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Kaleldo (Summer Heat) Loses Steam

Kaleldo (Summer Heat) Loses Steam

Eloisa May P. Hernandez

Sizzling summer heat loses steam in Brillante Mendoza’s Kaleldo (Kampanpangan for “summer heat”).  Mendoza’s directorial skills turn arid Pampanga into a beautiful setting for a family drama hampered by a problematic screenplay. A story about the Manansala family of Guagua, Pampanga, it stars Johnny Delgado as Rudy Manansala, a woodcarver and father to three daughters: Jess, wonderfully played by Cherry Pie Picache, is the eldest daughter and a lesbian who suffers the scorn of her father; Lourdes, played by Angel Aquino, is the favored middle child who is married to a weakling of a husband, Andy (Alan Paule); and the youngest daughter, Grace, played by Juliana Palermo, who is married to a mama’s boy Conrad (Lauren Novero). 

Kaleldo is a movie in three parts; each daughter’s story is prefigured by an element. The first part, Wind, is Grace’s story and how she tries but fails to integrate with her husband’s family. Fire prefigures the story of Lourdes, her failing marriage and costly indiscretion. Water, the last part of this trilogy of elements, is the story of Jess and her girlfriend Weng (Criselda Volks), and is highlighted by the death of the father and ends with Weng walking out of Jess during the father’s wake. The fourth element, Earth, is the landscape of Pampanga. The importance and purpose of these elements in the narrative is never clear. Are these just devices to divide the narrative? Or are there stereotypical characteristics of the elements that are present in the stories of each daughter? Are the daughters’ personalities akin to the elements? The screenplay is out of its element.  The three parts are not woven tightly and is far from seamless; the division is more disruptive than unifying.  It is safe to say that the sum of the three parts did not achieve a cinematic whole.

Kaleldo created a buzz in the public’s imagination with a lesbian, Jess, as one of its central characters.  Once marginalized and close to invisible, there has been an abundance lately of lesbian representations in Philippine cinema with Joel Lamangan’s Sabel, Connie SA.Macatuno’s Rome and Juliet, Auraeus Solito’s Tuli, and Babae by Sigrid Andrea Bernardo. Though films with lesbian characters offer a deeper understanding of the woman-loving-woman relationship, some representations are problematic (Carlos Siguion Reyna’s Tatlo…Magkasalo comes to mind as one of the most).  Even if these films render lesbians visible in predominantly patriarchal representations in Philippine cinema, the discourse about lesbians that these films generate leaves much to be desired. Most lesbians are represented as drunkards (Jess’ lesbian friends in Kaleldo spend most of their screen time drinking or drunk), confused, criminals, evil, violent, and spurned by men they love and so turning them into men-hating lesbians.

Most films also dichotomize lesbians into butches and femmes (for lack of more appropriate terms). The butches are depicted as very macho and patriarchal, and the femmes are depicted as very feminine and subservient.  At the end of the film, the lesbians are turned straight, made to go back to the altar of heterosexuality, and married off to the next available bachelor, thereby fulfilling the heterosexual happy-ever-after plot. Kaleldo places itself in this quandary.  After exposing the flawed heterosexual relationships between Lourdes and Andy and younger sister Grace and Conrad, and portraying the lesbian relationship between Jess and Weng as a stable, loving, caring, and supportive partnership between two women, it chooses to break up and destroy the lesbian relationship and marry Weng off in a church wedding.  Why deny lesbian love its much-needed and deserved happy-ever-after? Why succumb to the heterosexual and patriarchal notion of relationship?

A voice-over narration feebly attempts to explain that Jess had to let go of Weng because she loves her, unlike the kind of love her strict father had for them that left her scarred. Whatever happened to fighting for one’s love?  Where is redemption here? Where is empowerment? Instead of liberating Jess from the scarring and stifling patriarchal love of her father, she succumbs and is defeated by it.

Brillante Mendoza, winner of last year’s Young Critics Circle Film Desk awards for his first film Masahista, creates some stunning picture-perfect scenes with sparkles of cinematographic brilliance that turns lahar-stricken Pampanga into a beautiful setting, albeit some scenes are devoid of context.

The acting is uneven and inconsistent, making it difficult for us to empathize with the characters.  Johnny Delgado’s acting during his daughter’s wedding seems more lustful than loving.  Angel Aquino, Alan Paule and Lauren Novero render forgettable performances. Liza Lorena is over the top. Juliana Palermo and Criselda Volks are competent.

