Friday, December 10, 2010

Carbon Dating


I first saw Lolita Carbon and her band perform at the Bahay ng Alumni in UP Diliman in 1999. There they rendered a few numbers in a concert for a cause along with True Faith, Parokya ni Edgar and Eraserheads. 

There and then, I found her voice indispensable.

And on this one fine evening, in Poblacion Mambusao, Capiz, she opened the night with “Masdan Mo Ang Kapaligiran,” a rather slow tune to start the ball rolling. After singing the piece, she said everyone must have known the song. True, it reminded me of my childhood. The piece was widely played on the radio when I was a grade-schooler. And it has never been as relevant as today—as perhaps countless climate change activities would make use of the anthem in all efforts toregain Mother Nature.

After the first two songs, she asked if the audience was still there. The audience was shockingly quiet, as in composed. The space inside the Villareal Cultural Center bordered serenity. Perhaps the Mambusaonons only liked to listen, I thought.  The performer casually talked as she tried to engage the audience who hardly reacted. With a few applauses here and there, Lolita Carbon perhaps leveled off to her audience. Yet, it must have come effortlessly as her repertoire of songs consisted more of anthems of the soul, not the outbursts of a drug addict.

I supposed Lolita found it hard to have rapport with the audience, who perhaps expected a rather solemn repertoire. We, the crowd, were made to sit on Monobloc chairs—as in a graduation rites or a political rally, which is a rather awkward arrangement for a concert that you could possibly head-bang on. Well, what can you do? The concert was for a cause.

The audiences were old folks, perhaps religious men and women and their families who came in droves to support the fundraising. I came to the concert with Jennylen Laña, my teacher friend. Jenny joined me the entire evening.

I found myself singing along with Lolita Carbon, much to Jenny’s delight and awe. She was surprised that I know the lyrics of most of the songs by heart—some words across the lines I could barely recall. Having listened to Asin through the years, I told her some of their songs even became my anthems.

Lolita Carbon wrote and sang the songs from her heart—she sang “Magulang” and “Itanong Mo sa Mga Bata” to probably inject some morale into the audience. “Usok” reminded me of the nights many, many years ago when I would seek refuge from the tedium of city work. I remembered how the karaoke nights along Visayas Avenue just made me go on. That was before. That was before.

Have you ever roused someone from sleep, she asked. Perhaps the most difficult person to wake is someone who is wide awake—nagtutulug-tulugan lang. Lolita then sang, “Gising Na, Kaibigan Ko” which made me sing with her all throughout—“Nakita mo na ba ang mga bagay na dapat mong nakita? /Nagawa mo na ba ang mga bagay na dapat mong ginawa? /Kalagan ang tali sa paa; imulat na ang iyong mga mata; /Kaysarap ng buhay lalo na’t alam mo kung saan papunta.

The song did not need Lolita Carbon’s conversation or explanation; her incantations were enough to make someone reflect. It also reminded me of the recent Nescafe TV ad—which asks, “Para kanino ka gumigising?” A purposeful life is worth living, it said.

Later in the night, Lolita related that many, many years ago, she wrote “Tuldok” with Cesar “Saro” Bañares, Jr. “Tuldok” said everyone has to be humble because compared to the whole universe, we are infinitesimal. Some years ago I learned how Bañares was knifed to death in a bar brawl somewhere in Mindanao. No amount of stardom can make someone supernova, indeed.

Towards the end of the evening, Lolita featured a song “Pagbabalik,” which she said won for her a music award back in the late 70s. Immediately, the song made me recall Ninoy Aquino’s plight when he was exiled to the United States—“Bayan ko, nahan ka?/Ako ngayo’y nag-iisa/Nais kong magbalik/Saiyo, bayan ko/Patawarin mo ako/Kung ako’y nagkamali/Sa landas na aking tinahak.”

Having read much of the national hero’s life and works, I could picture Ninoy’s famous last TV footage before he was gunned down in tarmac in 1983. I felt alive that I just do not exist—having these recollections and the ability to remember something significant beyond myself, I thought I proudly belong to history.

