Postscript for the "Mini": A great zarzuela

Just when things was getting boring in this town, then came something straight from the past (I won't use that often misused phrase 'blast from the past' because that meant something from the 60s). By this I mean, during the time of our great grandparents or grandparents before the turn of the 20th century. Last Saturday evening, my wife Jessica and I went to SM 1 Theater to see a real live zarzuela (it is also spelled as sarsuela in Catalan, Spain) entitled "Mini" written by the late Cebuano playwright Buenaventura "Tura" Rodriguez.

Tura Rodriguez was a great Cebuano playwright as he wrote 19 zarzuelas in his time and his "Mini" has been played and replayed for many years. I don't remember the last time when the "Mini" was replayed, but certainly it must have been more than 20 years. I would like to dub the "Mini" as Cebu's greatest love story as this zarzuela has withstood the ravages of time and has transcended generations of Filipinos.

Historian Dr. Resil B. Mojares defines zarzuela as a two-hour musical play in the realistic manner that dealt with the themes of domestic life, romantic love and contemporary manners. Yes, we got the zarzuela from our Spanish colonizers. In his book entitled "Theater in Society, Society in Theater" Dr. Mojares pointed out, "By the 1930s, in fact, zarzuelas began to be featured in the Valladolid fiesta, competing for attention with the Linambay."

According to Dr. Mojares, Linambay "is the Cebuano term for Komedya or moro-moro, a drama form of Spanish origins which began to take root in the Philippines in the 18th century and came to be naturalized in the process. The word Linambay is generally regarded to be a coinage of Cebuano writer Don Vicente Sotto (1877-1950) who used it to refer derisively to the crab-like (linambay) motions of duelists in the play. The word, however, may have an older origin. Lambay, in a 19th century Cebuano dictionary, does not only mean crab but to speak figuratively, in a roundabout manner."

No doubt, the zarzuela has become ageless in a way and watching it last Saturday night only brought me to the realization that Cebuano culture even before the time when the Americans colonized us, had already flourished and developed. Both the Linambay and the Zarzuelas was the entertainment of that period, when cinematography had yet to be invented. Today, we do get remnants or samples of this, especially during election season when singers or comedians do a simple song and dance skit for the audience.

The beauty of holding a zarzuela is, you can't buy it in a DvD and see it in the privacy of your home. A zarzuela has to be seen where it is played, where you enjoy, laugh and applause with the theatergoers. That's exactly what we saw last Saturday - entertainment in our glorious Cebuano language, thanks to the Arts Council of Cebu Foundation, Inc. and producer Marlinda Angbetic Tan, whom I often call "Mother" our homegrown Mother Lily!

The plot of the Mini was very simple. Mayang, (played by Yntel Beltran) a poor girl is betrothed (buya) by her parents Alipio (played by Nick Ampatin) and his wife Inka (played by Jolen Lim) to Gorio (played by Alden "Bata" Reambonanza) the dim-witted son of their rich neighbor Pascual (played by Lau Rogero. The parents owed Pascual, plus they were getting a carabao as "dowry" for their daughter, who obviously wasn't in love with Gorio, but agreed to the union to please her parents.

The play starts with consultation by Don Felix Gomez a.k.a. Eling (played by Jake Maningo) and Dr. Casas (played by Philogen Florita) because he was sick. But Dr. Casas didn't find anything wrong with Don Felix, but that his life was worthless because he didn't work and merely collected rentals from his land. Dr. Casas then suggested that he spice up his life and look for real love, someone to love him even if he was a poor man and a nobody.

As the story goes, Eling arrives in the scene (pretending to be a poor man) when Mayang was about to be betrothed to Gorio. He won her heart and she fell in love with Eling the poor mananggot. The two ran away and Mayang belatedly discovers that Eling was, in real life, the very rich Don Felix Gomez. The scene with Mayang together with Azon the Mayordoma of Don Felix (played by Mayen Tan) was a very dramatic, albeit hilarious scene.

Let me take my hat off to all the actors, as they performed superbly in flawless Cebuano! Incidentally, zarzuelas are not just simple dramas, they also offer a series of songs. For this play, the University of Southern Philippines Foundation Chorale gave the play a series of song and dance numbers. Kudos also to Archie Modequillo for directing this wonderful treat!

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