Destination: HONG KONG

 "Great things never come from comfort zones."

OUR first-ever backpacking journey as a family was in Hong Kong -- with Paolo, Jaila and Neri – in 2005. To travel within our budget, we had to efficiently plan out our logistics (especially food). Instant noodles, canned tuna, sausage and pork and beans, hard-boiled eggs, chips, packed sandwiches and freshly-baked bread (bought from a quaint bakery near our hotel) sustained us all throughout the trip. Para-paraan lang...No rice. Rice (rhay-see as the Chinese vendors would pronounce) is gold in HK. The cost? For backpackers, you bleed for a cup.

We booked ourselves near the subway station (Jordan MTR) in the heart of the city for mobility and access. We mapped our itinerary before we hit the sack at night so everything would be trouble-free in the morning to maximize what we could cover within a very tight schedule. For four days, we ate “convenience” for breakfast -- McDonald’s it is. No rhay-see. Just hash browns. Jollibee was unheard of in Hong Kong then. Noodles nor congee isn’t a breakfast preference for us so we settled for the daily free coffee, burger and hash courtesy of our hotel at a basement McDonald’s a hundred meters from where we stayed.    

Day One. Arrival in the morning and checked in at Shamrock Hotel (in Yau Ma Tei). Rested for a while and then walked through Nathan Road. We rode the ferry from Tsim Sha Tsui (downtown Kowloon) to Central and Wan Chai -- the streets of which we explored (on foot) from afternoon until late evening.

Day Two.  We did the Avenue of Stars (and met Jackie Chan in stone); the Aberdeen Jewelry Factory; Sampan Park (Causeway Bay), Repulse Bay and Victoria Peak. Our afternoon destination was the Sik Sik Yuen and Wong Tai Sin Temple, a Taoist temple (built in 1925) where you seek the wisdom of the oracles -- (“what you request is what you get") through a practice called kau chim. The evening was, of course, reserved for haggling in Mongkok at the Ladies Market in Tung Choi and Fa Yuen and Temple Street Night Markets where, in the latter, we had a very late spicy crab and seafood specialty dinner over bottles of greenies (Tsing Tao Beer) by the roadside.

Day Three. The four of us then opted for a whole day Ocean Park adventure. Of course, the kids enjoyed the double decker and the train commute. Clean and efficient. 

Day Four. Dead-tired after three straight days of walking and exploring, we all stayed tucked-in bed for an extended sleep. After brunch, we visited the Kowloon Aviary Park -- a well-maintained haven for a wide array of exotic birds. The flowers were also all a-bloom making the place picture-perfect. In one area, a group of senior citizens where practicing tai-chi (inhale the energy-exhale the impurities) amidst the serenity of nature. Some old men were hunched over chess tables situated under a canopy of trees. It made me salivate and wish we had family-friendly parks like that here in the Philippines -- where man and nature can both co-exist in the same space and enjoy one another’s presence -- without fear nor threat of harm.

Soon we had to leave for Hong Kong International Airport (Chek Lap Kok Airport in Lantau Island). Time to go back home to the Philippines.  

  

MY SHOWBIZ LIFE IN THE 80's

FOR some reason that now escapes me, I was tasked by the big boss, my Kuya Gilbert, to edit and supervise JINGLE Extra Hot (JEH) -- a weekly movie magazine that took everyone by surprise by instantly becoming a bestseller. Sabi nga ni Lourd de Veyra, "Ito yung 'bastos' na magasin." (Well, Lourd probably has to qualify the 'bastos' next time I hang out with him for a blog sequel.) You see…I was multi-tasking in our different publications (JSonghits, JKeys and Best of Jingle) during those years.

We discovered plenty of young movie writers like Jun Nardo (who later on became JEH's editor and a lawyer), Anselle Beluso (now with Couples for Christ and Radio Veritas), Val Vidad, Phillip Garcia, Devi Jimenea(+), Tonee Coraza, Ronald Carballo, Jerry Olea (now Tonite columnist), Ces Evangelista and a whole lot more (apologies to those who were not mentioned). Dolly Ann Carvajal used to contribute also for JEH. Her column was called “Hello Dolly” culled from the old standard song of the same title.

Pilar Mateo, Manny Valera, Roel Villacorta, George Vail Kabristante, Eddie Littlefield, Jobert  Sucaldito, Boy Villasanta, Danny Vibas, Charlie Arceo, Gus Gayondato, Pete Ampoloquio, William Reyes, Goldwyn Morales Azul(+) and many others also contributed for us. Cristy Fermin (now popular radio and TV showbiz talkshow host) and partner Loren Banag(+) edited JSensation, another movie magazine we produced weekly.

It was also in JEH where my would-be wife (ahem) Nerissa V. Mata started her writing career through her weekly column “Strawberry”. A young and then struggling (but intelligently talented) artist by the name of DengCoy Miel did the weekly artwork for this column. Both were UP students. Neri was also given other feature writing assignments by Kuya. I remember her first job was the Basil Valdez interview. Many more followed.

Pennie Azarcon also did a weekly column called “Pulso” for JEH. In-depth and analytical ito at politics ang tema. Hard-hitting and anti-establishment. Pennie, later on, edited Female Forum (an all-female staffed JINGLE publication that was feminist in leaning) and Jingle Music Magazine (with Ces Rodriguez). After her many years with us in JINGLE, Pennie (until her professional retirement) became a senior editor at the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

 

Douglas Quijano(+), Oskee Salazar(+) (both were my youngest daughter's godfathers), Alfie Lorenzo(+) and Atty. Billy Balbastro(+) -- all four stalwarts of the Philippine movie industry had regular weekly columns in JEH.

