fuel december 2011

fuel DECEMBER 2011 1

MAIDEN ISSUEThe

fuelengaging the youth

THE BEATLES: QUESTIONING THE REVOLUTION AND THE ICON.OCCUPY WHAT STREET?THE YOUTH DRIVEN PHENOMENON. FIVE REASONS TO WATCH ILA KINGPIN.ANALOG SOUL: ON GRAPHIC DESIGN, THE YOUTH, AND CHILD HUNGER.PACQUIAO: READY FOR THE PRESIDENCY?.UP BUDGET CUTS: CO

AT STRE BEATLES: QUESTIONING THE REVOLUTION AND THE ICON.OCCUPY MANILA KIKT THE YOUTH DRIVEN PHENOMENON. 5 REASONS TO WATCH

HUPHIPIN.ANALOG SOUL: ON GRAPHIC DESIGN, THE YOUTH, AND CHILD STS ACUHNGER.PACQUIAO: READY FOR THE PRESIDENCY?.UP BUDGET C

December 2011

!DISCLAIMER: This company or product is not officially afilliated with this magazine. All advertisements only serve to provide the reader with a semblance of a full magazine experience.

CONTENTSFluid MovementsSky Lantern FestivalAlcohol and Coffee after 12

Manny Pacquiao / Albert Arcil laChe Guevara

Cultural Catalysts

From the Sky Lantern Festival at Cuenca, Alabang to three local projects aimed at making the country a little brighter and cleaner, Fuel takes a quick look at the little moments of inspiration in the country.

Folks’ stories

Fuel talks to Atty. Albert Arcilla about tak-ing on a new challenge and lighting a fire with the Chevy//Manny Pacquiao’s ascent to the topmost seat in the country//Che Guevara: a brief history about the man with the infamous face on almost every teenager’s shirt// Manila Kingpin: reasons to watch the story of Tondo’s past resident tough guy.

Moments & Movements

Social commentaries by some of the most curious minds on the topics: Occupy Wall Street, Philippine education budget cuts, The Beatles, Analog Soul’s take on design and social responsibil-ity, and the legendary Salvador Bernal.

fuel

THIS ISSUE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE HELP OF:

ON THE COVER

Atty. Albert Arcilla of Volvo and Chevrolet, Giselle Banzon, Luis Falcon, Reena Mesias of Status magazine, Norberto and Mila Manzano, Tom and Deedle Tomlinson of New York Writers Workshop, Elsa Catering, Lona & Lyn Catering, Justin Ravago, Raymond Ang, and JosueDesign

A visual representation of the magazine’s pursuit of keeping

the Philippine youth out of the dark.

Model: Hasper Miraflor

Photograph & concept by:Artu Nepomuceno

EDITOR IN CHIEF

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

SENIOR DESIGNER

PHOTOGRAPHER AT LARGE

EDITOR AT LARGE

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

INTERN

MENTOR

Meg Manzano

Joe Josue

Artu Nepomuceno

Daniella Rodriguez

Isa Almazan, Mykee Alvero, Rafael Camus, Ria Casco, Kevin Mayuga, Murphy Pe, Jill Ponio

Marielle Nones & Antonio del Rosario

Joanna-Grace Manzano

Marita Guevara

Meg Manzano

JOSUE DESIGNREACH US AT [email protected] FOR COMMENTS,

SUGGESTIONS, VIOLENT REACTIONS, AND POSSIBLE CONTRIBUTIONS.

fuel DECEMBER 2011 9!DISCLAIMER: This company or product is not officially afilliated with this magazine. All advertisements only serve to provide the reader with a semblance of a full magazine experience.

ROSTERMarielle Nones

Isa Almazan

Rafael Camus

Joe Josue

Antonio del Rosario

Mykee Alvero

Daniella Rodriguez

Murphy Ryan Pe

Ria Casco

Artu Nepomuceno

Kevin Mayuga

Jill Ponio

Too often in my twenty years of being have I been called naïve. And per-haps, like any cheesy and dreamy-eyed kid about to leave the halls of the academe, I am just that. In my childlike and cheesy pursuit to change the world, I have made it my business to make political or social issues more accessible and for the lack of a better term, grounded. There are countless of magazines on the rack about life-style, fashion, health, and sports, but only a handful solely dedicated to issues in the arena of the political and the social. Thus, I along with my creative team of young dreamers have accepted the challenge of trying to recapture our fellow youth’s attention. It is our humble opinion that it’s about time dreamers became doers, and ignorance be replaced by awareness and response. With that in mind, we’ve repackaged today’s most relevant issues and stories with more compelling images and striking design. We looked for causes and events worth spreading: everything from an inspiring sky lantern event in Alabang, a historically badass movie about Nicasio Salonga, to cultural and po-litical icons such as Che Guevara and The Beatles. Whatever we encountered and thought could fuel the spirit of the young Filipino, we immersed ourselves in, and poured it in the very pages you are now holding. fuel’s maiden issue contains three parts: Cultural Catalysts, Folks’ Stories, and Moments & Movements. The very first section contains inspiring stories and events while Folks’ Stories features personalities fuel considers most note-worthy, lastly, Moments & Movements presents social commentaries on the different events both in and out of the country. After months of planning, meeting, writing, and designing with some of the most talented and generous pool of young artists, photographers, and writers, I am proud (and honestly quite hesitant) to present a home-grown magazine for my fellow youth.

OF GRAVITY, AND BEHOLDING ONE’S

BRAINCHILD

Editor’s Letter

“I’M WILLING TO DO THE WORST. IPAPATANGGAL KO ITLOG KO ‘PAG ‘DI BUMALIK ANG MGA ARROYO.”

– Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio showing his confidence of the sincerity of the Arroyos about returning to the country.

Quote of arms

“Manila is a city of “P’s”... Pride, Progress, Pollution, Pesos, Pork, Pacquiao & POVERTY...gonna help

fight some of that last “P”

Lupe Fiasco’s tweet during a visit to Manila last December:

“BY FOCUSING ON THE ALLEGED CRIMES OF [FORMER PRESIDENT AND NOW PAMPANGA REP. GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO] AND CORONA, PEOPLE ARE BEING ENTERTAINED BY THE PRESIDENT’S BID FOR POWER DISGUISED AS TRANSPARENCY.”

- Malolos Bishop Jose Oliveros on the impeachment of Corona

“IT WILL BE A FAMILY TO A HOUSE WHICH THEY THEMSELVES HELP BUILD,” - Philippine Red Cross secretary general Gwendolyn Pang talking about the PRC project to

build a thousand homes for those discplaced by “Sendong”

“We’re just preparing for a contingency plan. This is just a contingency.”

- Edwin Lacierda, President Aquino’s spokesperson during a briefing at Malacanang about the president’s efforts to look for a replacement for Chief Justice Renato Corona


“BY FOCUSING ON THE ALLEGED CRIMES OF [FORMER PRESIDENT AND NOW PAMPANGA REP. GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO] AND CORONA, PEOPLE ARE BEING ENTERTAINED BY THE PRESIDENT’S BID FOR POWER DISGUISED AS TRANSPARENCY.”


CULTURALCATALYSTS


A Field of Lights and Dreams

‘Twas the loveliest of nights when 11/11/11 came. Everyone’s faces turned to the heavens, this time not in anticipation of a meteor or a shooting star, but of some local lantern to grace the night sky. This time it wouldn’t be heaven sent. Those present would be the ones sending their lights skyward. This time, the beauty that is the night sky and all its shining shimmering splendid wouldn’t be left in solitude. This time, dreamers of all ages would make something beautiful, thus contributing to the loveliness the night already offered. And all this was thanks to one lady named Giselle. November 11, 2011 came, and with it, the si-lent pressure to make it a night worth remembering. Banchetto, a night market in Ortigas, organized an event where people could release floating lanterns to the sky. Within a few days, word quickly spread, and unfortunately Banchetto had too much on its plate and eventually ran out of lanterns for those who wished to participate. One of those girls crushed because of the lack of lanterns was Giselle Banzon. Too determined to celebrate 11/11/11 the right way, she went in pursuit of lanterns. From scouring Ace Hardware to attempting to make a lantern of her own, Giselle was lucky enough to be referred by an acquaint-ance to a supplier of floating lanterns.

