JM De Guzman: Paano siya nagsimula sa showbiz?

Noong 2014 ay pinabigyan ako ni JM De Guzman, ang mahusay at award-winning na aktor, na makapanayam ko siya sa aking bahay mismo* para sa interview article ko na inasayn sa akin bilang bagong manunulat noon ng Puso ng Pamilyang Pilipino. Heto ang link sa article na JM De Guzman, as a Comback Kid.

(Si JM sa sala namin noong panayam, kasama ang anak ko na inaanak niya na si Mikael Fedor. Pasikat ko na rin: painting ko yung nasa likod nila, nilikha ko noong estudyante pa ako ng College of Fine Arts ng UP Diliman noong SY 1993-94.)

 Ang sumusunod ay mga bahagi ng article; quoted verbatim ang mga sinabi ni JM mismo. (At sa mga nagtataka, Taglish daw ang gamitin ko sa pagsulat sabi ng editor ko noon, hehe.)

Nag-start ako mag-commercials six years old, nag-start ako mag-Ang TV mga 13 to 14 years oldJM recalls.

Sa kanyang freshman year sa UP Diliman, he was already in the acting field. He chose Theater Arts as his course in college.

Habang nagre-rehearse para sa isang musical, pinag-audition ng kanilang director at propesor na si Alexander Cortes ang lahat ng mga male actors sa Pintakasi, isang indie film. Balik-tanaw ni JM,

Nangangailangan daw kasi siya ng theater actors. At first, may feeling ako na hindi pa ako ready, medyo mababa pa ang tingin ko sa sarili ko.

It took one week for JM to audition.

Heartbroken ako noon sa acting career ko, kasi walang nangyari. May feeling ako na ayaw ko na, na ayaw ko nang ma-reject ulit, paliwanag niya. So noong pumunta ako doon, bahala na. Wala namang mawawala. Awa ng Diyos, pinabalik ako. Actually noong audition, nagulat ako at pini-pair na ako sa iba’t iba, hindi ako pinapaalis. May feeling ako na gusto ako. Kasi yung iba, pinapauwi na (laughs).

Para kay JM, big break ang kanyang first major role. Top billing at yung pangalan ko sa poster. 

Never pang nangyari sa akin yun. From there, doon ako nahubog sa indie films. Kasi yung freedom tapos kumikita ka pa.

*Actually, sa dating bahay ko kasi bahay ng mga magulang ko iyon na nilisan ko na noong nag-asawa na ako noong 2004.

 

 

Pagsalin sa Filipino ng Tulang "a smile to remember" ni Charles Bukowski

Heto ang una kong sinulat nitong 2022, noong ika-1 ng Enero mismo: ang pagsalin sa Filipino ng tulang a smile to remember ni Charles Bukowski (1920-1994).

isang ngiti na di malilimutan

meron kaming mga goldpis noon at sila’y nagpaikot-ikot

sa loob ng bowl sa ibabaw ng mesa na malapit

sa mga kurtinang kulay-lila sa harap ng aming bintana at

ang aming nanay, na kawawang isda, na laging nakangiti, na nais

magmukhang masaya, ay sinasabihan ako, “maging masaya ka, Henry,”

at tama siya: mas mainam na maging masaya ka

kung kaya mo

pero siya’y binubugbog ng aking tatay mga dalawa o tatlong beses

sa isang linggo habang ang huli’y nagwawala sa pamamagitan

ng kanyang 6 na talampaka’t 2 pulgadang katawan dahil di niya kayang

gapiin ang anumang umaatake sa kanya.

 

ang aking nanay, na kawawang isda, na kawawang goldpis,

na kawawang isda na walang-wala, na ginugulpi dalawa o tatlong beses

kada linggo ay sinasabihan ako na maging masaya: “Henry, ngiti!

Bakit di ka ngumiti?

 

at pagkatapos, lagi niyang pinapakita sa akin kung paano, at iyon ang

pinakamalungkot na ngiti na nakita ko sa ibabaw ng lupa, parang impyerno at

impyerno at impyerno at impyerno, at wala nang iba

 

isang araw nangamatay ang lahat ng goldpis, lahat silang lima,

nagpalutang-lutang sila sa ibabaw ng tubig, sa kanilang tagiliran, ang

mata sa bawat gilid sa itaas ay dilat pa,

at nang umuwi ang aking tatay ay tinapon niya sila sa pusa

sa sahig ng kusina at pinanood namin ang aming nanay

ngumiti

Thanks, Anthropologist Mayumi Yamamoto, for the Appreciation!

