Back in the French Quarter in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana: It’s a 5-hour road trip from Houston, Texas to New Orleans, one of the most iconic cities in the United States. The last time we were here, my best friend Tony Rizarri drove us here with my daughter Katrina… and people were surprise that she had the same name as that unforgettable Hurricane Katrina that demolished parts of New Orleans, literally bringing the city down on its knees. Now we’re back with my wife Jessica and Katrina in tow. Now we’re back in the French Quarter in New Orleans.

Hurricane Katrina showed to American people how ill-prepared the Federal Emergency Management Authority (FEMA) was to handle that natural disaster…much like how the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) was so ill-prepared when Super Typhoon “Yolanda” struck Central Visayas, especially in Leyte and Samar. The famous Astrodome in New Orleans now has a new name, Mercedes Benz Astrodome. How this came about I really don’t know.

Our 5-hour journey was marred by bad weather where it was nearly zero visibility and traffic had to show down in many places. But you can see that years later, FEMA has learned its lessons well. Today there are huge pipes beside the roadway that is ready to pump out water in case New Orleans gets flooded again. Those are not just big pipes…I saw three huge pipes side by side each other which could certainly pump out any flooded street.

This is something that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) never learned even after Typhoon “Ondoy.” If those pipes in New Orleans were placed in Metro Manila… for sure, it would suck out the floodwaters and throw them into the sea. But then, we Filipinos are notorious for not fixing our problems. We debate, fight, argue over so many things…but in the end not one pulls up his sleeves and do the work. This is something that I saw in my two-days in New Orleans.

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Here’s a bit of a good news for Filipino stage actors and singers. I read in last June 22nd’s New York Times a nice report entitled “Here Lies Progress: Asian Actors Fill the Playbill” written by Patrick Healy. The report says, “After decades of inching toward center stage, Asian-American theater actors are facing something that they’ve rarely enjoyed in New York…demand! An unusual bonanza of jobs is in the offing from new shows as well as two anticipated Broadway revivals, “The King and I” and “Miss Saigon.” More plays and musicals are also telling stories from Asian viewpoints, a long-held goal of Asian-American artists.

And increasingly, Asians are landing roles that traditionally go to non-Asian actors. The biggest game-changer is “Here Lies Love,“ one of those rare musicals that became critically acclaimed commercial hits Off Broadway and have an open-ended run. Even uncommon, it’s all about an Asian character. The subject is Imelda Marcos. With a cast of 17, the show is the first in years to offer the prospect of steady employment to Asian-American actors.

Productions of “Here Lies Love” are also in the works for San Francisco and London this fall, with Los Angeles, Seattle, Denver and Sydney and Melbourne, Australia under consideration.” We’ve always known about that Off Broadway Musical entitled “Imelda” which was an offshoot from the musical “Evita,” but it was only shown in Off Broadway, but never made it to mainstream Broadway. But it seems that things are changing fast.

I’m sure that a lot of us would have wanted to see Imelda in that Off Broadway play. But this New York Times report apparently says that the Imelda Musical has become mainstream with a title change to “Here’s Lies Love” and Pres. Ferdinand Marcos is portrayed by Jose Llana while Imelda is played by Ruthie Ann Miles, a Korean-American. Sayang it should have been a Filipino stage actress who should have played Imelda. But at least Jose Llana is a Fil-Am. So the next time we go back to New York City this would be one of the shows that I would certainly like to watch.

I was truly amazed reading this article because we’ve always known that Filipinos are amongst the most sought after employees of the world. Way back in 1986 when the Cebu Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (CCCI) travelled to Germany for the cooperation program with the Chamber in Kassel, Germany, when we arrived in the City of Koblenz where the Meuse and the Rhine River meets, it was already late for dinner and as we entered the bar, the band playing there came from Mandaue City and knew me.

Travel around the world and you will see Filipino singers in nightclubs and bars or in hotels and restaurants. Yes only a rare few make it to the top like Leah Salonga when she did “Miss Saigon.” So finally, Fil-Ams and of course, Asian Americans are getting the recognition due them by landing in juicy roles like the re-run of King & I and Miss Saigon. We are fueled by pure talent! If only we had a music conservatory here in Cebu!

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