Seeing ghosts, bending time
By Walter Ang
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:37:00 02/09/2009 Filed Under: Theatre, here.
TONY Perez is popularly known as the founder of the Spirit Questors, a group of psychics who “communicate with earthbound human spirits and elementals in an attempt to negotiate for the peaceful coexistence with human beings.”
He is also known as the author of a series of books set in Cubao with eerie titles such as “Cubao Pagkagat ng Dilim,” “Cubao Midnight Express,” “Eros, Thanatos, Cubao.” Some readers know him as the author of a series of books on how to cast spells and perform Wiccan rituals.
Perez wrote segments for the movie “Shake, Rattle and Roll VI.” Students from De La Salle University-Manila, St. Scholastica’s College and Ateneo de Manila University, who have had him as a professor, know of his passion for esoterica.
Aside from being a poet, painter, graphic designer, illustrator, art therapist and fabric artist (by way of knitting), he is also known as a prolific playwright whose works are constantly staged by professional and collegiate groups.
Given his background, it is no wonder that his play “Saan ba Tayo Ihahatid ng Disyembre,” to be staged by Philippine Educational Theater Association (Peta) this month, has been billed as a “ghost play.”
Metaphysical
It revolves around Lalaki (alternately played by Julienne Mendoza and Jack Yabut) and Isa Pang Lalaki (played by Lex Marcos) and their love affair with the same woman, Babae (Angeli Bayani), who is torn between her feelings for the two.
These are the characters comprising “five generations of the David clan as they attempt to complete the unfinished painting of their Lolo, on the condition that it must be done only by an artist who has married into their fold.”
But there is a fourth entity, Isa Pang Babae, who has, as Peta artistic director Maribel Legarda describes, “clairvoyant, clairaudient and clairsentient tendencies.”
Perez is quick to note that “Disyembre” “is not just about ghosts. It is really more about elements of time and space manipulation, in that time is simultaneous in this play. It’s very metaphysical.”
Trilogy
It is actually the last of “Indakan ng Mga Puso,” a trilogy Perez has written, the first two being “Oktubre, Noong Tayo’y Nagmamahalan Pa” and “Nobyembre, Noong Akala Ko’y Mahal Kita.” Both were staged at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in the ’90s.
Last year, Perez won the National Book Award for Drama for another trilogy of plays he’d written. Collectively titled “Tatlong Paglalakbay,” it includes “Bombita,” “Biyaheng Timog” and “Sa North Diversion Road.” The last was adapted into a film in 2005 by Dennis Marasigan.
The overarching theme for all three plays in “Indakan” is friendship, love and compassion despite complications of betrayal, jealousy and anger.
“There are two men and one woman in the first play, two women and one man in the second play,” Perez says. “In ‘Disyembre,’ the third play, all four are present: two males and two females. All three plays are about making choices.”
Challenge
While there is no need for audiences to have seen the first two plays since each of the three functions as an independent play, the fun (or challenge) for audiences in watching this third installment is the device of “time and space manipulation” employed by Perez.
“The first act is set in the 1960s and ghosts from the future (2008) are in the same setting as the characters. In the second act, this is reversed and the ghosts from the 1960s are now with the characters in 2008. All the characters are superimposed on one another,” he says. “It’s now the job of the audience to determine who is who.”
Perez has been writing plays since he was in high school at Ateneo de Manila University. His first Tagalog play saw its earliest incarnation while he was in fourth grade. Eventually it became “Hoy, Boyet, Tinatawag Ka Na; Hatinggabi Na’y Gising Ka Pa Pala” when he reached high school, and was staged by Dulaang Sibol in 1967.
He was also involved for many years with Ateneo Children’s Theater, starting out as “a monster designer” until he became its resident playwright.
While “Disyembre” was only recently committed to paper, Perez notes it has always been fully formed in his mind. It was just a matter of timing until it could be written out and, finally, staged.
“Disyembre” will be directed by Nonon Padilla. The collaboration is familiar ground for Perez since both he and Padilla started out as young artists working closely with Peta.
Save for attending rehearsals to tweak some dialogue (“I adjust the lines to follow the speech patterns of the actors”), Perez trusts Padilla’s choices completely. “I have no problems with his direction.”
“Saan ba Tayo Ihahatid ng Disyembre” runs from Feb. 6-March 15. For details, call 410-0821 or 0918-906-8083. Email petampro@yahoo.com.
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Tuesday, June 16, 2009
From atisan.blogspot.com:
On "Cubao 1980" by Tony Perez
Cubao 1980 By Tony Perez (In Cubao 1980 At Iba Pang Mga Katha: Unang Sigaw Ng Gay Liberation Movement Sa Pilipinas, Cacho Publishing, 1992, pp. 1-89) Finalist in the Palanca Award, Cubao 1980 is Tony Perez’s first novel [sic] and one of the first attempts in Philippine literature to use skaz to depict a specific time and place, in the voice of Tom—the sixteen-year old narrator who got himself somewhat dislocated, mostly emotionally, in the evolving alternative urban site that was Cubao. Almost all of the familiar sites that used to occupy the spaces in Cubao were there, but readers are mostly defamiliarized with them when flesh trade and transactions happen in the most unexpected places, like in between shelves of books in a popular bookstore. Language is obviously the primary tool used by Perez to deepen the naturalism in the setting. The novel makes use of the colloquial language, in all its simplicity and truthfulness, in order to capture the spirit that animates each word. Some of the words used were “epa, alaws, sward, kets, tomguts, haybol, yos-a, lonta, yagbols, dehins, isplit, ema, spring tsiken, bagets, uring, sitak, siyota, sikyo, tumoma, durog, tsikas, dyakol, and datan” to refer to “father, nothing, homosexual, male, hungry, house, alright, long pants, scrotum, no, to separate, security guards, mother, virgin, young one, anal sex, cab, partner, to drink alcohol, drugged, female, masturbate, and old.” In all these, we get to understand Tom better: he wanted to desperately situate himself in the only place and time he thought he knew and understood.
Perez pushes further his experimentation with language, when we realize that he presents highly sensitive sexual scenarios that border on pornography, but do not just fall into it, by creating fully realized psychological complexity in his main character. In addition, his artistic rendering of the commonplace reveals that lust and shame in language might really be a function of intent and integrity, more than just signification.As mentioned earlier, the body is presented here as literally a commodity, and in Tom’s experience, his body’s monetary value improves as his knowledge of the trade widens, but is also inversely proportional to the amount of necessary innocence he thought he needed to continue to form relationships with his family, mostly his siblings, and with a prospective beloved—here, his classmate Amelia Contreras. His experience of dislocation was sudden but lasting: he’s rapidly no longer the person he used to be before he got into all these, and he realized that there was no way he could regain the sixteen-year old that he was, even when he attempted to salvage himself by seeking refuge to a faith that he vaguely understood but felt deeply, via Don Stewart. A naturalist novel would mostly likely end in tragedy, but in a doom not entirely similar to an Aristotelian peripeteia. Tom’s was a tragedy that recognizes its further disintegration, especially when he witnessed the murder of his friend Butch by Hermie, his ex-gay lover, in a highly tense scene that closes the book.
[A slightly similar version of this essay in Filipino may be accessed here; and a summary of the novel in Filipino was posted here.]
On "Cubao 1980" by Tony Perez
Cubao 1980 By Tony Perez (In Cubao 1980 At Iba Pang Mga Katha: Unang Sigaw Ng Gay Liberation Movement Sa Pilipinas, Cacho Publishing, 1992, pp. 1-89) Finalist in the Palanca Award, Cubao 1980 is Tony Perez’s first novel [sic] and one of the first attempts in Philippine literature to use skaz to depict a specific time and place, in the voice of Tom—the sixteen-year old narrator who got himself somewhat dislocated, mostly emotionally, in the evolving alternative urban site that was Cubao. Almost all of the familiar sites that used to occupy the spaces in Cubao were there, but readers are mostly defamiliarized with them when flesh trade and transactions happen in the most unexpected places, like in between shelves of books in a popular bookstore. Language is obviously the primary tool used by Perez to deepen the naturalism in the setting. The novel makes use of the colloquial language, in all its simplicity and truthfulness, in order to capture the spirit that animates each word. Some of the words used were “epa, alaws, sward, kets, tomguts, haybol, yos-a, lonta, yagbols, dehins, isplit, ema, spring tsiken, bagets, uring, sitak, siyota, sikyo, tumoma, durog, tsikas, dyakol, and datan” to refer to “father, nothing, homosexual, male, hungry, house, alright, long pants, scrotum, no, to separate, security guards, mother, virgin, young one, anal sex, cab, partner, to drink alcohol, drugged, female, masturbate, and old.” In all these, we get to understand Tom better: he wanted to desperately situate himself in the only place and time he thought he knew and understood.
Perez pushes further his experimentation with language, when we realize that he presents highly sensitive sexual scenarios that border on pornography, but do not just fall into it, by creating fully realized psychological complexity in his main character. In addition, his artistic rendering of the commonplace reveals that lust and shame in language might really be a function of intent and integrity, more than just signification.As mentioned earlier, the body is presented here as literally a commodity, and in Tom’s experience, his body’s monetary value improves as his knowledge of the trade widens, but is also inversely proportional to the amount of necessary innocence he thought he needed to continue to form relationships with his family, mostly his siblings, and with a prospective beloved—here, his classmate Amelia Contreras. His experience of dislocation was sudden but lasting: he’s rapidly no longer the person he used to be before he got into all these, and he realized that there was no way he could regain the sixteen-year old that he was, even when he attempted to salvage himself by seeking refuge to a faith that he vaguely understood but felt deeply, via Don Stewart. A naturalist novel would mostly likely end in tragedy, but in a doom not entirely similar to an Aristotelian peripeteia. Tom’s was a tragedy that recognizes its further disintegration, especially when he witnessed the murder of his friend Butch by Hermie, his ex-gay lover, in a highly tense scene that closes the book.
[A slightly similar version of this essay in Filipino may be accessed here; and a summary of the novel in Filipino was posted here.]
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Cubao Midnight Express: Mga Pusong Nadiskaril Sa Mahabang Riles Ng Pag-ibig
by Tony Perez
Rated 4 stars
“I love Tony Perez's writing. This book is no exception. It's a collection of stories of the heart. And the stories are often tragic. Published in the late 80s to early 90s, Perez's book is "experimental" compared with other Filipino books of his time. He often plays with the format of his stories in this book. One of the stories is told through a memo correspondence by two employees. While another story includes a greeting card stuck on one of the pages. ”
rommelj wrote this review Saturday, October 13 2007. ( reply permalink )
by Tony Perez
Rated 4 stars
“I love Tony Perez's writing. This book is no exception. It's a collection of stories of the heart. And the stories are often tragic. Published in the late 80s to early 90s, Perez's book is "experimental" compared with other Filipino books of his time. He often plays with the format of his stories in this book. One of the stories is told through a memo correspondence by two employees. While another story includes a greeting card stuck on one of the pages. ”
rommelj wrote this review Saturday, October 13 2007. ( reply permalink )
A kingdom of colors--Danton Remoto
REMOTE CONTROL Danton Remoto 12/23/2008 1:31 AM
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One bright spot in the bleak national landscape is the writing and production of children’s books. Recent harvest shows that the bumper crop continues, and will likely to do so in the next years. The best of these books introduce values without the leaden moral lessons and pieties that deaden one’s sensitivity.
Colors in Mindanao
The beauty of colors is also found in Tony Perez’s interactive children’s book, Inang Bayan’s New Clothes (Mga Bag-ong Sinina ni Inahang Nasod) illustrated by Frances C. Alcaraz (Anvil Publishing). The book is funded by a grant from Ambassador Kristie Kenney of the U.S. Embassy, which help was acknowledged by the Manila Critics Circle’s National Book Awards in its awarding ceremony at the book fair last year. I am one of the members of the Manila Critics Circle.The setting is Mindanao and the characters are the young girls Feliza (Christian) and Nurhana (Muslim). If you think this is one of your mindless we-are-sisters-we-are-one tra-la-la, think again. Perez is one of our best writers, and this book shows us why.Feliza and Nurhana meet Inang Bayan on the road, the implication being that Inang Bayan’s journey is never done. Inang Bayan is wearing rags for clothes, and all her accessories come from foreign places. They bring her to a dress show and make new clothes for her.“Feliza created a flower-printed skirt from Quezon with a matching tapis from Iloilo, to go with wooden clogs from Quezon and a salakot from Cavite. . . .” They also give her the three other dresses she has request. A black dress, “to remember those who experienced violence, those who faced danger, and those who suffered for their country. . . a second white dress for my children who are noble of heart, who believe in peace, who encourage religious tolerance, and who are blessed by their Creator.”The last dress is the one I like best: “blue, red, and gold, for my brave children who believe they can live united in peace under one great Philippine nation. And so Feliza and Nurhana created for Inang Bayan a dress in blue, red, and gold. Nurhana’s blue was like the sky and sea. Feliza’s red was like roses, and rubies, and ripe apples. Their gold was like the fiery power of the sun, of dignity, of royalty.”In war-torn Mindanao, such stories deserve to be told, and re-told.
REMOTE CONTROL Danton Remoto 12/23/2008 1:31 AM
Printer-friendly version Send to friend Post Comment
One bright spot in the bleak national landscape is the writing and production of children’s books. Recent harvest shows that the bumper crop continues, and will likely to do so in the next years. The best of these books introduce values without the leaden moral lessons and pieties that deaden one’s sensitivity.
Colors in Mindanao
The beauty of colors is also found in Tony Perez’s interactive children’s book, Inang Bayan’s New Clothes (Mga Bag-ong Sinina ni Inahang Nasod) illustrated by Frances C. Alcaraz (Anvil Publishing). The book is funded by a grant from Ambassador Kristie Kenney of the U.S. Embassy, which help was acknowledged by the Manila Critics Circle’s National Book Awards in its awarding ceremony at the book fair last year. I am one of the members of the Manila Critics Circle.The setting is Mindanao and the characters are the young girls Feliza (Christian) and Nurhana (Muslim). If you think this is one of your mindless we-are-sisters-we-are-one tra-la-la, think again. Perez is one of our best writers, and this book shows us why.Feliza and Nurhana meet Inang Bayan on the road, the implication being that Inang Bayan’s journey is never done. Inang Bayan is wearing rags for clothes, and all her accessories come from foreign places. They bring her to a dress show and make new clothes for her.“Feliza created a flower-printed skirt from Quezon with a matching tapis from Iloilo, to go with wooden clogs from Quezon and a salakot from Cavite. . . .” They also give her the three other dresses she has request. A black dress, “to remember those who experienced violence, those who faced danger, and those who suffered for their country. . . a second white dress for my children who are noble of heart, who believe in peace, who encourage religious tolerance, and who are blessed by their Creator.”The last dress is the one I like best: “blue, red, and gold, for my brave children who believe they can live united in peace under one great Philippine nation. And so Feliza and Nurhana created for Inang Bayan a dress in blue, red, and gold. Nurhana’s blue was like the sky and sea. Feliza’s red was like roses, and rubies, and ripe apples. Their gold was like the fiery power of the sun, of dignity, of royalty.”In war-torn Mindanao, such stories deserve to be told, and re-told.
Feature Article from Dialog 6 2009 (Poland), a journal of the International Theatre Institute, after Polish dramaturg Malgarzota Semil's viewing of my full-length play Saan Ba Tayo Ihahatid Ng Disyembre? at Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) in March 2009.
SCENA
FILIPIÑSKA
Ma³gorzata Semil
FILIPINY: (OD)BUDOWA TO¯SAMO.CI
1.
Trudno o lepszy punkt wyj.cia do
uwag o Filipinach i kulturze teatralnej tego
kraju ni¿ swoisty spektakl wykonywany
codziennie przez Carlosa Celdrana, z wykszta
³cenia plastyka, który trzy lata spê-
dzi³ jako cz³onek znanego eksperymentalnego
nowojorskiego zespo³u teatralnego
The Blue Man Group. Ubrany w barong
tagalog, tradycyjny strój filipiñski i . równie
¿ tradycyjny . czarny cylinder, Celdran
przychodzi codziennie na plac przed katedr
¹ w Manili. Na zabytkowym s³upie
milowym stawia radiomagnetofon, z przewieszonej
przez ramiê torby wyjmuje chor
¹giewkê . miniaturê flagi narodowej .
i po³o¿ywszy rêkê na sercu, intonuje hymn
pañstwowy. Po³owa zgromadzonych podejmuje
.piew: to Filipiñczycy, przywykli,
¿e przedstawienia zaczynaj¹ siê od
od.piewania hymnu. Nastêpnie Carlos
prowadzi grupê zebranych mniej wiêcej
trzydziestu osób na dwugodzinny spacer
po Intramuros, najstarszej czê.ci Manili.