Some indistinct voices at the back requested for more numbers from the band. That’s why the last number was rendered with the sponsor priest. But soon after that, the night was over.

The concert wrapped up with Lolita Carbon singing with the sponsor priest, Fr. Banias, who sang “Dahil Sa’yo/Because of You” with the rock star. The last piece was more of a prayer, as it was sung with a priest. I heard my voice singing to God. “Dahil sa’yo, nais kong mabuhay/Dahil sa’yo, handang mamatay.” When the priest sang with the rock star, the melody, the harmony created went up the air as in “Usok,” in utter prayerful fashion.

It was too early to finish the concert. Yet, the husky voice of Lolita Carbon [when she said thank you and good night] told me two things. One, the Mambusaonons could have jammed with her the whole night long if they wanted to—her singing voice could simply relax anyone’s nerves. Her chords and her band’s drums and percussion will surely make one grab the next Red Horse bottle, and he could simply start to want to talk about something worthwhile.

Or, was it now the best time to end? The audience barely reacted to her. And the solemn concert arrangement disabled any wild audience to break out to head bang or something. Perhaps because the songs were just enough to make the audience recall. To make them recall is enough to make them quiet and spend their own spaces throughout the evening.

It was as if the audience came from an opera. Everyone was quiet and composed as the time they went in. All throughout the concert, Lolita engaged the audience, and made them sing with her and her band. The songs and their themes, I suppose, were more moral than musical, spiritual than synthetic. It was one of the most serious concert audiences I have been with.

Kung tunay man ako ay alipinin mo/Ang lahat sa buhay ko’y dahil sa’yo.” I thought Lolita Carbon’s voice rose not only from her diaphragm but from her soul. I also thought perhaps if my soul has a voice, it would be hers. I thought I could tell her that.  I told Jenny I would want to meet the rock star at the backstage. I realized that I was one of her biggest fans. I wanted to talk to her. I asked one of the organizers if they sold CDs or stuff. There was none, I was told. It was simply a concert for a cause, I thought. 

Two weeks ago, Mrs. Erna Ticar, my fellow employee who works for the church, handed me the ticket labeled “Biyaheng Langit: Lolita Carbon of Asin and her Band in Concert.” The five hundred-peso ticket came with the privilege to donate for the reroofing of the church of St Catherine of Alexandria parish of Mambusao, Capiz.

Proceeds of the event will go to the renovation of the house of worship of the Mambusaonons, I thought. Or the ticket must have meant—perhaps Bro wants me to take things easy in my new work environment—and is probably telling me to relax and slow down. Really slow things down. I was right on both.

I thought that Lolita Carbon just sang it right, “Kaya wala kang dapat na ipagmayabang/Na ikaw ay mautak at maraming alam/Pagkat kung susuriin at ating isipin/Katulad ng lahat, ikaw ay tuldok rin.”

When Jenny and I stepped out from the crowd, it was still evening.


*For more information on how to donate for the St Catherine of Alexandria Parish, you can visit http://sanctacatalina.blogspot.com/


Thursday, December 09, 2010

Carbon Dating

I first saw Lolita Carbon and her band perform at the Bahay ng Alumni in UP Diliman in 1999. There they rendered a few numbers in a concert for a cause along with True Faith, Parokya ni Edgar and Eraserheads. 

And on this one fine evening, in Poblacion Mambusao, Capiz, she opened the night with “Masdan Mo Ang Kapaligiran,” a rather slow tune to start the ball rolling. After singing the piece, she said everyone must have known the song. True, it reminded me of my childhood. The piece was widely played on the radio when I was a grade-schooler. And it has never been as relevant as today—as perhaps countless climate change activities would make use of the anthem in all efforts toregain Mother Nature.

