Poetry.

Reading by the sea.

Last year, my friend, Jun, gifted me with a copy of an anthology of poetry where he had contributed some of his luminous works. It took me a while to finish reading the book because I only read it when I am near the sea.

For it seems we have longer summers now (because of global warming. Heh. I don’t know if this is cause for joy or not) and I have had several occasions last year and this year to visit some of our wonderful beaches (we’re so lucky we have some of the best beaches in the world!) and so I was able to close the last page to Latay sa Isipan: Mga Bagong Tulang Filipino (Cirilo Bautista, Allan Popa, eds. UST Publishing House, ‘07) only recently.

Reading beautiful poetry is like salve to a weary soul. Reading it near the sea--sparkling, radiant, endless sea-- is an experience (for me) that parallels no other.

Here are a few of my favorite selections in the book:
     

Excerpt from Ricardo Fernando III’s  “Despidida”

Nagpaalam ka naman ngunit hindi ko inakalang
    aalis ka ng bahay
sa gitna ng gabi habang ako’y natutulog sa
    inaamag nating kama,
hindi ako nakapaghanda
sa biglaang paggaan ng aking tabi kaya’t tila
    naalimpungatang
bumangon ako at nanaginip.

Excerpt from Sonia Gerilya’s “Bigat”

II
Sige. Gaaano ngayon kabigat
ang tadyang ko at balikat?
--dalawang pares na pambaba at pantaas
basa pa ang laylayan at manggas
--sabong panlaba sa karton ng gatas
--limang gatang  na bigas
--duyang may pekas
--sampares na medyas
--kolgeyt at tutbras
--isang ream ng Silyab na bagong labas
--posas
--isang supot ng pasas
--malong na kupas
--dalawang lata ng sardinas
--kopya ng GaMas
--limang oras
--armas
--at ikaw, isang kasamang pantas.

Excerpt from Jerry B. Gracio’s “Silip”

Nakatutuwang isipin
na sa ating pinakapribadong gawain,
Nakabantay ang Diyos,
nakikinig, nakatingin, at oo,
maaari nating itigil ang romansahan,
ipagpaliban ang pagtatalik
sa ibang araw, at iwanang
bitin ang diyos.

Excerpt from Mayo Uno Martin’s “Masdan Mo ang mga Bata”

Inaabisuhan ko po ang lahat ng magiging ina:
Mag-ingat sapagkat ang dinadala sa sinapupunan
ang maghahatid sa inyo sa hukay.

Excerpt from Rosmon Tuazon’s “Salansan”

4
Biglang sinapian ng lula ang mga uwak.
Walang-hanggan silang nangalalaglag.

Hindi masasaklaw ng kuwadro ang lawak

ng taniman. Ngunit makukutuban ang panginginig

ng mga uhay--
inaakalang anumang padapo, pasalakay.

***

And here are two of Jun Lisondra’s poems in full: 

“Nagpapaumanhin ang mga Kaluskos nilang Tinutungo ang Dawag”

Hindi magtatagal ang lahat
ng ito, aking panganay.

Nakabuslo sa puyo ni Aliguyon
ang mga nag-aamarilyong talahiban
ng Puncan, at dito sa kinatatayuan,
langhap natin ang nakaambang mga pangarap
sa anino nilang kinakanlong
ng malalayong gubat. Paano ko bang
ipasusukat sa iyo ang lalim ng halaga
ng kanilang awit, ng aming tula.
Humaharap sila sa ating mga hapag
tuwing gabi upang makidildiil sa ating asin.
Tinitimbang nila ang iyong mithi,
at pagkatapos, nag-iiwan sila sa atin
ng mga pangako at pasasalamat.
Nagpapaumanhin ang mga kaluskos
nilang tinutungo ang dawag. Hinaharap
kita habang iniilawan ng mga nagdaraang alitaptap
ang iyong mukha, at bago magtanong
ang mga mata, isang tapik ng pamamaalam
ang isinasagot ko sa iyong balikat.


“Patungo sa Matandang Pueblo”

Itinutulak
ng estrangherong dalagita
ang pedal paahon sa adobeng daan,
umiiwas sa lente ang batang
nakasilip sa pintuan
habang ako’y papalapit
sa kanilang casa roja.
Patungo sa matandang pueblo
itong mga paang nabato-balani
sa tayog ng mga antigong krus
sa Calle Real.
                    Nakatunghay
sa akin ngayon ang katotohanan
na winika ng isang pantas:
ibang hininga itong tumatagos
sa pagkatao tuwing nilalakbay
ang bayan ng iba. Sayang
at walang makakasama.
                    Naghahanap
itong aking palad
ng higpit, ng pisil. At ang dilang
sinusubuan nila ng banyagang palabra
ay nagnanais bumulong
sa iyong pisngi.
                    Kung
naririto ka lamang sana, makikiliti
kang malaman na sa pagbigkas,
ang tanging kinikilala ng Granada
ay ang katagang,
                    te amo,
sinta.

