The summer of '68

My sister Evelyn Marie, the one to my right, is a better archivist than I could ever hope to be. She shared this scanned photo of part of our family when Mom and Dad took us on a boat cruise to Corregidor. I was 10 going on 11, but I just had my period and I shot up that summer, uncomfortable in my new body with sprouting boobs and all. Mom and I are wearing those stretchable jeans with straps that hooked underneath the soles of our feet. Dad is holding a fishing rod. Small boy is my brother Dennis who grew up to be a doctor like Dad. I didn't like Corregidor--there were no sandy beaches. Mostly there were and still are rocks. I would return there in middle age with Mila D. Aguilar, and the guided tour our group enjoyed altered my view. There was the comfort, of course, of Mila's warm company. I documented that trip in a Vera Files article: https://eqp.verafiles.org/.../rediscovering-corregidor... My parents didn't earn much. Dad's practice centered on patients who were mostly industrial workers. Mom was an office employee. And yet, they managed to save enough for what others would deem a whimsical weekend such as this.

‘Dictatorships are literature’s natural enemy’ –Vargas Llosa

Mario Vargas Llosa, 2010 Nobel laureate for literature, flanked by officials of De La Salle University at last Tuesday's conferment of doctor of literature, honoris causa. Vargas Llosa was educated at the De La Salle Academy in Bolivia and Colegio La Salle in Peru.

At age 80, Mario Vargas Llosa, 2010 Nobel laureate for literature, described his relationship with the brothers of La Salle as “quite ancient.” His memories of these brothers, who taught him how to read and write, are “rich, vivid and moving.” There is one particular brother, a Spaniard named Justiano, to whom he owes a debt of gratitude for “the most important event in my life” –learning how to read.

At the recent conferment of the honorary degree of doctor of literature at De La Salle University in Manila, he spoke extemporaneously and called this skill “a magical operation” that transformed the letters of a book into “images and a living experience.” He felt his world enriched and transformed. Each time he discovered a book, reading remained magical after all these years.

He respects the invented life created by writers. His role as story teller was born in those early years “as a result of the extraordinary pleasure I had in reading.” But Peru then had a limited literary life so his “vocation wasn’t integrated with life. I felt eccentric and marginalized.” He was consecrating days, months, years to his writing with great difficulty in finding a publisher, “but I persevered.”

At one point, he supported his studies and writing by taking on seven jobs, among which was as a radio man and a journalist for the Agence France Presse.

He said writing has fulfilled his life “in an extraordinary way” and at the same time added that “it is difficult to demonstrate how books change the lives of readers for the better. Sensibilities, desires are stimulated. This shows the importance of books in daily life.”

He continued, “Good books are the best defense against prejudices, distorted views of people in different languages.”

Vargas Llosa signs a copy of his novel for short story writer-journalist Amadis Ma. Guerrero. The latter approached the Nobel laureate and introduced himself thus, "Yo soy Amadis Ma. Guerrero. Buenas tardes" and showed his copy of The Green House, a 1982 pocketbook edition well-preserved by a thick plastic cover. Pleasantly surprised, Vargas Llosa grabbed the book, scrawled his signature and said, "Mucho gusto!" After which others followed with assorted books and publications for autographing.

Despite these differences, the common denominator that is of utmost importance, he said, “is we are all humans challenged by the same obstacles” in order to continue to live.

By reading good stories, he said, “we make more accessible to us certain values” like the “freedom needed for societies to become modern and prosperous. Good books develop in us a kind of dissatisfaction with the world as it is. We hope that life will change, that we create societies that are more fair and nearer the worlds we create with our imagination.”

Vargas Llosa is convinced that reading good literature “is not only a great pleasure but also fundamental for the training of citizens in free and democratic societies.”

He warned that “all regimes that try to control human life have suspicions about literature. They try to control this activity and eliminate spontaneity. Dictatorships are literature’s natural enemy.”

He praised reading and writing of good books for helping “develop natural criticism of the world as it is.”

And he returned to Brother Justiano for having started all this with the young Vargas Llosa as he learned how to read and write.

He bemoaned how for some sectors of society, litearature is considered as “just entertainment.” Society pressures the youth to go into what he called “practical skills”

Yes, he said, literature is “the best entertainment but at the same time, it is a kind of knowledge of the world. Literature is able to make us feel we are having living experiences.” Through literature, he continued, “we enter into an intimacy with a culture, know the most secret personality of persons.”

Reading, he concluded, is not just for pleasure but also for the shaping of “better citizens to face the challenges in our existence.”

He thanked DLSU for the honorary degree conferred on him, quipping, “I will try my best not to deceive you.” -- Text and photos by Elizabeth Lolarga

This article and the photos accompanying it were originally published in www.verafiles.org, Nov. 14, 2016.