Podczas drugiej wojny .wiatowej stolica
Filipin ucierpia³a w równym stopniu, co
Warszawa. Autentycznych zabytków jest
niewiele; Intramuros to okolone murem
i fos¹ stare miasto, wielko.ci¹ zbli¿one do
warszawskiego, i podobnie jak warszawskie
w znacznej czê.ci odbudowane.
Fot. Ma³gorzata Semil
MA£GORZATA SEMIL
162
SCENA
FILIPIÑSKA
Carlos pokazuje .wi¹tynie zbudowane
przez Hiszpanów, ale i resztki fortu Santiago,
gdzie pod koniec dziewiêtnastego
wieku stracono bohatera narodowego, pisarza
Jose Rizala, który swoj¹ twórczo.ci¹
zainicjowa³ powstanie przeciw kolonizatorom.
Trasa obejmuje ruiny Ateneo de
Manila, pierwszej prowadzonej przez Jezuit
ów wy¿szej uczelni na Filipinach, ko-
.ció³ .wiêtego Augustyna, gdzie pod koniec
wojny Japoñczycy wymordowali ponad
sto dwadzie.cia tysiêcy cywilów. Carlos
zwraca uwagê na ocala³e detale, .wiadcz
¹ce o przedwojennej wspania³o.ci Manili,
uchodz¹cej niegdy. za Pary¿ Wschodu
(na potwierdzenie ma stare fotografie).
Chce te¿ pokazaæ, jak Filipiñczycy absorbowali
elementy kultury swoich kolonizator
ów (po Hiszpanach w 1908 roku Filipiny
przejêli Amerykanie z zamiarem
uczynienia ich kolejnym stanem), naje.d.-
ców czy partnerów handlowych, jak Chiñ-
czycy. Tworzenie siê tego melan¿u kultur
. azjatyckiej, iberoamerykañskiej, europejskiej
i pó³nocnoamerykañskiej . oraz
jego przejawy we wszystkich aspektach
¿ycia (od jêzyka, poprzez obyczaje, kuchni
ê, gusta) to g³ówny temat opowiadanych
z niezwyk³¹ swad¹ i dowcipem historii
i anegdot. Przewodnik ilustruje je coraz to
nowymi rekwizytami, wyjmowanymi
z wielkiej torby, i muzyk¹ puszczan¹ z magnetofonu.
Za koronny przyk³ad synkretyzmu
Carlos podaje kamienne chiñskie
lwy przy wej.ciu do ko.cio³a katolickiego
oraz narodowy deser pod nazw¹ halohalo,
na który sk³adaj¹ siê wszystkie mo¿-
liwe owoce i s³odko.ci.
.Nie mogê zmieniæ wygl¹du Manili .
mówi Carlos . ale mogê zmieniæ to, jak siê
j¹ postrzega, wskazaæ, ¿e za tym, co widzimy
na co dzieñ, kryj¹ siê prawdziwe skarby.
. Tym samym wp³ywa tak¿e na to, jak
postrzega siê kulturê Filipin w ogóle. Filipi
ñczykom, zw³aszcza tym, którzy mieszkaj
¹ za granic¹, doskwiera poczucie, ¿e
zatracili swoj¹ to¿samo.æ. Jednak tu, na
miejscu, te¿ nie mamy poczucia to¿samo-
.ci . mówi Carlos . i jest nam z tym dobrze.
Bo jak zdefiniowaæ to¿samo.æ narodow
¹ mieszkañców siedmiu tysiêcy wysp,
mówi¹cych przesz³o osiemdziesiêcioma
jêzykami?
2.
Gdyby.my poszli inn¹ tras¹, po której
oprowadza Carlos Celdran . .ladami Imeldy
Marcos . trafiliby.my do obchodz¹cego
w³a.nie czterdziestolecie istnienia gigantycznego
centrum kultury Cultural Centre
of the Philippines (CCP). By³o ono oczkiem
w g³owie pani prezydentowej, chc¹cej
uchodziæ za mecenasa kultury. Budowla
wzniesiona na wydartych morzu terenach,
na grz¹skim gruncie by³a jedn¹ z wielu niezwykle
kosztownych zachcianek pierwszej
damy. Powstawa³a za pieni¹dze przeznaczone
na edukacjê, bez wizji co do celów,
jakie mia³aby spe³niaæ. Chyba ¿e mowa
o najwiêkszej z piêciu sal widowiskowych,
na osiem tysiêcy widzów, której pierwszym
przeznaczeniem by³ wymy.lony przez
Imeldê konkurs piêkno.ci.
Fot. Ma³gorzata Semil
FILIPINY: (OD)BUDOWA TO¯SAMO.CI
163 SCENA
FILIPIÑSKA
W ca³ym kompleksie, finansowanym
z pieniêdzy rz¹dowych, mie.ci siê obecnie,
oprócz wspomnianych sal widowiskowych,
miêdzy innymi kilka galerii i biblioteka.
Swoje siedziby maj¹ tu dwa sta³e zespo³y
folklorystyczne, dwa zespo³y baletowe,
dwie orkiestry, zespó³ madrygalistów oraz
utworzony w 1987 roku, czyli ju¿ po obaleniu
Marcosów, filipiñski teatr narodowy,
Tanghalang Pilipino. Na Filipinach jest wiele
teatrów i zespo³ów, ale dwa najwa¿niejsze
teatry instytucjonalne to w³a.nie Tanghalang
Pilipino oraz powo³ana do ¿ycia
znacznie wcze.niej, w 1967 roku, pozarz¹-
dowa organizacja PETA, czyli Philippine
Educational Theatre Association.
Obecno.æ hiszpañska na Filipinach sprawi
³a, ¿e niezale¿nie od licznych i bardzo
urozmaiconych tradycyjnych form widowiskowych,
ju¿ od dziewiêtnastego wieku znany
by³ tam teatr w pojêciu europejskim.
Przewa¿aj¹ca wiêkszo.æ utworów grana
by³a po hiszpañsku, nawet wówczas, gdy
dotyczy³a tematyki lokalnej. Z form teatralnych
Hiszpanie zaszczepili Filipiñczykom
zarzuelê. Z kolei Amerykanie, przynosz¹c
Filipinom system demokratyczny i narzucaj
¹c jêzyk (konstytucja Filipin jest napisana
po angielsku), przynie.li te¿ system edukacyjny,
a co za tym idzie otworzyli teatr na
dorobek dramaturgiczny Zachodu . tak¿e za
po.rednictwem filmu. Do ju¿
rozpowszechnionej tradycji
zarzueli dorzucili musical.
Wci¹¿ natomiast nie by³o dramatu
pisanego po filipiñsku,
czyli w tagalog. Ju¿ od zakoñ-
czenia drugiej wojny .wiatowej
w.ród ludzi uprawiaj¹cych
teatr zawodowo lub pó³zawodowo
(na przyk³ad w teatrach
uniwersyteckich) narasta³o poczucie,
¿e trzeba stworzyæ w³asny,
filipiñski teatr i dramat.
Odpowiedzi¹ na to zapotrzebowanie
by³a dzia³alno
.æ PETA. Trudno przeceniæ dzia³alno
.æ tej grupy entuzjastów . artystów i spo-
³eczników . którzy pod wodz¹ Cecile
Guidote-Alvarez postanowili .upowszechnia
æ i rozwijaæ sztukê teatru na Filipinach..
Od pocz¹tku dzia³alno.æ PETY przebiega-
Nowy gmach PETA.
MA£GORZATA SEMIL
164
SCENA
FILIPIÑSKA
³a dwutorowo. Jeden nurt polega³ na pracy
u podstaw, na dzia³alno.ci edukacyjnej
i wprzêganiu, czy te¿ wykorzystywaniu teatru
do zadañ spo³ecznych (jak zajêcia teatralne
dla dzieci ulicy), na wspomaganiu
rozlicznych zespo³ów, rozproszonych po
ca³ym kraju, czêsto uprawiaj¹cych formy
tradycyjne, i tworzeniu swego rodzaju sieci.
Równolegle za. budowano podstawy instytucjonalnego
teatru artystycznego.
Pierwszym krokiem by³o utworzenie zespo-
³u aktorskiego (Kalinangan Ensemble).
Aby aktywnie wspomagaæ w³asn¹ dramaturgi
ê, organizowano warsztaty, czytanie
nowych sztuk i co miesi¹c dawano premier
ê. Przez sze.æ lat realizowano cotygodniowe
widowisko telewizyjne oparte na dramacie
i prozie filipiñskiej, realizowano s³uchowiska
radiowe. Ogromne znaczenie
mia³y inscenizacje wspó³czesnych utworów
.wiatowych . z jednej strony Brechta,
z drugiej absurdystów (Becketta, Ionesco,
Geneta, Pintera . a tak¿e Mro¿ka) oraz zapraszanie
artystów zagranicznych do re-
¿yserowania, prowadzenia warsztatów
i seminariów. Ze szczególn¹ wdziêczno.-
ci¹ wspominany jest tu Czech Ladislav
Smoèek i enerdowski propagator Brechta
Kurt Bennewitz, ale tak¿e amerykañski
re¿yser Brooks Jones oraz Ellen Stewart.
PETA, która znalaz³a sobie tymczasow
¹ siedzibê w ruinach Fortu Santiago w Intramuros,
wkrótce sta³a siê wylêgarni¹ talent
ów pisarskich, szko³¹ dla aktorów teatralnych
i filmowych oraz re¿yserów,
a przede wszystkim teatrem. Zaistnieli
w nim publicznie miêdzy innymi tacy dramatopisarze,
uchodz¹cy do dzi. za najwybitniejszych,
jak autor pierwszej filipiñskiej
sztuki modernistycznej Paul Dumol, Tony
Perez i Malou Jacob, oraz re¿yserzy Lino
Brocka (znany w Europie jako re¿yser filmowy)
i Nonon Padilla (pó.niejszy dyrektor
artystyczny Tanghalang Pilipino). Po
blisko czterdziestu latach od swego powstania
PETA, która w latach stanu wyj¹tkowego
(1972-1981) prze¿ywa³a trudne chwile
w zwi¹zku ze swoim zaanga¿owaniem spo-
³ecznym, dorobi³a siê wreszcie . g³ównie
dziêki funduszom zagranicznym . w³asnej
siedziby. W 2006 roku otwarto niezbyt
du¿y, ale bardzo funkcjonalny budynek,
w którym oprócz sali widowiskowej, któr¹
mo¿na dowolnie kszta³towaæ, znalaz³o siê
miejsce dla biblioteki, centrum dokumentacji,
galerii oraz sal prób i sal studyjnych
pozwalaj¹cych realizowaæ wszystkie zadania
edukacyjne.
3.
Wspomniany ju¿ filipiñski teatr narodowy,
Tanghalang Pilipino, ma sta³y profesjonalny
zespó³ i prowadzi studio aktorskie,
którego absolwenci zasilaj¹ zespó³
podstawowy oraz inne teatry, kszta³ci te¿
re¿yserów. Daje do dziesiêciu premier w sezonie,
wystawiaj¹c klasykê i dramaturgiê
wspó³czesn¹; stara siê pozyskaæ nowe sztuki
rodzime. Sporo gra w obje.dzie, co wynika
z jego statusu, w który wpisane jest
upowszechnianie teatru.
Wydarzeniem artystycznym ostatniego
sezonu w Tanghalang Pilipino, przebiegaj
¹cego pod has³em To¿samo.æ i zmiana,
a po.wiêconego .ukazywaniu jednostki
mierz¹cej siê ze zmianami w swoim ¿yciu
i w otaczaj¹cym j¹ .wiecie., by³a inscenizacja
sztuki Golden Child (Z³ote dziecko)
Amerykanina Henry.ego Hwanga, zdobywcy
nagród Pulitzera (pierwszego Azjaty,
który tê nagrodê otrzyma³) i OBIE. Ale
prawdziwym przebojem jest . wpisuj¹cy
siê zreszt¹ w temat . musical Zsazsa Zaturnnah,
ze muzikal. Tytu³owa bohaterka
jest supermenk¹, która przybywa na ratunek
prowincjonalnemu w³a.cicielowi salonu
piêkno.ci, nieporadnemu ch³opakowi
o nie do koñca zdecydowanej orientacji
seksualnej, oraz ca³emu miasteczku. Zagra-
¿aj¹ im monstrualna ¿aba a tak¿e dru¿yna
agresywnych Amazonek z kosmosu. W rzeczywisto
.ci Zsazsa Zaturnnah jest wcieleniem
naszego bohatera . tê postaæ przybieFILIPINY:
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ra on nieoczekiwanie, gdy po³knie znaleziony
tajemniczy kamieñ. Pokonanie wrog
ów miasteczka przydaje mu wiary we w³asne
si³y a tak¿e . byæ mo¿e . pozwala zdecydowa
æ o swoim przysz³ym losie: czy ma
rozpocz¹æ nowe ¿ycie z zakochanym w nim
s¹siadem. Królowa Amazonek za., po-
³kn¹wszy kamieñ, wypowiada niew³a.ciwe
zaklêcie i zmienia siê w .winiê.
Historyjka ta, ubarwiona niezbyt porywaj
¹c¹, nieco soulow¹ muzyk¹ disco filipino,
zagrana z doci.niêciem peda³u, bez
¿adnego dystansu, mo¿e siê wydawaæ do.æ
osobliwym wyborem repertuarowym na
scenie narodowej. Tyle ¿e Zsazsa Zaturnnah,
bohaterka komiksu wymy.lonego
w 2002 roku przez rysownika Carlo Vergar
ê, jest na Filipinach postaci¹ kultow¹
(szczególnie w .rodowiskach gejowskich).
Wydanie ksi¹¿kowe przygód Zsazsy otrzyma
³o wa¿n¹ nagrodê literack¹. Nied³ugo
potem powsta³ film. Skomponowany
w 2006 musical bi³ rekordy powodzenia.
Komiksowa proweniencja bohaterki usprawiedliwia
kiczowato.æ spektaklu, a fakt, ¿e
prawzorem dla niej i jej przygód by³y jeszcze
wcze.niejsze opowie.ci popularne, pozwala
dostrzec w ca³ym zjawisku kolejny
przejaw kulturalnego metisa¿u. .Zsazsa, jak
wiadomo, jest nie tylko uwielbiana, ale te¿
dobra na wszelkie k³opoty . tak¿e finansowe
., pisz¹ wprost dyrektorzy teatru w programie.
Nie bez racji: ju¿ po pierwszych
przedstawieniach trzeba by³o przenie.æ
spektakl do wiêkszego audytorium.
4.
PETA i Tanghalang Pilipino, dwie stabilne
instytucje, stanowi¹ obecnie podstaw
ê filipiñskiego teatru zawodowego, ale
do.æ wa¿n¹ rolê odgrywaj¹ tak¿e teatry uniwersyteckie,
które dla m³odych ludzi s¹
wstêpem do kariery artystycznej. Mia³am
okazjê obejrzeæ niektóre produkcje tych
teatrów podczas trzeciego festiwalu teatrów
uniwersyteckich Ikatlong Tanghal tocz¹cego
siê 10-14 lutego 2009. Zgromadzi³ osiem
przedstawieñ, .wiadcz¹cych, ¿e to teatr
bardzo zaanga¿owany, ciekawy i na dobrym
poziomie.
Zw³aszcza dwa przedstawienia zas³uguj
¹ na uwagê. Dula Ta (Bawmy siê) z uniwersytetu
z Santos City na Mindanao, wyspie,
na której nie ustaj¹ walki z d¹¿¹c¹ do
secesji partyzantk¹ muzu³mañsk¹, ukazuje
Romeo F. Narvaez Dula Ta, MSU-Kapapagariya, Santos City 2008, re¿. Romeo F. Narvaez.
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stan wojny z perspektywy dwójki dzieci.
