Cinemalaya 2014

       Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival or Cinemalaya, the premier supporter of films that showcase genuine artistic freedom in the country, will celebrate its tenth edition this year. Cinemalaya 2014 is aptly titled “A Decade of Connecting Dimensions”. The Directors Showcase includes five films from known directors, the New Breed features ten full-length films from neophyte directors, and two sets of short films highlight the works of 10 short filmmakers. Aside from these featured films, there will be film exhibitions of past Cinemalaya entries, seminars, conference and forums. The festival will run from August 1 to 10 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), Greenbelt 3, Trinoma, Alabang Town Center and Fairview Terraces. This will be my sixth or seventh year of supporting Cinemalaya, and I am glad to see it grow from one venue (CCP) to five to make it more accessible to the moviegoers.

is the time of the year when all the roads lead to CCP

The films included in the Directors Showcase: Asintado by Luisito Lagdameo Ignacio, Hari ng Tondo by Carlos Siguion-Reyna, Hustisya by Joel Lamangan, The Janitor by Michael Tuviera, and Kasal by Joselito Altarejos

Four of the films included in the New Breed: Dagitab (Sparks) by Giancarlo Abrahan V, K’na, The Dreamweaver by Ida Anita del Mundo, Separados by GB Sampedro, and Sundalong Kanin by Janice O’Hara and Denise O’Hara.

Two sets of short films that might surprise the audience with a masterpiece like “P” (one of my favorite Cinemalaya entries)

       Tickets for regular screening are P150 (US $3.46) and P200 (US $4.61) for MKP Hall screening. Students get 50% discount while senior citizens, PWD and military personnel get 20% discount. A festival (all access) pass costs P3500 (US $80.68) while an FIC (films-in-competition) pass costs P2500 (US $57.63). For inquiries, call Gemma Marco at 832-3706 or 832-1125 loc. 1803.

       For more information, please visit www.culturalcenter.gov.ph or www.cinemalaya.org.

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Ballet Philippines’ La Revolución Filipina

Ballet Philippines’ season programme

       Ballet Philippines (BP), the premier classical and contemporary dance company in the Philippines, opens its 45th Anniversary (Sapphire Season) with Agnes Locsin’s La Revolución Filipina. The fourth staging of La Revolución Filipina ran from July 25 to July 27, 2014 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). The staging coincides with the 150th birth anniversary of Apolinario Mabini (July 23 according to Mabini himself, July 22 according to Teodoro Agoncillo). Virg, John, Mario and I watch the 6pm show on July 27, Sunday.

La Revolución Filipina tickets

Outside CCP Main Theater minutes before the show starts

Inside CCP Main Theater

       La Revolución Filipina is a neo-ethnic two-act show with a 15-minute interval. One would think that it would be difficult to mount a ballet performance based on Mabini’s character because of his paralysis, but an imaginative mind can hurdle that obstacle with ease. The choreography for the Mabini character revolves around the use of hammock, Aguinaldo and the ensemble, a stool, the mini-stage inclined at an angle, and one really long strip of cloth designed with the colors of Philippine flag.

       Based on what I learned from Ambeth Ocampo, the show is consistent with Apolinario Mabini’s role in the course of Philippine history. He was virtually absent in the First Philippine Revolution but he made his impact during Emilio Aguinaldo’s first year of presidency as Aguinaldo’s presidential adviser, author of the El Verdadero Decálogo, editor of Malolos Constitution and the first Prime Minister of the Philippines. He was an outstanding and selfless statesman who wanted to fight for freedom at all costs. The interaction between Aguinaldo and Mabini and the cameo of Andres Bonifacio give the audience some insight into the relationships of the leaders of the Philippine Revolution.

       It is a commendable performance, and so worth the awards it has received which include Outstanding Dance Production and Outstanding Choreography (2008 GawadBuhay! Awards). I have not seen so many taut bodies that can move with such fluidity and grace.

       The cast and crew led by Agnes Locsin appear at the end of the show where they receive a much-deserved standing ovation.

John and I flank the very fit Richardson Yadao who played the role of Emilio Aguinaldo

Just because

For more information, please visit ballet.ph.

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Saturday Afternoon with Ambeth and Apolinario

Ambeth and Apolinario: Face to Face

       Prof. Ambeth Ocampo is one of the more popular Filipino historians, especially among students. He has written hundreds of interesting articles for Philippine Daily Inquirer and has published several books, most of which are compilations of these articles. I have read 16 out of his 22 books (Thank you, Jed!). I did not have the fortune to have him as my history professor in college, but his reputation has preceded him (I had Mam Habana for two semesters, Sir Totanes and Fr. Lahiff). I wanted to walk up to him and gush about his books every time I saw him walking around the campus, but my shy young self stopped me from doing so.

