Layaw para kay Datu Lubay

Now it can be told because I have received the confirmation letter from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. I got a grant to translate six of my stories into Filipino. The six are:

1. Alot (Haircut). This is about coming home and finding out that everyone you knew has gone, except for your barber. An unexpected haircut becomes a metaphor for cutting off your relationship/s.

2. Ang Sastre (The Tailor). The village tailor dies, and everyone was waiting for his only son so they could bury him. But the whole village could only whisper their shock when the son arrives as a woman in red dress, with a bouquet of black paper roses.

3. Abyan (Friend). Three friends tell their own tale of a friendship that they didn't notice was falling apart.

4. Gugma sa Bangkok (Love in Bangkok). Exploring the labyrinth of a bath house in Bangkok, a traveler falls in love with a stranger, a Bangkok boy who buys him red roses from a Suan Plu market. No one has ever done that for him before.

5. Library. The school library opens. There is a program, with guests from the capital town. The school children perform for them, but only the teachers and guests are let inside the library for the reception. The excited school children peer from the wooden windows.

6. Imelda. Imelda buries her husband, who left her nothing but a small plot for vegetables. In the evening and she lies down on the bamboo floor, she listens to the chicken in their coop, and feels for the first time a sense of joy and freedom.

These stories shall be published next year in a bilingual edition. Stories 1-4 have been published in my book "Agi, agi may putay sa dahi" while stories 5 & 6 are new. Am excited to finish Binirayan 2010 and start on the translation.

"Tumaka" in Silay City

Just after its premier during the Karay-a Arts Festival 3, we got an invitation to perform "Tumaka" in Silay City. The occasion was Padayon One Visayas!; we were to be part of the cultural night sponsored by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. So off we went, this time with even fewer actors! (You know how it is to be a travelling troupe, and the expenses it entails.)

For this edition, we added a scene. That's after the suggestion by Cecile Locsin Nava, who watched the performance in San Jose. She would like to see a scene to show how Maria was swept by Tumaka's charm. We devised this scene overnight, just before we left San Jose for the 3AM trip to Iloilo. We wanted it to be a quiet love scene, with only Tumaka speaking, offering her something to eat (first, a banana which she refused), but Maria just kept looking at him until the last part where she tells Tumaka she is hungry and would love to eat anything. Tumaka offered her balinghoy (cassava root), which of course, is a phallic symbol.

Perico Pikoy (played by moi!), as usual stole the show, with his balletics and eclectic dance movements. So perhaps, I shall give the role to someone else next time. That would give me more chances to watch the play entirely so we could keep improving it to perfection.

We performed at the century-old mansion Balay Negrense, with no less than Governor Sally Perez of Antique, Mayor Oti Montelibano of Silay, Mayor Mel Senen Sarmiento of Calbayog City and some of Silay and Bacolod's culturati in the audience. The play was well received by the elite audience, despite it's risque material. We believe the play will get more genuine appreciation, as it did during the KAF3 at the EBJ Freedom Park, from the general public (read: masa audience), when we tour it to the towns. I hope we could get enough support to tour the play.

Hiraya's new play

Hiraya Theater Company premieres its new play at the closing ceremony of Karay-a Arts Festival 3 at the EBJ Freedom Park on Sunday, 25 October at 7:00 PM.

The play "Ang pagtaban ni Tumaka kay Maria Katsila" is based on a Pandanon legend about an Ati tribal chief in Mt. Mab-o who outwits the Spanish governor by running away with the taxes collected from Ibajay and the governor's wife Maria. The play follows a series of zany encounters as the the Spaniard tries to get back with his wife, until he succumbs to heart attack and public humiliation. I used folk and traditional music to enhance the mood, starting with a komposo to introduce the central character. Period music in Spanish from Guillermo Gomez Rivera's CD "Nostalgia Filipina" proved especially useful to connect the scenes. "Flor Filipina" (track 8) was interpreted in the love scene/dance number between Tumaka and Maria, while "Mariposa Bella" (track 9), the predecessor of "Paru-parong Bukid" was interpreted with Ati dances and shouts at the finale, while the Ati scenes were identified with "Abaw tiyo Andoy, inum tuba laloy."

The play stars Mclaurence Saligumba as Tumaka, Jean Matias as Maria, and Richard Salameda as Governor Puentes, supported by the Hiraya ensemble.

KAF 3

Despite low budget and all, the Karay-a Arts Festival 3 will finally push through on October 23-25.. This year's edition looks like a theater festival with student theater groups participating. Teatro San Antonio of St. Anthony's College is staging my "Pagtimalus ni Kapinangan" with Cyruss Matencio directing; Maskara Theater Ensemble of University of St. La Salle has Dennis Teodosio's "Pobreng Alindanaw"; and Kanlaon Theater Guild has Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero's classic "Away Basketbol" (Basketball Fight). Meanwhile, Hiraya Theater Company will open the festival with the komedya "Ang Kapid" on October 23rd, and closes it with it's new production "Ang pagtaban ni Tumaka kay Maria Katsila on October 25th.

Hiraya's new production is so much fun to do despite lack of actors. I get to act too, as a parrot, and my costume is exciting.

