Doña Sisang’s values
“BAKYA crowd” is a term coined by the late and famous film director, Bert Avellana, to describe the reason for the box-office success of films. The sound of thousands of wooden clogs clickity-clacking on the marble lobbies of Dalisay or Life theaters meant the masa viewer came to see Tagalog films in droves in the ’50s.
The mass of Filipino audience wore bakya (wooden clogs) made by craftsmen from Paete, Laguna.
I was also part of the bakya crowd numbering in millions nationwide. Tagalog movies played up on our emotions and dreams.
Doña Sisang de Leon, matriarch and maker of LVN black- and-white movies, owned a firmament of stars enough to fill the Philippine skies at night.
During our age of puberty, we fantasized on LVN beauties; Mila del Sol, Rosa del Rosario, Delia Razon, Tessie Quintana, Carmen Rosales and Charito Solis. These sweethearts can act, sing and dance beautifully.
The women, on the other hand, were forever enamored with a collection of the handsomest men; Leopoldo Salcedo, Rogelio de la Rosa, Jaime de la Rosa, Jose Padilla Jr., Armando Goyena and Mario Montenegro—puro makikisig, magagara, matatangos ang ilong at marunong mangharana.
Many movie plots are predictable but we relish them all the time. Here are the clichés that make us cry, laugh, sing or get furious.
Ligawan (Courtship). “Mula nang kita’y masilayan ay hindi na natahimik ang puso ko.”
Love starts at first sight. The simple but pretty village girl can be walking by the country road or washing clothes by the river. The handsome guy, son of the town’s haciendero, just happens to meander by. The encounter begins and courtship develops until love blooms under the mango tree. In many instances, the girl and guy sing a kundiman.
Selosan at tampuhan (Jealousy and quarrel). “Hindi ako karapat-dapat sa iyo, humanap ka na ng iba.”
Jealousy becomes the cause of emotional crisis for the sweethearts and that includes us viewers. The cause is a rumor. The guy is seen in Manila in the company of a sexy woman (usually played by Rosa Rosal). This is the first scenario for tear-jerking.
Hinamak at inapi (Bigotry and oppression). “Hindi ikaw ang babaeng karapat-dapat sa aking anak! Siya’y isang tagapagmana ng hacienda del tierno, samantalang ikaw ay anak ng isang hamak na magbubukid lamang!”
This is the second scenario for more copious tear-jerking.
Kabuktutan (Dastardly deeds). This is the rape scene that usually happens by the riverside. The spurned lover who wears a mustache (usually played by Jaime Castilvi or Ramon d’Salva) stalks our girl. From behind the banana tree, like a cat, he leaps to pounce on our helpless girl to force his evil intentions on her. We cussed, shout invectives at his dastardly acts. The boy sweetheart comes in the nick of time, of course. The rapist falls and drowns in the river.
Wagas na pag-ibig (Love triumphs). Poor girl performs a virtuous deed. Misunderstanding is ironed out. Haciendero apologizes to poor village girl. Big wedding in the church.
Thanks to Doña Sisang and her LVN black-and-white movies, we learned how to fall in love with pretty virtuous girls. I learned what faithfulness means. Rape is a crime. And we must live happily ever after with the girl we marry.
Francisco V. Coching’s adventurism
Every week in the ’50s, we sat glued to the new release of Hiwaga and Pilipino Komiks. We were addicted followers of illustrated stories such as “El Indio,” “Satur,” “El Vibora,” “Barbaro” and “Lapu-Lapu.”
The genius behind all these illustrated and serialized novels is Francisco V. Coching. His medium is pen and ink in black and white, which created and thrilled us with astonishing depth and width of stories of swashbuckling adventures with patriotic themes or plain fruits of fantasy.
Coching’s medium, the komiks, with its frame-by-frame continuity, is totally absorbing. Our sense for details, our ear for dialogue, and our reflex for action are totally alert and involved in each frame.
Coching’s illustrative skills shine in period stories, his costuming and architecture bring us right to the time and place of history. This is particularly vivid in the details of “El Indio,” “Lapu-Lapu,” “El Vibora,” “Satur” and “Hagibis.”
His men are devilishly handsome and masculine to the core, the way we fantasize ourselves to be during our awkward youth.
His women are all pretty-faced with beautiful legs, whether she’s a simple native girl or a stunning Fil-Hispanic mestiza.
His fight scenes move, whether it’s a sword fight or a gunfight. His fighters are strong, quick and deadly.
The facial expressions are vivid especially when angry or outraged, like Lapu-Lapu’s charging to kill an enemy on the Battle of Mactan.
His narratives are concise and graphic, connecting thoughts and actions between frames. His dialogue inside the balloon, are spoken in eloquent Filipino that sounds as read as literature.
Coching’s introductory of “Lapu-Lapu” is classic. Dig this: “Abril 27, 1521. Sa dalampasigan ng Mactan, isang lalaking tigmak ng dugo ay buong tatag na nakatayo sa talaksan ng mga bangkay, hawak ang kampilan at ang mga matang nagaapoy sa poot at nakatanaw ang poot sa karagatan waring humahamon sa sinumang marahas na hahalay sa kanyang karapatan. Iyan si Lapu-Lapu, ang walang gulat, ang dakilang kayumanggi, may pusong kasing-tigas ng kanyang pananalig na kailanman hanggang siya’y may buhay ang Mactan ay ’di malulupig.”
During the ’40s and ’50s, while I and all the boys like me were crossing our rites of passage from innocence to knowledge, we got our images, notions and dreams from the pages of Hiwaga and Pilipino Komiks.
Page by page, frame by frame, Francisco V. Coching conceived illustrated stories for us with fine details of pictures and movements, narratives and dialogues in beautiful and rich Filipino.
From reading his komiks, we learned something about the dignity of the individual in “El Indio,” heroism in “Lapu-Lapu,” love of freedom from “El Vibora” and respect for nature in “Hagibis.”
Day in, day out that genius Francisco V. Coching sat on his drawing board to weave exciting stories, he knew we were dying to read them.
If God is in the details, Francisco V. Coching beautified his stories in the details. He brought happiness to millions like me.
E-mail the author at hgordonez@gmail.com