Benjie Reyes: Artist in Residence

WHEN BENJI Reyes built his dream house on a steep slope in Antipolo, people thought he was nuts. Even the original lot owner was surprised by the sale. Friends shook their heads and called him brave for embarking on an ambitious project with a measly P800,000 in his pocket. They wouldn’t have been as polite had they known Benji was building an ancestral home meant to last a century.

But things worked out exactly as he expected. The city engineer, previously unconvinced that the structure would remain standing, was in awe after the ocular inspection. The house impressed not only his family (for whom he built the house) but also friends and strangers.

"People we don’t know have been dropping by since the house was featured on TV. One time, I was shocked to see two vans pull up the driveway. The passengers came here to look around as if this were a museum. Then, another time, we had an inquiry about a wedding reception. They thought we were renting out the place as a venue! I have to constantly explain that this is our house, not a showcase," Carina, Benji’s wife, reports.

The house is indeed famous. So famous that admirers boldly search for it in the heart of Antipolo. These uninvited guests get directions from municipal hall officials or strangers they meet along the way.

Invited guests, on the other hand, are escorted by one of Benji’s workmen. Miraculously, guests (both kinds) find their way through the twists and turns to reach the unusual site.

A dull wooden fence hides the house from view at street level. It is as humble and unassuming as its owner. Behind the gate is more wood, polished and crisply brown this time. Thick slabs of lumber provide flooring that demand respect. Shoes are left in the foyer. Bare feet get a ticklish sensation when, from between the slats, one spies the vibrant colors of sprightly koi swimming in the pond just below the floor. Big glass windows open out to a breath-taking view of Laguna de Bay. They also overlook a pebbled garden filled with bonsai, native orchids and other greens.

The house breathes so easily that everything is in synch. That’s what a feng shui expert once said. Had he said instead that a door was inviting bad luck or a wall was blocking good karma, Benji would’ve just laughed. As always, the artist listens but only follows what his heart dictates.

And what heart wouldn’t beat double time when no less than the architect Bobby Mañosa declared one’s masterpiece the quintessential Filipino house? Certainly, that compliment was mind-blowing. But Benji Reyes reclines in his rajah chair and takes it in stride.

"Until now, Carina and I pinch each other because we can’t believe what’s been happening to us," he confesses. The truth is that the house became a turning point. It was what changed the tide. Life has become more rewarding since he began building it four years ago. In many ways, the house represents Benji’s art.

Few believed in his art during the early years. Even he didn’t know what lay ahead. His father wanted him to be an architect. Benji obeyed dutifully, but his inclinations would take him on what seemed like a different path. For a long time only two people believed in him–his wife and his best friend. The circuitous route became a wild adventure that would take him to exactly the same place his father wanted him to go.

For three years, Benji played good son, taking up architecture at the University of Santo Tomas. Math was his waterloo. In fact, he was flunking algebra. This did not go unnoticed by the college dean who gave him sound advice. Why insist on mastering an exact science when Benji was clearly excelling in the arts?

Love for the arts was a family trait. Though there are as many Reyeses in the Philippines as there are fish, this Reyes clan has distinguished itself in literature and popular arts. Benji’s great grandfather, Severino, created the persona of Lola Basyang. His father, Vera, published coffee table books of local painters. His uncle Efren was Best Actor in the Asian Film Festival in 1955.

Despite his relatives’ accomplishments, Benji was expected to become an architect. He broke his father’s heart when he decided to drop out of school to pursue art.

In 1982, the Reyeses migrated to the US. Benji stayed behind to live life on his own as a college dropout. By then, Carina was already his girlfriend. Her brother had been Benji’s student at Aquinas where he taught art minus a degree. In Carina he met a staunch ally and supporter. She was the one who pushed him to enroll at the UP College of Fine Arts. Exactly how did Carina know that her unconventional long-haired boyfriend had potential?

"I knew he had talent because he used to court me with his works–cards, poems. He never bought anything that he gave me. I could tell he had an intensity that was yet to be discovered," insists Carina who lovingly preserved each memento in a scrapbook.