Also joining the festival are Polytechnic State College of Antique's Teatro Antiqueño and PSCA Chorale, Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan Federico Caballero, and the indigenous peoples organizations of Antique.

Walang himala

Bago pumanaw si Cory Aquino ay nag-quarantore pa sa EDSA Shrine. Ito ay 40 oras na padasal para humingi ng himala. Pero bago pa man natapos ang 40 oras ay namatay si Cory. Walang himalang nangyari.

Baka ang mensahe para sa mga Filipino ay hindi na kailangan ng himala. Minsan nang nabiyayaan ng himala ang ating bansa, noong EDSA 1986 Revolution. Naging simbolo ng spiritwalidad si Cory Aquino, at mahal na mahal siya ng simbahang Katolika. Mga pari at madre ang kakampi niya sa EDSA. Ngayon ay kailangan nating lutasin ang ating mga problema sa sariling tiyaga, kayod, at tamang pag-iisip. Hindi na si Tita Cory ang magdadala ng himala sa atin.

Noong natapos ang administrasyon ni Cory, maraming kritiko ang nagsabi na wala ring nagawa si Cory bilang presidente. Mababang marka ang binigay sa kanya. (Mukhang walang nakakaalala nito, at hindi nabanggit sa lahat ng mga programa ng ABS-CBN). Wala rin daw nangyari sa Pilipinas. Pero ngayon - bago pa man siya pumanaw - halos lahat ay nagsasabing siya ang pinakamabuting presidente pagkatapos ni Marcos.

Naalala ko ang huling speech ni Cory bilang presidente, sinabi niyang "let history be the judge..." at mukhang natutunan na rin ng sambayanan ang kabutihang dala ni Cory Aquino. Habang nanonood sa telebisyon, hindi maiiwasang maiyak, hindi dahil sa lungkot, kundi sa tuwa na biglang nagkakaisa muli ang mga Filipino sa pagluluksa para kay Cory. Nakakaantig ng damdamin ang mga eksena sa Ayala kahapon habang dumadaan ang kabaong ni Cory. Biglang bumalik ang mga eksena noong 1983 nang pinaslang si Ninoy. Napakaraming tao. Lahat ay halos naluluha-luha habang nagwawagayway ng dilaw na bandila o ng Laban sign. (Pero hindi ba ito rin ang karamihan na bumoto kay Erap at kay Gloria?) Ang pagpanaw ni Cory Aquino ay isa lamang wake up call para sa ating mga Filipino para muling usisain kung saan na patungo ang demokrasyong pinaglaban natin noong 1986. Kaya bayani pa rin si Cory, at hindi siya nagkulang hanggang sa katapusan ng kanyang buhay.

Pero hindi ko rin maiwasang isipin na isa sa mga bunga ng pagkapresidente ni Cory ay ang pagsikat ni Kris Aquino. Walang naniwalang may talento si Kristeta noong nagsisimula pa lang siya sa showbiz. Pero anak siya ng presidente kaya kailangang gawan ng paraan ni Mother Lily. Ipinareha pa siya kay Richard Gomez noon sa "Ang Sosyal at ang Siga," at pati ang komedyanteng Rene Requestias ay pinatulan niya. Nagpaka-cheap pa si Kris sa Fido Dida. Minsa'y tinawag pa siyang The Fallen Star dahil nahulog o nadulas siya sa entablado sa isang palabas sa Cubao. Pero dahil sa kanyang pagsisikap at determinasyon, at katatagan sa gitna ng napakaraming hamon sa kanya (e.g. Philip Salvador, Joey Marquez, Robin Padilla) isa na siya sa pinakamalalaking bituin ng ABS-CBN. At halata namang may impluwensiya sa istasyon.

Ngayon full-coverage ang binibigay ng network sa luksa para kay Cory. At napaka-star-studded ng necrological service para kay Cory sa Miyerkules. Kakanta si Lea Salonga, Jose Mari Chan, Jed Madela, Zsazsa Padilla, etc. At yan ay dahil kay Kris Aquino, na kasamahan sa pinakamalaking TV network. Hindi ba ilang beses na iiyak-iyak si Kristeta sa mga programa niya para magpasalamat sa mga suporta sa kanilang pamilya habang nasa ospital si Cory? Hindi ba gusto mong yakapin si Kris nang tanggapin niya ang pakikiramay ni Imelda Marcos? (Oh, sadyang nagkabuklod-buklod ang mga Filipino!), at palakpakan nang tanggihan niya ang pakikiramay ni Gloria? Kaya hindi malayong ang lahat ng atensiyon at pagmamahal na binibigay ngayon ng buong bansa kay Cory ay kalahati galing sa tunay na paggalang sa dating pangulo at sa kanyang nagawa para sa bayan, at kalahati dahil sa imahen at dramang nabuo ng media (in this case ABS-CBN) sa pamagitan ni Kris Aquino. Nakikita din natin kung sino at ano talaga ang malakas na impluwensya sa madla.

Hindi na kailangan pa ng himala. Matagal nang sinabi ni Nora Aunor: Walang himala! Nasa puso natin ang himala!