The bright spot in this acting ensemble is Cherry Pie Picache who turns in the most subtle yet searing portrayal of a devoted and dutiful lesbian daughter that still does not command the love and respect she deserves from her father. Picache’s transformation is effective and detailed - in small quiet gestures, a painful look, a longing stare.  Her characterization is intelligent and void of histrionics.  Picache inhabits Jess in a convincing manner and blends with the landscape that is Pampanga. We ache as she strives for her father’s respect, acceptance, and ultimately, his love. We cringe as she is constantly berated and publicly embarrassed by her father for how she dresses. We cheer as she defends her sister from a rampaging husband with a leg of pig as a weapon. We experience her love for her girlfriend Weng with her intimate caresses. We flinch as she is slapped by her father for answering back and standing up for herself and Weng. We sense her fear as she ever so slightly recoils in the presence of her domineering and violent father. We empathize with her vulnerability as she mourns his death.

Contrary to prevalent, albeit erroneous, representations in film and other mass media where the lesbian is typecast as macho, brusque, uncouth, and abrasive, Picache’s portrayal of a lesbian is strong yet sensitive, willful yet tender and loving, and impenitent yet compassionate.  Defying pervasive filmic and societal lesbian constructs, she intelligently captures the nuances of Jess’ character portraying her as a dutiful, hard-working and responsible daughter, a protective sister, and a loving partner.  Picache does not characterize Jess solely as a lesbian, but more importantly, as a person. This is reminiscent of Jeanette Winterson’s musings on being a lesbian in Art Objects, “I am not a lesbian who happens to write. I am a writer who happens to love women.” Cherry Pie Picache’s Jess renders more depth and humanity into a lesbian character than most of lesbian representations in recent Philippine cinematic history. 

Cherry Pie Picache is the saving grace of Kaleldo, and yet it is her character, Jess, that suffers the most tragic loss as lesbian love wilts under the sweltering heat of summer in Pampanga.

Zest and Zany Zsazsa Zaturnnah Ze Muzikal

Zest and Zany Zsazsa Zaturnnah Ze Muzikal

Eloisa May P. Hernandez

For ICON Magazine

He is not faster than a speeding bullet, nor is he more powerful than a locomotive and he cannot leap tall buildings in a single bound – he becomes a she, and she is Zsazsa Zaturnnah, the Philippines newest, zaniest, and funniest superheroine.  Zsazsa Zaturnnah Ze Muzikal has put back the zest in the theater scene in the Philippines.

Based on Carlo Vergara’s Manila Critics’ Circle National Book Award winning Ang Kagila-gilalas Na Pakikipagsapalaran Ni Zsazsa Zaturnnah, a 2-part graphic novel about a parlorista gay named Ada who transforms into Zsazsa Zaturnnah by swallowing a mysterious stone that fell from the heavens. Zsazsa defends her small town from a giant frog, rampaging zombies, Queen Femina Suarestellar Baroux together with her Amazonistas from Planet X, and while doing all these, she captures the heart of the handsome debonair, Dodong.

Zsazsa Zaturnnah Ze Muzikal is as zany and witty as the comic book.  Once you hear the famous line “Yu get yor big prag en go hom en plant kamote, yu samababits, maderpaker shet!!”, you are definitely hooked.  Zsazsa Zaturnnah Ze Muzikal is one of the best laugh you will get this year – this is the ROTL (rolling on the floor laughing), LOL (laughing out loud), and DDF (drop dead funny) play of the year.

Eula Valdez is perfect as Zsazsa Zaturnnah - her strong singing and speaking voice, sexy body, irresistible lips, and competent acting brings Zsazsa Zaturnnah to life. Her arch enemy Queen Femina Suarestellar Baroux is played with less zest and energy by Agot Isidro. Isidro often sounds like she is losing gas and oxygen while singing.  Tuxqs Rutaqio’s Ada, though competent, is eclipsed by the delightful performance of Ricci Chan as Didi, Ada’s best friend and parlor assistant. Chan’s Didi emerges as the unexpected star of Ze Muzikal, with her laugh out loud, drop dead funny lines delivered in sometimes deadpan manner and perfectly timed adlibs, almost stealing the show from Zsazsa and Ada.  Arnold Reyes as Dodong has the perfunctory sexy body complete with noodles for abs but his singing voice is weak and his characterization bland. Wilma Doesnt, Deeda Barretto, Mayen Estañero and Tess Jamias are all fabulous as Amazonistas Dina B., Vilma S., Sharon C., and Nora A. Mia Bolanos is hilarious as Aling Whitney.

Directed by theater veteran Chris Millado, Ze Muzikal is held together by the music of Vince de Jesus and the adaptation of Chris Martinez.  Clearly, they wanted to stay true to Vergara’s graphic novel but still managed to effectively update the lines to respond to present day situations, but the Ze Muzikal proves too long for comfort with too many songs as fillers that do not really move the story. 

