Regarding Goo

I like my Wednesdays. I get to teach a class full of eager writers, take a breezy drive through the skyway (which I think is the most billboard-free stretch in the MMDA kingdom), and I always go home tired --which is a great solution to insomnia. Though right smack in the center of the workweek, I personally assigned Wednesday as the first day of mine. Leslie, Mike and I trek to the Maximum Security Prison where we meet our gentlemen students who just happen to be inmates inside the famous Muntinlupa prison.
Yesterday's class was extra special. Radioactive Sago Project's Goo Simpliciano volunteered to co-teach the day's session with me. He showed us how to create a Banana-Nutella crepe and creamy (Christmas style) fruit salad. Ably-assisted by Tiff (also of Terno Recordings), Leslie and Mike. They formed an assembly line of sorts to create crepes for every single inmate in the class. (over 33 crepes were made fresh right there in our square-box makeshift classroom)
My students crowded around the ad-hoc 'kitchen' table, while Goo deftly prepared the ingredients with (again) makeshift knives --because the BJMP guards didn't allow him to bring in his knife set. (nga naman) We naturally had to use a (yet another) makeshift gas stove. After the first demo, I asked the students to take their seats and focus on the seatwork at hand. Leslie brought donated water color sets for everyone and so the afternoon class started. While listening to big band tunes from Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, etc -- my students hummed, painted, and quietly, thoughtfully created their poem frames.

The smell of the banana filling combined with rum, the sound of the blender, cream, chocolate, vanilla extract, cinnamon powder, butter, and the batter filled the room. What a far cry from our usual variety of smells during normal class days. Sometimes they have a pig tied to the side of our classroom door, sometimes it's the rain cooling off the asphalt, sometimes it's the collective smell of an entire group of inmates fresh out of a basketball game --and so on and so forth goes the range of our olfactory experience in prison. But yesterday was, without a doubt, different.
After serving everyone crepes, the kitchen team prepped the fruit salad so everyone can eat while Goo (yes, Goo again) played three classical guitar pieces from a borrowed guitar. Tadah. What a penultimate example of how to volunteer for Rock Ed! Just do what you do best and share what you know. How simple is that? Naturally, the students wanted to express their thoughts after the mini-program. Many of them shared their delight at having to taste their first crepe: "Sa wakas, natikman ko rin ang crepe, napapanood ko lang yan sa TV minsan," and another one said, "Pagkatapos ng 12 years dito sa loob, para akong naka tikim ulit ng buhay-laya." "Parang lasa ng kalayaan." "Last time ako nakakain ng crepe, 2001 pa." I suppose very few chefs have received such compliments.
Needless to say, they also gave comments on Goo's classical guitar pieces. One of them mused about a modern-piece, he said it so beautifully, "Hindi siya mabilis, hindi rin siya mabagal, hindi ako sigurado kung ano ang ritmo niya kaya para akong napatigil. Parang ayoko huminga kasi baka meron akong hindi marinig..." (aaah, my poets! my poets! so proud...so proud...) Anyway- There is much to be learned. But so much more that needs to be shared. I was thinking, if anyone asked me to recall the last time I felt so safe surrounded by generous, creative, polite, and kind people - I am almost sure he will be surprised to hear me say, "sa Bilibid."

What a privilege to know people who are generous with their time and craft -- nothing makeshift about that.

Mabuhay ka, Goo.

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If you want to teach with us one Wednesday email: rehas@rockedphilippines.org

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Past Perfect

Patay kayo.


Where were you when this watch was the bomb?

June 1 is the day we remember the crannies of the 80's. (Dekada Otsenta)

May jelly shoes ka ba? (aka Crayons) Bla-bla? (tama ba spelling, Reg?) Manipis na necktie, argyle vest, red na topsiders, Weejuns, Haruta, Ricco shirts, Culture Club na stationary na craft paper? Alam mo ba kung saan ang Kirei? Bumibili ka ba no'n sa Reginas? tapos sa Tickles? La Tienda, Whistle Stop? Ikaw ba'y nagka-Trapper Keeper?
Patay ka. Sali ka dito sa usapan na 'to... kung kilala mo lahat ng Regal Babies.

At alam mo kung anong day sa That's Entertainment si Lotlot. (and Friends) Solid 'to. Lakers ka ba o Celtics? Alam mo ba kung ano ang F.E.N? (ayon) Alam mo ba kung saan ang Jazz Rhythms, Faces, ZigZag, Culture Club, Euphoria, Harlequin? (aba....)

Let's talk to the experts: The Ronnies, (Ene, Ronnie, Reg etc) Dan Gil (Chillitees), and the ultimate star of the shadow of the 80's ...... the man who is just a smile away....... Jaime Garchitorena. (sumikat ba 'to? haha loko lang, Jaime...)

It is high time we remember the 80's with sheer knowledge of the decade and utter disrespect for what was cool. (ows?)