After contacting the supplier, she decided to spread the word. “The main reason I wanted to go to Banchetto was because I knew there were going to be a lot of people there. I wanted a night I could share with a crowd. I wanted to be surrounded by happy people,” said Giselle. Her pursuit of the perfect 11/11/11 night did not go without complications. Giselle shared, “I was so stressed out on Thursday because I didn’t even have a permit from AAVA to conduct the event yet. I didn’t even secure a venue until that day either. I was plan-ning to host it (sneakily) from my backyard, but it defi-nitely wouldn’t have accommodated all those people.” After a distress message or so, Carlos Gomez, a friend of Giselle’s, accompanied her to the AAVA office. There Giselle was presented the many dangers the event had posed, but much to her surprise, they granted her the permit for both the location and the event. “I was able to secure Cuenca as a venue that day so I was thrilled! Everything seemed to be going right.” For her, the original goal was to have the most magical of nights, but later on it became about every-one having a good night. Unsurprisingly, both goals were met. Giselle filled not only the sky with little bursts of light, but the field with little memories of a dreamy and touching night.

fuel DECEMBER 2011 19A Field of Lights and Dreamsby MEG MANZANO

1. Be organized!2. It’s always, always okay to ask for help. Had her

friends and family not been there to support her at the time, she would have probably given up.

3. Make sure everyone is informed so as to avoid confusion.

4. Be strict.5. Even if people piss you off, keep your cool.

Otherwise, if you fail, you’ll look like an even bigger fool.

6. Do not ego trip. 7. Try to book everything in advance. Getting

a venue or a permit last minute was just too stressful.

8. Arrive at the venue early to make sure every-thing’s prepared.

9. Leave late to make sure everything’s cleaned up.10. Hire a clean-up crew. People can be slobs some-

times.

Photos by Marielle Nones

Giselle’s Top Tips For Organizing An Event

“I wanted a night I could

with a crowd”share


FLUID MOVEMENTS

It can be said that the streets of Manila are flooded with two things: billboard advertisements and air pollution. But what happens when a desire for change and progression meets this struggling kind of environ-ment? The result is a billboard that not only stood against air pollution, but actually did something about it. The Coca-Cola billboard stands at the center of one of the bus-iest and most polluted places in the capital. It does not only send a mes-sage against pollutants but goes on to counter it by installing thousands of Fukien tea plants that are estimated to absorb a total of 46,800 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Though this may be a small yet inno-vative step towards progression, it is often these first few steps that lead--- to bigger changes

Poverty in the Philippines is quite rampant and families across the archipelago are left with households that cannot afford electricity let alone a sufficient shelter. Makeshift houses made of iron sheets and planks of scrap wood are common and so is the darkness of their indoors. With the simplest of house-hold materials, the movement named “A Liter of Light” (MyShelter Foun-dation’s latest venture) was born. MyShelter Foundation successfully afforded families around the country the chance to enjoy a brighter kind of living. Who would’ve thought that something as simple as a bottle could bring light into so many homes? That is Filipino ingenuity and resourceful-ness.

www.isanglitrongliwanag.org

Every year, Kapit Bisig para sa Ilog Pasig (KBPIP) holds a fund-raising and information campaign run for the rehabilitation of the Pasig River. Last 2010, the annual ad-vocacy fun run had 116,086 partici-pants, hence the slogan for 2011’s shirt: “I am part of a Guinness World Record.” The 2011 Pasig Run aims to raise 20 million pesos to fund their clean-up project in Pandacan and the University Belt.

A LITER OF LIGHTCOCA-COLA AIR PASIG RIVER RUN

by KEVIN MAYUGA & MEG MANZANO

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Alcohol and Coffee after12 by MEG MANZANO

It was a night like any other, except for the fact that it was past midnight (and my bedtime) and I was lis-tening to a lively discussion my parents, aunts and un-cles were having. They were talking about years past, the struggle they had gone through, and the prominence of their generation. They were Baby Boomers, the breakthrough kids, the ones with the highest potential. They were picked by Time magazine as Man of the Year in 1967. And they are said to be the favorite generation of all time. Theirs was the time John Lennon, Paul McCa-

rtney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr made their mu-sic, the time television was commercialized and entered households. Theirs was, according to them, the time of all time. My father pointed out that they were the ones who made great strides in technology and that they had to go through a lot of adversity. The War had just ended when they were born or when they suffered as they grew up. “In our time, our parents were so strict. We had to be home before 5. We had to help out in the fields during

The clock had just struck 12, but there I was, still sitting at the dining table with six adults. Three of them were

drinking dark beer, the others, black coffee.


by MEG MANZANO

weekends. We had to kneel down to say our prayers for two to three hours. We had to do this, and do that...” The conversation was overflowing with a mix-ture of laughter, sentiment and perhaps even contempt. These adults were talking about things their parents made them do or didn’t let them do. They were talking about their rich morals and the values they had and which seem to have been lost nowadays. They were remembering cur-fews, chores, beliefs and values they had when they were still “your age.” “You kids are so lucky nowadays,” said an aunt. “You don’t have to work as hard, and you kids are so spoiled. Back in our days....” And there I sat, taking it all in, listening to their alcoholic banter and laughter, and both their extremely profound ideas and the extremely foolish ones. I was not drinking anything and I was thinking straight. I had half a mind to leave the table and go to bed, but decided to just

sit there like a monk while a part of me wanted to disa-gree, fight for our generation and address each of their concerns. I wanted to say that our generation does work hard and that we are so not spoiled. Surprise, surprise, I have finally mustered the confidence to speak in behalf of my generation. I had taken no offense to how they praised their own genera-tion, but I wasn’t happy with the comparisons they made with mine and the conclusions they arrived at. Yes, they have gone through suffering and hunger and a large pile of problems, but to say that our generation is having it easy isn’t true at all. To them, having all the modern technology makes it very easy for us to handle our problems. Com-plexities are simplified by science. We have computers, calculators and heavy machinery to do our jobs for us while we just sit without having to lift a finger or use an iota of knowledge.

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alcoholcoffee


We constantly search for meaning in a world filled with people who are

attached to their cell phones, coffee-dependent, and camera-crazy.

But that’s far from the truth. Yes, we do have technology at our fingertips and yes, we are able to multiply, divide, process and figure out eas-ily the calculations they had trouble with during their time, but that does not mean all our problems are solved. As soon as we have answered questions posed to us in the past, we have to face new ones. Knowledge and science are a nine-headed dragon that grows two more heads when one is cut off, so when we are able to answer one question, a few more emerge, each harder than the previous one. Today, high school students study things their parents had to learn only when they were in col-lege. Because of technology, more is expected of us. Our work loads are increased because our profes-sors think we would find it very easy to do normal homework with the use of technology. Accuracy and speed are demanded because we are supposed to be able to find the answers at the touch of a but-ton. Technology is far from being the answer to all our problems. As we develop the capability to fix the problems in front of us, the next problems get harder, the obstacles grow higher and more and more are expected of us. This is why I disagree that life is easier for us. We are not having an easy time because the bar is constantly being raised. They had a lot of fun that night comparing our generation to theirs, but I realized that I didn’t need to violently disagree. I knew that our genera-tion wasn’t anything like what they were talking about and although I knew that what they were say-ing was so wrong, I didn’t feel the need to jump into the conversation and prove them all wrong. Actions speak louder than words, and I felt it was pointless to argue with them if I couldn’t show them they were wrong. Conversations like that will forever be car-ried out until we do something about it and I’m not

talking about defending our generation against the critics we call our parents, I’m talking about actu-ally standing up and getting ourselves away from the television set, laptop and Play Station and do more for our country. Yes, it may sound cheesy, but making the world a better place is a lot better than pigging out on junk food and spending hours surfing the Net for the latest craze. I would do anything to prove the adults wrong, but that’s not the reason I’m making a stand. I want to do this because years from now, I would not like to be drinking alcohol or coffee and talking about the new generation and how flawed it is. I want to be part of the generation that puts a stop to all of this and make everything better so that I don’t have to grow old complaining about the next. I am not a Baby Boomer, I wasn’t born a few years after the War and I’m not very familiar with John, Paul, George, and Ringo. I am spoiled, dependent and stubborn and I can probably say the same thing about others of my generation. But that is not all that I am nor is it all I have to offer. I be-long to a generation full of creative ideas and intel-ligence. We constantly search for meaning in a world filled with people who are attached to their cell phones, coffee-dependent and camera-crazy. We navigate our way through all the craziness tech-nology has to offer and, from time to time, surprise ourselves by discovering new ways to improve the world we are living in. Twenty years from now, I will probably be sitting at home, drinking alcohol or coffee after midnight, talking about the young generation with a smile on my face and without a hint of bitterness or spite. Instead, I will marvel at how bright the fu-ture seems for the youth and how my generation helped mold theirs.

