Category: showbiz

Ang aral nina Apo at Imelda

Bongga 16 April 1989

Sa simula parang okey na rin ang premiere offering ng Isyung Pinoy: “Imelda Marcos – Paruparong Bakal.” Have we learned daw our lessons from the Marcos experience? Bakit tila raw nandito pa rin si Ma’am?

The first documentary film on Imelda Marcos since EDSA, ikinuwento ang pinagmulan ng dating First Lady, ang maralitang buhay ng kanyang kinagisnan, at ang mga landas na kanyang tinahak patungo sa Malakanyang at, pagkatapos, sa Hawaii.

Magandang supplement to your readings if you’ve read Chit Pedrosa’s and similar Imelda Marcos books. Consistent with these ang perspective ng Isyung Pinoy, na binack-up with interviews and testimonials of current credible figures like Hilarion Henares, Alejandro Lichauco, Adrian Cristobal, Manuel Duldulao, Odette Alcantara, Francisco Tatad, Steve Psinakis, Virgilio Enriquez, Ishmael Bernal, Tessie Tomas, Gloria Romero, Charito Planas, Cecile Guidote Alvarez, Pitoy Moreno, Christian Espiritu, among others.

Lumabas na Imelda is like any one of us: Filipino, with human frailties, and whom circumstances drove to be both good and bad, beautiful and ugly, generous and greedy. It was rather kind. How Pinoy. Like Tessie Tomas’ “Meldita”, the script by itself avoided getting personal, avoided judging, instead let interviewees opine for themselves and for the public about Imelda.

Ang thesis ng Isyung Pinoy is that ang traits ni Imelda ay traits nating lahat. Si Imelda ay salamin – kung ano siya, iyon tayo. In the same situation, any one of us would do an Imelda.

Halfway through the show, the docu became repetitive, interviewees were repeating themselves and repeating each other, the same with the video clips of the Marcoses, then and now, then and now, flitting from one opinion to another, one analysis to another, sometimes affirming each other, sometimes contradicting, and then starting over, once upon a time, na sa kabuuan ay sabog ang effect – parang salamin this time ng state of mind and heart ng Pinoy filmmakers and writers na lumikha nito.

At a certain point, when I was seeing too much of “Meldita”, it occurred to me na parang Sic O’clock News ang dating – ano kaya, nagpapatawa kaya sila, na pa-subtle? Pero hindi, hindi naman tongue-in-cheek ang delivery nina Gina Alajar at Alex Padilla. Ano yon? Akala ko ba, docu.

Ilang taon na ang nakakaraan mula nang umalis si Imelda, ilang aklat na ang nasusulat tungkol sa kanya, and yet parang nagsisimula pa lang ang pagsasaliksik ng Isyung Pinoy. Malinaw na sila mismo have yet to make sense of Imelda, kaya sila rin ay nagtatanong pa.

I have no quarrel with their thesis. There is something to the assertion that Imelda is a reflection of the Filipino. But I am disappointed that they didn’t pursue the thought further, that is, towards more definitive conclusions either about Imelda or about Filipino culture and the Filipino personality.

For instance, ikinuwento lang na lumuwas si Imelda sa Maynila to seek her fortune, and naging magazine cover-girl siya, tapos beauty queen at model, tapos she married Ferdinand Marcos, a congressman who would be president. That was worth a comment. Hindi ba rags-to-riches story din ito, parang kay Nora Aunor, na political ang context at mas matindi ang stakes? Hindi ba ganyan din ang maraming pelikulang Pinoy, from poverty and oppression to wealth and power? So what does it mean? Though poor, as a people we have in every one of us the power to lift ourselves up, the way Nora did, the way Imelda did, the way Sharon and FPJ do in the movies?

And what about the path Imelda took, via magazine covers, beauty contests, fashion shows to fame and glory? Showbiz na showbiz, di ba? What does it mean? Perhaps that we’re natural performers, we have a thing for cameras and klieg lights, instinctively we know it’s the fastest way to the top?

