Music
I fell in love with music the first time when I was in elementary school. I usually mimicked the latest radio hit from my favorite teenage singers in the 80's. In school, I copied lyrics from classmates and we would sing them together during recess at the school ground. My brother Kuya Boy was a good singer and guitar player. In fact, he could actually play any song whose melody he is familiar with. I enjoyed listening to him singing while playing the guitar when he brings his drinking buddies at home. He taught me a few chords but I have forgotten all of them now.
The first record I bought was an anniversary recording of the Carpenters. Since then, I have collected several recordings of my favorite musicians like Kenny G, Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton, Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Regine Velasquez, among others. I also collect movie sound tracts and I value so much my copy of the Disney animated movie, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I love listening to music while reading or writing or even my doing my laundry! It calms me and takes my mind off the chore. Before I knew it, I was done with my tasks.
Literature
I fell in love with literature also in elementary while I had a bad care of sore gums and could not talk for a few days. I was in second grade and I had nothing to do at home so I checked my sister's high school books. That's when I discovered that I could read and understand English too. I love short stories and fables especially if there are children characters in them. In high school, I started reading novels and English magazines so when my classmates are busy with something else, I would sneak at the Library looking for new literary books.
In college, I fell in love with poetry. I particularly like the Chinese's poetry of the recluse. They were poets who live in isolation from society therefore the term.
Film
My love affair with movies started with Tagalog dramas also in high school but I learned to appreciate a good film while enrolled in college for an Introduction to Film course. I learned that a film should effectively tell a story in the audio-video medium. In other words, the film should correctly tell the story through the use of right images and sounds. Other than that, a film has to present believable characters in the milieu that it is in. By milieu, we are taking into consideration the socio-political background of the characters and the period they were in. Memorable films for me are “The Bicycle Thief” a silent French film, “Biyaya Ng Lupa”, a 60's film by Manuel Silos, “Manila: City After Dark” by Lino Brocka, “Oro, Plata, Mata” by Ishmael Bernal and “The Bridges of Madison County” about a middle-aged woman (Merryll Streep) who devoted her entire life to her unappreciative and insensitive husband and children.
There are other films whose powerful images have moved me. New classics such as “Blue Moon” by Joel Lamangan and “Ploning” by Dante Mendoza came to mind. Film being the combination of all other art forms like visual arts, theater, music, literature, architecture, sculpture and others is the most dynamic. They also employ the latest technology in creating new realities as in the science fiction genre.
Theater Arts
I became a member of the resident theater arts group of UP Tacloban while in college and stayed with the group for 10 years doing production works. As such, I was trained in research, creative writing (script, poetry), set design (props, scenic design), technical direction (lights, sounds), movement (dance, theatrical movement), voice (singing, dialogues) and of course emoting. Although I was the group's technical director, I was also trained in the other aspects of theatrical production like acting and singing. I have toured with the group in different towns of Leyte and Samar and even in Manila and Baguio through our generous sponsors. Theatrical tours are very demanding because you are not only bringing along actors but also props. In theater, there are no stars, only artists. No two shows are exactly the same. Each show is different because you have a different venue and set of audience each time.