Thankfully, Carlo Vergara’s oeuvre remains intact and complete with the “Pagoda Cold Wave Motion Gun” and “Transmorphication Execute.” These famous lines and the unforgettable characters certainly make Zsazsa Zaturnnah Ze Muzikal one of the best and delightful plays of the year.

palawan paradise

i just arrived from my 7th trip to palawan. it still has its charm. the first time i went there was in 1996 and i fell in love immediately. i've been going back regularly since. In fact, i'm buying some land to build my small retirement house there. Pangga and I decided that we will retire in Palawan.

things to do:
1. stay at casa linda. very cheap. 750 per night for 2 pax. matthew mendoza (former movie actor) might even pick you up at the airport. his family owns the place. he gets cuter everytime.

2. eat at kalui's, the best resto in puerto. go for the lobster, crabs, seafood sisig (the best). enjoy the ambiance. it is the place to be.

3. go to honda bay. feed and swim with the fishes in snake island. visit a coral reef nearby. skip to starfish island for, what else, but starfish. walk the sunbar. we saw nemo (the clown fish) and patrick (the starfish) don't forget your snorkel, sunblock, and godiva safe sea lotion.

4. eat at vietville. the best beef stew noodles in the philippines (and very cheap). the fresh lumpia is also great. look for thelma, very good service.

5. go on a day trip to the underground river. the land travel is very bumpy but the boatride from sabang to the underground river has wonderful views of mountains. the lagoon outside is spectacular. you must insist on riding with mang jun as the boatman, he is simply the best boatman/comic there is. warning: do not swim in sabang beach. i was attacked by sand fleas there years ago. warning again: be careful of the monitor lizard roaming freely. shopping tip: there is a small store there where an old manang sells handmade celphone holders and bags out of native (i dont know the material). she sells it dirt cheap so don't make tawad. it's also good to help the local economy especially those who make the products themselves.

6.go to kamarikutan kape at galeri for the best palawan chicken and tuyo (yup, they go together). stay awhile. savor the art and the surrounding. have a chat with the nanay ng bayan, "nanay dayang."  and you must meet palawan's version of darna, dinggot. and the very handsome young man and tennis champion named anito. these three are my family in puerto. they make sure i am safe and well-fed in puerto. i love these three happy people.

7. go to market mall for the cheapest pearls. stall 70-71 (or 71-72) look for ilonggas dindin and maricel. converse in Ilonggo, "Tagpila ini?" (*how much?)

8. if you have time, visit san vicente. geann (the mayor's wife) of caparii resort is the most gracious host. you'll have the beach all to yourself.

9. stop at roxas in the corner vietnamese carinderia for the "dreaded shrimp." yes, you read right- "dreaded." i got so scared of it, i ordered and ate it all because it might eat me. 

10. eat at avegon for the best bulalo your body is allowed eat. don't worry, there are 2 mercury drugstores nearby.

11. before leaving puerto, don't forget to buy cheap crabs and lobsters at the market to take home. try lamayo, it's very good. they'll pack it so you can bring it on the plane.

12.  and the best way to enjoy palawan is to go with your partner, you can hold hands while walking into the sunset.  This is my second trip with Pangga and she had a great time snorkeling with the fishes. I enjoyed the trip immensely because of i was with her.

Thanks, jokla, for the pix. :)

Things to do in New York when you're me

 

New York City is seedy, hot, fast, smelly, sexy and steamy.  I did not fall in love with it but I did have some good memories there. Again, how I wish Pangga was there with me. I'm sure I could have enjoyed New York more if she was with me.

Here are ten things you can do in New York, forget the Statue of Liberty and all those touristic stuff, you can look at their pictures in postcards and photobooks.  Here is the action:

10.  Go to Circuit City, Target, and BJ's and shop til you drop.

9.  Get lost in the subway. I actually felt like a beaver in New York, spending a lot of time underground and just surfacing for air.

8. When you surface from the subway, look at all the buildings that you've seen in movies and commercials, except of course The World Trade Center.

7.Walk around 5th Avenue, Avenue of the Americas, Lexington Avenue. Just walk around and feel very New Yorker. Eat hotdog in the middle of the street, everybody does.

6. Go to Greenwich Village and feel the bohemian spirit, even if it is full of expensive shops.

5. Go to Christopher Street, home of the famous Stonewall Inn, the site of the Stonewall Riot in 1969 that is instrumental to the LGBT Rights movement and is commemorated with the yearly Pride marches all over the world. Walk around this historic street, a mecca for gays and lesbians.  And don't forget to visit the sex shops and buy pasalubong for your partner/s.

4. Stand in Times Square and feel that you are in the middle of everything. I was actually wondering aimlessly, looking for the International Center for Photography, when I realized that I was in the middle of Times Square.

3. Get a lapdance in Splash Bar New York (SBNY for short), the hippest, most popular gay bar in New York. The lapdance was a lot of fun, he was so cute and smelled so good, irresistable yummy yummy yummy boy!

