Thursday, September 24, 2009

Manila - Pearl of the Orient - prewar

War is immoral..anytime anywhere.

World War Two was the worst event that happened in Philippine history and to the Islands and was a devastating blow to millions of lives of Filipinos, Americans and others living in this country- especially this blogger who suffered through three and one half years of it.

Thanks to this video we can view the beauty and splendor of this Pearl of the Orient, the lovely
city of the Philippine Republic.

Now Voyager - Bette Davis and Paul Henreid


Willie Fernandez was among other Jazz aficionados I enjoyed being with in the mid fifties. Just graduated from an architect course Willie and I would meet late afternoon at his place in Paco and proceed to meet other jazz fiends at CAFE INDONESIA on Dewey Boulevard. We would invariably meet stalwarts listening to Toots Dila and his combo Doreen Gamboa, already a fine writer and food columnist, Emma Versoza who worked at the Department of Foreign Affairs a few blocks towards Taft Avenue, Ramy Hermano fresh from his New York University post graduate studies with tidbits about life in Greenwish village, and more. Eventually, Willie married Doreen Gamboa and together they worked in harmony talking and writing about food - and Doreen evencoming out with several volumes of Philppine dishes and recipes. Willie began to be recognized with his distinctive interior decor ideas and winning clients outside the Philippines. During those times Chita and I would be asked by Mr. and Mrs. Fernandez for a gourmet dinner, no less. Then we would wind up at their chalet at Mandaluyong and watch Willie's collection of classic films. One of them was this classic film of Davis and Henreid- Now Voyager.

Tony Sings with Pilita

When Mama Sarah got her award from the Filipino Community in 1999, Pilita Corrales was the main show and during that time I was seated in Mama's box inside the Convention Hall of Washington D.C.

Pilita, without any warning, suddenly announced my name and asked me to come join her onstage.

Here is the clip of that singing incident. I enjoyed it. I hope you do too.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

DING ROCES - Artist Par Excellence


The Roces family has been in the newspaper and movie theatre business in the Philippines since before World War Two. I met some of their children my age when I was studying at the Ateneo Grade School in Intramuros before the war. Alfredo Ding Roces was one of them. The other was Marquitos.

An older brother, Alejandro "Anding" was an officer at the Far Eastern University and head of the Institute of Arts at the time when I was teaching there in 1954. Anding was, for a time, Secretary of Education at the same time he was also teaching and working as an executive of the Far Eastern University.

Ding in 1977 moved to Sydney Australia with his wife Irene. And he really kept his paintings, writings and photography steadily - and winning prizes.

When the del Rosario family members got word that the Supreme Court of the Philippine Republic had finally declared their father Roberto del Rosario the sole owner of the original patent rights for a sing along system now popularly known in the Japanese language as Karaoke, there was joy all around for her dynamic, and inventive father Roberto del Rosario, though no longer here with her, had finally won his case against a Japanese company who allegedly claimed the device as its invention.

Working for over two decades del Rosario's children on their own, pursued the fight for justice by their father Roberto del Rosario particularly when he noticed his health slowly deteriorating.
He intimated that they pursue the case and “not to give up” despite the tremendous amount of stress not to mention the terrific investment in money in (and out) of the Philippine courts fighting for their father’s case which had taken several decades.

The Supreme Court’s resolution dated March 19 2007 stated:

Plaintiff Roberto Del Rosario owns the patent rights for a sing-along system, popularly known as the KARAOKE. On January 18, 1993 plaintiff filed a case with the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Makati City, for patent infringement against defendant Janito Corporation who, without his consent, was manufacturing and selling a sing along system marketed as “Miyata” which was substantially similar and identical to his (Del Rosario’s) patented invention.

After trial, the RTC in its Decision dated November 9, 1999 ruled in favor of plaintiff
relying upon his uncontroveted evidence that defendant, without his consent manufactured and sold the Miyata system which was substantially identical to his patented invention.”


This triumph by a Filipino inventor who holds patents in other inventions as well, is not only a personal victory for the del Rosario family, stated his other daughter Isa Valenton but a feat worth acclaiming for the Filipino people.
Bert was born in Pasay City, the son of Teofilo del Rosario and Consolacion Legaspi. He married Eloisa Vistan, a former beauty queen with whom he has five children- three girls and two boys. Bert has been a widower since 1979 when his wife died at age 45 of heart failure. Bert did not remarry.
He admits that he never took up formal music lessons and cannot read music. Bert has also won awards in the Philippines and abroad, but the one he cherishes the most was the 1985 Gold Medal Award by the WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION (WIPO) of the United Nations. An award that recognizes him as a Filipino inventor.
Like most inventors, Bert admires other inventors like Thomas Alva Edison, who believes that invention is “one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration” and the Wright Brothers for their having invented the airplane.
Bert del Rosario an accomplished musician who could play seven other musical instruments very well besides the piano. He was also proud to state that he enjoyed playing with the popular orchestra known as The Executive’s Band organized by Former Senator Raul Manglapuz which was composed of musicians who were businessmen and members of the diplomatic corps who get together to play Jazz and other popular music just for “fun”.
In 1962, on his own, Bert set up the first of many piano factories that populated the Philippines. Hecalled his pianos “TREBEL" – a combination of Bert’s name spelled backwards [TRE] and Eloisa his wife- EL.
Back to his minus one system, in the later models, another cassette tape player/recorder was added. It could record on one magnetic tape both the musical accompaniment and voice of the person singing. This unit was created in 1977. To enhance the quality of sound the device had a knob to produce "reverb" [or echo-like sound] adding technical artistry to the resulting sound.
Bert saw the first sign of corporate leakage – and the specter of “industrial piracy” during the time that he had to contract a Japanese manufacturing firm to produce most of his replacement parts. Not long after this arrangement he and his friends began to see very similar units of his invention but with a Japanese logo being sold openly in major Asian citieis and even in Manila stores..
This, Bert said philosophically, was the price one has to pay for a successful product. People would like to steal the idea or just make copies and sell them under another name.
After some sleuthing, Bert traced the bulk of the “piracy” to a Japanese firm. Since Japan could easily produce units in greater quantities Bert was aware that he really had limited resources and less money to battle this underhanded practice by a big time Japanese firm.
He was no match money-wise against the moneyed Japanese. But it did not discourage Bert from filing copywriter infringement, pursuing it to several decades for he felt in his heart he would be given justice.
In one of the media interviews Bert shared his philosophy in life: “Be observant, be creative. Most of all work hard at what you believe in.” At last, Bert really worked hard in what he believed in and he won the fight for justice.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

