Massacre, assassination & gout

Nine days in Manila (Quezon City and later Pasay, actually but they're all Manila to me) was an awful lot of time to be away from home. I attended the Komedya conference at the UP Diliman, and later moved to the Orchid Garden Suites along Vito Cruz for a three-day marathon planning meeting for the National Committee on Cultural Education.

But I will not talk here about the conference and the meetings. I would rather talk about the extra-curricular activities. They were much more fun.

Orosman at Zafira

At the UP Diliman, we had a chance to watch the hit dance-drama Orosman & Zafira by Dulaang UP. It was my second time to watch the play, so I knew more or less what to expect, and I was prepared to sit through more than two hours of excitment going on stage.

The first time I watched was on February 17, when I took some of my cast of the Komedya to an exposure of sorts. Afterall, we don't get to watch a play like this in Antique. Cris Villongco was playing Zafira then. On February 28, it was Maita Ponce. I must say the latter was the better actress. Or maybe because I was seated in the rear the first time I watched, that I could hardly feel Cris's intensity. The second time I was in the third row, giving me a good view of the actors. Or maybe I was more aware of Cris Villongco as the singer, so it was a different view altogether.

"Orosman and Zafira" is world-class Filipino production. The Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero stage, however, was quite small for such a spectacle. I wish they would have a rerun at the CCP or a bigger venue. Dexter Santos's choreography was so intense, without let up the moment the play opened until the climax. It was a very demanding play, that at some point I wished there was respite from all the movements and massacre. Or maybe that was the whole point of the play. Pinikpikan's live music added to the overpowering energy that filled the venue.

Evelio Javier at the CCP

I paid hard money to watch this play. I could have used my CCP connection, but I did not bother because I was to watch a musical on Evelio Javier. I did not regret it. Not that the musical was something to rave. It did not give me the kind of lift from "Orosman and Zafira". I was only too happy to hear Kinaray-a spoken by actors in the first part of the play, and Antique mentioned several times (of course!). If only for that, I could have gone home happy.

The play, which purports to be a rock musical (although 'musical' would be enough) was a parrallel play on two lives: governor Evelio Javier of Antique, who was assassinated at the provincial park in Antique on February 11, 1986, and the militant leader Edgar Jopson (Edjop), who was killed during a military raid in Davao on September 20, 1982.

There was no interface between Evelio and Edjop's lives, thus the device that the two met in heaven, or wherever assassinated political leaders go, engaged in a debate (rather small talk) on the opposite approaches they took as political leaders. The play also banked on the two's being Atenista as a unifying thread. The use of Jun Yango's character hovering around in all scenes also helped in stitching the two narratives, but this poetic character's production numbers however were wacky scene stealers, and undoubtedly took the limelight from both protagonists. His scenes as Ferdinand Marcos tied to a chandelier of dextrose, and as the trigger-happy general alluding to Fabian Ver were the most remembered.

Edjop's scenes were more visually exciting than Evelio's. The China sojourn scene, for example was very witty, not to mention the striking sea of red in the background, and the interrogation scene was hauntingly disturbing. But Evelio's scenes were rather contrived, except for that Kinaray-a scene about the sakadas and that scene where Evelio and Precious walk on benches, creating a very rustic scene in the imagination. I wished that the Binirayan scene was more "maximized" instead of the caricature with the white paper fans, which to me trivialized Evelio's brainchild. Enamored with the Binirayan as a kid, and having listened to Beloy's Binirayan speeches, I must say that the Binirayan says all of Evelio's vision.

As for the music, I am not very keen on the music of the Dawn to really say that it has captured the (musical) texture of both lives, except that when they sang "Salamat" my mind automatically volunteered San Miguel Beer.

Like all plays, though, we see only what their playwrights and directors have envisioned for us. "EJ" was a very entertaining play, but maybe a play on Evelio (and similarly on Edjop) is yet to be written and staged.

The Kite Runner

I had a bout with gout. Thanks to the hotel's airconditioning and the fatty foods (which I did not resist) served at conferences and meeting. So I had to ask my friend Insoy to join me at Robinsons Ermita. I wanted to have lunch at Penang Hill, because I felt a little nostalgic. Actually the choices were Secret Recipe, Old Spaghetti House, and Penang Hill. But I figured that Secret Recipe's to die for lamb stew would only make my pain twice unbearable, and Old Spaghetti House was Insoy's nostalgic place, and since I am footing the bill I must have the privilege to feed my nostalgia.

Penang Hill, of course, is none other than Bukit Bendera in Penang, where Eduard and I had a wonderful stroll in 2006. (Read my poem "Bukit Bendera" dedicated to him). It's also a restaurant serving Malay, Thai, and Asian fusion cuisine. We had Hainanese (Singapore) chicken (Insoy has a secret fixation with Singapore), Indian rice (we had a little argument on the spices), and oyster omelet (my favorite hawker's food at Chulia St.), which were very close to authentic. It had to be a long dinner, while waiting for the painkillers to take effect. The Penang Shake (cucumber with lemon) was also very refreshing.

After the late lunch-early dinner, I managed to amble down to Cinema 3 to watch "The Kite Runner." This Asian film capped that Asian dinner. It's about a boy who witnessed the rape of his best friend (who would later turn out to be his half brother), and faced his own guilt by pushing away the best friend. I think there are enough reviews of this film, and I suggest you read them. I like the film very much, if you ask me. But I will not waste my time reviewing it here.

After watching this film, I bought two bibingkas from Bibingka House (one salted egg - oh the gout - and one cheese), and went back to Orchid Garden Suites. I switched on the Asian Food Channel, and watched Riyusi Rusi (the feature was on Chang Mai), and another feature on Scandinavian food (roast breast of duck with artichokes and garlic mayonnaise). Yumyum.

I slept dreaming of home. The next day, the gout was gone.

(Photo credits: www.gibbscadiz.blogspot.com for Orosman & Zafira, Tanghalang Pilipino website for EJ, and wikipedia for The Kite Runner poster.)