2. Go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum, International Center for Photography, and Guggenheim Museum. I saw my most favorite painting, Salvador Dali's The Persistence of Memory. For an art history professor, this is big deal. Imagine, everything I studied before, art works i saw in books and slides, I was in front of them. I was in their presence. And they were in my presence. Wow, that was great.

1.  Watch the New York Yankees at the Yankee Stadium. Feel the love for Jeter and the disappointment for A-Rod. Cheer for every play, go nuts over Bernie Williams" homeruns and Derek Jeter's hits. Thanks, Vergel, for the unforgettable night of Yankees fun. This is the best experience ever.

Thanks, Daki, I had a wonderful time in New York with you. Thanks for taking care of me.

And thanks to Liwanag, Kevin and Gene for sharing your place with me. 

And last but not the least, thanks Vergel for making my dream come true. Hello to your kids and Weng.

Hopefully, when I go back to New York, Pangga will be with me and we could fall in love with the place together. And of course, watch all the Yankee games!!!

Badminton in Chicago Gay Games 2006

Teamed up with Buddy for the mixed doubles badminton. We won the 1st two games convincingly. Then we lost a tight third game because I was so tired already, it was our third match for the day.  All in all, we did well, we won 4 out of 6 games in 3 matches.  We were ranked 5th in the Mixed Doubles Level C competitions. 

In the quarterfinals, we competed against a vastly superior male in the mixed doubles - Mark is a level A singles guy who paired with a level C woman. We were beaten badly. No excuses, he was just better than us. Though I think he should not be in Level C competitions since he's a Level A player. But like I said, no excuses.

Buddy paired with Nick for the Men's doubles and they tried their best but lost all games in the eliminations.

But I had a great time. I loved playing with Buddy who is a very "masipag" teammate and always very encouraging.  I also loved hanging out with Buddy and Nick. We met a lot of Filipinos in the badminton tourney like Larry the official, Aaron the Level A player, and the girl who eavesdropped in our conversations and we found out she's Pinoy too.  And all the other Pinoys that we met who dropped by to watch us and support us. 

Special thanks to Greg and Reggie who welcomed us to their beautiful home, Raymond and Derek (Reggie's cute uncles who lightened the mood of the games),  Mom and Dad Pike who supported us, Jeff and Jack who never failed to show support, and cute Lance and beautiful Dee made us feel the team spirit.

But I missed my Pangga. We were supposed to play Women's Doubles. Well, we will definitely go to Cologne, Germany for the 2010 Gay Games and compete together.

Sarap pala ng feeling na international athlete ka na, representing your country pa. Of course, feeling lang yun hahahaha.

Chicago Gay Games 2006 opening

The Chicago Gay Games 2006 was a memorable event. Thousands of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders from all over the world, from all walks of life, converged at the Soldier Field in Chicago's Museum Campus. There were some right-wing conservatives shouting invectives and bible phrases to the Gay Games participants but we were undaunted.  Team Philippines walked into the field with thunderous appluase with beautiful Dee walking in front of us. Several Filipinos residing in other countries decidede to join the Team Philippines in the athletes parade. The athletes were given light sticks, the stadium lights were dimmed as we opened the light sticks and it formed rainbow lights. It was beautiful.

The highlights of the program was Megan Mullaly (Karen Walker of Will and Grace) who introduced Mayor Richard Daley and Andy Bell of Erasure performing several songs. 

Then the opening ceremonies went down hill from there. The program was long and full of speeches, the performances were below par with some very bad choreography (reminiscent of "That's Entertainment Wednesday edition hahahaha).  I must say, the Sydney Gay Games opening ceremonies was definitely better than this. Jack and I went back to his hotel early, Jack with a migraine attack, me with a headache due to bad choreography.

All in all, Team Philippines made a good impression in the Opening Ceremonies and we all had a spectacular time.

On a personal note, how I wish Pangga was there with me. My enjoyment of the Gay Games was hampered by the thought that I could not share it with her.

Well, the opening ceremonies may have been badly directed and choreographed but they certainly made up for it with the closing ceremonies. But that's another story.

dream come true

Watched a Yankees game live at the Yankee Stadium last July 29. They played  Tamba Bay and beat them convincingly. Saw my love Derek Jeter score runs in every at bat.  Bernie Williams hit a homer. They made a nice double play. Watched with high school buddy Vergel Mendoza from New Jersey. Thanks Vergel, you made my life long dream come true. I am happy.

me and cyndi lauper

met the great Cyndi Lauper twice in Chicago Gay Games. First time we met she had green hair, next time she was wearing a rainbow dress and statue of liberty headdress. She is super cool.

shameless plug: Buy my book HOMEBOUND

buy a copy of my book at the U.P. Press and other bookstores. P300 yata. it's on second printing already. ROCK!!!