After the first two songs, she asked if the audience was still there. The audience was shockingly quiet, as in composed. The space inside the Villareal Cultural Center bordered serenity. Perhaps the Mambusaonons only liked to listen, I thought.  The performer casually talked as she tried to engage the audience who hardly reacted. With a few applauses here and there, Lolita Carbon perhaps leveled off to her audience. Yet, it must have come effortlessly as her repertoire of songs consisted more of anthems of the soul, not the outbursts of a drug addict.

I supposed Lolita found it hard to have rapport with the audience, who perhaps expected a rather solemn repertoire. We, the crowd, were made to sit on Monobloc chairs—as in a graduation rites or a political rally, which is a rather awkward arrangement for a concert that you could possibly head-bang on. Well, what can you do? The concert was for a cause.

The audiences were old folks, perhaps religious men and women and their families who came in droves to support the fundraising. I came to the concert with Jennylen Laña, my teacher friend. Jenny joined me the entire evening.

I found myself singing along with Lolita Carbon, much to Jenny’s delight and awe. She was surprised that I know the lyrics of most of the songs by heart—some words across the lines I could barely recall. Having listened to Asin through the years, I told her some of their songs even became my anthems.

Lolita Carbon wrote and sang the songs from her heart—she sang “Magulang” and “Itanong Mo sa Mga Bata” to probably inject some morale into the audience. “Usok” reminded me of the nights many, many years ago when I would seek refuge from the tedium of city work. I remembered how the karaoke nights along Visayas Avenue just made me go on. That was before. That was before.

Have you ever roused someone from sleep, she asked. Perhaps the most difficult person to wake is someone who is wide awake—nagtutulug-tulugan lang. Lolita then sang, “Gising Na, Kaibigan Ko” which made me sing with her all throughout—“Nakita mo na ba ang mga bagay na dapat mong nakita? /Nagawa mo na ba ang mga bagay na dapat mong ginawa? /Kalagan ang tali sa paa; imulat na ang iyong mga mata; /Kaysarap ng buhay lalo na’t alam mo kung saan papunta.

The song did not need Lolita Carbon’s conversation or explanation; her incantations were enough to make someone reflect. It also reminded me of the recent Nescafe TV ad—which asks, “Para kanino ka gumigising?” A purposeful life is worth living, it said.

Later in the night, Lolita related that many, many years ago, she wrote “Tuldok” with Cesar “Saro” Bañares, Jr. “Tuldok” said everyone has to be humble because compared to the whole universe, we are infinitesimal. Some years ago I learned how Bañares was knifed to death in a bar brawl somewhere in Mindanao. No amount of stardom can make someone supernova, indeed.

Towards the end of the evening, Lolita featured a song “Pagbabalik,” which she said won for her a music award back in the late 70s. Immediately, the song made me recall Ninoy Aquino’s plight when he was exiled to the United States—“Bayan ko, nahan ka?/Ako ngayo’y nag-iisa/Nais kong magbalik/Saiyo, bayan ko/Patawarin mo ako/Kung ako’y nagkamali/Sa landas na aking tinahak.”

Having read much of the national hero’s life and works, I could picture Ninoy’s famous last TV footage before he was gunned down in tarmac in 1983. I felt alive that I just do not exist—having these recollections and the ability to remember something significant beyond myself, I thought I proudly belong to history.

Some indistinct voices at the back requested for more numbers from the band. That’s why the last number was rendered with the sponsor priest. But soon after that, the night was over.

The concert wrapped up with Lolita Carbon singing with the sponsor priest, Fr. Banias, who sang “Dahil Sa’yo/Because of You” with the rock star. The last piece was more of a prayer, as it was sung with a priest. I heard my voice singing to God. “Dahil sa’yo, nais kong mabuhay/Dahil sa’yo, handang mamatay.” When the priest sang with the rock star, the melody, the harmony created went up the air as in “Usok,” in utter prayerful fashion.

It was too early to finish the concert. Yet, the husky voice of Lolita Carbon [when she said thank you and good night] told me two things. One, the Mambusaonons could have jammed with her the whole night long if they wanted to—her singing voice could simply relax anyone’s nerves. Her chords and her band’s drums and percussion will surely make one grab the next Red Horse bottle, and he could simply start to want to talk about something worthwhile.