For love of Mozart and all things good and fine

Old woodblock print of the young Mozart

Artists (writers, musicians, painter, sculptors, multi-media artists) can still learn from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart even centuries after he left this world at a youthful 35 going on 36.

My choice Mozart quote is this: "I pay no attention whatever to anybody's praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings."

It has been a total pleasure interviewing for verafiles.org these past weeks and days the main headliners of "Mostly Mozart 2014 Festival" and even the cultural heroes who work in the background . The site has been down for the past 72 hours. My editor Ellen Tordesillas, whose own blog site suffered the same fate, explained that the site crashed from the weight of spam materials that had been loaded into it. In other words, it has been hacked. Meanwhile, the site and Ka Ellen's blog are under repair and temporarily unavailable. I'm praying they will both be up by this afternoon or tomorrow.

What's admirable about Ka Ellen is she's cool about it, like this is a risk the organization faces each time it takes on its various advocacies in stopping human trafficking, upholding the rights of persons with disability, among many.

Cristine Coyiuto just being herself

I asked pianist Cristine Coyiuto what her thoughts were on classical music development in this country, how fine music can be heard above the din of K-pop (that's Korean pop) or even Ph-pop. She said, "Young people should be exposed to classical music in this country. In Europe, attending classical concerts and operas are part of their daily lives. Here, I think the love for classical music can start right at home. It is just a matter of exposure. Parents can help their children by letting them listen to classical music or bringing them to concerts. At home, my husband turns on the stereo every morning, so our daughter was already well exposed to good music at a very young age. By the time Caitlin turned six, she had already been to a full-length ballet, symphonic concert, recital and opera."

It helped that her husband James had a music room built in their home. In this room hangs an oil painting done by Manolo Lozada, brother of the violinist Carmencita. He recalled that Lozada started painting the family portrait when Caitlin was 14 years old. Thre years later in 2008, the artist presented the work to the family as a gift from the artist. Caitlin at the time was learning how to play the cello as her third instrument (she began with piano followed by the flute).

Mr. Coyiuto said "We breathe music every day, whether it is coming from her piano, or from a CD that is playing, or from watching musical performances, especially operas during meal time." Of this painting, he said, "I chastised Manolo for including the slippers plus all the stuff underneath the piano! Plus I told him to add more hair on my head! He tried! He's such an honest painter!"

It's said that the arts are a jealous mistress or lover. For some living and practicing art sometimes exacts a toll on the family. But Cristine said otherwise: "My husband James, my daughter Caitlin and I share a common love and passion for music. The three of us are fully supportive of one another. James is an ardent musicophile who collects CDs and prints of the composers, and supports us in every way he can. In spite of a busy household, I always try to find time to work on my music. The best part is playing and performing with my flutist daughter. There seems to be a special bond or feeling between us whenever we perform together. That is why the critics dubbed us 'the mother-daughter musical tandem.'"

Of Singaporean conductor Darrell Ang with whom she will perform alongside the Manila Symphony Orchestra tomorrow night at the Philippine Stock Exchange auditorium, she said, "I have heard so many good things about him, and I certainly look forward to working with him."

Mostly Mozart is a fund-raising production of the Manila Chamber Orchestra Foundation to benefit its young artists' development program. A number of tickets are still available at the MCO Foundation with tel. no. 750-0768 or cell phone 0920-954-0053.

The playful, the serious collide in Del Tolentino’s book art | Vera Files

The playful, the serious collide in Del Tolentino’s book art | Vera Files

Filipino pianist, flutist shine with Sumi Jo | Vera Files

Filipino pianist, flutist shine with Sumi Jo | Vera Files

Voice from heaven as human as anyone else | Vera Files

Voice from heaven as human as anyone else | Vera Files

To Oscar, happy trails

"There is protection accorded by the bill of rights not just to freedom of the press, but to freedom of expression in general." - Harry Roque

I'm always on the lookout for a boost that'll put me on the right track for the rest of the day. Or even for just this new morning. Attorney Roque's latest commentary in Vera Files has just given me the boost I need that caffeine no longer can give because I am slowly lessening its intake until my system fully rejects it. Aging requires some changing.

Because the day is new and ripe with possibilities, I am reminded, too, that it is right to put a song in one's heart when one wakens. Puwede bang bumati o magpaalam man lang kay Ginoong Oscar Dipasupil?

Oskie, bro and friend to Ester, skipped this life on the 24th of January and has become a heavenly intercessor to his two surviving sisters (the other is Dipsy who's from Oz) and other beloveds. Today is his cremation and inurnment day.

I have good memories of that chap, among them how he carefully read the lines, especially those in the newspaper his sister continues to work for. He was doing the Reader Advocate's duties unofficially. To Oskie, now that you're beyond the bluest sky, thanks for the times I hitched a ride in your car, those times you pointed this and that out in my article in your quiet, measured tones while I sat in Ester's garden or your living room while I waited for her to waken.