Things to do in Bangkok when you are alone

I just love Bangkok, it's my favorite place in Southeast Asia. It's noisy, polluted, filthy, crowded, flooded - yet, it is full of life, exciting, sexy, and spicy (in all aspects).

Here are some things you can do in Bangkok when are alone (like I was):

1. eat all the tomyum, curry, thai sweets you can find in the karinderyas. if you can't take the spice, say "no prik" (means no spice)

2. drink chilled buko from the carts, believe me, the best bj :)

3. go to patpong (the red light district) and roam the streets and look around (i can look but can't touch). if you are brave, go inside one of the bars and watch the famous pingpong pussy show

4. go to pratunam, buy all the cheap stuff and eat tomyum in one of the side streets

5. go to chatuchak for the weekend where half of bangkok is, buy the cheapest stuff and eat sesame fried chicken at din pao (stall 4 -1 )

6. visit the malls (paragon, isetann, zen, emporium), there are unbelievable sale in the middle part of the malls. i got 3 original lacoste shirts and a couple of socks for a bargain (40% off)

7. NEVER ride the tuktuk (they will rip you off)

8. learn how to count in thai and ask "how much?" (taw raey, or something like that)

9. do at least one touristic tour, like go to the Grand Palace (no shorts or short skirts there)

10.  buy "I Love the King" shirt and feel the love

11. talk to locals (good luck, their English is still bad) and share notes on how bad their PM Thaksin is and compare him to how bad GMA is

12. get stuck in the famous Bangkok traffic, have a chat with your taxi driver, and say "thank God, traffic is not this bad in Manila)

13.  go to Watson's or Tesco and buy Colgate Herbal and Lux Shower Creme Lavender

14. eat Rotiboy, the best coffee bun in the whole wide world,

15. and the best, watch out for the baby elephant that walks around in the streets of Bangkok, buy 20 baht of sugar cane, feed the elephant, you can pet him/her, take video or photos with the elephant. he/she is so damn cute, you'd want to take him/her home (if your luggage permits). DUMBO comes alive. and the baby elephant has the best soulful eyes i've seen in animals. the best experience.

GGOOOOOOOOOOOO and Enjoy!!!!

Back to the Closet in Brokeback Mountain

One of the most hyped and talked about films these days, Brokeback Mountain elicits varied reactions. Most heap praises for its twist on the old Western genre, some express dismay over the ending, others were surprised that it did not take home the Best Picture Award in the recently concluded 78^th Annual Academy Awards.  Based on the short story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Proulx, it is set against the mountains and plains of Wyoming and Texas in the 1960s.

          Brokeback Mountain features two of Hollywood’s sexiest and most sought after actors - Jake Gyllenhaal (of The Day After Tomorrow and Jarhead) plays Jack Twist, a rodeo cowboy wanna-be, and Heath Ledger (of A Knight’s Tale and Casanova) plays Ennis del Mar, a quiet and reserved ranch-hand.  Though touted as a “gay cowboy movie,” Jack and Ennis proclaim they are not “queers” and they take care of sheep, not cows. While tending the herd of sheep in Brokeback Mountain, the Jack and Ennis strike a friendship that turns into a life long affection. 

After their summer in Brokeback Mountain, both men return to the usual grind of their lives – Jack marries the rich and feisty rodeo queen Lureen Newsome (played by Princess Diary’s Anne Hathaway) and Ennis marries the reserved and homely Alma (played by Dawson’s Creek’s Michelle Williams).  As both men struggle to live their “normal” lives with their respective wives and children, they continue to see each other in their “fishing” trysts reminiscent of the film Same Time Next Year (Ellen Burstyn and Alan Alda’s 1978 classic). The two men’s love story tragically ends in heartbreak with Jack’s death. 

The film took a long time to develop its narrative – at times plunging viewers into boredom.  But the film is salvaged by a formidable ensemble of performers.  Michelle Williams strong performance is worthy of an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress – haunting, controlled, desperate and poignant.  Heath Ledger’s portrayal as Ennis is most mature and subdued, deserving of the Academy Awards nomination for Best Actor. Jake Gyllenhaal’s acting shows his range, at times childlike then shifts to desperate. He does not merely rely on his doe eyes to elicit emotions – when he is begging for Ennis to spend more time, he is irresistible. Barely noticeable is Anne Hathaway who exhibits spunk and zest at first but quickly faded into the background.  Rodrigo Prieto’s (of Amores Perros and 21 Grams) cinematography wonderfully captures the vista of Wyoming and  Texas. 