FOLKS’ STORIES


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“I call this the war room,” Atty. Albert Arcilla, managing director and chief operating officer of The Covenant Car Company Inc. (TCCCI) introduced, as he beckoned me to a board room on the second floor of the huge showroom, with nothing but glass to separate spectator from warrior. The whole of EDSA-Greenhills Chevrolet shared a similar fate; a vision of transparency beheld or perhaps, allowed by clearest glass. One could sit on any welcoming chair and enjoy a view of the work executed at the garage, or even men in powder blue polos scribbling feverishly behind desks. “You need to be passionate, whatever you do,” shared Albert. Thus, the glass interiors provided the men behind the scenes with the ability to showcase and be proud of their work. The man who steered Chevrolet’s commend-able 26.9% sales increase in August 2011, is absolutely no stranger to the automobile industry. A president and CEO of Viking Cars, distributors of Volvo in the Philippines, Atty. Arcilla has been working for more than 15 years in the realm of automobiles. After being in a business of selling 3.5 mil-lion peso luxury cars for so long, he shares it’s quite a challenge to enter the mainstream market and handle Chevrolet. “But business is really an opportunity,” he quickly adds. Before the Spark that ignited Chevrolet’s inspiring boom, the American brand experienced a rather low point. The vision Albert had in mind was to recapture the passion people had with Chevrolet. “Everyone knew about the Chevy, but then, almost everyone forgot about Chevrolet,” he shared. He had to bring back the appeal to the mainstream market, while still upholding the class and integrity the brand was known for. On a seemingly random touch of circum-stance, Albert saw Ryan Agoncillo, donned in a suit and blue jeans on television. “He fit the part, what he was wearing said something if he decided to put on a suit and jeans while hosting a lunchtime show.”

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IGNITIONby MEG MANZANO

A vision of transparency beheld or perhaps, allowed by clearest glass


Albert then met up with Ryan and had him test drive all the machines lined up in Chevrolet’s garage. “I asked him if he really liked it, because I didn’t want him to do it for the money, I wanted him to do it because he really loved the brand.” When Ryan confirmed his love for the line of Chevrolet automobiles, he was immedi-ately signed as the brand’s ambassador. Before Ryan was signed to be part of the Chev-rolet team, Albert needed to know his potential brand ambassador felt strongly about the brand and the product.After all, Albert believes every car purchase is an emotional one. “You have two cars, one with bet-ter specs than the other, but if you have a crush on the Camaro, you will always go for the one you’ve been crushing on.” With that belief, Albert and his team of enthusiasts came up with the first tagline, “love the Chevy.”

The success of Chevrolet’s recapturing of the market wasn’t so much the presence of a 40-foot celeb-rity hugging the Cruze, because endorsements, for Al-bert, could only do so much. “You must transcend the endorsement,” and transcend it, Chevrolet most cer-tainly did. After only two years of steering the company, Chevrolet was awarded with a host of superlatives and the sought-after “Car of the Year Philippines 2010-2011” award for the Cruze. “We have a good product but people, when they hear of Chevrolet, only think of the Suburban that costs a few million pesos, they never remember the Spark that costs only 500 thousand. Our business is to change that.” Chevrolet’s future looks more than promising. With a trained warrior in their arena, the brand’s fire does not betray any chances of it coming to a near end.

A Field of Lights and DreamsPacquiao : 2022

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A Field of Lights and DreamsPacquiao : 2022

FROM NATIONAL PRIDE TO NATION’S PRESIDENT

by ISA ALMAZAN

Pacquiao leaves the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas Nevada with yet another controversial win from Juan Manuel Marquez. The third chapter of the most watched boxing trilogy ended with a majority decision in favour of the Filipino boxer. The first two fights ended in a draw and a split decision, respec-tively, so many were counting on Pacquiao to win this fight in a fashion that would be one for the books. It was, however, a me-diocre kind of fight. There were hardly any punches that would make you leap out of your seat. After his name was announced as the WBO (World Boxing Organization) Welterweight Champion on November 12, 2011, the viewers in the arena booed the Pam-bansang Kamao- something that has happened for the first time. And so the debate continues: Did Pacquiao really deserve to win? While everyone else is engaging in a volley of argu-ments on who really owns the title, Pacquiao can’t be any more concerned and bothered. He would keep a reserved stance in his interviews as he would answer variations of, “ganun talaga” or “kasama sa laro yun.” In many ways, you see a certain kind of

peace and contentment in his words which had traces that he could care less. An Eight-division world champion with six world titles, dubbed as the Fighter of the Decade in the year 2000, and is hailed as the number 1 best pound for pound fighter in the world, and Manny Pacquiao could care less. With the athletic recognition, and the fame and money that come with it, what else could possibly be in the mind of a man like Manny Pacquiao? What could possibly more important to Manny Pacquiao than boxing? Philippines is a country quite infamous for over glori-fying personas in the form of movie stars and celebrities. Such is the case with Fernando Poe Jr., Bong Revilla Jr., and Robin Padilla. The biggest and most perfect example would have to be Joseph Ejercito Estrada who first made a name for himself as an actor from a three decade career. Being the pinnacle of supers-tardom as an action star, the Filipino mass saw him as a hero and thus, getting the hearts and votes of the people was no problem.


He first served as the mayor of San Juan after being elected in 1969 and afterwards moved forward to becoming a senator, the vice president in 1992, and finally was elected as the president of the Republic of the Philippines in 1998. His term lasted for four years before he was impeached in 2001. The story, however, wasn’t as smooth sailing for Pac-quiao. Prior to Pacquiao’s third fight with Marquez, he has never received any form of booing or jeers inside and more so, outside the boxing ring. After running for a congressional seat in 2007 as the representative of the 1st district of South Cotabato, how-ever, came the biggest blow to Pacquiao. His rival for the posi-tion Darlene Antonino-Custodio comes from a political family, won by 139,061 votes, leaving Pacquiao defenceless with only 75,908 votes. It seemed that the longstanding hero worship for celebrity-turned-politician has finally dwindled. But Pacquiao didn’t understand the idea of quitting. In November 2009, Pac-quiao announced that he would be joining the congressional race to represent the province of Sarangani, the hometown of his

wife Jinkee. The elections once again resulted in a landslide win but the tables have been turned. Pacquiao emerged victorious against a very wealthy and politically astute candidate and this reiterated the universal fact that indeed: mahirap patumbahin si Manny Pacquiao. Manny Pacquiao will always be best remembered for his feats in boxing and is already a sports legend even before he has retired. He has won the hearts of millions of fans all over the world for being the greatest boxer of our time and for his amus-ing stints on Jimmy Kimmel. He is a character who has, without a doubt, enamoured the hopeful hearts of our Cinderella-Story-loving nation. But like any fairy tale, Pacquiao will meet his end-ing. The light at the end of the tunnel is closing in and Pacquiao will be hanging up his boxing gloves in a few years. The inevi-table next chapter of his life is, something that he has already begun penetrating, public service. Two years into his seat in Congress and Pacquiao al-ready has started mapping political pursuits. It was reported in

THE INEVITABLE“THE INEVITABLE NEXT CHAPTER OF HIS LIFE, SOMETHING THAT HE HAS ALREADY BEGUN PENETRATING,PUBLIC SERVICE.”

