58. TALES OF THE TAPE

TALES OF THE TAPES

 Yesterday was a free day, so I decided to do a bit of cleaning around the house. I must admit I am a pack-rat like my parents, who never threw things away. Instead, we had the habit of stowing away things in the nooks and crannies of old cabinets, shoeboxes, biscuit tins and other secret compartments—until they are forgotten forever.

 So, great to my surprise when I found again my old cassette tapes stashed in one drawer of an antique altar table. Of course, you know what a cassette tape is—that thing which you wind with a pencil and plopped into a cassette tape recorder, around which our family music entertainment revolved for many decades. I had my Dad’s Xavier Cugat tapes, tapes from the folks in America, study tapes from my former ad agencies Ace Saatchi (from the 80s!) and Jimenez DÁrcy.

Lo and behold, even my school tapes from the mid 70s, are here—used for my radio productions as a Communication student. I can’t believe they’ve survived hours of playing, mold infestation and countless scotch tape repairs!! More amazing was the fact that many of them were still playable.

 I plunked one into my trusty cassette recorder and the garbled, but recognizable sound of a commercial I taped for a class assignment in 1976 spewed out of the speaker. It was a radio ad for a milk brand “Grow-Up Milk”, where I sang a jingle plagiarized from Nino Muhlach’s Milk Maid commercial. I even voiced the announcer part as well, in which I enunciated the address of the milk company—“siete doble siete, tapat ng poste, Manila!”

 The same tape contained assorted recordings I did that are almost 40 years old! I recorded for posterity, my friend Vic Lamug singing “Simple Man” when he guested on a folk program over at Station RMN. This must have been around 1976, when most us were in the folk scene. Too bad didn’t record my version of “Scarborough fair”.

 There was also several takes of my folk group rehearsing the song “Hurry Sundown”, for Visioned Link IV, in 1977. I had a nasal voice then, as now, but much tinnier! I was floored when I flipped the tape and heard the strains of “Dahil Sa Iyo”. It was our competition song for the Commerce Talent Show, Group Singing. We were a shoo-in to win as most of our members came the talented “Rhymes and Rhythms”, and we were coached no less than Levi Granadosin, one of the famous singing Granadosin brothers. Our vocalization sounded good on the tape, but onstage, we flopped and had to settle for 2nd.

 The most fun was listening to us rehearse the songs for our college day presentation night, entitled “Come Alive”. I wrote the lyrics of the theme song (“What do we need to survive/ We need love to come alive!/ Well I guess there’s no other way/ Come alive with us today!) with music supplied by my talented classmate Francis Cardona—who doubled as the music conductor!

The highlight was the staging of the musical “Timmy”, with all-original songs written by classmate Jojo Barreiro. I could distinctly hear Tina Chua singing the title tune, “T-I-M-M-Y…that’s Timmy! Something out of a fantasy…”. And guess who played the title role? Me!! Also in the cast--and on tape-- was Cya Jonson, leading the ensemble with the rousing “Welcome to our village…we hope you feel at ease…welcome to our village…and sing!! , Well, at 18 years old, we could certainly sing our lungs out! Such verve..and such nerve!

 My tape compilation grew when I went to work in Manila—and a few saved cassettes yielded jingle studies done by the prolific jinglemaker Caloy Agawa for the Ministry of Tourism account, then handled by Ace Saatchi. There were 3 studies done for a domestic tourism jingle that had for its theme “Huwag Maging Dayuhan sa Sariling Bayan” (Don’t be a Stranger in your own Paradise, English version). I did the English lyrics and my CD, the Famas Awardee Jimmy Santiago wrote the Pilipino version which completely knocked me out for its lyricism and imagery.

 My agency ,Ace Saatchi was a regular in inter-agency competition that were all the rage in the 80s---and in 1987, we joined the Inter-Agency Christmas Chorale Competition. Caught on tape were the voices of our choral group singing a most unique competition song—“Jellicle Song””, from the musical cats.