The two were partners in crime even back then. Exchanging smiles, they recall loading Carina’s Volkswagon with old books they sold to peddlers in Recto. What they earned went to Benji’s UP tuition. (Benji gave up his teaching job at Aquinas to concentrate on his studies.) Traveling from Antipolo to the Diliman campus was a problem. Again, Carina came to his rescue–sharing not only her packed lunch (she would drive from her class at Maryknoll to UP where they would meet every day) but also her P20 pocket money. Benji would use his P10 to get a ride back to Antipolo.

That was not his only expense, of course. There were costly art materials required by his professors. Fortunately, the custodian of the college understood his plight.

Says Benji, "If we were told to bring one kilo of clay, you would see my classmates with a lump of yellow or blue or whatever colored clay. Yung akin camouflage kasi tira-tira na inipon nina Mang Eddie at binigay sa akin. He became my tatay-tatayan. He was the one who told me that out of over 700 students, I was ranked fourth. That gave me the confidence to pursue art."

On his second year at UP, Benji began designing furniture, hiring a furniture maker to execute his designs. Along the way, he found out that some of his designs looked good on paper but could not be executed on wood. Apprenticing under the furniture maker, Benji realized that only 40 percent of the learning happens inside the classroom. The most important learning happens in the real world. Again, he dropped out of school. This time, it was for good.

"That was when I discovered wood. I learned the many species of wood and their uses. I started with palo china, crating material which was already recycled wood. There came a point when I bought illegal logs from Quezon," he admits with a tinge of guilt. "That was in the 80s. I found out na it’s not good wood kasi basa pa. And then I started reading about our forests. So I stopped. Then I discovered wood from old houses. May nakita akong mga poste sa tabi ng kalye and I got one. When I used it, I realized it was hard and stable. That’s when I started buying old wood."

There are two things that make him truly proud of his house. One is that he built it with his own hands. The other is that no new trees were harmed in the completion of his project.

Benji’s art did not take off right away. Not many understood that woodworking was art. Carina remembers bringing pictures from newspaper to newspaper hoping Lifestyle section editors would publish her press releases. Though she was a Mass Comm graduate from Maryknoll, Carina became a professional singer and a TV musical director (for Nora Aunor’s Superstar). They needed the money, especially after they started a family.

Benji asked for Carina’s hand in 1987. He had nothing then but big dreams. Onlookers called him a carpenter for that was what he was doing–making furniture. Still, he promised her father that he would give her a good life–and a house of their own by the age of 40.

"Iba talaga ang gulong ng buhay," Benji says, his eyes making a quick sweep of his beautiful living room. "We started na nasa ilalim talaga kami na ang bigat-bigat nung kinakarga namin. There were nights I couldn’t sleep thinking kanino uutang pambili ng gatas. Mahirap! But Carina gave me full support. The worse time was when she had to leave for Singapore to sing. We had only been married for two weeks. We only had P300 to our name. Biruin mo, for one week, I was eating kamote? Wala akong pera. That time, I knelt in front of the altar. I never turned my back on God because I was very thankful that even during the hard times, I never went into drugs. I prayed to God that if He would help me become successful, I would create jobs for more people. After that, I stopped worrying about money. I just did what I wanted to do. Kasi once you have reached a point na nasa pinakababa ka na, wala ng mahirap eh. You’ve eaten kamote for one week; what’s one more week of eating kamote? What more could I ask for? I was learning without paying tuition and at the same time we had food on our table. Matrikula na lang yung paghihirap na yun."

The first pieces he made were a bench, a baol and some sculpture. Benji remembers snatching precious time for his art after he had put the baby–first-born Eena who is now 15–to sleep. Carina was then abroad on a gig. He was Mr. Mom. The sculpture is now displayed near their living quarters, a testament to how far he has gone.

They were like gypsies for many years–moving from one rented place to another. Even their furniture was never permanent. Benji would build tables and chairs they would use until a client purchased them. Then, they would start all over again with new furniture made by Benji.

