Saturday, February 28, 2015

A WELCOME CHANGE (The Weekly Nation, September 10, 1965)

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A WELCOME CHANGE

Avellana’s Portrait stands out from the current crop of films mired
 in triviality, copying, and sensationalism.

By Ophelia San Juan

IN AN age of fast guns, tasteless sex, and sick humor, the advent of Lamberto V. Avellana’s film version of the lyrical, evocative, compassionate, and beautiful play by Nick Joaquin, A Portrait Of The Artist As Filipino, is a welcome change.  It is a noteworthy artistic product of men recognized as the best in their respective fields.

     Portrait is set in Intramuros – the old Manila, the original Manila, according to the author, where the erstwhile splendid townhouses of the principal families “had come down in the world” and were “no longer splendid, no longer the seats of the mighty, abandoned and forgotten, they stood decaying all along the street; dreaming of past glories, growing ever more dark and dingy and dilapidated with the years; turning into slum-tenements at last” – in the destruction and the horror it would bring, “the year of Hitler for Europe – but for us over here, it was the year of the Conga and the Boogie-Woogie, the year of practice black-outs, the year of the Bare Midriff.”

Unique Setting

     More particularly, however, Portrait is set in the stately old house of the painter Don Lorenzo Marasigan, the only house on Intramuros’s Calle Real that never became a slum-tenement, that remained as well-kept as the dignity, the individuality, and the nobility of the old artist and his two spinster daughters, Candida and Paula.  The world of the three hold-outs of Intramuros’s vanishing grandeur and regality is a world “where all’s accustomed, ceremonious,” and while “outside, the world was hurrying gaily towards destruction,” in the Marasigan house “life went on as usual; unaltered, unchanged; everything in its proper place; everything just the same today as yesterday, or last year, or a hundred years ago.”

     The play, as well as the film, dwells on the grace and the beauty of a past age, and on the drama of lives passionately caught in the harsh transition to a new one.

     A Portrait Of The Artist As Filipino, on film, has beauty, high drama, significance, originality, polish and that requisite of all art creativity, which makes of it the product of only the most intelligent and artistic men involved in the filmmaking in the Philippines today.

     It takes three, to make a film:  a writer, a producer, and a director.  All three have to share something in common, a passion for art not unlike the aching of a woman for her lover, or of a seedling for the sun, only in this instance their individual passions or daemons must be complimentary, and in harmony and consonance, to be able to create, not individual pieces but a totality of ideas, feelings, attitudes and actions.

     Such three lovers came together for Portrait, the initial film of Diadem Productions.

Celebrated Figure

     Nick Joaquin, the author, is the most celebrated figure in the Philippine literary world today.  This year’s winner of the Palanca Memorial Award for short story, who was also the recipient of a number of major literary awards and fellowships in the past, has been called “the most distinguished living Filipino writer,” “the first literary artist of the country,” and “the only Filipino writer with a real imagination – that imagination of power and depth and great metaphysical seeing – and which knows how to express itself in great language” – he has been called those by critics and other writers, among them the poet Jose Garcia Villa and the UP professor and creative writer Francisco Arcellana.

     Teodoro M. Locsin, writing the introduction to Joaquin’s Prose and Poems, says:  “No Filipino now writing matches his stories in power and beauty; their wedding of primitive emotions with sophisticated treatment is beyond the power of local practitioners of the art.  Here are the dark, instinctive drives of men and women caught in a cage of glittering words.  Here is the shapeless sub-conscious given significance and form.”

     The only play he has written so far, A Portrait Of The Artist As Filipino, is nonetheless the best Filipino play in English.  It has body, depth, meaning, scope, universality, timelessness, and, most important of all, that grandeur and loveliness of expression that comes only from Nick Joaquin – “agrifted stylist,” in the words of Manuel A. Viray.

