IT is difficult to stress the importance of history in a country overrun by historical revisionists and smart-shaming hordes who chant, “Move on na!” Well, you know what, moving on too soon is bad for your health. It’s like removing a USB device before the “Safe to Remove Hardware” notification pops up. You have to confront and process the past before you can be on your way.
Thanks to how Philippine history is taught in most traditional schools, many of us consider it a boring subject in which one is simply forced to memorize names and dates for pop quizzes and exams. Our early encounters with Philippine history are akin to one-night stands: We only remember things long enough to do the deed. By the time we do our walk of shame the morning after, our minds are blank slates once more. Past is past, indeed.
Despite the odds against Philippine history, one television network was brave enough to take a chance on a project that would make the subject palatable to everyone. History with Lourd: Tsismis Noon, Kasaysayan Ngayon (History with Lourd: Gossip Then, History Now) began as a show on TV5. It was hosted by Palanca award-winning writer and Radioactive Sago Project frontman Lourd Ernest H. de Veyra. He was supported by comedian Jun Sabayton. In each episode, de Veyra dissected parts of Philippine history in plain, everyman-speak. Irreverence — the kind that was acerbic, but never crossed the line to the realm of “WTF!” — overflowed. It was refreshing to hear someone refer to Dr. Jose Rizal as the “National Chickboy.” As of the time of the book’s publication earlier this year, there are no more new History with Lourd episodes, only reruns. Fortunately, TV5 — which owns all the related characters and elements of the show — agreed to have the content turned into a book.
So, how does one turn a successful TV series into a book? It all starts with great visuals. The book incarnation of History with Lourd: Tsismis Noon, Kasaysayan Ngayon (Summit Books; 144 pages; 2018) credits two illustrators — Warren Espejo and Michael Santos — for its awesome graphics. If books were judged by their covers alone, History with Lourd could very well take the top prize. “Uwian na. May nanalo na (Let’s go home. Someone already won),” as they say.
The inside pages are equally easy on the eyes, with the insights of legit Philippine history experts and scholars highlighted in eye-catching sidebars featuring their thumbnail-size headshots.
History with Lourd boasts of 27 short chapters about the most provocative and colorful parts of Philippine history. You know how it is when you’re reading a book and you just want to get to the “dirty parts”? Well, there is no need for you to do that with this book. De Veyra made sure that this books is made up of dirty parts — and that’s a compliment.
That said, History with Lourd is deceptively simple. Its nonlinear and episodic treatment of history makes it easy for readers to digest, but you would still have to be a little bit of a history freak to laugh (ironically and not with glee) over chapter titles like “The Luna Brothers: Luna Tunes,” “The Pact of Biak na Bato: Double-Double Cross,” “Walk this Way: Apolinario Mabini,” “Epifanio de los Santos: Not Just a Highway to Hell But Perhaps the Greatest Filipino Genius After Rizal,” and “Balimbing Blues: A Short History of Political Turncoatism.”
If there’s something to complain about, it would have to be the font size of what is supposedly the main text. People (especially those of a certain age) have said they find it “too small.” Then again, that’s what magnifying glasses and eyeglasses are for, right? It’s most definitely worth the trouble, because de Veyra’s distinct tone translates well on paper. You can almost hear him when you read passages like this one from the “Macario Sakay: Bayani, Hindi Bandido” chapter: “Sa ilalim ng Brigandage Act of 1902, dahil nagdeklara na ang pangulo ng Amerika na si Theodore Roosevelt na tapos na ang digmaan, lahat ng uri ng armadong pakikibaka ay ituturing na gawain ng tulisan — kumbaga hindi kayo MILF, hindi MNLF na may political ideology, kung hindi Abu Sayyaf.” Anyhow, they should also consider turning this into an audiobook, as de Veyra is known for his voice, which can charm even the most vicious snakes. His voice is always a shoo-in for those “Voices That Can Get You Pregnant” lists.
Kidding aside, History with Lourd should be required reading for every Pinoy. Of course, there are sure to be groups of certain political persuasions who may call for burning it. For instance, there are people who would prefer not to read “The Mar-Dov Scandal of 1970,” which is all about former President Ferdinand Marcos’ affair with American starlet Dovie Beams. De Veyra relates: “Naging tagpuan ng mga pagniniig nina Marcos at Dovie Beams ang isang mamahaling mansion sa Northwestern Street sa Greenhills, San Juan. Minsan nga raw ay dito natutulog si Marcos ’pag si Imelda ay nagsa-shopping abroad.”
He goes on to mention the more salacious details of this affair, particularly the audio tape of Marcos and Beams getting busy. However, he stops short of discussing what we presume to be the real “hardcore” parts. “Marami pang nakaka-shock na detalye sa transcript ng tape. But this is a family-oriented book,” de Veyra asserts. That may be so, but we know at least one family who won’t be reading this book.
To be fair, though, de Veyra is equally critical of all the other personalities (living or dead) mentioned in the book. You’ll find many of his sarcastic asides in “Lights, Camera, Politics!” The chapter is all about entertainers and athletes who have crossed over to politics. Among the actors-turned-politician cited is Lito Lapid. De Veyra muses: “Nitong 2016, natalo si Lito Lapid nang tumakbong mayor ng Angeles City sa Pampanga. Which leads us to the question: What is wrong with you, people of Angeles? You don’t know what you’re missing.”
Meanwhile, in “Manuel Quezon: Original Ninja?,” de Veyra writes: “Typical of Filipino politicians of the time, na-master daw ni Quezon ang sining ng palabas: makabayan, ‘para sa kasarinlan’ — in the name of public approval. Pero sa totoo lang raw ay hindi naman ganap na sang-ayon sa immediate independence.”
The book makes us wish that more teachers would talk about history this way without having to use “big words,” making decades-old events relatable to those living in the present. It would be nice if we became a nation of consummate tsismosos and tsismosa of history. Maybe then we’ll stop making the same mistakes over and over again.
History with Lourd: Tsismis Noon, Kasaysayan Ngayon costs P295 and is available in leading bookstores nationwide.
The post ‘History with Lourd’: The past is present appeared first on The Manila Times Online.