Ang Lee’s direction is restrained and calculated showing just enough fervor between the two men, their desperation of being apart, their painful longing to be together. But Ang Lee (of The Hulk, Eat Drink Man Woman and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) does not give us enough to go on with – not enough intimate moments to make us believe that their feelings for each other are growing deeper and not enough passion (except for their first night together and the famous kiss) to make sparks fly. While we are witnesses to their first intimate encounter, we did not witness furtive glances or special touches between Jack and Ennis before that could lead us and them to that moment.  It makes it difficult to fall in love with the characters, to feel what they felt, and to long for what they longed for.   

               Brokeback Mountain is a film afraid to come out – it failed to show us the depths of emotions between the two men and the heights of their passion. It is also worthy to note that for supposed a gay movie, it is the women who bare their clothes in several frontal scenes and the sex scenes are mostly heterosexual in nature - maybe to appease to the dominant white, straight, male movie audience.

In an unimaginative last scene, Ang Lee brings us back to the closet - figuratively and literally, with Ennis crying with Jack’s shirt, and then stuffing it back to his closet. Disappointingly and ultimately, Brokeback Mountain is a closeted movie.

*I wrote this for ICON magazine's April to May issue but they did not print it, hmmm. Guess they did not agree with me. Oh well.

now that you're a U.P. grad

Living inside U.P. campus gave me the opportunity to see and experience U.P. graduation day.  The campus is in a frenzy.  Oblation is tired posing with all the new grads with his sablay draped around his outstreched arms. Parents are all dressed up, I can see their happiness and fullfillment. The new grads are all ecstatic and giddy, all dressed up in ecru and sablay.

I never experienced this before.  I got a job immediately after graduating from my undergrad, I did not have the time to attend the college or University graduation. Besides, I was the only one among our barkada to graduate on time, I was not going to march alone amongst people i did not know. And i did not want to wear a dress or the toga. And i did not want to wither under the hot summer sun.

My parents did not know I graduated already. I'm sure they felt bad that I did not give them the opportunity to witness their first U.P. graduation. I was the first one in my family (mother and father side until extended family) to pass the UPCAT and to graduate from U.P. (on time pa).

So when I finished my MA Art History, I thought I'd give them the experience- we all attended the CAL graduation. It was a blast, a simple yet meaningful affair. I promise when I finish my PhD I will attend the CAL and University graduation so I can go up the stage to get my diploma (PhD grads get to go up the stage one by one).

So, all new grads - congrats. Enjoy this day. This is important to your parents. Be proud, you now join the ranks of great thinkers, movers, and leaders of our country. You are now part of the great UP tradition. The legacy left to us by the best and brightest of the past.

We have nurtured you all for the past years, now as you leave U.P. - make us proud. Make me proud to say, "that was my student before." Do not do anything to taint the legacy (or i'm gonna hunt you down).

Iskolar ng bayan, in your quest to earn your millions and live confortable lives, in your haste to go to foreign lands to earn big bucks and drive big cars, I beg you - do not forget the people who sent you to school. Do not forget the taxpayers who toil everyday to pay for your tuition. Do not forget the masa who gave you the opportunity to be iskolar ng bayan. 

Mga iskolar ng bayan, huwag kalimutang pagsilbihan ang bayan.

U.P. FIGHT!!!

for my 35th birthday-wish list

* IPOD Nano 4GB

* ACer aspire laptop (check)

* Playstation Portable

* Isuzu pick up

* Oakley Thump

* US visa for pangga

* kahit na anong pa-cute na lavender

* ICON Magazines (back issues)

* Speed magazines

* HWM Magazine

* mag-resign si GMA

* maglahong parang bula si GMA

* makonsensiya si GMA at umalis

* lamunin ng lupa si Mike Defensor tapos bagsakan ng meteor (para sure) o, rhyme yan?!

* kainin ng tikbalang si (IN)Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez

* magkaroon na ng baby puppies si Sofie (check)

* hindi na masyado madami worky si Pangga

* gumaling na si Dale (check)

* sana makapasok si Beryl sa peyups

* ma-revive ang eheads (tama si dale!!!)

* pumayat na ako (hindi na ako talaga halos kumakain ng rice, Lord)

* finally, lumamig naman ng kahit unti ang summer dito sa Metro Manila para hindi na parang sauna araw araw

ROCK!!!!!

PS got my three wishes already, not bad 2 weeks to go pa til my bday

for all my past students-please read

join naman kayo ng egroups ng mga dati kong students:

sa peyups:  eloi_exstudes_up@yahoogroups.com

sa ateneo: eloi_exstudes-ateneo@yahoogroups.com

and i also YM my id is eloindigoart, add niyo ko.

chika niyo na din sa ibang mga former students ko na friends at classmates niyo. see you all online.

Catch Angels in America!!!