More than anything, thank you for being that old reliable steadfast pillar in Ester's life. She'll be all right in time and back to doing the work she loves in the hallowed Dipasupil tradition of being press guardians and fighters.

Some trees my Dad and another old family reliable, Mang Cabiz, planted. Blogger sends thoughts upward to mingle with The Saints and Intercessors. Photo by Babeth Lolarga

Sinag de Leon’s delight in paper rainbows | Vera Files

Sinag de Leon’s delight in paper rainbows | Vera Files

A Mass that is anything but petite | Vera Files

A Mass that is anything but petite | Vera Files

A Mass that is anything but petite

It is anything but petite. But that is how Petite Messe Solennelle by Gioachino Rossini, pillar of the bel canto opera era and composer of the opera The Barber of Seville, is officially described.

The mass, the Christmas offering on Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. at the Ayala Museum on Makati Ave., Makati City, has a stellar line-up: tenor Arthur Espiritu, sopranos Camille Lopez Molina and Margarita Giannelli, baritone Noel Azcona and 16 Viva Voce singers, including Myramae Meneses.

Espiritu and Ismail

Margarita Giannelli

Najib Ismail, who will be the accompanist with Farley Asuncion on a second piano, said, "This late work by Rossini was called petite not because of its length but because of its scale. It was conceived for four soloists, a double vocal quartet, two pianos and a harmonium compared to his Stabat Mater which is for vocal soloists, a big choir and orchestra."

He continued, "It's petite because ideally it can be performed in a small venue, making it more intimate in a way without sacrificing the grandeur of the work. In terms of an orchestral feel, this is provided by two pianos with the harmonium providing the wind section of an actual orchestra. This work was later transcribed by the composer for soloists, choir and orchestra, which I personally feel loses the petite, intimate feel of the work."
Asked why he and the soloists chose this work, he answered, "It's beautiful. Many months ago, Arthur, Camille, Margarita and I were looking for a beautiful work that we can do that will involve our young singers as well. Also, it is a great opportunity for us to work together as musicians."

Baritone Noel Azcona

Azcona said their plans for the Rossini mass "came out as an impromptu thing. We messaged each other. Najib came up with the idea of the Petite Messe Solennelle. We were all excited. It is perfect because of its transitional melodies and deeper romantic theme."

Camille Lopez Molina

Lopez Molina added, "We talked about what piece we wanted to sing with each other because we had so much fun in MusicArtes's production of 'Best of Opera' in June. Early December sounded good because I'm due to give birth on the 14th, Margarita's coming home with her family for the holidays, Noel's leaving for his studies in the US and Arthur's leaving for his engagements later in the month. Arthur proposed it to MCO Foundation's Joseph Uy."

Azcona explained the appeal of the Mass: "It calls for a small, intimate group. Of course, singing with the country's finest singers will be exciting experience. I'm sure the audience will find the work spiritually appropriate in these times. What an excellent way to convey our sentiments in these hard times."

Lopez Molina hopes for "an emotional response.”
“Given the gravity of the Yolanda devastation and the solemnity of Rossini's music, there should be a chord struck deep down inside us somewhere," she said.

As one of two artistic directors of the production (the other is Gideon Bendicion), she said, "This piece is more
difficult than anything Viva Voce has tackled before. The music is so rich, the harmonies and progressions complex and unusual. It's taking all we've got to learn and perform it. Our conductor, Gideon, and I have our hands full drilling the group. It has been more or less two weeks of intensive rehearsals."

Azcona performed the work 10 years ago at the International Las Piñas Bamboo Organ Festival, recalling, "It was my first professional singing gig. I was quite nervous because of the compositional complexities. Studying it was tedious but rewarding. It's not your usual Rossini music. It's fantastic!"

Espiritu with Meneses and his wife Christine

Espiritu, who started out as "a huge pop guy," following Gary Valenciano's moves and singing style, said learning to love the classics is easy. "All you need is one passionate person. All it takes is a moment of exposure. I feel passionately about outreach programs."

He said classical musicians work hard on their materials. "We find out about character, we read the classics in literature. When I did Nixon in China (he played Mao Zedong ), I read up. Let's give people this chance to hear this music we love."

The other Viva Voce members, the most promising opera singers today, are: Kristine Balingcos, Lovelle Inoferio, Millicent Lao, Aissa Guilatco, Iona Ventocilla, Roxy Aldiosa, Tanya Corcuera, Antonio Ferrer, Carlo Falcis, Ivan Niccolo Nery, Paolo Gallon, Jairus Gonzalez, Raymond Yadao, Yen Dilig and Zip de Guzman. --Elizabeth Lolarga

For tickets, call the Cultural Arts Events Organizer, tel. no. 782-7164 or cell phone 0918-3473027, MCO Foundation at 750-0768 or 0920-954-0053, or TicketWorld at 891-9999.

