Celebrating World Poetry Day in the Philippines

Poets used to come to little quaint Kamuning Bakery. In a recent Pandesal Forum organized by owner Wilson Lee Flores, we celebrated World Poetry Day and he invited a few guests, Prof./Dr. Gemino Abad and Prof.Dr. Vin Nadera.

Dr. Abad is a National Artist for Literature and it was so nice to see him share his experience in English and Creative Literature and his time in University of the Philippines.

They also had guests from Mataas na Paaralan Ng Neptali Gonzalez in Mandaluyong City, with their Prof. Cruz.

Prof./Dr. Gemino Abad says "I am overwhelmed but I'm glad to be here to share whatever things we'll be talking about. The word poem or poetry is of Greek origin, meaning to make or create. It can be generic of any creative or literary work, fiction or not. It could be a play, drama or non fiction essays. It refers to all of that. It is work of language and imagination, it's a basic creative sense. You need a certain mastery of it, but it could be from imagination, or real human experience. Reading or not, it must be done with lively imagination. When you are moved by it, you understand human experience. Have you thought about asking yourself about your sense of country? When you read a poem, you live it, one has to be moved by it. A strong sense of language and imagination is needed. Not just entertainment. I like Nick Juaquin, Francisco Arcellana, those are two great choices. The secret of youth is having Mercy in my life, she is my wife. It is very important to have only one. That is the secret."

He adds "Put the word on paper, it establishes our reality. Before shifting sands and ice age melts, our words demarcate. It defines all possibilities."

Prof.Dr. Vim Nadera says "We are here for the TULA partylist. Not running for anything. The greatest heroes in the Philippines are all makata, and very young. We forget the earliest form of poetry, which is prayer. Friars talked down on pulpits, preaching, opposite of that is pleading or harana. What's better than that is when we kneel down and pray, it's an analogy. You could be down or up there but both can be descriptive, the new ones are like that, without judgement, it's like imagism. People just describe things and objects to represent concrete ideas. Love is even not clear to a person, but if you show the heart, it's clear and easily understandable. We name them, and interpret it, it's an early form of entertainment. I like Jose Rizal, he made it powerful and opened the eyes of readers. It was read by Bonifacio which made him put up the revolution, and even became a makata. Elandro Abadilla too who changed society. The young ones like Emilio Jacinto, the Kartilya of Katipunan is an example. He's a role model, unlike the opposition now that doesn't have a face. We are looking for that right now."

He adds "We Filipinos use kantyaw, or parodies to answer back jokingly. (He sings Saranggola ni Ate and hits political and recent news figures)."

They have a book printed called "SALIMBAGAN" which has prints and poems released by Canvas.ph. 

Seeing high school students take on Balagtasan exercises that morning made me realize that poetry isn't a dying art, as long as there would be generations that could teach the young ones, it would live, exist, and remain part of our existence.

Kamuning Bakery will also be having a promo tomorrow on World Poetry Day by giving out FREE coffee for those who would send original works of poetry at the story (according to Wilson Lee Flores)

Atty. Levi Baligod's Sensible Advice for Celebrities Sharing on Platforms

Got the chance to talk to Atty. Levi Baligod over lunch yesterday and found out how impressive of a lawyer he is. The man who represented Benhur Luy, the person who became the whistleblower in the PDAF scam. He hails from Baybay City in Leyte and finished his law degree in San Beda and UE in the late 90's. He's a formidable trial lawyer, represented victims of the Teves terror group.

His high profile cases colorful life certainly would have been perfect for a movie. He even mentioned how he wanted Richard Gomez and Lucy Torres Gomez to portray them in their life story, primarily because of regional pride, the moreno and tisay skin which they both have. He wants to serve the 5th District and solve pressing matters that have hounded the province, to hopefully change the lives of his constituents... which he wants to do with the highest standards.

Atty. Levi says "Hunger is still prevalent in the country, some even eat harmful root crops that they lay on the river to remove toxins, to eat. The answer of some officials is dole outs. It's the worst form of government programs, because it will only encourage dependency. It even says in the bible to teach people how to fish, funds could be used for different projects for food security like putting up Barangay food centers. They would be the ones who would purchase directly from farmers, to have lesser middlemen... cheaper farm to market price. They've already done similar things in Davao del Sur. They helped in processing rice and farm products instead of traders. This produced higher earnings for farmers, and more affordable."

He adds "Sadly now, you can't buy something for 30 pesos that is edible even for chickens. This would also become easier for calamities because you have food ready in communities. I have represented farmers who also had defective seeds, to help them recover damages by suing the company that supplied them with it. I want the hard cases, to help those who are being wronged."