Review: Angels in America

Eloisa May P. Hernandez

It was a cold, rainy night in 1995; I was feverishly watching Monique Wilson in a Philippine theater production of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, the 1^st part of a 2-part, 6-hour epic. Angels in America is set in 1980’s America as it deals with living, and ultimately dying, with AIDS. The story revolves around Prior and Louis, a gay couple torn apart due to AIDS, Louis’ cowardice and Prior’s hallucinations. They are surrounded by friends, lovers, bosses, and families whose lives are intertwined more than they know or would like them to be. I was captivated for three hours and I vowed to come back the week after for next 3-hour installment.  But, alas, my bronchopneumonia got the better of me and I, instead, languished in bed wondering what happened to Louis, Prior, and the rest the Angels in America.

After a decade of wondering and waiting, I would like to thank HBO for finally completing my Angels in America experience.  HBO produced Angels in America in 2003 with Mike Nichols at the helm with a dream cast including the triumvirate of Al Pacino (playing Roy Cohn, a powerful homophobic gay lawyer), Meryl Streep (playing multiple roles as a mother, a ghost, and a surprise unrecognizable character), and Emma Thompson (as an angel and a nurse).  This marks Pacino’s first foray on the television and the first time Streep and Pacino work together.  My 10 years of waiting finally ended on December 1 and 2 as HBO aired the Philippine cable television premier of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and Perestroika.

  Millennium Approaches, though, was a bit of a disappointment as it rambles aimlessly through prophetic pronouncements, AIDS-induced hallucinations, middle-class depression, and closet gay Republican nightmares.  Uneven, uninspired, incoherent and confused, it badly needs an editor.  Bordering on boring, it wallows in its own decadence and excesses.  Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, at its worst, plunges to the depths of narrative purgatory.  Part I is truly a test of patience.

But I suggest you sit through it faithfully.  For the faithful shall be rewarded with the full force of Perestroika, the 2^nd installment, packed with the full might of Tony Kushner’s pen, Mike Nichol’s deft directorial touch, Pacino’s last tremors and gasps, Streep’s subtle yet seamless character transformations, and Thompson’s angelic apparitions. The less popular but equally brilliant actors such as Mary Louise Parker (as Harper, depressive wife of Joe Pitt), Justin Kirk (as Prior Walter, a young man dying of AIDS and proclaimed as a prophet), Ben Shenkman (as Louis Ironson, a guilt-ridden Jewish gay guy), Jeffrey Wright (as Belize, a flamboyant drag queen yet compassionate nurse to Roy Cohn), and Patrick Wilson (as Joe Pitt, a gay Mormon Republican Mr. Clean reincarnate and husband to Harper), do not let the triumvirate of Pacino, Streep and Thompson eclipse and overpower them. All the characters shine brightly in Perestroika, each one of them getting the compassion and closure they needed and deserved.  Perestroika makes me forgive, and unfortunately, forget Millennium Approaches. Perestroika is engaging, thought-provoking, intense, and totally captivating.

  Angels in America: Perestroika is a riveting, exhilarating and unforgettable cinematic experience on television.  Like the angels, it soars to the heights of narrative redemption. EMPHernandez, December 27, 2005

Your Everyday Hero in Let The Love Begin

Everyday Hero

Eloisa May P. Hernandez

On the surface, Let the Love Begin appears as a run of the mill romance movie. A pretty actress and a handsome actor comprise the love team in a typical rich girl-poor boy story.  There are the staple accoutrements of the genre: comic sidekicks for friends, a scheming and not so charming prince pretender, a popular song for the movie’s title, and the perfunctory celebratory scene in the end complete with raindrops falling on the protagonists’ heads. However, despite this rather stereotypical mix of plot, characters, and events, the film succeeds in that it provides a rather refreshing take on what it means to be a “hero” or “savior” in this day and age.

Our hero in the story has a mission – to win the heart of the girl he loves. He tries to do this by helping her out with schoolwork, specifically by leaving finished homework under a school chair they share, she by day and he by night.  The girl is enamored with her “savior,” yet his true identity remains obfuscated from her.  He is hesitant to reveal himself and his intentions, so he takes his time until events overcome him: she leaves for the

United States

after graduation. A few years transpire and they meet again; she is now a corporate executive, while he as a janitor in her office.  A friendship develops between them, yet she remains ignorant of the fact that the janitor used to be her “savior.”  In a moment of desperation, she prays for her “savior” to save her again.  And once again, our hero comes to save the day. Finally, our hero decides to divulge his identity and intentions to his beloved, but a prince charming pretender steals the glory.  As our hero’s beloved finally recognizes that the pretender is not heroic, she realizes that she loves the janitor. She sees in the janitor the heart of a true hero, ultimately realizing that the janitor is her “savior.”  With this realization, our hero’s identity and intentions are finally revealed.

