Friday, November 18, 2011
The New Yorker in Tondo
1. Some of our compatriots go abroad, and after having stayed in a foreign country come back to the Philippines already affected by foreign influences in manner of thinking, dressing and speaking. Do you know of any person who has acquired such foreign traits? What do you think of him/her?
I have known a person who has acquired such foreign traits. I felt like she became social climber because of her social status. She strives for acceptance in fashionable society. She is a kind of person who seeks advancement to a higher class and someone who seeks social prominence. Like "Kikay" enperienced, She feels like like an exile when she came back in her own country. She missed New York--an old, old and very dear custom.
2. "The New Yorker in Tondo", a satire that has perennial relevance in the Philippine society, has been hilariously staged and enjoyed inside universities, colleges and even high school campuses and in professional and semi-professional theaters. What do you mean by adaptation which National Artist Daisy Hontiveros... Avellana had done with the Marcelino Agana Jr. play?
She believes that happiness is imagining yourself in the the company of your loved ones every day, watching your children grow in a healthy and loving home as well as your friends. Happiness is eating sitaw, bagoong, lechon, inihaw na isda, taba ng talangka. Happiness is watching a Filipino movie, whether opld reruns or new ones. There's still no place like the Philippines, being with other Pinoys ( well, except those with crab mentalities.) Ther's still nothong like being able to tell stories and know that others around you understand what you are saying. ther's really nothing sound of "mahal kita". Ther's really no place ... l;ike home.
Near the end of the story, the secret love of the characters in the story is reveald. And the two pairs end up in each other's arms. Kikay is back to her old self-- simple and kind. Most of all, the Filipino value learned by the protagonist which is "there is no place like home", is a lesson on love of country and its culture.
3. Kikay meets her moment of enlightenment and shows her true color, she discovers her real self again under the Tondo sky which she had hated earlier and from which she was trying to escape. This is true to the nationalistic tone of the play which teaches love for one's own native land and native ways despite the laughter that it provokes. Do you think that Kikay is sincere when she decides to forget her acquired ways and accept her old friends once again?
I have known a person who has acquired such foreign traits. I felt like she became social climber because of her social status. She strives for acceptance in fashionable society. She is a kind of person who seeks advancement to a higher class and someone who seeks social prominence. Like "Kikay" enperienced, She feels like like an exile when she came back in her own country. She missed New York--an old, old and very dear custom.
2. "The New Yorker in Tondo", a satire that has perennial relevance in the Philippine society, has been hilariously staged and enjoyed inside universities, colleges and even high school campuses and in professional and semi-professional theaters. What do you mean by adaptation which National Artist Daisy Hontiveros... Avellana had done with the Marcelino Agana Jr. play?
She believes that happiness is imagining yourself in the the company of your loved ones every day, watching your children grow in a healthy and loving home as well as your friends. Happiness is eating sitaw, bagoong, lechon, inihaw na isda, taba ng talangka. Happiness is watching a Filipino movie, whether opld reruns or new ones. There's still no place like the Philippines, being with other Pinoys ( well, except those with crab mentalities.) Ther's still nothong like being able to tell stories and know that others around you understand what you are saying. ther's really nothing sound of "mahal kita". Ther's really no place ... l;ike home.
Near the end of the story, the secret love of the characters in the story is reveald. And the two pairs end up in each other's arms. Kikay is back to her old self-- simple and kind. Most of all, the Filipino value learned by the protagonist which is "there is no place like home", is a lesson on love of country and its culture.
3. Kikay meets her moment of enlightenment and shows her true color, she discovers her real self again under the Tondo sky which she had hated earlier and from which she was trying to escape. This is true to the nationalistic tone of the play which teaches love for one's own native land and native ways despite the laughter that it provokes. Do you think that Kikay is sincere when she decides to forget her acquired ways and accept her old friends once again?
In my own point of view, Kikay is sincere when she decides to forget her acquired ways and accept her old friends once again.
"Kikay: Yes , Tony... That was Francesca saying all those silly things. But Francesca exists no more, Tony no more. The girl standing before you is Kikay.
Tony: In that silly dress?
Kikay: Oh, this is just the gift-wrapping. But deep down inside me I'm just a Tondo girl in love with a Tondo boy."
These lines from the story of The new Yorker in Tondo" revealed the real intention of Kikay. She realized that she shpould not change for the people that don't like a few things about her. because there are too many people that love her for she really is. Yes, it's true that New York doesn't stand for kidstuff and foolishness. It stands for higher and finer things, for a more vivacious, a more streamlined, a more daring way of life! But one thing is for sure, nothing is worthy enough for your love for native land. With such happy, happy memories. Nena once said that over in Tondo, they have funny custom, an old,old and very dear custom. they make a sort of pilgrimage to a silly old mago tree growing in a backyard. And for them, in Tondo, that tree symbolizes a very sentimental value.
Kikay inculcated in her mind that it is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome. She can't change the direction of the wind, but she can adjust her sails to always reach her destination.
"Past is a nice place to visit. But certainly, not a good place to stay."
"Kikay: Yes , Tony... That was Francesca saying all those silly things. But Francesca exists no more, Tony no more. The girl standing before you is Kikay.
Tony: In that silly dress?
Kikay: Oh, this is just the gift-wrapping. But deep down inside me I'm just a Tondo girl in love with a Tondo boy."
These lines from the story of The new Yorker in Tondo" revealed the real intention of Kikay. She realized that she shpould not change for the people that don't like a few things about her. because there are too many people that love her for she really is. Yes, it's true that New York doesn't stand for kidstuff and foolishness. It stands for higher and finer things, for a more vivacious, a more streamlined, a more daring way of life! But one thing is for sure, nothing is worthy enough for your love for native land. With such happy, happy memories. Nena once said that over in Tondo, they have funny custom, an old,old and very dear custom. they make a sort of pilgrimage to a silly old mago tree growing in a backyard. And for them, in Tondo, that tree symbolizes a very sentimental value.
Kikay inculcated in her mind that it is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome. She can't change the direction of the wind, but she can adjust her sails to always reach her destination.
"Past is a nice place to visit. But certainly, not a good place to stay."
4. Read some books and magazines about New York, U.S.A. What are some of its features that attract foreigners?
New York have a funny custom -- an old, old and very dear custom. When spring comes around each year, New Yorkers, make a sort of pilgrimage to an old tree growing down the Battery. It stands nfor higher and finer things: for a more vivacious, more streamlined, a more daring way of life! It stands for Freedom and for the Manhattan skyline and for the Coney Island in summer. It stands for Saturday nights in Madison square Garden; for the Bronx Zoo, Fifth Avenue, and for all the darling dens in Greenwich Village.