 The song had been reworked to include Christmas lyrics, and included lively purring, meowing and caterwauling!. Listening to the song, I was transported back to the big final night where we came in feline outfits and belted out our song under the musical direction of Betsy Basilio. It was no-contest from the start--we swept competition away, winning Best Choreography and Best Chorale Group! What other stories could these ancient cassette tapes hold?

Well, I haven’t listened to all of them and I plan to do that in the next few days. Maybe I’ll start with my 30 year old home recordings doing my versions of those “”I-am-just-a-poor-boy-though-my-story’s-seldom-told” folk tunes. Or maybe I’ll have the contents transferred to a disc or digitized some day.

Then again, maybe that’s not necessary--I’ll just play them on my vintage cassette recorder and relive once more those carefree days when our pleasures were simpler, when things were less complicated, and where worries were solved with a familiar song, a guitar and a tape recorder on hand.

34. BAGUIO BOY III: Where Have All the Folkies Gone?

 FADED FOLK. The Gingerbread Tape, recovered. 

Over the weekend, I was rummaging through my desk, when I found, in the rear compartment, a tape I made in 1975, of a one-night gig at Gingerbread Man Folk House. I plunked this about-to-be-extinct 33-year old tape in my still-functioning cassette player, and out came a familiar voice, accompanied by a single guitar, singing the message songs that caught the fancy of my generation—Baez, Dylan, Guthrie, Lightfoot, Collins, CSN&Y, Simon & Garfunkel, Peter, Paul and Mary, Denver, Taylor, Young, King, and many more.

I am instantly transported back to my Baguio student days, when I, too, joined the folk bandwagon by serendipity, jamming with the same folkies whose voices I had saved on my Scotch cassette—Caloy Medina, Tito Mina, Bubut Olarte—considered as one of Baguio’s finest troubadours. That time, the city had a growing reputation for having the best folk houses around, populated mostly by hip college kids, before the advent of internet cafes.

 Fireplace, strategically located along Assumption Road was always packed with a motley mix of students, residents and tourists. On Bonifacio Road, at the foot of St. Louis University was Gingerbread Man, operated by Mars Cuesta, which had mainly students as captive audience. These two became the enclaves of Baguio’s bohemians, beatniks and plain folk music lovers—of which I would soon find myself a willing participant.

 JUST DUET! Tony Marasigan and I, singing at a school concert. I believe we performed a reworked version of P, P & M's, "Rocky Road". 1976. 

I discovered American and English folk music when I was 12, from my big Sis who sang these songs in "Rock Masses" with 2 guitar-toting friends. They would cover “All My Trials”, “Kumbaya” and “If I Had a Hammer”. But they would also dish up "protest songs" like “The Times They Are A-Changing”, “Sounds of Silence”, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” and “If I Were Free”.

 FOLK DISCOGRAPHY. Part of my extensive collection of LP's (long-playing records) that got me hooked on folk music. 

While I was fascinated with the melody, I was caught up in the storytelling of a love gone so dreadfully wrong, of Johnnies going to war, of an answer that’s blowing in the wind, and of the travails of young and tender ladies, wayfaring strangers, rebels and royalties. Thus, after their rehearsals, I would borrow my sister’s guitar and virtually taught myself how to play those chords from a JINGLE songbook.

With 3 chords mastered, I could actually do half-a-dozen songs in no time at all. Learning to pluck too a lot longer; I learned calypso plucking by spinning the records of Joan Baez, over and over again, which must have driven my siblings nuts. I was also responsible for damaging countless stereo needles using this technique.

 *********** 

Fast forward 1975.
Baguio’s construction boom was in full swing. Cashing in on this economic boom and riding on the folk wave, bistros and restaurants were hastily put up to cater to a new listening audience. Bahay Kubo Restaurant was one such place along Session Road. With the place finished, a call was sounded for folksingers. The building contractor (my Manong Nanding) told the owners not to look far---for he has 2 brothers-in-law (meaning me and my elder brother Gregg) who could provide entertainment for 10 bucks a night. A repertoire had to be quickly drawn up, songs memorized and my career was on the way!