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a September 2011 article in International Business Times that Manny Pacquiao has officially announced his plans for candidacy for the vice presidential race in 2016. If (and he probably will) he wins this campaign, Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao, the man we fondly call Manny, will be the 16th president of the Republic of the Philippines. It’s not a matter of “if” anymore because of irrevocability of the situation. The more vexing problematique we are faced with is whether or not Pacquiao can go from Pacman to President. Many were skeptical of Pacquiao political pursuits. Various speculations on how he will merely be used as a puppet by other politicians circulated. People often asked, “What does he really know aside from boxing anyway?” With Manny’s educational background- or lack thereof, the nay-sayers do have a point. Pacquiao, however, proved that being

learned is not enough basis for one to be suitable for public service. Pacquiao has already accomplished more work than people who have been in government longer than he has. The media has put him under a microscope and the absence of inaction and apathy in the part of Pacquiao has silenced all the critics. The poverty that Pacquiao experienced growing up and the heights of his career has enabled the man to not only witness but actually live through the disparity of social classes. His reverence to his religion and his commitment to the poor is not an act but a new found mission. Most of Pac-quiao’s public service focuses on the betterment of education and medical care. He has already introduced two bills, one of which is to provide funds for local medical aid. In line with this, Pacquiao has started pushing for the construction


of his province’s first ever hospital. Pacquiao also donates $25,000 every three months in order to assist high school and college expenditures in the Philippines. He is also plan-ning to introduce a bill to boost student aid in the country. The government has tapped the Sarangani Congressman to explore the problems in human trafficking in the Philippines, as well. In an interview with the LA Times prior to the fight against Antonio Margarito in 2010, Pacquiao clearly can nev-er be preoccupied enough. He talks about his true passion and being elected as new Congressman for Sarangani, the hometown of his wife Jinkee, earlier that same year. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of training for a globally an-ticipated boxing event, Pacquiao talks about politics in a way that makes boxing seems so trivial. “I want to be a champion of public service,” he shares.

In the same article, Roach shares how much of a priority public service is to Manny. In just the first week of training, Pacquiao already expressed how much he misses his political work back at home and his boxing trainer Fred-die Roach says, “I’d never heard anything like that from him.” At one point of the training, Pacquiao had to momentarily put training on pause because he had a prior commitment of meeting the Philippine President Benigno Aquino III and Roach shares how a part of him was terrified of the chance that he might not come back to training. The preparations for his most recent fight against Marquez were interrupted on a weekly basis because Pacqui-ao would leave their Baguio training camp for his show with GMA 7, Manny Many Prizes. Disruptions and distractions have always been part of Manny Pacquiao. The entire entou-rage of the boxer all agree that he wouldn’t be the Manny Pacquiao that everyone loves and reveres if he didn’t come with any of these baggage. Manny feels burdened and re-sponsible to give back to his fellowmen so a couple of humps and bumps here and these are basically non-negotiables when it comes to the People’s Champion. Bob Arum, the promoter of the boxing champion, narrates stories of the untold dynamism of Pacquiao. Arum shares that Pacquiao is “enjoying building tremendous leg-acy in boxing” but together with Roach, shares how politics has seemingly put Pacquiao in full circle. Pacquiao’s atten-tion may be divided in some way, somehow because of newly ascribed role in society but he assures that fans that he is not reeling of the tracks. “My focus is the fight, but it’s not my whole day,” he says. Today, Manny Pacquiao is many things. He is a boxer, a singer and actor at times, a devout Catholic, and a Congressman. All of this, however, is bound to change in a few years. The Renaissance man who we know now will be pushed aside and a new Manny Pacquiao will emerge. We don’t know if Pacquiao will be ready when the day comes that he will be elected President. All we can do is hold our breath in the meantime and hope damn hard that he will be. The facts, however, reassure us that Pacquiao will be doing far greater things for our country than the hundreds of politi-cians who have jaded us with broken promises- president or not.

“I WANT TO BE A CHAMPION OF PUBLIC SERVICE”

It's got “"heroes"“ you can rally behind.

The cinematography is pretty solid.

It's a testament to the Pinoy Badass.

It's actually a pretty good movie to say the least.

Asiong Salonga's wife is really hot.

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Reasons Why You Should catch Manila Kingpin in Theaters5

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It's a testament to the Pinoy Badass.

It's actually a pretty good movie to say the least.

Of all the movies that came out during this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival, I wanted to watch “Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story” for the sole reason of it not being a spin-off or sequel of some overly done series. I recently went with my friend to watch it, and now here’s 5 reasons why you should as well. If it’s still running, that is.

I might be a tad overreaching, but I think it takes movies like The Expendables to match this one in testosterone levels. However, what saves it from being lumped with many typical Pinoy shoot-em-up joyrides is that the characters are well developed, relatable and set against a pretty good story with little to no lulls between the big ac-tion set pieces. Great casting and awesome soundtrack (especially Ely Buendia’s song) round out this really enjoyable movie that I certainly wouldn’t mind watching again.

Oh, a special shout-out goes to whoever the Thai stunt coordinator was. Who-ever you are, you’re a saint.

It could be argued that the subject matter can get pretty sexist, but I guess it’s a testament to our local cultural archetypes. To be the badass in this country doesn’t necessarily mean having muscles upon muscles. Rock an awkward sized gold chain, pop your collar without any hint of irony and you’re halfway there. Plus points if you can pull off the denim-on-denim with Chuck Taylors look. It’s the same way the West-ern world is starting to embrace the idea that real men are those that happily let their potbellies loose and grow Zach Galifianakis-level facial hair.

Yes, the entire movie is black and white. But that totally enhances the feel. The story can get pretty gritty, and save for a few odd moments, how the shots were done and composed really brings out a nice bit of cinema sheen that doesn’t offset the grit one bit.

Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story has no lead characters with the kinds of mid-sections that you can do your laundry on. Despite the lack of cuts, Asiong and his gang bring an inherent, infectious charisma that just gets you hooked and fol-lowing their adventures from the kalesa shootouts down to their post-gang banging club time. Asiong Salonga (E.R. Ejercito) may not look like your typical leading man, but that doesn’t make him or any of his gang a pushover. If I were remotely tough (which I’m not), I’d hang out with those guys. Besides, he gets to come home to that smoking hot wife of his every night. More on her later.

Really Carla Abellana, where have you been all this time? You’ve got the face that’ll make pretty much any man with balls between his legs wish he was the Manila Kingpin. Your character with her desire to settle for a “normal life” was a nice counter-point to your husband’s gangster ways. And for kissing E.R Ejercito as much as you did in the movie, I think you should’ve won best actress for that. Straight up.

Reasons Why You Should catch Manila Kingpin in Theaters by MYKEE ALVERO

CHE GUEVARA Ph

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CHE GUEVARA WHY THAT FACE ON A SHIRT

ISN’T BOB MARLEYby DANIELLA RODRIGUEZ

Guerilerlo Heroico: one of the most famous photo-graphs in the world. In a way, it became the symbol of the Cuban revolution. And Alberto Korda, the photographer of this famed image, asked for no royalties no matter how many times it had been reproduced on all types of media. And this is the face on that shirt of the guy sitting next to you in class. Can you name him? (Clue: he is not Bob Marley). If you can, then good for you! He’s part of Time Magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century. So you know, you should at least know his name. But what has he done that has landed him part of this list? Can you name anything he’s done without checking his Wikipedia page? I thought as much. His face is so recognizable but most of us have no clue what he’s even done. Myself included. So, for the purpose of this article, I took the liberty of “Google-ing” El Che. Ernesto “Che” Guevara went on a medical mission of sorts (yes, he was a medical student!) in his early twenties throughout South America. Whatever he witnessed and experi-enced then (if you’re curious, read and/or watch The Motorcycle Diaries) made him reject capitalism… and later on decide to hop on the old yacht, Granma, from Mexico to Cuba with Fidel Cas-tro to overthrow the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. He met his end at the age of 39; he was captured and executed in Bolivia. His grave is unknown, but his hands were removed and preserved. His death did not stop the revolution, but fueled the youth of that time. A dead hero for many years now, many still proclaim his greatness—including Nelson Man-dela who said that Che was, or should I say is, “an inspiration for every human being who loves freedom.”