20 Junio 2005
Granada, Nicaragua

:D

Me: Ilan gusto mong hipon for your baon?
P: Apat parang Beatles. (PAUSES) Lima na lang parang The Cure.
Me: (Starts adding chicken nuggets next to prawns).
P: (Protests) Ang liit naman nung isang nugget!
Me: Ang takaw mo, ang taas na nga ng sugar mo!
P: Gawin mo na limang nuggets para lahat sampu, parang Polyphonic Spree.
Me: (Rolls eyeballs.)

Head in a spin.

(Retropost Sept.'08)

Everything melts in this heat.

Even my brain is mush.

The question is: why have I agreed to work on a book on Visual C++?

Well, let it not be said that I ever said no to work.

He he.

Philippine Opera Company's "La Boheme."

“In a world of disorder and disaster and fraud,
sometimes only beauty can be trusted.”--E. Gilbert

And so it was in search of beauty that P and I left our freshly scrubbed nest, on a perfectly overcast day (there was supposed to be a storm after all) to preview one of the world’s best-loved operas— La Boheme—performed on Philippine shores no less and acted in and directed by local talents.

La Boheme, an opera written by Giacomo Puccini (see also Turandot, Madama Butterfly, Gianni Schicchi), is mainly about the tragic love story between Rodolfo and Mimi, two characters who “live on the fringes of Paris society” in the 1800s and who are, as the title of the opera suggests, bohemians: Rodolfo is a struggling writer; Mimi an artist (actually a gifted seamstress). They meet, fall in love, fall out of love, fall in love again—only to be frustrated once more in the end when Mimi dies of tuberculosis.  

The very popular ‘90s hit musical, Rent (also later made into a movie with the same title) largely drew inspiration from this opera. There were many similarities between the two shows, including characters in Rent having names similar or almost similar to the characters in La Boheme, scenes that showcased similar action/dialogue, as well as songs from the original opera actually included in the Jonathan Larson opus. Rent is a wonderful, wonderful play, whose music continues to capture and enthrall audiences all over the world. Part of its following is maybe because of the sudden death of its very young and talented writer (Larson), who died on (or very near?) the opening of the show.

The La Boheme of the Philippine Opera Company (POC) is a very brave undertaking considering that opera does not have a big following in the country. Many still consider it as “high brow,” inaccessible, or only for the rich and old. Part of the challenge in staging this classic is how to make it current and appealing to the theater-going public, especially the younger generation who can only benefit from being introduced to one of the works of the great Puccini. Fortunately, this is a challenge that the POC unflinchingly takes on.

Although, POC’s La Boheme remains faithful to the original libretto (as its director, Floy Quintos, said, “Why mess with a good thing?”), the story and set have been updated to reflect contemporary Malate and the leads Rodolfo and Mimi transformed into “indie” artists.

Someone in the audience, a man who calls himself “The Jester” and who actually wears a jester’s hat, said: “The question is can (we) stand watching a 3-hour opera, sung in Italian, without falling asleep?” Nervous giggles went around. The truth is, just as the POC had been brave in showcasing what might potentially be a flop, the audience members (most of whom have never been to an opera show in their lives) were equally gung-ho to enjoy the show and be educated and elevated in terms of taste and experience. As they say, “Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.” Happily, it was an experience that many of us could bear to repeat. The fact that the show is conducted in Italian does not detract from its enjoyment. Music is the only true universal language and Italian, one of the most mellifluous, romantic, and beautiful languages in the world, certainly does not hurt the show, either.

In the movie The Mirror Has Two Faces, Streisand’s character said, “When we’re in love, we hear Puccini in our heads.” Catch the POC’s La Boheme (runs Oct. 3-4, 8 PM and Oct. 5, 3 PM at the CCP Main Theater) and see for yourselves why Puccini is considered one of the greatest composers that ever lived.

***

P. S. You can actually YouTube some of Puccini’s works including “Nessun Dorma” (from Turandot), “Un Bel Di Vedremo” (Madama Butterfly), and “O Mio Babbino Caro” (Gianni Schicchi). These are just some of the popular ones and all of them my personal favorites.

Watching La Boheme, I start missing my maternal grandfather, the late Vicente Antiporda, who was said to be one of the two leading baritones of note during his time and whose patronesses included former first lady Imelda Marcos (who used to gift him backstage with praises and barong Tagalogs). But, this deserves another post . . .