 HIGHLY-STRUNG. With my treasured 850 peso classic guitar which I always lugged in school, for my after-class gig. 

 “You can get anything you want, at Bahay Kubo Restaurant”, a reworked “Alice’s Restaurant”, by Arlo Guthrie was a favorite opener. Melvin Tampinco popularized that song for Bahay Kubo, and every folk singer learned to play it. The same formula worked when one concluded Denver’s song with “Take Me Home, Session Road” (instead of Country Road). It was not uncommon too, to incorporate a local folk song in one’s song list. “Salidum-ay”, with its tri-lingual lyrics was a top sing-along song (“Lipistik ka ng a-lipistik, di ka naman ag-brush ng teeth! Ay, ay salidum-ay..”). Bawdy songs were also de riguer, if you want to work up a sleepy crowd. (“Ang lalake pag umihi, iniipit pa sa daliri”…). 

While I have performed before an audience in school productions, I have never sang for people just a few feet away from you. This made the experience even more nerve-wracking. Bahay Kubo, I now conclude, had the worse crowd of all; but it can’t be blamed. With a dissonant name and ambiance, it was really a restaurant masquerading as a folk joint.

By now, I had gained a measure of confidence insofar as performing in public was concerned. Out of audacity, I auditioned for a slot at Gingerbread Man Folk House, 10 pesos a night—with free sandwich dinner. I remember rushing from my class to the nearby folk house with my guitar to sing for Mars Cuesta, and after 3 or 4 songs, he told me I was in! I can’t believe my eyes—Gingerbread Man was THE big league and I made it! Whoopee!

 BAGUIO'S FOLK MUSICIANS, UNITE! Over 20 folk singers trooped to U.P. Baguio Auditorium to perform in the city's biggest folk gig. As usual, I sang my trademark "Silver Dagger", "Fennario" and sang "Shule Aroon", a duet with Vangie. 

I tell you what. My voice is anything but good. Someone once described it as the singing of a man with a bad nasal drip. Many times, I have been heckled for it.

But what the heck, Dylan's voice was once likened to that of a dog caught in a barbed wire fence. Looking back now, I think it was my obscure repertoire that separated me from the other singers. I was the only male singer that tripped on Joan Baez and Judy Collins folk, wailing unheard-of ballads like “Silver Dagger”, "The Trees They Grow High", “Henry Martin”. 

 FOLK CONCERT OR WHAT?. What's JC Superstar musical excerpt doing in a folk concert like this?

My material was so strange, I researched on the earliest precurors of familiar folk tunes and sang them. So instead of “Pretty Peggy-O”, I would sing “Fennario”. “Blowin’ in the Wind” was “No More Auction Block for Me”. “ Cruel War” was “The Warfare Is Raging”. The most extreme was “Scarborough Fair”, which I introduced in a radio program as a “lyric song so old, it was documented in Ravenscroft’s Melismata in 1611..”, --to the total bewilderment of the DJ.

 THANK GOD, I'M A COUNTRY BOY. Caloy produced this hootenanny at St. Louis' Girls' High. I don't even remember what I sang here. But our Group Finale was "Enter the Young"--and it wasn't even a folk song! 

And so now, I am listening once more to this tape. I smile as I hear Caloy Medina and his repertoire of Simon and Garfunkel songs ("Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall", "Hazy Shades of Winter") , with an occasional Mclean ("Pride Parade") and Denver originals ("Gospel Changes"). Caloy was my favorite singer; he had an easy, casual style and was handy with a 12-string guitar. He was also enterprising, producing folk concerts that gathered the best folkies of the city. Caloy was also a Philosophy teacher, and years after, I heard that he secured a scholarship in Belgium and is now a Ph.D holder.