     The English language is used as the medium of expression in the Portrait film, just as Joaquin himself used a “borrowed” language, but one he uses with felicity, beauty, and grace, to produce some of the best Filipino literary works.  In fact, not English alone is used in the film, but Spanish phrases as well may be heard being uttered by some of the main characters, specially the older ones.

     Explaining the incorporation of foreign languages other than English in Portrait, the film-makers said that our ancestors were not only bi-lingual like us, but in most instances were even quadri-lingual.  And presenting them in the film in the way they actually talked is one more step toward achieving realism, which is what the producers of Portrait aim at.

Their Record

     The producers of Portrait are the same producer-director team of Manuel de Leon and Lamberto V. Avellana that made the two best Filipino movies in the Asian Film Festival competitions:  Anak-Dalita and Badjao.  The former won the grand prize of the Festival in 1956; the latter the ad hoc prizes for best direction, best screen play, best editing, and best actor in 1957.  These same films have also been entered in non-competitive film festivals in Europe and the Americas, been exhibited in US art theaters.  They have given the Philippines its initial claim to international cinema.

     De Leon, who has been a loss to the Philippine movies industry since the shutdown of LVN, is making his first tentative comeback to film financing.  He is doing it with an eye to the big international market, reasoning that if a film can be good enough for worldwide viewing, it logically is good for the Philippine segment as well.  This should come about automatically, but De Leon is going even further and is insuring his sizable Philippine patronage by accepting Avellana’s proposal to make a film that has significance for Philippine life in addition to its universal values.

     Such a film obviously is A Portrait Of The Artist As Filipino, which is rich in the elements of Philippine cultural heritage and a-glitter with the human verities.

Manny de Leon

     A well-educated, well-brought up young man, Manny de Leon can be expected to favor the production of films that would not be an insult to the intelligence of its audience and a slap in the face of common decency.

     As an astute businessman, he must also know that the doubtful appeal of mediocre films will not be for the greater part of the population, nor for long.

     He also knows that his producer-friends in the Federation of Motion Picture Producers in Asia, the organization that sponsors the annual Asian Film Festival, regard him as a serious and responsible producer.  And it would be unworthy of him to make, as his comeback picture, anything less than the excellence promised by the basic material of Joaquin’s play.

     He knows, too from the experience of Anak-Dalita and Badjao, if not also from his intimate discussions of the problems of Filipino films with Avellana that only the director of the only Grand Prix-winning film of the Philippines would be suitable for the direction of Portrait.

Avellana Is Best Qualified

     In the first place, the Joaquin play is set in the old Intramuros, a place that Avellana became familiar with as a student at the Ateneo de Manila, when this exclusive school for boys was still located in that “ever loyal and noble city.”  The period, the years before the war, was also a familiar one with Avellana.  And the types of characters in the play are individuals whose manners of dressing and ways of talking, whose big dreams and deep-reaching problems, were nothing strange to him, since he himself had known friends and relatives with the same cultural heritage and social attitudes as the Marasigan family’s.

     This insight into Intramuros life possessed by Avellana is not unlike the insight of Joaquin’s.  It makes the film interpretation of the play easier for the film-maker.

     And, in going into the task of making Portrait into a film, Avellana has the educational background, the sophisticated understanding, to translate the elegiac play into an equally evocative film of mood, atmosphere, and pervasive sense of physical decay and moral triumph.

     Can one think of any other Filipino director with as rich an educational and creative background as Avellana’s; a director who could as properly read Joaquin, with the inner eye of experience and the outer heart of knowledge?

     Is there any other Filipino director who has proved his ability to communicate so lucidly, so articulately, and so brilliantly with foreign movie audiences, particularly with the critical ones, the movie critics and writers and directors who usually attend the international film festivals?

All Three Of Them

     Only Avellana has had pictures, of both the narrative and the documentary types, exhibited and praised at film festivals and in art theatres in the United States and Europe.