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His death did not stop the

revolution, but fueled the

youth of that time.


The funny thing is Che Guevara is probably incredibly angry at the idea that he is on a shirt, most likely produced by people who have no idea how much he pushed the bounda-ries in Latin America, fighting for the oppressed, and pushing for change in the inequalities in the system. He fought against the very institution that fuels industries like mass-made t-shirt production. And to these companies, this face makes is no dif-ferent than that of Bob Marley. It just earns them cash. “Oh, he’s popular, let’s stick his face on the next batch of shirts.” You can practically hear Che screaming in his grave. Oh, wait was he even buried? Well, his amputated hands must be itching to set fire to it all. The irony. Bob Marley has ended up in similar fate: as a face on that funky-smelling guy’s shirt. He is possibly the most well-known reggae artists ever. Like Che, he represented a growing culture back in his day. Mainstream audiences have only heard of Rastafarianism because of him. Similarly, we have no idea the extent of what Bob Marley achieved in his lifetime, which got cut at 36 because of cancer. And all this time I thought he was part of the infamous 27 Club (singers who die at 27, usually from a drug overdose). Now that you are more informed, you can ask that kid who they’re wearing next time you see one of their faces on their shirt. You can tell them that Che is definitely not who they think he is. Or you can educate them about who Che was: a man so loved and hated for his efforts to change the political landscape of Cuba, and he wasn’t even Cuban. It’d be a great dishonor to both Che Guevara and Bob Marley if they were mistaken for one another. Bob Marley is more than just the poster child for dreadlock-wearing pot-heads, and Che Guevara deserves to be recognized in his own right, not mistaken as Bob Marley (or one of The Wailers). He was a pivotal figure in a revolution, for crying out loud! So im-ages like this Che Rasta don’t make sense if you are aware of the history and movements both parties stood for. Because this Korda image was free-for-all—even Fidel Castro allowed its use without any call for payment—it became the most reproduced photograph to date. It is now instantly recognizable, whether or not you know who it is or what he stood for. Sadly enough, in 2001, it had been copyrighted 40 years after its creation. Korda’s daughter, Diana Diaz appar-ently sold the image’s rights to clothing companies. All types of Che merchandise may now be purchased at thechestore.com. Those who wear his face without irony or cluelessness are mourning the loss of a great revolutionary, and the capital-ist-induced death of what he stood for. Society as we know it has lost the essence of Che Guevara.

He fought against the very institution that fuels industries like mass-made t-shirt production

An excerpt from “A La Juventud Filipina” by Jose Rizal


Unfold o timid flower!

An excerpt from “A La Juventud Filipina” by Jose Rizal

Lift up your radiant brow,This day, youth of my native strand! Your abounding talents showResplendently and grand,


Fair hope of my Motherland!


Descend with the pleasing lightOf the arts and sciences to the plain

O youth, and break forthright

The links of the heavy chainThat your poetic genius enchain.

MOMENTS &MOVEMENTS


WHATOCCUPY

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WHATOCCUPY$TREET

by MURPHY PE

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Like the Civil Rights Movement that initially began as a peripheral rebellious response to the iniquities and injus-tices of its time which redefined in the process the meaning of Human Rights, Racial Equality, and Freedom, Occupy Wall Street is a convergent 21st-century attempt to transform the World-- inspired by a powerful idea whose time has come: Change and the possibility of a new, more just & humane Fu-ture. September 17, 2011 to most New Yorkers was like any other day. It was humdrum & not much different from the day before that or the days before it. Yet to a group of foolhardy Canadian activists who believed that the day is the opportune moment for their voices to be heard, it was the beginning of a landmark crusade, a transformative albeit idealistic crusade. Premised on the idea that the irregularity in the dis-tribution of wealth, the widening of the disparity between the rich and the poor, and the failure of states to enforce legislation and measures that safeguard societal welfare are driven by the Capitalist System, Occupy Wall Street’s primary objective is to put an end to the current economic and financial setup. More concretely, advocates of the OWS movement “want more and better jobs, more equal distribution of income, bank reform, and a reduction of the influence of corporations on politics”. Like the Arab Spring which was a revolution of the young that made known to the world the youth’s power & cru-cial position in the process of achieving social transformation and emancipation, OWS is an attempt that responds to the

stark realities of the present. In its editorial Businessweek noted that while OWS “in its grassroots and leftist character, bears a resemblance to protests from the ’60s and early ’70s”, the discourse it adopts is different in that unlike the Woodstock Era when “radical students preached an affinity with the “working class,” and es-poused martial tendencies” it does not have a violent agenda or strong ideological affinities. Thus it is clear that what sets Occupy Wall Street apart from similar movements before it is its openness, inclu-siveness, and popular message that has drawn people to rally to its cause. From its simple beginnings, the movement grew by leaps and bounds because its simple but transformative goal resonates with the people so much so that in no time the spill-over effect has come full circle. The spill over that this phenom-enal movement brought about has resulted to a series of simi-lar protests around the world that have the same core message but are specific to their contexts. Thus, in many ways it isn’t just a movement but The Movement for from it is drawn many transversal issues that are imperative to the resolution of various geo-politico reforms of particular locales. OWS’s goals while idealistic and very much remi-niscent of the activism and militancy of the 60’s and the 70’s should not be understood as simply a critique of the Capitalist system, best represented by the symbolic trope of Wall Street but must be seen a watershed event that marks the political awakening and coming of age of today’s youth.


Occupy Wall Street being a largely youth-driven phe-nomenon historically speaking is landmark because it repre-sents this generation’s shift of consciousness in the way its youth see themselves-- as no longer just observers, inconse-quential bystanders but active and dynamic participants. From its advent until it became a phenomenon, the youth has played a pivotal role in sustaining and advancing OWS’s advocacies. Moreover, they have been at the forefront of setting the agenda to maximize and effectively manage the movement’s gains. In the last few weeks, there has been a concerted ef-fort in social, online, and print media, led primarily by the youth, to draw more attention to OWS’s causes. This development is unprecedented in that the reach has become global which has paved the way for people from other countries to express their support, weigh in their opin-ions, and carry on the cause to their countries. Politically, OWS has altered the dynamics of the so-cio-political landscape, having given rise to the emergence of a new brand of activism. This brand of activism, introduced in the 90’s does away with the traditional markers and labels of identification used in determining the nature of movements. Where in the past, movements were nominally coded by Authorities in clear, definite, well-delineated categories such as anti-state/anti-establishment, pro-state/pro-establishment, radical/left-wing, conservative/right-wing, the entry of multi-valent movements that have no singular ideology/grand thesis

(e.g. Occupy Wall Street) has rendered void these traditional indices. Socially, OWS has brought to the fore the fundamental & foundational issues concerning the Status Quo (Economic, Social, Political), its discourse and how these very same (these institutions) through the decisions they make, the policies they enact, and wheeling-dealing affect the whole of Humanity. As there is today a race to create a globally interde-pendent society with no rules and little regard for justice and equality, OWS in the context could be seen as a proactive albeit utopian enlightened counter-response whose outcome is yet certain. Nevertheless, whatever becomes of this ongoing demonstration which has had hundreds if not thousands of versions dealing with a wide range of issues from the original Down to (Wall Street) Capitalism to People of Europe: Rise Up to the Reproductive Health Bill, it is apparent that this will have a profound effect on the way social movements are done, on the way technology is used to shape agency, and on the way the youth is seen as a political/economic actor.

