nameabledays Archive One

My friend, one of our foremost playwrights, Rene O. Villanueva, passed away at 2:07 p.m. today, after being comatose following a seizure, at the Philippine Heart Center. He was diabetic. Three text messages reached my phone one after the other as I was preparing to post about a happier event—a gathering of poets at the Mag:Net Café & Gallery after the poetry reading at the conclusion of the 12th Biennial Symposium on the Literatures & Cultures of the Asia-Pacific Region, hosted by UP this year. I postpone that posting to remember Rene.

We literally “grew up” together in the Philippine literary community (though he was way, way ahead in most things). We were young writers attending the weekend workshop of the Galian sa Arte at Tula, founded by National Artist Virgilio S. Almario (Rio Alma), together with other writers in Filipino, notably Fidel Rillo, Romulo Sandoval (deceased), Reuel Molina Aguila, Tomas Agulto, Danilo Consumido, Ompong Desuasido, Ramon Villegas, Virgilio V. Vitug, Jesus Manuel Santiago, Mike Bigornia and Teo Antonio, among others. (I was some sort of an anomaly in the group—I was writing in English, entertained the thought of writing in Tagalog or Filipino, that’s why I joined the workshop. I ended up continuing to write in English when I saw I didn’t stand a chance, a Bikolano, against these A-class Tagalog writers, and managed to get into UP Writers Workshop by submitting my English poems.) The group later faded away due to personal/ creative/political differences, but many of us remained fast friends.

Although one of the youngest, Rene was the “fastest” (in that other sense) among us in carving a name for himself, first as children’s book writer for the growing Adarna Series, winning international awards, then as head writer for the local version of Sesame Street, the now institutional Batibot, then as an award-winning playwright, with play after play of his being produced in various venues, from school campuses to the Cultural Center of the Philippines. (He later joined the Palanca Hall of Fame.) Friendships were further cemented by the amber liquid of San Miguel that we shared and consumed almost daily after work hours. Even our wives started to get together, mainly at Christmas for a special dinner for four young couples—Mike and Tek Bigornia, Teo and Sol Antonio, Rene and Ann Villanueva, your blogger and former wife, Alice. Teo called the four of us Quadro de Jack (after the ersatz cowboys of the comic book novel and later, the movie). When Mike Bigornia succumbed to a heart attack in the prime of his life to the shock of the literary community, Teo rechristened us Tatlong Baraha. Teo and I survive as— Jack and Jill? Franny and Zooey? Pat Salem and Dinky Doo? We try to continue writing poems.

Rene was one whose discipline and persuasion in writing was to stay close to the people and the place he knew and loved (mainly the La Loma district in Quezon City), and to derive his writing from there, as well as dedicate his talent and knowledge to them. Up to the end, despite the sophistication and breadth of imagination he had developed—in his teaching, mentoring in workshops, and his travels—he always wrote for and about them. Although he confessed to envying (and looking up to) in his younger days the writers in English their apparent stylistic “superiority” in language, their “culture” that always found their way to print, he later asked why this was so. "Mayaman sa kuwento ang mahihirap," he wrote in his book Personal, "ang mga walang mataas na pinag-aralan, ang mga kapos sa sopistikasyon at urbanidad." And so he wrote for and about them, and their heroes in history who, apart from fighting for national independence, sought their relief from poverty in its many forms, including the poverty of human dignity.

This is my personal memory of Rene. But his public legacy is not hard to trace. Among the people, the children he wrote for and loved, he cannot fade; and the libraries, television, the Net, have a lot of his works literally on record. I did not find it difficult to look his name up, Google took me to local and foreign sites, university libraries, blogs. Here are just some where he is mentioned, or where his biographical notes may be found. But I didn’t know that he blogged. What a waste, I should have written him at his webpage. Towards the end of this posting I reproduce some of his last blog entries.