Or, was it now the best time to end? The audience barely reacted to her. And the solemn concert arrangement disabled any wild audience to break out to head bang or something. Perhaps because the songs were just enough to make the audience recall. To make them recall is enough to make them quiet and spend their own spaces throughout the evening.

It was as if the audience came from an opera. Everyone was quiet and composed as the time they went in. All throughout the concert, Lolita engaged the audience, and made them sing with her and her band. The songs and their themes, I suppose, were more moral than musical, spiritual than synthetic. It was one of the most serious concert audiences I have been with.

Kung tunay man ako ay alipinin mo/Ang lahat sa buhay ko’y dahil sa’yo.” I thought Lolita Carbon’s voice rose not only from her diaphragm but from her soul. I also thought perhaps if my soul has a voice, it would be hers. I thought I could tell her that.  I told Jenny I would want to meet the rock star at the backstage. I realized that I was one of her biggest fans. I wanted to talk to her. I asked one of the organizers if they sold CDs or stuff. There was none, I was told. It was simply a concert for a cause, I thought. 

Two weeks ago, Mrs. Erna Ticar, my fellow employee who works for the church, handed me the ticket labeled “Biyaheng Langit: Lolita Carbon of Asin and her Band in Concert.” The five hundred-peso ticket came with the privilege to donate for the reroofing of the church of St Catherine of Alexandria parish of Mambusao, Capiz.

Proceeds of the event will go to the renovation of the house of worship of the Mambusaonons, I thought. Or the ticket must have meant—perhaps Bro wants me to take things easy in my new work environment—and is probably telling me to relax and slow down. Really slow things down. I was right on both.

I thought that Lolita Carbon just sang it right, “Kaya wala kang dapat na ipagmayabang/Na ikaw ay mautak at maraming alam/Pagkat kung susuriin at ating isipin/Katulad ng lahat, ikaw ay tuldok rin.”

When Jenny and I stepped out from the crowd, it was still evening.


*For more information on how to donate for the St Catherine of Alexandria Parish, you can visit http://sanctacatalina.blogspot.com.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Speaking In Tongues

Basi wala man gid sing kaayuhan
dito sa balat ng lupa. Tibaad an 
tanan nga mga bagay sa kalibutan 
waay man sing kamanungdanan.

Human as you are, you doubt a lot of things, including the purpose of your existence or more particularly your happiness. You realize now that maybe life is futile. All efforts you have been making will not make sense in the future. You stop for a while and start asking—what if?

Baad dai mo man kinahanglan matultulan
an mga pulong sang kamatuoran, if at all.
Is it not that you must live the very words 
na inspired ni Bro & not just read about him?

In the past you read books and stuff so they could tell you how to live well, at least. But now every busyness you have occupied yourself with, all the times you have spent your life doing them do not just seem to add up. One day, you just started seeking some Truth in your own little truths. You see that hardly anything convinces you. So you further question—what if your truths may not all be true? What is better to do?

Kay you’d just tend to ask more questions 
re this Prince of Peace —the way, truth, life—
than just easily tag a photo of him.

It is your faith in Something that bothers you every night in your bed. Despite all the efforts to shelve it, questions whether it is worth it just don’t go away. It is not enough for you to simply believe. You do not really know what you’ve believed in for so long. You cannot just believe. You doubt and these doubts make your life difficult. 

Basi simpli sana man an boot silingon 
sang mga sugilanon sa ginatawag 
nga salvation history: An aton kaluwasan 
Daw nabal-an na man kahit noon pa 
ng sabi nila’y isang bula-an na poeta:
“Have Come, Am Here,” sabi niya.

It is the things you used to believe in that you don’t believe anymore. Your faith now is something you question. You ask of the time when you really believed.

You take the advice of those who came before you. They must have been faced the same question as you are and must have pondered their whole lives deciphering for some sensible answers. You consider someone who was haunted the same question, for one:

Okun basi sakto gid man si San Agustin—
“My soul is restless” kuno “until it rests 
in thee...” or something to that effect.