     Furthermore, since Portrait is a play written in English, and for its purpose or objective of drawing and attracting intelligent and critical audiences both local and foreign, needs to be made with English dialogue, Lamberto V. Avellana is ideal for it, since only he among all the directors in Filipino movies today, is truly capable of handling English not just fairly but with compelling authority.

     With Manuel de Leon’s resources as producer, Nick Joaquin’s creative talent as writer, and Avellana’s rich experience as director, A Portrait Of The Artist As Filipino has all the chances to emerge as the best Filipino picture ever made.

     Filipino films have reached such a nadir of deterioration that it is inevitable, as a law of nature, that a counter force or reaction should burgeon into the making of a film that will, in effect, elevate the Filipino film to a new stature of artistry richer than ever before.

     That film is easily De Leon’s presentation of the Diadem productions of Nick Joaquin’s A Portrait Of The Artist As Filipino, a film by Lamberto V. Avellana.


Source:  The Weekly Nation, September 10, 1965


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Friday, February 27, 2015

CELSO AD. CASTILLO: YOUNG MAN IN A HURRY (The Weekly Nation, November 12, 1965)

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Article written by Armando Ruiz David
The Weekly Nation, November 12, 1965

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Wednesday, February 25, 2015

DOÑA SISANG IS LAID TO REST (The Weekly Nation, February 25, 1966)

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Source:  The Weekly Nation, February 25, 1966

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WHAT DIVINA HAS DONE TO HER CAREER (The Weekly Nation, March 25, 1968)

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WHAT DIVINA HAS DONE TO HER CAREER
By Ricardo F. Lo

PROFESSIONALLY and personally, Divina Valencia has changed a lot.

     Before, all she needed to do was to shed her garments and people flocked the theater to see her films.  Her name spelled magic at the box office due to her curves and torrid clinches with her leading men.  And she generated frenzy among the members of the board of censors with her spicy pictures.

      Too much physical exposure however took a toll on her system and the gawking public started to rub its eyes in exhaustion.  Her career somewhat chilled.

     Divina acted fast just in time to prevent her career from sluicing down the drain.

     Setting aside her sexy image she went on to show to all and sundry that she's got more than just a seductive physique.

     Her outstanding portrayal in Sidra, in which for the first time Divina revealed her acting talent instead of her figure, restrengthened her hold on the public and catapulted her into the ranks of local filmdom's dramatic stalwarts.  As Sidra, Divina played an orphan left with nobody to turn to for support but a cruel uncle (played by Van de Leon) who later compelled her to dabble in a dubious life.

     To prove that her performance in Sidra was no fluke, Divina accepted more and more of the same demanding roles.  In the process, she displayed more than just thespic talent but also versatility.  She showed that she is also adept in dancing and singing (in Jala-Jala Jerk with Eddie Mesa), in tough acting ("I'm sorry," she apologized, "but I have lost count of the number of action films I have appeared in."  Conservative estimate:  30), in ribtickling (in Kwatang), and in tearjerking (in Bato Sa Bato).

     Recently Divina gave her acting reputation another shot in the arm with her spine-tingling interpretation of a rich heiress who doubted her sanity in her third try as a producer, Psycho-Maniac.

     Thus, the triumph that gave to Divina Valencia, the actress.

As A Person

     As a person,  Divina seemed to have also taken a turn for the better.  She has learned to control her temper and tantrums and to banter and gag with movie scribes.  Before she used to be an abrasive person who perplexed scribes and many people.  Once she was even reported to have mouthed snide remarks at the press and in the process inadvertently waged a one-woman war against reporters.  In the long run, she had to eat her words and apologize.

     Today Divina is a cool and composed woman who knows how to respect other people's opinions.  Her maverick ways are gone.

     She took the cursillo and the little course opened her eyes to her faults.

     Said she:  "The cursillo has broadened my perspective and brightened my outlook in life.  It has taught me two very important lessons in life:  patience and humility."

     Divina wants to enmeshed herself in work.  She has big dreams and she believes their fulfillment is possible only through hard work,  In involving herself in the thick of toil, Divina cliams she finds the consolation to her frustrations and the satisfaction she couldn't find somewhere else.