OWS by the numbers next page >>

under 35

over 45between 35-45

Who say they would support civil disobedience

to achieve their aimsPreviously participated in

a political movement

Who say they cast a ballot for Obama in 2008

Demonstrators who now say they disapprove of

Obama

More than $75k

More than $150k

age

annual salary

employment

Slightly less than $50kMedian income for American families

“Part-time employed/underemployed”

Unemployed

9.1%

Sources: Fast Company, Kiplinger, Wall Street Journal, theweek.com

National rate of unemployment

Who say they are unsure of what they would like to see the

movement to accomplish

Who say they would support violence

Consider themselves Democrats

CUTTING COSTS and CHASES

Back when I was in high school, despite a large number applying, only a few really wanted to study in the University of the Philippines. Coming from a private Catholic school with middle to upper class population, the students (including me) had this idea that UP was a talahiban with cockroaches in CRs, super old buildings, and poor to no facilities. But if you visit UP now, parking lots are full of cars driven and owned by students. You see girls and boys in their best outfits, or if not, in their similarly expensive Havaianas. Instead of tall grass you will see majestic trees which the hipsters with their SLRs use as background for their artsy-fartsy photography. The place may not be as dirty and poor as I first imagined. But the school which was supposedly the home of “Mga Iskolar ng Bayan” leading a laidback, back-to-roots, “for the country” lifestyle, is now home to the bourgeois and nouveau riche, who tote their laptops, iPads and BBs. The buildings are still old, not all CRs have water, com-puters and air conditioning is still quite limited, chairs will ruin your pants, canteen food may hurt your stomach, and the supposedly extensive collection of the library is surpassed by those of the neighboring universities whose students pay to get exactly what they asked for. What is up with that? Back when I was a freshman, UP raised tuition by 300%. It is still relatively low at an average of P20,000 per semester. But when my friends from the higher lev-els take a look at my Form5, their mouths turn into big circles because their tuition is only P8,000 at most while mine is P18,000 at least. The University of the Philippines is the country’s national university. So yes, it is a public school. Yes, it is subsidized by the government, along with other SUCs (State Universities and Colleges). In an ideal country, theses SUCs would be subsi-dized 100% by the government, rendering their students as scholars in the truest

by JILL POINIO


sense. So the main purpose of these educational institutions is to be the medium of the government to do its obligation of providing less-privileged Filipino citizens with quality education (or at least just education), which is a right.But if you are in the know, then you’d know that the government likes to allot the country’s money elsewhere, like for example, paying our debts, or funding for “jus-tice,” or, their favorite, “combating corruption.” “What is the ‘budget cut’ anyway?” Let me give you a scenario. An institu-tion, let’s say a school, prepares their budget for the incoming year. Let’s say they came up with P8B. This amount then will be forwarded to the Congress and Senate, to be considered as they deliberate on the country’s budget appropriations for the year. In previous years, the budget the government allotted for this school may have been equal to or lower than its proposed budget, for example the school asked for P11B but was only granted P7B. But when the new budget is lower than the previ-ous year’s budget, for example, P5B, then it is not only less than the recent proposed

budget, but also less than the allotted budget from last year. From last year’s al-lotted budget of P7B, the budget allotted now is only P5B. The P2B you cut

from P7B to get only P5B is the ‘budget cut.’ Get it? President Aquino (PNoy) has made it very clear that his

main goal is to eradicate poverty through eradicat-ing corruption. Everyone knows our gov-

ernment is one of the most corrupt in the world. Props for doing

something about it, finally! But for an administra-

tion to focus primar-ily on that while compro-mising the rest, to me, is like trying to erase a bad tattoo. Why spend all our time correcting mistakes of the past, when we can instead learn what not to do, and consequently do what is best? It’s like becoming a wise person and not getting a bad tattoo in the first place. These SUCs are being encouraged to be “financially independent.” Budget for public-private partnership is actually P11B. Private companies (who are extremely rich) are beginning to “provide” for SUCs so the government can put our money where they think will use it better. Public schools are being forced to raise tui-tion and other fees so they can be self-sufficient. You may say, “Why are these schools asking for money from the government when they can generate it themselves after all?” That kind of mentality is bullshit. Why then are SUCs still SUCs if they are not being provided for by the state? Can a mere employee whose salary is the minimum wage of P426 a day with a whole family to feed, send one of his children to a “public” school whose tuition is P1,000 a unit? Obviously not! These SUCs are here for that reason – to be the chance of those without sufficient income to get quality education, too. So they can figure out for themselves how they can better their lives, instead of waiting for the government to stop stealing their money and allocate it to “livelihood programs” or “pabahay programs” and whatnot. To rise up from poverty to progress, this country’s citizens must realize their life is in their capable hands, and not in the hands of the people in position (who, by the way, they elected there in the first place). We need an empowered country, not a powerful government. And education is em-powerment.

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We need an empowered country, not a powerful government

The school is where we make sense of things, where we realize what we can be, and move towards becoming just that. Hell yeah education should be a right. But apparently, with all the budget cuts, it’s like the government is sucking away the soul of adolescence. Imagine yourself not being in school. What would you be doing? The “bum” life may sound tempting at first, but school is where you meet your friends, where you learn what you know now, where you harness your skills and talents, where you think, speak and act the way you want to, where you can be silly and stupid and then grow. Take that away, and then ask yourself: what would you be doing now? Right then will you only person-ally understand how truly significant education is. But you, reader, are only one of the less than 10% privi-leged. Think of those 90+% whose life and future depended on education. From all the budget cuts, enrollment by the lower class has gone down 4% more. Less and less get the chance to change their lives through education. Some of us teensters are already doing considerable ac-tion, from the traditional rallying, to posting it in your Facebook page. One campaign is called “Six Will Fix,” where they propose to put it in the law to allocate at least 6% of the country’s budg-et to education every year. Believe what you want, do what you want, but please, do something. This is an issue for all Filipino youth, whether or not we are studying in an SUC, simply because we would know nothing without education. That slowly being taken away from us should not be tolerated. Education is a right, but when we are being taken advantage of, then we just have to put up a fight that the government will not dare set aside.


We need an empowered country, not a powerful government

Whitney Houston was on to something when she sang “The Greatest Love of All.”. Decades have passed since but the song’s opening line “I believe the children are our future” is just as immortal as the mes-sage it conveys. And it seems that many nod to this idea— even local t-shirt brand Analog Soul, who has obliged itself to support the youth by cultivating their talent in graphic design and through partnering with local charity Hapag-asa to fight against children’s hun-ger in the Philippines.

The Unexpected Starting off in the year 2005 and not with the slightest intention of becoming one of the most popu-lar local t-shirt brands that it is now. Co-owner and co-founder Migs Naguiat recalls putting up the business just to “earn a little extra money for Christmas, just to go shopping.” But eventually the little business grew into more than just a source of holiday shopping mon-ey. The brand succeeded in capturing the diverse tastes of its young customers through the different themes of the graphic designs printed on their t-shirts. “I think it really comes down to the themes that a lot of our buy-ers relate to. We end up talking about stuff like buhay estudyante, love and heartbreak or a little bit of nation-alism sometimes, even events and pop culture. We like to tackle different things and different thoughts.” Migs says. But Analog Soul goes beyond than just pro-ducing pretty shirts to wear. What makes the brand even more commendable is its active support for bud-ding graphic designers through open sourcing. Yes—the brand’s graphic designers come from its custom-ers. T-shirt designs are submitted via the brand’s official website, and a featured designer automatically wins prize money. Not your run-of-the-mill t-shirt brand, Analog Soul believes that it is also an outlet for artists to showcase their talents and an inspiration for them to keep honing their craft.

