HOW best to celebrate the rich, fruitful, accomplished life of 80 years of the well-loved cultural icon, scholar, writer, playwright, film reviewer, and professor emeritus Nicanor G. Tiongson? How to capture the richness and level of scholarship the decades have brought? What was there left to say by way of paying tribute to an exemplary, well-lived professional life? Yet, there were successful attempts on January 17 at the University of the Philippines campus.
The event was akin to a well-scripted, well-done Tiongson production. What was most impressive was that the theme of the celebration was “Malolos”—a deliberate choice of Nic to honor his roots, his beloved hometown, which has shaped him and his love for its traditions. There were the dainty and intricately cut pastillas wrappers and generous servings of the popular Bulacan delicacy, the inipit.
Theater artist and writer Bibeth Orteza
Tributes given by colleagues from the many sectors Tiongson had been associated with were warm and heartwarming. There was poetry, of course, former student Joi Barrios’ poem, Sa Pag-alala sa Komedya sa Kaarawan Mo, read by Bibeth Orteza, and Jun Balde’s Ganito Nga Pala, read by Mike Coroza.
Then followed many well-wishers. Among them was Bibeth, who knew him even while she was a university student, publicly and unabashedly confessing that she had a crush on him then, even describing the red, white, and blue T-shirt he wore in those days.
His only living sibling, Delle Tiongson Brouwers, amused the crowd with the unusual childhood games her brother as a young boy played. She narrated, “The nature and quality of our play, however, changes in depth and substance when Nic joins. Instead of playing bahay bahayan or luto-lutuan or taguan, he would instead organize a procession by using small soft drink crates as karos, while the soft drink bottles were transformed into religious figures dressed in candy foil wrappers in gold and silver. If he was in the mood to play priest, he would use sliced bananas as hosts for communion, and the middle opening of our piano as tabernacle. We, his playmates, would act as the faithful of the church and follow the instructions of our shepherd.”
Gigi Javier Alfonso
Theater stalwart Nanding Josef
Gigi Javier Alfonso, artist, filmmaker and academic, recalled how one could not say “No” to any gentle request from Tiongson—prompts, she called them. While she was honored to be invited to speak, she found it initially difficult at his latest prompt—to make it humorous. To her it was a challenge to speak of a Nicanor Tiongson in such terms—heavyweight scholar and humor?
Close colleague Nanding Josef complained about the five-minute limit given him—how to cover your sex life within that slot? It was already a long night, pre-dinner, and the tributes could have gone on and on.
The wit behind the well-received video, poet D.M. Reyes
A highlight was the lighthearted, fast-paced 11-minute video that writer D.M. Reyes produced to honor Nic. It was delightfully memorable, played to the song Paniwalaan Mo from the late ’70s, performed by Brownman Revival, a Filipino reggae band. While it tried to cover all of Nic’s accomplishments—a near-impossible task—it was anything but boastful, peppered as it was by D.M.’s witty comments. It was an irreverent demystifying of the honoree. Entitled Ang True Love ni NGT: 80 Tagay at Masasayang Alaala, it presented Tiongson’s exemplary career in a humorous and fast-paced manner. The slide on the valiant Women of Malolos was important to show where Tiongson’s heroism emanates from, as he is a direct descendant. But the narrative emphasized that he was not one of the women, just a mere descendant.
How did he ever become such an overachiever? The recurring refrain (“kulit”) of his plays is “Sino ang pwedeng maging bayani ng lahi?” Last man standing for him is Apolinario Mabini. To him, writers must also have a touch of heroism. Steeped in Western education, he also saw its dire effects on the masa and traditional culture; thus he turned to the komedya, sarsuela, sinakulo to delve into their aesthetics. When he embarked on a Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Encyclopedia of Philippine Art, as CCP vice president and artistic director, who could dare stop him in this ambitious project? To beat that, there was even an updated second edition of the encyclopedia years after.
When he embarked on a CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art, as CCP vice president and artistic director, who could dare stop him in this ambitious project?
