D'end na ang "Iisa pa lamang"

So kaka naman kasi kung kelan pa last week na ng melodramang "Iisa pa lamang" ng ABS-CBN, na swak na swak talaga sa lifestory ko (char!), saka naman nag-Muscovado at Adobo festival sa Silay City at nagpatawag ng writeshop si Gardy Labad sa Bohol. Kaya imbes na manood ako ng last week episode ay nakikidinner kami kay Tita Inday sa Sugarland Hotel (na masarap naman, at totoo po, wiz char!) sa Bacolod, o nakikichica kay Cecile Locsin Nava at nakikinig sa Humanities 101 lecture niya sa bahay niya (ipinagluto kasi kami ng masarap na pasta at salad, na chika niya'y ginamit niyang ingredients ang kung anik-anik lang ang na nakita niya sa ref niya kasi bumaha sa Bacolod that day na dumaan si Typhoon Quinta). Nang nasa Bohol naman kami'y nagpipreview ng dula ng isang theater collective sa Maribojoc at nagmimiting hanggang maduling sa antok at pagod. Bernadette talaga, dahil pagdating sa hotel namin, halos matatapos na ang "Kahit Isang Saglit."

Pero nung Byernes, last night na ng "Iisa pa lamang" sinadya kong umalis sa miting para abutan ang last episode ng melodrama ni Claudine Barreto. Iyun yung eksenang naghahanduraw na lang siya ng nakaraan, saka naman dumating si Rafael. Bumitiw pala si Rafael from being congressman at para mamuhay nang payapa, habang hinahanap si Catherine. Nang magkita na sila isang gabi ng kapaskuhan, ganito ang dayalog nila:

Rafael: Sa wakas, maligaya ako't nahanap din kita.
Catherine: Ako rin, nahanap ko na ang sarili ko.

O parang ganun. Ang nangyari pala, natsugi si Diether Ocampo/Miguel dahil nabaril nga ni Isadora, kaya siya ang naging donor ng puso ni Catherine. In short puso ni Miguel ang tumitibok sa ilalim ng voluptuous boobs ni Catherine. Ang ending, si Miguel at Rafael pala ang tuluyang magmamahalan. Cheng!

Subverted na kabadingan pala ang "Iisa pa lamang." Hindi natahimik itong mga taong naghahabulan at naghahanap ng kanilang puwang sa buhay at pag-ibig dahil hindi pala puso ni Catherine ang pinag-aagawan, naghahanap lang ng paraan kung paanong ang puso nina Miguel at Rafael ang mapag-isa. Diva?

May kumbensiyong ganito sa mga sinaunang epiko ng Panay. May mga karakter na hindi matsutsugi dahil ang kanilang mga puso'y nakatago sa kung saan-saan. Si Saragnayan itinago ang puso sa baboy damo. May isa din na itinago ang kasingkasing sa isang isda. Kailang mahanap muna ang baboy damo o isda bago masakop sila. Siyempre subliminal lahat ito. Kaya pala hindi magkatuloy-tuloyan sina Miguel at Catherine at Rafael at Catherine dahil hindi sila ang nasa equation (using their hearts as the variable x, of course!). Dahil Miguel = Rafael pala ang tamang equation. Jongga diva mga sisters?

Medium lang talaga si Catherine dito para maisakatuparan ang kabaklaang umiiral sa dalawang bidang lalaki. Kaya naman baklang-bakla ang postura ni Catherine sa bawat eksena. Alalahanin yung dayalog niya sa swimming pool habang naka-diamong necklace pa. At ang wardrobe niya throughout ay pangrampa talaga. Hitsura ng bading na kaka-out lang.

Kaek-ekan ko lang ang reading na itetch. Mas masaya kasi. Pero kung maging kumbensiyonal tayo sa pagbabasa, napaka-Katoliko ng moralidad na pinaiiral ng "Iisa pa lamang." Lahat ng mga tauhan ay simbolo ng mga karakter sa pasyon ni Hesus. Syempre si Catherine ang simbolo ng Birheng Maria/Katoliko, na kailangang tanggapin lahat ang sakripisyo dahil may kasulhayang naghihintay sa ending. At ang pangakong kasulhayan na katumbas ng salvation ay isang napakabait at gwapong lalaki - si Rafael/Gabby (na sa tunay na buhay ay napakaraming babae, diva?). Si Miguel ay si Hudas Escariote. Ipinagbili niya ang kanyang pagmamahal kay Catherine at ipinalit kay Scarlet, pero sa huli siya ay sising-sisi at kailangan niyang mamatay. Kinakatawan niya ang Hubris. Hindi siya maaring maging hero dito dahil isa siyang weakling, pushover, tinutulak-tulak ng kanyang madir na si Isadora. Si Isadora naman ang kumakatawan kay Satanas, ang archnemesis ng kabutihang kinakatawan ni Catherine. Kaya siya pinasabog, hindi na nakahintay na makarating sa mga kamay ng Hustisya, because she doesn't deserve it at all. Napakasama niya para hintayin pa ng hustisya. Si Scarlet/Angelica Panganiban naman si Magdalena. Maldita siya at masama, pero nagkaroon ng redemption dahil sa pagsisisi at pagbago ng landas.