Espiritu sings again at Ayala Museum in a benefit concert for super typhoon Yolanda survivors Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. For tickets for "Arthur Espiritu and Friends," call Paula Fernandez, 759-8288 local 31.

Originally published by Vera Files, Nov. 28, 2013.

Tenor Arthur Espiritu’s inspiring journey to Llorente, Samar | Vera Files

Tenor Arthur Espiritu’s inspiring journey to Llorente, Samar | Vera Files

Mabuhay ka, Arthur Espiritu! Pagpalain ka pa. New title: Tenor ng Bayan!

Arthur and Christina Espiritu aboard a Philippine Navy ship to Samar

Mahar Lagmay’s storm crafts warnings | Vera Files

Mahar Lagmay’s storm crafts warnings | Vera Files

One with a million marchers on National Heroes Day

Following is a series of dispatches that I sent via SMS to Yvonne Chua and Avigail Olarte of Vera Files. These were originally posted on Vera Files' Facebook Timeline along with the other spot reports and photos of their correspondents and contributors as these came in. I just took a handful of photos because I was too busy composing intelligible dispatches without making those awful abbreviations ("2" for "to" and the like). Thank goodness for a QWERTY keyboard.

Gone are the days when you had to find a phone to call in and dictate your story to a newsroom deskperson. Said deskperson typed up the report, cleaned up the copy, sent it to the typesetting department, the galleys laid out by the stripping department, etc. Reports were read in hard copy (newspaper broadsheet or tabloid--remember those?) the next morning.

There was no command post. At one point when my feet were aching, I wished there was a temporary post set up at a Manila Hotel room where I could take five, then resume my role as eyewitness-participant. In my dreams, indeed. We worked from wherever we found ourselves while Yvonne and Avigail, receiving the reports and images at separate sites, processed these very swiftly and uploaded directly to Facebook and their website www.verafiles.org. Thank you, Ellen Tordesillas, Yvonne and Avigail, for acknowledging the effort behind my small reports and letting me do what I love to do--be a reporter for another day.


Traffic along EDSA was so light that vehicles from EDSA-Shaw Blvd. enabled some marchers to reach Roxas Blvd.-Pasay Rotunda in just 15 minutes by cab. 

Taxi driver Rodel Bolivar, father of five, said, "Duty ako 24 hours, pero nakikiisa ako. Tingin ko pinaghati-hati ang pera natin ng mga mambabatas, nilulustay, kaya marami silang pera. Kung malabo na, kaya na nilang mag-ibang bansa, magtago sa isa sa marami nilang bahay. Kung di sko duty, sasama na ako." 

Olivar added, "Yung pera natin, di na makukuha. Yung mga pulitiko, sinabihan na si Janet Napoles, kubrador lang nila, dito ka magtago sa resthouse ko. Alam nung mga senador kung paano itago yung pera natin, pati na yung para sa kalamidad. Sino ba di magagalit sa nangyari? Ang trabaho ng senador, gumawa ng batas, di maging construction developer."
 
Olivar also said before letting off his passengers, "Ito rally ng mga maaayos, matino. Di ito yung rally-rally na madahas, na bato dito, bato roon, na bayaran ng mga politiko. Palagay ko nasa five-star hotel si Napoles, pinanonood ang mga tao, tumatawa, sabi mga tanga ang mga rallyista. Pero isang araw, lulutang na lang yan sa Pasig River."

Cab and private vehicle passengers got off at Roxas Blvd.-Quirino Ave. intersection where the boulevard was already closed. Scores of cyclists, individuals with their pet dogs on leashes and groups headed to ground zero (Rizal Park), the rallyists distinguished by ubiquitous white shirts. The easy, relaxed gait of the people made it seem like they were simply on a walk or jog in the park.

Rallyists on both sides of the boulevard opened umbrellas, a sudden sprout of colors under the slight 9 a.m. drizzle. Their pace of walking didn't pick up. 

Queues outside blue portalets, divided among males, females and senior citizens, were orderly. A janitor regularly sprayed cleaning fluid and mopped the floors, saying just don't at the hole if you're squeamish. 

White t-shirts with silk-screened slogans sold fast for P250 each. One message read: "Pinoy kami. We pay our taxes on time & in full. You, our government, owe us a full explanation."

The Eco-Waste Coalition chanted at the foot of the carabao statue while holding up walis tingting: "Korupsyon, korupsyon, walisin, walisin!"

At 9:45 am, an announcer led the community singing of "Bayan Ko."
 
Members of the Eco-Waste Coalition, wearing green t-shirts, held up banner a banner that read: "Linisin ang lipunan sa basura, toksiko at katiwalian."

One buyer of an anti-pork t-shirt said about the cost of the shirt, "Two hundred fifty pesos ito. Di kaya yung fifty pesos puhunan ng senador o cut nya?"

