Dodong Gullas to launch memoirs

CEBU, Philippines - The FREEMAN chairman, Dr. Jose R. Gullas, has penned a 160-page memoir which is set to be launched this Dec. 12.

Entitled TO NEVER FORGET, the memoir bares the author’s innermost feelings and thoughts on his experiences, both bitter and sweet, from the time of his childhood, to his experiences as an educator, a one-term congressman, and as the man responsible for bringing back Cebu’s oldest-existing newspaper The FREEMAN to circulation in the 60s to honor the fading memory of an uncle. 

On The FREEMAN, he also opens up on the challenging upheavals the paper went through that threatened yet failed to put the paper out of circulation in the 80s. There are also candid tales about his family relationships, especially with his parents, the founders of the University of the Visayas; his several brushes with death; and his faith.

In his book, he also talks about the stories behind his present pursuits and advocacies, including his active propagation of Cebuano musical heritage, which resulted to the one-of-a-kind Halad museum and the Halad concerts, the latest of which was held early this year and became the most well-attended Cebu concert in recent years.

Both projects were established to pay tribute to Visayan musical greats and long-forgotten Cebuano composers.

All in all, the book provides a sentimental, insightful, very grateful and even humorous look at all that has happened in his 76 years.

Dodong Gullas said that he was inspired to write his memoir after he went through a critical medical operation in 2008. Recuperating from such an ordeal, he said, gave him the opportunity to reflect and put his thoughts into writing.  

When asked if this was his “legacy book,” he said he’d rather call this memoir as “the footprints of my life.”

The memoir, specially printed in Singapore, will be launched at the Radisson Blu this Dec. 12, with two great Visayan artists as surprise guests.

One of them became very popular nationally in the 70s, but went into a long hiatus for many decades and might have never come out of it if not for Dr. Gullas and his wife Nena who recently found her and encouraged her to make a singing comeback for her Cebuano fans. (FREEMAN)