Ch³opiec i dziewczynka chc¹ siê razem
bawiæ . dzieci nie s¹ .wiadome, ¿e nale¿¹
do przeciwnych obozów, dopóki nie wkroczy
miêdzy nie rzeczywisto.æ i .mieræ.
Zagrane to by³o skromnie, bez przerysowañ
przez aktorów, którzy nie próbowali udawa
æ dzieci. Drugie przedstawienie, bardzo
dynamiczne i zrealizowane z rozmachem
przez zespó³ z Uniwersytetu Aquinas
w Legzapi na wyspie Luzon, to satyryczny
agitprop, który .wietnie sprawdzi³by siê na
ulicy. Rzecz dotyczy wyspy Rapu-rapu,
gdzie za przyzwoleniem przekupnych
w³adz eksploatacja odkrywkowych z³ó¿
z³ota doprowadzi³a do katastrofy ekologicznej
i rozpadu wyspy. Przedstawienie jest ha-
³a.liwe, kolorowe, pos³uguje siê transparentami
i maskami oraz bardzo wyrazistymi
znakami; na przyk³ad wyciête z kartonu
m³oty pneumatyczne stanowi¹ jednocze.nie
narzêdzie gwa³tu na symbolizuj¹cej wyspê
biednej wie.niaczce. Korupcja, rabunkowa
gospodarka . jak w tym przedstawieniu .
a do tego kwestia spo³ecznych kosztów
masowej emigracji, g³ównie kobiet, to nieomal
dy¿urne tematy najnowszej twórczo-
.ci teatralnej.
Kultywowanie sztuki etnicznej i podkre
.lanie jej ró¿norodno.ci przy równoczesnym
szukaniu jedno.ci, ci¹g³e pytania
o istnienie to¿samo.ci narodowej . to problemy,
z którymi borykaj¹ siê i twórcy,
i w³adze kulturalne.
Nie do koñca bowiem ma racjê wspomniany
wy¿ej przewodnik po Manili, Carlos
Celdran, twierdz¹cy, ¿e Filipiñczyków
nie gnêbi problem to¿samo.ci kulturowej
i narodowej. W rozmowach z nimi mo¿na
dowiedzieæ siê o szczególnym paradoksie:
choæ Hiszpanie rz¹dzili tu przez kilka stuleci
a Amerykanie znacznie krócej . to w³a-
.nie ci drudzy pozbawili Filipiñczyków historii
i to¿samo.ci. .Ucywilizowali. ich,
narzucili im swój jêzyk i system o.wiatowy
. i odciêli od korzeni kulturowych.
Dzisiaj zadaniem artystów jest odwrócenie
tego procesu, podjêcie próby stworzenia
nowej syntezy uwzglêdniaj¹cej zarówno
tradycjê, jak i wspó³czesno.æ.
5.
Do twórców, którzy podejmuj¹ tak¹ pró-
bê, zaliczyæ mo¿na z pewno.ci¹ Tony.ego
Pereza (rocznik 1952), którego sztukê drukujemy
w tym numerze. Jest z wykszta³cenia
psychologiem klinicznym i religioznawc
¹, absolwentem Ateneo de Manila. Podobnie
jak uchodz¹cy za pierwszego dramatopisarza-
eksperymentatora Paul Dumol i re-
¿yser Nonon Padilla, jeszcze na studiach
zaanga¿owa³ siê w dzia³alno.æ sceniczn¹
w teatrze Dulaang Sibol i ju¿ jako szesnastolatek
zacz¹³ wspó³pracowaæ z PETA.
Oprócz sztuk teatralnych i telewizyjnych,
scenariuszy filmowych, wierszy i tekstów
Tony Perez
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piosenek, pisze opowiadania. Za twórczo.æ
literack¹ odebra³ wiele nagród, miêdzy innymi
zaliczono go do stu najwybitniejszych
pisarzy stulecia niepodleg³o.ci (1898-1998).
Perez, którego twórczo.æ zebrana jest
w czterdziestu tomach (!), pisze te¿ ksi¹¿ki
po.wiêcone tematyce religioznawczej (miê-
dzy innymi interesuje siê santeri¹) i spirytystycznej.
Jeszcze jako wyk³adowca na Ateneo
de Manila za³o¿y³ grupê m³odych spirytyst
ów i nadal z ni¹ wspó³pracuje. Zajmuje
siê równie¿ malarstwem, a jego prace, .prerafaelickie
oleje. . jak sam o nich mówi .
wielokrotnie eksponowano na wystawach
indywidualnych i zbiorowych. Zrezygnowa³
z kariery akademickiej i pedagogicznej,
twierdzi, ¿e nie jest i nie chce byæ pisarzem
komercyjnym. Na ¿ycie zarabia od dwudziestu
lat jako pracownik ambasady amerykañ-
skiej w Manili.
Na obwodnicy pó³nocnej, najpopularniejsza
sztuka Pereza, która ma tak¿e wersj
ê filmow¹, pochodzi z 1985 roku, kiedy
otrzyma³a trzeci¹ nagrodê na konkursie dramatopisarskim
CCP. Premiera, w re¿yserii
Nonona Padilli, z którym Perez wspó³pracuje
od czasu studiów, odby³a siê w Tanghalang
Pilipino trzy lata pó.niej. Sztuka
stanowi trzeci¹ czê.æ trylogii zatytu³owanej
Tatlong Paglalakbay (Trzy podró¿e).
Pozosta³e dwie to Bombita (1981) i Biyaheng
Timog (1984). Wszystkie trzy osadzone
s¹ w konkretnych realiach spo³ecznych,
rozgrywaj¹ siê wspó³cze.nie, a ich
akcja toczy siê w pojazdach: Bombita
w d¿ipie, Biyaheng Timog w konwoju piê-
ciu samochodów. Inspirowane s¹ jednak
przygodami bohaterów ludowego eposu,
trzech braci, którzy wyruszaj¹ na poszukiwanie
mitycznego ptaka Adarna, ptaka ¿ycia.
Podró¿ stanowi metaforê poszukiwañ
siebie. Bohater pierwszej ze sztuk, Pedro,
jest wojskowym, który szuka wolno.ci osobistej,
a w rezultacie ucieka od rzeczywisto
.ci. Bohater drugiej sztuki, Diego, ambitny
artysta, w nadziei na znalezienie mi-
³o.ci odwzajemnionej, wik³a siê w skomplikowane
zwi¹zki rodzinne i popada
Tony Perez Na obwodnicy pó³nocnej, Fine Arts Theatre 2008, re¿. Joshua Deocareza.
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w nerwicê. Wedle komentarza samego
autora, trzeci z bohaterów, kompozytor
z Na obwodnicy pó³nocnej, chce wys³ucha
æ .piewu Adarny, by przed³u¿yæ ¿ycie
ukochanej.
W podró¿y rozgrywa siê wiele dramat
ów . mówi Perez. . Cz³owiek, maj¹c ograniczone
mo¿liwo.ci ruchu, koncentruje siê
na my.lach i uczuciach. Uwiêzienie w jednej
przestrzeni sprawia, ¿e ludzkie relacje
siê intensyfikuj¹.
Drug¹ trylogiê dramatyczn¹, któr¹ Perez
rozpocz¹³ w latach dziewiêædziesi¹tych
i nazywa swoj¹ .Kaplic¹ Sykstyñsk¹.,
ukoñczy³ dopiero w ubieg³ym roku sztuk¹
Saan ba tayo ihahatid ng Disyembre? (Dok
¹d prowadzi nas grudzieñ?). Tym razem
wszystkie trzy dramaty dotycz¹ przedstawicieli
jednej rodziny . ale ka¿dy z nich
mo¿e funkcjonowaæ oddzielnie. Perez znów
powo³uje siê na archetypy i w¹tki z Ibong
Adarna, choæ podobnie jak poprzednio,
¿adnych dos³ownych odniesieñ nie ma i akcja
rozgrywa siê we wspó³czesnych realiach.
Zamiarem autora by³o . jak twierdzi
. ukazanie Filipiñczyka jako kochanka.
Motywem przewodnim rzeczywi.cie
jest mi³o.æ, przyja.ñ, wierno.æ, zdrada
i niemo¿no.æ wyboru; w tle za. jest proces
twórczy. Pierwsze dwie sztuki: Oktubre,
Noong Tayo.y Nagmamahalan Pa (Pa.-
dziernik, kiedy jeszcze siê kochali.my)
i Nobyembre, Noong Akala Ko.y Mahal
Kita (Listopad, kiedy my.la³em, ¿e ciê kocham)
to psychologiczne dramaty, trójk¹ty
lub je.li kto. woli melodramaty, w których
rozdarte emocjonalnie postaci prze¿ywaj¹
piek³o, a niemo¿no.æ dokonania wyboru
prowadzi je do autodestrukcji. Wed³ug Nonona
Padillo, który wszystkie trzy wyre¿yserowa
³ (pierwsze dwa w Taghalang Pilipino
w latach 1992 i 1994, a trzeci w 2009
w PETA) Oktubre. to wariacja na temat
Przy drzwiach zamkniêtych, w której kobieta
jednakowo silnie zaanga¿owana uczuciowo
z dwoma mê¿czyznami ucieka w depre-
Tony Perez Saan ba tayo ihahatid ng Disyembre?, PETA 2008, re¿. Nonon Padilla.
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sjê. W Nobyembre. bohater zatraca siê
i pogr¹¿a w totalnej izolacji, nie mog¹c
wybraæ miêdzy kobiet¹, która kocha w spos
ób wyidealizowany, a kobiet¹ która go
poci¹ga zmys³owo.
Trzecia ze sztuk, te¿ oparta na trójk¹-
cie, jest daleka od bana³u i w zakoñczeniu
przynosi postaciom pojednanie i swego rodzaju
ukojenie. Jest rok 1965. Bohater sztuki,
cierpi¹cy na bli¿ej niesprecyzowane problemy
psychiczne, zapewne schizofreniê,
porzuca na jaki. czas dom, wyje¿d¿a do
Ameryki, a kiedy powraca, odkrywa, ¿e
jego ¿ona zwi¹za³a siê z jego najlepszym
przyjacielem i w dodatku spodziewa siê
dziecka. M¹¿ ¿¹da, by ¿ona zdecydowa³a,
z kim chce byæ, a gdy ta odmawia jakiegokolwiek
dzia³ania, domaga siê, by przyjaciel
pope³ni³ samobójstwo. Co te¿ ten czyni.
Ale czy na pewno? Czy strzelaj¹c do
siebie, zabija siê? I czy w ogóle dosz³o do
zdrady? Byæ mo¿e bohater tylko tak widzi
rzeczywisto.æ? Jest to ca³kiem mo¿liwe, bo
w kolejnych aktach (rozgrywaj¹cych siê na
przemian w 1965 roku i w 2008) przyjaciel
nadal funkcjonuje. Ale te¿ równie dobrze
mo¿e to byæ jego duch. W obu p³aszczyznach
czasowych pojawia siê te¿ wnuczka
g³ównego bohatera, która w 1965 jeszcze
siê nie urodzi³a, niemniej przybywa z przysz
³o.ci, by ingerowaæ w ¿ycie dziadków. W
planie wspó³czesnym wnuczka i jej m¹¿
usi³uj¹ poznaæ prawdê o przesz³o.ci, wchodz
¹ w role przodków, analizuj¹c zasady ich
wyborów, ró¿ne mo¿liwe wersje ich .mierci
i mechanizm pamiêci. Dopiero fina³ rzuca
.wiat³o na przebieg wydarzeñ. Niczym deus
ex machina pojawia siê odziedziczony po
dziadkach kuferek zawieraj¹cy korespondencj
ê z przyjacielem, z której wynika, ¿e
nie pope³ni³ on samobójstwa, lecz . aby
uratowaæ ma³¿eñstwo przyjació³ . wyjecha³
z kraju na zawsze. M³odzi analizuj¹ te¿
w³asny, niezbyt udany zwi¹zek i dopiero
w epilogu prze³amuj¹ wzajemne opory, pojednani
wokó³ spraw rodzinnych . i tych
przesz³ych, i zwi¹zanych z oczekiwanym
dzieckiem. Symbolem tego pojednania
i harmonii jest ukoñczenie wreszcie przez
mê¿a wnuczki obrazu Narodzenia Pañskiego,
który obsesyjnie . i dot¹d bezskutecznie
. próbowali stworzyæ przedstawiciele
kolejnych pokoleñ rodziny.
W lekturze (a¿ do fina³u) nie jest w pe³ni
jasne, jak potoczy³y siê losy bohaterów trójk
¹ta. Padilla stara siê do.æ jednoznacznie
wskazaæ, ¿e to, co obserwujemy na scenie,
to koszmar odbywaj¹cy siê w g³owie g³ównego
bohatera. St¹d sterylna bia³a dekoracja
sugeruj¹ca wnêtrze, ale z lekko zdeformowan
¹ perspektyw¹, st¹d wy.wietlone na
tylnej .cianie skany mózgu, nieoczekiwane
surrealistyczne efekty (na przyk³ad nagle
wy³aniaj¹ca siê z pod³ogi ludzka rêka)
a tak¿e gwa³towne przeistaczanie siê aktor
ów z postaci w postaæ (czwórka aktorów
gra sze.æ postaci).
Czy z tego wszystkiego mo¿e . by wró-
ciæ do wcze.niejszej my.li . narodziæ siê
nowa kultura i to¿samo.æ filipiñska? W jakim
stopniu mo¿e przyczyniæ siê do tego
Perez? Na pytania te nie ma jasnej odpowiedzi.
Warto jednak zauwa¿yæ, ¿e ten pracownik
ambasady amerykañskiej z jednej
strony . jak twierdzi Padilla . przej¹³ koncepcj
ê teologiczn¹ .wiêtego Augustyna (¿e
Bóg jest jedynym .ród³em ³aski, a cz³owiek
mo¿e staraæ siê o ni¹ dziêki swym dobrym
uczynkom, ale nie mo¿e sam jej zdoby
æ), a drugiej za. jest spirytyst¹. Nale¿y
do grupy The Spirit Questors, której cz³onkowie
og³osili, ¿e tworz¹ zespó³ odpowiedzialnych
szamanów, czarowników, uzdrowicieli
i magów, .wiadcz¹cy us³ugi za darmo
potrzebuj¹cym, którzy wyczerpali ju¿
wszelkie inne drogi rozwi¹zania swoich
problemów.
Je.li dodamy do tego odwo³ania do tradycyjnych
mitów w sztukach Pereza s¹siaduj
¹ce ze wspó³czesn¹ tematyk¹ jego dramat
ów, ³atwo doj.æ do wniosku, ¿e byæ mo¿e
osoba i twórczo.æ Pereza rzeczywi.cie zawieraj
¹ w sobie elementy powstaj¹cej nowej
synkretycznej to¿samo.ci filipiñskiej.
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Ma³gorzata Semil
FILIPINY: (OD)BUDOWA TO¯SAMO.CI
1.
Trudno o lepszy punkt wyj.cia do
uwag o Filipinach i kulturze teatralnej tego
kraju ni¿ swoisty spektakl wykonywany
codziennie przez Carlosa Celdrana, z wykszta
³cenia plastyka, który trzy lata spê-
dzi³ jako cz³onek znanego eksperymentalnego
nowojorskiego zespo³u teatralnego
The Blue Man Group. Ubrany w barong
tagalog, tradycyjny strój filipiñski i . równie
¿ tradycyjny . czarny cylinder, Celdran
przychodzi codziennie na plac przed katedr
¹ w Manili. Na zabytkowym s³upie
milowym stawia radiomagnetofon, z przewieszonej
przez ramiê torby wyjmuje chor
¹giewkê . miniaturê flagi narodowej .
i po³o¿ywszy rêkê na sercu, intonuje hymn
pañstwowy. Po³owa zgromadzonych podejmuje
.piew: to Filipiñczycy, przywykli,
¿e przedstawienia zaczynaj¹ siê od
od.piewania hymnu. Nastêpnie Carlos
prowadzi grupê zebranych mniej wiêcej
trzydziestu osób na dwugodzinny spacer
po Intramuros, najstarszej czê.ci Manili.
Podczas drugiej wojny .wiatowej stolica
Filipin ucierpia³a w równym stopniu, co
Warszawa. Autentycznych zabytków jest
niewiele; Intramuros to okolone murem
i fos¹ stare miasto, wielko.ci¹ zbli¿one do
warszawskiego, i podobnie jak warszawskie
w znacznej czê.ci odbudowane.