At 9:50 a.m. there were chants of: "Makibaka, huwag magbaboy!"

Another t-shirt message had the image of a politician lying atop sacks of pesos: "Moderate your greed, exterminate your breed."

An entrepreneur selling Million March commemorative t-shirts and a La Salle alumnus said, "I should've had one thousand shirts made, not 50. At two hundred pesos each, they sold very fast. I'll call the printer to make five hundred more."

A contingent of Letranites escorted by a priest in white cassock chanted: "Pogi kami! Baboy sila!" 

The Quirino Grandstand was off limits--no permit for rallyists or media to rest or look at panorama unfolding. Guards said the orders came from Juliet Villegas. Members of Women Writers in Media Now, among them Sol Juvida, Neni Sta Romana Cruz, Karina Bolasco, Rochit Tañedo, argued that the grandstand was built and is maintained by people's money.  

At 10:50 a.m. the size of the crowd was conservatively estimated at 300,000. People were egged on to shout: "Makibaka, huwag magbaboy!,"  followed by shouting "Oink!" six times, then "Ibagsak ang pork!"

While others stayed behind for the rest of the program that ended sometime after lunch when one group broke out to march to Malacañang, others ate their packed lunches, noticeably coming from biodegradable brown bags and banana leaves while some ate from styropor boxes. Others scattered to nearby restaurants along periphery of Rizal Park. A good number went to Ermita favorites like Hizon's, packed with rallyists in white. 

This couple just gave their names as Mr. and Mrs. Isip. Their t-shirts said it all.

Some marchers along Roxas Blvd. en route to Rizal Park.

Partial view of crowd from the Quirino Grandstand

Cyclists also filled a lane of the boulevard that was closed to regular traffic.

Another view of the crowd from the grandstand

Photos by Babeth Lolarga

The making of a painter of good caliber | Vera Files

The making of a painter of good caliber | Vera Files

The near saint from an Igorot mission school | Vera Files

The near saint from an Igorot mission school | Vera Files

Arthur Espiritu soars in ‘The Poet Speaks’

The sixth of this month will linger long in the head and hearts, like the “last song syndrome,” of those who watched tenor Arthur Espiritu as he breathed life into the lyrics of poets and the music of the masters.

Princely Arthur Espiritu

The Ayala Museum lobby in Makati City was filled with sparkling anticipation as the perfumed set and casually dressed culture vultures took unnumbered seats.  The glass-walled, tall-ceilinged museum had been there for some time as venue for launchings of Jaime Zobel de Ayala’s de luxe books; it has hosted fashion shows of the likes of Josie Natori and Inno Sotto and similar worthy endeavors that enrich the city’s cultural life. But as venue for a concert like MCO Foundation Inc.’s “The Poet Speaks?” Now we’re talking!

The US-based Espiritu has consistently enthralled the operatic and fine music crowd with his prince-like stance, his “beautiful legato”, a critic once wrote. These qualities were present that enchanted evening when he interpreted art songs and cycles of poetry. Handel’s music from the opera Semele comes with lyrics of besotted god Jupiter offering his mortal lover Semele all the loveliness that his powers could execute for her: “Wher’er you walk / Cool gales shall fan the glade / Trees where you sit / Shall crowd into a shade …/ Where’er you tread / The blushing flowers shall rise / And all things flourish…”

His performance echoed past romances that overcame barriers like that of Robert and Clara Schumann (she was herself a composer but was bogged down by the bearing and raising of eight children). In “Liederkreis, Op. 24”, the interpreter in Espiritu swung from mood to mood as the songs required: sleepless lover fretting over an absent sweetheart, the same man focused on himself, his grief, sorrows, longing.

The German language is no barrier at all in understanding the agonies and ecstasies of love, something Espiritu, on his honeymoon stage with his wife, can relate to.

Pianist Najib Ismail and Espiritu hug after their performance.

Complementing Espiritu’s fascinating  performance  was Najib Ismael’s  virtuosity on the keys. Music critic Pablo Tariman said, “On the whole, the recital of tenor Arthur Espiritu with pianist Najib Ismail gave us a clear magic relationship between the four elements of a song recital: the poet, composer, singer and accompanist.”

The producers thoughtfully provided a complete program with the original German, Italian, Filipino and French lyrics side by side with English translations apart from projecting the lyrics up on one wall, the words superimposed on images from the Romantic era.

Liszt’s “Trei sonetti del petrarca”, a set of sonnets with lyrics by no less than Petrarch, tackles again the subject of love, its complications, especially its torments.

When Espiritu turned to National Artist Lucio San Pedro’s “Sampatak ng Hamog” (text by another National Artist, Bienvenido Lumbera), the melody is instantly familiar (Filipino music has a pull on racial memory), it came as a whiff of fresh air from angst-wrought European passion.

