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Thursday, October 06, 2005
Magsaysay: Poetry in motion
By Jo Magsaysay
Whatever
The Women in Literary Arts (Wila) Inc. is awesome! All 12 of them, plus one who is not a woman but who is just as awesome, perhaps more so, being a man, a formidable man seriously committed to all the aspirations of Wila. A man, solemn and grave, sober, in fact, as a judge, which he is: Regional Trial Court Judge Simeon Dumdum Jr. Actually, not quite so solemn since he, with a warm smile, reminded me to call him Jun-Jun by which I had known him then, when he and his lovely wife, Ging-Ging, lived upstairs in my mother’s house.
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Judge Jun-Jun--that has a nice alliterative ring to it, doesn’t it? He inducted the new officers of Wila--Ester Tapia (president); Gilmin Royo Kakilala (vice president); Ana Escalante Neri (secretary); Haidee Palapar (treasurer); Arlaine Jayo-Obenieta (second treasurer); Jeneen Garcia (PRO); Bambi Beltran (auditor)--in a simple ceremony at the Montebello Villa Hotel on the occasion of the 14th anniversary of Wila. What does it take to be literary? I asked Erma Cuizon, founding chairperson of Wila, whose column, “Bird by Bird,” makes aflutter in weekend issues of Sun.Star and who has published a collection of her poems and essays, and is now about to finish a novel for publication: Women in the House. The demure Erma was more metaphorical than categorical in her reply, “One would ordinarily say, I miss you. But when one says: A thousand miles away, I feel your hair against my cheek, that is literary.” Wow!
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Poetry readings highlighted the anniversary celebration. Poetry, in my time, must rhyme and free verse was prose, balanced in form and had rhythm. The Wila members, each reading her own composition, endeavored to project thoughts and feelings in measured tones. How gratifying to know that these ladies are so fired by their passion for writing that they can reach out and touch those of us who care about celebrating life and to move us with the depth of their feelings. Some of them chose to articulate in Cebuano, preserving the singsong rhythm of our dialect. I am only sorry that the malfunctioning of my hearing (as if you didn’t know!) prevented me from grasping most of their readings and sometimes their names were lost in the static, but one witty piece, Searching, caught my ear because of the laughter all around. Making a lasting impression more for the shapely Rubenesque figure was Mila “Ging-Ging” Teleron Dumdum whose voice was just above a whisper as was Bobby Amor’s love, wife Annabelle, whose lightheartedness and sunny smile suffused the room. Judge Jun-Jun did himself proud by singing his own composition—in Richard Harris’ style.
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A trio of musicians, sad-faced, sleepy-eyed, rumple-haired, played with earnest concentration on their instruments, like the rain maker that captured attention, being a hollow bamboo tube filled with sand that, when shaken, made a susurrus sound of raindrops dripping on rustling leaves. A metal flute accompanying Erma’s reading was played by Marem Perez Flores, wife of Rodel, former maestro of the Philippines Philharmonic Orchestra. Musical genes are in the family; their nine-year-old daughter, Maria Amanda, having just performed her first solo piano recital presented by Music Measures with the participation of Cebu Chamber Orchestra in Midee’s Mostly Mozart. A budding artist in the family is Cara. Cecilia, their seven-year old daughter, whose cartoon-like sketches on the invitations, displays another talent which someday, perhaps, Zelia Borromeo will foster and encourage. Precisely for being a generous “Patroness of the Arts” and one of Cebu’s “Women of Substance,” Zelia Borromeo was awarded a plaque of appreciation by Wila.
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To-die-for has become trite and stereotypical. I’ll retire that phrase and swap my soul for the Dover sole fish fillet. Punning being inevitable, Chef Robert Lilja quipped, “Bless your soul,” when congratulated for the supreme perfection of the fish fillet, which was among the specialties served at the La Maison’s first anniversary dinner celebration. Chef Lilja, whose realm is in Marriott Hotel, was there only to see that all the guests of his wife, Fatima, and her partner, Marissa Panganiban Alcoseba, were happy as indeed we all were.
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The snob appeal of Valhalla salmon, blue cheese steak, ocean sea bass and all manner of imported steaks cooked in any way desired and drenched with exciting sauces drew the elite crowd with their sophisticated palates for fine dining. However, the food at La Maison was consistently sum-mum-bonum (how’s that for high-falutin’ Latin from the hoity-toity?) . More diners patronized the Maison and a cult was born! Putting their pretty heads together, Fatima and Marissa, an unlikely pair--where Fatima is gregarious and exuberant, and Marissa is reserved and ladylike--but together they are a dynamic-duo to get a barkada together for fine-dining at affordable prices. A huge following of barkadas, families and connoisseurs troop to La Maison to indulge themselves, a pleasure to their palates and kindness to their wallets.
(October 6, 2005 issue)
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