Fot. Ma³gorzata Semil
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Carlos pokazuje .wi¹tynie zbudowane
przez Hiszpanów, ale i resztki fortu Santiago,
gdzie pod koniec dziewiêtnastego
wieku stracono bohatera narodowego, pisarza
Jose Rizala, który swoj¹ twórczo.ci¹
zainicjowa³ powstanie przeciw kolonizatorom.
Trasa obejmuje ruiny Ateneo de
Manila, pierwszej prowadzonej przez Jezuit
ów wy¿szej uczelni na Filipinach, ko-
.ció³ .wiêtego Augustyna, gdzie pod koniec
wojny Japoñczycy wymordowali ponad
sto dwadzie.cia tysiêcy cywilów. Carlos
zwraca uwagê na ocala³e detale, .wiadcz
¹ce o przedwojennej wspania³o.ci Manili,
uchodz¹cej niegdy. za Pary¿ Wschodu
(na potwierdzenie ma stare fotografie).
Chce te¿ pokazaæ, jak Filipiñczycy absorbowali
elementy kultury swoich kolonizator
ów (po Hiszpanach w 1908 roku Filipiny
przejêli Amerykanie z zamiarem
uczynienia ich kolejnym stanem), naje.d.-
ców czy partnerów handlowych, jak Chiñ-
czycy. Tworzenie siê tego melan¿u kultur
. azjatyckiej, iberoamerykañskiej, europejskiej
i pó³nocnoamerykañskiej . oraz
jego przejawy we wszystkich aspektach
¿ycia (od jêzyka, poprzez obyczaje, kuchni
ê, gusta) to g³ówny temat opowiadanych
z niezwyk³¹ swad¹ i dowcipem historii
i anegdot. Przewodnik ilustruje je coraz to
nowymi rekwizytami, wyjmowanymi
z wielkiej torby, i muzyk¹ puszczan¹ z magnetofonu.
Za koronny przyk³ad synkretyzmu
Carlos podaje kamienne chiñskie
lwy przy wej.ciu do ko.cio³a katolickiego
oraz narodowy deser pod nazw¹ halohalo,
na który sk³adaj¹ siê wszystkie mo¿-
liwe owoce i s³odko.ci.
.Nie mogê zmieniæ wygl¹du Manili .
mówi Carlos . ale mogê zmieniæ to, jak siê
j¹ postrzega, wskazaæ, ¿e za tym, co widzimy
na co dzieñ, kryj¹ siê prawdziwe skarby.
. Tym samym wp³ywa tak¿e na to, jak
postrzega siê kulturê Filipin w ogóle. Filipi
ñczykom, zw³aszcza tym, którzy mieszkaj
¹ za granic¹, doskwiera poczucie, ¿e
zatracili swoj¹ to¿samo.æ. Jednak tu, na
miejscu, te¿ nie mamy poczucia to¿samo-
.ci . mówi Carlos . i jest nam z tym dobrze.
Bo jak zdefiniowaæ to¿samo.æ narodow
¹ mieszkañców siedmiu tysiêcy wysp,
mówi¹cych przesz³o osiemdziesiêcioma
jêzykami?
2.
Gdyby.my poszli inn¹ tras¹, po której
oprowadza Carlos Celdran . .ladami Imeldy
Marcos . trafiliby.my do obchodz¹cego
w³a.nie czterdziestolecie istnienia gigantycznego
centrum kultury Cultural Centre
of the Philippines (CCP). By³o ono oczkiem
w g³owie pani prezydentowej, chc¹cej
uchodziæ za mecenasa kultury. Budowla
wzniesiona na wydartych morzu terenach,
na grz¹skim gruncie by³a jedn¹ z wielu niezwykle
kosztownych zachcianek pierwszej
damy. Powstawa³a za pieni¹dze przeznaczone
na edukacjê, bez wizji co do celów,
jakie mia³aby spe³niaæ. Chyba ¿e mowa
o najwiêkszej z piêciu sal widowiskowych,
na osiem tysiêcy widzów, której pierwszym
przeznaczeniem by³ wymy.lony przez
Imeldê konkurs piêkno.ci.
Fot. Ma³gorzata Semil
FILIPINY: (OD)BUDOWA TO¯SAMO.CI
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W ca³ym kompleksie, finansowanym
z pieniêdzy rz¹dowych, mie.ci siê obecnie,
oprócz wspomnianych sal widowiskowych,
miêdzy innymi kilka galerii i biblioteka.
Swoje siedziby maj¹ tu dwa sta³e zespo³y
folklorystyczne, dwa zespo³y baletowe,
dwie orkiestry, zespó³ madrygalistów oraz
utworzony w 1987 roku, czyli ju¿ po obaleniu
Marcosów, filipiñski teatr narodowy,
Tanghalang Pilipino. Na Filipinach jest wiele
teatrów i zespo³ów, ale dwa najwa¿niejsze
teatry instytucjonalne to w³a.nie Tanghalang
Pilipino oraz powo³ana do ¿ycia
znacznie wcze.niej, w 1967 roku, pozarz¹-
dowa organizacja PETA, czyli Philippine
Educational Theatre Association.
Obecno.æ hiszpañska na Filipinach sprawi
³a, ¿e niezale¿nie od licznych i bardzo
urozmaiconych tradycyjnych form widowiskowych,
ju¿ od dziewiêtnastego wieku znany
by³ tam teatr w pojêciu europejskim.
Przewa¿aj¹ca wiêkszo.æ utworów grana
by³a po hiszpañsku, nawet wówczas, gdy
dotyczy³a tematyki lokalnej. Z form teatralnych
Hiszpanie zaszczepili Filipiñczykom
zarzuelê. Z kolei Amerykanie, przynosz¹c
Filipinom system demokratyczny i narzucaj
¹c jêzyk (konstytucja Filipin jest napisana
po angielsku), przynie.li te¿ system edukacyjny,
a co za tym idzie otworzyli teatr na
dorobek dramaturgiczny Zachodu . tak¿e za
po.rednictwem filmu. Do ju¿
rozpowszechnionej tradycji
zarzueli dorzucili musical.
Wci¹¿ natomiast nie by³o dramatu
pisanego po filipiñsku,
czyli w tagalog. Ju¿ od zakoñ-
czenia drugiej wojny .wiatowej
w.ród ludzi uprawiaj¹cych
teatr zawodowo lub pó³zawodowo
(na przyk³ad w teatrach
uniwersyteckich) narasta³o poczucie,
¿e trzeba stworzyæ w³asny,
filipiñski teatr i dramat.
Odpowiedzi¹ na to zapotrzebowanie
by³a dzia³alno
.æ PETA. Trudno przeceniæ dzia³alno
.æ tej grupy entuzjastów . artystów i spo-
³eczników . którzy pod wodz¹ Cecile
Guidote-Alvarez postanowili .upowszechnia
æ i rozwijaæ sztukê teatru na Filipinach..
Od pocz¹tku dzia³alno.æ PETY przebiega-
Nowy gmach PETA.
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³a dwutorowo. Jeden nurt polega³ na pracy
u podstaw, na dzia³alno.ci edukacyjnej
i wprzêganiu, czy te¿ wykorzystywaniu teatru
do zadañ spo³ecznych (jak zajêcia teatralne
dla dzieci ulicy), na wspomaganiu
rozlicznych zespo³ów, rozproszonych po
ca³ym kraju, czêsto uprawiaj¹cych formy
tradycyjne, i tworzeniu swego rodzaju sieci.
Równolegle za. budowano podstawy instytucjonalnego
teatru artystycznego.
Pierwszym krokiem by³o utworzenie zespo-
³u aktorskiego (Kalinangan Ensemble).
Aby aktywnie wspomagaæ w³asn¹ dramaturgi
ê, organizowano warsztaty, czytanie
nowych sztuk i co miesi¹c dawano premier
ê. Przez sze.æ lat realizowano cotygodniowe
widowisko telewizyjne oparte na dramacie
i prozie filipiñskiej, realizowano s³uchowiska
radiowe. Ogromne znaczenie
mia³y inscenizacje wspó³czesnych utworów
.wiatowych . z jednej strony Brechta,
z drugiej absurdystów (Becketta, Ionesco,
Geneta, Pintera . a tak¿e Mro¿ka) oraz zapraszanie
artystów zagranicznych do re-
¿yserowania, prowadzenia warsztatów
i seminariów. Ze szczególn¹ wdziêczno.-
ci¹ wspominany jest tu Czech Ladislav
Smoèek i enerdowski propagator Brechta
Kurt Bennewitz, ale tak¿e amerykañski
re¿yser Brooks Jones oraz Ellen Stewart.
PETA, która znalaz³a sobie tymczasow
¹ siedzibê w ruinach Fortu Santiago w Intramuros,
wkrótce sta³a siê wylêgarni¹ talent
ów pisarskich, szko³¹ dla aktorów teatralnych
i filmowych oraz re¿yserów,
a przede wszystkim teatrem. Zaistnieli
w nim publicznie miêdzy innymi tacy dramatopisarze,
uchodz¹cy do dzi. za najwybitniejszych,
jak autor pierwszej filipiñskiej
sztuki modernistycznej Paul Dumol, Tony
Perez i Malou Jacob, oraz re¿yserzy Lino
Brocka (znany w Europie jako re¿yser filmowy)
i Nonon Padilla (pó.niejszy dyrektor
artystyczny Tanghalang Pilipino). Po
blisko czterdziestu latach od swego powstania
PETA, która w latach stanu wyj¹tkowego
(1972-1981) prze¿ywa³a trudne chwile
w zwi¹zku ze swoim zaanga¿owaniem spo-
³ecznym, dorobi³a siê wreszcie . g³ównie
dziêki funduszom zagranicznym . w³asnej
siedziby. W 2006 roku otwarto niezbyt
du¿y, ale bardzo funkcjonalny budynek,
w którym oprócz sali widowiskowej, któr¹
mo¿na dowolnie kszta³towaæ, znalaz³o siê
miejsce dla biblioteki, centrum dokumentacji,
galerii oraz sal prób i sal studyjnych
pozwalaj¹cych realizowaæ wszystkie zadania
edukacyjne.
3.
Wspomniany ju¿ filipiñski teatr narodowy,
Tanghalang Pilipino, ma sta³y profesjonalny
zespó³ i prowadzi studio aktorskie,
którego absolwenci zasilaj¹ zespó³
podstawowy oraz inne teatry, kszta³ci te¿
re¿yserów. Daje do dziesiêciu premier w sezonie,
wystawiaj¹c klasykê i dramaturgiê
wspó³czesn¹; stara siê pozyskaæ nowe sztuki
rodzime. Sporo gra w obje.dzie, co wynika
z jego statusu, w który wpisane jest
upowszechnianie teatru.
Wydarzeniem artystycznym ostatniego
sezonu w Tanghalang Pilipino, przebiegaj
¹cego pod has³em To¿samo.æ i zmiana,
a po.wiêconego .ukazywaniu jednostki
mierz¹cej siê ze zmianami w swoim ¿yciu
i w otaczaj¹cym j¹ .wiecie., by³a inscenizacja
sztuki Golden Child (Z³ote dziecko)
Amerykanina Henry.ego Hwanga, zdobywcy
nagród Pulitzera (pierwszego Azjaty,
który tê nagrodê otrzyma³) i OBIE. Ale
prawdziwym przebojem jest . wpisuj¹cy
siê zreszt¹ w temat . musical Zsazsa Zaturnnah,
ze muzikal. Tytu³owa bohaterka
jest supermenk¹, która przybywa na ratunek
prowincjonalnemu w³a.cicielowi salonu
piêkno.ci, nieporadnemu ch³opakowi
o nie do koñca zdecydowanej orientacji
seksualnej, oraz ca³emu miasteczku. Zagra-
¿aj¹ im monstrualna ¿aba a tak¿e dru¿yna
agresywnych Amazonek z kosmosu. W rzeczywisto
.ci Zsazsa Zaturnnah jest wcieleniem
naszego bohatera . tê postaæ przybieFILIPINY:
(OD)BUDOWA TO¯SAMO.CI
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FILIPIÑSKA
ra on nieoczekiwanie, gdy po³knie znaleziony
tajemniczy kamieñ. Pokonanie wrog
ów miasteczka przydaje mu wiary we w³asne
si³y a tak¿e . byæ mo¿e . pozwala zdecydowa
æ o swoim przysz³ym losie: czy ma
rozpocz¹æ nowe ¿ycie z zakochanym w nim
s¹siadem. Królowa Amazonek za., po-
³kn¹wszy kamieñ, wypowiada niew³a.ciwe
zaklêcie i zmienia siê w .winiê.
Historyjka ta, ubarwiona niezbyt porywaj
¹c¹, nieco soulow¹ muzyk¹ disco filipino,
zagrana z doci.niêciem peda³u, bez
¿adnego dystansu, mo¿e siê wydawaæ do.æ
osobliwym wyborem repertuarowym na
scenie narodowej. Tyle ¿e Zsazsa Zaturnnah,
bohaterka komiksu wymy.lonego
w 2002 roku przez rysownika Carlo Vergar
ê, jest na Filipinach postaci¹ kultow¹
(szczególnie w .rodowiskach gejowskich).
Wydanie ksi¹¿kowe przygód Zsazsy otrzyma
³o wa¿n¹ nagrodê literack¹. Nied³ugo
potem powsta³ film. Skomponowany
w 2006 musical bi³ rekordy powodzenia.
Komiksowa proweniencja bohaterki usprawiedliwia
kiczowato.æ spektaklu, a fakt, ¿e
prawzorem dla niej i jej przygód by³y jeszcze
wcze.niejsze opowie.ci popularne, pozwala
dostrzec w ca³ym zjawisku kolejny
przejaw kulturalnego metisa¿u. .Zsazsa, jak
wiadomo, jest nie tylko uwielbiana, ale te¿
dobra na wszelkie k³opoty . tak¿e finansowe
., pisz¹ wprost dyrektorzy teatru w programie.
Nie bez racji: ju¿ po pierwszych
przedstawieniach trzeba by³o przenie.æ
spektakl do wiêkszego audytorium.
4.
PETA i Tanghalang Pilipino, dwie stabilne
instytucje, stanowi¹ obecnie podstaw
ê filipiñskiego teatru zawodowego, ale
do.æ wa¿n¹ rolê odgrywaj¹ tak¿e teatry uniwersyteckie,
które dla m³odych ludzi s¹
wstêpem do kariery artystycznej. Mia³am
okazjê obejrzeæ niektóre produkcje tych
teatrów podczas trzeciego festiwalu teatrów
uniwersyteckich Ikatlong Tanghal tocz¹cego
siê 10-14 lutego 2009. Zgromadzi³ osiem
przedstawieñ, .wiadcz¹cych, ¿e to teatr
bardzo zaanga¿owany, ciekawy i na dobrym
poziomie.
Zw³aszcza dwa przedstawienia zas³uguj
¹ na uwagê. Dula Ta (Bawmy siê) z uniwersytetu
z Santos City na Mindanao, wyspie,
na której nie ustaj¹ walki z d¹¿¹c¹ do
secesji partyzantk¹ muzu³mañsk¹, ukazuje
Romeo F. Narvaez Dula Ta, MSU-Kapapagariya, Santos City 2008, re¿. Romeo F. Narvaez.
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stan wojny z perspektywy dwójki dzieci.
Ch³opiec i dziewczynka chc¹ siê razem
bawiæ . dzieci nie s¹ .wiadome, ¿e nale¿¹
do przeciwnych obozów, dopóki nie wkroczy
miêdzy nie rzeczywisto.æ i .mieræ.