Of course, Nic Tiongson’s one true love is “ang bayan, siyempre.” To him, according to the video, his one and only. As the song’s lyrics went, “Pag-ibig ko sa yo ay totoo, Ni walang halong biro, Kaya sana’y paniwalaan mo, Ang pag-ibig kong ito…”
The evening’s favorite quiz question may as well have been: How many books has NGT written and produced? Aside from the multi-volume encyclopedia and Urian anthologies, there were his three volumes on Philippine theater, and most recently, Manong: The Life and Works of Gerardo de Leon.
The program proper ended with University of the Philippines press director Galileo Zafra’s Dasal Para sa Bayan and Tiongson’s Pasasalamat. He began on a tone of levity—“Age 80 came to me like a thief in the night. In my mind I knew I was turning 80. But it did not become real until my body told me so”—but he went on to share his valuable life’s lessons. This was especially important, as it was advice to everyone within hearing.
The secrets to his success? The most important lesson is his love for and affinity with Malolos, thus the milestone’s theme, and his life’s work, so to speak, despite his original feeling that what his place of origin offered was “backward, passé culture.” But look at how Malolos has been the foundation of his brilliant career in Philippine studies and theater history. He quoted the great architect and artist Antonio Gaudi who said, “Originality consists of returning to the origins.”
Yet another important lesson from his 80 years was to follow one’s passion, no matter what it is, no matter how quixotic. He recalls how worried his mother was about her son’s future when all he knew was to read books. That was all he did when he took her to the family farm and on days spent in their ancestral home in Malolos. His mother, after all, was a hardworking, astute businessman who successfully ran a rice mill. His mother’s concern about his future made him decide to assert himself and succeed in the “impractical” fields he chose, if only to prove his mother wrong. He also never wanted to seek financial help from his parents. Working hard eventually led to scholarships and fellowships, and better unexpected opportunities, a leap from the meager teacher’s salary he started with. “If we pursue our passion to the best of our ability, the universe will take care of us,” he said.
A major turning point in his life was when, during a prolonged hospital stay as a 24-year-old, he turned to a book he had long had, but never read. It included essays on talks at the Yenan Forum, which he read and were, indeed, life-changing. “Reading it gave me the perspective I had been looking for in my life: service to the people. After I recovered and came back to the academe, my teaching and research took on a new meaning, a new life, a new zest, because now I was doing them for something bigger than myself—the building of a more equitable society.”
Emcees Glen Mas and Kakki Teodoro
As if the cultural program was not enough for the guests, a raffle was held at the end of the evening. The well-chosen prizes, curated by Tiongson himself, were certainly worth taking home. The lottery proceedings were projected on the screen, where the names of guests were shown and each raffle sequence had these prizes: a bottle of wine, a scarf Tiongson himself had chosen on a trip to Turkey, and a typical Tiongson prize, rare old prints of Filipinos ilustres (1911) from the famous lithograph of Guillermo Tolentino, which included Jose Rizal, Antonio Luna, Andres Bonifacio, Marcelo del Pilar, Apolinario Mabini, Juan Luna. This was the grand prize of sorts for every cycle, deemed so precious that the emcees Glenn Sevilla Mas and actress Kakki Tedoro hyped it up as “papyrus.”
Tenor Arman Ferrer, with the Novo Concertante Manila, under choirmaster Dr. Arwin Tan, rendered memorable musical numbers like Bayan Ko, all in keeping with Tiongson’s nationalist sentiments.
That was a warm, touching and entertaining tribute/program produced and directed by Jerry Respeto, Arete artistic director, that was Nic-worthy—and so up to the standards of Arete, the hub of creativity and innovation at Ateneo de Manila University, also said to be the best theater north of Manila today.
With prominent theater colleagues and fellow Malolos provincemates Anton Juan and CB Garrucho
The author with Leo Zafra, Noel Ferrer, DM Reyes
Nic Tiongson with National Artist Virgilio Almario and wife Lyn
And so at 80, “NGT” continues to achieve. The foreshadowing of a forthcoming National Artist for Literature distinction?