     Love, she said, is out of the question in the meantime.

     "I don't want to poke my finger into the romantic pie.  A serious romantic involvement at present would only hamper the realization of my many aspirations.  I'm even afraid love would only get me into a mess."  (However during the birthday bash thrown by Max Alvarado, Divina made quite a twosome throughout the night with Eddie Gutierrez, who is rumored to have finally reconciled with her after his adventurous spree.)

     She claims that she'd give marriage a thought when she reached 25, four years hence.  And she would say yes only to a man who is tall, dark, and not handsome.  "He must be about 10 years my senior because I expect him not only to be a husband but likewise a father to me."

     Her reason for not preferring goodlooking men?

     "I'm by nature very possessive.  Handsome guys are inclined to go astray, aren't they?"


Source:  The Weekly Nation, March 25, 1968


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Monday, February 23, 2015

WHAT RAIN DID TO BOY MONDRAGON (The Weekly Nation, November 9, 1970)

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The Weekly Nation Magazine
Entertainment
Edited by Danny Villanueva
November 9, 1970

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Saturday, February 21, 2015

MAX DIAMOND: WHICH TWIN HAS THE TOMMY GUN? (The Weekly Nation, July 3, 1967)

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"Max Diamond"
Release Date:  July 7, 1967, Center Theater
Production:  Gemini Pictures
Direction:  Ben Feleo
Stars:  Max Alvarado, Perla Bautista, Victor Bravo, Manolo Robles, Alicja Basili,
Norma Ledesma, Marissa Delgado

(Movie Ad courtesy of Simon Santos, Video 48)

The Weekly Nation, July 3, 1967

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Thursday, February 19, 2015

BOB SOLER: 14 DAY IN CORREGIDOR (The Weekly Nation, April 15, 1968)

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Article by Jose V. Liza, Jr.
The Weekly Nation, April 15, 1968

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Tuesday, February 17, 2015

BINO GARCIA: THE ACCIDENTAL STAR (The Weekly Nation, February 24, 1969)

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Article by Nelia A. Tan
The Weekly Nation, February 24, 1969

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Sunday, February 15, 2015

FERNANDO POE, JR. & SUSAN ROCES: MAN AND WOMAN OF THE YEAR (Philippine Star, January 2, 2005)

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Source:  The Philippine Star, January 2, 2005
Entertainment Section
Written by Ricky Lo

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Friday, February 13, 2015

STAR IN PARADISE (First of a Series), Screen Stardom, Vol. IV, No. 6 (1967)

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Article by Baby K. Jimenez
Screen Stardom, Vol. IV, No. 6
(1967)

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Thursday, February 12, 2015

THE FAITHFUL FANS OF ROGER CALVIN (Sixteen Mag, March 16, 1970)

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Article written by Baby K. Jimenez
Fans Forum'
Sixteen Mag, March 16, 1970

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Wednesday, February 11, 2015

ARURAY: LUWALHATI NG TANGHALAN (Sinagtala, Enero 27, 1949)

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PAKIKIPANAYAM SA MGA ARTISTA
Ni Edita Tolentino
(Sinagtala, Enero 27, 1949)

ARURAY:  LUWALHATI NG TANGHALAN

NANG itanghal ang pelikulang IKAW NA sa isang tanyag na dulaan sa purok ng Kiyapo ay isang bagong mukha ang napansin kong nakaakit sa paghanga ng maraming nakapanood.  Ang bagong mukhang iyon ay hindi maganda, nguni’t hindi naman pangit upang iwasan ng maraming paningin.  Ang bagong tuklas na iyon ay hindi bida at ni hindi rin kontra-bida, subali’t nakalulugod ang bawa’t kilos at nakatutuwa ang bawa’t kahulugan ng mga pangungusap.