       Che invited me to attend his lecture on Apolinario Mabini who would have celebrated his 150^th birthday on July 23 (according to Mabini) or July 22 (according to esteemed historian Teodoro Agoncillo). Apolinario Mabini: Face to Face is the second of a three-lecture History Comes Alive! series with Sir Ambeth at Ayala Museum. Tickets cost P350 or US $8.08 for regular patrons and P250 or US $5.77 for students, senior citizens and teachers. Each ticket comes with a free Ambeth book and tour of Ayala Museum. The lecture lasts around 75 minutes. Sir Ambeth arrives at the venue several minutes before the lecture starts, and he is nice enough to have his photos taken.

façade of Ayala Museum

The book that came with my ticket

The venue of the lecture

       I have to admit that I am not familiar with Apolinario Mabini. My mind in a state of tabula rasa is a good thing because I soak up a lot of new information about the Filipino hero called the Sublime Paralytic, which Sir Ambeth says is a title that does not really mean anything. He mentions that if Apolinario were a superhero, he would have been Professor Xavier of X-Men for obvious reasons. Juan Luna would have been someone with a laser coming out of his finger and Jose Rizal’s superhero version would have been buff.

The superhero version of Jose Rizal

       Sir Ambeth talks about Mabini’s struggles as a young boy in Tananuan, Batangas, and how his poverty did not hinder him from educating himself. He read voraciously, the books he read did not belong to him, except for one, with his signature on it (Mabini’s signature is beautiful).

       Sir Ambeth relates a heart-wrenching story that made Mabini grounded and incorruptible. Although he was the only one (out of eight children) who was sent to school, he did not have the luxury of having decent school materials. One day, he asked his mother to give him some money so he could buy a new suit as his current one was in tatters. His mother gathered all their crops (coffee?), walked to the market, which was kilometers away from their house and returned with a single silver coin. She gave Apolinario the silver coin, but he did not spend it to buy the suit because he saw how his mother worked hard to get it. Not long after that, his mother got sick and eventually died, and he blamed his vanity for her death. He kept the coin and took it with him as he rose to power as the right hand of Emilio Aguinaldo, as he fell out of favor and was exiled to Guam. After his death, that coin was the only material possession of import that was found among his belongings. Throughout his life, that silver coin reminded Mabini not to pilfer from the government coffers.

One silver coin can change the destiny of a person

       Sir Ambeth also touches on the controversial gossip as to how and why Mabini became a paralytic. Ambrosio Rianzares and his cohorts might have spread the malicious rumor that Mabini became paralyzed due to syphilis. It must be noted that Mabini replaced Rianzares as adviser to Aguinaldo. Mabini had polio, which led to his paralysis, not syphilis. Sir Ambeth and author F. Sionil Jose had a conversation about this. F. Sionil Jose’s Po-on has a character based on Mabini.

Ambeth Ocampo and F. Sionil Jose

       There are slides of letters and articles written by Mabini, in Spanish and in Filipino. He wrote El Verdadero Decálogo to guide the revolutionists. He wrote the entire Florante at Laura from memory, while in exile, because someone asked him if Philippines had some form of literature. Mabini’s eidetic memory could have been handy in Fahrenheit 451’s situation.

Verdadero Decálogo

Mabini’s life in his own words—I was born in 1864, in Tanauan, Batangas. I studied in Manila in 1881. I passed by XXX in 1882-1883. I returned in Manila to study Philosophy 1884-1885. That would have been a short autobiography.

       From what I gather from the lecture, Mabini was an upstanding man—he walked the walked (no pun intended) and talked the talked. He wanted to fight for Philippine independence and did not want the Americans’ help. He was astute. He asked Aguinaldo to transfer his political enemies closer to him to stop them from gaining ground without his knowledge. He was wise. Heasked Aguinaldo if there was a signed contract between him and an American representative (a gentleman’s handshake was not enough) and well, the Americans screwed us over. He was honest. He sent Aguinaldo a letter complaining about the noise his visitors made, which made Mabini’s head hurt. He did not use flowery words in his articles to mislead the readers. He was as, Sir Ambeth says, a fortuneteller. He knew the fate of the country 120 years before it happened. He knew that politicians would be selfish, insatiable and corrupt.

Book signing and photo opportunity after the lecture

       History Comes Alive! Juan Luna: Face to Face is on August 30, 2014. For more information, please visit http://www.ayalamuseum.org.

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Rak of Aegis

Creo que la cultura es el alma de la sociedad. Permite a la gente, especialmente los niños, soñar y pensar que todo es posible si tienen ilimitada imaginación. La cultura anima a la gente a ser creativos, aprender más sobre su historia y estar orgullosos de los logros de sus antepasados. A través de la cultura, aprendemos más sobre otra gente y, eventualmente, sobre nosotros mismos. Cada espectáculo de teatro en Filipinas ha afectado por lo menos a un niño que estará eternamente un enamorado de la cultura. Y eso es más que suficiente para justificar las ayudas económicas que los teatros reciben de los patrocinadores.

