“Life is a battle – you must enter into it fully, and do what needs to be done. You cannot shrink from your duty. Life presents difficult, sometimes horrendous situations, unwelcome tasks, and obstacles of every sort. Despite this harsh reality, you must resolutely go forward.” Pierro Ferrucci
I have wrongly believed life is a battle, in which I have to face all the challenges everyday by myself. It was much later in life that I realized that my Universal Partner is always with me and that I have the capacity to create my own life of privilege.
I have often wondered what it is like to sit in “The Chair of Privilege,” wherein one’s check book is freely accessible towards a donation to a church project or a non-profit cause. Or perhaps where one’s circle already includes the ‘sifted and the centrifuged ‘ crème de la crème of society. They can be folks who have endured their own life’s challenges, embraced them, and now are at a point of coming to their privileged times of harvesting the fruits of their labor.
Or simply folks who are children of elites, who have no financial barriers yet still, have interior challenges of living a life of purpose, fulfilling their own goals using motivation and determination that we all must have to reach ours.
When I was going to the University of the Philippines’ College of Home Economics to pursue a science degree in food technology, I was part of a different universe. Some of my classmates were children of elites, chauffered by their own drivers, in their own cars, to the university campus. I was trained by my working parents and my elder sister to take the bus and to ride the “ikot jeepney” to reach one end of the campus, and back. It was a sheltered life: go to classes, go to mass, go to cafeteria, do laboratory experiments and sleep in the dorm. Our weekends were spent at Ma Mon Luk for siopao and mami and the movies.
While I lived a sheltered campus life, I was not content. I instead, compared myself to the children of elites, as if I have much less. My mindset was quite wrong. Somehow, I expected a rich person, an elite to reorient my life to work for me. I did not educate myself to look at my parents as my role models. Not having that secure belief in my family and myself hindered me.
Could it have been my Christian education then in the early sixties, wherein the nuns emphasized a life centered on academics and prayers, but not service to country and its poor? Or was it my university education which emphasized having the skills to work abroad, but not harnessing my skills to improve the industries in the Philippines? While my core education gave me skills, I did not have the inner fortitude to have a correct mindset.
It was not till much later when I was in the United States, that I came to realize how much my father, Eleazar, sacrificed to get his higher education in law. He was an orphan, and without financial means of support from his parents, he befriended hunger. It was his daily companion. He walked barefoot several miles to go to school. He had water but no food. He believed that his higher education was his ticket out of poverty. And it was by divine providence that he got to eat.
His active imagination helped him visualize a better life for himself. Then, he met my mother, Asuncion, who herself was determined, and had her own inner determination. She burned the midnight oil to get her master’s degree in Science, while teaching full-time and raising five girls. She showed me by example how to work hard to reach our goals.
While I had those life examples to learn from, I took them for granted. I incorrectly viewed myself as poor, when I am richly endowed with my parents’ life examples of patience, perseverance, true grit and imagination.
Because of what they showed me, I instinctively knew I can pursue higher education. Because of how my dad and my mom sacrificed, I knew I can achieve, with sacrifice and hard work.
But, my life did not turn around to a life of privilege until I was grateful for what God has endowed me: my own skills, talents and knowledge. It did become a life of meaning, of purpose when I serve others, mentoring them to reach their own life’s goals.
I began to realize that my own poverty of imagination and my own poverty of spirit stopped me from having a life of privilege, one that is connected to the Higher Source of imagination and creativity. I stopped desiring what others have. I started cultivating my own gifts of imagination and creativity.
So here goes now, my life begins with an ambitious climb of 282 steps. This overlook trail was created by the collective foresight of the community and good governance by the state government. It took over a decade for the community to gain this public victory. Yet, the Baldwin Hills’ African American community persisted, and sustained their community efforts not to fall apart to dissension. They solidified their ranks, through their social ties, and with their own creative skills of coming together by holding coffee klatches, movie nights and dinner potlucks, they succeeded in stopping the development of 241 homes over 50 acres of private land. It was not till the land was bought, and state rangers appeared did the community truly recognized their own strength.