Zagrane to by³o skromnie, bez przerysowañ
przez aktorów, którzy nie próbowali udawa
æ dzieci. Drugie przedstawienie, bardzo
dynamiczne i zrealizowane z rozmachem
przez zespó³ z Uniwersytetu Aquinas
w Legzapi na wyspie Luzon, to satyryczny
agitprop, który .wietnie sprawdzi³by siê na
ulicy. Rzecz dotyczy wyspy Rapu-rapu,
gdzie za przyzwoleniem przekupnych
w³adz eksploatacja odkrywkowych z³ó¿
z³ota doprowadzi³a do katastrofy ekologicznej
i rozpadu wyspy. Przedstawienie jest ha-
³a.liwe, kolorowe, pos³uguje siê transparentami
i maskami oraz bardzo wyrazistymi
znakami; na przyk³ad wyciête z kartonu
m³oty pneumatyczne stanowi¹ jednocze.nie
narzêdzie gwa³tu na symbolizuj¹cej wyspê
biednej wie.niaczce. Korupcja, rabunkowa
gospodarka . jak w tym przedstawieniu .
a do tego kwestia spo³ecznych kosztów
masowej emigracji, g³ównie kobiet, to nieomal
dy¿urne tematy najnowszej twórczo-
.ci teatralnej.
Kultywowanie sztuki etnicznej i podkre
.lanie jej ró¿norodno.ci przy równoczesnym
szukaniu jedno.ci, ci¹g³e pytania
o istnienie to¿samo.ci narodowej . to problemy,
z którymi borykaj¹ siê i twórcy,
i w³adze kulturalne.
Nie do koñca bowiem ma racjê wspomniany
wy¿ej przewodnik po Manili, Carlos
Celdran, twierdz¹cy, ¿e Filipiñczyków
nie gnêbi problem to¿samo.ci kulturowej
i narodowej. W rozmowach z nimi mo¿na
dowiedzieæ siê o szczególnym paradoksie:
choæ Hiszpanie rz¹dzili tu przez kilka stuleci
a Amerykanie znacznie krócej . to w³a-
.nie ci drudzy pozbawili Filipiñczyków historii
i to¿samo.ci. .Ucywilizowali. ich,
narzucili im swój jêzyk i system o.wiatowy
. i odciêli od korzeni kulturowych.
Dzisiaj zadaniem artystów jest odwrócenie
tego procesu, podjêcie próby stworzenia
nowej syntezy uwzglêdniaj¹cej zarówno
tradycjê, jak i wspó³czesno.æ.
5.
Do twórców, którzy podejmuj¹ tak¹ pró-
bê, zaliczyæ mo¿na z pewno.ci¹ Tony.ego
Pereza (rocznik 1952), którego sztukê drukujemy
w tym numerze. Jest z wykszta³cenia
psychologiem klinicznym i religioznawc
¹, absolwentem Ateneo de Manila. Podobnie
jak uchodz¹cy za pierwszego dramatopisarza-
eksperymentatora Paul Dumol i re-
¿yser Nonon Padilla, jeszcze na studiach
zaanga¿owa³ siê w dzia³alno.æ sceniczn¹
w teatrze Dulaang Sibol i ju¿ jako szesnastolatek
zacz¹³ wspó³pracowaæ z PETA.
Oprócz sztuk teatralnych i telewizyjnych,
scenariuszy filmowych, wierszy i tekstów
Tony Perez
FILIPINY: (OD)BUDOWA TO¯SAMO.CI
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piosenek, pisze opowiadania. Za twórczo.æ
literack¹ odebra³ wiele nagród, miêdzy innymi
zaliczono go do stu najwybitniejszych
pisarzy stulecia niepodleg³o.ci (1898-1998).
Perez, którego twórczo.æ zebrana jest
w czterdziestu tomach (!), pisze te¿ ksi¹¿ki
po.wiêcone tematyce religioznawczej (miê-
dzy innymi interesuje siê santeri¹) i spirytystycznej.
Jeszcze jako wyk³adowca na Ateneo
de Manila za³o¿y³ grupê m³odych spirytyst
ów i nadal z ni¹ wspó³pracuje. Zajmuje
siê równie¿ malarstwem, a jego prace, .prerafaelickie
oleje. . jak sam o nich mówi .
wielokrotnie eksponowano na wystawach
indywidualnych i zbiorowych. Zrezygnowa³
z kariery akademickiej i pedagogicznej,
twierdzi, ¿e nie jest i nie chce byæ pisarzem
komercyjnym. Na ¿ycie zarabia od dwudziestu
lat jako pracownik ambasady amerykañ-
skiej w Manili.
Na obwodnicy pó³nocnej, najpopularniejsza
sztuka Pereza, która ma tak¿e wersj
ê filmow¹, pochodzi z 1985 roku, kiedy
otrzyma³a trzeci¹ nagrodê na konkursie dramatopisarskim
CCP. Premiera, w re¿yserii
Nonona Padilli, z którym Perez wspó³pracuje
od czasu studiów, odby³a siê w Tanghalang
Pilipino trzy lata pó.niej. Sztuka
stanowi trzeci¹ czê.æ trylogii zatytu³owanej
Tatlong Paglalakbay (Trzy podró¿e).
Pozosta³e dwie to Bombita (1981) i Biyaheng
Timog (1984). Wszystkie trzy osadzone
s¹ w konkretnych realiach spo³ecznych,
rozgrywaj¹ siê wspó³cze.nie, a ich
akcja toczy siê w pojazdach: Bombita
w d¿ipie, Biyaheng Timog w konwoju piê-
ciu samochodów. Inspirowane s¹ jednak
przygodami bohaterów ludowego eposu,
trzech braci, którzy wyruszaj¹ na poszukiwanie
mitycznego ptaka Adarna, ptaka ¿ycia.
Podró¿ stanowi metaforê poszukiwañ
siebie. Bohater pierwszej ze sztuk, Pedro,
jest wojskowym, który szuka wolno.ci osobistej,
a w rezultacie ucieka od rzeczywisto
.ci. Bohater drugiej sztuki, Diego, ambitny
artysta, w nadziei na znalezienie mi-
³o.ci odwzajemnionej, wik³a siê w skomplikowane
zwi¹zki rodzinne i popada
Tony Perez Na obwodnicy pó³nocnej, Fine Arts Theatre 2008, re¿. Joshua Deocareza.
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w nerwicê. Wedle komentarza samego
autora, trzeci z bohaterów, kompozytor
z Na obwodnicy pó³nocnej, chce wys³ucha
æ .piewu Adarny, by przed³u¿yæ ¿ycie
ukochanej.
W podró¿y rozgrywa siê wiele dramat
ów . mówi Perez. . Cz³owiek, maj¹c ograniczone
mo¿liwo.ci ruchu, koncentruje siê
na my.lach i uczuciach. Uwiêzienie w jednej
przestrzeni sprawia, ¿e ludzkie relacje
siê intensyfikuj¹.
Drug¹ trylogiê dramatyczn¹, któr¹ Perez
rozpocz¹³ w latach dziewiêædziesi¹tych
i nazywa swoj¹ .Kaplic¹ Sykstyñsk¹.,
ukoñczy³ dopiero w ubieg³ym roku sztuk¹
Saan ba tayo ihahatid ng Disyembre? (Dok
¹d prowadzi nas grudzieñ?). Tym razem
wszystkie trzy dramaty dotycz¹ przedstawicieli
jednej rodziny . ale ka¿dy z nich
mo¿e funkcjonowaæ oddzielnie. Perez znów
powo³uje siê na archetypy i w¹tki z Ibong
Adarna, choæ podobnie jak poprzednio,
¿adnych dos³ownych odniesieñ nie ma i akcja
rozgrywa siê we wspó³czesnych realiach.
Zamiarem autora by³o . jak twierdzi
. ukazanie Filipiñczyka jako kochanka.
Motywem przewodnim rzeczywi.cie
jest mi³o.æ, przyja.ñ, wierno.æ, zdrada
i niemo¿no.æ wyboru; w tle za. jest proces
twórczy. Pierwsze dwie sztuki: Oktubre,
Noong Tayo.y Nagmamahalan Pa (Pa.-
dziernik, kiedy jeszcze siê kochali.my)
i Nobyembre, Noong Akala Ko.y Mahal
Kita (Listopad, kiedy my.la³em, ¿e ciê kocham)
to psychologiczne dramaty, trójk¹ty
lub je.li kto. woli melodramaty, w których
rozdarte emocjonalnie postaci prze¿ywaj¹
piek³o, a niemo¿no.æ dokonania wyboru
prowadzi je do autodestrukcji. Wed³ug Nonona
Padillo, który wszystkie trzy wyre¿yserowa
³ (pierwsze dwa w Taghalang Pilipino
w latach 1992 i 1994, a trzeci w 2009
w PETA) Oktubre. to wariacja na temat
Przy drzwiach zamkniêtych, w której kobieta
jednakowo silnie zaanga¿owana uczuciowo
z dwoma mê¿czyznami ucieka w depre-
Tony Perez Saan ba tayo ihahatid ng Disyembre?, PETA 2008, re¿. Nonon Padilla.
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sjê. W Nobyembre. bohater zatraca siê
i pogr¹¿a w totalnej izolacji, nie mog¹c
wybraæ miêdzy kobiet¹, która kocha w spos
ób wyidealizowany, a kobiet¹ która go
poci¹ga zmys³owo.
Trzecia ze sztuk, te¿ oparta na trójk¹-
cie, jest daleka od bana³u i w zakoñczeniu
przynosi postaciom pojednanie i swego rodzaju
ukojenie. Jest rok 1965. Bohater sztuki,
cierpi¹cy na bli¿ej niesprecyzowane problemy
psychiczne, zapewne schizofreniê,
porzuca na jaki. czas dom, wyje¿d¿a do
Ameryki, a kiedy powraca, odkrywa, ¿e
jego ¿ona zwi¹za³a siê z jego najlepszym
przyjacielem i w dodatku spodziewa siê
dziecka. M¹¿ ¿¹da, by ¿ona zdecydowa³a,
z kim chce byæ, a gdy ta odmawia jakiegokolwiek
dzia³ania, domaga siê, by przyjaciel
pope³ni³ samobójstwo. Co te¿ ten czyni.
Ale czy na pewno? Czy strzelaj¹c do
siebie, zabija siê? I czy w ogóle dosz³o do
zdrady? Byæ mo¿e bohater tylko tak widzi
rzeczywisto.æ? Jest to ca³kiem mo¿liwe, bo
w kolejnych aktach (rozgrywaj¹cych siê na
przemian w 1965 roku i w 2008) przyjaciel
nadal funkcjonuje. Ale te¿ równie dobrze
mo¿e to byæ jego duch. W obu p³aszczyznach
czasowych pojawia siê te¿ wnuczka
g³ównego bohatera, która w 1965 jeszcze
siê nie urodzi³a, niemniej przybywa z przysz
³o.ci, by ingerowaæ w ¿ycie dziadków. W
planie wspó³czesnym wnuczka i jej m¹¿
usi³uj¹ poznaæ prawdê o przesz³o.ci, wchodz
¹ w role przodków, analizuj¹c zasady ich
wyborów, ró¿ne mo¿liwe wersje ich .mierci
i mechanizm pamiêci. Dopiero fina³ rzuca
.wiat³o na przebieg wydarzeñ. Niczym deus
ex machina pojawia siê odziedziczony po
dziadkach kuferek zawieraj¹cy korespondencj
ê z przyjacielem, z której wynika, ¿e
nie pope³ni³ on samobójstwa, lecz . aby
uratowaæ ma³¿eñstwo przyjació³ . wyjecha³
z kraju na zawsze. M³odzi analizuj¹ te¿
w³asny, niezbyt udany zwi¹zek i dopiero
w epilogu prze³amuj¹ wzajemne opory, pojednani
wokó³ spraw rodzinnych . i tych
przesz³ych, i zwi¹zanych z oczekiwanym
dzieckiem. Symbolem tego pojednania
i harmonii jest ukoñczenie wreszcie przez
mê¿a wnuczki obrazu Narodzenia Pañskiego,
który obsesyjnie . i dot¹d bezskutecznie
. próbowali stworzyæ przedstawiciele
kolejnych pokoleñ rodziny.
W lekturze (a¿ do fina³u) nie jest w pe³ni
jasne, jak potoczy³y siê losy bohaterów trójk
¹ta. Padilla stara siê do.æ jednoznacznie
wskazaæ, ¿e to, co obserwujemy na scenie,
to koszmar odbywaj¹cy siê w g³owie g³ównego
bohatera. St¹d sterylna bia³a dekoracja
sugeruj¹ca wnêtrze, ale z lekko zdeformowan
¹ perspektyw¹, st¹d wy.wietlone na
tylnej .cianie skany mózgu, nieoczekiwane
surrealistyczne efekty (na przyk³ad nagle
wy³aniaj¹ca siê z pod³ogi ludzka rêka)
a tak¿e gwa³towne przeistaczanie siê aktor
ów z postaci w postaæ (czwórka aktorów
gra sze.æ postaci).
Czy z tego wszystkiego mo¿e . by wró-
ciæ do wcze.niejszej my.li . narodziæ siê
nowa kultura i to¿samo.æ filipiñska? W jakim
stopniu mo¿e przyczyniæ siê do tego
Perez? Na pytania te nie ma jasnej odpowiedzi.
Warto jednak zauwa¿yæ, ¿e ten pracownik
ambasady amerykañskiej z jednej
strony . jak twierdzi Padilla . przej¹³ koncepcj
ê teologiczn¹ .wiêtego Augustyna (¿e
Bóg jest jedynym .ród³em ³aski, a cz³owiek
mo¿e staraæ siê o ni¹ dziêki swym dobrym
uczynkom, ale nie mo¿e sam jej zdoby
æ), a drugiej za. jest spirytyst¹. Nale¿y
do grupy The Spirit Questors, której cz³onkowie
og³osili, ¿e tworz¹ zespó³ odpowiedzialnych
szamanów, czarowników, uzdrowicieli
i magów, .wiadcz¹cy us³ugi za darmo
potrzebuj¹cym, którzy wyczerpali ju¿
wszelkie inne drogi rozwi¹zania swoich
problemów.
Je.li dodamy do tego odwo³ania do tradycyjnych
mitów w sztukach Pereza s¹siaduj
¹ce ze wspó³czesn¹ tematyk¹ jego dramat
ów, ³atwo doj.æ do wniosku, ¿e byæ mo¿e
osoba i twórczo.æ Pereza rzeczywi.cie zawieraj
¹ w sobie elementy powstaj¹cej nowej
synkretycznej to¿samo.ci filipiñskiej.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
PSYCHICS VISITING THE TOMBS OF THE PHILIPPINE HEROES!!!
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Feb 15 2009, 08:29 PM
This article was written by the grandson of Philippine president Manuel Quezon. It's about the story of his exploits with the "Spirit Queastors" in visiting the tombs of deceased Philippine heroes and leaders.
"Paranormal and Historical: A Quest for Meaning in the North Cemetery"
by Manuel L. Quezon III
As a young boy, my father began to take me on what he called “pilgrimages.” Our first was to the Barasoain Church, where he proudly - and what would I would later discover, would be considered in a most unpolitically-correct manner - told me to look at the plaque listing the delegates to the Malolos Congress, and said, proudly, “look how many names are still familiar to us in our national life.” The second pilgrimage would be to the Aguinaldo Mansion in Kawit, where I would climb to the very top of the tower of the House, and a grand-daughter of the General showed us around. Finally, we ended up in the garden, gazing at the white marble tomb of Aguinaldo, where we said a short prayer for the repose of his soul. There would be other pilgrimages, but the the first pilgrimage I remember, and the pilgrimage that we always did, year after year, was the most personal pilgrimage of all: to the North Cemetery. Among my earliest memories are visiting the family plot, where my grandfather was still buried, his remains not being moved to the Quezon Memorial until 1979. From an early age, I was reminded and told of the history that surrounded us, that was part of us, and so close to us. Across from our family plot was the rotunda bearing what was then a tomb identical to my grandfather’s, in which were the remains of President Manuel Roxas. On the way to our family plot, of course, were the tombs of the famous and the great; tombs my father would point out as worthy of veneration, and even visiting. This is how I learned about the lives of many people whom people my age no longer know about: Quintin Paredes, Sergio Osmena, Ramon Magsaysay, the boy scouts that died in an air crash on their way to a jamboree; the veterans of the Revolution; and later, shortly before my father passed away, Francis Burton Harrison, American governor-general and later, Filipino citizen.
When Araw Magazine approached me to write an article on the North Cemetery, a problem immediately came to the fore. A place I know – and in a strange way, even love - is, for most Filipinos, terra incognita. Who knows that while the Libingan ng mga Bayani is supposed to be Arlington Cemetery of the Philippines, there are more famous men and women buried in a public cemetery belonging to the City of Manila? How to turn what would otherwise be a boring tour –for much as I hate it, the fact is most Filipinos my age don’t give a damn about our history, much less the final resting place of famous personalities - into something interesting and possibly even challenging?
