derpinsel.com - pixels, stories and texts by angela solis

Field

If you live here in Winnipeg, I would like to invite you guys to go and see “Field: Paying Homage to the land and the people of the Philippines” which features the solo dance performance of contemporary dancer Alvin Erasga Tolentino. The show is presented by National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada, in collaboration with the Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers and the Philippine Support and Community Development Group.

The performance will be on Thursday, May 24 at Suite 204-211 Bannatyne. Doors open at 7:30; no admittance after 8:00. You can get the tickets from me since UM-Sigaw is helping to promote this event. Punta po kayo!

Patakbo-takbo na lang

Nagsimba ako kahapon kasi Palm Sunday. Ngayon lang ako magsasalita tungkol sa mga napapansin ko sa loob ng simbahan, at eto iyong mga magulang na may dala-dalang mga bata at hinahayaan lang nilang magpakalat-kalat ang mga ito sa loob.

Isipin niyo na lang, sa palagay niyo ba, maiintindihan ng mga magulang o ng sinumang may dala dun sa bata ang Gospel kung every minute na lang, sasawayin nila yung mga anak nila sa kakulitan nila? Sige, sabihin na nating hindi pa alam ng mga bata kung paano kumilos sa loob ng simbahan, eh paano naman ang mga magulang? Do they actually think na mabibiyayaan sila dahil nasa loob naman sila ng simbahan despite of the fact na nadi-distract sila every now and then?

Not saying this because I am a conservative Catholic, but I am raising this point in consideration to those who went to mass who wanted to go through the Eucharist properly and peacefully. I think this whole thing also applies to other events such as formal dinner, dance, etc. Hindi naman playground ang simbahan, and I also know that it’s inevitable not to leave the kids at home kasi walang nagbabantay, pero c’mon. Ang labo talaga.

Cute ang mga bata, I know. Pero kung walang gagawin ang mga magulang kung hindi magsaway ng mga bata, huwag na lang nilang dalhin sa misa ang mga tsikiting nila.

He said that education doesn’t make a difference

I was with with my friend Sybil yesterday afternoon at a Tim Hortons’ branch near our place. While we were busy doing academic work (she, writing her draft for her paper, me, reading a book for my paper and presentation), a Filipino guy who works at the place talked to us while he was cleaning the area. The conversation went from something silly (i.e. “Bakit wala ka pang boyfriend eh ang ganda-ganda mo?”) to something serious, in this case, about (getting an) education.

His opinion is that getting an education doesn’t make any difference. Sounds weird? Thought so. I grew up hearing the elderly saying that education is the only treasure that they (the parents) can give us — something that is more important than money. Of course, we buy education, as we pay for tuition fees (and sometimes people pay more for recognition, di ba?), but pessimism aside, I believe what my parents tell me. I think that I am lucky that I am able to get the education, I am able to read books and understand them, and I am able to meet people and understand them. Of course that doesn’t mean that if you’re uneducated, you don’t really understand things but…

Anyway, Sybil disagreed with the manong and said that maybe the reason why some Filipinos have that mentality because considering the (economic) situation in the Philippines, even if students like me strive really hard to finish school with flying colors, they do not get an equal “reward” for what they did after graduating. I guess this doesn’t require a lot of explanation, because it’s very apparent in the country. People finish school with specialized abilities, but they end up doing something else, something that they didn’t study in the first place. Some become expats, or migrate with their family, and their jobs aren’t related to the degree that they finished.

But does that mean manong is correct? I still disagree about what he thinks. I think education does make a difference, kasi kung hindi, a lot of people wouldn’t study really hard to get into good universities. Maybe it’s the society at work, but in my case, I think getting an education is like getting a different pair of lenses because you get to see the world differently through it. And for me, education shouldn’t just be an obligation, but a vocation, something that one enjoys. If you enjoy learning new things, then you get to love what you are doing, regardless of what the people say. Therefore, I enjoy studying, so even if manong has a negative view about education, I shouldn’t be affected by it.

Gustong maging trapo

Kailangan ko lang ilabas ito sa sistema ko.

Nabalitaan ko kasi sa isang classmate ko noong high school na may ka-batch kaming gustong kumandidato bilang konsehal sa Cavite City. Matanda ako sa kanya kahit batchmate ko siya, pero hindi ito ang point ko. Ang sa akin lang, dahil kilala ko itong nagbabalak na kumandidato bilang konsehal, na-imbyerna ako. Ano naman ang kaya niyang gawin para sa lungsod ng Cavite?

Ayan na. Gagawin nang playground ang Philippine Politics. Akala naman niya napakadaling maging konsehal! Eh hindi pa nga niya mahahawakan ang diploma niya until the end of this month, tapos ang lakas ng loob magplanong kumandidato! Sabi ng iba tayong mga kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan. Eh paano na lang kung ang ilang kabataan ay gustong maging trapo? Nakakairita.

Long story short, I don’t think he’s capable of being a city councilor. Siguro this opinion don’t really matter to them kasi hindi naman ako registered voter sa Pilipinas, (o baka awayin na nila ako kapag nakarating sila dito), pero sorry, ganito talaga ang nasa isip ko.