The skies set the stage on the night Jed, John and I watch Rak of Aegis. It is raining and I am half-expecting members of Aegis to appear out of thin air and belt out “Basang-basasa Ulan” while wearing black leather pants and jackets and thigh-high boots. At 745pm, holders of orchestra tickets (P1000 = US $23) enter the main theater in an orderly fashion. We sit on the left side of the stage (I watched the Rak of Aegis on its first run and sat in the middle and elevated portion of the stage. I advise anyone to buy the VIP tickets if they are available). The stage is dominated by a skillfully contained flood, flanked on either side by the house of Aileen (Aicelle Santos) and the sari-sari store of Joel/Jewel (Jimmy Marquez), Aileen’s best friend while the background shows miniature houses. While waiting for the play to start, we hear Myke Salomon’s voice telling us theater etiquette and our (fun) punishment if we violate any of them.

Rakking on a Saturday night

Stage designed by Mio Infante, the flood in the middle is treated with chlorine to avoid mosquito infestation

The store of Joel/Jewel

View from the left side of the stage

A very blurry photo with Jed

The rerun of Rak of Aegis is the opening presentation of the 46th theater season of PETA (Philippine Educational Theater Association). The musical is based on the songs of Aegis, the band topbilled by women with powerful lungs who dish out gut-wrenching songs. It is written by Liza Magtoto and directed by Maribel Legarda. Musical direction and arrangement are done by the multi-hyphenated Myke Salomon.

It is set in Barangay Venizia, an area plagued by knee-deep floodwater for three months. It started when a subdivision was built near Barangay Venizia. The flood has affected the shoe-making business of barangay captain Mary Jane (Isay Alvarez-Seña) that employs her ex-boyfriend Kiel (the scintillating Robert Seña) and his wife Mercy (Kakai Bautista).

The gorgeous Isay Alvarez-Seña is an effective Mary Jane

A very blurry photo with the very talented Robert Seña

Kakai Bautista displaying her assets. Her Mercy character is the silent force of the play, like that character in Looney Tunes who speaks softly but carries a big stick

The financial problems of the couple affect their daughter Aileen, who is helpless due to her nonexistent salary as a saleslady who earns on a commission basis. She wants to augment their income by appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and hopefully earn US $10,000 in the process. She thinks that a YouTube video can help her achieve her goal.

With the help of Kenny (the talented Myke Salomon), the son of Mary Jane, she shoots a video under the pouring rain. Yes, real droplets of water fall from the ceiling of the theater. Unfortunately, in the middle of a melee, the camera falls into the flood. All of these happened while Tolits (Jerald Napoles), the witty boatman, looks forlorn while admiring Aileen from a distance. One of my favorite parts of the play is the bubble scene that features Aileen and Tolits. It is a simple but very clever stunt. It makes one feel like a blushing teenager once again.

Myke Salomon – attractive actor, musical director and arranger of Rak of Aegis

Jerald Napoles is perfect as Tolits because you want your boatman to be witty and have abs as hard as rock

Throughout the play, the characters go on with their lives and treat the flood like their next-door neighbor. Will Aileen’s voice become her ticket to stardom and financial security? Will Aileen end up with Kenny or will Tolits’hirits endear him to the budding singer? Who is Fernan Ganda y Revilla, the man in immaculate white who appears to be the savior of Barangay Venizia? Is it really over between Kiel (which is short for kilabot ng mga chicks) and Mary Jane?

My favorite characters are Kiel and Tolits

These questions are answered in the second act. Tolits earns his chance to shoot a video of Aileen singing and what do you know, it rains again! The video turns her into an instant celebrity and Barangay Venizia and its extra feature – the flood, as parts of the main attractions. Everybody except for Kiel is excited about and is supportive of Aileen’s concert. The proceeds will fund the building of a barangay health center, which is greatly needed at that point because Mercy has leptospirosis.

Joel/Jewel auditions as Aileen’s front act. He performs a doble-cara number that wows the crowd. Robert Seña and Arnell Ignacio have a showdown singing Mary Jane. Wow! I watched Robert Seña perform the same number from the center of the theater and he was luminous at that time. From the left side of the stage, he is still sexy as hell! That air guitar scene would have looked cheesy had someone else portrayed it, but Mr. Seña made it look cool. Meanwhile, the rivalry between Kenny and Tolits intensifies as Aileen slightly veers towards Tolits. They decide to settle their differences by having a who-has-a-better-set-of-abs contest. When Tolits and Kenny lift their shirts up to exposetheir Greek-god sculpted midsections, half the people inside the theater shriek with delight while the other half collectively drop their jaws open and drool. As the shock subsides, everybody applauds loudly and whistles with great abandon.