Enter the Spirit Questors. I suggested to the editor that we call the Spirit Questors to add, if I may use the term, a new dimension to the graves of the famous in the North Cemetery. How many people even know, I asked my editor, that Rizal is actually buried in the Rizal Monument? Not many even realize my grandfather rests in a miniature copy of Napoleon’s tomb in the Quezon Memorial. And what’s more, while every year the dwindling faithful or the families of these personages visit the tombs of the famous dead, how many ordinary citizens make their own versions of the pilgrimages my father considered it a civic duty to take me on?
And so I had the opportunity to meet the famed Spirit Questors and Tony Perez. I have read about their activities in the press, and happen to have Ruel de Vera’s two books about the Spirit Questors, and have admired Tony Perez’s writings for some time. But it was only last Saturday that I finally got to meet some Spirit Questors as a group and Tony Perez himself. It is an understatement to say I was favorably impressed with the Spirit Questors themselves and Tony Perez. I met six Spirit Questors the rainy and gloomy Saturday we finally managed to push through with the “tour”: Chi, who is 28, and has been with the group since 1998; Gary, who is 25, and a veteran, being part of the group since 1996; CJ, 21, a charming young lady who is a new addition to the group; Neil, who has been with the group since 1999 and is 23; Jaime, who at 20 was the youngest in the group but who has been part of the group since 1999; and Victor, 23, who has been a questor since 2000. And of course, Tony Perez himself, who came along to provide guidance to the group. Prior to our meeting he told me he had spent the morning among the tombs of the Thomasites.
Our first stop was the tomb of President Ramon Magsaysay, which was patterned after the original tombs of Presidents Quezon and Roxas. The Questors approached the tomb gingerly, at first, then finally gathered the courage to stand in a circle around it, their left hands resting on the tomb. Said one: “He’s fine. He’s no longer here; he’s happy in his present state; he’s content with how his children have turned out. Sometimes he comes back to guide them.” Said another: “I sense he was a strict disciplinarian, to his kids especially; and he had time to say goodbye to his family before he died.”Generally all said he was at peace; though what startled me was the abrupt comment of one: “But there’s no head!” How did that Spirit Questor know very little of the mortal remains of Magsaysay had been retrieved and interred in this tomb?
Our next stop was one not dictated by fame, but my aesthetic sense. All my life I have marveled at the beauty of a neglected tomb, with a sculpture, in marble, of a mourning angel. That day was the first time I actually went up to the tomb, located in a sad, overgrown plot. The tomb turned out to be two: of Mercedes Johnson, 1900-1917, and E.H. Johnson, 1878-1916. The tomb was sculpted by the renowned firm of Luerssen y Oriol. Over the name of Mercedes was Pi and Chi of Christian symbolism; over E.H.’s tomb, the compass and G of the Freemasons. It was at this tomb that the Spirit Questors had the most to say.“I see a violent burial,” said one, in a whisper, “a great deal of mourning… A Filipina, standing over this tomb, angry over something that should have been given her.”Another saw images of two men: one scheming; another profaning the tomb by urinating on it. Still another said that one couldn’t avoid the impression that “the girl was buried alive”; another reemphasised that “there were many people at the funeral.” Yet another Questor said that the story seemed to be that the two, probably father and daughter, were deeply attached to one another; that the daughter, who seemed to have Spanish features, was in love with a Filipino, but that there was some sort of conflict due to the girl’s coming from a Spanish family. Others said the sense of some sort of forbidden love haunted the life of the girl was strong; one saw scenes of meetings in a garden, with the family home in the distance; the daughter, it seems, may have died of grief, her father having passed on ahead, due to an accident. Someone mentioned foul play seemed to be involved. “I sense great anger, one of them still wants vengeance.”Another Questor wandered away from the group, staring at a tombstone near the back of the plot, and when asked why he had wandered off, he shrugged: “there was an old Filipino watching me –I had to look.”
From this tomb, which had caused such great excitement –and the most intense speculation of the day- we went on to my family’s plot. The Questors formed a circle around the tomb of my grandmother, Aurora A. Quezon. “She’s not very approachable,” one said. “What do you mean,” I asked, curious. “She’s not arrogant, but… withdrawn, she only will speak when spoken to… She likes her peace and quiet and wonders why we’re all here.” Another one stood back and informed the group, “She doesn’t like us talking to her in English.” I was surprised. They shifted to Tagalog. One described her –“she always held a fan in her left hand… And she is at peace, but she comes back from time to time, often in the company of a young woman.” Describe the woman, I asked. “About thirty, with Spanish features. And curly hair…” What about the hair, I asked again. “Curly, even very tight curls, and a different sort of brown… Chestnut.” I was, for the second time in less than two hours, taken aback. Outside from people who knew my grandmother’s eldest daughter, who was also killed with her in 1949, no one today knows that my eldest aunt had curly, almost kinky (in the African-American sense of the word) hair –and chestnut colored. “She is always worried about her children, she seems to be worried about them all the time, and to keep coming back to make sure her descendants are living up to what she felt would be right…” I stood aside, quietly, by my father’s tomb, noting all of this. How true it all sounded.
From our family’s plot we just had to take a few steps to reach the small rotonda where rests President Manuel Roxas, his widow Dona Trining Roxas, his son Senator Gerardo Roxas, and his grandson, Rep. Gerardo Roxas Jr. President Roxas’s tomb, at one time identical to Quezon’s, was renovated about ten years ago. Again, the Questors hesitantly approached the tomb, and placed their left hands on it. They got mostly images. Of a man sitting behind an official desk. The man handing papers to a tall, white-haired, distinguished looking American. The first American Ambassador, Paul Voreis McNutt, perhaps, I asked myself. Another image, of the man sitting at his desk, shoulders slumped, crushed by the problems of the nation. Yet another, of the President sweating heavily, trying to get out of his tomb – allegorical? Though one said he was no longer there but at peace. A few sensed heat, as they did at the tomb of the Johnsons – a sign of great energy, though whether positive or negative seemed hard to tell. The Questors seemed agitated. I decided we should move on.We got into our vehicles and proceeded down the main avenue and turned left, to the shoddily repainted Mausoleum of the Veterans of the Revolution. Over the years, this, one of the oldest and most striking of the structures erected at the cemetery, has been emptied of many of its famous dead; its noble architecture marred by slipshod paintjobs over the past few years. We proceeded in inside. The Questors were suddenly all abuzz. They were looking at the floor. The Mausoleum is a box-like structure with a dome; beneath the dome is a patterned floor, much damaged, heavily scarred, very badly patched up with cheap cement. The Questors excitedly looked at the floor and called out to their mentor. It seemed the structure was full of occult symbols, as was appropriate for a turn-of-the-century structure constructed when Freemasonry was still a potent force in the country, and many of whose members had been leaders of the Revolution. The Questors pondered the “magic circle.” Their mentor walked to the center of it and they all talked of a strong sense of power. Tony Perez, standing in the middle of the circle, called me over. “Look,” he said, softly, pointing to a small compass strapped to his wrist. “Look at the compass, and now look at the main entrance and the two other side entrances. They are oriented toward the cardinal directions.” I was impressed. “Now look,” he said, pointing at the dome. “You see the details at the corners of the dome, where the circle meets the square of the main structure?” Yes, I replied. “They are oriented at the points of the compass, too. They are triangles right? Notice how each one corresponds to a direction… North East, South East, South West…” The Questors all agreed that this was a place built by people with a strong belief in the occult; in its rituals. They were nervous.Someone suggested they leave, they were not welcome; one added it was obvious that those who had built the mausoleum had cast a very strong spell on it –“this place has been ‘warded’ you see, there is a protective circle cast around it." “We are not wanted here,” one told me, as we hurried out.
From there we walked some more until we reached the necropolis – there is no other word for such a well-ordered, beautifully designed, and extensive family burial ground- of the Nakpils. Each tomb is beautiful, those dating from before World War II being extremely beautiful examples of Art Deco and Art Nouveau, in cement, marble, and granite. Our objective was to visit the tomb, located in the main Art Nouveau pylon of the Nakpil family plot, of Gregoria de Jesus, widow of Andres Bonifacio, who had remarried a Nakpil. One Questor had glimpses of her riding on a horse; another said it seemed that she loved her first husband more; a third said: “She is laughing.” Laughing, I asked, quite incredulously. “Yes, she is laughing. She knows that the truth is known and she has been vindicated.” A reaction, perhaps, to the tragic circumstances of her husband’s death, I surmised. There was not much else the Questors could say; so I took them to the simple tomb, actually the second tomb, for he had been moved from one obscure part of the North Cemetery to a more prominent one about a decade ago, of Francis Burton Harrison. He was the only American Governor-General who became a Filipino citizen and chose to be buried in the country. Agitation among the Questors. Many sensed water; a sign – but of what? A turbulent lack of peace. One hinted that Harrison was upset. Had he been buried with a medal? I didn’t know. It seems he was angry over something having been taken from him, from his coffin. We could only surmise that in the transfer of his remains, someone had stolen something from the corpse; something important that had been buried with the man. They all sensed anger; frustration. One sensed even hatred. Bitterness.“But he admired so many aspects of the Filipinos,” a Questor said.
We moved on, to our final stop, the tomb of Claro M. Recto. For the first time since the tomb of Magsaysay, the Questors sensed complete and utter peace.I was surprised; I had thought the sadness of dying away from his native land would have haunted the tomb of Recto. One Questor told me, no, he is totally at peace – but he is cradling a boy, a baby…" Another walked off with a puzzled expression: “I sense a car accident, or a motorcyle accident… Not Recto, but someone close to him, someone very dear to him, that’s whom he’s cradling.” The eldest son of Claro M. Recto had died in a vehicular accident. But besides this small glimpse into paternal love, nothing else: this was a man content, with no regrets, no worries, his deeds done, his spirit not restless or filled with conflicting emotions. A good way to end the day. Five hours had passed; we were all soaked. It had rained; the sun had come out, then it had rained again; I was beginning to lose my voice. To wrap things up I asked them what their impressions were. One told me that she didn’t realize such a place existed. Another said, with some awe, that he had no idea so many well know personages were in one cemetery. Everyone knew of the Libingan ng mga Bayani – but who would think that here, in a public cemetery, would be the great, the known, and tombs of such variety, from the magnificent to the humble, to the occult to the purely religious. They said it was a voyage of discovery for them; I thanked them. They seemed pleased to have literally been able to touch history.
That afternoon I saw something rare, particularly in people their age: a sort of selflessness that isn’t based on a naive desire to be heroic, or on a desire to appear to do good while gratifying their own egos. In Tony Perez himself, I found nothing of the self-absorbed, self-conscious auteur attitude that irritates me; indeed I found him a gracious, cultivated, rather reserved man. Quietly self-assured and yet compassionate. We’re used to hearing about what people usually term the “exploits” of the Spirit Questors; they have received publicity verging on the hysterical; people follow their doings with a sort of morbid curiosity and much of what is written on them verges on the sensationalistic. But for every quest they undertake - and only upon the invitation of someone who asks for their help- they do so much more, quietly and sincerely, giving up their Saturdays in order to use their gifts to help bring consolation and peace to many, many people. I was impressed with their ease of manner and the way they were equally at ease with abilities - some would call them powers - that would make most people uncomfortable or provoke hostile skepticism in others. I do not trust people who lack a sense of humor and refreshingly enough, their seriousness when it came to their obvious intention to use their abilities responsibly and respectfuly was balanced with a healthy sense of humor. The particular group I met, if they are representative of the Spirit Questors as a whole, should be a source of pride for the Spirit Questors themselves and their mentor, Tony Perez, in particular. Anyone who shows an interest in what is considered the occult, and in particular anyone claiming to posess gifts that enable them to either communicate with the departed, detect elementals, or sense (by way of seeing in their mind) past events related to a particular location or the life of someone now dead, is more likely than not subject to being viewed as either a source of grisly entertainment or of silly amusement. Whatever your views on the matter, this is wrong. Particularly when the two most objectionable aspects of the occult as we are familiar with it - a thirst for money and a grasping desire to make people regular customers - is absent. More than what they do, it is what they don’t do that impressed me most about the Spirit Questors. As I said, they do not go out and bug people to engage their services; best of all, they refuse any recompense for what they do. If you are a person who honestly beleives you could use their help, you must approach them; and when they have done all they can do, they will never ask you for money, and if you offer them a monetary reward they will firmly, but politely, turn you down. They do what they do, as one of them explained to me, because they recognize they have abilities other people don’t, and it is their duty to use their abilities for the good of other people.
To think that what we read of the Spirit Questors is a fraction of what they do, week after week, and you have to give them credit for dedication.
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Feb 15 2009, 08:29 PM
This article was written by the grandson of Philippine president Manuel Quezon. It's about the story of his exploits with the "Spirit Queastors" in visiting the tombs of deceased Philippine heroes and leaders.
"Paranormal and Historical: A Quest for Meaning in the North Cemetery"
by Manuel L. Quezon III
As a young boy, my father began to take me on what he called “pilgrimages.” Our first was to the Barasoain Church, where he proudly - and what would I would later discover, would be considered in a most unpolitically-correct manner - told me to look at the plaque listing the delegates to the Malolos Congress, and said, proudly, “look how many names are still familiar to us in our national life.” The second pilgrimage would be to the Aguinaldo Mansion in Kawit, where I would climb to the very top of the tower of the House, and a grand-daughter of the General showed us around. Finally, we ended up in the garden, gazing at the white marble tomb of Aguinaldo, where we said a short prayer for the repose of his soul. There would be other pilgrimages, but the the first pilgrimage I remember, and the pilgrimage that we always did, year after year, was the most personal pilgrimage of all: to the North Cemetery. Among my earliest memories are visiting the family plot, where my grandfather was still buried, his remains not being moved to the Quezon Memorial until 1979. From an early age, I was reminded and told of the history that surrounded us, that was part of us, and so close to us. Across from our family plot was the rotunda bearing what was then a tomb identical to my grandfather’s, in which were the remains of President Manuel Roxas. On the way to our family plot, of course, were the tombs of the famous and the great; tombs my father would point out as worthy of veneration, and even visiting. This is how I learned about the lives of many people whom people my age no longer know about: Quintin Paredes, Sergio Osmena, Ramon Magsaysay, the boy scouts that died in an air crash on their way to a jamboree; the veterans of the Revolution; and later, shortly before my father passed away, Francis Burton Harrison, American governor-general and later, Filipino citizen.
When Araw Magazine approached me to write an article on the North Cemetery, a problem immediately came to the fore. A place I know – and in a strange way, even love - is, for most Filipinos, terra incognita. Who knows that while the Libingan ng mga Bayani is supposed to be Arlington Cemetery of the Philippines, there are more famous men and women buried in a public cemetery belonging to the City of Manila? How to turn what would otherwise be a boring tour –for much as I hate it, the fact is most Filipinos my age don’t give a damn about our history, much less the final resting place of famous personalities - into something interesting and possibly even challenging?
Enter the Spirit Questors. I suggested to the editor that we call the Spirit Questors to add, if I may use the term, a new dimension to the graves of the famous in the North Cemetery. How many people even know, I asked my editor, that Rizal is actually buried in the Rizal Monument? Not many even realize my grandfather rests in a miniature copy of Napoleon’s tomb in the Quezon Memorial. And what’s more, while every year the dwindling faithful or the families of these personages visit the tombs of the famous dead, how many ordinary citizens make their own versions of the pilgrimages my father considered it a civic duty to take me on?
And so I had the opportunity to meet the famed Spirit Questors and Tony Perez. I have read about their activities in the press, and happen to have Ruel de Vera’s two books about the Spirit Questors, and have admired Tony Perez’s writings for some time. But it was only last Saturday that I finally got to meet some Spirit Questors as a group and Tony Perez himself. It is an understatement to say I was favorably impressed with the Spirit Questors themselves and Tony Perez. I met six Spirit Questors the rainy and gloomy Saturday we finally managed to push through with the “tour”: Chi, who is 28, and has been with the group since 1998; Gary, who is 25, and a veteran, being part of the group since 1996; CJ, 21, a charming young lady who is a new addition to the group; Neil, who has been with the group since 1999 and is 23; Jaime, who at 20 was the youngest in the group but who has been part of the group since 1999; and Victor, 23, who has been a questor since 2000. And of course, Tony Perez himself, who came along to provide guidance to the group. Prior to our meeting he told me he had spent the morning among the tombs of the Thomasites.