Tito Mina came next after Caloy’s set. Tito was the most accomplished musician of the bunch; he played wonderful guitar and brought a more edgy approach to his songs that were such unconventional choices to sing in a folk house. On tape, he sings Minnie Ripperton’s “Lovin’ You”. Just a few years later, he would record his most well-known hit, “Ikaw Pa Rin” and move to Europe with his Belgian wife. He recently had a homecoming concert this year. I wonder if he still remembers his co-folkie every Thursday nights at Gingerbread. ;-).

 I was also surprised to hear myself singing a duet with my schoolmate Jane. With my nasal voice, we did “Hangman” and “ Paper o’ Pins”. Striking solo, she sang “If I Had Wings”, a Peter Yarrow song I taught her. In my mind, I hear again classmate Veronne Perfecto and her college sweetheart. As Mike and Veronne, they made the rounds of the folk circuit and wowed campus crowds.

David Medina, Caloy’s younger brod, also was a Gingerbread regular. Many years later, I would become an officemate of his ex-wife at Saatchi & Saatchi. Bubut Olarte, a law student at that time, was a gifted Dylan interpreter. Johnnie Chan was another schoolmate with amazing presence but he would migrate to the U.S. while still in college.

Tony Marasigan, Joey Carino, March Fianza, Jojo Barreiro, Mannix Santos, Vangie and Ira—these were the talented people I recall having worked or jammed with, in an open, artistic milieu possible only in Baguio, even under a regime of repression.

 PALAK-FOLK-KAN. Yet another concert--WEN DAKAMI DAYTOY-- at the Baguio Colleges Foundation. I would hang up my guitar strings a year after. 

Those years may have gone, but for one brief shining moment, up a cool, mountain city, we raised our voices as one, singing our hearts out and our personal convictions through the music of the common people—nasal twang and all.

(28 May 2008)

7. BAGUIO BOY II: Take Me Home, Session Road

ME AND DOG. At our 3-storey Session Road flat, shared with the Dimacalis. My brother Gregg and I shared the ground floor with the Dimacali's pet, Dog.

Cold, cramped and damp. That's how I remember our first Baguio home, but our place was right smack on Session Road. The Dimacalis, friends of Manong Nanding and kabalens, lived atop us. Next-door neighbor was good old Tea House, ran by George and Elsie. I went there for their tasty Fruit Pie and Cinnamon Rolls!

BEDROOM BOYS. Our room was at the very end of the hall, half-buried in stone and concrete. It was dark, damp and very cold so we had a small heater to warm us up. Unfortunately, one night, my pillow fell on the heater and nearly set our room on fire. So the heater had to go.

If you go right, you’ll find Fireplace and Tesoro’s at the corner, and just farther down—Cid’s Book Store. Also on this strip, there’s the “Love Radio”—DWBW—the radio station where I had my internship, with me doing the graveyard shift!

ON BOARD! Doing my graveyard shift over at the Love Radio. I played mostly OPM and the hits of the day. Then I tried being conceptual with my approach, doing some poetry reading, but it didn't catch on. Looking back now, that was silly indeed!

There was Koken’s Barber Shop where I got my haircut and Jack’s News Stand at the corner for my daily paper. Crossing Assumption, one would find Cid's Book Store, and also on this strip, the Love Radio, DWBW, did its broadcast. It was here where I had my internship, assigned to the graveyard shift! For my haircuts, I went to Koken's Barber Shop (my barber was a kabalen) while I got my dailies over at Jack's News Stand.

STUDENT, DAZED. I was still a Chemistry major here, balancing equations and titrating KMnO4. Then, in my 3rd year, I shifted to Communication Arts.

To the left of our place would be the steps leading to the Cathedral. D&S Supermarket was at the very end, across Old Pagoda Shop where a wisened old Chinese lady read fortunes and sold Buddha amulets. BCF or Baguio Colleges Foundation and the Victory Liner bus station was but a few paces away. Directly right across us is the imposing Skyland Condominium, newly constructed and filled with swanky shops and merchandise one would find in Manila.