Post your comments and questions here!

para malinaw

I was asked to write an article about Nene Guevarra, the 2008 Yorac Awardee for Public Service and I jumped at the chance. I wrote my basic article outline even before I met her. I asked people what their impressions were, I asked her colleagues, her students, former officemates from the Department of Finance and impartial observers of the (genuine) social scene.

From what I gathered, I learned that Nene Guevarra is an Economist foremost and an Educator next. She started SYNERGEIA, an NGO that forms cooperative alliances between the local school board, the local government, parents and citizens of the neighborhood. She believes that EVERYONE should be involved in the education of the children. And right she is. I like her.

Simply stated, she just wants to raise the batting chances of the Filipino children in overlooked areas to learn how to read and count. Basic enough, I know-- but the battlefield is monstrous. When she asked me who the main audience of Rock Ed is, I readily admitted that it was first designed to be a venue to engage the experts (in music, art, science, film, photography, dance etc) to talk to the regular seventeen year old Filipino about participating in the nation's movements. Of course, that has evolved in the last few years. (see www.rockedphilippines.org)

We finally met yesterday and had an afternoon together hanging out at the Ateneo Rockwell canteen. I asked away and she did the same. She asked me if I made sure that our messages were grasped by the teens and I assured her that (as a group) we try to be as clear as possible. In our project methods and through the language that we use.

In my experience, I realize the value of being clear. So, while laying out the vertical tarps for this coming Friday's Chillitees' album launch (in Cubao X), I decided to invest some thought into the (usually) stark designs of Rock Ed collaterals. ('kala mo naman may collaterals...)

So, which banner do you understand better?

I will wait for some input before I spend our precious 500 pesos on this one. (tipid is the word)
Your opinions will be taken into serious consideration.
Thank you.



Note: Grab this June's 'State of the Nation' issue of ROGUE magazine to get to know Nene Guevarra and other noteworthy Filipinos. (aside: noteworthy does not mean celebrity)

INDIE: Ako, artist

We are often shocked when we hear a good song and find out that it's self-produced. Which brings us to the question: "Does a big label validate talent?"

Indie labels are on the rise but the self-produced work is another beast altogether.

Let's talk to artists who manage and produce themselves. Patrick Alvarez is producing "Wonder" his first album, Aimee Marcos is the drummer of the band called The Dorques (also self-producing so far...) and Dystocia Curve is a highly prolific band that is still in the outskirts of the scene though they have recorded approximately 60 tracks by now. Wow.

Poet and Executive Producer of Panoramanila Pictures, Jourdan Sebastian will tell us about the behind-the-scenes vibe of the independently produced film entitled "Ploning."

The creative scene in the Philippines is brimming with robust talent. Why wait for the breaks, they say? Well, they're not. (Bravo)

What do you think of self-producing? Will you ever self-publish, produce, record, distribute?

Artist, produce thyself!

Tell us why or why not.

ang arte kasi

“It was an accident, although I’ve been involved in some kind of theatrical function or other since I was a child – in school, music, athletics. To me, acting is the most logical way for people’s neuroses to manifest themselves, in this great need we all have to express ourselves. To my way of thinking, an actor’s course is set even before he’s out of the cradle." -James Dean


I have an older brother who was difficult in many situations (as most of us are) and we used to tell my Mom that she should've encouraged him to join theater so at least there'd be some channel his neurosis can flow through --- instead of onto us, younger (and tinier) siblings. Anyway, that carried me through to a lifetime of curiousity on the lives of actors and the art of acting.

I suppose we are all actors, as Shakespeare did mention. It comes naturally when we shift roles in our lives. Bitch in the office, baby at home, fumbling adolescent when faced with a former crush from high school, wayward college kid when out with friends. That's just how it goes. But when one is onstage - a real scenario when "acting" is an actual verb, what happens to a person?

So, I'm curious. Tell me. Have you ever tried formal acting? Do you have friends who are in theater? Are they characteristicall different from non-theater people? Are they really neurotic and in need of salvation? Are they strange and unnecessarily drama-lusty when in relationships? (As the usual misconceptions go...)

I begged my Mom to let me join Bulwagang Gantimpala in CCP when I was eleven years old. My drama instructor, Soliman Cruz (now famed for his indie roles and for painting his on-screen wife's face over with a paint roller in a housepaint TV ad). I went through the entire summer learning how to act. "You are a bubble gum stick being unwrapped, you are now placed in the mouth of whoever will eat you, you are now...slowly...being chewed...rapidly being chewed....blown as a bubble...." Huh?

So during our culmination play (at the Tanghalang Huseng Batute) I played my bit role of a Metro-Aid who wanted to be President of the Philippines, I think it was. Soliman Cruz went to my Mom and said, "Walang talent ang anak ninyo, Ma'am, pero magaling sya sa backstage, mag ayos ng sounds at ng ilaw. Hindi pa ako sigurado kung kaya niyang mag sulat ng script pero baka naman kaya. Pero hindi siya artista..." Tadah!!