Untolerable

After months of not updating, I finished uploading two articles for Pinoy Book Reviews. But this entry is not exactly about the articles that I just published, but about three comments I’ve read from the site. You can view them here.

Why aren’t they using the library to research for their assignment? Do these kids actually expect to find everything on the internet, or worst, someone using the internet might actually search it for them and give it to them? They even have the guts to say that the site is effing ugly because they cannot find an anecdote there! Gah. Hindi ko na dapat patulan, some might say, but I cannot tolerate this… this… stupidity. There. I said it.

The Lost Tomb of Jesus

My father and I just finished watching The Lost Tomb of Jesus, produced by James Cameron and directed by Simcha Jacobovici. I don’t know if you guys have heard about it, but there’s a recent “discovery” saying that they have found the tomb of Jesus’ family. This docu also implies that Mary Magdalene is the wife of Jesus and they had a son named Judah.

It was actually a pretty interesting documentary to watch. Good thing my father received this week’s Time and there’s a couple of pages dedicated to the said topic. I still don’t know what to say, or what to think about it, but I can only imagine how the Roman Catholic Church will react to this archaeological finding. If the evidences are all true (there were lots of testing done on the documentary), that means that the Ascension of Christ to heaven is false, and that there is indeed a Holy Family (Christ, Magdalene and Judah).

Related link:
Jesus Family Tomb (English)

Oh, the irony!

I was at work this afternoon when a Filipino lady customer recognized me as a Filipino. Being a courteous kid that I am, if I have a Filipino customer, I make sure to say “po” and “opo” to them.

This Filipino lady remarked, “Aba, mabuti’t marunong ka pang mag-Tagalog.”

Her statement made me think. I mean, bakit laging first impression sa mga teenagers or early 20’s na Pilipino dito eh hindi marunong magsalita ng Tagalog (or Kapampangan, Panggalatok, etc.)? I guess this entry will come out as something harsh, but I’ve met a couple of people in here who were born in Canada but were still able to speak in Filipino. I just don’t understand why some parents cannot at least teach their kids. Is it because of their busy schedule? More »

Cannibal Tours

Cannibal Tours (1988)
Director: Dennis O’Rourke
Sa totoo lang, habang pinapanood ko ito noong Tuesday sa klase, napapailing na lang ako. Kasi yung mga turistang na-feature sa documentary film na ito ay tunay namang nakakairita. Nakakabuwisit. Nakakasira ng araw.

Naisip ko nga, noong late 1980s pala, may mga Westerners pa ring may pananaw na trabaho nila ang gawing silibisado ang mga taong sa tingin nila ay primitibo. Pero ano nga ba ang ibig sabihin ng “civilized”? Ng “uncivilized” at “primitive”? Para sa akin kasi, mga social constructs lamang ang mga concepts na ito. Tayo-tayo lang naman ang sumusukat kung “advanced” ba ang pamumuhay ng isang lipunan o hindi.

Kaya naman nairita ako nang husto sa mga taong na-feature sa pelikulang ito. Lahat sila ay mga Westerners, ang iba ay German at ang iba naman ay Italyano. Nainis ako sa kanila kasi ang kakapal ng mukha nila. Pakiramdam nila, ang dami nilang alam. Pakiramdam nila, sila ang pinakamagagaling na tao sa mundo. Akala nila, nakakatuwa ang ginawa nila. Nagpunta kasi sila sa isang parte ng Papua New Guinea at binisita ang ilang tribo at community doon, tapos kuha sila ng kuha ng litrato, tapos binibili nila ang ilan sa mga ritual at sacred objects ng community, at makapal talaga, tumatawad pa! Nawalan rin ng saysay ang paggamit ng face paint ng mga katutubo dahil nag-face painting din ang mga nasabing turista. Nakakairita talaga. More »

The rich, the poor, and the media

“The problem with (most) television shows (in the Philippines) is that they show only the extremes — that is, either people are experiencing extreme poverty or extreme wealth.”

This is one of the topics that we discussed while me and my friends were resting after our club meeting. Why we came up with this idea? Well, it’s because some of the Filipinos here who haven’t come home to the Philippines after so many years have this bad notion of how the country is doing. For example, some of them will discard the idea of going back (even for a vacation) because they are afraid of pickpockets. Some of them will say that Manila is so disgusting because of the squatters and the dirt on the street. Some of them have this bad ideas about the country that even if they go back home, they will not notice the progress and the positive changes that the country experienced because their “visions” were blurred by their conceived negative ideas. More »

Selling Sex in Heaven

I just got back from watching CBC’s The Lens. It featured a documentary titled Selling Sex in Heaven which documents the life of Mila, a young prostitute who works at Angeles, Pampanga.

As a Filipino I have heard numerous stories about prostitutes, and have seen a handful of documentaries about my fellow Filipinos who are having a hard time getting both ends meet. Nevertheless, shows like this never fail me to ask myself what on earth is going on in my country, and how I feel guilty because I cannot do anything to help these people.