Now this overlook scenic trail is populated by folks of different origins, of different ages, of families persisting to have their own lives rich in imagination, rich in creativity, but mostly, rich in connections with their Universal Partner. Here is where I found a 78 year old poet, running up these stairs and working through her own issues of poverty, unbeknownst to her, her own writing skills, stumped by her own grief, and expecting folks to like her. Here is where I found close to century old – couple whose formula for life is not about viewing challenges, but to take a step at a time, by loving one another for 64 years and smiling as they walk together. They appear to be living lives of privileges, connected to their Universal Partner, the source of all Goodness.
“Beyond a certain point, which we’d reached, money has no further value. It can’t bring happiness, but it can save or transform many lives. “- Chris Hohn
Chris Hohn established a partnership with the Bill Clinton Foundation to provide antiretroviral medicines to 10,000 children in China, India and several African nations. More than 500,000 children under fifteen were then dying of AIDS each year.
He was barely forty years old when Bill Clinton described Chris, in his book,”Giving,” as one who saw children scavenging garbage dumps for food, when he worked in the Philippines. That influenced him to give and transform children’s lives. Chris believes his good fortune was not due to his ability alone, but in part to his circumstances, so he feels he has a “ moral obligation to balance the scale.” Chris continues to give, and perhaps is the biggest British-based philanthropist whose latest contribution is half a billion Euros. The magnitude of his fortune is matched by the extent of his compassion in saving children’s lives.
Cherry Ordonez lives far from Chris Holm, separated by an ocean and a continent. Yet, her philosophy coincides with his. “I have a moral obligation to help others, as I have been blessed. “She humbly shares being at the right place at the right time, buying up businesses and then, turning them around. At one time, she owned five salons, a money remittance and balikbayan box business. Currently, she has consolidated her energies to run Cherry’s Salon in Amar/corner Nogales.
When Typhoon Ondoy hit on September 26, Cherry was busy preparing artists for the premiere of “In My Life“, a movie which created such a buzz, because of the comeback of Batangas Governor Vilma Santos.
Instead of celebrating a sold-out premiere and the warmth of fans welcoming their idol stars, folks had long faces, when they heard the news about the worst floods of the century in Manila — with 286 dead, Php 1.5 billion in property damaged, and hundreds of barangays affected.
Cherry got a facebook message from Eric, her former receptionist who relocated to Manila. She felt his pain, his struggle to rebuild his life, and resolved to solicit goods for him. Her plans were small — to help Eric and perhaps, other families and to make a provision for a small donation to ABS-CBN Foundation’s Sagip Pamilya.
Instead, she became one of the nerve centers of a hurricane-like pouring of goodwill by kababayans in Southern California.
Her good intentions were matched by others. Jokoy’s friends, Jeff David and Jen Santillan are her long-term customers. They requested to use the back part of her salon to accept relief goods donated by Jokoy’s fan base. Cherry joined in with lots of enthusiasm. She contacted other businesses and freight services.
Carol Yam of Unistar initially gave cases of canned goods. Rick Martin made his own donations as well. Soon, their generosity yielded 400 cases of canned goods.
Cherry and her team of volunteers — children and adults alike, even the donors– packed the goods every night and shipped them the next day. All who could be mobilized through her customer base were there.
Cherry, aware of the need for accountability, kept meticulous records. She had sign-in forms for all volunteers. She asked donors to write out their checks directly to ABS-CBN Foundation’s SAGIP Pamilya. Cash donations amounted to $2,015, which includes a check from the Philippine Badminton Club of Arcadia worth $1,800.
103 donors and 53 volunteers managed to send the following:
.48 food boxes, valued at $34,373.72
· 54 clothes boxes, estimated at $ 5,400
· 4 medicine boxes, donated by physicians, valued at $2,500
· Major donors: Carol Yam of Unistar, Rick Martin of Martin Purefoods, Lito Concepcion
· Major food donations included cases of canned spam, corned beef, bottled water, 30 sacks of 50 lb. rice.
Boxes were shipped daily since October 1, through three generous freight owners: Cargo Link, Mail Plus and LBC Cargo. The donated freight fees amounted to $3,365.