In performance

When Espiritu said “Sa Ugoy ng Duyan” was his Valentine to mothers in the audience, everyone quieted themselves, stifled coughs or the clearing of throats. Many in the audience, not just women, felt themselves tearing up to the sway and lullaby in the tenor's voice. At that moment in that evening, he became everyone’s son.

More European songs by von Gluck, Gounod and Delibes followed in the same vein of tortured declarations to a beloved. Despite the subject, Espiritu soared high till  the audience was putty in his hands.

He and Ismail received prolonged standing ovations, and they obliged with two encores. One was “Cessa di piu” from Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Seviglia that Joseph Uy, one of the concert organizers, said “was cut from the opera on its premiere because the stated singer cannot sing it due to its difficulty that requires immense agility.”

The second encore was “O del mio amato ben” by Stephen Donaudy from a song cycle that captured emotions of happiness, heartbreak, hope and healing.

Espiritu said when he sings something more serious or tragic or romantic, he allows the text to transform him so he could totally embody the character he plays: “I try to revisit personal experiences, whether something heartbreaking or something disappointing. I try to place myself back in that moment.  Of course, I make sure that I don’t get too sucked into that moment that I forget that I’m on stage.”

He continued, “I try not to put a stamp on any characters that I do. The idea is to interpret the work as written and intended by the poet/lyricist and the composer.”

Of the major tenors worldwide, Alfredo Kraus has left a mark on him for Kraus’s “longevity and technique [that are] just remarkable.”

That Wednesday night, Espiritu made a mark on music lovers’ hearts.

More of  Espiritu’s music at www. arthurespiritu.net--Text and photos by Elizabeth Lolarga

Originally published by Vera Files/Yahoo Philippines, Feb. 8, 2013

Grandparenting 101

Who was the woman who said that if she had realized earlier that grandmotherhood would bring her such unadulterated joy, she would’ve skipped marriage and motherhood altogether and gone ahead with being a lola first?

Yay Padua-Olmedo, retired vice president of one of the Philippines’ biggest conglomerates, a teacher at Southville Foreign University in Las Piñas and a motivational speaker, wrote the book Grandparenting: Happiness and Hard Work! (OMF Literature, Inc., 2012) just in time for the long Christmas holidays. Hers is a wise woman’s voice, the kind that knows that “joyful moments” are also balanced by “turbulent days and tough trials.”

The national situation is such that the idealized nuclear family has been shaken, if not broken. It isn’t just the incompatibilities of some parents, the sickness and tragedy that befall them. There is the kind of economy that the government encourages—the exportation of Filipino brains and brawn or the odd working hours of business process outsourcing—that separates vulnerable children from their parents.

Olmedo described the diaspora wherein couples leave for “more developed countries where they believed a brighter future awaited them, OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) making a beeline for even the most toxic of environments, in the hopes of a job, all so that they can provide for their families—and grandparents finding themselves in not so normal situations because of all these.”

She argued for the need of godlier grandparents given these Philippine realities:

• A population growth of 1.9 percent in 2011, an alarming rate given that the country has limited land;
• Limited employment opportunities worsened by graft and corruption and ineffective governance, forcing many Filipinos, especially much-needed professionals, to look for proverbial green pastures in the US, Canada or Australia;
• A diaspora that divides families as “the priority has been choosing what seems to be the only way out of poverty”; and
• A worldlier lifestyle wherein the young are enamored with gadgets and sensual gimmicks.

Given all these, Olmedo called “for trustworthy anchors” like grandparents who are there not just for the joyful part but also for challenging times. These people become worthy of the prefix “grand”, which, to the author, quoting the Merriam-Webster dictionary, meant “something or someone who is foremost, inclusive, comprehensive, lavish, sumptuous, lofty, sublime, wonderful.”

Her book is peppered with quotes from famous persons and writers in history who’ve experienced the loving care of grandparents and from the Holy Bible New International Version that serve as dividers for 10 chapters that begin with “Godly Grandparents to the Rescue!” and end with “Jesus Our Role Model.”

Memoirist Shirley Abbott is quoted for her variation on the biblical line about the sins of the parents visiting on the children: “We all grow up with the weight of history on us. Our ancestors dwell in the attics of our brains just as they do in the spiraling chains of knowledge hidden in every cell of our bodies.”

Yay Padua Olmedo

 Olmedo warned against the use of television and DVD shows as baby sitters, unless these are value oriented. She wrote that in this country “the highest rating daytime and primetime shows are teleseryes with their shouting and moping scenes, and variety shows with their constantly gyrating and scantily-clad female dancers…Kids who watch too much of all this at best will absorb some pretty shaky values, at worst the boob-tube will totally, and dare I say, permanently desensitize the young viewer’s conscience!”

