South African monologue: Spectacular, unmatched / City of Manila awardees

In a strikingly colorful costume which was in itself a reflection of her sparkling personality, South African actress Gcina Mhlophe opened her one-woman show with a catchy, riveting song. Not a single word could be understood yet the audience empathized with Gcina, her zest, verve and spirit, her gyrations and jerky movements of head, arms, fingers, legs and torso making for a compelling, infectious, electrifying rendition.

A poetic preface explaining Gcina’s “enormous love for words” was then followed by a narration that seemed a combination of fantasy, fancy and fairytale. Dipping into her world of words, she told of Mazanendaba, her sculptor husband and their children. Something was sorely missing in their life: a story.

Mazanendaba’s passionate search for one led her into the heart of the forest. Hare, snake, owl, eagle, elephant had no story to tell. (During the monologue, Gcina cleverly mimicked animal “speech” and movements, eliciting chuckles as did her humorous observations.)

To continue, Mazanendaba later rode on a dolphin’s back, diving into an underwater kingdom below the gleaming ocean where lived the Spirit people whose King and Queen had, yes, stories to tell!

In-between the episodes — there were three — Gcina would throw her listeners some simple words which they would repeat on cue, singing and clapping rhythmically with her while converting the entire assemblage into an instant, joyous choir.

The third story revolved around the world’s most beautiful woman who turned down suitor after suitor until she finally found one to her heart’s desire. The significant feature of the wedding was the shimmering bridal gown woven by people of diverse cultures, including weavers from our own country. Gcina thus bridged the vast, yawning gap between South Africa and the Philippines whose warm, friendly, hospitable people enchanted her.

The stories’ opulence of detail, their distinctive originality emanating from the actress’ immensely creative imagination, the fascinating eloquence and fluency of delivery — non-stop — of an extraordinarily lengthy monologue resulted in an incredible, spectacular, unmatched feat.

The following reaction to the show, from my niece Evelyn Garcia, complements my own.

“What a night of story telling! Gcina is indeed a friend of words, a multitude of words. I saw colors. I saw her soul in her stories. I felt warmth and love pouring out from her heart.

“She is not just a storyteller but also a soulful poet. Her body gracefully depicted a dolphin, an eagle, a huge elephant. I heard the fish swim in her voice, I saw the beauty of the deep blue ocean in her movement.

“I sat at the edge of my seat anticipating her every word, eager to be a part of the interactive audience.

“She took me to Africa. I celebrated the freedom Nelson Mandela espoused in her stories. I experienced the sounds and colors of South Africa from her words. What a privilege to have shared South African culture with her!”

Congratulations to Ambassador and Mrs. Pieter Vermeulen. We look forward to more cultural presentations from South Africa. Heading the audience, besides the Vermeulens, were Egyptian Ambassador Sawal Moufied, CCP President Nes Jardin and NCCA executive director Cecile G. Alvarez.

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Mayor Alfredo Lim recently awarded luminaries in the field of culture and the arts to mark Manila’s 438th anniversary. Gawad Gatpuno Antonio Villegas awardee was Cecile Guidote Alvarez; Gawad Diwa ng Lahi awardee was Josefino Cenizal. Robert Chien represented music awardee Gerard Salonga. Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan awardees were Dr. Luisa Camagay, Larry Gabao for dance, Arthur Casanova for theater, Virgilio Aviado for visual arts, Domingo Landicho for literature, Dolly Perez for architecture, German Moreno for film, Luisito Ac-ac, Luciano Veloso, Fabian Dayrit for sculpture.