I already knew Douglas way, way back before he became big in showbiz. We used to visit him in his Sta. Mesa house. A very humble and shy guy -- what you see is what you get. Kung ano siya noon, ganun pa rin siya kahit na sumikat na. Kunsabagay...matagal na siyang kilala. Napakabait. We used to visit the set of Palibhasa Lalake in ABS-CBN and witnessed how they prepared for every scene. Para lang silang naglalaro. Igi Boy (Janice de Belen’s son) and Paolo (our son) used to play in the set.

I was also a frequent visitor in Alfie Lorenzo's house in Liberty St. in Cubao where I also met Rey PJ Abellana, Lito Pimentel, Edgar Mande and Patrick dela Rosa, his protégés. Dun lahat sila nakatira. Aside from Alfie's regular weekly column for JEH, he also contributed articles for JSensation.

We would also visit Oskee Salazar's house in Mayon near UDMC. Andami-dami niyang locks sa pinto. He lived alone (very much a hermit), you see. Among the three...my Kuya and I were closest to Oskee because we have known him for the longest time. Marami siyang advices at inputs for the publications na sinusunod naman namin.

Not surprisingly, part of the perks of being a movie magazine editor was getting to be friends with celebrities and the giants of the industry. Would you believe?

I got to rub elbows with Mother Lily Monteverde (who always had corned beef served for lunch for the press people in Valencia). I observed first hand her temper when stressed and how Regal was “frantically” managed and ran in those days. Sabay-sabay kasi ang shooting ng iba-ibang movies nila. Remember that Regal -- together with Viva and Seiko -- were the leading movie outfits then. 

Did you know that Mother Lily can play a mean piano? She would usually play for us in Valencia (this is in San Juan and a stone's throw away from Greenhills). We would all naturally clap in appreciation (palakasan pa nga) after each song. Ang anda...he-he...

 "O, Eric, ikaw pili na pang-cover mo sa magazine," Mother Lily would say. She would hand me a set of colored transparencies (of her Regal Babies) like she always did. Syempre, pili agad ako ng malinaw at pinakamagandang kuha for the movie they were promoting. Me kasama pa yung mga black and white photos ng mga artistang nasa stable nila. 

Transparencies are colored 2x2 inch negatives that are color-separated in studios to be used as color guides for the strippers and pressmen. The main colors cyan, black, magenta and yellow all have corresponding color percentages. And putting these hues together produced a full-color picture used for our magazine covers and posters.

I would also visit Inday Badiday's studio set in Channel 7. Would You Believe (her first weekly TV show) and Eye to Eye days yun. "Eric, kumain ka na diyan," Ate Luds, Lourdes Carvajal(+) in real life, would always make you comfortable with an offer to a meal. She was a softie and hopeless romantic at heart admitting to my wife that she followed her “Strawberry” column in JEH every week. The countless movie scribes were given decent exposures in her TV shows...they owed Ate Luds big-time. 

I also remember being regularly invited to movie previews and screenings. One time, in 1984, we went to Magnatech in Panay to watch a special screening of Kapit sa Patalim (among others) -- a movie directed by Lino Brocka starring Phillip Salvador and Dina Bonnevie. It was a hush-hush “by-invitation-only” event owing to the fact that it was a protest movie against martial law.

Another looked-forward-to perk (by our employees) is that we would often have stars like Alfie Anido(+), Gabby Concepcion, Maricel Soriano, Sharon Cuneta, Snooky Serna, Ricky Davao, Tonton Gutierrez, William and Albert Martinez, Ronnie Ricketts, Eddie Garcia, etc. in the 80’s as our visitors in P. Tuazon, Cubao. Syempre, kinikilig yung mga employees namin, sabay pa-picture. We were too busy in the editorial rooms to mind the “celebrity arrivals”. 

I remember when Alfie Anido visited us in our office and he liked the different posters in the wall. I asked him what he particularly liked. He pointed to the Blues Brothers’ colored pin-up. I handed it to him with no hesitation. That was the start of our short-lived friendship...

Sadly though, beyond the perks, there were harsh realities in the showbiz industry that I got to witness as well. The exploitation of the young (for money and fame) is a stark reality that had to be dealt with by all of us involved in celebrity image-building.

I will never forget when Seiko big boss Robbie Tan, through Oskee Salazar, invited us to witness the launching of their newest discovery  -- Stella Strada(+) -- in Peach Blossoms near SM North (the building is still there today) nung uso pa ang ST (sex trip) movies. She was later on tagged as a sex goddess by the tabloids. As part of a movie promotion, she danced clad only in a two-piece bikini. She was too ashamed of herself and could not even look in the eyes of the movie scribes present. The scars in her hands were very visible. Parang blade slashes. 

This brings to mind the way Pepsi Paloma’s(+) life has dead-ended. To this day, the bucket of the blame is still being passed around. Such is the prize of human greed and disregard for one’s dignity that has been stamped “for sale to takers”. Truth to tell: showbusiness is a gladiator’s arena. It’s a totally different world. Only those who CAN, survive. The others? They become history.

The experiences were many and varied -- a lot for keeps, others to forget. But there’s always a moving on. I had to go back where my calling really is -- MUSIC. I asked my Kuya to reassign me to JINGLE Music Magazine. And that’s another story altogether.