VALEDICTION OF HILL CREST

Rolando Tinio

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rolando Santos Tinio (March 5, 1937 – July 7,

1997) was

a Filipino poet, dramatist, director, actor, critic, essa

yist andeducator.

Rolando Tinio is a Philippine National Artist for

Theater and Literature.

He was born in Gagalangin, Tondo, Manila on

March 5, 1937.

As a child, Tinio was fond of organizing and

directing his playmates for costumed celebrations.

He was an active participant in the Filipino movie

industry and enjoyed working with Philippine

celebrities who he himself had admired in his

childhood.

Tinio himself became a film actor and scriptwriter.

He is often described as a religious, well-behaved

and gifted person. Tinio graduated with honors (a

"magna cum laude" achiever) with a degree

in Philosophy from the Royal and

Pontifical University of Santo Tomas at age 18 in

1955 and an M.F.A. degree in Creative

Writing:Poetry from the State University of Iowa.

In Iowa, Tinio was known as a great writer that used

English as the medium of the Filipino writer.

He wrote his poetic collection: Rage and Ritual

which won an award from the University of the

Philippines.

Once, in a conference, an author delivered his

belief in the value of the Tagalog dialect in Creative

Writing. In response to this, Tinio published an

article in the scholarly journal Philippine Studies,

which contained parts of English poems translated

into Tagalog. The article’s purpose was to prove the

inadequacy of Tagalog as the writer’s medium.

(Lumbera)

In the mid-1960s, however, Tinio decided to try writing in Tagalog and the product of this trial was the collection of poems now called Bagay. Rolando Tinio was the sole inventor of “Taglish” in Philippine poetry. Through this, he gave an authentic tone to the poetry of the native middle-class Filipino. In 1972, Tinio wrote another poetry collection: Sitsit sa Kuliglig and this showed the great contrast between his old and new advocacy. If in Rage and Ritual, portrayals of art and the artist that are not closely associated with the Filipino lifestyle are communicated, Sitsit sa Kuliglig clearly portrays the everyday experiences of a Tondo-grown individual now living in Loyola heights. Heaven and earth; the gap between Tinio’s works in English and those in Tagalog.(Lumbera)

Tinio was also an actor, director, and a set and

costume designer. He served all these roles during

his stay with the Ateneo Experimental Theater. Tinio

chooses the plays, designs the stage, directs,

creates the costumes and determines the musical

score and other sounds.

His work with the Ateneo Experimental Theater

expresses the concept of the actor being merely

one of the director’s tools in shaping the stage;

communicate his vision through all aspects of the

production

He published four seminal books of poems between

1972 and 1993, in which, along with his longtime

friend, Bienvenido Lumbera, helped modernize the

traditionally sentimental Filipino style. He had also

worked on his own projects such as the Ateneo

Experimental Theater productions and other

serious dramas in Filipino.

Circa 1976, Tinio also wrote the lyrics for the six hymns

of the "Misa ng Alay-Kapwa" the music for which was

composed by Fr. Eduardo P. Hontiveros, SJ. (The most

popular of these hymns still sung in Churches

throughout the Philippines is "Buksan ang Aming Puso.)

These hymns were published in the now out of print, -

Mga Awiting Pansamba-.

Rolando Santos Tinio was directing a musical when he

suffered a heart attack in Manila on July 7, 1997. He

died on July 8, 1997 at age 60. His wife, theatre and film

actress, Ella Luansing had died some years before. He

was survived by his two children, Antonio and Victoria.

VALEDICTION SA HILL CREST

Pagkacollect ng Railway Express sa aking things

(Deretso na iyon sa barko while I take the plane.)

Inakyat kong muli ang N-311, at dahil dead of winter,

Nakatopcoat at galoshes akong

Nagright-turn sa N wing ng mahabang dilim

(Tunnel yatang aabot hanggang Tundo.)

Kinapa ko ang switch sa hall.

Sa isang pitik, nagshrink ang imaginary tunnel,

Nagparang ataol.

Or catacomb.

Strangely absolute ang impression

Ng hilera ng mga pintong nagpuprusisyon:

Individual identification, parang mummy

cases,

De-nameplate, de-numero, de-hometown

address.

Antiseptic ang atmosphere, streamlined yet.

Kung hindi catacomb, at least

E filing cabinet.

Filing, hindi naman deaths, ha.

Remembrances, oo. Yung medyo malapot

Dahil alam mo na, I’m quitting the place

After two and a half years.

After two and a half years,

Di man nagkatiyempong mag-ugat, ika nga,

Siyempre’y nagging attached, parang morning

glory’ng

Mahirap mapaknit sa alambreng trellis.

At pagkabukas ko sa kuwarto,

Hubo’t hubad na ang mattresses,

Wala nang kutson sa easy chair,

Mga drawer ng bureau’y nakanganga,

Sabay-sabay nag-ooration,

Nagkahiyaan, nabara.

Of course, tuloy ang radiator sa

paggaralgal:

Nasa New York na si Bob and the two

Allans,

Yung mga quarterbacks across the hall

Pihadong panay ang display sa Des

Moines.

Don ang Cosntance aren’t coming back at

all.

Gusto ko nang magpaalam–

to whom?

The drapes? The washbowl? Sa double-

decker

Na pinaikot-ikot naming ni Kandaswamy

To create space, hopeless, talagang

impossible.

Of course, tuloy ang radiator sa paglagutok.

(And the stone silence,

nakakaiyak kung sumagot.)

Bueno, let’s get it over with.

It’s a long walk to the depot.

Tama na ang sophistication-sophistication.

Sa steep incline, pababa sa highway

Where all things level, sabi nga,

There’s a flurry, ang gentle-gentle.

Pagwhoosh-whoosh ng paa ko,

The snow melts right under:

Nagtutubig parang asukal,

Humuhulas,

nagsesentimental.