So, flash forward to what seems like a hundred years after that fateful summer. My friend Ronnie Lazaro re-introduces me to Soliman Cruz in the famed Oarhouse of Malate. (go Reg!) And he naturally, does NOT remember me one bit. Or maybe he was acting? Haha. So I refreshed him and we laughed together. He volunteered for Rock Ed a few months after by teaching inmates a beginners' module on theater one Sunday at the New Bilibid Prison and has since expressed his intention to regularly help out for as long as schedule permits.

When he asked me quickly if I felt bad that I overheard him tell my Mom that I didn't have talent in acting, I nonchalantly shrugged and said, "Sus, okey lang yon! Hindi ko naman talaga gustong mag teatro eh..." And right then and there delivered my best performance.

----------

So tell me, do you think acting is lying? Pretension? Neurosis-channeling? Is it deception or is it truth?

What do you think of actors and acting?

Post comments and questions here. This Sunday on Rock Ed Radio we are having the great Cherie Gil, the literal musical star Bituin Escalante, Repertory's restaurateur-thespian Rem Zamora, and indie film's Big Time good guy and coffee creamer ad Italian husband Nor Domingo with us.

Ask!

Dekada de Sago

None of them, not even the de Veyra brothers, know when their exact anniversary is. All they know (being Producers of the Year, 2007 NURock Awards) is that their first gig was in Ora Cafe and it happened in 1998.

One of the premiere bands of the premiere label, Terno Recordings --RADIOACTIVE SAGO PROJECT was the first band to volunteer for Rock Ed Philippines. Performing for Baliuag University in Bulacan even before our official founding date. Hindi pa registered sa Securities Exchange Commission ang Rock Ed --tumugtog na ang Sago para sa Rock Ed.

Joining the gentlemen of Sago will be the music scholars they teach under Rock Ed's collaborative VIA Project.

Project: VIA --volunteers initiative for the arts -- is a regular arts and music camp taught by sheer volunteers every Sunday. The musicians of Sago spend their Sunday afternoons teaching former streetkids from the areas of Childhope Asia and the Virlanie Foundation how to play the guitar, the drums, keyboards, chorale. Dakila, another partner organization takes care of the theater and movement class, while a rotation of Rock Ed volunteers teach creative writing, hip-hop, dance classes. Shielbert of the famed Libiran indie film, TRIBU --teaches rap.
On the 28th of May -- the explosive line up will be comprised of the bands from the early days of Sago. Venue will be at the birthplace of Rock Ed -- Cafe Saguijo, Makati.

SANDWICH, SLAPSHOCK, QUESO, RUBBER INC, JUAN PABLO DREAM will accompany Radioactive Sago's long exhaustive set. (Pedicab will try to catch up from an out of town gig)

And since none of them can remember their exact anniversary, Rock Ed decided to randomly celebrate Sago all year round.

Celebrate an inaccurate anniversary with a very certain party.

Don't miss it.

homecourt advantage

Kadalasan, naiisip natin makialam sa mga national issues. Natural! Bayan natin 'to kaya dapat lang. So pag may malaking issue, nagrarally tayo, sumasali sa mga kilusan, nagsusulat sa mga editor ng diyaryo.

Marami talaga akong tanong tungkol sa Malacanang cash gifts, sa NBN ZTE, pagkawala ni Jonas Burgos, fertilizer scam, DAR swine scam, CARP law, hot car smuggling issue at iba pa. ANG DAMI KONG TANONG.

Kaya isang beses, nag pa radio show kami na ang guest na ay sina dating NEDA Chair Winnie Monsod, Asec Amboy Formoso ng DOTC, UP Student Regent na siTerry Ridon at nag pa open forum. Nag host kami ng mishmash version ng SONA. At ito ang natutunan ko nung gabing iyon. Sa pamamagitan ng magkasunod na tanong ni Monsod: "Gang, alam mo ba kung sino ang barangay captain mo? At may ginagawa ka ba sa barangay mo?"

Ahem. At naisip ko na mas madami pa akong napuntahan na rally para sa Sumilao kaysa sa tumulong sa mismong barangay ko. Baleh wala ang ni-Rock Ed-Rock Ed ko sa lahat ng probinsya't public school kung hindi ko man lang inasikaso ang mga literal na kapitbahay ko.

So heto na, ang aking unang project sa aming barangay. Isang concert na kokolekta ng mga libro para sa mga public school at sa mga mobile barangay libraries. Ang venue ay ang mismong gym kung saan ako tumambay nung bata pa ako. Magdalena Park gym. (Magda, sa aming mga bulul.)

Dito ako unang na-bagok (sa swing) at na stitch ang siko sa barangay clinic, dito ako natutong mag volleyball at mag futbol, (nabasag pa namin ang bintana ng bahay nina then-Gen. Fidel Ramos) at dito ako natutong matalo, manalo, mapikon, madapa, mapahiya, umibig (naks), matakot sa nanay ko dahil lampas ako sa curfew, at dito rin ako natuto na maraming magagawa kung magsama-sama ang mga magkakapitbahay.

Mabuhay ang mga barangay.
Mabuhay ang mga kapitbahay ko.



Kung gusto ninyong magka-bookbigayan sa inyong barangay email: books@rockedphilippines.org