You seek to forget all these worries you have. To you they do not matter. “Live relaxed”—as an ad tells you, you just take things easy. You take courage to let things pass, and you seek not to doubt. You wonder if you can put all these doubts in a disposable bag, and wait for the garbage man to take them away. Reduce—simplify—reconsider?

Bakong sabi ta simpli man lang?
An hapot eu ni, in ur lyf, wer &
wen & how ds He take efkt?

Garo palan bulong, may taking effect; 
garo ordinance, may effect ti vi ty.

You wonder when you’ll stop rationalizing things. When you will know some things should be understood not with your head but with your heart. You ask why a strange phrase always sounds so cliché.

Bakong an sabi daa sana man simpli? Uni.
1 message received: “Wer na u? here na He.”

Tamis-Anghang


Maharang, Mahamis na Literatura sa Mga Tataramon na Bikol
(Sweets and Spices in the Languages of Bikol) 
Ni Paz Verdades Santos
De la Salle University Press, 2010

Kan nakaaging Hunyo 2010, piglagda kan De La Salle University (DLSU) Press an limang electronic books o e-books, sarong masasabing breakthrough kan Academic Publications Office kan nasabi nang unibersidad sa pangengenot ni Dr. Isagani R. Cruz, saro sa pinakamaurag na kritiko sa Pilipinas ngonyan.

Saro sa mga nasabing libro iyo an Maharang, Mahamis na Literatura sa Mga Tataramon na Bikol (Sweets and Spices in the Languages of Bikol) ni Paz Verdades Santos, profesora sa literatura kan nasambit nang unibersidad. 

Sa pagpangita sagkod pagtiripon ni Santos kan mga rawitdawit, osipon sagkod dula kan mga nag-agi na sagkod kontemporaryong parasurat sa Bikol, nagkatiripon niya an hamis sagkod an harang kan Bikolnon na sensibilidad, kan Bikolnon na orag. 

HARD TIMES
Mababasa an e-book na ini sa paagi na kan computer 
asin bako kan papel. Bako na siyang hard copy, 
hardened copy na an uso ngonyan, kawasa.
Pinirili ni Santos an mga obra susog sa kun ano an naitabang kan mga ini sa Bikol—an valor sa pagkanood kan mabasa sa mga ini, an saindang orihinal na Bikol na savor, sagkod an inaapod ni Santos na peculiar Bikol turn of phrase

Segun sa nasabi nang mga pansukol, an mga akda sa libro iyo an makakapanaysay kan maurag (best) sagkodmagayon (beautiful) sa literaturang Bikol.

Dai man nanggad gayod mapantayan an lista kan mga kaglagda sa librong ini. Kabali digdi iyo an obra ni Rudy Alano, sarong dating maestro kan literatura sa Ateneo de Naga na nagtabang magpauswag kan pagtukdo sagkod pag-adal kan vernacular literature sa nasabing institusyon. Kan kasagsagan kan dekada 70 sagkod 80, nagpasali si Alano nin dakul na dula sa Bikol sa Ateneo. Tuminalikod na sa kinaban si Alano ngonyan na taon. 

Kaayon sa libro an obra kan estudyante ni Alano na si Frank Peñones, Jr., na nagawadan nin CCP literary grant kan taon 1991. Segun ki Dr. Ma Lilia Realubit, sarong antiguhan nang scholar sa Bikol, kan dekada 1990s nakabulig an mga obra ni Peñones ta nganing mabuhay giraray an Bikolnon na pagsurat sa rehiyon.

Siring man an mga osipon ninda Ana Calixto sagkod Gloria Racelis na nalagda sa Bikolana sagkod Bicolandia kan mga dekada 1950s. Mga istoryang moral an “Dupyas” ni Calixto sagkod “An Doktor” ni Racelis, na minatukar man kan mga dichotomies na taga-bayan/taga-bukidhalimbawa na sana baga.

