aling bebang

i had the privilege to meet in person and hang out with aling bebang years ago. she would drop me a line occasionally just to say "hi" and remind me to write as often as i could or be involved in the art form i preferred. i remember the first time i went to her tiny house in cubao--it was with my former boss, national artist rio alma. rio interviewed her for one of his studies in philippine lit and for an article in a daily.

it was really great being in the same room that day with two philippine literary greats. aling bebang was your gentle, funny "lola" who had tons of stories and "pangaral". but she was different, of course. most of her stories had a literary connection. it was just natural for her.

that first meeting was followed by 2 or 3 more visits and every time she had something new for me. but always, she told me to pick up the pen and write my heart out.

i was still new at anvil when i met her again. we accepted her novel, ang kanilang mga sugat, for publication. i made short visits to her house again in cubao, that time with a little bit of confidence, yet still without the solid resolve to take up writing seriously. and as always, she would tell me to write.

she remembered my name every time she called the office. and she remembered what we always talked about. those calls made me feel a bit special.

about 3-4 years ago when she called the office, i perked up since i answered the call. i said my name as emphatically as i could. by the tone of her voice, she didn't recognize me anymore. or maybe i wasn't too emphatic. or maybe her memories were already only reserved then for those of utmost importance. and who am i to be part of it--one who didn't heed her advice?

i was told earlier today that she died last saturday evening in her sleep. i was probably still out that night, right after a book event earlier and then a very long dinner with friends. it might've been nothing but at one point at dinner, i thought of going to cubao since i haven't been there for weeks to visit book haunts. the thought was like all thoughts in passing: some sort of clue from the cosmos that happens, maybe, for some reason, even just to remember someone who meant well and was never selfish with her stories.

***

from Ian Rosales Casocot's blog:


Genoveva Edroza Matute, or Aling Bebang, died in her sleep Saturday night. She was 94. Fondly read for her award-winning stories and essays, the great writer Genoveva Edroza Matute was born on 3 January 1915. A devoted educator, she spent many years as head of the Philippine Normal University’s Department of Filipino. In 1992, she was conferred the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining (Panitikan) by the Cultural Center of the Philippines. She has won the Palanca multiple times for stories written in what critics have called "very accessible" Tagalog. These stories include "Kuwento ni Mabuti," "Paglalayag sa Pusa ng Isang Bata," "Parusa," "Maganda Ang Ninang Ko," and "Pagbabalik." Her books include Mga Piling Maiikling Kuwento, Tinig ng Damdamin, Katipunan ng Kanyang mga Piling: Sanaysay, and Sa Anino ng EDSA. Ang Kanilang Mga Sugat is Matute’s first novel.

i wish you all a happy valentine's day. be safe. (or should it be "safety first"?) bring protection. have a grand time. and all those things.

Update on Rayvi (29 January 2009)

Thanks a lot for your messages and gifts for Rayvi. They were sent to Rayvi early this morning. (We received several email messages for him after our suggested deadline, so those will be sent to him tomorrow.)

We were told the operation this afternoon went well. (He's now "Bionic Rayvi" :-) ) He's resting now, but we can already send him text messages by 11 tonight. If you'd rather call/visit him, maybe it's best to text him first if it's okay to do so.

The family is hoping he'll be sent home this weekend.

Salamat and let's pray for his fast recovery.


p.s.
pls. help pass this update on to others. earlier email messages about rayvi never reached some people. thanks!

prayers for rayvi sunico

Hi everybody,

We got word earlier that our dear friend, Rayvi Sunico, was rushed to Medical City last Saturday after experiencing a slow heart beat. He is now at the hospital's ICU. This coming Wednesday afternoon, he will be "outfitted" with a temporary pacemaker.

Wednesday's also his birthday, so if you want to send him good wishes and prayers, kindly email your messages. We'll print them out and send them to Rayvi. And if you have something to give him, just drop it off at the Anvil office. Tell the security guard on duty to turn over the package/card/whatnot for Rayvi to the Publishing Department c/o me or Jo Pantorillo. Best to send your messages and packages until early Wednesday morning, around 7 a.m. so we can send them to Medical City before his operation. Those will surely cheer him up. For those who can only leave home/office around 6 p.m., you can just leave your packages with our security guard. We'll acknowledge receipt as soon as they're turned over to us.

We were also advised to not visit him at the hospital since, knowing how Rayvi has a lot of friends and fans, we might just create unnecessary excitement and also clog the hospital aisles. The family's hoping that he'll be home by week's end.

Thanks a lot and we'll update you soon about him. Please continue to pray for his fast recovery.

sssslacker....

i'm still in a december-2008 haze and i know i need to get out of it fast. but it's so haaarrrd! (see? i'm spelling words in multiple letters. that's a huge clue.) there are still christmas food in my fridge: ham and cheese and lots of candy and fruit preserves. christmas gifts are still stuffed in a bag. opened, yes, but not yet exactly put away. and it's so cold in the mornings, i half expect ice cubes raining down the bathroom shower.

***

got a visit earlier from two of my favorite creative people. first was artist panch alcaraz who inspected the proofs of a forthcoming children's book, heaven's butterfly, written by the mom-and-daughter team of cathy and pia guballa. panch suggested to go to a nearby jollibee for lunch, but i launched into an anti-jollibee litany that actually simply said "i'm sick of it". well, who isn't? and i really don't have anything against jollibee; it's just that the "if-everything-fails-let's-order-a-yumburger" rationale to emergency food decisions is a bit, well, tiresome. which is kind of challenging specially now that a branch just opened about 5 minutes from my house. aarrrggh.

anyway, i ended up having a jollibee lunch delivered to the office anyway. panch hankering for chickenjoy was very heartrending. ahem.

about an hour after, writer and publisher rayvi sunico dropped by and as usual we had a lot of kuwento about all things books. asked him to join me in doing small books for anvil. he seems interested (hope so); teaming with rayvi will give my projects some real star power. am praying all those lovely projects in my mind will push through. guess it's about time i have my name somewhere other than the copyright and the thank-you pages.

2009, here we go.

so it's 2009. happy new year. am praying to the heavens it'll be much, much better this time 'round. i had it quite rough and emotionally draining last year, and i refuse to go through that again. i hope this year i do myself a big favor by being more forgiving and allow a bit of happiness around me.

got a nice little visit yesterday from lorna kalaw-tirol, one of the best filipino female journalists and book editors around, who reminded me to keep all those notes about my life in pinoy publishing so i can write a memoir. naks. my name and "memoir" together have never crossed my mind. or maybe it did but i shrugged it off instantly. i do have some book projects in mind that i want to pitch for this year, one of which i already kind of talked about with a potential co-author just before christmas last year. i just hope i can pull it off because the pitching part might be the least of my worries.

have a good one

happy christmas and a better, wiser,
more prosperous and peaceful
new year to all!