Also the docu glossed over Marcos’ role in the making of the imeldific in Imelda. I’d have followed up Planas’ remark that Imelda studied hard. I read somewhere, sa Free Press yata, na early in the marriage Imelda felt inadequate to the demands of Marcos’ political stature and she almost, if not quite, had a nervous breakdown, but that eventually, motivated by Marcos, she buckled down to work. Sana in-explore ang pagkaka-mold ng mind ni Imelda: what books did Marcos make her read, what books did she go on to read on her own, which writers influenced her thinking the most, how did she rationalize the things she did.

Finally, I’d have looked deeper into Henares’ and Planas’ comments that Imelda didn’t like to be asked or reminded about her beginnings, and Alcantara’s about Imelda being nouveau riche. In one of Pedrosa’s books, she suggests that what changed Imelda was the way she was snubbed by the old rich. It made her lie about her roots and it made her vengeful. Kung totoo ito, ang new-rich ang may problema — what to do with, how to handle, wealth and power. Obviously, Imelda handled it wrongly, or she wouldn’t have fallen so unceremoniously. But then what were her options? And what are the options of Imeldas in-the-making?

I’m not convinced that given the chance, any one of us would do an Imelda. I wouldn’t. My mother wouldn’t. My daughter won’t. While we all may share with Imelda certain traits and predispositions, still we are all individually unique with different upbringings, different hang-ups, different roles to play, except for “Meldita”.

No, Gina, we haven’t yet learned our lessons from the Marcos experience. In fact we can’t seem to figure out what’s significant and what’s not about that experience. Parang nabobo tayo ng martial law at ng censorship. Parang pumurol ang mga isip natin.

O baka naman natatakot lang tayong mag-isip at magtanong, maaaring we’re just not ready to confront our selves. We might not like what we see, mirror or no mirror.

May asawa ka na?

Bongga 8 Feb 1989

Alam ba ninyo na mas madali na palang magpa-annul ng marriage these days? During the period 1981 – 1987 daw, 115 marriages were annulled by the Catholic Church in Metro Manila, out of 575 cases filed (People’s Journal 29 Jan 89).

Samantala, under the Civil Code rin, nag-a-annul na ng marriage kapag napapatunayan na ang isa sa partners ay psychologically incapable of complying with essential marital obligations. Ang pinag-uusapan nga raw ngayon sa Konggreso ay ang pag-recognize sa legality ng annulments sanctioned by the Church. Ipinaglalaban din na annulments granted by all churches, not just by the Catholic Church, be recognized by the State.

Dati, kailangan pang pumunta sa Rome, sa Vatican, para mag-file for annulment of a marriage. Napakahigpit ng simbahan noon about the sanctity of the marriage bond. Ke baliw, ke inutil ang isa o ang dalawa, ke matagal nang hindi nag-uusap, ke matagal nang hiwalay, walang effect sa priests and bishops. What God has put together, say nila, let no man put asunder.

I suppose dapat ngang ikatuwa na mas realistic na ngayon ang simbahan, na mas nagre-respond na ito sa felt needs ng flock. However, it is not enough na mabigyan ng way out ang married couples who can’t hack it. It is just as important to reinforce, affirm, exalt, and further inspire couples for whom marriage works, and newly-weds who want their marriage to work, and singles who hope to marry and make it work.

While there are no hard figures on how many marriages break up relative to how many are contracted, alam nating marami-rami ito. Ang dami nating kilala, di ba, na hiwalay, na may iba nang asawa, whether public figures or personal friends or extended family. At wala silang pakialam about church and state laws (lalo na when there’s not much property to fight over). In fact, hindi na nakakagulat pag may nababalitaan tayong bagong hiwalay. Pangkaraniwang happening na kasi.

Para ngang mas nagugulat tayo ngayon, at nai-impress pa, by marriages that endure. Lalo na among generations below 50. At dapat lang. Dahil it’s not a matter of luck but commitment; when a marriage lasts, it’s because the two people involved work hard at it. Di ba’t yan din ang sinabi ni Susan Roces kay Dina Bonnevie?

Marriage takes a certain level of maturity, yun bang hindi puwedeng self-centered o ego-tripping pa ang isa o ang dalawa dahil tiyak na magkakabangaan, magkakaisahan, magkakaapihan.