It is a tricky situation grandparents find themselves in. The big question is, in the author’s words, “Up to what point do grandparents get involved so that we’re not accused of meddling, intruding or imposing?” Grandparents must respect their adult child’s standards and opinions even if these are different from theirs without reneging on their role of helping their child with parental responsibility.

Olmedo included cases wherein she counseled grandparents on sensitive matters like disciplining children left in their care by OFW parents or encouraging childless couples “to find fulfillment in helping relatives who lack the means to educate or provide health care for their children.”

She advised happy singles to “have some time to spare, you could be the answer to a weary relative’s prayers. Be a surrogate grandmother and you’ll be more than blessed for taking the time to take an active youngster for a few hours, or once in a while feed, bathe, teach, or put a baby to sleep.”

Based on interviews with her fellow grandmothers, she warned against spoiling grandkids. One lola said, “Kids easily get tired of toys…so why add to the things they’ll just throw around?” Cooking for, reading to or traveling with them are the truer, more lasting gifts.

Olmedo concluded that “our grandchildren are among that special group of people who could make us sparkle once again.”--Text and photos by Elizabeth Lolarga

First published by Vera Files / Yahoo Philippines,  Jan. 2, 2013

AlunAlun Dance Circle empowers Boys' Town

Ligaya Amilbangsa, cultural researcher and conservationist par excellence, dancer and doubtless a living national treasure, found a good way to pass on her dance instruction method to a new generation through the AlunAlun Dance Circle's (AADC) Yuletide performance "Pangalay sa Boys' Town" in Parang, Marikina City.

Amilbangsa (left)

 Amilbangsa is behind the revival of the Mindanao dance form called pangalay (its literal meaning is "gift" or "offering"), a meditative dance that follows natural breathing and is reflective of the movements of waves. Since October up to December this year, her circle trained 29 children in Manila Boys’ Town.

Rosalie Matilac, AADC lead dancer and managing director, said, "The young people came from difficult circumstances: physical abuse, labor exploitation, child trafficking, troubled neighborhoods, homelessness and other dire situations."

 Since the 23-hectare complex in Marikina is also sanctuary to about 300 toddlers, boys, girls and elderly who were abused, exploited and/or abandoned, Matilac said the pangalay method was a way for the residents to "learn an effective way to transcend their circumstances and uplift their souls. Their stories are heart-breaking: children who were left in the streets by their parents, children whose young bodies were sold by their own relatives, old folk who nobody wanted anymore after their productive years were over."

Senior citizens carry the flag colors in "Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa"

The classes were held five days a week. Matilac described the newbie dancers thus, "They're so good! This is the AlunAlun's and Ligaya's way of propagating the art form by imparting the dance to the oppressed and the marginalized. It is her way of coming full circle. The land where Boys' Town stands was donated to the city of Manila by Marikina at the time when Ligaya's father was Marikina mayor in the 1950s."

With financial aid from Harnessing Self-reliant Initiatives and Knowledge or HASIK, a non-governmental organization, the circle carried out Amilbangsa's vision of "making pangalay relevant to the younger generation and to the present-day audience," Matilac said, adding that the dance form "will vanish if we don't introduce a way of teaching it to others outside and within the community. Many traditional gestures and steps have been forgotten by the residents themselves of Tawi-Tawi [where pangalay began]."

Amilbangsa, 70, lived in Taw-Tawi for many years and is a tireless, hands-on teacher. For the Marikina recital, she applied makeup on the faces of the girl performers, a way of helping raise their self-esteem.

From the pangalay teachers, the boys, girls and senior citizens from the home called 

Luwalhati ng Maynila learned to dance together intuitively (pakiramdaman) and without touching one another. They mimed the movements of the waves, the wind and the flowers in gestures that are also found in other Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia and Cambodia.

Matilac recalled how the trainors from AADC would often ask the seniors during rehearsals, "Kaya pa ba ninyo (Can you still do it)?" The unanimous reply was always, "Kaya pa (Yes, we can)!"

She also said, "The elderly wards are so happy that a group of teachers spent time to teach them pangalay. The pain in their joints disappeared along with stiffening of their bones and other body parts. One old man asked them, 'Bakit niyo kami pinag-aaksayahan ng panahon e papalubog na ang buhay naming (Why do you bother to waste time on us when our lives are ending)?' They could all relate well with Ligaya when they learned that she's already 70."

Boys dancing to Yoyoy Villame's "Granada"

They danced, even jammed, with pangalay core dancers like Amilbangsa, Matilac, Mariel Francisco, Temay Padero, to the music of Mozart's Sonata in C Major, Andres Bonifacio's "Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa" as sung by Inang Laya , even to the riotous music of Yoyoy Villame ("Granada" with two teenagers in shades and vests, looking like guns for hire,"Buchikik," "Tsismis," "Mag-Exercise Tayo" and "Nasaan ka Darling").