Cherry was in a roller coaster of emotions each day, for after packing the whole evening, and a full day of tending to her customer’s needs, she found herself too tired to continue, and wanting to stop. But, she could not.
The next day, more donors brought in donations and she found her energies buoyed by their volunteering efforts. To gain inner strength, she found herself relying on biblical passages: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Phil 4:6) “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:19)
True enough, Cherry relates that every problem she encountered was solved with ease. She needed boxes, as she had more relief goods to ship. 100 boxes arrived, provided by another donor, Total Resource International. They also donated first aid kits, including emergency test kits, flashlights and blankets.
Lessons Cherry learned:
a.That she cannot artificially limit folks from contributing. Even her son, Josh who serves in the Airforce in Idaho, wanted to sacrifice his meal allowance to be part of the circle of giving.
b.That she cannot presume to have all the solutions. Problems were solved, all she had to do was ask and folks stepped up with answers or guided her in right approach.
c.That she must do relief work with the highest intentions, including the extra work of bookkeeping, to set up the operations on honest footing.
d.That she must not seek validation, for Life is great, it simply must be shared with those who have less.
Cherry is no Chris Holm, but her practices mirrored his. Their moral compasses pointed them to give to those who have less, to equalize the scale. Her final tally, which she humbly shares, amounted to a total of $49,743.72.
Yes, Cherry gave, but actually, she got more. Her best birthday gift at age 40 became her service to others. She was happy, content, as she witnessed her community’s depth of love for their kababayans. She enjoyed the teamwork of the community — singing, laughing, while packing.
Humming behind the background is Mon David’s song “ Throw it away/Give your love/Live Each Day/Keep your heart wide open/Let Sunshine Through/You will never lose anything if it belongs to you! “
Life is great and it was even made greater, with teamwork and good intentions and Her Big Teammate above smiling!
P.S. As I write this column, this information came in: 18 of my Facebook friends donated to UNICEF, led by Yong B., Lillian, Lucita, Linda, Leny, John, Nickee, Ruth, Marcelo, Richard, Tatullah, Enrique, Gladys, Laarni, Josephine, Paul, Rachel and yours truly. FASO, St. Genevieve Church and Asian Journal raised $10,000. 4 forty-foot containers have been filled. ABS-CBN Foundation received Php 68.3 million cash, Php 100.2 million in-kind and 242,451 families served. Manila Sunrise has packed 290 boxes.
Don, Helene, and Yvette. Yvette has been the guiding force behind FIBR and has a way of building the organization based on her camaraderie, the strength of her character, and literally giving you the right assignments. Yvette, with Denise Fairchild, collaborated with Los Angeles Trade Technical College’s Culinary Arts Department to cook the commodities donated by FIBR’s ethnic manufacturers.
2010 Taste of FIBR menu included A.I. Foods’ Grilled Marinated Pork Skewers, aka inihaw; Dulan’s Catering’s Jerk Chicken Wings; El Burrito’s Tamales and Soy Tacos; Starlite Cuisine’s Vegetarian Taquitos; Village Green foods and Los Altos Foods’ Korean Beef Tacos; GFF, Girard’s Mesclun Medley and Champagne Vinaigrette; Money Saver Meats’ Tandoori Chicken Chops and Spicy Chicken Sausage w/Peppers; El Burrito’s Grilled Soy Steaks with Portobello Mushrooms; Caldwell Fresh’s Vegetables with Spicy, Sesame Ginger Sauce; Food Collective and Wah King Noodles and Passport Food Group’s Red Curry Vegetable Chow Mein with Won Ton Chips; Dandy Don’s French Vanilla and Mission Fig Ice Cream with Balsamic Reduction. Coffee courtesy of F. Gavina and Sons and Lemonade by Nielsen Citrus Products.
While the commodities were donated and labor donated, the attendees paid $35 each, while Gold Sponsors included Passport Food Group and Felbro Food Products, and Silver Sponsors included California League of Food Processors and California Manufacturing Technology Consulting. With Yvette and FIBR, it is a win-win for all!