Philanthropic Efforts

The brand is nothing short of social responsibility either as one of the participating local brands along the likes of Bench and Penshoppe, for the I Am Ninoy campaign, an organization that aims to actively engage the youth in helping push for social change. But even prior to the campaign, Analog Soul has always been aware of the prevalence of child hunger in the Philippines. Migs even says, “I knew this even before Hapag-asa. If you go to some groceries, the infant’s formula is in lock and key—it is the most stolen item, because it’s so expensive.

ANALOG SOUL: ON GRAPHIC DESIGN, THE YOUTH AND CHILD HUNGER by RIA CASCO


And if you look at the packets of some coffee creamers, it says ‘not to be substituted for infant’s formula’ because there are actually mothers who use coffee creamer as milk for their kids, and that’s so sad.” The goal of the campaign was to help alleviate these unfortunate circumstances—and this goal was met. The specially-designed I Am Ninoy edition t-shirts raised funds for Analog Soul’s chosen benefi-ciary, Hapag-asa, a feeding program for children spearheaded by various dioceses around the Philippines to combat child hunger. The proceeds were enough to sponsor 41 malnourished kids for the feeding pro-gram for 6 months. The success of the campaign eventually led the brand to design shirts for the I Am Cory campaign as well. Analog Soul strongly believes that the health, welfare and creativity of the youth are paramount in helping them unleash their full potential, which is why the brand is quick to jump into any opportunity to be an instrument for their growth. Whether it’s through providing them an outlet to showcase their work or simply taking away the grumble of hunger in children’s stomachs, their faith and support for the young generation is unwavering. Either in big or small ways, you can always count on Analog Soul to be hand-in-hand with the youth in turning this nation into a better place—one awesome t-shirt at a time.

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by RAFAEL CAMUS

A YOUNG PADAWAN DARES TO ASK WHY THE BEATLES WERE ALL THAT


I bet at some point in your life, you’ve met a person named John, or Paul, or George. But I bet you haven’t met a Ringo. You’d probably think that Ringo was an amusing name for a pet that had a funny demeanor, nothing more when you come to think about it. Those names didn’t mean much before. Those four names were just that, names. But I bet you anything when you read them in that proximity, you thought about The Beatles. The Fab Four have become so iconic that they are still in the consciousness of the com-mon man, forty one years after they broke up. It is hard to imagine that a rock and roll band could be as influential as they have, for as long as they have. They mean an infinite number of things to infinitely many individuals, for the rest of infinity. To put it simply: The Beatles are amazing. But simply attaching superlatives to The Beatles is too easy. You can get away with calling them the greatest band of all time, the most influential group ever, more popular than Jesus Christ [though they themselves didn’t get away with that last one]. . .and never really know why. And that is the case nowadays.

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You have kids going around appreciating them by wearing t-shirts of the Abbey Road crossing, playing Beatles Rockband, using the lyrics from Hey Jude as a Facebook status, and similar things that don’t directly relate to their artistic genius. My generation has grown up in a time where you are supposed to respect them because they were just that good. We were born into a world where the love for The Beatles is so great that many don’t even think twice about saying that they were the greatest ever. And though the love and appreciation isn’t unfounded or baseless at all, you really gain a better appreciation for their greatness when you realize how amazingly revolutionary they really were for their time. Their contributions to music alone are unmatched by any individual or group in modern times. But why? Why,after so long, do they have the impact they do on people? Changing the way people view music is something few have done in the history of man. When talking about The Beatles, that’s the only direction one can go. They were one of those groups that changed music as we know it. In a seven-year career, they swept the world with revo-lutionary ideas that were translated into music. Not only did they change music, they changed pop culture as well. The phenomenon known as Beatlemania has set the standard for every pop culture force that has followed. And the amazing thing is that it is still going strong. But to see why, to rationalize how great they are goes beyond their popularity. Many musicians are incredibly popu-lar but have contributed next to nothing in terms of the great collection of music. Look at Justin Beiber in comparison to The Fab Four. He has the moptop, a few hits, but he hasn’t changed the game (and doesn’t look like he will the way they did). But he is popular. He has girls screaming and wailing at his concerts, proclaiming their everlasting love for JB. It’s cute. Really. But when you realize that The Beatles were doing the exact same thing to his fan’s (and most likely your) mothers and grandmothers, it’s unimpressive. Sure, there was hype behind them. There was so much hype behind The Beatles. Even when they were a relatively popular group in Liverpool, they were already credited with starting new sound that would come to be known as Merseybeat. Later on in their career, they would be credited with leading the British Invasion, a time when UK bands dominated US music charts. They led that invasion on TV with multiple appearances on The Ed Sullivan show in a time before MTV was the preferred method of distributing music to mass audiences through a visual medium. This really contributed to the massive fanfare that followed them wherever they went and played a large part in the whole Beatlemania movement. If you’ve ever wondered what it was like to be the band, try watching the first half hour or so of A Hard Day’s Night. Their fans really mobbed them whenever the chance presented itself, just because they were that popular. There was no escaping fame for them, and no way for people to tune out. The band was everywhere: TV, movies, juke boxes, radios, and every single medium you could play their music on, they were there. But even if they had all this fame going on, the music was, at the end of the day, really good. It was revolutionary at the time, simply because no one was thinking the way they did. By the time they had finished Sgt. Pepper, they had developed very strange (but surprisingly innova-tive) techniques, like automatic double track recording to say the least. They were also one of the first rock groups to incorporate classical string instruments, sitars, organs, pianos, and a complete orchestra in their albums. There was nothing like it at the time, and probably never will be. When they started out, you could clearly hear the Elvis influence in their sound. But as time went on, the music began to change, to evolve, and become something different altogether. Not everything they made can be considered golden though. In their entire catalogue, there are a few songs that really make you scratch your head and think how high they must have been when they wrote this (Yellow Submarine, I’m looking at you). But they do have a distinct sound that sets them apart from a lot of the cookie cutter material we have today. What they made was a sound of their own. The music that they built was diverse, and nothing short of legendary.


I BET AT SOME POINT IN YOUR LIFE, YOU’VE MET A PERSON NAMED JOHN, OR PAUL, OR GEORGE. BUT I BET YOU HAVEN’T MET A RINGO

When you get to what makes The Beatles legends, you have to start talking about their ability to create music; starting with John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The combination of Len-non/McCartney have contributed precisely one hundred and eighty songs written over the course of The Beatles’ run together. Imagine that number for a moment, and process it. Not many bands even make fifty songs in a career that spans maybe ten years. They did it in seven. When you think about it, there is something impressive about with what the two of them achieved, especially when you begin to think about the quality of their output. In a majority of the situations, John Lennon and Paul McCartney would be the two who would write and compose the songs that became a part of their catalogue. Their prowess as both lyricists and composers is a testament to the collaborative process itself, simply because no one else has come close to what they have done. That being said, The Beatles were a four man group. Ringo and George did write a few songs and sing from time to time, even if the perpetual focus was and forever will be on Lennon and McCartney. The best that has come out of the other two however is still pretty damn good. Harrison has “Here Comes the Sun”, Ringo has “Octopus’s Garden”; the former being one of the most popular Beatle’s songs, the latter being part of an attraction at LegoLand California. Not all that bad, when you think about it.

