Sonny would have countless conversations about photography. This was how his love for photography blossomed.
It was Sonny Camarillo who convinced him to join the Camera Club of the Philippines. This was a year after Sonny also joined the club, who himself was convinced by club members who frequent his Makati shop. These members then were known as the “Coño Group.” By then, the club had only around twenty (20) to thirty (30) members.
After three (3) months of guesting, Omeng was already a candidate for regular membership status on May 1973. Back in the days, membership acceptance was based on good character borne out of a careful background investigation. On his induction day, he was not able to attend the meeting due to flooding. As per club rules, he had to repeat his guesting appearances. He was inducted in October of the same year. He and Rudy de Leon would go in the club annals as having no absences for 10 straight years, from 1974 to 1984.
1978 Wrigley Cup Winners with Don Jaime Zobel de Ayala, Omeng Esguerra and Bobby Paterno wining 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize respectively.
By 1978, the club already had around 109 members. Monthly contests were at full swing with traditional themes such as landscapes, still life and portraits and were held at different venues such as Manila Peninsula, Hotel InterContinental and Sulu Hotel. The year was capped by the WRIGLEY CUP trophy which was imported from Japan. Omeng distinctly recalls… There were two groups in contention: the Coño Group led by Don Jaime Zobel de Ayala and the Indio Group by himself. Competition was fierce but laced with much merriment and banter. In one of the contest month, Omeng lost to Don Jaime, whom despite being abroad, continued to submit photo entries. Omeng could only look back at that month thinking that if only he did not changed his original entry of a topless Igorot woman carrying her babies, he would have won. It was actually his wife Lanie who convinced him to change entries.
By late 80’s, Omeng would slowly disappear from the meetings. He was just not comfortable with the trending digital technology and kept with his analog collection.
Today, Omeng is not only one of Manila’s prominent antiquaries, he is also one of CCP’s most distinguished lifetime member. He was part of the CCP Board in 1978 and 1981. He was also the Vice President in 1998.