-- Siya si Coring Cruz, -- bulong sa akin ng aking kasama, -- iyan ang bagong mapagpatawang artista ng Palaris Films.

-- Matagal na ba siyang lumalabas? – naitanong ko sa aking kausap.  – Kung wariin ko’y isa na siyang bihasang bituin sa aninong gumagalaw.

-- Sa putintabing ay ngayon pa lamang, -- tugon naman ng aking kasama, -- nguni’t sa tanghalan ay nakilala siya mula pa noong panahon ng mga hapones.

--  At siya’y natuklasang isang bagong ambag sa sining sa panahon ng pananakop?  -- turing ko na ibig kong ipahiwatig na may hindi pangkaraniwang bagay na nagawa ang pananakop sa atin ng mga hapones.

-- Oo.  Ang komikong iyan ay dating nag-aral sa isang kolehiyo ng madre ditto sa Maynila, -- pagtatapat sa akin ng aking kausap at ang naging sanhi nang pagkatigil niya sa pag-aaral ay ang digmaan.

-- Ang ibig ninyong sabihin ay nag-aral siya ng pagbabanal? – panabik kong tugon na patanong sa kanya.

-- Maaaring gayon na nga ang kahulugan, subali’t ang panahon kung minsan ay siyang nagiging taga-hatid sa hinaharap ng isang balita.  At sino ang mag-aakala na ang isang nag-aral sa kolehiyong aking binanggit ay diyan hahantong gayong batid natin na walang ibang itinuturo sa  naturang paaralan kundi ang pananampalataya sa Diyos, bukod ang mga dapat gawin ng isang nag-aaral sa anumang uri ng paaralang pambayan.

Si Coring Cruz ay tapos sa haiskul, nguni’t nasa paaralan man siya ng mga madre ay talagang may hilig na siya sa paglabas sa mga tanghalan.

-- Kasiyahan ng aking sarili ang makapagdulot ng kaligayahan sa aking kapuwa – naipagtapat sa amin ni Coring, -- kaya ang tuntunin kong iyan ay ipagpapatuloy ko hanggang nakapagpapatawa ako sa aking mga taga-hanga.

Tapat sa kanyang paninindigan, si Coring Cruz ay wala nang ibang sinisikhay ngayon kundi ang mga bagong pamamaraan sa pagpapatawa, isang tungkuling sa panahon ng kanyang pag-aaral ay hindi lamang sumagi sa kanyang isipan.  Dati, siya ay isa lamang mang-aawit at mananayaw sa tanghalan (kurista) at ang panimula niyang iyon, na itinuring niyang isang magandang simula, ay utang niya kay director Ramon Estella na noon ay siyang namamahala sa pagpapalabas ng stage show sa dulaang Lyric, bagaman ang naging matatag niyang tulay ay si Quiel Segovia.

Kung saan siya nakitang sumayaw at kung paano nagsimula ang pagkikilala nila ni Quiel ay hindi niya magunita pa, nguni’t iyon, para sa kanya ay siyang nagbukas sa kanya ng landas upang matuluyan nang lumabas hindi lamang sa tanghalan, kundi pati na sa pelikula at radio.  Kung bakit siya binansagan ng Aruray ay isang lihim na para sa kanya ay hindi niya mawari ang kahulugan, bagaman at nakikita niya ang matamis na bunga ng itinawag na ito sa kanya.  Nagsimulang bumango ang pangalan ni Aruray nang siya’y mapabilang na bituin sa radio.  Kung minsan ay nakakatambal niya si Dorong Mata, nguni’t ngayon ay si Fara ang lagi niyang kasama sa ilalim ng pangkat ng Sampaguita Radio Stars ni Luz Mat Castro.

Kaiba sa lahat ng artistang nagpapatawa, si Aruray ay lumalabas din ng papel sa katulad ng papel na ginagampanan niya ngayon – madalas ay nagsasayaw at umaawit.