“We are blessings to one another, Choose the narrow gate, not the big gate. Joey Velasco, a painter, once said [ I live not by the time of the clock, but what is the meaning of life, meaning what is shared with others.]” – Fr. Arnold Abelardo
Fr. Arnold Abelardo, the chaplain who accompanied President Noynoy Aquino during his campaign sorties, concelebrated Sunday Mass with Fr. Rodel Balagtas at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church (IHMC). 600 parishioners packed the pews and electric fans blasted to draw out the heat in this energy-wise Gothic church. Every Sunday at 4pm, a Tagalog Mass is celebrated. The choir, led by Pete Avendano, is world-class in demeanor, professionalism and singing.
The choir members are the face of the church, greeting folks warmly. The whole congregation warmly greeted Fr. Abelardo, who used to say Mass at IHMC, years ago, where five hundred folks were baptized every Saturday and eleven masses were celebrated. Today, six masses are held in English, Spanish and Tagalog. Two get-togethers for the parishioners were concurrently held, one in the patio and another in the rectory. We were in the rectory with Fr. Abelardo.
Fr. Rodel’s Prophetic Voice set the tone for that Sunday. He said: “Life presents to us as a struggle. All have to undergo hardships; all have to experience trials and challenges. In today’s Gospel, our Lord Jesus told his disciples that despite any hardship, they must strive to enter through the Narrow Gate.“
Fr. Abelardo then described his experiences. He considered the May 2010 elections, miraculous. Why? When the other presidential candidate voted, they got a return message, “Congratulations, you won! ” He is also the same candidate who took the longest in conceding to the current president. When President Noynoy Aquino voted at his precinct, all the PCOS machines failed. He waited for hours in the heat, and like the others, he patiently stood in line, did not cut through to the front, he had to vote manually and did not get a return message of congratulations.
Prior to Cory Aquino’s death, there was malaise in the country. Folks did not know whom to believe — whether the police, military, government or the private sector. No one seemed to be telling the truth.
Then, when Cory died, all of the yearnings and aspirations of the common people came out. While some politicians had ample time to prepare for their candidacy, Noynoy was asked to run for the presidency in August — 9 months before the election. In deference and out of respect for his mother’s recent demise, he told them, “ Wait, this is not my dream. “
Pinky, his sister, told him to go on a retreat. Pres. Noynoy Aquino went to Zamboanga under the auspices of the Carmelite Sisters, headed by Sister Agnes. His question was “ Eto po ba ang kalooban ninyo para sa akin? ”
Kalooban is a word in Tagalog that denotes one’s inner spiritual mission. The president-to-be did not ask for his ambitions or political wins to manifest, instead, he asked is this your will for me? After all, his life was comfortable. But, he was steeled to have unselfish devotion to the Filipino people by his parents. Ninoy said Filipinos are worth dying for, while Cory said Filipinos are worth living for. But the question remained for Noynoy — “ who will stand up for the principles and teachings of your parents? “
On September 9, 2009, Noynoy Aquino declared his presidency. Children, men, women, carinderia store owners, tricycle drivers, jeepney drivers all came out to support Noynoy. Even the Bishop in Mindanao donated his one month’ s pay for his candidacy,“ Heto ang taya ko!” It was a symbolic act of ownership.
Instead of buying her medicine, a woman in Bicol bought yellow ribbons to line the streets where Noynoy passed through. In an elementary school that Noynoy visited, children gave up their barya sa loob ng alkansiya na lata. Heto ang aming taya!
So, when Noynoy was asked, how will you sustain your candidacy, he responded with great dignity and openness, as he went from Aparri to Jolo, saying, “ Ang taong-bayan po ang magbibigay lakas sa akin. “
Ordinary citizens made banners from used rice sacks, banig and used T-shirts. “ Ituloy ang Laban, Noy-Mar Kami! “ Asked how he would sustain his campaign, Noynoy replied, “ Eto po, participation ng taong bayan, unconventional, barya-barya! “
Every sortie they went to, they were treated like celebrities. At some point, “I would be the one dancing”, said Fr. Abelardo.
