Tuesday, July 15, 2008

missing the winners

so tapos na naman ang miss universe pageant. as usual, we missed again at ‘thank you girl’ ang pilipinas withouth having won any award kahit pa pinuri-puri sya ni jerry springer. may mga press release pang lumabas a few days before the pageant na one of the favourites daw si jennifer barrientos na bet natin. ewan pero siguro paid scribe ng bb pilipinas charities para lang bigyan ng konting credibility yong kanilang organization that has been failing miserably to produce a winner.

so hindi tayo maka-produce ng isang beauty queen in this generation. centuries ago pa ng manalo si margie moran at gloria diaz. of late, si miriam quiambao ang medyo sinuwerte but still fell one step short of the real thing. all the others will leave manila with high hopes (jennifer even had the arrogance of announcing she’ll surely win the crown) pero pagdating sa competition, ginamit lang na pang-background at pangpuno ng malawak na stage. saka uuwi sa pinas na luhaan. and our beloved philippines become ‘just one of those’.

if we can’t compete internationally sa pagandahan, how about sa sports? well, we have manny pacquiao to be proud of. dyan, panalong-panalo tayo. kaso puro mexicano ang pinatumba ni pacman. it would be better if his crown had more international flavour to it. sana may kano, hapon, german or french na pinatumba sya. at least, talagang international ang lawak ng powers nya.

pero okey na rin kasi international recognition naman ang binigay sa kanya. yon nga lang, isa lang sya out of the 84++ million filipinos. ganon ba kadalang ang sporting talents sa ating bansa?

siguro. dahil hindi tayo maka-alagwa sa olympics. eto nga at parating na naman ang olympics sa beijing and we’re sending hundreds of athletes again pero hindi sa nagiging pessimistic ako, ilan ba dyan ang makakasungkit ng brone medals which is more realistic. silver? medyo pangarap ang dating pero achievable. gold? ay yan talaga, malapit na sa hallucination!

ayan nga at from 1 million pesos, ginawa nang 2 m ang premyo sa makakapag-uwi ng gold medal. why? eh kasi nga ganon na ka-tuyot ang pinas sa olympics.

kahit sa ibang field – like arts and sciences, walang pilipinong bumabalandra sa international scene lately. sana man lang may isang scientist, economist or academician na ma-nominate sa nobel. or a literary person na manalo ng pulitzer. sa music, may mga gumuguhit na pangalan like charice pempengco and arnel pineda pero sana may isang leah salonga ulit na magtatagal sa international music scene and win awards like she did.

sa fashion industry, nandyan sana si monique lhuiller but she is no longer a filipina. tru-blue new yorker na sya. buti na lang ang tv industry natin, nakaka-ungos sa mga international tv awards. at least pag nananalo ang kapuso, proud na rin ako. or kahit kapamilya, feel proud na rin ako as pinoy.

siguro hindi dahil sa kulang tayo sa talents. be it in sports or magagandang babae na makakalaban ng sabayan sa miss universe. ang kulang sa atin, ang pondo para mag-develop ng mga talagang winners. kasi ‘ginagawa’ ang mga winners. they don’t just grow from trees.

at para ka makagawa ng isang winner, you have to hone him/her from a very early age and develop him/her to maturity. all along, dapat suportado sya ng lahat ng bagay – material, financial and even psychological – para doon lang sya naka-focus sa dapat nyang gawin. eh paano mo mai-expect na maging isang magaling na athlete ang isang may potential kung ni pambili ng track shoes eh wala sya? paano mo madevelop ang isang potential andy warhol kung pambili man ng lang paintbrush ay wala? or isang magaling na computer kid na hindi ma-afford ang mahal na computers and gadgets? you wouldn’t expect these people to be able to finance their dreams. doon dapat papasok ang gobyerno. para tulungan ang mga talents na ito.

kaso, saan ba nanggaling ang ginamit ni leah para ma-pursue yong talent nya sa theatre? sa sariling pera nila (at least may kaya sila) plus the tulong ng peta ni zenaida amador. si manny, tinulungan ni chavit (?) at lito atienza. pero walang legitimate government program na tumulong sa kanila.

with that reality, talagang hindi tayo makaka-produce ng winners. kung walang backing ang gobyerno and the people/organizations behind, ano man ang potential na meron ang isang talent, matatabunan ng mga araw-araw na problema which is mostly rooted from the lack of funds.

at sa pinas na puro economic struggle ang inaabot, uunahin pa ba namang pondohan ang pagsali sa isang beauty contest o kaya ang training and development ng isang tennis player? syempre uunahing pondohan yong nfa rice program. o kaya yong calamity fund para sa mga nasalanta ng bagyo. at syempre, wag kalimutan ang mga bulsa ng mga opisyales na humahawak ng pera.

so you see, hindi tayo kinukulang sa talents. hindi tayo ‘lesser race’ when it comes to international competitions. ang kulang sa atin, ang pag-unlad ng economy that can support other projects that are usually relegated to the background. projects like developing talents that bring pride and joy to the country. para hindi naman puro top spot sa graft and corruption ang inaani natin.

2 comments:

Dante said...

are you sure real estate loans? why don't you provide a copy of that thing you read somewhere else. if you are insinuating this is a recycled article that i just lifted from another source, then give me something, even a link.

maybe it's the idea you've read somewhere. coz i'm sure i'm not the only one who had the same thought. but you have to be careful in your comments. one of the things i hate is to be branded as a copycat. i'm not a professional writer but i know what plagiarism means.

clear?

Anonymous said...

"so you see, hindi tayo kinukulang sa talents"

Brillante Mendoza won in Cannes as best director. Cannes is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Menodza beat the likes of Tarantino, Ang Lee, Pedro Almodovar, Lars Von Trier, etc. That's an amazing achievement for any filmmaker Filipino or not. The sad part about it is that his films get distribution in France while back home his works get kinatay by the censors. Sadder is that Filipinos were so busy paying attention to American pop culture (IE American Idol concert tour) that Mendoza's historic win went by unnoticed relative to a Pacquiao victory.

Ang kulang lang kasi ay originality. There are many who pretend they are "international" artists, but they are simply copycats who mimic the material made popular by someone else (*cough* Charice *cough*)