NIECES THREE. Charnelle, Charmaine and Charisse. Dondi, the only boy, would complete the Hamada family in 1978. Now, all have grown up, married with their own kids in New Jersey and Florida. But back then, they were just our Baguio darlings!

When Manong’s family grew (my nieces Charisse, Charmaine and Charnelle came in one swift succession), we moved to a real nice house on General V. Lim St., at the foot of Legarda Road. Actually, we rented the lower half of the Saycon house, which was still very capacious for 7or 8 people, househelps included. We were now neighbors with Uncle Matt and Auntie Auring, and my cousin Marlene would conveniently pass for me in her noisy Volkswagen when we went to school. Oh yes, we were classmates too!

LOUISIAN FOREVER! Moments of boredom drove me to doodle on my ID.

I think I enjoyed my university days more than high school. It was at Saint Louis that I really learned and had fun at the same time, even if I false-started with a wrong course--Chemistry! Shifting to Communications after 2 years, I gave vent to my artistic pursuits--writing, directing, producing , performing. I had a tightly-knit clique and we always moved as a pack, hanging out at Diego Silang Canteen, often attracting attention.

BAGUIO'S GOT TALENT. The talent-quiz contests sponsored by the College of Commerce were eagerly awaited by students annually. I joined 3 times-- a different category every year, and placed in all: 1st in Spelling, 2nd in Original Composition and 2nd in Group Singing,

Unconsciously, we had become popular figures--topping scholarship tests and talent shows, winning academic awards and being casted in high-profile university events.

SKOLAR NG BUNDOK. I pipped my first cousin Marlene Sheryl for full scholarship but she graduated with a Magna, and I went home empty-handed as I lacked tenure in the college and had some previous dropped subjects.

We were young, we were loud, we were irreverent. Our voices were heard over the radio and our feats were written about in local papers. And we lapped it all up!

LUKSONG TINIK. One summer, my groupie--Kinie, Francis, Chum-chum and Jojo--decided to co-produce a concert. And so, we hastily formed Luksong Tinik Productions and brought the New Minstrels and Ronnie Henares to Baguio.

Since our very own school wouldn't let us use their auditorium, we held the concert at a rival school, University of Baguio! We earned flak for that but also a thousand pesos each for our enterprising efforts!

 I stayed with my Manong's family till I graduated in 1978, a year overdue. That year, Dondi--my sister's only son and the youngest--was born, prompting the Hamadas to move one more time, but still along Gen. Lim St., just 3 houses up. Even while working in Manila, I would find time to take the bus to Baguio and visit them once in a while, until they left for New Jersey in 1981. At every given opportunity, I would pack my bags and hie off to Baguio. I remember, I would intentionally put the setting of a commercial I was doing in Baguio, so I could revisit the old place!

CONFUSIONS OF AN AD MAN. Two years out of college and already in advertising, my articles were still seeing print on the school paper, The Saint Louis' Chronicle, thanks to the editor--and my mentor--Prof. Noly Balatero.

Then there were the Ad Congresses that were often held in the city’s convention center every 2 years.. Such industry events allowed me to go on official, and extended visits to the city. I would return in 1984, under sadder circumstances, when my cousin Marlene passed away, and again in 1997—my Uncle Matt, this time.

THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE. In 1981, I did my first TV commercial shoot on familiar grounds--Baguio!. The ad was for McVitie's Biscuits. Burnham was transformed into an English park, with a cast of Brits. Jun Urbano was our commercial director.

Since then, my sojourns to the city have become few and far between. I was there last in 2004, at the Strawberry Festival in La Trinidad. It was a business visit, but I took a side trip to Baguio to try to re-immerse myself in its sights and sounds and smells and flavors that have become so much a part of my life for five long years.

SCENT OF STRAWBERRIES. Back in Benguet in 2004, for the Strawberry Cake Guinness Record attempt which proved to be successful.