Ideally, when conflicts arise between man and wife, love moves each one to give in to the other, or at least to meet the other halfway, for the sake not of self or the other but for the sake of the marriage, that is, of a highly valued relationship. Talagang matututo kang magbigay, bumigay, na napakahirap atnapakasakit pag hindi ka sanay. Pero when it’s happening on both sides, little by little it dawns on you na ang ganda, ang sarap, kasi you gain in insight about yourself, about your mate, about love, and about life.

Hiwalayan is the easy way out. From the point of view nga of astrology, it’s only a temporary way out. Usually, yung tinakbuhan mo from a broken marriage or relationship – whether rational, emotional, physical, or even economic in nature – is what you will have to confront again in the second one, and the third, hangga’t hindi mo ito hinaharap at nalalampasan. Karma, ika nga.

Kaya sana may advice column na rin si Susan Roces for marriages in crisis. Sabi nga ni Dina, maybe her marriage wouldn’t have broken up if she had Susan to consult in the midst of it. Sige na naman, Tita Susan. Anyway Helen Vela can do with some competition. Besides, it’s obvious that marriage isn’t her cup of tea.

What’s in a Special?

Observer, Sunday Magazine of Times Journal 14 February 1982

The drumbeating that heralded Kuh Ledesma’s special Ako ay Pilipino was extraordinary. Press releases promised a musical docu on Philippine culture, to be aired at least once by every television network within a span of four consecutive weekdays, no less. The timing wasn’t bad either: right smack in the midst of the first Manila International Film Fest. The unprecedentedness of the entire affair was delightfully intriguing. It better be good, I thought.

Aside. Daily and weekly television shows, whether foreign or local, drama or comedy, variety or musical, tend to slip into unremarkable ruts. The tedium of producing one show after another, day after day or week after week, on limited budgets and inhumanly unvarying timetables cannot but affect the quality of the finished product.

A TV special, on the other hand, is always worth catching. Conceived on a grand scale, production funds allow for toprate talents, costumes, props, technical crew and equipment, unlimited film footage, travel and location-shooting expenses, etcetera. Seeking to impart a special message or, at the very least, to sell some superstar to faceless masses, the magic of television is invoked and placed in the hands of artists in film.

There is no excuse for slipshod work in the making of a TV special. Time to think, to plan, to research, to dream, to cover alternative angles, to re-shoot imperfect sequences, and to edit taped material into a creative and cohesive whole – all thisis given. End of aside.

Kudos to Kuh

As a musical, Ako ay Pilipino was special. Witch-woman Kuh Ledesma was an excellent performer. Interpreting Pilipino songs of love and pride and life and roots, her voice rang clear and true, never wavering though crooning now, belting anon, sighing, seducing, demanding, asserting, expressing. The lipsynching was so well done (9 on a 10-scale, I’d say), it was easy to pretend she was singing live.

Ledesma’s portrayal of a native Filipina departed from the extravagantly emotional and gestural. Clad in the exotic raiments of a brown goddess, the angular frame moved simply, sparingly, sometimes striking unlikely yet strangely dramatic stances with an aloof intensity. A mere wrinkle of dark brows over black sparkling eyes was all it took to convey a whole gamut of emotions and passions. Projecting powerfully, she sustained moods with enviable control and sensitivity.

Cameras captured her from every angle, zooming in, zooming out, encircling and embracing, caressing like a lover. It was a visual experience seeing the brown high-boned face close up, catching the play of light on its shadows, watching her change into maiden, princess, nymph, witch in the wink of an eye. Viewers were enthralled, not so much by the music, as by the audio-visual apparition of Ledesma at her craft.

Whither went Philppine culture?

The repertoire consisted of original Pilipino compositions by Canseco, Faustman, Labrador, Francia, Lumbera, Cayabyab and Pedero. Beautiful music, heart-gripping lyrics: some movie themes (like Dito Ba), some truly ethnic (theme from Mahal), some popular ones re-arranged to a slower beat (Kayganda ng Ating Musika) – all in all a get-away from the danceable and the commercial.

Edited into musical gaps were a series of film clips: one of a white anthropologist talking of the nose flute of mountain tribes; two of a humanities professor on the Filipino lowlander’s romantic temperament and music; two of another anthropologist on the social systems of the Palawan minorities; one of Lucrecia Kasilag showing off primitive courtship instruments; and one of a Tiboli anthropologist on the Tibolis.

