On Leave

Thank you for visiting my blog. I am taking a leave of absence from blogging to concentrate on some important matters relating to occupation, personals, and other mundane matters. I hope to be able to come back as soon as possible. Have a nice day, everyone!

BB Gandanghari: From Prince to Princess

It should have been the night of the Gawad Urian winners, but to some extent, the show was stolen by another celebrity, BB Gandanghari, one of the presentors in the recently held Gawad Urian Awards at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

The media is still in a frenzy that the debonair Rustom Padilla they once knew has now completely evolved as a beauteous lady. Immaculately attired in a glittery long-sleeved turtleneck, with matching long satin-pants and sprightly stiletto, BB Gandanghari arrived at the CCP complete with her retinue of alalays and motorcycled escorts. Then as soon as she was through presenting the award, she darted off the stage of the CCP and into the swarm of reporters and adoring fans waiting for her outside the theater.

BB willingly posed ala-Audrey Hepburn in front of the cameras, their flashes highlighting the beauty of the once controversial actor now turned actress. All traces of the Rustom Padilla has been annihilated and one cannot fail to appreciate the completion of her evolution--from the boyish-looking debonair Rustom to that of a tinseltown princess BB.

"Rustom Padilla is dead, " says BB proudly. "You are looking now at a completely different person" This remark obviously pleased the fans and press due to its figurative nature. Indeed, ever since Rustom finally revealed in the reality show Pinoy Big Brother that he was gay, bakla, bading, jokla, sho-ke, or whatever you call a transgender, he has always been top news. Rustom Padilla is no more.

Back then, his older brother Robin Padilla, the bad boy of Philippine movies, had been hurt to finally know the truth about Rustom. Robin was in Baguio training for his Totoy Bato role when he heard the news on television. "I just hit the punching bag as hard as I can, to express my anger" he said. All along Robin knew he had a handsome brother, chased by adoring female fans, envied by men, and married to Carmina Villaroel, considered one of the most beautiful women in the industry. And then came the shocking revelation that Rustom was actually a "sister".

The other brother Rommel Padilla vehemently objected to BB's announcement of the death of her Rustom identity. "Parang hindi maganda pakinggan e. May namatay. Para sakin e di parang namatay na rin ako, si Robin at si Royette"

But even more devastating was sibling Royette's condemnation: "He's (Rustom) crazy, and a disgrace to our family. He should subject himself to psychiatric treatment for his own good". For a few months a sort of chasm existed between BB and the older brothers who could not accept the fact that they had a "sister" they had not known all along.

The angry reaction of Rustom's siblings may have taken its roots from the fact that the Padilla brothers are considered by many as among the living macho symbols of Philippine movies. For BB to hide the truth for so long may have been felt as a betrayal by the family--especially to the three brothers.

Be that as it may, however, blood is still thicker than water. After a few months of silence, Robin finally accepted Rustom's metamorphosis. The other Padilla brothers followed suit, for they cannot abandon Rustom who now calls himself BB Gandanghari. Now BB feels that she was "accepted" by her family. Last May, for instance, they had a happy family reunion during her niece Rebecca's birthday party. At first, BB was hesitant to approach her brothers, but Royette made the initiative. He hugged BB and called her "sister".

Their mother Eva was there, too, and she complimented BB for her fabulous attire and beautiful make-up. "She even asked my advice on which make-up would best suit her" BB says smiling. All in all it was a family affair that healed the hurt and closed the rift. All's well that ends well.

Then one early morning last September, BB woke up to find a brand new 2009 Honda CRV parked in front of her home. It was a gift from Robin Padilla, a peace offering perhaps, but a sure sign of the smoother things to follow. "We [Robin and I] plan to make a comeback movie", says the beaming BB, "It's been such a long time since we've worked together. There is no definite storyline yet, but we already have some concrete ideas."

And so now here at the Gawad Urian Awards, BB looks happy, glowering in the limelight. "Acceptance of my family is all that I have ever wanted. And they have granted me that wish. What more can I ask for? I am free and I'm very happy", BB says as she boarded her brand new car to her new-found freedom.

Indeed, if one is to judge through the glimmer of joy in her eyes, one can finally say that BB Gandanghari has attained the verisimilitude of happiness that had eluded her for so long. And for all that, justifies the meaning of her new name BB: Be all that you can be.

Rustom and Robin Padilla during their more "brotherly" times.
This was a publicity photo for the "Mistah" movie they acted together in the 1990s.

Rustom Padilla: Rest In Peace
(File photo used under creative license)

On Tombs and Dead Relatives

For most of us Filipinos, All Souls Day or undas entails going to the cemetery to visit our dear departed and spending a day and a while in front of the grave to offer prayers, flowers and candles, and then share a repast and reminiscences about the dead. This remembrance of our dead, wether family or friend, has been a strong tradition among the Filipinos, especially among the Roman Catholics.

