Favorites & Influences.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

FAVORITES. My art dalliances are what I call “pretensions.” I paint or draw/doodle to complement my writing madness. My creative skirmish before/after I wrote. When I was a boy, I used to spend hours drawing cartoon characters or I “invented” my own comic strips but I never had the confidence to share what I produced with anyone. Family members only discovered those doodles and stuff, later while hidden. I prefer colors in my art. More colors means more therapeutic, fun. 🎨✍🎨

INFLUENCES. Hispanic/Latin Literature. Oral and written work that rose to prominence globally during the second half of the 20th century, largely due to the success of the style known as “magical realism.” Latin American literature has a rich and complex tradition that dates back many centuries. Not in order, my major influences are Gabriel García Márquez, Octavio Paz, Federico Garcia Lorca, Pablo Neruda, Julio Cortázar, Isabel Allende, Jose Saramago, Jorge Luis Borges. 📚🖊📚

FAVORITES. Organizing stuff. My obsession. Check the “organized chaos” in my bedroom. Socks arranged per color and fabric, shirts and jackets neatly hung in the closet per short/long sleeve. Books in the shelves per subject matter and size/s. CDs, DVDs, vinyl records. Etc etcetera. I often volunteer to organize the garage, shed, basement, library, workshop, and attic of friends to satisfy my “organization” fix. Always been this OCD insane since I was a kid. Ask my siblings. 🙂🙃😉

INFLUENCES. WE Forum, a newspaper in the Philippines, and publisher/editor Jose Burgos Jr. Founded in 1977 while Martial law was still in effect, it was known for its hard-hitting coverage critical of the Ferdinand Marcos administration. In November 1982, the WE Forum published a story that exposed the falsehood of Mr Marcos' supposed wartime medals. On the dictator’s orders, WE Forum’s facilities were raided by soldiers and police. I was then a junior staffer. 📜🇵🇭📰

FAVORITES. Coffee to start my day. I am not a tea-drinker. These days, just 1 cup of creamed coffee is enough. In my younger, most active journalism years, I used to chug in 7 to 10 cups of coffee a day, sweet but no cream or milk. The local brew Kapeng Barako was preferred. To cut caffeine off my system (LOL!) I sort of balanced “instant” Nescafe with burned-to-brown rice grains. Just add water and boil. Voice! “Rice coffee” sufficed when cash was slim or house budget wasn’t so good. ☕☕☕

INFLUENCES. Bertold Brecht (1898 – 1956) was a German playwright and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a playwright in Munich and moved to Berlin in 1924, where he wrote “The Threepenny Opera” with Kurt Weill and began a life-long collaboration with Hanns Eisler. Immersed in Marxist thought during this period, he wrote didactic “Lehrstücke” and became a leading theoretician of "dialectical theater.” 📚🍎🎼

FAVORITES. Cooking. Most Filipinos, women or men, are taught or motivated to cook at an early age. A cultural fact and living imperative. Restaurant visits are a special holiday treat; everybody cooks. In my boyhood, a daily chore was as assistant to my Grandma Luz as she cooked 3x a day. I’d run to the store for whatever are needed at that moment, chop up vegetables, and clean the kitchen up when Lola is done. I enjoyed it. Cooking is a lifetime obsession. Love it! 🧄🥣🧅

INFLUENCES. Bee Gees, formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were successful in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The group sang recognisable three-part tight harmonies: Robin's clear vibrato lead vocals were a hallmark of their earlier hits, while Barry's R&B falsetto became their signature sound during the mid- to late 1970s and 1980s. I prefer their pre-disco music though. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. 📚🍎🎼

FAVORITES. Dishwashing. We were nine children in the family so house chores had to be planned. My dad wrote down specific tasks per day, tucked on a wall. My dishwashing gig was Wednesdays, 3x since we ate 3x a day. I loved the little work more than other work in the house. I am a kickass dishwasher! When I visit friends, and see kitchen sinks crowded with plates, I graciously offer to (hand)wash them. I so relish the sight of a sink with no dirty plates. 🍽🚰🍽

INFLUENCES. Federico Garcia Lorca (1898 – 1936). Spanish poet and playwright. Mr García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a group of poets who introduced the tenets of European movements, such as symbolism, futurism, and surrealism, into Spanish literature. After a sojourn in New York City from 1929 to 1930, Federico produced “Poeta en Nueva York” (Poet in New York) a major influence in my poetry. 📚🍎🎼