Maituturing na isa na namang ambag ng lalawigan ng Laguna sa larangan ng sining ang pagkakatuklas na ito kay Aruray, bagaman katotohanan na marami na ring maipagmamalaki ang Laguna sa larangan ng arte.  Si Aruray na sa tunay na pangalan ay Socorro de la Cruz ay isinilang sa bayan ng Kalamba noon ika-18 ng Hulyo, 1922, nguni’t lumaki siya sa Intramuros, Maynila.

Ang kanyang mga magulang, sina Braulio de la Cruz at Eusebia Diaz ay talagang may ibang pangarap ukol sa kanilang anak, subali’t ang hangarin nilang iyon ay kanila nang linimot pagkaraang makilala na iba ang hilig nito kaysa talagang nilulunggati nila.

-- Ibig ho sana namin ay magpatuloy siya sa pag-aaral hanggang hindi niya natatamo ang una niyang pinapangarap na karera, -- naipagtapat sa amin ng kanyang ina, -- subali’t ang nakaraang digmaan ay malaking bagay ang nagawa upang hindi na maipagpatuloy ang pangarap naming iyon.  Bukod sa wala na kaming lakas upang maisakatuparan ang bagay na iyon ay nakilala namin na ang hilig ni Coring ay nasa pag-aartista.

Kung paano siya naging komiko ay isang bagay na sino man sa kanila ay walang makapagpaliwanag, bagaman at ipinalalagay ng marami na sadyang ipinanganak na artista ang bantog na mapagpatawang ito.

-- Sa simula ay nakahumalingan ko lamang ang panonood ng mga pelikulang nilalabasan ni Betty Hauton at Bob Hope, -- naipagtapat sa amin ni Aruray, -- subali’t hindi ko malaman kung bakit mula noon ay naganyak akong sumunod sa landas na kanilang nilalakaran.

-- Malimit, alinsunod na rin sa mga malapit na kaibigan ni Aruray, na ang artistang ito ngayon, simula nang kabaliwan niyang panonoorin ang dalawang bantog na mapagpatawa sa buong daigdig, ay napansin nilang may mga pagkakataon na magsalita lamang si Aruray ay hindi nila matimpi ang pagtawa.  Kaya, ang mga pangyayaring iyon ay ipinalalagay na isang landas na binuksan para sa kanya upang ang kanyang katutubong katangian sa pagpapatawa ay pakinabangan hindi lamang niya, kundi ng sambayanan na nangangailangan ng mga nilikhang katulad niya.

-- Kuruin ninyong nagka-isip siya sa loob ng kolehiyo ng isang pagbabanal, -- naipagtapat sa amin ng kanyang ina, -- ay sa pagpapatawa siya nabubuhay ngayon, gayong sa loob ng paaralang iyon ay wala namang mga katatawanang dapat niyang pamarisan.  At kung bakit ang aming anak ay dito nagsimulang mailabas ang galing ni Aruray sa mga salitang nakatatawa nang mahumaling siya sa pagbabasa ng mga babasahing banyaga ukol sa pagpapatawa, bagaman malaki rin ang kanyang pakinabang sa panonood ng mga pelikula ni Betty Hauton at Bob Hope.

-- Sa isang tindahan ng mga aklat ay inaabot ako nang matagal sa paghahanap ng mga comic strip, -- nasabi sa akin ni Aruray, -- at kapag wala akong makita ng aking hinahanap ay gagaygayin ko ang kahabaan ng lansangan sa paghahanap ng mga babasahing iyan.  Sa palagay ko ba ay gusto ko pa ang magbasa ng mga babasahing nakatatawa kaysa anumang libangan na ihahandog sa akin.

Sa mabilis na paglilimi ay maituturing natin na ang ginawa niyang iyon ay hindi lamang niya pinakikinabangan kundi nakapagdudulot pa sa atin ng isang kasiyahang panlunas sa ating dinaranas na pamimighati.