Our first stop was the tomb of President Ramon Magsaysay, which was patterned after the original tombs of Presidents Quezon and Roxas. The Questors approached the tomb gingerly, at first, then finally gathered the courage to stand in a circle around it, their left hands resting on the tomb. Said one: “He’s fine. He’s no longer here; he’s happy in his present state; he’s content with how his children have turned out. Sometimes he comes back to guide them.” Said another: “I sense he was a strict disciplinarian, to his kids especially; and he had time to say goodbye to his family before he died.”Generally all said he was at peace; though what startled me was the abrupt comment of one: “But there’s no head!” How did that Spirit Questor know very little of the mortal remains of Magsaysay had been retrieved and interred in this tomb?
Our next stop was one not dictated by fame, but my aesthetic sense. All my life I have marveled at the beauty of a neglected tomb, with a sculpture, in marble, of a mourning angel. That day was the first time I actually went up to the tomb, located in a sad, overgrown plot. The tomb turned out to be two: of Mercedes Johnson, 1900-1917, and E.H. Johnson, 1878-1916. The tomb was sculpted by the renowned firm of Luerssen y Oriol. Over the name of Mercedes was Pi and Chi of Christian symbolism; over E.H.’s tomb, the compass and G of the Freemasons. It was at this tomb that the Spirit Questors had the most to say.“I see a violent burial,” said one, in a whisper, “a great deal of mourning… A Filipina, standing over this tomb, angry over something that should have been given her.”Another saw images of two men: one scheming; another profaning the tomb by urinating on it. Still another said that one couldn’t avoid the impression that “the girl was buried alive”; another reemphasised that “there were many people at the funeral.” Yet another Questor said that the story seemed to be that the two, probably father and daughter, were deeply attached to one another; that the daughter, who seemed to have Spanish features, was in love with a Filipino, but that there was some sort of conflict due to the girl’s coming from a Spanish family. Others said the sense of some sort of forbidden love haunted the life of the girl was strong; one saw scenes of meetings in a garden, with the family home in the distance; the daughter, it seems, may have died of grief, her father having passed on ahead, due to an accident. Someone mentioned foul play seemed to be involved. “I sense great anger, one of them still wants vengeance.”Another Questor wandered away from the group, staring at a tombstone near the back of the plot, and when asked why he had wandered off, he shrugged: “there was an old Filipino watching me –I had to look.”
From this tomb, which had caused such great excitement –and the most intense speculation of the day- we went on to my family’s plot. The Questors formed a circle around the tomb of my grandmother, Aurora A. Quezon. “She’s not very approachable,” one said. “What do you mean,” I asked, curious. “She’s not arrogant, but… withdrawn, she only will speak when spoken to… She likes her peace and quiet and wonders why we’re all here.” Another one stood back and informed the group, “She doesn’t like us talking to her in English.” I was surprised. They shifted to Tagalog. One described her –“she always held a fan in her left hand… And she is at peace, but she comes back from time to time, often in the company of a young woman.” Describe the woman, I asked. “About thirty, with Spanish features. And curly hair…” What about the hair, I asked again. “Curly, even very tight curls, and a different sort of brown… Chestnut.” I was, for the second time in less than two hours, taken aback. Outside from people who knew my grandmother’s eldest daughter, who was also killed with her in 1949, no one today knows that my eldest aunt had curly, almost kinky (in the African-American sense of the word) hair –and chestnut colored. “She is always worried about her children, she seems to be worried about them all the time, and to keep coming back to make sure her descendants are living up to what she felt would be right…” I stood aside, quietly, by my father’s tomb, noting all of this. How true it all sounded.
From our family’s plot we just had to take a few steps to reach the small rotonda where rests President Manuel Roxas, his widow Dona Trining Roxas, his son Senator Gerardo Roxas, and his grandson, Rep. Gerardo Roxas Jr. President Roxas’s tomb, at one time identical to Quezon’s, was renovated about ten years ago. Again, the Questors hesitantly approached the tomb, and placed their left hands on it. They got mostly images. Of a man sitting behind an official desk. The man handing papers to a tall, white-haired, distinguished looking American. The first American Ambassador, Paul Voreis McNutt, perhaps, I asked myself. Another image, of the man sitting at his desk, shoulders slumped, crushed by the problems of the nation. Yet another, of the President sweating heavily, trying to get out of his tomb – allegorical? Though one said he was no longer there but at peace. A few sensed heat, as they did at the tomb of the Johnsons – a sign of great energy, though whether positive or negative seemed hard to tell. The Questors seemed agitated. I decided we should move on.We got into our vehicles and proceeded down the main avenue and turned left, to the shoddily repainted Mausoleum of the Veterans of the Revolution. Over the years, this, one of the oldest and most striking of the structures erected at the cemetery, has been emptied of many of its famous dead; its noble architecture marred by slipshod paintjobs over the past few years. We proceeded in inside. The Questors were suddenly all abuzz. They were looking at the floor. The Mausoleum is a box-like structure with a dome; beneath the dome is a patterned floor, much damaged, heavily scarred, very badly patched up with cheap cement. The Questors excitedly looked at the floor and called out to their mentor. It seemed the structure was full of occult symbols, as was appropriate for a turn-of-the-century structure constructed when Freemasonry was still a potent force in the country, and many of whose members had been leaders of the Revolution. The Questors pondered the “magic circle.” Their mentor walked to the center of it and they all talked of a strong sense of power. Tony Perez, standing in the middle of the circle, called me over. “Look,” he said, softly, pointing to a small compass strapped to his wrist. “Look at the compass, and now look at the main entrance and the two other side entrances. They are oriented toward the cardinal directions.” I was impressed. “Now look,” he said, pointing at the dome. “You see the details at the corners of the dome, where the circle meets the square of the main structure?” Yes, I replied. “They are oriented at the points of the compass, too. They are triangles right? Notice how each one corresponds to a direction… North East, South East, South West…” The Questors all agreed that this was a place built by people with a strong belief in the occult; in its rituals. They were nervous.Someone suggested they leave, they were not welcome; one added it was obvious that those who had built the mausoleum had cast a very strong spell on it –“this place has been ‘warded’ you see, there is a protective circle cast around it." “We are not wanted here,” one told me, as we hurried out.
From there we walked some more until we reached the necropolis – there is no other word for such a well-ordered, beautifully designed, and extensive family burial ground- of the Nakpils. Each tomb is beautiful, those dating from before World War II being extremely beautiful examples of Art Deco and Art Nouveau, in cement, marble, and granite. Our objective was to visit the tomb, located in the main Art Nouveau pylon of the Nakpil family plot, of Gregoria de Jesus, widow of Andres Bonifacio, who had remarried a Nakpil. One Questor had glimpses of her riding on a horse; another said it seemed that she loved her first husband more; a third said: “She is laughing.” Laughing, I asked, quite incredulously. “Yes, she is laughing. She knows that the truth is known and she has been vindicated.” A reaction, perhaps, to the tragic circumstances of her husband’s death, I surmised. There was not much else the Questors could say; so I took them to the simple tomb, actually the second tomb, for he had been moved from one obscure part of the North Cemetery to a more prominent one about a decade ago, of Francis Burton Harrison. He was the only American Governor-General who became a Filipino citizen and chose to be buried in the country. Agitation among the Questors. Many sensed water; a sign – but of what? A turbulent lack of peace. One hinted that Harrison was upset. Had he been buried with a medal? I didn’t know. It seems he was angry over something having been taken from him, from his coffin. We could only surmise that in the transfer of his remains, someone had stolen something from the corpse; something important that had been buried with the man. They all sensed anger; frustration. One sensed even hatred. Bitterness.“But he admired so many aspects of the Filipinos,” a Questor said.
We moved on, to our final stop, the tomb of Claro M. Recto. For the first time since the tomb of Magsaysay, the Questors sensed complete and utter peace.I was surprised; I had thought the sadness of dying away from his native land would have haunted the tomb of Recto. One Questor told me, no, he is totally at peace – but he is cradling a boy, a baby…" Another walked off with a puzzled expression: “I sense a car accident, or a motorcyle accident… Not Recto, but someone close to him, someone very dear to him, that’s whom he’s cradling.” The eldest son of Claro M. Recto had died in a vehicular accident. But besides this small glimpse into paternal love, nothing else: this was a man content, with no regrets, no worries, his deeds done, his spirit not restless or filled with conflicting emotions. A good way to end the day. Five hours had passed; we were all soaked. It had rained; the sun had come out, then it had rained again; I was beginning to lose my voice. To wrap things up I asked them what their impressions were. One told me that she didn’t realize such a place existed. Another said, with some awe, that he had no idea so many well know personages were in one cemetery. Everyone knew of the Libingan ng mga Bayani – but who would think that here, in a public cemetery, would be the great, the known, and tombs of such variety, from the magnificent to the humble, to the occult to the purely religious. They said it was a voyage of discovery for them; I thanked them. They seemed pleased to have literally been able to touch history.
That afternoon I saw something rare, particularly in people their age: a sort of selflessness that isn’t based on a naive desire to be heroic, or on a desire to appear to do good while gratifying their own egos. In Tony Perez himself, I found nothing of the self-absorbed, self-conscious auteur attitude that irritates me; indeed I found him a gracious, cultivated, rather reserved man. Quietly self-assured and yet compassionate. We’re used to hearing about what people usually term the “exploits” of the Spirit Questors; they have received publicity verging on the hysterical; people follow their doings with a sort of morbid curiosity and much of what is written on them verges on the sensationalistic. But for every quest they undertake - and only upon the invitation of someone who asks for their help- they do so much more, quietly and sincerely, giving up their Saturdays in order to use their gifts to help bring consolation and peace to many, many people. I was impressed with their ease of manner and the way they were equally at ease with abilities - some would call them powers - that would make most people uncomfortable or provoke hostile skepticism in others. I do not trust people who lack a sense of humor and refreshingly enough, their seriousness when it came to their obvious intention to use their abilities responsibly and respectfuly was balanced with a healthy sense of humor. The particular group I met, if they are representative of the Spirit Questors as a whole, should be a source of pride for the Spirit Questors themselves and their mentor, Tony Perez, in particular. Anyone who shows an interest in what is considered the occult, and in particular anyone claiming to posess gifts that enable them to either communicate with the departed, detect elementals, or sense (by way of seeing in their mind) past events related to a particular location or the life of someone now dead, is more likely than not subject to being viewed as either a source of grisly entertainment or of silly amusement. Whatever your views on the matter, this is wrong. Particularly when the two most objectionable aspects of the occult as we are familiar with it - a thirst for money and a grasping desire to make people regular customers - is absent. More than what they do, it is what they don’t do that impressed me most about the Spirit Questors. As I said, they do not go out and bug people to engage their services; best of all, they refuse any recompense for what they do. If you are a person who honestly beleives you could use their help, you must approach them; and when they have done all they can do, they will never ask you for money, and if you offer them a monetary reward they will firmly, but politely, turn you down. They do what they do, as one of them explained to me, because they recognize they have abilities other people don’t, and it is their duty to use their abilities for the good of other people.
To think that what we read of the Spirit Questors is a fraction of what they do, week after week, and you have to give them credit for dedication.
http://www.quezon.ph/691/paranormal-and-historical/Taken from the website: "http://www.filipinoforum.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4491" This post has been edited by Shambhalista: Feb 25 2009, 07:40 AM
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Discover The Gift
Fixing the Fallen Angel?
by Dennis T. Gonzalez
Quezon City, Philippines
Associate Dean, School of Government, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City; Chairman, National Book Development Board; Lecturer in Public Sector Ethics and Business Ethics, Ateneo Professional Schools; Lecturer in Systematic Theology, St. Vincent School of Theology; STD/PhD, Catholic University of Louvain (KUL), Belgium. View my complete profile
Friday, February 27, 2009
Fixing the Fallen Angel?
For the 1st Sunday of Lent, the gospel of Mark (1:12-13) states: “At once the Spirit drove Jesus into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.”
Who or what is Satan? A fallen angel and the foe of God and humankind, God’s image on earth?
An Ilocano proverb goes: "Uray sa dino ñga disso ayan ti diablo" (The devil is everywhere). Does this relate with the teaching that, everywhere in the world, the Spirit of God is present? Is not the Creator Spirit always greater than the devil?
Perhaps the proverb would become more relevant if it were linked to the proposal of Tony Perez in his book, Pagsubok sa Ilang: Ikaapat na Mukha ni Satanas (Testing in the Desert: The Fourth Face of Satan), which won the 2005 National Book Award for Theology and Religion. Perez believes that it is meaningful in our times to describe the devil as the Shadow of every person and every society. Thus, one can say, in every place humanity lives and moves, the Shadow is present.
According to the 20th-century depth psychologist, Carl Jung, the Shadow contains the repressed and hidden aspects of the personality, and it is potentially destructive when the tendencies that form it are not acknowledged, attended to, or given adequate expression. The psychologically healthy or mature person recognizes his or her Shadow. The immature person buries the Shadow deep within the unconscious or projects it onto another especially an individual or a group whom one loves to demonize or to consider evil, obnoxious, or annoying. One can be projecting his or her Shadow onto Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the pro-reproductive health legislators, the United States government, or the Muslims.
The work of Perez on Satan as Shadow has brought back a memory of a humorous incident. In 1980, I was studying philosophy at the Ecclesiastical Faculties of the University of Santo Tomas, and I witnessed a debate between a philosophy student and a theology student over the teaching of Jesus: “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you” (Mt 5:44).
The philosophy student asserted, “Is not Satan our enemy who persecutes humankind? Thus we should love Satan and pray for him.” The theology student was horrified at the unexpected twist of the argument, and he insisted that Satan is too obnoxious to be loved. The debate ended with no clear resolution, and I thought the incident would be buried in oblivion.
After I have guided Tony Perez in his research, I can say that Satan as Shadow may be loved, valued, or accepted, but not worshiped. Following Jungian thinking, Perez recommends: seek the Shadow in you. Recognize and understand the Shadow; do not neglect or hate it, even though you cannot escape the pain and fear in seeking, confronting, and interacting with it especially in times of crisis.
If we acknowledge Satan as Shadow, what will happen to the image of Satan as the powerful head of the fallen angels who hate God and human beings, who on earth reflect the radiant face of God? How important to Christian faith is the belief that Satan is a fallen angel?
There is no story in the Old Testament about the “fall” of Satan or his banishment from heaven. As for the New Testament, there is a short letter in which one reads: “God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to Tartarus, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment” (2 Peter 2:4).
According to some biblical experts, the sin in question was the intercourse of the “sons of God with the daughters of men” in Genesis 6:1-4. Other experts say that the “sons of God” in this story were not angels but powerful men who had sexual relations with any of the women they chose even if the women themselves did not want it, and thus God became sad or mad.
There is no clear description in the Bible about the nature of angels. Do they have bodies? Do they have sex or gender? Can they change their minds? Can they die or be annihilated?
Great teachers of the Church like Sts. John of Damascus (8th century) and Thomas Aquinas (13th century) have asserted that angels cannot change their minds. This is the case with pure spirits, based on some Greek philosophical notions appropriated by ancient Christian teachers. In their view, if upon creation some angels have decided to turn their backs on God, they cannot repent afterwards. This is what happened to the fallen angels, and thus, even though Satan cannot defeat God, he will always hate and oppose the true sons and daughters of God on earth.
How important for Christian faith is the belief that the fallen angels cannot inwardly and truly return to God? Behind such belief is a serious teaching: a human being who dies with sin ruling over his or her heart (or dies in mortal sin) cannot return to God. In other words, anybody who leaves this world with his back turned away from God can nevermore turn toward God. This is what is called hell, a symbol of the ultimate punishment without end.
Hell has no end. No second chance is possible for anybody who dies under the rule of sin. No repentance or conversion can happen with the fallen angels. These beliefs are interlocked and, for some teachers, are necessary in order to affirm the justice of God and the fear of God. Murderers, rapists, adulterers, perjurers, thieves, corrupt officials, and oppressors will multiply when the fear of God diminishes further. The victims of wrongdoing will also increase in number.