Arnell Ignacio as Fernan Ganda y Revilla

On the day of the concert, the city government finally sends a team to drain the flood. A debate whether or not they will allow the drainage of the flood occurs. On one hand, it is part of the concert promotion and people buy tickets partly to experience the flood. On the other hand, without the flood they will have peace of mind that no one will have leptospirosis and they can set foot on solid ground again. More singing and dancing follow to justify their respective opinion, with Kiel leading the drain-the-flood-now group and Mary Jane taking the opposite position. Eventually, the residents of Barangay Venizia agree on one thing (at least that is how I understand it. Hahaha).

Rak of Aegis is a good example of art imitating life as it showcases the resiliency of the Filipinos—the people whose spirits are forged by the fires of Mordor. This spirit prompts us to rise like a phoenix after a typhoon or an earthquake, with a smile on our lips and hope in our eyes. It also touches on the inefficiency of government leaders in solving the problems of their constituents posthaste. This ineptitude or general apathy of our elected officials forces the people to act on their own and grasp at straws to survive.

Rak of Aegis is a complete production. It is replete with talented artists, has a tightly written script with infinite witty remarks, a stage that gives the audience a simulated feel of flood and rain, and songs that are ingeniously arranged to not only highlight the voice of the actors but also to suit the storyline.

The actors being mobbed by their adoring fans

For more information, please visit http://petatheater.com/shows/rak-of-aegis-rerun/

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Siem Reap

The breathtaking Angkor archeological site is the crowning jewel of Siem Reap. A visit to Angkor is more than enough to sate my curiosity, but we cannot leave the city without wandering around, eating local food and buying things we do not necessarily need.

Thankfully, Dyna Boutique Hotel has free tuktuk service from the hotel to any reasonable point in the city. Virg and I ask the receptionist to reserve a tuktuk to ferry us to Lucky Mall (twice), to the night market and finally, to the airport. The same driver that takes us to these places is the same one who picks us up at a designated area a couple of hours later. The return trip requires a minimal fee of $3-$4.

The friendly tuktuk drivers.

Comfortable ride to the city-center.

Food

One of the more famous traditional dishes in Cambodia is amok. The fish amok of Neary’s restaurant is one of the more memorable coconut cream-based course I have tasted (I like anything with coconut cream!). Aside from this, we have a somewhat ordinary sweet and sour dish and tasty fried rolls with purple yam filling.

fish amok

sweet and sour dish

fried rolls

We have a dinner buffet at Koulen Restaurant. There are six long tables filled with food, which I do not have any photo of because I am busy watching the cultural show and going to and fro the tables. I make four or five trips to the buffet table to sample the a bit of everything. Generally, the food I eat at that buffet is nothing to write home about, but the cultural show is a little bit entertaining. Nothing spectacular about it, but the costume is beautiful.

Real apsaras

The following day, we have lunch at Lucky Shabu House inside Lucky Mall. The place does not look well maintained, but it is spacious and deserted at 1pm. The meal is affordable, only $6 per person. After lunch, we buy three large scoops of ice creameach; one scoop is roughly $1. All the flavors I have taste good! We return the following day and have two scoops each. On top of these, we buy a lot of bread, a slice of cake and a couple of cupcakes.They do not allow anyone to take photos of anything, all that remained of our ice cream is the base and the cup. Hehe.

Lucky Mall products.

On our last day, we order room service so we can have lunch, pack our things and watch a movie simultaneously.

Dyna Boutique Hotel hot soup

Pasalubong

Coconut and Tamarind cookies cost $3 per box (Lucky Mall), candies cost $1-$2 (night market)

Elephant figure costs $7 (night market)

See, hear, speak, do no evil monkeys for $5 (night market)

They claim to be Cambodian silk scarves. One scarf costs $3 (night market)

The pair of yellow silk pants costs $18 ($20 original price) while the black one is $10. I bought them from different sellers, and it was unwise of me to get excited over a pair of silk pants and forgot to haggle further (night market)

Dyna Boutique Hotel

Dyna Boutique Hotel is not as big or as modern as the other hotels I saw on my way to Khum Svay Dangkum. It is a three-level structure that does not have an elevator (the staff helped us carry our things up and down the stairs). Whatever it lacks in technology, its friendly staff more than makes up for it. The receptionists, tuktuk drivers, servers and cleaning ladies are very friendly and accommodating. It is right next to another hotel and just a few meters away from entertainment centers, but our room on the right wing was very quiet.

Our room on the third floor

What we see right outside our door

Found in the lobby of Dyna Boutique Hotel

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