As a treat, he sang a very moving song to the IHMC parishioners, “Basta maghintay ka lamang/ Huwag mawawala ang pag-asa/ Isiping may bukas pa/ Iikot ang mundo, hindi lang kasawian/ Huwag maiinip, huwag mawawalan ng pag-asa, dadating ang ligaya.”
The generosity of IHMC’s parishioners became evident once again. A second collection was done for the orthopedic patients that Fr. Abelardo cares for. Fr. Rodel said a dollar is worth Php 44, but most gave more.
Retired Presidential Security Guards who ensured the safety of former Pres. Cory Aquino volunteered to secure the house of President Noynoy Aquino, during his transition and installment as the 15th President of the Republic. They were armed, not with weapons, but by a might and force more potent than bullets — The Divine Power guards the new President, a president who embodies honesty, integrity and wholesome goodness!
For the first time since he left the Philippines, Fr. Abelardo said, “ I felt that I am leaving the Philippines in good hands. “ But, let me tell you though, the calamity funds have been wiped clean, not by God’s calamities, but by man-made pagnanakaw. The budget has been decimated, the only monies left are designated for salaries of the government staff. “
Fr. Abelardo’s list of tourist attractions he wants to visit is long — Universal Studios, Disneyland, Disney Music Hall. But for now, they would just have to wait. He is going around the United States to speak with Filipino-Americans about his observations during Noynoy’s campaign. However, he said, ” I am not the Presidential spokesperson, I was simply a witness who saw what happened and attest to the character and simplicity of our president.”
In Orange County,a kababayan said, “ Oh Father,anong masasabi ninyo baka naman hindi totoo iyan, baka magnakaw din iyan katulad ng dati?“ To which Fr. Abelardo replied, “Ikaw ba ay totoo, ano ang iyong gagawin para tumulong sa pagbabago? ”
There was a pause, a long pause, “ Father when I go home, I will endure the long wait and not insert $20 in my blue passport. That will be my contribution.”
The Corvettes (Cory veterans) posted yellow ribbons with messages: “Kaya natin, magtulong-tulong tayo.” Instead of crushing the Filipino spirit, the calamities of Ondoy and the massacres of Ampatuan brought goodness instead.
Fr. Abelardo shared an observation. South Koreans and Chinese investors have bought restaurants, hotels and resorts in the Philippines. It would be also nice to see groups of Filipino-American investors become part of this renaissance in the Philippines. Ano ang taya natin sa pagbabago?
As for me, ano ang taya ko?
I will continue to harvest and write about the goodwill built by President Noynoy Aquino. When I see something glaringly wrong in the US in our consular offices, I will speak up and work with them.
Fortunately, for us in Los Angeles, we have one of the most honest, transparent and efficient consular generals in the person of ConGen Mary Jo Bernardo Aragon! We hope she will stay with us for a few more years!
And for President Noynoy Aquino, my wish is that he will preside over the best renaissance of my birth country, so we can all say that we are collectively proud to be called P-NOYS!
“ The design of the violin – those sensuous, feminine curves of the shoulders, waist, and hips ( Man Ray famously superimposed the instrument onto the back of a shapely woman) – is the result of a long simmering stew of intellect, practicality and some mysticism. It has been thought that the violin’ shape and workings were influenced by such varied forces as the geometries of Pythagoras, the transcendent theorise of Plato and the workbench savvy of Stradivari and his forebears. But the real reason a fiddle looks the way it does is simply because that’s what works best-though no one really knows why. “ – John Marchese, 2008
As design of the violin is described as a confluence of a ‘simmering stew of intellect, practicality and some mysticism, including a workbench savvy of Stradivari’ by John Marchese that suggests a timeless display of world-class talent and performance, so was the Kultura’s Dance, Rhythm, Harmony: Mabuhay! at the Ford Amphitheater. Almost perfect! A crowd in the parking lot, who I got to know for a brief period, described it as “ perfect and awesome! “
Ted Benito said it best: “Flawless rendition. I think the most fascinating thing was the triumphant union of 3 powerhouse cultural groups here in Los Angeles: Kultura, Philippine Chamber Singers and FASO. Kultura, whose dancers I am appreciating as some of the best that I have seen, put on some of the most captivating interpretations of Filipino folk dances. Banga’s Alexandria Diaz Defato captured my soul and the abbreviated Muslim suite took your breath away. I define Philippine Chamber Singers as simply a flawless harmonization of vocal prowess. Period. The original songs they sang were irresistibly charming and clever. “
For me, it was less than flawless, only because I believe Perfection belongs to the Highest Maker, God, and we, as imperfect beings, can only claim close to perfection. But when one sees the grandeur of Kultura, its 25 dancers who were diverse in ages, bound by a common denominator of precision, skill, prowess and soulful meaning in their dance steps — I began to understand the audience’s fascination in seeing dancers move not just to the beat nor the music, but possessed by the period characters they embody.