I'm a modest man, but I really think that to acknowledge and appreciate in return is the courteous thing to do. So here we go: Thank you, anthropologist Mayumi Yamamoto of Japan for the mention and encouraging words from your wonderful Basil and Sunflower blog articles:

From Elmo, 3, joins youngest Americans in getting vaccinated:

. . . her generous Filipino teacher.  

He is quick at getting to the point I overlook and reminds me, casually. 

So, he is a good teacher.

And from Ryanair Afrikaans test: Airline drops controversial South African quiz:

The essay above was shared with my English language teacher,
a Filipino poet,
who edits my writings along with grammatical correction.

Where I wrote 'That is the ironic by-product of British imperialism'
--- my Filipino teacher said,  'American imperialism, too'.

Maraming-maraming salamat, Miho-san!

(From the Philippines to Japan!)

 

 

 

 

 

Nick Joaquin’s “Manila, My Manila” in Japanese

Check out here the book cover of the Japanese edition of Nick Joaquin’s “Manila, My Manila”:

(Photo courtesy of Katayama Takashi, who borrowed the book from Shinjuku City Library last July 30, 2022.)

The design uses the 18th Century Map of Manila City created by Antonio Fernandez de Roxas in 1713. The translators of this Japanese edition are Nobuhiko Hashimoto and Masanobu Sawada. It was released by Akashi Shoten publishing company in 2005.

“Manila, My Manila” was originally published as “Manila, My Manila: A History for the Young” by Vera-Reyes, Inc. in 1990. It was republished in its current title by The Bookmark Inc. in 1999.

Nick Joaquin (May 4, 1917 – April 29, 2004), who also went by the penname Quijano de Manila. was awarded the title of National Artist of the Philippines for Literature in 1976.

You can read a review of “Manila, My Manila” by Hidde Van der Wall in Kritika Kultura Vol.   No.33/34 (2019): The City as Nation: NickJoaquin’s Manila, My Manila as Nationalist History.

Twitter poem

I tried to write a poem that would fit a tweet to a T, with exactly 280 characters, and here's what I came up with:

Ate, a Philippine restaurant in Tokyo, Japan

Sakaling mapadpad kayo sa Tokyo at mamiss niyo agad ang pagkaing Pinoy, tangkilikin natin ang Philippine Restaurant Ate at 2 Chome-22-11 Nishiogi-minami, Suginami, Tokyo (2nd Floor). Check out the details here on the page of Experience Suginami Tokyo. (The photos and videos below are courtesy of Masaki Nishi.)

Meron sila ng ating paboritong adobo, manok at baboy!

Meron din silang ginataang hipon, alimasag, atbp.! Hai!

Why I submit my poems to literary magazines?

(Image is from 11 Indie Magazines You Be Reading by Steve Watson, Electric Lit, January 21, 2020)

The following is an excerpt from my first post on my Ko-fi page, I'm a Litmag Freak*:

Now, why do I submit to literary magazines? Aside from the fact that I love reading and writing poetry, let me quote from the following two articles about literary magazines: 

From The New Yorker’s The Persistence of Litmags by Stephanie Burt (July 7, 2015): 

“A little magazine, as Jonathan Farmer, of At Length, explains, ‘depends on creating a community.’” (Incidentally, this article mentions the magazine DIAGRAM that has published two poems of mine.) 

From CNN Style’s Long-standing literary magazines are struggling to stay afloat. Where do they go from here? by Leah Asmelash (February 10, 2022): 

“The magazines are a runway, where new literary styles are tested and emerge. New voices break through.” (Incidentally, this article also mentions Protean magazine that likewise published a poem of mine.) 

So I submit to literary magazines because I want to belong to an international community of writers and have my small voice heard once in a while – subject to the discernment and mercy of editors.

*Initially, I wanted to use "junkie" instead of "freak" but I thought the former ain't "wholesome enough" for Ko-fi.