That the film clips had interesting bits of cultural information to offer, and that Kasilag was a swinging surprise at the eight gongs are neither here nor there. What struck the viewer halfway through the hour was the apparent unrelatedness of the documentary to the musical portion.

What did Ledesma’s songs have to do with the Palawan minorities and the Tibolis? Which of the songs she sang epitomized the lowlander’s amorous style? There was simply no script to speak of, no attempt made to string the separate parts towards some semblance of a theme or message. It was like watching two different shows, one a musical and one a docu of sorts, that got edited into each other by mistake.

Yet, had the docu portion been handled well, Ako… might not have needed a script at all. Had the focus of documentation been the music of the cultural minorities rather than a hodge-podge of lifestyles and rituals, then a theme might have emerged, unbidden. Or, what if Ledesma had taken a more active role in the documenting task? She had ample chance to interview and jam with the natives in whose costumes she was garbed, on whose tribal grounds she treaded, but she held apart instead. As if her physical presence were sufficient and only for the sake of ambience anyway.

A pity. All that dazzle was for naught. Ako… left the viewer feeling empty and wasted. Nothing learned. Nothing gained.

Superstar Blues

Parade Dec 1980

I am an unabashed fan of Nora Aunor. Her phenomenal rise from “rags to riches” never fails to rouse the green-eyed monster in me. The countlessness and constancy of her following never ceases to amaze and impress me.

In the beginning (a decade or so ago) though, when all Aunor had going for her were the golden voice and the hordes of screaming devotees, I almost wrote The Superstar off as simply another successful, if hysterical, product of the mass media machine.

But Aunor didn’t let the grass grow under her feet. She branched off into cinema and the next thing I knew she was reaping Best Actress and Best Picture awards left and right from prestigious-enough local film academies. I changed my tune then, even forgave her for neglecting her singing career. There’s more to the girl after all, thought I.

A Gate Pass

I literally jumped at the chance to interview Nora Aunor. Why not? It is not an easy matter for a free-lance writer to get a celebrity of her super-stature, one yet who has her own coterie of scribes to pen whatever she deems fit for public consumption.

I had visions of going beyond and / or beneath the usual, of catching Aunor with hair and guard down, of subtly but brilliantly eliciting profound thoughts and personal insights borne of her unique life experience.

It didn’t take too long, of course, before I realized that there was going to be no “candid conversation” with the Superstar, no intimate soul-baring tete-a-tete in the privacy of her boudoir.

The interview was arranged for Parade by Manny Fernandez, one of Aunor’s publicity officers, and in return for the favor I was to please mention certain Aunor starrers currently being promoted. The setting was Fil-Am Studios in San Francisco del Monte where Aunor was dubbing for the movie “Bona.”

The Pick-Up

Tape recorder in tow I hied off with friend Mitch (a.k.a. Maya Valdez na kaibigan ni Ate Guy) to pick up Fernandez at the corner of Roces Ave. and Quezon Blvd. A plumpish moustached bespectacled man, Fernandez could not stop talking about this, his first blind date. As for Mitch and me, we were both suffering vile hang-overs and our grins were pasted on like paper moons.

On to Fil-Am Studios we went, past the guards who didn’t bother to ask us for I.D.s (thank heavens), into the dubbing room where Aunor and Director Lino Brocka were busy at work.

ASIDE. In the making of local movies, the shooting of scenes (where the director goes “Lights! Camera! Action!”) and the laying on of the sounds (dialogue, music, special effects) are not accomplished simultaneously. An actor emotes twice, so to speak: once at the filming, and once more at the dubbing studio. A film is divided into brief loops, each of which is run over and over again on a huge screen until the dubber is ready to speak the appropriate lines with the appropriate emotions in synchronization with the lip movements on film. END

The Waiting

I was introduced to Aunor by Mitch, and then again by Fernandez. My credentials established, I supposed that we were going to get it on and over with right off. Instead we found ourselves ensconced in padded movie-theater seats, watching and listening to Aunor dub screaming crying raining scenes with amazing emotion and precision.

During a lull Brocka regaled us with a tale about an aspiring extra who needed more than a dozen takes to get her lines satisfactorily synched. Aunor, I found, is a natural at it. I marvelled at the effortlessness with which she mustered her emotional energies.