Though his life and art were a struggle, Benji does not believe the world is a completely cruel place. Strangers played a big part in his success. In the early 90s, Gallery 139 gambled on presenting his works in an art exhibit. Art Space in Glorietta has also been supportive. So supportive that this artist is committed to doing a show there every year.

But among the kindest of the kind, Atty. Ruben del Rosario stands out. Benji calls him an angel–Batman to his Robin. They met 12 years ago. "Naglalaro kami ng tennis nun. That was the time na tinatahi ko pa ang sapatos ko para makalaro," he chuckles unashamed to admit he could not afford new ones. "We started playing doubles. Nagtataka ako kasi everytime iniisip ko na dapat nasa left siya, biglang nasa left na nga siya. He could read my mind. Naisip ko, hit kami nito ah. So I started calling him ‘bro’."

One night, the two had a serious talk over beer. Ruben asked Benji why he was not going full blast into furniture designing. The younger man admitted that he could not afford to buy the needed equipment. The following night, Ruben came to his house. Benji was about to decline the invitation for another night out, but Ruben had something other than beer on his mind. He handed Benji an envelop with enough cash to buy basic hand tools, adding: "Pay me when you can."

Gratitude is something Benji has an abundance of. He is not one to keep blessings to himself. Informally, he has started an academy for craftsmen by training out of school youth in his workshop. It is enough reward for Benji to see these young men transform from insecure to confident individuals.

It took time for Benji to become a respected furniture designer. In stark contrast, he became an in-demand home designer overnight.

Thus far, he has designed a house in La Vista, a beach house in Batangas and several home renovations. Soon, he will start on a house in Davao. And though he has the touch of an artist, he knows he lacks the skill of an architect. Thus, Benji works with a team that is always composed of at least one architect. After reuniting with some long lost classmates from UST, he now has a pool of professionals to do collaborations with.

"Lahat sila full-fledged architects na. Ako lang ang hindi. Does it matter that I don’t have a college degree?" he asks then answers, "I just have to live with that."

Degree or no degree, he has learned to device his own methods. Benji doesn’t even put his designs on paper. In the case of his furniture, all he does is gather the wood, cut it and create his design right away. When designing a house, he huddles with carpenters (he says he is better understood by them than by architects) and draws the design on dirt or whatever accessible surface (sometimes the walls of a construction site).

"I have three principles of design. One is aesthetics. Then, function. And then, durability or stability because my principle also is: Build it once, build it right. Sayang naman yung kahoy eh. Konti na lang ang kahoy natin. Gagawa ka ng silya in two years magigiba. Puputol na naman sila ng puno. Di ba masarap sabihing, ‘Yang silyang yan, sa lola ko pa?’ Imagine, for a piece like that to withstand time!"

One day Reyes descendants will be boasting about this house built on a steep slope in Antipolo. His daughters Eena and Keesha want to make sure it stays in the family. They’ve suggested that Ruben draw up the papers legally binding them and all their offspring to Benji’s dream house. Only the family can own the property.

It has been four years since Benji bought the lot and began construction. Still, the house is a work in progress. The essentials are there–living and dining rooms for entertaining, a kitchen with an amazing pantry for preparing meals and their ever-famous coffee, a private wing of sleeping quarters, a garden for communing with nature, a recreational room with a billiards table and a pond for his pet fish (expensive koi with such names as Aretha, Samantha and Geena Davis are given regular doses of Spirulina). In one corner of the garden will rise a small chapel where Benji wants his and Carina’s ashes to be kept. Someday, this father will build houses not just for his daughters but also with his daughters.

"They will be the first Filipina craftsmen," he says confidently, knowing that both girls have artistic inclinations. Eena’s interest lies in the performing arts like her mother while Keesha’s eye is focused on her father’s art. In fact, she has been designing her own pieces. Proud papa confesses that there have been occasions when he has fused her designs with his.

And so it seems secure that an artist will always be in residence in this amazing house built on a dream with expert hands and a heart that is in the right place.