I could almost hear Dionne Warwicke singing that hit while friends Auring Bautista, Vickie Rico-Costina and Chit Roces “opened” the painting exhibition “Cats in My Fruit Salad” at Café by the Ruins Monday.
It also felt like I was alive, listening to eulogies at my own wake.
Here’s Chit’s little speech:
For love of you, Babeth, Vergel and I are here on this grand occasion, when once again, the writer demonstrates she is a painter, too, ignoring the warning from our mentor and our idol, Gilda Cordero Fernando who sent you this message:
Dear Babeth, you are really a good writer so why do you want to be a good painter? It’s bad for the health to be a good painter. Mas okay tayo as we are. You paint an eggplant or an apple as though you created the idea yourself – from the etheric soup, no similarity to reality. Aren’t you glad some people can’t stand us?
Gilda handpicked nine of her writer-friends to form a group called First Draft. Babeth and I are privileged to be part of it. And for over five years now, we have been meeting every other month in each other’s home or a nice restaurant where we enjoy a good meal and read our “homework,” the draft of an essay or something, to one another for friendly critiquing. Babeth makes it a point to come down for our meetings, and so we thought it would be a nice gesture if we all came up for this occasion, but circumstances kept everyone except me from coming – my husband, Vergel, was not hard to convince to come along. But the girls send their greetings:
From Fe (Peng) Arriola: Kudos on your new creative endeavor. May you one day reach the stature when like Gilda you would say ‘Award na naman?
From Mariel Francisco: Mabuhay ka! Your inner and outer beauty, your wit and humor radiate in your art. A big hug!
From Karina Bolasco, sending her message from Tokyo: Congratulations and very good wishes! Continue expressing your poetry in strokes and colors.
From Lorna Kalaw Tirol: I am endlessly amazed by the diversity and breadth of your talents and your generosity in sharing them with others less gifted.
From Rita Ledesma: Babeth, writer-painter, what a great artist you have become! Congratulations!
From Edna Z. Manlapaz: Go, Girl, go!
We would all have been here. We would have stayed at Edna’s condo. We even had visions of a pajama party and lots of fun, although most likely matutulog lang tayong lahat.
Babeth is second to Gilda as the most published in the Inquirer, although I probably have more articles submitted but still waiting for precious deserved space.
I usually read Babeth’s articles to my editor-husband. Invariably he points out to me her eye for detail, how she has put in all the elements of a good story, how she doesn’t say more than she needs to, and then concludes, ”Nag-reporter kasi si Babeth.”
So why do writers like you and Gilda and, for that matter, Vergel, who himself sketches and caricatures, digress from writing. But looking at your art, I see that you are still telling a story – “Nagkukwento pa rin kayo” – but what comes through is your sense of humor and your almost irreverent view of life, more subjective and personal. You have been set free from the disciplines of writing.
I have asked Vergel, and he says, simply, without attaching any philosophy to it, ”Because some of us can”.
Well, Babeth, you have shown us you definitely can, and just did. Congratulations!
Photo by EV ESPIRITU
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