Working within the confines of the romance genre, the film triumphs in the characterization of our young hero. He is a typical teen-ager with teen-age concerns and angst, coupled with the fact that he is poor and orphaned.  Yet, he is intelligent enough not to allow his poverty to deprive him of a good education. What he lacks in material things, he makes up for in kindness in that he is always willing to help, albeit anonymously, his beloved.  His heroism shines in his willingness to sacrifice his chance to study in a top university abroad for his grandmother.  He is a diligent, hardworking young man who, at the same time, is a conscientious and intelligent student.   His heroism is in his every day life—in his capacity to overcome the temptations and vagaries of youth, in his efforts to educate himself out of poverty.  No, he may not be our typical knight in shining armor on a white steed; but his intelligence and kind heart shine through, making him a knight in an armor all his own. 

He is not faster than a speeding bullet, nor is he more powerful than a locomotive and he cannot leap tall buildings in a single bound – he is as human as he can get but is an everyday hero, a savior, who fulfills his mission set at the beginning of the film.  Let the Love Begin ends with what most of us yearn for in life – a happy ever after.

Maximo Oliveros did not blossom

Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros

Eloisa May P. Hernandez

Growing up in a slum area in one of the more under-privileged communes in Metro Manila with a family of criminals sounds like a typical story.  Spice it up with a love angle between a gay preteen, Maxi, and a handsome rookie policeman, Victor.  Maxi’s brother commits murder; Maxi tries to cover up for his brother, whom Victor already suspects of the crime, leaving Maxi torn between filial piety and the throbs of first love in his young heart.  This powerful ethical dilemma posed at the start of the film, unfortunately, did not blossom into moral fruition.

Directed by Aureus Solito (his first full-length feature), written by Michiko Yamamoto (who also wrote Magnifico), and produced by Raymond Lee, it features Nathan Lopez in the title role.  Since its premiere in the 1^st Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival 2005 in Manila where it won the Special Jury Prize, Best Production Design and Special Citation for Performance (for Nathan Lopez), Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros has won Best Picture in the First Films World Competition of the Montreal World Film Festival 2005, participated in imagiNATIVE Film Festival in Toronto, Canada, and competed in the World Cinema Feature Competition of the Sundance Film Festival (a first for any Filipino filmmaker).

The film starts out promising. Though, technically, sound still is a problem for Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros, just like the other digital films in Cinemalaya.  The production design is subdued and subtle - a poster of Romeo and Juliet made by Brenda Fajardo prefigures the doomed love affair of Maxi and Victor.  Nap Jamir’s cinematography is competent considering the lighting conditions.  Sampaloc, Solito’s old neighborhood, offers a good background to Maxi’s crime-filled world. 

Albeit some boring scenes, the film has some touching moments balanced with sporadic witty lines. The scene of young boys from the neighborhood parading around in gowns fully made up evoke memories of beauty contests enacted in countless living rooms, though I personally think the scene is not essential. Nathan Lopez’s portrayal of Maxi is believable but his sashaying tends to be distracting. Maxi also has a tendency to just sit in a corner and cry while his whole world is turned inside out. The competent acting from dependable Soliman Cruz as Maxi’s father with Ping Medina and Neil Ryan Sese as Maxi’s two older brothers is the saving grace of the film.

Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros hardly offers new insights on gender issues in the Philippines, though there are attempts.  For instance, Maxi’s very macho father and brothers do not beat him up; but rather treat Maxi lovingly. Maxi’s brothers even beat up a couple of neighborhood thugs who harassed him. Maxi’s family seems to counter the stereotype of gay-bashing fathers and brothers. Maxi is protected from the usual perils of growing up as a young gay because he is surrounded by a family of criminals. As a YCC member aptly puts it, “[Maximo] lives in a state of total freedom because he lives in a context of total crime.” 

In return, Maxi serves them dutifully by cooking, cleaning, sewing, washing clothes, and tending the house – practically fashioning himself as the “woman” of the house, equating the roles of women and gays in Philippine society.  It reinforces the stereotypical and patriarchal notion that the role of women, and now even gays, in society is to serve the men in their lives. 

It is also a wonder why people continuously declare that the film is not a “gay film” when the title itself belies the fact. Maxi falls in love with a man, a gay beauty contest is enacted, the ethical dilemma of the movie is inherently gay - the film is undeniably a gay film. Why relegate that fact to the margins? This denial further pushes the discourse about homosexuality in Philippine society to the periphery.

Unpunished crimes (the murder committed by his brother and the murder of his father) served as impetus to the blossoming of Maxi.  Both murders spiral the film into its denouement – the loss of innocence of his paramour, Victor, and hopefully, Maxi’s own blossoming into a life filled with possibilities amidst a world full of crime.