We have several dead relatives in our own family. I just realized now that I am already completely orphaned of lolos and lolas. Both my maternal and paternal ancestors have already passed to the other world we Catholics know as the after-life. Some uncles, aunts, and a few cousins and distant relatives have already kicked the bucket some years ago. Those of us who are living must then see to it that their graves do not belong to the limbo of lost and forgotten tombs.

When we were younger, undas was more like a fiesta, except that the streets did not have colorful hanging flags. My mother would usually roast chicken and cook other wonderful dishes in her magical kitchen. We would don our best attires, ride in the family car and then, while in the cemetery play hide and seek with cousins around tombs or aratilis trees. Back then, undas was just like a family reunion with our family spending a whole day to eat and chat while waiting for the candles to shrink to their doom.

But now, I noticed that as you grow older, you become more aware of graves and cemeteries. The somber realization that somehow in the future, you too would be the person to be interred in the tomb and visited by your family, is quite sobering. Indeed, no one really knows when you will actually kick the bucket. Before, I used to read the newspaper because of only one thing--the comic strip page. But now, strangely, I found that I tend to regard the obituary page as more and more fascinating, to check those who had already traveled to the other side.

Once in a while, I think about my own death, too. We are not immortal, you know, although I wish I have the same nine lives of the feline. But then again, neither do I wanted to become a bed-ridden Methuselah. Yet, I know that in the future, sooner or later, it would be my turn to kick the bucket and pass on to the other world.

What would be my grave of preference? Well, really simple is what I would like to have it done. A white tomb with maybe a small cross on top with the face of Jesus Christ carved in its center, like the ones you usually see on many graves in La Loma. No crying angels on top as it looks really depressing. The lapida should just have my name carved on it (not painted) with my birth and death date. Well just as a sort of final luxury, I would like to have small tree planted on the side so that birds could be my company when dear ones have already left me after the undas.

For us the living, death is taboo. We refuse to talk about it and regard someone talking about it as a morbid person. But nothing could be farther from the truth. Those who accept death as the universal completion of life should be regarded as the true living persons.

So, what would be your tomb of preference?

A belated Happy All Souls Day!

Eve of Undas at the Manila North Cemetery

Arnold Domingo: Tomb Caretaker

Arnold Domingo, 24 years old, a tomb caretaker at the Manila North Cemetery*, works overtime retouching the old flaking paint of a tomb's lapida, one of the many that he will repaint in preparation for All Souls Day. For each retouch, he earns fifty pesos including labor and materials (paint, brush, etc.). "Business is good" he says smiling, "this is the only time of the year that we really earn some money". Indeed, after the November 1 holiday, Arnold will go back to being a kalakal boy, his regular job of digging trash to sell to the junk shops.

*Manila North Cemetery is the Philippines oldest and largest cemetery. Formerly known as Sementeryo ng Paang Bundok, the cemetery is located in the boundaries of Caloocan, Quezon City and Manila. Photograph was taken October 31, 2009 at 9 p.m. Manila North Cemetery.

Dreams and Reality

Photograph was taken October 24, 2009 5:00 pm, Philippine National Railway Tracks, (Blumentritt station), Manila. Note: This is an active railway and I am not sure why this boy chose to sleep on it rather than on the bangketas.

Aling Carlita: Yakult Lady

If you're a regular shopper or pedestrian in Palengke Blumentritt, Manila, chances are you have already seen Aling Carlita Reyes, 70, peddling around small Yakult milk bottles of Lactobacilli-Shirota strain in her Yakult cart. But no, Aling Carlita is not your everyday Yakult lady. For one she's been selling Yakult for over thirty years now--and because of those three decades of peddling this cultured milk, she had managed to send to college all her five children, who are now all professionals. It's not that she earned a fortune selling Yakult, but as she says, through her "Tiyaga, kayod, at pagtitipid" (Perseverance, hard work, and frugality)

Does Aling Carlita plan to retire soon? "No", she says smiling "I love to work. I have done this work for many years and I would be lonely if I retire. My children all wanted me to retire but I didn't want to stop working. If I stop working, I would probably just sit around in the house and be sickly. Only the sick retires, and I'm very healthy!".

Meanwhile I bought three packs of Yakult from Aling Carlita which instantly made me into her new best friend. As I handed my cash and said goodbye, she said: "Oy may sukli ka pang kwarenta'y tres!!" I said she can keep the change. We smiled, while I promised to be her regular client from now on. Well, you'll never know when you're helping send a kid go to college by drinking Yakult, do you?

*Disclaimer: this is not a paid ad by Yakult!