Saturday Night at the "Where Else?"

"Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl..."

I'm sure most of you can sing the rest of the lyrics to this 1978 disco smash hit by Barry Manilow. You've got to admit that he definitely knows how to write the songs that make the whole world sing. His distinctive voice along with his showmanship and incredible knack for writing lyrics to songs we can all relate to contributed to the

1977 belonged to JT

1977 marked the year when music had become a necessary component of my daily life. I listened to my tapes while I got ready for school. In the car, I would cue my "song' for the short ride to school - making sure that the best part of the song would be blasting when I got off the car. My cassette player was a constant companion in the shower. I read Jingle magazine religiously to learn the lyrics to popular songs. Jingle magazine's "Kulangot" cartoon was also my source of shallow entertainment back then. I would tape (and re-tape) American Top 40 over blank TDK and Maxwell tapes. 


I had my share of Bee Gees, Chicago, Barry Manilow and Earth, Wind and Fire cassette tapes, but this was the year when my my musical taste expanded beyond the Top 40

My first vinyl record

It was 1973. The country was in her first year of Martial Law. I was in grade 3 at the Ateneo de Manila.

Back then, life revolved around three things: basketball, football (soccer) and Filipino playground games such as turumpo, teks, shato and gagamba. 1973 was also the year I bought my very first record - a 45

rpm with The Carpenter's "Top of the World" on side A and Bread's "Aubrey" on side B. "Top of the

What were you doing when this song became number 1?

I hate to admit this today but I fondly remember the day when this song became number one on American Top 40.  I was about to take my turn at Chinese garter with my cousins Gigi, Dennis, Ricky, Triccie and Katrina in the basement of the Eala family house on C. Apostol in Loyola Heights when Casey Kasem announced "the number one song in the land" as "Afternoon Delight" by Starland Vocal Band. I remember all of us screaming for joy as our favorite song finally conquered the airwaves in July

Were you afraid of Jaws?

Ateneo Grade School Pool

Every Atenean knows that grade 2 marks the year one learns how to swim. As a prep student, I feared grade 2 for this very reason. My idea of swimming was holding on to the gutter and going sideways. Death by drowning was just not going to be an option for me. But I would rather drown than to be caught naked inside the changing rooms by your entire class - which almost always caused quite a stir. 

Maryknoll High School Soiree Invitations

Class 314 Soiree Invitation

I was the social chair of our high school class my freshman and sophomore year. This designation meant that I was responsible for the social "well being" of our class. The job was quite simple. Create cool invitations, hire good DJ's, serve good food, introduce shy classmates to girls, teach fellow classmates the latest dance steps, invite hot chicks from Assumption, Teresiana, St. Paul, St. Scholastica and Maryknoll. Outside of class parties, the social chair must proudly represent Ateneo at all other parties and disco's. Simple!

A typical soiree was usually held on a Saturday night, at a designated house big enough to hold 50 or more people, with lots of good food, punch (and the occasional spiked punch) and dancing. Some soirees were flops, but then there were the memorable ones complete with disco lights, pulsating bass

Yosi tayo, pare

Jojo Camacho and Tad Abello puffing away in the 2-D classroom

In 1970's Manila, smoking was as natural as eating. Everyone smoked - your lolo (grandfather), your tito (uncle), your driver, the fish ball vendor along Katipunan road, the pizzamaker at Shakey's, the teachers and the priests in school- they all smoked. In that kind of environment, no wonder we were experimenting with smokes in grade school.

It starts out from the experimental puff from a tito or an older cousin; usually after dinner at a family get together when all the boys are outside hanging out by the cars on the street. A swig of San Miguel beer

Do you remember the Hardy Boys?

There was no other collection of books bigger than The Hardy Boys when I was growing up. Brothers Frank, 18, and Joe, 17, would take on unsolved mysteries their detective father, Fenton, was working on. Other characters included their mother, Laura, and Aunt Trudy. The original series of 58 books and "The Hardy Boys Detective Handbook" written by ghostwriters from 1927 to 1979 had a cult like following at the Ateneo. We talked about Bayport, New York, as if if was a short ride from Katipunan. A Hardy Boys book was a common birthday gift for friends and cousins. 

     

I, on the other hand, was never big into reading fictional books. I loved biographies of US Presidents and European kings and generals. Plus, I always questioned how Frank and Joe could solve all those

Why I Write

I had no idea that my life would take a dramatic change during my older sister's wedding in the summer of 1980. I was fifteeen, heartbroken, and for the first time in my life, I felt dejected.

My sister and I grew up in two different worlds. She lived in the province while I grew up in the city. Our parents divorced after my birth. A struggle broke out between the two families shortly after. My father and his relatives stormed my Lola's (grandmother) house and snatched my sister away so she could live with his relatives in Cavite. He would move to Califoria, remarry, and pursue his architectural career - leaving my sister behind. My mom also remarried. She remained in Manila; at least for a couple