I was impressed and all that jazz. But my appointment was for two p.m. and it was already past four. My hang-over was gone and I was raring to go. What now, I wondered. Neither Aunor nor Brocka was showing signs of getting ready for a break.

During another brief lull, Mitch and I went up front (where the mics are situated) to sound Aunor off on whether her next day’s schedule might better accommodate an interview. I didn’t consider a 10-minute coffee break ample time for one, nor was I willing to sit around for much longer.

Aunor was apologetic and readily agreed to my suggestion that we try it again on the morrow. But, she said, we would still have to meet at the studio because she had more dubbing to do, though on and off, all day. Oh, great, I thought, the ultimate drag!

A Lecture

To top it all, when Bibsy Carballo (another Aunor PRO) heard that I was thinking of splitting, she and Fernandez ushered me off to the coffee shop, ostensibly to offer me a cuppa, but in reality to lecture me on how-to-deal-with-a-Superstar.

CARBALLO: I hope you don’t mind, ’no? Pero you’re not dealing with an ordinary celebrity here. Superstar yang kausap mo. Kahit na sabihin niya na okay lang, bumalik ka bukas, ikaw rin! Baka bukas hindi na siya in the mood. Mabuti ngayon at mukhang maganda ang timpla niya. Madaldal. Kung minsan hindi yan makausap.

Nonplussed me: Ah . . . ganoon ba yon?

CARBALLO: Alam mo ba, ang daming magazine dyan na humihingi ng interview with Guy. Yung isa nga tatlong buwan na naghahabol. Ikaw, nandito ka na, aalis ka pa.

I had stepped into another world where no rules exist except those that the Superstar herself spins off, improvises on, from moment to moment. I felt distinctly disoriented.

And that wasn’t all. I was asked, too, for a run-down of the questions I had prepared. Baka naman daw kaya na nilang sagutin para kay Guy, o baka naman daw mga hindi rin sasagutin ni Guy. I almost fell off my seat.

The Promise

Back to the dubbing room Carballo went to work her particular kind of magic. A few more minutes na lang, she promised.

Fernandez waited with me out in the lobby. Perhaps not to keep an eye on me in case I was thinking along lines of escape, but to keep me company. No doubt he empathized but he was too caught up in the Superstar game to be of any help.

As it turned out I had done right to make waves and rock the boat a mite. In less than 15 minutes, my trusty tape and I were face-to-face with the Superstar.

Nora Aunor is no raving beauty. She is a passably pretty Pinay, petite and light, brown and dusky. Pilipino is her tongue and mundane is her conversation.

Q: Napaka-hectic pala ng buhay mo.

A: Hindi naman. Kaya lang ihinahabol namin sa Filmfest itong “Bona” at saka “Kung Ako’y Iiwan Mo.” Tapos meron pa kong dalawang pelikulang nakalinya. Sabi ko nga, sa susunod isa-isa lang. O kaya, maglagare man, tama na yung dalawang pelikula.

Q: Nabalitaan kong meron kang away sa KBS.

A: Oo. Hindi na nga ako dapat magsalita pa dahil ayoko na sana ng gulo hangga’t maaari. Kaya lang sumama ang loob ko sa KBS sa nangyari. Ganito kasi yon. Nagsho-show ako sa “Superstar” nung narinig ko na merong nagsasagutan sa likod. Nagsumbong sa akin yung isang kasama ko, si Andy, na binastos daw siya nung audioman. Pinagsabihan siya na huwag galawin ang mic ko. Kasi pagkakanta ko, ibinababa ko ang mic ko. Pero hindi maganda ang pagkakasabi sa kasama ko. Kaya kinausap ko yung audioman, itinanong ko kung anong problema. Eh pinagtaasan ako ng boses. Hindi ko na lang pinansin dahil meron nga akong show. Maya-maya heto na naman. Yung isa ko namang kasama ang tinabig, na nakasakit na. Ano na naman yon, sabi ko. Katatapos lang nung isa, meron nang panibago. Pero hindi ko pa rin pinansin. Akala ko pangkaraniwang away lang.

