Yes we are one as Filipinos. There is an unspoken dissimilarity between the Tagalog and Bisaya that I could not for the life of me, figure out. Not that I thought so hard of this small and petty issue. Until I read the reactions to the Duterte CNN press con, the said dissimilarity could not be more clear.
6.3.16
Yes we are one as Filipinos. There is an unspoken dissimilarity between the Tagalog and Bisaya that I could not for the life of me, figure out. Not that I thought so hard of this small and petty issue. Until I read the reactions to the Duterte CNN press con, the said dissimilarity could not be more clear.
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6.1.16
13 days, 12 songs to arrange. 2 of said days will be spent moving to another apartment. Right now I am Jem Talaroc, B.M., M.M., B.M.A.A.O.C.B.T. (Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, But Mostly Arranging And Occasionally Composing Big Time). I'm good, I'm functional, productive, but there is tension in the environs in which I operate. * * * * * I've never seen the media so hysterical. Right now it's them versus Duterte. Their current preoccupation (or should I say obsession) is whatever comes out of the controversial Mayor's mouth. Fine. Duterte is wrong catcalling the tsiks reporter. Fine. He has a bad mouth. Fine. He is inappropriate in front of the camera. He is so wrong in that respect. Fine w/ British lady accent: "Good heavens! What kind of president is that? Oh my dear stars! My good lord! That is appalling! Outrageous!" The media's relentless focus on the man's etiquette is almost as intense as on crime or corruption itself. One day they will get tired. One day results will be delivered. And then we'll see what they have to say about that. But of course! We need not wait, we already know. "You cannot please whatever is the rest of this cliché". Even if Jesus Christ Himself is president of the Philippines, He will be hated so long as there are computers to empower the otherwise unheard voices. Hey corruption, hey crime, hey economy hey education, hey other really important issues, hang in there! The media will get to you as soon as they're done teaching proper etiquette and stately, presidential manners. 5.16.16
Three years in Metro Manila. At the very end of my pursuit of a Masters degree. I have worked with professional orchestras, choirs, performing groups, met local and international composers, won an award. At this point I have two options: Either stay in Manila, add more to that list, while my finances and social life hangs by a hair-strand. Or I could go back to the south, be a professor, be of help, be settled, be safe. But I don’t want to be safe. Not now, at least. There is a time in human life when one passes through a dark tunnel. I, at 25, am in my tunnel. Uncertain of the future, but I can only go forward. Only forward. Only forward. If I go back, I go back a different man. And that is good. But I’ll be doomed to live the rest of my life wondering what’s waiting on the other side had I not turned. * * * * * The elections, and the campaign that preceded it, is only matched by the season’s temperature. During which time everybody’s talking. So naturally, I shut up. Social media has magnified the best and the worst of the Filipino, which is why on May 9, I was introduced to a strange amalgamation of emotions; I simultaneously felt proud of and disgusted with this nation. I casted no vote, and felt powerless; the only absolute that day. The president-elect who says “Putang ina” a lot said “Tabangi ko ma” as he wept at his parents' grave five 3ams ago. Neither the English translation “Help me, Mom” nor the Tagalog “Tulongan mo ako, Nay” captures the weight of that line. To the Bisaya, “tabangi ko, ma” is childish, almost silly, so humiliating that in another context could be made fun of. It is a verse of humility; a surrender. Seeing him revert back to being a child is seeing beneath the Putang ina exterior; both ends of the spectrum. It changed the way I look at the man(not that I don’t already know of his reputation as Mayor). I watch him on interviews and I don’t see a “decent”, archetypical politician, but a father, tightening his jaw, banging the dinner table, “Kung mo ingon gani ko’g undangi na, undangi na!” It’s dawn in the Philippines, any moment a new era will rise with the sun. But whether or not change comes, ultimately depends on us. As I write this, a man named Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is now very close to being the Vice President of the Philippines. I will now go back to being a composer. |
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