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Darkness pierced the eyes of Salima
As the scorching morn burst open
The mountain turned red
The clouds, the crops in the fields
Even the rain has turned red

Here they come, here they come!

The far winds have come
Celebrating all the mysteries of death
The rosaries held by generations
No beginning, no end
Let loose the souls and the mad laughter of bombs
A child stabbed in the eye by a sharp bayonet
A thunder of thousands of voices in pain
Cries that painted thousands of desperate pleas
—"Pulang Ani", Salima by Arnel Mardoquio

SALIMA, a multi-media concert theater production that tackles the peace situation in Mindanao, Philippines was conceived and directed by Geejay Arriola and written by Palanca 2003 awardee Arnel Mardoquio.

The theatre production tells the tale from the perspective of a girl child Salima and her journey from a state of idyllic rural peace—through bombs and bullets—into the dark and wet discomforts of her new home called Evacuation Center.

The music was collectively woven by Davao's best homegrown artists including Gary Granada, Popong Landero, Gauss Obenza, and Eric Gancio.

SALIMA is a production of EarthMusic Foundation (EMF), a group of music, theatre, and visual artists based in Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines.

The production was made possible with the partnership of the Mindanao Peace Advocates Conference (MPAC) and the Mindanao News and Information Cooperative Center (MNICC).

Fund support for the Lab Production of Salima and the tour of 10 cities and municipalities in Mindanao was provided by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). Other performance tours were supported by the United Nations Multi-donor Programme (UNMDP-GOP3), in conjunct with the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Mindanao (OPAMIN).