I am overpowered by the sights of new concrete landscapes, the teeming crowds, the high-rise malls, the confusing walkways, Session Road at a standstill and a remodeled Burnham Park I hardly recognized. Where is that bakery along Kisad that sold delectable cinnamon buns as well as rabbit foot charms? Whatever happened to Rose Bowl Restaurant? Is Vallejo Hotel still here? And where is Ms. Woelke’s famous Abanao thrift shop?

There are things that have irrevocably changed but luckily, there are still constants that remained as they are. They are tucked away in the recesses of memory, ready to come alive again if only one summons them hard enough --indelible images of a city that I once knew—cool, scenic, mesmerizing, tinged with the scent of pines and sweet strawberry memories.

6. MEKENI TO THE MOUNTAINS

MEKENI TO THE MOUNTAINS! BAGUIO, WE'RE HERE! Craning my neck in wonder at my 1st Pine City visit in 1957, with my yaya, Atching Daling. Peering through the back window of our trusty Oldsmobile, big sis Celine, age 7.

 My love affair with Baguio started early, at about 10 months old, as these pictures show. Taken in 1957, they show me and my family enjoying Burnham Park with my relocated host-relatives.

UNCLE MATT, THE PROFESSOR. My dad's youngest brother, Mateo, moved to Baguio with wife Auntie Auring, after he accepted a teaching job at St. Louis.He is shown here with the school behind him, on his way home.

 My Auntie Auring, together with Uncle Matt, moved from Pampanga to Baguio in the 1950s, after my uncle got a teaching job at Saint Louis. Smitten by the clime and the scenery, they decided to make Baguio their permanent home.

V--VRRROOOM WITH A VIEW. My Dad, taking the kids for a ride at Burnham Park.

BURNHAM BOYS. Me, on my mother's arms. Elder brother Gregg (3 yrs. old) on a trike.

In the years that followed, their pretty little house along Bokawkan Road, behind Benitez Court, became our headquarters whenever we trooped to Baguio for our annual vacation.

B-R-RRRR! MY FINGERS ARE FROZEN! Me on my Mother's lap, with Auntie Auring looking on. Ingkung Dando, in his trademark white pants and polo, stands near by.

When my sister Celine graduated from high school, she was prevailed upon by my father to go to Baguio for her college education. As always, my Uncle Matt and Auntie Auring opened their home to my sister who became their special ward and a companion to their kids, Marlene and Marlon.

SOUVENIR PICTURE TIME! Ma, me, siblings Gregg and Celine. Behind is camera-shy Ingkung Dando.

After college, Ate Celine tried to start a career in Manila, but went back to Baguio instead, renting a house in Palma Street, and transforming it into a dormitory for Kapampangan students. My brother Gregg lived there amongst kabalens, having also been accepted at St. Louis University.

AND THEN THERE WERE FIVE. Taken possibly in 1966 at Burnham Park. We were visiting my sis Celine, who was already a student at St. Louis U, at this time. That's Ma, sis Celine, Gregg, me, Romil, Susan and Mike.

 My sister’s career as a dorm mother was short-lived, however, as she got hitched with her college sweetheart, Manong Nanding Hamada, thus further cementing our ties to Baguio.

HERDING KIDS ALONG KISAD. Taken in 1972, during the wedding of my sis Celine and Manong Nanding Hamada. Mike, Anna Lisa Hamada, and my other brothers, Froilan and Eric. Behind with me is sister Susan. A year later, I would become a Baguio student and stay on for 5 years,

It was but logical that I too would go to Baguio for college. And so in 1973, I was accepted at SLU and thus became an official Baguio resident. From the Kisad compound, my sister’s family set up house along Session Rd., in a small 3-storey building. Upstairs were the Dimacalis, the middle floor was where my Manong’s family lived, and downstairs was where I and my brother Gregg stayed, together with the family pet, Dog. It was here that my life in the mountains began.
(26 May 2008)