Rene at Wikipedia

Rene O. Villanueva (born 1954) is a Filipino playwright and author. He is famed for his deep involvement in theater and television and in children's literature, whether it be on television, in books or on stage. He is best known in the literary world for his plays, which have often won first prizes in literature. Some of his notable works are: Apat na Dula, 1998; Teleplay (Gabay sa Pagsulat at Anim na Dulang Pantelebisyon), 1994; Tonyo: Manologo ni Antonio Luna, 1991; Botong, 1990; May isang Sundalo at Iba Pang Dula, 1988. Awards he has won include: TOYP, New York Film and TV Festival, First Latin American Video and Film Festival (Columbia), Japan Prize (Preschool Category), Prix Juenesse Winner (Germany), TOYM, CCP, Gawad Collantes, Gantipalang Quezon, National Book Award, Palanca. His short play "Kumbersasyon" (1980) won him the first of many Palanca Awards. His award-winning plays include; "May Isang Sundalo" (1981, first prize), "Huling Gabi sa Maragondon" (1983, first prize), "Punla ng Dekada" (1984, second prize), "Ang Hepe" (1986, third prize), "Asawa" (1987, second prize) and "Awit ng Adarna" (1987, second prize).

(Wikipedia gives the long, full list of his works of plays, children’s stories, essays, scripts and books.)

Rene at Panitikan.Com

Isa sa pinakamasigasig na manunulat na Filipino si Rene O. Villanueva. Nagsimula siyang kumatha ng mga dula, kuwentong-pambata at sanaysay noong magtatapos ang dekada ’70. Noong 2004, ginawaran siya ng Gawad CCP Para sa Sining (Literatura); nahirang siyang Pinakamahusay na Alagad ng Sining sa 2005 Gawad Chanselor sa UP. Kabilang siya sa unang batch ng manunulat na iniluklok sa Hall of Fame ng Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature; bukod sa may hawak ng dalawampu’t siyam, pinakamaraming bilang ng natamong karangalan mula sa Palanca sa buong kasaysayan ng timpalak. [Naglingkod] siya bilang assistant professor sa Departamento ng Filipino at Philippine Literature sa University of the Philippines...

Rene's Last Entries on His Blog, "Personal": “Masanay tayo sa pagsusulat na mapagparanas.”

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2007

Kasong Trillanes

Aakdain ko ang isang karanasang wala akong kaaklam-alam, at marahil para ay hindi ko dapat pakialam. Pero may ganoon ba? Ang tao ay tao. Lahat ng may kaugnayan sa tao, ay may kaugnayan sa akin.

Kaya sa kabila ng kung ilang araw na pagkakasangkutsa ko sa gamot, pawis, ubo ang paninikip ng hinga, sinikap kong bumangon para mag-blog. Nasabay pa ang hinagpis ng laman sa adbenturismo ni Senador Trillanes at garapal na pang-nagaw nila ng kapangyarihan. Gumimik na rin ng ganito ang bagitong poster boy ng Oposisyon sa Oakwood. (Bakit mahilig siya sa kuxury hotel?) Siyempre, kinasuhan siya ng Gobyerno.

Iisa ang gusto nating lahat. Ang alam ko, demokrasya, Paano matatamo,? Kailangan ang rule of law. Dapat nating itaguyod ang batas sa lahat ng pagkakataon. Walang short cut ditto. Hindi pwedeng mainip o mapikon dahil mabagal ang proseso.

Ano ang ginawa ni Trillanes? Kumandidatong senado. Okay lang iyon, ganoon sa demokraasya. Lahat ubrang tumakbo. Kaso, nanalo. Alam niya hindi siya puwedeng maupo hanggang may kasong nililitis laban sa kanya. Yon ang sinasabi ng batas. Talagang ganoon. Hindi niya mai-represent ang mga bumoto sa kanya dahil inililitis pa nga.

Noong isang araw, nabuwisit na naman sa gobyerno si Trillanes. Nag-alsa naman sa lobby ng Manila Pen? Nagiging maluhong bisyo na yata yan, ha.


THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2007

Panulat sa Panahon ng Impormasyon

Sa panahon ng impormasyon, kayrami-rami ng paraan para makipagkomunikasyon ang tao sa higit na mabilis na paraan. Nariyan ang text messaging, ang e-mail, at iba pa.

Sa ganitong pangyayari, maitatanong kung ano pa ang silbi ng pagsulat. May puwang pa ba ang pagsusulat sa mundong laging nagkukumahog?

Naniniwala kaming lalong mahalaga ngayon ang pagsulat. Kahit kagyat ang karaniwang komunikasyon, mahalagang masanay tayo sa pagsusulat na mapagparanas. Hindi dapat mawala sa tao ang kasanayan ng mapagparanas na pagpapahayag ng ating mga naiisip at nararanasan.