What is more effective against the wrongdoer or the person attracted to wrongdoing: fear of the punishment of God in the next life, fear of God’s punishment in this life, or fear of punishment from upright persons?
There are Christians who cannot agree with the teaching on the possibility of eternal damnation. I remember the late Sr. Christine Tan, RGS, who declared in a television interview with Boy Abunda that she did not believe in hell as an eternal state. Some Christians cannot stomach the idea of hell. They cannot accept that the Creator can endure a state of unending punishment for creatures who are no longer allowed to repent of their sins. They cannot believe that, when God’s inner radiance will be fully visible at the end of time, everything will be transformed except for hell.
In the complex discussion about hell and the fallen angels, what is the meaning of the face of Satan as Shadow? If we accept that it is beneficial and proper for the Ego to reconcile with the Shadow, perhaps we shall be happy to discover that, in the history of Christianity, some holy persons have dared to pray for demons for the sake of the great reconciliation of the Creator with the whole of creation. According to Raimon Panikkar, a Roman Catholic priest and an interreligious expert, the heart of the contemplative or mystic burns “for every creature, for people, birds, animals, demons, and everything and everybody in creation.” In this season of Lent, perhaps we can ask ourselves: Do we want, or are we afraid, to have such a heart?
Posted by Dennis T. Gonzalez at 9:43 PM
Labels: Angel, Carl Jung, Satan, Shadow, Tony Perez
Fixing the Fallen Angel?
by Dennis T. Gonzalez
Quezon City, Philippines
Associate Dean, School of Government, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City; Chairman, National Book Development Board; Lecturer in Public Sector Ethics and Business Ethics, Ateneo Professional Schools; Lecturer in Systematic Theology, St. Vincent School of Theology; STD/PhD, Catholic University of Louvain (KUL), Belgium. View my complete profile
Friday, February 27, 2009
Fixing the Fallen Angel?
For the 1st Sunday of Lent, the gospel of Mark (1:12-13) states: “At once the Spirit drove Jesus into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.”
Who or what is Satan? A fallen angel and the foe of God and humankind, God’s image on earth?
An Ilocano proverb goes: "Uray sa dino ñga disso ayan ti diablo" (The devil is everywhere). Does this relate with the teaching that, everywhere in the world, the Spirit of God is present? Is not the Creator Spirit always greater than the devil?
Perhaps the proverb would become more relevant if it were linked to the proposal of Tony Perez in his book, Pagsubok sa Ilang: Ikaapat na Mukha ni Satanas (Testing in the Desert: The Fourth Face of Satan), which won the 2005 National Book Award for Theology and Religion. Perez believes that it is meaningful in our times to describe the devil as the Shadow of every person and every society. Thus, one can say, in every place humanity lives and moves, the Shadow is present.
According to the 20th-century depth psychologist, Carl Jung, the Shadow contains the repressed and hidden aspects of the personality, and it is potentially destructive when the tendencies that form it are not acknowledged, attended to, or given adequate expression. The psychologically healthy or mature person recognizes his or her Shadow. The immature person buries the Shadow deep within the unconscious or projects it onto another especially an individual or a group whom one loves to demonize or to consider evil, obnoxious, or annoying. One can be projecting his or her Shadow onto Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the pro-reproductive health legislators, the United States government, or the Muslims.
The work of Perez on Satan as Shadow has brought back a memory of a humorous incident. In 1980, I was studying philosophy at the Ecclesiastical Faculties of the University of Santo Tomas, and I witnessed a debate between a philosophy student and a theology student over the teaching of Jesus: “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you” (Mt 5:44).
The philosophy student asserted, “Is not Satan our enemy who persecutes humankind? Thus we should love Satan and pray for him.” The theology student was horrified at the unexpected twist of the argument, and he insisted that Satan is too obnoxious to be loved. The debate ended with no clear resolution, and I thought the incident would be buried in oblivion.
After I have guided Tony Perez in his research, I can say that Satan as Shadow may be loved, valued, or accepted, but not worshiped. Following Jungian thinking, Perez recommends: seek the Shadow in you. Recognize and understand the Shadow; do not neglect or hate it, even though you cannot escape the pain and fear in seeking, confronting, and interacting with it especially in times of crisis.
If we acknowledge Satan as Shadow, what will happen to the image of Satan as the powerful head of the fallen angels who hate God and human beings, who on earth reflect the radiant face of God? How important to Christian faith is the belief that Satan is a fallen angel?
There is no story in the Old Testament about the “fall” of Satan or his banishment from heaven. As for the New Testament, there is a short letter in which one reads: “God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to Tartarus, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment” (2 Peter 2:4).
According to some biblical experts, the sin in question was the intercourse of the “sons of God with the daughters of men” in Genesis 6:1-4. Other experts say that the “sons of God” in this story were not angels but powerful men who had sexual relations with any of the women they chose even if the women themselves did not want it, and thus God became sad or mad.
There is no clear description in the Bible about the nature of angels. Do they have bodies? Do they have sex or gender? Can they change their minds? Can they die or be annihilated?
Great teachers of the Church like Sts. John of Damascus (8th century) and Thomas Aquinas (13th century) have asserted that angels cannot change their minds. This is the case with pure spirits, based on some Greek philosophical notions appropriated by ancient Christian teachers. In their view, if upon creation some angels have decided to turn their backs on God, they cannot repent afterwards. This is what happened to the fallen angels, and thus, even though Satan cannot defeat God, he will always hate and oppose the true sons and daughters of God on earth.
How important for Christian faith is the belief that the fallen angels cannot inwardly and truly return to God? Behind such belief is a serious teaching: a human being who dies with sin ruling over his or her heart (or dies in mortal sin) cannot return to God. In other words, anybody who leaves this world with his back turned away from God can nevermore turn toward God. This is what is called hell, a symbol of the ultimate punishment without end.
Hell has no end. No second chance is possible for anybody who dies under the rule of sin. No repentance or conversion can happen with the fallen angels. These beliefs are interlocked and, for some teachers, are necessary in order to affirm the justice of God and the fear of God. Murderers, rapists, adulterers, perjurers, thieves, corrupt officials, and oppressors will multiply when the fear of God diminishes further. The victims of wrongdoing will also increase in number.
What is more effective against the wrongdoer or the person attracted to wrongdoing: fear of the punishment of God in the next life, fear of God’s punishment in this life, or fear of punishment from upright persons?
There are Christians who cannot agree with the teaching on the possibility of eternal damnation. I remember the late Sr. Christine Tan, RGS, who declared in a television interview with Boy Abunda that she did not believe in hell as an eternal state. Some Christians cannot stomach the idea of hell. They cannot accept that the Creator can endure a state of unending punishment for creatures who are no longer allowed to repent of their sins. They cannot believe that, when God’s inner radiance will be fully visible at the end of time, everything will be transformed except for hell.
In the complex discussion about hell and the fallen angels, what is the meaning of the face of Satan as Shadow? If we accept that it is beneficial and proper for the Ego to reconcile with the Shadow, perhaps we shall be happy to discover that, in the history of Christianity, some holy persons have dared to pray for demons for the sake of the great reconciliation of the Creator with the whole of creation. According to Raimon Panikkar, a Roman Catholic priest and an interreligious expert, the heart of the contemplative or mystic burns “for every creature, for people, birds, animals, demons, and everything and everybody in creation.” In this season of Lent, perhaps we can ask ourselves: Do we want, or are we afraid, to have such a heart?
Posted by Dennis T. Gonzalez at 9:43 PM
Labels: Angel, Carl Jung, Satan, Shadow, Tony Perez
Monday, June 1, 2009
From WhirledView
A Look at World Politics & Most Everything Else
Bloggers:
Patricia Kushlis, international affairs specialist in Europe, Asia, the US, politics, public diplomacy and national security.
Cheryl Rofer, chemist; international environmental projects, nuclear and strategic issues.
Patricia Lee Sharpe, communications specialist with 22 years in the U.S. foreign service in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Bill Stewart, former Foreign Service officer and Time Magazine bureau chief; Vietnam, India and the Middle East.
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Inang Bayan’s New Clothes – A Book Review Essay
By Patricia H. Kushlis
Shhh. This delightful children’s book may – or may not - be off-limits to Americans. So let’s pretend you didn’t hear about it from me. But it’s a best seller in the Philippines.
I first learned about Inang Bayan’s New Clothes from one of the few informative articles I’ve come across of late in State the State Department’s in-house magazine so I sent out feelers to see if I could obtain a copy.
Don’t ask how I got it but I did.
That’s best kept part of my “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy – because of an outdated law known as Smith-Mundt that restricts Americans’ access to learning what our taxpayers’ dollars are supporting overseas. Thanks to the Internet, however, you can at least see American Ambassador Kristie Kenney on the US Embassy’s webpage reading from the book to a group of Filipino girls in 2006 when it first appeared. It then took over a year for the story to appear in State – but better late than never.
Suffice it to say that I’ll bet you never dreamed that US government money would help finance a story about two Filipino girls – Feliza and Nurhana, one Christian and the other Muslim – who live in Mindanao, work in a dress shop after school and despite their families’ religious differences are best of friends.
The purpose of this book is to promote inter-communal understanding – and it is clearly aimed at Filipino girls. It is full of pretty clothes, lovely pictures, and paper dolls to dress. In so doing, it shows the multi-ethnic heritage of Filipinos and it also depicts how it is possible – two girls at a time - to play a part in overcoming the devastating religious cleavage that has bedeviled the southern-most part of the archipelago for years. The name "Inang Bayan" means the Philippine Motherland or Spirit. It dates back - at least - to the early 1900s. Inang Bayan is also known as the "first muse" of Philippine poets.
In short, this little paperback book with cut-outable inserts is a winner.
Its authors – Tony Perez and Agnes Caballa - are veteran Filipino public diplomacy staff at the US Embassy in Manila and its illustrator is Frances Alcaraz, a illustrator and Ateneo de Manila University professor. Perez is an award-winning author in his own right and Caballa is a television script writer, lyricist and stage director, as well as co-editor of the magazine Muslim Life in the Philippines. The book was published by Anvil, a major Filipino publishing house, and its publication and production was financed by the U.S. government. Inang Bayan’s New Clothes is, apparently, still in print – or perhaps back in print because it is so popular. But don't expect to find it on Amazon. The text is in both Cebuano (the language of Mindanao) and English.
Now you might ask why the US government would invest in a children’s book of this sort. It’s not, after all, about promoting the US image abroad. But in the event you’ve forgotten, in 2002 the US sent a small number of troops to the Philippines to help the Philippine armed forces cope with Mindanao-based Muslim insurgents including those with ties to Al Qaeda. As far as I can tell, the insurgents as well as Philippine and US troops are still there and the government’s long-standing insurgency problem has yet to be resolved for numerous reasons.
Yet Inang Bayan’s New Clothes is, at the very least, a tiny – delightful - step in the right direction.
Posted by PHK on Wednesday, 25 June 2008 at 03:00 PM
Anvil Publishing Inc., childrens books, Frances Alcaraz, Inang Bayan's New Clothes, Tony Perez, US Embassy Manila
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Comments
U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney looks like a smart winner in those photos where she's shown reading to young Filipino children. Even the most strident anti-American faultfinder will find it hard taking issue with this kind of diplomacy. I haven't read the book, but I'd say that Tony Perez and Agnes Caballa are probably the best pair of imaginative minds in Manila who can write a story of communal conflict in a colorful and floriated setting. Think about efficient and sensible use of American dollars: Blackwater versus "Inang Bayan's New Clothes."
Posted by: Alex Calata Thursday, 26 June 2008 at 03:12 PM
The humanitarian side is welcomed. The real problem with US foreign policy relates in part to the "aid" and now it is given. For every dollar spent, the US gets far more in return with regard to how the "aid" is tied. But - true to say - this kind of diplomacy does symbolically soften the blow to the recipient country.
Posted by: Courtenay Barnett Thursday, 26 June 2008 at 04:45 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
A Look at World Politics & Most Everything Else
Bloggers:
Patricia Kushlis, international affairs specialist in Europe, Asia, the US, politics, public diplomacy and national security.
Cheryl Rofer, chemist; international environmental projects, nuclear and strategic issues.
Patricia Lee Sharpe, communications specialist with 22 years in the U.S. foreign service in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Bill Stewart, former Foreign Service officer and Time Magazine bureau chief; Vietnam, India and the Middle East.
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Inang Bayan’s New Clothes – A Book Review Essay
By Patricia H. Kushlis
Shhh. This delightful children’s book may – or may not - be off-limits to Americans. So let’s pretend you didn’t hear about it from me. But it’s a best seller in the Philippines.
I first learned about Inang Bayan’s New Clothes from one of the few informative articles I’ve come across of late in State the State Department’s in-house magazine so I sent out feelers to see if I could obtain a copy.
Don’t ask how I got it but I did.
That’s best kept part of my “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy – because of an outdated law known as Smith-Mundt that restricts Americans’ access to learning what our taxpayers’ dollars are supporting overseas. Thanks to the Internet, however, you can at least see American Ambassador Kristie Kenney on the US Embassy’s webpage reading from the book to a group of Filipino girls in 2006 when it first appeared. It then took over a year for the story to appear in State – but better late than never.
Suffice it to say that I’ll bet you never dreamed that US government money would help finance a story about two Filipino girls – Feliza and Nurhana, one Christian and the other Muslim – who live in Mindanao, work in a dress shop after school and despite their families’ religious differences are best of friends.
The purpose of this book is to promote inter-communal understanding – and it is clearly aimed at Filipino girls. It is full of pretty clothes, lovely pictures, and paper dolls to dress. In so doing, it shows the multi-ethnic heritage of Filipinos and it also depicts how it is possible – two girls at a time - to play a part in overcoming the devastating religious cleavage that has bedeviled the southern-most part of the archipelago for years. The name "Inang Bayan" means the Philippine Motherland or Spirit. It dates back - at least - to the early 1900s. Inang Bayan is also known as the "first muse" of Philippine poets.
In short, this little paperback book with cut-outable inserts is a winner.
Its authors – Tony Perez and Agnes Caballa - are veteran Filipino public diplomacy staff at the US Embassy in Manila and its illustrator is Frances Alcaraz, a illustrator and Ateneo de Manila University professor. Perez is an award-winning author in his own right and Caballa is a television script writer, lyricist and stage director, as well as co-editor of the magazine Muslim Life in the Philippines. The book was published by Anvil, a major Filipino publishing house, and its publication and production was financed by the U.S. government. Inang Bayan’s New Clothes is, apparently, still in print – or perhaps back in print because it is so popular. But don't expect to find it on Amazon. The text is in both Cebuano (the language of Mindanao) and English.
Now you might ask why the US government would invest in a children’s book of this sort. It’s not, after all, about promoting the US image abroad. But in the event you’ve forgotten, in 2002 the US sent a small number of troops to the Philippines to help the Philippine armed forces cope with Mindanao-based Muslim insurgents including those with ties to Al Qaeda. As far as I can tell, the insurgents as well as Philippine and US troops are still there and the government’s long-standing insurgency problem has yet to be resolved for numerous reasons.
Yet Inang Bayan’s New Clothes is, at the very least, a tiny – delightful - step in the right direction.
Posted by PHK on Wednesday, 25 June 2008 at 03:00 PM
Anvil Publishing Inc., childrens books, Frances Alcaraz, Inang Bayan's New Clothes, Tony Perez, US Embassy Manila
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Comments
U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney looks like a smart winner in those photos where she's shown reading to young Filipino children. Even the most strident anti-American faultfinder will find it hard taking issue with this kind of diplomacy. I haven't read the book, but I'd say that Tony Perez and Agnes Caballa are probably the best pair of imaginative minds in Manila who can write a story of communal conflict in a colorful and floriated setting. Think about efficient and sensible use of American dollars: Blackwater versus "Inang Bayan's New Clothes."
Posted by: Alex Calata Thursday, 26 June 2008 at 03:12 PM
The humanitarian side is welcomed. The real problem with US foreign policy relates in part to the "aid" and now it is given. For every dollar spent, the US gets far more in return with regard to how the "aid" is tied. But - true to say - this kind of diplomacy does symbolically soften the blow to the recipient country.
Posted by: Courtenay Barnett Thursday, 26 June 2008 at 04:45 PM
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