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I took a sabbatical from my column in Philippine Star since I am
currently on a California tour with APO. We did our first concert last
October 3 at the Sycuan Casino. This coming Saturday, we do the Morongo
Casino and on Sunday, we do a show in Oxnard and then head home for
Manila the next day.
Sycuan, Morongo, Cache Creek and a few more are the new additions to
the casino destinations in the US. These successful temples of chance,
all tax free are owned by American Indian tribes and the beneficiaries
of these operations are the members of the individual tribes who have
set them up. In the case of Sycuan, the interesting thing is that the
chiefs and members of the board (all Indians) are married to Filipinas!
We have met them since they attended our shows last time around. I hear
one of them is an Ilocana!
Last October 3, we had a great show. It was a full house and we got
a standing ovation. I liked our performace even if minutes before we
came out, I had serious doubts about the condition of my voice and
body. I was tired, jet-lagged, and felt heavy. But as the overture
began to play, I felt all my energies gather together and work on me
enough to do the show successfully. It was amazing. I felt a coming
together of body, mind and spirit and an ‘awakening’.
* * *
It’s been more than a year since I was in the US. It’s election season
and I feel a polarization especially among Filipinos who are
traditionally Republicans. I feel that more and more, many of them this
time are turning Democrats this election. The few who remain
Republicans seem defensive and feel the need to explain and defend
themselves. The fear of job loss, the observable decline in economic
activity in malls with less shoppers, and the general anxiety about the
economic conditions here has given me the impression that the US these
days seems like a less happy place compared to before. People are
clearly worried about the future.
In a small reunion with classmates I attended, the conversation was
80 percent about the bail out plan, the elections, and their take on
the future of their adopted country which seems mostly bleak.
It wasn’t too long ago when we saw the fall of the Berlin wall and
the following disintegration of the once mighty USSR. An
economist-writer here has claimed as much and says that the drop in the
DOW Jones of a trillion dollars (roughly the entire economy of India)
in 15 minutes is comparable to the fall of the Berlin wall and signals
the decline of American Capitalism as we know it. Pretty scary stuff.
He says that the brand of economics that is decidedly American and has
been the model and ideal for decades is now fatally flawed and must be
rethought!
Hmm..
It’s sobering to actually see how things can change just like that.
Nothing is forever. This is a reality which we seem to understand and
accept only conceptually, if we ever do. Coming face to face with the
irreverent force of impermanence can be quite disturbing and humbling.
* * *
I am having a epiphany. I am glad to be where I am right now as I write
this. I am on the 8th floor of the Pacific Palm Hotel in West Covena ad
I have a beautiful view of mountains and homes in between trees. It is
a good moment. I feel a kinship to the moment as I write write without
thinking at all and just going with the flow. Perhaps it’s because I
got good sleep last night which I felt may have finally aligned my body
to the time zone I am currently in. Or perhaps it is just one of those
rare moments when I am present to and thankful for all that is around
me.
I am happy to be where I am and who I am right now. I am unfolding
right this second. Words are spilling out of me, and my body is
sustained by the spirit that flows through me every second. In a few
days, I will be doing two performances with Danny and Boboy singing
songs we have made through the years and gifting our audience with our
brand of entertainment. As Lionel Ritchie likes to sing, ‘Life is good,
wild and sweet. Let the music play on, play on, play on.’
Does it get any better than this? Right now, I don’t think so.
