The Gathering of the Unlikelies 2

The day and the eve of Independence Day this year 2K 09, a gathering of sorts happened at the main artery that leads towards the heart of Manila. This artery has, not a blood clot or some cholesterol build up but a real Oasis. The place really was named Oasis.

As the electric trains roar from above these unlikely beings go through a two day immersion, confession, careless abandon and moments of discovery - AHA moments with sips - gulps of beer in between. I on the otherhand went for bottomless iced tea. and coke. and water. Iced water.

At first I thought It weird that they would call this rare phenomenon - Taken. Depicting what seems to be an alien abduction of sorts. But these are weird people I thought so well, take it as it is I said. Only in afterthought did I realize that it was an apt name. Arriving at the location ( which I got to know only the night before ) I noticed immediately that this one is different.

From the outside I can see strange glow of lights, mostly with a sort of fruit shaped luminiscence emanating from the dark room. Just before I entered, a strange bald clownish looking man greeted me. He had a plate. In the plate was a small canvas painting. In the painting read, " mangored ".

We learned later on about the legend behind the name.

And so there, I was in. I can't describe the mood. All I can see was their ghoulish faces in front of the flickering macintosh screens. I studied each and every face I recognize to be a face. And true enough, like the name implies, I now realized that this was going to be one heck of an alien abductee/ close encounter of the weirdest kind - type of experience.

I was Taken. One of the first Takee gathered from all over the world ( or at least the Asian part of the world. Good for us - Sucks for the westerners. ). And all there would agree - as much as we were aliens and strangers to each other, it was some sort of Jai Ho that has led us to be there. Like Spock and Kirk and the rest of the crew of the USS Enterprise, we share a commonality. We share the same vision. Passion. We are entirely non conformed yet to each other, we became, we are - like brothers.

Just like the two unlikely heads behind this conspiracy, we have found a common ground with each other and then to them the Red ones. And we discovered and explored, dug and scattered dirt all over the place - the sweat the the juice of our creative souls

Taken - The Gathering of the Unlikelies

I've said it once, I've said it a million times... We, THE PINOYS - Are brimming full of talents. We are so gifted we might probably be the basis of Professor Charles X. Xaviers' School. Of course Professor X and his school are all fictional. Fortunately for us - we are not. But it seems so and it felt so for such a long time in the industrial age past. We, the gifted ones are often down played, ignored and even outrightly discouraged. Our elders rarely if at all see anything good that may come out of the " weird activities ".

At first they will find it cute. You young as you are can do this, do that, draw this, draw that - they would do a clap and say, " very nice! " and then maybe pinch your cheek. But I think thats maybe more because you look like a raggedy doll back then. But as you grow up, those sketches and drawings and "other stuff" begin to be uncute. It begins to look...weird.

" ano yan tao ba yan? "

" nge ampangit naman anu yan? "

" uy, abstract?!? ano yan? "

Then they began to be concerned. The elders will give you the infamous loving advise...

" magnurse... "

"magabogado..."

" tignan mo si engineer ganito o... "

We all have our own varied reactions.

Some of us succumb.

Some of us rebel.

And then there are some who emerge from the rubble the storm that is our life in clashes of opinions, emotions, old and new ideas, visions, inhibitions, recklessness and (mis)calculations...

When the dust settles. Only the strong and true remains. Standing and evermore defiant.

Eventually our time has come. The age of the creatives. The artists by heart. The artists by being.

( to be continued... )