Sadyah

Death and the Maiden

August 05, 2006. I was there at Carlos P. Romulo Theater, RCBC Plaza, Makati. Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman was staged by Actors Actors Inc. It starred Bart Guingona, Bituin Escalante, and Michael Williams who were all articulate and fantastic. I first experience AA, I guess two years ago, with ART in Republic of Malate. Since then, I promised not to let an opportunity pass when they have a production. It must be free, of course. Thanks to Mike Lim.

It was a powerful political thriller set somewhere in Latin America. There is a wife. She did not earn a college degree - ravaged and haunted by the torture and rape she encountered 15 years ago. There is a husband, a lawyer, now appointed as the youngest member of the “Truth Commission” by the government. The play opens with the husband and wife arguing about jack and the spare part of a newly bugged down car. The play moves forward with the doctor, who happens to live in a beach house nearby and had helped the husband with his car along the way,   coming in to their place in the middle of the night. He congratulates the husband; he believes the lawyer is the right person for the commission.

He stayed for the night and woke up tied up by the wife – ready to kill with her gun. What follows is a series of arguments (in graduate class, it was taught that in drama, every line must be an argument). The wife recognized the doctor – with his voice, skin, and smell – that it was he who raped him 15 years ago. The doctor, of course, dismisses her as crazy. So is the husband who strongly believes that compromise and forgiveness are the necessary actions for a person, for a country to be able to move on. A dose of truth could tear apart a family, a country. The wife, however, insists that the doctor must confess. Only then, and he can go, yet she tried to kill him. She argues that in doing so, she can be free to listen to Schubert, her favorite composer, so is by the doctor. The doctor refutes that in doing so, the cycle of violence goes on.

The play closes with the husband and wife facing a mirror (instead, they did it with digital camera) to suggests that the actors and the audience are one in their dilemma. Then the wife sees the doctor in the house…

So did she kill him or not?

The play invites argument, dialogue, and meditation: like Gerardo, the husband, do we have to compromise in order to move on? Socialize with our tormentors - shake hand with them, giving them “beso-beso”? Or like the wife (I forgot the name), must we assert that there must justice first before we think of leaping forward?

I thought of including it in my synthesis for World Literature: the similarities in the historical experience of Philippines and Latin America; the power and relevance of literature to delight, shock, and create in us the desire to build a better world. We read Laura Esquivel of Mexico: Like Water for Chocolate.

The play is so timely and relevant. I can imagine how powerful it would be in Filipino. The language is poetic, the dialogues philosophical. The acting was convincing. It was a beautiful afternoon. I left inspired to create but masterpiece. It is with the time and energy one devotes to his/her craft that makes it brilliant. I had with me my laptop so off I went at Starbucks in RP to capture some lines flirting over my “mind’s eye.”

Kasi naman ang lapit-lapit ng Madison SMART Wireless Center sa Lasalle but it took them more than 2 weeks to inform me na my application was rejected. Nakakaloka to think na I was only applying for a 500 planned-SIM. Lumalaki na kasi ang gasto ko at kapag maubusan ng load, I have to rush pa to this suking tindahan along Estrada para sa 60 or 90 e-load, if not 300 Buddy. The rest of the stores, hanggang e-load na lang at di swak sa need ko ang UNLI na ‘yan, ano.

Which means, willing na talaga akong gumasto ng malaki after years of resisting ng kung anu-anong promo ng SMART at Globe. Bigla kasi akong na-inlove. Haaay, the cost of long-distance love affair. Sige lang, wala naman akong ibang bisyo. I deserve it, being a very hardworking yuppy. Sa dinami-dami kasi ng lalaki sa mundo, sa kanya ko lang naramdaman ang ganito. As in - the chemistry is there (hmmm, parang sinabi ko rin ito when I fell in love with KL and ET). Anyway, life is too short to resist. I am giving love a chance. Kaya nasa cloud 9 ako ngayon. Yup, naririnig ko si Mozart, si Beethoven habang lumalakad.

Nakakaloka ang SMART. Hindi raw ako ma-reach ng kanilang verification officer! So hindi enough ang confirmation ng helper sa tinutuluyan ko. Even ang confirmation ng secretary namin sa department! Kasi naman nang tumawag, nasa meeting ako, the second time, I was working out. Dapat gumawa ng feasibility study ang SMART when is the best time to call applicants. Sowee, I can’t sit all day to wait for that very important verification call. At hindi na ako teen-ager na kahit may class or may date, text ng text! Parang gusto kong sagutin ang CSR na “I switch off my phone when I’m having sex.”