 

He also advises showbiz stars not to use their platforms for spreading unverified information because it can be harmful to do that and influence people with it. He also mentioned how he would want to run based on credentials rather than hiring a celebrity to endorse him. 

Make sense.

ARA MINA Eyes Serving in PASIG, Introduces SARAH DISCAYA

I didn't know Ms. Ara Mina personally (before this) but I know a lot about her line of work. She's a very formidable actress, who also found out at 21 about her biological father Chuck Mathay. She's known as Hazel to her closest friends, and has lived all throughout her childhood in the city of Pasig. This time, she told us of her intentions to become a City Councilor. She also shared how she wants to help with the causes that is closest to her, from women empowerment, to helping the urban poor, and also PWDs.

Ara says "Why not run so that I could help more people. Public service can be easier with programs and I think I can do that. Being a councilor in Pasig, I've had the chance to see my constituents. The reach I could have will be amplified. We will focus in Pasig, we still have a lot to do especially the projects we still have to finish. In health, we are trying to have free hospitalization in the city which we hope would come true in the next few years."

She adds "When I'm in Pasig, I know so many kids or their parents, they approached me telling how they were my classmates back in the days. I feel I can do more here because my roots are here. I live in Santolan, Pasig which is our ancestral house. We go around projects, do medical missions and give wheel chairs or medical equipment through LGU's. We were able to do that and people need it. This thought keeps us going." 

 

Ms. Ara Mina also introduced her friend Ms. Cezarah Rowena Discaya aka Ate Sarah in their community. She introduced herself during a short luncheon at her businesses headquarters in F. Manalo of the same city. Their friendship started with the same causes they believe in, specifically in the PWD sector where Ms. Ara's sister and Ms. Sarah's kids were part of.

She says "I am Sarah, Ate Sarah to folks here. I grew up in the UK and studied there. Went back to the Philippines to study here and was raised by our Dad who always taught us to give to the less fortunate, because we know it will go back tenfold. Being a true blue Pasigueño, I think I have a good chance to have a friendly competition in the campaign. Coming from the private sector, it's different, more busy, and still have to work in the company and be there for the kids when I go home."

"We are preparing to make Pasig become a smart city. I also work in customer service which is why we are accommodating people the same way we have with our customers. The dream is to have a more efficient health care system in Pasig, a new hospital too where we can implement zero billing. We learned from provinces like South Cotabato and Iloilo who were already able to do it in their towns. Pasig is a progressive city and it is possible to do it. We also want to do the same with private hospitals too."

Here's the press conference which happened yesterday:

Ms. Ara Mina and Ms. Sarah Discaya was fun to talk to. They're people who indulge in social services, motherhood, and business. I'm glad people in Pasig have options.

Understand the Complex Heart of a Writer in Ricky Lee's "PARA KAY B"

The Ricky Lee masterpiece "PARA KAY B" is doing a run at the Doreen Blackbox Theater in Ateneo (ARETE). We watched their gala performance a couple days ago, done by LA Prod House, Fire and Ice Live! and their partner Tunog at Liwanag Sa Teatro Inc.

 

It's pretty loyal to the literature of our National Artist Ricky Lee (who was there and celebrating his birthday btw!), and I like what they did in modernizing some of the scenes. This made it relatable, current and a heck of a lot entertaining. The story revolved around the life of Bessie, and her love personas that lived in Ester, Sandra, Irene and Erica. Lucas was the writer, making sure he dedicated his time to make Bessie's characters come to life.

I'd say the actors who portrayed them did over and beyond what is expected. If you watch the show, you'll get yourself involved because chances are, you'll see yourself in one or more of these characters. This was crafted in a way that even if you didn't get to read the book, you'll still root for them and their story.

Set design was simple, efficient and used well to tell the story. There wasn't much music (as this isn't a musical), but effects were apt and utilized projectors most of the time. I'd say you would spend a few hours after the show to talk about your favorites, and who you would connect to. You would feel small about your burdens, because some of them here are crazy to think about... but it does happen.

Let's not spoil it for you, because if you are hungry to see a great show... they've got show dates on the 21st at 7PM, 22nd and 23rd at 2:30PM and 7PM, 28th at 7PM and on the 29th and 30th at 2:30PM and 7PM.

See the many ways of how the heart of a writer works. Make sure you get tickets online via Ticket2Me.net and see the show where Ricky Lee's best selling book gets interpreted on stage. 

Congratulations Direk Yong Tapang, and to the cast, you deserve the applause you got from that show!