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However, the thing that The Beatles did better than anyone else, regardless of who wrote the song, was tell stories. They told great stories about love, about holding hands, about across the universe, about revo-lution, about things that people can relate to. Their lyrics speak to people, plain and simple. They didn’t always need to use elabo-rate words and complex meta-phors to explain the way they felt. The way the words fit the music to create an incredible im-agery is, in a way, what was key to the success of The Beatles. Be it happy or sad, serious or ab-surd, The Beatles have a story to tell. It feels so pure at times, so genuine in the attempt to cre-ate good, honest music that you can’t help but feel that their mu-sic is something special. Listen as much of their music and you’ll find that they pretty much have a song that fits every momentous and important moment of life. As profound as it sounds, they real-ly have so much music, so much good material that it begins to stretch far into the human soul. Some things really are meant to transcend time. I be-lieve The Beatles really are one of those things. I recently sat down with a tito of mine, who was fourteen at the time The Beatles came to our shores. He told me about what it was like to be in the crowd in Rizal Memo-rial Stadium. It was one of those moments you dream of, with a crowd screaming at fever pitch, and seeing them in their trade-mark collarless suits, and upbeat demeanor. He said they were perfect showmen and had that no one ever really could compare to that. He put emphasis on the fact that even from the rafters, you could see the on stage dy-namics that really helped them

capture the audience. This was a dream concert for any fan, but nobody could have predicted that it would be one of the last times they played a live perfor-mance ever again. He told me about how his cover band in high school played way too much Bea-tles songs because even well into the 70s they were pretty fun to listen to. I asked him why, and he gave me some of the simplest reasoning I’ve heard in a long while: “You like them don’t you?” A lot of kids don’t know much about why this group of four is as good as they are. The default notion is that someone, at some point time, said they were amazing so that should hold true. But when you listen to their music, put it up against anything that is on Top 40 now, it stands on a league of its own. The times, they are a changing but there is a constant good. Four boys from Liverpool who released thirteen full length records, with two hundred and thirteen songs, re-corded, seven Grammy’s and have sold the more albums than any musical act in the history of music. Yes, they are good. But at the end of the day, the reason why is in the music. They gave the world some of the most bril-liant material, without ever re-ally setting out to do so. They really are the best thing to happen to music. Ever.


A LOT OF KIDS DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT WHY THIS GROUP OF FOUR IS AS GOOD AS THEY ARE. THE DEFAULT NOTION IS THAT SOMEONE, AT SOME POINT IN TIME, SAID THEY WERE AMAZING SO THAT SHOULD HOLD TRUE

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IT WAS REVOLUTIONARY AT THE TIME, SIMPLY BECAUSE NO ONE WAS THINKING THE WAY THEY DID

AN ATTEMPT TO DISSECT THE BEAUTY THAT IS THE BEATLES’ SONG, “A DAY IN THE LIFE”

If you want a specific sample of how profound their music was, try and find a copy of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Listen to the whole thing. At the end of the album is one of the best songs they’ve ever made. A Day in the Life. It stands out as one of the most profoundly unusual tracks that they have ever made because of the unique use of perspective, tempo change, and not to mention avant-garde transitions that was a highlight on one of their final albums. In that one song, you can see genius at work on levels that you just don’t see everyday. You get a chance into the minds of two individuals who worked so well together, even if there is that distinction of two parts. Even though you can say you know where McCartney ends and Lennon begins, you don’t think of it as two separate songs. The main strength of the song lies in the great expression of imagination that was shown. In essence, it’s a narration of what went on in a day of two separate people, but it comes together so well, that you can’t take it apart anymore. The recording process of this one song involves the standard guitar, bass and drum set up that is a staple of most Beatles songs. Everything else that goes into it though is simply on a scale that is unheard of, really. It took thirty four recording hours to produce a song that lasts all of five minutes. The full instrumental credits for this song alone include maracas, a harmonium, harp, twelve violins, four violas, four cellos, two double basses, an oboe, two clarinets, two bassoons, two flutes, two French horns, three trumpets, three trombones, a tuba, a timpani, three grand pianos and an alarm clock.


You may think that The Beatles were very influ-ential at the time. With Beatlemania sweeping the world in the 60s, no part of the world was immune. Not even the Philippines. And though it may never occur to the average Beatles fan in the Philippines, we actually had an impact on their career trajectory. Big words right there, but their two-day stay in Manila was actually one of the ugliest and surprisingly highlighted incidents in their touring history, so the story goes. On July 4th, 1966, The Beatles landed in Ma-nila for what would be one of the biggest and most an-ticipated concerts the country had ever seen. Their two concerts on that date had a combined audience of over 80,000 attendees. No one to this date has had a bigger single day draw in the country to date, and probably never will. The historical significance and amazing shows that were played however have a darker side to them. A spat with Imelda and President Marcos, an unintention-al snub to the invitation to be guests at the Malacañang

Palace led to one of the worst tour incidents in their ca-reers. Due to a policy of not doing political functions, The Beatles lost their police protection and were mobbed by the general public over the “disrespect” they showed to-wards the Marcoses. Before leaving the country, Manag-er Brian Epstein was forced to turn over 6,800 pounds worth of notes from the Manila shows, which at the time was more money than even they could afford to lose. This incident of harassment, along with incidents in the US with the Klu Klux Klan lead to the end of their tour-ing days, and the beginning of studio life. The incident in Manila is frequently cited as one of those ugly moments in the group’s history. There is however much good that came out of it. If The Beatles were never mobbed, never harassed on a level that mu-sical guests should ever be pushed to, they would have never become more private, and probably never start entering their studio years. They would have never made some of their greatest material, or truly becoming the greatest artists of the 20th century.

BEATLEMANIA IN MANILA

SALVADORBERNAL

A MAKER OF WORLDS

You walk inside a theater and notice the miniature mountains in the far left end of the room and the life sized trees carefully aligned and misaligned both at the same time. Behind the fixtures is a larger than life backdrop hanging loosely. It stares back at you in a way that makes you feel a bit uncomfortable. The uneasintess roots back on how you’ve always thought theater as something reserved for the privileged and wealthy. The irony of theater is how you hardly ever understand whether the art is trying to mimic real life or does the world outside the theater walls imitate art. You find your seat and try to find the most comfortable position you can be-cause for the next hour or so, you’ll be stuck inside this dark room. In that couple of hours, you will be transported into entirely different dimension. You wait. You wait. You wait. You can hardly see the kind of painting the canvass is showcasing you. You wait blindly because the dim lights hardly ever allow you to comprehend what is going on. You can hardly figure out the big picture but the moment the background and set design becomes vivid to your eyes, you start to anticipate and imagine the kind of world you’ll be transitioned to. The script, the actors, and the lights all blend together to encapsulate you in a story that you’re slowly submerging yourself into but the story is never complete without the masterfully painted background, without the unbelievably realistic set design, and without the intricately crafted costumes. The moment the lights fully dim and the spot light focuses on the two oddly dressed actors as they throw words at each other, you start to lose yourself to the larger than life narrative of theater.


A MAKER OF WORLDS

by ISA ALMAZAN

This is the kind theater experience Salvador Bernal advocated. As a National Artist for Theat-er and Design, Bernal believed in the art of creating a world within the theater walls. With a lengthy career that begun in 1969, spanning for over 300 productions in art, film and music, Bernal has made his mark in Philippine arts. What he is most known, however, for his work for design and production in theater. He believed that theater should be seen as not just a passing hobby or luxury for the wealthy, but a legitimate career and profession. Thus, he formed the Philippine Association of Theatre Design-

ers and Technicians (PATDAT) in 1995 and by doing so, put Philippine theater design in the world map. The mission of PATDAT is “promote the study and research of theatrical space, scenog-

raphy in its widest sense, and theatre technology with the aim of improving the quality and supply of materiel for various courses.”

A year after Bernal formed PATDAT, 1996, he started working for the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) as the Head Production Designer. As part of the CCP Production Design Center, he also organized programs and workshops to propagate the knowledge and love for the art. He advocated theater to young students who had a budding love for the craft as well by imparting his knowledge through his teaching Theater Design in the University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University. Bernal believed in the potential of theater, Philippines, and the Philippine Theater. He believed in the Philippine’s talented artists and its culturally rich background. He produced works that had a Pinoy touch to it. He advocated the integration of the Filipino culture by debunking the notion that theater is exclusively western. Bernal was best known for his ingenious ways of integrating and using inexpensive and lo-cally produced materials such as bamboo, abaca fiber, hemp twine, rattan chain links, and gauze cacha in the various productions he has worked for. Bernal’s career in the

theater industry, spanning for more than four decades, within and outside PATDAT, he has indeed lived out his mission.

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fuel december 2011

Documents

magazine experience

philippine youth

youth driven phenomenon

graphic design

analog souls

albert arcilla of volvo

youththe beatles

little moments of inspiration