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Ballet Manila's Lola Basyang:
A Must See! AAVA News - Volume 12
Issue 8
Le Temps Change
by Bubut Gamboa de los Santos
Susan Macuja's gracious invitation to take
our grandkids to the gala of Ballet Manila's
production "Mga Kuwento Ni Lola Basyang" posed a
minor challenge. "Who is Lola Basyang?"
they all asked, leaving us a bit baffled
ourselves. We did know vaguely from
Pilipino class that the iconic story teller
actually was Severino Reyes, but the stories
were hardly familiar.
Blame that on a brainless decree when we were
at school, that we speak (and think in) English
all day, except during Pilipino class, lest we
incur a 10 centavo fine for every Tagalog word
spoken! Nearly as brainless as our history
books, which taught us to worship Americans (our
Liberators) and hate the Spanish and the
Japanese who collectively, in sweeping
generalizations, maltreated our people.
Was that, perhaps, why we didn't care to be a
people anymore, instead wishing to grow up as
little brown Americans, eventually acquiring the
California twang, hopping on a plane to America
soon as we got our college diplomas?
Thankfully we have thinking parents and
enlightened teachers who knew otherwise.
Today, thank goodness for the internet, we are
able to piece together authentic bits of our
real heritage, late in the day!
In 1922 Don Ramon Roces and co-editor
Severino Reyes founded the most enduring and
endearing of Tagalog publications, Liwayway
Magazine. Addressing the man on the
street, Liwayway (meaning Dawn) was written in
the best literary Tagalog of the era, with many
Filipino classics serialized on its pages
Needing a space filler, Reyes had written a
story for children, "Ang Plautin ni Periking",
about a kind-hearted boy who went about on a
flying carpet, with a magical flute.
Severino Reyes thought of adopting a pen-name,
that of real-life story-teller Gervacia Guzman
de Zamora who in her baro't saya, sitting
on her sillon, was known to tell the most
fascinating folk tales, straight out of her
baul.
The first "kuwento" was a one-off
effort, but readers clamoured for its reprint.
Reyes (Lola Basyang) kept the fascinating
stories coming, about comic kings and gallant
princes, love-struck princesses and protective
angels, capres and duendes.
Over 400 stories were strung together by one
common theme: a moral to the story,
admonishing children to be good, to love truly,
to fight for what is right. And, we might
add, to be a good Filipino.
Lola Basyang's stories were the most widely
read prose on the pages of Liwayway; when Reyes
passed away in 1942, he left a glorious legacy:
The Filipino zarzuela (Walang Sugat in 1902 was
his obra maestra) and a wealth of
children's literature in Tagalog. His son
Pedrito Reyes, taking note of the huge
readership that Pilipino "komiks"
commanded in the late 40's thru to the 70's,
revived Lola Basyang's stories in the genre,
illustrated by Maning de Leon and Jesus Ramos.
It wasn't until 1997 that a Tahanan Books team
formed by Ben Lumbera dug into the proverbial
baul, publishing an anthology "The Best of
Lola Basyang", which was translated to English
by Gilda Cordero Fernando and illustrated by
Albert Gamos. Anvil meanwhile, picked ten
stories, retold by Christine Belen, and printed
a set of ten children's books.
The dawn of the movie-video age saw
Sampaguita Pictures filming in 1958 two of Lola
Basyang's stories, one starring Dolphy and
another Gloria Romero. In 1985, Regal
Films did their take on three stories, casting
matinee idols Gabby Concepcion and Nora Aunor.
Today GMA 7 holds the rights to serialize the
stories on television. Still nothing can
be quite as festive and spirited as the tales
told onstage, and in ballet no less!