Hindi sapat na malaman ang ano, sino, kailan at saan mga bagay. Marami man tayong nakaimbak na impormasyon sa ating isip, hindi iyon sapat upang maging buo ang ating kaalaman. Kailangan pa rin nating maranasan ang mga ideya. Kailangang maging kongkreto ang mga bagay. Kailangan nating makita ang bawat kaalaman, marinig ang bawat mga impormasyon, malasahan kahit mga damdamin upang hindi lang natin sila pansamantalang malaman, kundi upang lubos natin silang maunawaan nang higit sa mainiping saglit o sandali.


THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2007

Kanser Ngayon

Dumalo ako sa talakayan ng PETA Writers Pool kaugnay ng binubuong dula tungkol modernong adaptasyon ng Noli at Fili. Kapanapanabik ang premis ng proyekto. Kung ngayong isusulat ni Rizal ang tungkol sa kanser ng lipunan, ano kaya ito? Sa dinami-rami ng suliranin ng lipunang Filipino, tiyak na magpipista ang sinomang susulat sa pamimili kung ano ang balakid sa pag-unlad ng bayan.

Sabihin pa, malaki ang pagkakaiba noong siglo 19 nang sulatin ni Rizal ang kanyang dalawang nobela at ngayong kasalukuyang milenyo. Noon, hindi madaling tukuyin ang kanser dahil hindi malaya ang bayan. Maaaring ngayon ay mayroon na tayong kalayaan ngunit hindi nito pinadadali ang pagtukoy kung anong kanser mayroon tayo.

Ayon sa nobela ni Rizal ang kanser na inilalantad niya ay ang paghahari ng Simbahan, ng mga prayle, at ang pananaig ng kamalayang kolonyal, maging sa mga katutubo. Sa senaryo ni Dr. Nicanor Tiongson, ang naatasang gumawa ng dula, ang kasalukuyang kanser na humahadlang sa pag-unlad ng bayan ay hindi lamang ang talamak na korupsiyon na bumubulok sa lahat ng antas ng lipunan, kundi ang kamalayang makasarili ng kahut anong partido o kilusan, maging sa kanan, kaliwa o sa gitna. Nailahad niya ito batay sa naratibo ng daluyong o baha, gaya ng naganap sa Infante, Quezon o sa Ormoc, Leyte.

Sabihin pa, malusog ang pananaliksik ni Dr. Tiongson. Natitiyak naming magiging tagumpay hindi lamang ang pagtatanghal ng dula, kundi ang pagpapamulat ng akda sa mga Filipino sa tunay na dahilan ng ating pagkalugami.


TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2007

Huntahan Tungkol sa Pre-Departure Area

Kahapon ng umaga ang balitang salubong ni Vim: "Pumanaw na si Sir Sedfrey Ordonez."

Sabi ko: "Matanda na naman siya. Me sakit ba?"

Hindi napansin ni Vim ang tanong ko.

Rene: "E si Adrian, kumusta?"

Vim: "Ayaw pa raw palabasin ng ospital. Hindi yata masabi ng
doctor—"

Rene: "Ang alin? Matetepok na rin ba?"

Vim: "Baka."

Pagkaraan ng mahabang sandali, sumali si Arlene sa usapan.

Arlene: "Ikaw ba, Rene, nagsisimba?"
Rene: "Siyempre naman. Ano'ng akala mo sa akin? ... First mass pa, tuwing Sunday. (Pagkaraan pa ng ilang sandali.) Kaya tanggap ko na. Anytime, pwede na akong mamatay. Wala naman tayong magagawa; tiyak na darating 'yon. E di wag na lang labanan. Sana lang, wag na ako'ng maghirap o ang pamilya ko."

Vim: "Kaya nga dapat kang magpalakas. Mas maganda kung maging National Artist ka nang buhay ka, para— 'Palakpakan po natin si Ginoong Villanueva.' Hindi 'yong— 'Mag-ukol po tayo ng sandaling katahimikan para kay Ginoong Villanueva.'"

Rene: "Oo, maganda nga 'yon. Pero hindi naman natin kontrolado 'yon."

Vim: "Kaya nga dinig ko, ibibigay na raw kay Mrs. Bonifacio yung award, basta wag na lang niyang masyadong lakarin e."


So long Rene.

✑

PHOTOS: From Panitikan.Com; my copy of his book of personal essays that I never got him to sign; and only four of his book covers from the Internet (among his numerous titles), courtesy of various publishers.

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Where we will miss Rene