One cannot help, but join in the crowd, in their enduring standing ovation for five minutes, yelling “Bravo, Bravo, Encore!“ For indeed, our search for embodied greatness and excellence got fused in Kultura’s dancers, Indio and Philippine Chamber Singers!
After all, my husband and I started our cultural quest of deepening our heritage as Filipinos back in the seventies, when Enrique and I took our two young children to every Pilipino Cultural Night (PCN) events, whether it’s at UCLA, CSUN, or UC Irvine and even FILAMArts. It became our children’s immersion into our culture. We found ourselves locating the bamboo poles, as they evolved — now performing their dances in their own PCNs, teaching their friends in high schools and later, UC Irvine and Berkeley. My daughter, Corina, learned the Highlander’s Fury dance, from the tribes of Northern Luzon’s mountains. When she balanced a single palayok on her head, she considered it a big success given sweat from dedicated practice.
But, Kultura’s dancer, Alexandria Diaz Defato adeptly balanced six nesting clay pots secured by a turban which barely cradled the bottom of the six. The audience was mesmerized — would her risky dance steps drop all six nesting clay pots as she moved her body? Though conscious of the load on her head, she gracefully moved and kept dancing.
When the Mindanao Tapestry dance showed the pre-nuptial encounter of a man and woman as seafarers on their journey, two bamboo poles simulated the movement of an outrigger boat, sailing to distant shores. These two poles were carried by two men on their shoulders, while the royal princess, Alyssa Capili skillfully balanced herself, climbing up the bamboo pole as she danced gracefully using ‘languid arm and wrist movements to ward off evil spirits,’ craning her neck as her feet slid, struggling to stay on, and her precise training paid off, as she kept her balance.
She was lifted, while standing, dancing, barefoot on the smooth, curved bamboo poles. You could hear folks gasping, quite nervous and hoping that she does not fall off. It was as intense as watching someone do triple lifts on figure skating and holding one’s breath until they touch the ground, landing on one foot.
My husband had one word — “Competent!“Indeed, it was culturally competent, but it was also heritage-rich and musically and artfully literate!
What an evening of understated elegance, grace, and well-scripted fusion of dance numbers from Celia Defato, Alexandria Diaz Defato, Greg and Candy Sanchez, and the entire cast of Kultura. The musical genius of the Indio tenors: Pete Avendano and Gelo Francisco and shyly ramping up guitar renditions of Ric Ickard, whose guitar plucking is of the highest order, and the vibrant, alive voices of the Philippine Chamber Singers with synchronous sounds from the Filipino-American Symphony Orchestra (FASO) made the dance quite riveting to watch!
It is beautiful to see FASO’s technical orchestral proficiency grow. They were smooth, with no discordant notes. But somehow, I could only feel the feelings of FASO’s conductor, Bob Shroder, as the musicians played their instruments. In time, this young orchestra will age beautifully like fine wine! On their third public event tonight, their youngest musicians who are under 20, are now at ease. I will soon see this orchestra’s promise and potential on display when FASO Goes To The Movies next Saturday at the Pasadena Civic Center, let us not miss their repertoire!
I was enchanted by Gelo Francisco’s harana and his courtship with the dancer, Janice Santa Ana, a staged interplay that shows how the fan (abanico) in Pamaypay ng Maynila become the reservoir of unrequited love — indirectly expressed through this lyrical kundiman or love songs. With some encouragement: a look, a smile, a playful dance of the senorita and Gelo singing the harana so lovingly, it was pure joy to watch and their brightly-lit faces had enough wattage to light the stage.