Lisa Macuja Elizalde, back from years in
Leningrad where she was making waves with her
bravura dancing and technical prowess, founded
Ballet Manila in 1995. Today Ballet Manila
is the country's finest classical ballet
company, with 50 dancers steeped in the Vaganova
discipline and a company that is prepared to
perform a full-length classical ballet at
moment's notice, having on its repertoire the
staples Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Romeo and
Juliet, the Nutcracker, Giselle, Le Corsaire,
Carmen, and La Bayadere, plus the only
Philippines-based prima ballerina.
Artistic Directors Macuja-Elizalde's and
Osias Barroso's commitment from the very start
was to bring ballet to the people, to the masses
who enjoy the art form just as heartily as do
the chichi crowds that come to cocktail galas.
They have been known to dance anywhere there is
an audience and a floor, traveling to far flung
areas of the country, just as they perform all
over the world. Dance they have done, to
critical acclaim, from Russia to the Americas
and all over Asia. Today Ballet Manila's
vision of performing Filipino ballets in the
classical idiom, for an international audience,
has become a beautiful reality.
Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang, a trio of
stories told in such crystal clear
characterization by a perfectly polished
ensemble, was nothing short of dazzling.
Even toddlers staying past their bedtime were in
awe, cheering the "good guys", laughing at their
antics, holding their breath as bird-princes and
princesses took to the skies way above their
heads, or a long snake slithered past them in
the form of a lantern. Costumes were done
in bold splashes of colour, and the sets so
picturesque and lively the children were lost in
Lola Basyang's lively stories from beginning to
end. My grandkids not only loved the
entire show, they have asked to come back and
see it again.
Ballet Manila runs "Mga Kuwento ni Lola
Basyang" every Saturday evening at 7pm at their
home, the Aliw Theater at the CCP complex.
Tickets are a steal for Pesos 100 each. We
have seen a lot of shows for children in the
past year, and only this ballet and the
Halloween in Space concert pass our acid test.
Wonderful introductions both, to the ballet and
the symphony, respectively; our children will
truly learn to love the finer things in life,
perhaps soon turning their bacs to senseless
local television and the noise and visual
pollution it brings into our homes everyday.
Do bring the whole family, or better yet, as
ticket prices are so reasonable, treat all the
children of your office staff and all your
employees. Why not be instrumental in
making them know and love what is truly and
magnificently Filipino?
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Thanks, applause for Ms Elizalde
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:36:00 01/10/2009
Filed
Under:
Dance,
Theatre,
Entertainment (general)
I commend Ballet Manila led
by world-class talent Liza Macuja-Elizalde for
her relentless effort in giving joy to others
through her awesome performances. I equally
commend her sponsors, one of which is the
Inquirer, for supporting her “Tatlong Kwento ni
Lola Basyang” by Severino Reyes.
Last Dec. 27, my three girls
and I went to Star City for the children’s
annual rides. It was timely too that it was the
last day of “Lola Basyang” at Aliw Theater.
Imagine, for P75 each as entrance fee, we had
the best time. Thanks again to Ms Elizalde and
her generous sponsors. Indeed, we got more than
our money’s worth.
Aside from “Lola Basyang,” we
had on that same night “Pamaskong Handog” (held
at Star Theater), a free 30-minute show also led
by Ms Elizalde. My children and I couldn’t help
but wonder where her energy comes from.
The rides became the
children’s secondary fare. With the two shows, I
couldn’t help but share in the happiness my
children felt just by watching Ms Macuja and the
other cast of Ballet Manila.
How I wish other world-class
Filipino talents would show their crafts at the
least expense, like Ms Elizalde does. How I wish
more philanthropic sponsors would support
world-class shows so more people especially
children would be inspired to be the best that
they can be.
The conduct of shows as part
of business is, after all, not just about
hoarding earnings and accumulating of profit
margins. In these hard times, we badly need
people like Ms Elizalde, whose passion in
sharing her talent goes beyond money matters.
May God bless her more! May her tribe increase!
BELEN
DOCENA-ASUELO, teacher, Don Alejandro Roces Sr.
Science Technology High School, Roces Avenue,
Quezon City |