Actually, second time ko na ito naranasan. Last February, I did apply for a postpaid phone. ‘Yung may FM kasi pang-regalo kay PJ. I cancelled it kasi nga more than 2 weeks na, wala pa rin. When I checked it, kailangan pa raw ng bank statement. Hello, defeated na ang purpose ko. Nakakaloka, hindi pa enough ang COE ko. Feeling rejected talaga ako. Akala ko pa naman ang taas na ng suweldo ko. 10 thou lang ang nakasabing required income e I’m earning thrice than that. Saka buti sana kung high end na phone, e 7 thou lang ang cash price noon sa market. Hindi ko talaga maintindihan how come lahat na yata ng mga tao sa mundo ko – pati mga secretary at janitor sa Lasalle – e hi-tech ang phone. Hindi naman sa naiinggit ako sa kanila pero how come ateh, lola, nire-reject ako ng SMART?!

Ang labo na ng SMART, snob pa. Ito ang napala ko after almost 4 years of being a loyal pre-paid subscriber.

So rush ang beauty sa Robinson’s Place, sa Globe, after sending a barrage of suggestions sa cutomer service ng SMART (believe me, all they can say is “sorry for the inconvenience blah-blah. They asked for the name of the CSR pero bakit ko naman sasabihin. Ma-guilty pa ako kapag mawalan ‘yon ng job. Besides, I’ve realized na futile makipag-argue sa CSR. Sasabihin lang naman nilang “E kasi Ma’am ‘yan po ang procedure”).

But how come my application sa Globe was approved in less than a day?! Nakakatuwa pa kasi 500 lang ang gusto kong plan. E dumating si Jingle, ‘yung boardmate ko sa UPV na bumili ng 2 copies ng book ko, sabi niya may free phone sa plan 800. So ‘yun, line na ako ngayon – bye, bye cards – bago pa ang phone ko. Although it took 48 hours bago ma-activate. Naloka rin ang beauty ko kasi imagine, for a day (for the very first time after almost 3 months), walang sms mula sa pafah and I can’t tell him why he cannot reach me kasi inubos ko na lahat ang load ko sa SMART. So I have to tame patience. Nakakatuwa rin ‘yung feeling - uli, walang nakakaistorbong text message - no matter how sweet it is.

Ngayon pa lang, love ko na ang Globe and I’m sure, mahaba pa ang pagsasamahan namin (hmm, statement ni Kris about them ni James Yap).

August 03, 2006, Thursday:

1. Got an appointment with the Director of UST Publishing House. I was bold enough to submit my manuscript, "Komposo ni Dandansoy": Mga Kuwento sa Hiligaynon at Filipino three weeks ago. Well, with guts there’s glory and I have to do more work. She was nice and direct - precisely she knows her business. I have to write an introductory essay because majority of Filipinos are uninitiated with Philippine literary history and nay, geography. I know it all along…and yeah, be more aggressive so that it will move…

2. It was great to finally see my poetry book, "Pula ang Kulay ng Text Message" on the shelf on Solidaridad. As always, I bleed for beautiful books I can only browse and free read but cannot own. Oh, there was this book -"Making Love All Night" - that I browsed and it talked about male multiple orgasm. yeah, there is such a thing. And i thought of who else but PR. It was also nice reading through that coffee table book about Thailand. The more that I got excited.

3. I checked out Globe’s Wireless Center. The CSR was simply fabulous. Before the day ended, my application for a 500-planned SIM was approved. To think that it took me more than two weeks to know that SMART rejectd me for the simple reason that their verification officer failed to reach me. Oh, I love Globe. They are more customer-friendly.

4. I was too early for my OB’s appointment at Manila Doctors. Good thing it paid off, I was the first in line. More than two hours of waiting for a less than 5 minutes of consultation. I thought of the other OB - the one in Fortune care. She was solicitous enough to listen to my concern. I decided to follow her advice - to wait after my oncoming menstruation for another round of lab test to monitor the follicular ovarian cyst versus endometriosis. But I’m feeling better these days. The pelvic pain was gone. I just have to keep my diet of green salad, less fat and sugar, and yeah, keep on working out 3 x a week.

5. I went back to school for my 420 class. We discussed Ben Okri’s essay "While The World Sleeps." My students are great. I’m happy.

6. I was on my way home when I met Jona Cham and RT. Harlequin is doing Malate and Joni’s story was adapted into a short play. I have to watch. RT gave me a ticket. I did. It was good. But my mind went off to PR. I called him. I have to consume my SMART load, after all. It was nice to hear his voice; the day closed with stars in my eyes.