It was an inspiring performance that I could not help but be moved to tears. It has been a long time since I’ve gone to more Music Center events that I care to catalog, but even with their technical prowess, I could not be moved to cry.
Tonight, Kultura gave me not just the music that cradled me, but one that I suckled to as a baby, while being fed by my mother, Asuncion. As I looked around the audience who were also in tears, we lovingly affirmed our love for our culture and heritage!
I got goosebumps as Gelo Francisco and Pete Avendano sang the Ave Maria duet, alternating their solid tenor voices, so superlative, and majestically rendered. It was their ode to God, which they carefully, generously and so kindly shared on center stage. When they sang Usahay, even if I did not know the Visayan words, I felt their emotions of love, grace and playfulness.
But, let me tell you what got me prouder – it was the coconut dance! Kultura’ s program described ‘coconuts as the tree of life because of its many uses — and for the performance, it was coconut shells recycled as musical instruments. There was a pounding of dancers’ bare feet on stage, as they rhythmically struck the coconut shells attached to their bare-chested bodies, heads, backs and knees, in Maglalatik and complimented by the clever use of Filipino martial arts called Arnis. I have seen this dance before, but the dancers of Kultura had varying body sizes, mirroring the true population, some with beer bellies. They were not selected based on physique and physical attributes, but for their prowess and literacy in rhythm.
Yes, there is literacy in rhythm. When you feel there is a beat, the guitar strings are plucked. It is not slow nor fast, but a soulful rendition which connects the audience to their spirits, their inner beings. Their tears, as well as mine, are moved to flow, regardless of gender. When the tunes change, it makes a person sway their arms, stretch up into the air, sway their bodies, not caring to sit or stand, but simply to move with the beat. When bamboo poles were slowly put up for the Singkil dancer to ascend, when she balanced her body, we, the audience, with our pounding heartbeats were careful not to exhale too loud so she would not fall out of grace!
Yes, the audience gave Kultura their utmost respect, not a sound, not a whimper, not any side discussions, for they respected them to showcase their talents completely, withholding none! They respected the cultural heritage, such that their performance had an imprint — a continuity of tradition dating back to the centuries when our ancestors were culturally competent. Almost every word or utterance from their mouths was either a corrido, a composed sonnet, a composed lyric, a spoken word of poetry or a kundiman!
My, not only are Filipinos hopeless romantics, but our hearts were made to love and to be loved back by our people in their music through dance steps and musical arrangements and compositions.
Celia, Gelo, Nadina, Greg, Ed, Pete, Anne, you have not only created art, but also a legacy of richness in creative spirits — something we are proud of to call our own! And to Indio tenors, Gelo and Pete, I forecast a future richer than Il Divo’s, for you share your talents, not with the endpoint of wowing the audience, but with a soulful integrity, a watchful generosity that God gave you these talents to share flawlessly with others!
I whispered to Ted Benito: “There is now a new standard of excellence and quality you must aspire to, Ted, and you saw it tonight!” He smiled. Indeed, it was nearly flawless! Tonight, we cried, we stood up in tears, we clapped so loud, we hollered Bravo, Bravo, Bravo for an enduring standing ovation of over five minutes to Kultura. Kultura brought us home again!
