20th Century
Since grade school in Ateneo, a Jesuit school in Manila, I was always active in speech and drama. I was in elocution contests and in my 7 th grade, I played Prince John in the play Robin Hood.
Then in high school, I was involved in elocution contests and drama. In my first yr, I was a ghost in Macbeth, and I also won an elocution contest reciting Carlos Romulo's speech to the UN during World War II. In my third year of high school, I played Casca in the play Julius Caesar by Shakespeare directed by Onofre Pagsanjan, and in my fourt year, I was commander Queeg in Caine Mutiny. I won a gold medal for Best Actor.
In College, I was under Fr Irwin in my first year, and I won a gold medal for the Interpretative Reading of Hamlet's "Now I am alone..."my freshman year culminated in the title role of Oedipus Rex directed by Rolando Tinio who later on was given the distinction of National Artist in Drama. I was then named "The First Actor" of the Ateneo Experimental Theatre. The next year, I again played Alceste, the title role of Moliere's "The Misanthrope ". And finally, in my fourth year, again, the title role in Shakespeare's "Macbeth".
I taught English at Araneta university right after I graduated university and directed a Shakesperean festival while there. I did another Shakespearean festival when I was working on my Ph.D. In Bowling Green in 1972. I did something different. I had 10 Hamlets doing the soliloquy To be or not To Be in 10 different languages. I was active in the International Community in Bowling Green. I even edited a magazine, The International.
Going back to January 1965, I went on to teach English at Baguio Colleges and there directed Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice ".
I left for Spain afterwards in September to study Philosophy at the universidad central de Madrid. I started reading Sartre and the existentialists. Sartre said "The best work is not what is difficult for you; it is what you do best." And that's what inspired me to start writing.
I first published my poems in 1966 in the journal of Ateneo de Madrid Poesia Española, then wrote two plays, El sueño And ¿Diálogo?, And finally my first book of poems "Lluvias Filipinas" published by Madrid's Murillo Press in 1967.
¿Diálogo? was also inspired by Martin Buber's concept of "I and Thou" while "El sueño" by the absurdists Samuel Beckett And Eugene Ionesco.
In the second part of this story, I'll continue my life adventure : how I ended up in Canada.
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