Girls move to Villame's "Buchikik"

Even when Villame's lyrics and upbeat tune were at their funniest, the dancers were required to wear expressionless faces. The old folk astonished the audience in their ability to still bend their knees, a gesture also required by pangalay.

Temay Padero and Mariel Francisco in "Bula'bula"

Matilac

Francisco and Padero showed, through the number "Bula’bula," how a dance can be done without recorded music. They used bamboo clappers, symbolizing seashells, to provide the percussive beat. Matilac's and her co-dancer's interpretation of "Linggisan" mimicked the movements of birds. They wore the janggay or metalic fingers.

The children, especially the recitalists, gathered on the sides of the stage because for the first time, they saw their teachers dance in full costume.

 Capping the show was Sampaguita's rock hit "Bonggahan" with the Manila Boys' Town and AADC members dancing to it with a straight face.

If anything, this recital proved that an art form as ancient as the pangalay can still empower the weak, the poor, the deprived and the oppressed.--Elizabeth Lolarga

Photos by Cynthia Paz and Tony Lacaba

First published by Vera Files / Yahoo Philippines, Dec. 23, 2012

How to turn a manuscript into a bestseller

Editors today generally spend less time in editing because time is money. This is the observation that novelist Ken Spillman gave at a panel discussion on "Uncut: Issues in Editing" at "Read Lit District," the Third Philippine International Literary Festival in Makati City's Ayala Museum.

Spillman

Spillman, author of the successful Jake series for young readers and whose novel Advaita was described by Young India Books as a work of "sheer genius" that "gently pushes the boundaries of language," qualified that "the best writers respect and respond well to the editor's work."
 

Because he also accepts editing jobs, he said that as a reader, he first tries to get "a feel of the manuscript. I look for cop-outs or parts where the author is struggling with a point of view or if he is able to sustain it and be effectively consistent if he switches it."
 

A good editor, he added, "becomes a little bit more of a writer, a partner of the writer. He is inside the work already, not outside."
 

Spillman said a good editor always prefers "less is more." He advised writers, "Don't overwrite. Give the reader space. Help the book become the best it can be." This can be done by reducing the original draft by maybe 10 percent without anything essential getting lost along the way as the writer learns to edit himself."

McKirdy reading from his book of poems

David McKirdy, poet, author of Accidental Occidental and former director of the Hong Kong International Literary Festival, said the editor's work is always marked by invisibility. He agreed with Spillman that the better writers respond well to editors.
 

Although he said he had limited qualifications since his daily job is editing a motoring magazine, he had been with Chameleon Press that has put out, among others, poetry books. He has worked with poets whom he described as "completely insane but are great souls." He met one such poet who, apart from submitting a manuscript for publication, demanded that when it was in book form, it must be sold with a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of Jack Daniels.
 

He said writers who want to be published "must have a clear vision of what you're trying to sell," adding that the trend in Hong Kong is now print on demand. It is also important for a book to be made available overseas for wider readership.
 

Like Spillman, McKirdy was in favor of simplicity where a writer aims to achieve something clearly when he sends a manuscript to a publisher. For example, a writer must not demand that his book be too big; otherwise, it is hard to display it on a bookstore's rack. "Be practical," he said, "and do research apart from keeping everything simple."

Grames

Juliet Grames, a crime fiction editor based in Brooklyn, New York, said writers who aspire to be authors must consider "career curation" or finding the right literary agent. She added that she is one of the few editors who like being one because she enjoys working with authors, saying, "There is a book for every person and a person for every book."
 

She said as an editor of Soho Press, an independent publisher in New York City, she liked to receive manuscripts that tell "multi-cultural stories which is our bedrock." As for the saleability of a book as an object, she ascribed it to "the person who matters--the reader."
 

She assured the audience that "publishers are not evil people," and they, too, would like to find the right readers for their books. For readers, she said, what matters were the intersecting factors of words, story and issue or message, while for writers, the factors involved are passion, message and money. For publishers it's money, cache and ideas or ideology.
 

Grames also said that every writer always needs a good copy editor and critic even as the publishing model is changing with the advent of e-books.
 

Her employer, Soho Press, puts out from 40 to 50 titles a year, and she bewailed the fact that of that number there are "not many submissions from Filipino authors." She said it was time that Filipino writers look around for their agents who could manage the publishing and financial aspects of their career. An agent gets at least 15 per cent of a book's earnings.
 

She said she would welcome crime fiction submissions from authors from the Philippines and other Asian countries. She added that this genre of fiction could carry the issue of social injustice that troubles  countries from this part of the world.
 

She cited the crime novel The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis, published by Sohol and a bestseller worldwide, that deals with the issue of child trafficking.--Text and photos by Elizabeth Lolarga

First published by Vera Files / Yahoo Philippines, Nov. 24, 2012