National Artists 2009 anomaly

On Wednesday night the National Artists for 2009 was officially announced on television, and I was shocked to learn that there are seven awardees. Early last month we attended the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) General Assembly at the Manila Pavillion, and we learned that the NCCA and Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP)-led body for the selection of National Artists have officially submitted only four names to Malacañang for the Presidents confirmation. How come there are seven?

The original four names, according to insider source, are Federico Alcuaz (visual arts), Manuel Urbano a.k.a. Manuel Conde (film), Lazaro Franciso (literature), and Ramon Santos (music). The additional awardees are Cecile Guidote-Alvarez (theater), Francisco Mañosa (architecture), Carlo J. Caparas (film and visual arts), and Pitoy Moreno (fashion design).

While we don't question the inclusion of Alvarez, Mañosa, Moreno, and (OK let's give it to him for his work as komiks writer and illustrator, but never as filmmaker) Caparas, we wonder how the addition happened. And how come Ramon Santos was dropped from the list?

Malacañang issued a statement the day after that the President's role is purely ministerial, approving only what NCCA and CCP recommended. If this were true, somebody tampered with the official recommendation before it reached the President. There is something anomalous in the selection, and both NCCA/CCP and the Office of the President have a lot of explaining to do to keep the integrity of the National Artist awards.

Mamma Mia! de Valderrama

I've heard that there's a roadshow going around Antique since April. That's good. There's always a surfeit of talents in the province. But I was surprised that the roadshow was "Mamma Mia!" the musical. Mader naman.

I had the chance to watch the roadshow at San Pedro on Saturday, June 27. It was the bisperas kang bisperas. It was threatening to rain, but I forced myself because the boss instructed me to watch it and recommend if it be shown in San Jose. The producer, no other than Mayor Joyce Roquero of Valderrama, has been asking the Gov to sponsor a show in San Jose. OK. Fine.
Let me start with the givens: The show in San Pedro was at the bandstand, which was too small a stage for a performance, much more a musical. I was told the Aglipay Church has booked the wider covered multi-purpose gym, so Mamma Mia! had to settle for the alternative venue, despite impending rain. Thank god it did not rain that night. I guess the promoters were also surprised with the change in venue, and were not ready to provide seats for audience, so the audience stayed under the benches, a far 50 strides from the stage. We were viewing the play from a 45-degree angle, because that was the only availabe bench when we arrived. Worse, another PA system was blaring from the covered gym.

We were told the show starts at 7:00 PM; we arrived late at almost 8:00 PM but we waited until 8:15 to start. There was an emcee who introduced the show, stressing the following points: 1. The play features Panubason Artists - these are talented young people from Valderrama and elsewhere in the province. They were selected from a crop of winners and contestants of Valderrama town's Search for Singing Idols early this year; 2. The play is sponsored by Philippine Charity Sweepstakes and The League of Municipalities - Antique chapter (of which Mayor Roquero is chair); 3. This production is the first and only in the Philippines, as no other producers have done it so successfully; 4. That the actors are singing live and not lip-synching, contrary to previous impressions when the musical was performed in other towns.

The production is Mamma Mia!, which is actually a 10-year old musical that started at the West End in London in 1999. Like any successful production, it soon had its version in Broadway, in Australia, Tokyo, Thailand, and many other cities around the world. It was such a hit that a movie version was made, starring Merryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan, and a book version was also written. I wonder if which of these versions the Valderrama production is following. I also wonder if they got rights to produce the musical, or if they are aware that they need to pay royalties to produce the play, because if they didn't they are criminally liable under the intellectual property laws.

I had the feeling that the production took from the the movie version. Someone wrote the script that sounded like a declamation piece, as all the actors sounded like declaimers on stage, and the actors were trained to perform the musical pieces by listening to the music and imitating it including accent. In fairness to the actors, they were good singers. I cannot say the same in the acting department. For one, Marte Jun Granada, who plays Sky, needs to learn to tango to make that love scene with Sophie visually appealing. The girl playing Donna sings exceptionally well, but she is so small, she is overshadowed her Dynamos. And why were all the girls similar ly made-up and coiffed with hair extensions. All of them are too pretty, as if we were watching a beauty search. From our vantage point, it was sometimes difficult to identify Sofie from Donna, or from her friends. Especially that stage blocking was quite unobserved.

I think the production needs 1. a director who knows how to direct; 2. a choreographer; a musical director; 4. a stage and production designer. At the very least the last should have been present to avoid orange, red and fuschia costumes against a red curtain backdrop, or several unneccesary scene changes, unwanted blackouts, and obtrusive sets. The narration is extraneous, too.

Well, for what it was worth, I would give it to the talents who sang well, and performed relatively well as directed. I just wished that the creative team behind it thought out the staging, costumes and sets. An authentic 70's retro glam look, could have been interesting.
My recommendation for the Gov: If only for the talented young Antiqueños in the cast, it is worth showing. The music of ABBA is classic and entertaining. But I feel uneasy about public officials supporting foreign materials when local is wanting and needing support. I also fear that the talents are misguided, and the public misinformed. As a roadshow around the province, Mamma Mia! simply misrepresents both the borrowed material and local culture.