-- Ang hirap ng aking tungkulin ay naranasan ko nang bawian ng buhay ang aking mahal na ama, -- pagtatapat niya sa amin na sa mata ay nakalarawan ang malabis na pamamanglaw.  Hamakin ninyo na sumasayaw pa ako, tumatawa at umaawit sa ibabaw ng tanghalan upang madulutan lamang ng kasiyahan ang aking mga taga-hanga, samantalang luksang-luksa ang aking puso?

Kagaya ng maraming artistang mapagpatawa, ang pagkakaroon nila ng panahong pinakamapait sa kanilang buhay ay hindi rin nabakang sumapit sa buhay ni Aruray.  At kagaya rin ng mga komikong ito, ang tungkulin niya sa bayan ay hindi niya natanggihang hindi ipamalas sa panahon nang kanyang pagluluksa.

-- Matatanggihan ko pa ba na suwayin ang inaadhika ng aking puso? – turing pa niya sa amin.  – Tulad ng mga manggagamot na nanunumpa sa pamahalaan na maglilingkod sila nang buong kabanalan sa pagliligtas sa buhay ng mga nagkakaramdam, ang aming tungkuling ay hindi rin namin maaaring talikuran.  Kami man ay doktor rin ng mga taong nagtataglay ng mga dalamhati sa buhay.

Naipahiwatig niya sa amin na kung ang mga manggagamot ay nag-aaral at nag-aaral ng karunungan sa pagtuklas sa lunas sa mga karamdaman ng tao, sila mang mga komiko ay nag-aaral din ng mga pamamaraan kung paanong mapatatawa nila ang mga taong nagtataglay ng kalungkutan sa buhay.

-- Kami man ay nararapat ding magpakadalubhasa sa kaalaman sa pagpapatawa, -- wika pa niya, -- at kapag kami ay hindi nag-aral at umasa na lamang sa kaunting nalalaman, ang pagtitiwala ng bayan sa amin ay magiging mabuway.

Sa mga pelikulang nilalabasan niya sa ilalim ng bandila ng Sampaguita Pictures, Inc. ay malapit nang mayari ang SA PILING MO, SIMPATIKA At PINAGHATING ISANG DADAANING PISO.  Hindi siya lumalagda sa kasunduan sa alinmang samahan sa pelikula upang mapatali sa mahabang panahon.

-- Ibig ko’y mabigyan ng katarungan ang panig naming dalawa, -- turing niya sa amin nang itanong kung siya’y may nilagdaang mahabang kasunduan sa Sampaguita Pictures, -- at mabigyan ng pagkakataon na kalimutan ang aking paglilingkod kung sakaling hindi nakasisiya sa kanila.  Patakaran ko na sa aking pagkita ng halaga ay mabigyan ng kasiyahan ang aking pinaglilingkuran, hindi ang aking sarili lamang.  Iyan ang sanhi kung bakit ibig kong hindi nakatali sa kanila, sapagka’t sa sandaling hindi na sila makakita ng magandang pakinabang sa aking paglilingkod ay may laya na silang kumuha ng iba sa mga susunod na pagkakataon.

Sa kasalukuyan, si Aruray, kasama ni Kanuto (Canupling) at Patsy ay naglilingkod sa Sine Star sa pangkat ni Zara, bukod pa sa kanyang pagsama sa palatuntunan ng Sampaguita Radio Stars ni Luz Mat Castro kung araw ng Huwebes sa himpilan ng DZRH sa palatuntunan ng Sampaguita Pictures, Inc.  At iyan marahil ang sanhi kung bakit baliw na baliw siya sa mga bulaklak ng Sampaguita.

Kagaya ng maraming bituin sa pelikula, tanghalan at radio, si Aruray ay magpapatuloy sa tungkulin niyang magpatawa sa kanyang mga tagahanga, sapagka’t iyan, para sa kanya, ay isang tungkuling tulad din naman ng mga umuugit sa bayan.

- WAKAS –

Source:  Sinagtala Magazine
                January 27, 1949

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