Tampok an mga obra ninda Abdon Balde, Jr.; Jason Chancoco; Kristian Cordero; Marne Kilates; Jaime Jesus Borlagdan; Victor Dennis Nierva; Judith Balares-Salamat; Marissa Reorizo Casillan; Gode Calleja sagkod Estelito Jacob, apwera na sana sa iba. 

Enot man digdi nalagda an “Handiong,” sarong full-length play na sinurat ninda Orfelina Tuy sagkod Fe Ico kan dekada 1970s bilang sarong project kan sinda nagtutukdo pa sa Naga Central School.

Nin huli ta an mga obra gibo kan manlaen laen na parasurat sa ronang Bikol, an namit kan lengwahe hali man sa kun saen saen na lugar sa Bicol. Dangan magayon sa librong ini iyo an pagbali kan mga English translations kan gabos na obrang Bikol, sarong dai matatawaran na oportunidad para maintindihan kan ibang Pilipino an henyo kan Bikolano.

Espesyal an libro kawasa mababasa sana ini sa paagi kan Amazon Kindle, sarong software sagkod hardware platformna disenyo kan Amazon.com. Electronic file sana an babakalon mo para mo mabasa an mga obrang ini. Saro ning pinakaenot sa istorya kan literaturang Bikol.

An libro iyo an obra maestra ni Maestra, si Dr. Paz Verdades Santos, na nagtatampok kan bunga kan research niya sa istorya sagkod glorya kan literaturang Bikol. May tolong dekada na man nagtutukdo si Santos sa Ateneo de Naga sagkod sa De la Salle University. Kan taon 2003, linagda niya an Hagkus: Twentieth-century Bikol Women Writers, sarong katipunan na nagtarakod-takod kan mga kagibuhan kan Bikolanang parasurat poon kan dekada 1900s sagkod ngonyan.

Asin man sa saiyang bagong obrang ini, pinirili ni Santos—bakong Bikolana alagad an pagkamoot sa Bikol mayo nin kasingdayupot—an mga tamang sangkap para manamitan ta sagkod kan iba an hamis (tamis) sagkod an harang (anghang) na iyo an Bikol. Mayong sinabi an Mang Tomas o UFC banana catsup, orog na papasiram-siramon kan mga obrang ini an dati nang manamit nang pagkakan sa piyestahan kan literaturang Pilipino.



Pagpangita, Hiligaynon, n. Paghanap, pagkalap
Antiguhan, Hiligaynon, n.  Master, expert, specialist.

Parents

Student Workshop Essay Revised 

Parents are the most wonderful persons in the world.

They help us in all aspects of our lives. They are always behind our backs. They comfort us when we are lonely. They also encourage us to go on whenever we fail.

They diligently persevere for our family. They make ends meet just to send us to school. They devote their time and effort—blood, sweat and tears—just for us to continue our studies. For them, education is the only wealth they can give us.

It is a big responsibility to be a parent. They have to bear the duties for a family. There are times when they cannot make ends meet. They find it difficult to fulfill our needs—they feel obliged to give us food and provide for us. But if they see that we also persevere in our studies, for them, it is enough. Because in the end they would want us to finish our studies.  Only by then can we be worthy of all their hard work.

Nothing more can inspire them more than the sight of us holding our hard-earned diplomas.

Parents are gifts from God. For one, there is no parent who could not accept us back to their homes after we have run away and realized we are wrong.

At times, though, we feel that parents are the best naggers in the world. Because they find faults in everything we do and tell us repeatedly about it without even asking us why. Perhaps it’s only normal because all of them would want the good for us.

Our very good advisers, our number-one supporters, parents are our inspiration who continually love us despite ourselves.

For all of these, we can just be thankful for what they do for us. All we could do, in turn, is to appreciate what they do to us. And the best we could also do is to love them. Doing so is more than paying back for all their hardships. 

In the end, our success would be their greatest achievement.



Songs of Ourselves

If music is wine for the soul, I suppose I have had my satisfying share of this liquor of life, one that has sustained me all these years. A...