A Haunting poem



TOMORROW…PERHAPS


All day today, I have looked for you
In the secret places
Where I keep you hidden, like a jewel,
Too precious to share with others.
I like to think that you are mine alone,
Although I know others have as much even more claims to you than
I might have.
I choose to delude myself
For in the mazes of my thoughts,
My passion is yours too.

And so I look for you,
Knowing you will be there
For me…
If not today
Perhaps…tomorrow.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Pie Thrown on a human face - not funny at all for Asians




A famous comedy duo that appeared in films just before World War II somewhere in the mid thirties, were Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Laurel was the thin one and Hardy the fat one. They were of British descent as revealed by their English accents. Most of their comedy routines stemmed from funny situations. Laurel is the straight man who always plays the part of the better informed half of the team while Hardy is the foil or the fall guy who gets it between the eyes and his whole corpulent body shakes with anger when it happens. 

One characteristic of the two is that in all their movies, they never used the “slap stick” technique at all. To the aficionado humorists, the highest form of wit is intellectual or double meanings similar to the type of humor that Bob Hope uses. 

The lowest is slapstick. With the Laurel and Hardy team, sometimes one would hit the other gently to emphasize a point but that was all the physical or visual effect. Often, they depend on the situation itself using the power of pantomime, enough to produce the desired laughter. 

On the other hand we have the very popular American spawned The Three Stooges known and liked by many over many decades and in fact their films are having a comeback these days. These three were totally dependent on situations and with the ample use of slap stick – and I mean hard hitting slap, bops on the heads, and falls of various types - to get a laugh. One plays the straight man in a superior position and the other two stooges is supposed to obey or imitate what number one stooge wants. Usually the two follow wrongly and therefore get bopped by some hard object depending on what is within reach or available. Mock anger by the number one partner produces the comedic effect and the other two nursing a painful head or nose or back provokes the laughter.


               In many American films, it is almost certain that a slap stick comedy sequence would be topped by a pie in the face sequence. And this act usually gets terrific reaction from the audience – a non Asian audience. Why do we say this is so?


              In Asia the human person’s face is considered delicate and priceless. The fact is in effect the person's logo and should not be mistreated. It is his whole being, his public image. Over the developing period of Asian societies the basic elements of human relations rested and depended largely on how one honors one’s face especially in business transactions. Bartering – which preceded the exchange of currencies – which is to trade with one another using items or services and not money - depended principally on the quality of a person through his face. When one made a professional commitment orally facing the other party one has to stake his face and must meet the commitment before or on agreed time. His face is his asset, and of course his visual word of honor!
In early agricultural society Asia, a man’s face stands for his individual integrity, family honor, prestige and standing in the community. That is why the term “losing face” and “face the music” “face value” originated from and often really refer to that commodity, precious and fragile which is one’s face. It is his ticket in polite and honorable society. It is supposed to represent his willingness to abide by the common code of conduct and business relationships.

              
              Thus, whenever one who is Asian or of Asian descent views the American film comedies featuring the pie thrown on one’s face, it creates a slight psychological trauma within his own Asian bred body and soul. The person not ready to laugh at this physical humor. But one asks, does it follow that because the Americans who make use of this type of humor has no honor and that he does not value his face at all? And the answer of course is that American society values the totality of the person and not just the face and attributes one’s personality and integrity as his credentials as a member of society. Having a pie in the face, to the American mind, does not diminish the person’ honor, nor integrity for it is done in jest, it is a "child like" moment and for humorous effect without giving the act of throwing pie on the face any other meaning.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

OUR GOLDEN WEDDING ANNIVERSARY -





On August 5, 1959, Fr. James B. Reuter, S.J. officiated at our wedding held at the Pinaglabanan Church, San Juan Rizal. A small reception followed not far from the church. This picture on the left is Fr. Reuter blessing the rings. (on the left)


On August 22, 2009 we commemorated our 50th wedding anniversary with a 
Mass held at the St. Francis 
of Assisi Parish in Sacramento 
City officiated in by Fr. Anthony 
Garibaldi. A reception was held at the  
Embassy Suites Hotel ballroom not far from the Church.

Philippine presidential hopefuls...

TONY ABAYA


I am not a political writer but this time - for the first time - I have to make mention of a relevant individual who knows much and with quality substance about the coming presidential elections in the Philippines in May 2010.

I am referring to
Tony Abaya, a dear friend and dynamic, articulate writer in English. Here is his latest column.


Also, his website