Pablo Neruda: "The Fable of the Mermaid and the Drunks"

Pablo Neruda is a literary giant and this poem, " The Fable of the Mermaid and the Drunks" is one of his greatest works.

The imagery is so vivid that a movie inside your head starts to play once you begin to read the lines of the poem. The first few lines already establish the direction of the poem and like a vise, it gradually grips you until you find yourself struggling away towards the end. This poem, in a few lines of beautiful prose, was able to encapsulate a strong message to the reader.

Innocence is such a beautiful thing. This poem is all about innocence and how brutal man can be in stealing it away. At the one level of interpretation, it is all about an innocent mermaid who left her home and found herself in a completely different place, abused by drunk men, and forced to return to her world, damaged. Some would interpret it as man's destruction of nature, going as far as developing a imagery of rape--- there were explicit references to spitting on the mermaid, obscenities thrown and taunting, and sadly, physical abuse:

"They blackened her with burnt corks and cigarette stubs, and rolled around laughing on the tavern floor."

The mermaid's reaction was priceless. Without fanfare or a whimper, she left. Was this an attempt from Neruda to paint an image of an abused woman who has submitted to her fate? By returning to the river, she was "cleansed" and eventually, "swam towards emptiness and death". It was clear that despite this, going back was the best decision for her and home was a far better place to be in.

This poem may be a fable but the message is far more profound than it looks.

Indeed, there is dignity in silence, beauty in simplicity.

All the World is a Stage

I saw the original film so I was very curious how the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) would be able to pull of a stage adaptation of Bona, the movie that impressed a lot of people in Cannes many years ago. Establishing the physical settings of the movie as relevant to today's society is already a difficult task so I was already looking at several aspects of the film that might even be more difficult to convert from the film version the the stage version. Did anybody say "boiling water"?

Eugene Domingo as Bona was captivating. The movie version was heavy from start to finish but the stage version was fresher and more relaxed, thanks to the comedic genius that is Eugene Domingo. The gay best friend offered a strong competition and their crisp exchange of insults and side comments were so enjoyable to watch. The jokes were relevant to the present time and the problems faced by the main character were real---- if not too real for comfort.

Flawed characters always interest me and Eugene Domingo's Bona is no exception. Bona is disillusioned. Her disillusion is brought about the endless responsibilities she had to shoulder; responsibilities that were merely transferred to her against her will. Bona is irrational. She believes that by making others happy will make her happy as well when in fact it is causing her pain.  Bona is desperate. After being jolted several times, she holds on to someone unworthy as she thinks that this is her only chance on a significant relationship.

The play was practically Eugene's own 4x4 truck ready to run over you if you are not paying attention. The other cast members were not so bad at all. The younger sister, Binky, was heartbreaking during her scene with Bona in Gino's condo when she spoke about her son Bingo. The land lord Bert was simply adorable and persistent without getting too smarmy. The gay friend Baldy, though at times over the top, was simply hilarious. Then there was Gino. He was brash, angsty, and ambitious and was a perfect counterpoint to Bona's sensitive and generous nature. He was the nucleus of the climax and the root cause of it all--- albeit unknowingly.

The thing about a story like this is that it is painfully real. Unwanted pregnancies, mooching relatives, and shattered dreams due to substance abuse are just too close to home. The story angle of her leaving work because of a botched promotion which was "stolen" from her by her former lover who is now the apple of the eye of the Operations Manager is also spot on. Finally, the people who manipulate the weak, the hapless people driven to desperation, and the painful reality that there will be people who will abuse the generosity of others help complete the world that Bona lives in.

What bothered me was the "interview" after the climax. I thought it was an unfitting denouement. Like I mentioned earlier, I am not a theater major so I have no real basis to say anything about the fine points of the production. It was obviously an integral part of the play to wrap everything up but shifting from real life to film then back to real life was too taxing for me. It was a little difficult to process.

Overall, the play was entertaining. Eugene's adlibs were really funny and effective. When I watched, the theater fog was still there so she quipped: "Smoke? Here they go again. The neighbors are having barbecue!" When she turned the faucet and no water came out, she said: "Oh, we did not pay our water bills." Of course, both were said in Tagalog, in her classic deadpan way.

I will give this play a rating of AAC for "Amazing Adaptation of a Classic". It might have been the stage version of the film but it was definitely not an imitation. It stood on its own merits.