Tapos, nung pauwi na kami, napansin ko na naiwan yung isa naming kasama sa loob. Binalikan ko siya at hustong-husto nakita ko na inaambaan na nitong audioman ang kasama ko. Doon ako lumapit sa audioman. Pero parang tinapik ko lang siya sa pisngi. Hindi ko sinampal. Meron pa ngang nakaharang sa amin kaya hindi ako nakalapit ng husto. Nakangiti pa nga ako. O, tapos na yan, ha, sabi ko pa.

Kinabukasan, or two days after, binira ako ni Rod Navaro sa radyo. Binira nila ako sa “Eat Bulaga,” ginawa pang pa-contest. Sabi ko, bakit naman ganoon. Ang feeling ko parang wala na yung protection na dating ibinibigay sa akin ng KBS. Tapos nabalitaan ko pa na nagreklamo pa daw sa Crame yung audioman. Meron daw mga physical injury, mga tama sa katawan, kesyo ganoon.

Kaya sumama ang loob ko. Kaya wala ako sa huling show ng “NV Compound.” At malamang, hindi ako lalabas sa “Superstar” hangga’t hindi naaayos ito. Hindi sa lumalaki ang ulo ko. Kaya lang, ang sa akin, parang pamilya ko na ang KBS. Kasabay ko mag-start ang KBS. Hindi ako galit. Nagtatampo lang ako. Parang anak na nagtatampo sa magulang.

Q: Marami ka pa rin bang mga alalay?

A: Ang mga fans basta napalapit na sa akin, hindi ko na itinuturing na fans. Kaibigan na ang turing ko sa kanila. Kasama ko sila sa mga lakad ko. Ayoko ngang tinatawag silang alalay e.

Q: Bakit parang iba nang iba ang mga kasama mo?

A: Hindi naman. Nagkakataon lang na yung iba nag-aasawa, yung iba nakakahanap ng ibang trabaho.

Q: Hindi ka ba naghahanap ng anonymity kung minsan?

A: Oo. Madalas naiisip ko na sana makapag-shopping ako na walang nanggugulo. Kasi malimit mangyari sa akin, halimbawa’t namimili ako, hindi ako makapili ng mga gusto ko dahil lahat sila nagsusunuran, nagpapapirma, ganyan-ganyan. Dampot na lang nang dampot. Napapamahal tuloy ang nabibili ko.

Q: Meron ka pa bang natitirang mga panaginip na hindi pa natutupad?

A: Sa pagka-singer ko, siguro yung maka-perform ako on stage na ako lang mag-isa. O kami lang ng banda. Yan ang hindi ko pa nagagawa. Mag-live concert.

Q: Kailan mo balak isakatuparan yan?

A: Pag wala na siguro akong ginagawang masyadong maraming pelikula. Matagal ko nang balak yan kaya lang sabi ko, kung apat-apat naman ang ginagawa kong iba, wala rin akong time para mag-rehearse. E importante yon. Ako pa naman. Meron akong daga sa ganyan. Kaya kailangan talaga yung mapapagukulan ko ng panahon.

Q: Pagdating sa pagka-artista, meron ka pa bang hindi nagagawa?

A: Ang pinakamimithi ng isang artista ay ang makakamit ng mga award. Sa ngayon wala na akong hinahabol pa kundi ang pagbutihin na lang ang aking pag-arte. Lalo na ako, marami pa akong hindi alam, marami pa akong matututunan.

A Final Toast

I had set out to plumb the depths of a superstar’s soul but failed dismally in the attempt. Asking Aunor personal questions is like banging one’s head against the proverbial stone wall. Going beyond and / or beneath the usual is simply not allowed.

So much for my interviewing skills, said my ego to my soul.

Here’s looking forward to the golden day when Aunor sheds her defenses and emerges from her snug superstar cocoon.

You have a rare tale to tell, milady, but the cat’s got your tongue, methinks.

Post Script

The following Aunor starrers have December-January playdates: “Bona” with Philip Salvador, directed by Lino Brocka: the story of an aspiring actor and his alalay (kasama?). “Kung Ako’y Iiwan Mo” with Christopher deLeon and Rollie Quizon, directed by Laurice Guillen: the story of a superstar-singer and the two men in her life (true to life?). “Bakit Bughaw ang Langit” with Dennis Roldan, directed by Mario O’Hara: the story of a mental retardate and the woman who helps him find his way through life.

Fair enough?