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Monday, October 18, 2004
Velasco: Idolatry
By Dindin Velasco
Grain of Salt
'It's undeniable; Pinoys are among the most artistic people on earth. Unlike science or mathematics which can be mastered by sheer perseverance, rhythm and musicality are something you have to be born with.'
LARGE fries. Orange-strawberry float. And a compact disc of a charming Fil-Am singing "paparapapa, love ko 'to." I could not resist, so I got the Jasmine Trio from my all-time favorite fast food restaurant.
Anybody who hasn't heard of Jasmine Trias was probably hiding under a rock the past year. Not since Lea Salonga has there been such a surge of pride for the world-class quality of Filipino talent. I, for one, was extremely addicted to American Idol and would watch reruns incessantly whenever they were shown.
Of course, television shows have an extremely short shelf life and this is no more evident than in Jasmine's declaration that she has "left behind her stint with AI and is now looking forward to her professional entertainment career." Our tendency for sentimentality notwithstanding, we actually have so much to learn from that statement somewhat brazenly declared by the diminutive but talented seventeen year old.
Jasmine's resonance with every Filipino who has seen American Idol stems from the fact that all of us have probably imagined ourselves in her shoes, whenever she belted those power ballads for a global audience. It's undeniable; Pinoys are among the most artistic people on earth. Unlike science or mathematics, which can be mastered by sheer perseverance, rhythm and musicality are something you have to be born with. And as a nation, we are blessed in that respect. We can sing. We can dance. And I daresay there are at least a million Filipinos who are more talented than Miss Trias. But she's famous. And we're not. What gives?
Jasmine's success is defined by two factors: opportunity and attitude.
Although she is as brown, as Filipina-looking and kasing-takaw sa sinigang na hipon as most other girls you see on the streets of Davao City, Jasmine is American; thus, earning for her an opportunity to participate in the most watched talent show in recent history. With her citizenship and the prospects that we perceive her to have, Trias has become an epitome of the youthful American Dream. She is living the life Martin Nievera, G Toengi and every other Hollywood wannabe have been struggling to reach these past decades.
Of course, it takes more than citizenship and talent good enough to land third place in AI to make it big. With her avowal that she has moved on from American Idol, Jasmine demonstrates the perfect attitude for achieving more success. Statements such as that do not exude thanklessness; rather, it shows somebody who is grounded on the reality that you are only as good as your last performance and that there is always room to improve and evolve as a professional. This is where Jasmine's "Americanization" comes in handy.
Filipinos have a deeply ingrained sense of utang na loob that is more bane than boon to our character and, ergo, the state of our country today. We are too quick to give ourselves a pat on the back when we do something heroic, like EDSA uno, dos and tres. We replay over and over in our minds those big and small moments we could be proud about, but often forgetting that there are so many other big and small things we have to improve on as a people.
The most recent agony PGMA has inflicted on this humble writer is her appointment of former Senator Ramon Revilla and El Shaddai spokesperson Melquiades Robles as directors of the Public Estates Authority and Light Rail Transit Authority, respectively. All this truly reeks of is utang na loob, nothing much else. And it stinks. Apparently, some form of political obligation is all it takes for people with absolutely no significant accomplishment to head organizations in dire need of effective leadership.
We keep looking back and we have stumbled time and time again, more badly than the last fall. Our resistance to leave the little victories of our past and confront our dimming future has resulted in one out of four families in Mindanao going hungry the past three months. Unless we start facing the music, even with the combined talents of Filipinos here and abroad, this is one quagmire we never will be able to sing and dance our way out of.
Let's learn from a teenager who puts a flower in her hair. Let's leave behind those who helped us "win" the last elections and simply work with a little more sincerity, shall we?
(for your comments and reactions, please email me at missabsinthe@yahoo.com)
(October 18, 2004 issue)
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