“Our humanity comes to its fullest bloom in giving. We become beautiful people when we give whatever we can give: a smile, a handshake, a kiss, an embrace, a word of love, a present, a part of our life….all of our life. “ – Henri NouwenI have been fortunate in being able to live in the public fronts of community, regulatory agency, professional associations, activist events, and now writing for Asian Journal. It is a life’s journey with many folks to meet, so many friends, and foes to learn from, but few amongst thousands stood out.Few stood out because they had aligned their lives to match their values and their actions reflected in their enduring principles of serving humanity. Like Helen Toribio. Long after she is gone, we still share stories of how she made us feel, how she helped clarify our vision, particularly when we were so much in chaos. Or NVM Gonzales, whom I daresay was fulfilled not because of the money in his pockets, but because he loved his family. He had an affair with written words, and mentored others to live a life of meaning, not for themselves, and influenced many to write and keep writing. Some are still alive and when you ask them, they are happy, from living simply and helping out folks, like Tony Meloto.Some still have growth spurts in their businesses that become moments of hell. These hellish moments become their sources of wisdom as these challenges transform them. These moments of hell are their spiritual challenges: do they give in to popular demand or do they transform their lives to reflect their true character and cherish their true selves? Do they succumb to avoid the conflict within and become someone impressing others?Impressing othersI had a discussion with a friend, X, about life after 50. She felt free to be who she was, to claim her true self. While at work for decades, she learned to subsume her true self. She smiled and cracked jokes, even when she felt no longer joyful. What a performance that must be, a false mask that one takes off when one gets home just to feel real again.It reminded me of Y, who confided that as a defense mechanism, he always smiles. He smiles when he agrees, he smiles when he disagrees, and he smiles even when he can no longer stand the person he is talking to. He smiles even when he feels like he can’t anymore and by doing so, he keeps himself out of trouble. What a strain that must create from within: when he gets home and is mad, he screams, just to lose his mask of false smiles, just to be sure he is still living his reality.Smiles and jokes for X and Y became their survival skills to protect themselves and consequently — to impress. For them, the value in being not themselves means sparing themselves from conflicts and wounds, and so they go along to be popular, to be liked at all times.They live to impress others, but inside, they feel awkward — not at home, nor cherished, nor valued. They cannot honor their true selves, their true worth remains hidden, undiscovered even to themselves and unshared for others to learn from. So when they are invited to friends’ parties and soirees, a non-ending array of invitations, they go even when they do not feel like going anymore. They are called ‘sosyal’ — a social butterfly. Why? Because their lives revolved around impressing others.In impressing others, they make precise decisions of who will be part of their circle or not. They take great care in perfecting their small circle, tailored to make sure that everyone is marching to the same drum. In their mission to impress, everyone has the same look and fashion. It makes for a sosyal-fitting world of impressing one another and conveying the look of a very impressive group of people.But what about their conflict from within? The human spirit has been clobbered, so we find many demonstrations of angst: folks needing to soothe their inner wounds, but they look for external ways to soothe these inner wounds, without considering the ways they can be of service to others. No one has examined the body of thoughts that got us thinking mostly for ourselves. How do we relate so that we are not impressing others, but instead, expressing the deepest yearnings of our soul?Furthermore, how do we live so that we can stop comparing ourselves to others? What type of outfit is that? Doesn’t she look too flamboyant in that outfit? Doesn’t it look like her seams are overly stretched to fit her sausage body? Upon hearing that from people living a life to impress, I started my own journey of looking within. I simply wanted to help out community folks, and at times, I get invited to public events where the rich and famous are invited. But now, am I living this life to impress?What exactly is the essence of one’s character? Character is what a person becomes when confronted with a crisis or a challenge. Do they retain their true selves or do they impress others to convey a new image: remove the inconvenience, the anxiety, the turmoil they are going through, by being who they are not? Or do they respond with gracious dignity, reflect on the lessons of their spiritual challenge. What exactly was their personal share in that conflict, and if so, what can they change? Can they continue to express their spirituality in their actions to live their truth, aligned with their true self?I want to live a life to express. What are we living our lives for? Look around us: the wasted efforts from wars, from unrequited aspirations…instead, how about living our lives in a higher sacred space? A positive space where we displace old wounds from ourselves, giving them away to the Universe. Then, after ridding our wounds and hurts, we can replace them with good lessons to learn from and thinking of how to be considerate to ourselves, to our needs that we have long forgotten because we keep living lives to impress others.Grace Lee Boggs has two new questions for us to answer if we are going to turn this world around: “What time is it in the world now?” and “What would you do as majority in the world?” Let us start with those two questions, link them to answers from all perspectives, and install a process of finding our dwendes, helping us discover the essence of our humanity. What do we leave as our legacy to the next generation, as children displaced by a life of artificiality? Do we really want to live a life to impress or a life to express?End Note: Dwendes, like little elves, dwarfs are each person’s creative spirit, imagination, sense of playfulness.