Buti na lang at natapos na ito. Mababawasan ang kinababaliwan kong mga teleserye sa gabi. Kung bakit kasi isiningit pa ang Pinoy Fear Factor e. Sana "Kahit Isang Saglit" na pagkatapos ng "Betty La Fea," para mas maaga akong matutulog.

An Orange Evening

It was another of those long meetings, where you keep going back to the buffet for coffee. But this time it was in Bacolod. The evening was more than gratifying though.

After the meeting, we were invited to Manny Montelibano's exhibit at Orange Gallery, owned by one of Bacolod's pride Charlie Co. We were told Charlie himself would be there to entertain us. I met Charlie at the Philip Morris Art Awards last year; he gladly posed for my photo collection of local artists, which I show to my Humanities class. I also have a good collection of pics of his works - the Madonna series in the collection of Tita Inday Pefianco, who was herself a very gracious host to us when we visited Bacolod in October 2007.

But this was Manny's show, not Charlie's. Manny is a multi-media artist, and he sits in the Committee for Visual Arts, representing West Visayas. I sit in Cultural Education, and that was an inter-committee regional meeting, another innovation at the NCCA. That's how I got to his show.

The show was titled "Poasa" (Fast). The gallery facade greeted us with a cross made of incandescent bulbs and a smiley. Initially I wondered if we were being brought to the Victory Christian Fellowship prayer meeting. But I have been to the Orange Gallery before, so I was sure this was the place, at the second floor.

At the entrance we were greeted by the tarpauline poster showing the cross outside, so I was assured I was not lost. The second floor gallery was fully carpeted in red, with matching red curtains. The hall was a shower of "Dear God" letters written by kids on intermediate paper. The visual was stunning: white paper swaying on strings from the ceiling against a background of red. One had to go through the delicate maze of prayers, and that alone was a spiritual experience.

The upper gallery was a video installation. The main video showed the Santo Intierro, and devotees trying to reach the glass case, wiping ther white handkerchiefs as an expression of faith, but foregrounding the main video screen were smaller screens showing various scenes of gospel sharing by various religious sects. We didn't hear what they were saying, but they were very distracting. At first there seems to be no connection at all between the lower and upper galleries, except that the video screens were also predominantly red, and white paper were scattered on the floor. The upper gallery, however, was enveloped by darkness, unlike the lower's deep red.

Manny Montelibano's "Poasa" is a pun on the words Po, a Tagalog expression of respect or reverence, and Asa (hope). The artist challenges one's faith (prayers, Santo Intierro) against popular icons - the smiley, the preachers on TV, the cross as a Broadway marquee. The skeptic might ask, where do these prayers go? Who would read them? But the devout would not be bothered, because between them and their god, they know there is no difference between the white paper pads and the white handkerchiefs, for it is in their act of faith (writing the letter, wiping the Santo Intierro) that they are healed.

The better part of that evening was meeting Bacolod's artists Charlie Co and Dennis Ascalon. Both artists are exhibited at the Singapore Art Museum. In fact, SAM curator Joyce Toh flew in that day just to - according to Dennis - "check how we are doing." Also present that night aside from Manny, Charlie, and Dennis were Milton Dionzon, actor, artist, event organizer, etc., Aklanon writer and post-modernist/post-colonial critic John Barrios, and Florence-based Wena Diaz. Poet Ricky De Ungria was there ahead of us for dinner, but he left earlier.

Manny took us back to our hotel at past midnight. He was asking if we wanted to be anywhere else in Bacolod that night, but I thought his show and meeting so many creative people were enough to call a day.

(Photos from top to bottom: Charlie Co's Chinese Madonna (Inday Pefianco's Collection), Manny Montelibano's "Poasa", John Barrios reading through prayers; Milton Dionzon, Charlie Co, Singapore Art Museum curator Joyce Toh, Manny Montelibano, and Wena Diaz at the gallery for a funshot; Dennis Ascalon posing solo for my collection.)

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.)