By Tess Taylor
It was March when the world was upended. Spring was up in the air. But the world had other things in store for us. Lifestyle changes. Drastic ones for hordes of people. For me, it was a test of maintaining one’s equanimity in the midst of the fear, uncertainty and confusion and the changes that CoVid 19 has wrought in our lives. Soon enough, though, one discovers that life goes on. Albeit, with alterations in our daily lives. One welcome change for me was I had more time to connect with my friends, relatives in all parts of the world. Thanks to technology. And I had more time to binge on Netflix, Prime Videos, and all the wonderful films from documentaries, to Asian dramas, to classical concerts online. Woohoo!
My pot of Boston fern was then just barely sprouting tiny baby leaves. Now, it is in full bloom. Lush and green. Flashback now to my article intended for the March or April issue of Balita. Enter COVID and in the ensuing “kaguluhan” I was not even sure if it was published at all. Thus…
May I reprise, if it was not published, or, if it was, just gloss over it.
FLASHBACK —
Spring is here for sure. Baby leaves are now sprouting in my pot of Boston fern which has been winterizing indoors since November or December. Not that I am an experienced plant person. Far from that. But I am learning slowly. Making mistakes here and there. All in all though, am happy with my progress. Baby steps. What I have learned so far, whether in plants or other things in life, constant, unrelenting baby steps gets you there. More often than not, sooner than you expect. Sabi nga ng Nike, “Just Do It”. Or as the irrepressible, endearing, late former Secretary of the Department of Health (DOH) Juan Flavier said “Let’s DOH it!”.
Speaking of learning – lately, I have picked up quite a few new things. Interesting nuggets of thoughts from some Filipino-Canadians who immigrated here with their families
Relatively still young, friends of my daughter gathered one evening to shoot the breeze and share stories past, present and future. I call them the “Katas ng Air France Manila dito sa Canada”. While waiting for another couple from faraway Bradford and enjoying the potluck fare (that’s one thing I associate with Canada – potluck parties and pretty soon I understood why), a round table informal semi-serious banter ensued.
“Where would you like to retire?” was the key question thrown on the table by Katas ng Air France family member, Mike Tuason. I would say half of them, including myself, preferred a 50/50 mode. Meaning half of the time here in Canada and the rest of the time in the Philippines. The best of both worlds, I guess. I am inclined to think that, no matter what, one still has spiritual (I don’t mean religious) ties with one’s homeland. World- renowned Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, in one of his many books, wrote “Many of us in the West (Thay, as he is fondly called by his students was exiled by the Vietnamese government and was living in France for many years) do not want to have much to do with our parents. They may have hurt us so much. But when we look deeply, we discover that it is impossible to drop all identity with them.” I believe this is the same with our homeland. We may not like the heat, the traffic, the pollution, and whatever else, but blood ties are stronger than all of these. And I don’t just mean relatives. The Filipino blood runs in all of us Filipino-Canadians, no matter how mixed race we are. In the same way, as the other races are also this way.
I have Filipino Canadian friends who have been here since the early 80s. We have known them since the 60s when we were all working together in Manila and reconnected when we migrated here. They rarely go back home having hardly any ties there anymore. Both in relatives and in lifestyles. But, more often than not, we bond with Filipino comfort foods. With stories of our lives back then. One can’t just get away from where we were born, in one way or another.
More and more, I believe that when we acknowledge this and give honor to our Filipino roots, we would somehow feel a certain fulfillment and completeness. True here in Canada, or wherever country one has migrated to. It is not easy sometimes (at least for me) to shake the feeling of being a mongrel (mix-mix sabi nga). “Madalas ang tanong ko sa sarili ko– saan ka ba?” Neither here nor there. But then, it is probably just me. I have made my choice and yet I still feel strong ties with the Philippines. It feels like I am here on an extended stay.
Then again, whether here or there, I believe that gratitude for both our ancestral ties and our new home is of paramount importance. And there are so many good things one can be thankful for. I have to keep reminding myself that.
