A GIFT FROM THE UNIVERSE

This Tuesday was supposed to be uneventful. I only had one errand to attend to — stop by my alma mater, Mapua Institute of Technology over in Intramuros to request for a particular school record which I had been reneging on doing. From SM Manila Mall, I decided to just walk it.

Many thoughts came to mind while enjoying this late morning walk; foremost was the release at this time of the year of New York City’s schedule of Fall-Winter events — music, theater, and dance. As much as grand and awe-inspiring these presentations are and have always been, I always kept an eye out on avant-garde and experimental performances usually held at Brooklyn Academy of Music and The Public Theater at Lafayette Street in downtown Manhattan. There are also obscure venues all over the city that host such mind-boggling, cutting edge performances.

Anyway, as I neared the gate of MIT, to my right is a walkway that leads up to the wall of Intramuros. I thought it would be a good idea to check out; hoping the view from up there will be of photographic interest.

It sure was! And as I marveled at its vista and started photographing, I heard some kids below beckoning me to take a picture of them, which I did much to their delight. This reminded me of what Sidney and I talked about — most folks immensely enjoy being photographed; my mother, of course, among them.

I then went back to my original intention and took more shots of this part of Intramuros, including a shot of Manila City Hall’s clock tower. I continued to walk along the wall — thinking how this place reminds me so much of Old San Juan in Puerto Rico. It seemed as if there was only one architect that built both places, though in San Juan, their Intramuros is called El Moro.

I was somewhat startled from my thoughts when as if suddenly, two figures appeared before me — they were on top of one of the antiquated canons; two kids from the same group I had taken a picture of earlier. Obviously, they wanted another but closer picture of them for me to take so, I once again gladly obliged.

Up close, I realized their costumes were made from rice sacks; nothing at all like what I had originally perceived — tribal costumes from some faraway Philippine province. It piqued my curiosity enough to start asking them questions. They weren’t part of the Department of Tourism’s WOW special program, but rather contestants to a competition being held at their school nearby; scheduled at one o’clock that afternoon.

I then walked over towards the rest of their group and introduced myself to their performance coach/teacher. He briefly told me about this competition being conducted by the school's Pilipino teachers. I then asked in jest if it's true that like Ramon Magsaysay High School students, Manila High School is also made up of very smart students. They suddenly became too shy to respond, but they all invited me to come and see the competition as their guest. I promised them I would.

Right after concluding my errand at MIT, had a quick lunch at the nearby 7-Eleven, and then crosed the street towards the gate of Manila High School. After trading my photo ID for one of their visitor passes, I was shown the way to the school’s grounds were the event was to take place. And there I began to see some students dressed in other theatrically-inspired garments.

The event started as scheduled and I was immediately captivated by the performance of the first group, and then eventually by the rest. Their cheerful faces on these photographs were unlike the demeanor they possessed during their respective performance. These young people seemed like seasoned stage artists with attitude filled with heart and soul. I was very much impressed, indeed; in fact, teary-eyed at some point. They were simply amazing.

The theme of the competition was to interpret a piece of Filipino poetry about Philippine pride. Their performance as a whole was really hard to define or confine to a particular context — it was in essence, avant-garde theater at its best! If they were doing music, I’d easily define it as jazz. It was pure theater; not sure if they were even aware of it, for they all seemed simply immersed in the Zen-like bliss of their performance.

Mrs. Magalong, a Pilipino teacher and the event’s director, asked me to return this Friday to get a copy of this piece (which I intend to post along with more pictures of these students’ while in performance so as to enable the readers to gain better appreciation of these young people’s passion). She also invited me to watch another of the school’s program scheduled on that same day, which made me feel so lucky and honored.


I once learned the universe gives us whatever it is we harbor in our thoughts. And since last weekend, I was much absorbed with New York City’s cultural events usually scheduled to begin in September; making me long for them. And although I don’t particularly enjoy New York’s late fall and winter months, going to these shows helped me cope with New York’s unendurable chilly weather.

And with these thoughts permeating my consciousness, the universe presented me with that walkway in Intramuros, and upon taking the detour it presented, I was led to a string of magical-like turn of events; its highlight was my getting invited to an incredible avant-garde performances by Manila High School’s intensely gifted students.

I praise this school and its dedicated teachers for inspiring these young minds to nurture and manifest their artistic skills! How I wish my old high school — only a few meters away — was this much fun.

I wish to thank the students and teachers for their invitation, but most especially for their having brought a piece of Manhattan to Manila even for a couple of hours. For that alone, I am most grateful.

I will post the second part of this entry as soon as I get a copy of the piece from which their performances was based from.