So much for being Filipino Canadian – let us hie ourselves to our kababayans in Niagara on the Lake. They have been keeping busy as bees during the winter like Joey and Aurora Luz and their many friends. They had a beautiful Sinulog celebration, a Valentine Dinner Dance of the Flos Carmeli Choir aside from other events that kept them warm and bright-spirited during the winter season. Mabuhay ang mga taga Niagara!
This is for Tony San Juan — Let’s not stop with Levi Celerio. That said about Levi in my last column several months ago, I put the spotlight now on Lucrecia Kasilag, endearingly known and called by her peers, mentees and followers then as Tita King. Frankly, I still have to research why King and not Queen. But that is how she was reverently known. I was not too familiar yet with her kind of music or even in general, with classical music. But I distinctly remember attending the inaugural presentation of the Cultural Centre of the Philippines which was the premiere of Lamberto Avellana’s “The Golden Salakot: Isang Dularawan”, an epic musical that portrayed the history of Panay Island.
I don’t quite recall the circumstances that led me to be present at this momentous event in the late sixties. From my sometimes hazy memory banks, Lucrecia Kasilag looms large in my mind as the composer of the music. What I remember was the awe I felt watching and listening to this musical production. It was the first time I heard a mesmerizing mixture of western music with indigenous instruments. I seem to recall the sound of bamboos , water and gongs. The production design was no less fabulous. It is a pity that there are no recordings of her music, or of this fabulous epic presentation. This was indeed the golden age of the arts in the Philippines. King Kasilag was one of them in the forefront. She was one of the founders of the Bayanihan Dance Company having done pioneering research on Filipino ethnic dances and culture. Consequently she reaped international recognition as musical director of the now world famous dance company. As educator, composer and perfomer, Kasilag was known for incorporating indigenous Filipino music with Western influences.
I could go on and on. For now, I also need to say that although the Marcos years were regarded by some as the dark age of Philippine political history, this was at the same time, the golden age of Philippine arts and culture.
And as far as music and dance, there were 2 Lucrecias right up there – Lucrecia Kasilag and Lucrecia Urtula, the latter the founding director and highly gifted choreographer Lucrecia Reyes-Urtula. I remember her being lovingly called Mommy Urtula. Both I believe are National Artists of the Philippines. Tita King Kasilag for music. Mommy Urtula for dance. These were the dynamic moving forces of the Bayanihan Dance Company, which set a trend for Philippine folk arts as a result. And hey! They were both women. So was Cecile Licad, celebrated international Filipino concert pianist. Come to think of it, International Women’s Day was celebrated last March 8. Many women in the Philippines never let themselves be discriminated. It probably never even occurred to them. In short, they just went ahead with what they had to do. “Mabuhay sila! At mabuhay tayo!”
Makes one proud to be a Filipino. Just writing about them gets me all excited. I just wish they had kept recordings of their works for posterity and for the younger generation to appreciate.
By the way, there is a rough (with incidental sounds and all, quite raw) recording on you tube of one of Lucrecia Kasilag’s compositions entitled Philippine Scenes. An 11 minute piece. You may want to listen to it and get a sense of the kind of work she did. This piece reminds me of the music in Dularawan but on a grander scale. You can imagine how state of the art the Cultural Center of the Philippines was when it was inaugurated with the premiere of Dularawan: The Golden Salakot. Gives me goose bumps just thinking about it.
With these thoughts, I leave you to ponder on life in Canada, the Philippines and the celebrated women of the Philippines.
END OF FLASHBACK – Back to now.
I cannot help but add a postscript to my article for this issue. Having been a part of the mass media industry in the Philippines for the past decades, I have been closely following the hearings on the free-to-air franchise expiration and new application of ABS-CBN in Congress. I can totally relate to the entire unfolding of events. These are people I have worked with and are familiar with the workings of the industry.
For whatever it is worth, my take on what is happening is that it is not about press freedom. It is more of the abuse of press freedom. Same goes with the conviction of Maria Ressa. And I believe it is also a matter of HUBRIS. More on this next time, maybe.
To one and all – keep safe. Comments are welcome.
Tessie O. Taylor
taylorteresita@gmail.com