Del Mundo feted on his centennial

We’re so busy that we have to pass up many of the invitations we get. But, we made it a point to catch the centennial celebration of the late, great Clodualdo del Mundo Sr.’s birth at the CCP last month – and we’re sure glad we did!

The minute we arrived at the event’s venue, we felt the pride and love that Doy del Mundo Jr. and his siblings felt for their father, one of the country’s most seminal novelists. It turned out that Clodualdo Sr. had written much more than just “komiks lit,” and we were happy to be informed and edified forthwith by the evening’s speakers.

Most “deliciously” informative of all was the reenactment of one of the classic radio dramas he had penned. Only a few really versatile actors played a dizzying variety of roles, and we were reminded of our own start in radio when we were only in our midteens.

We hope that Del Mundo will soon be more permanently honored with a compilation of his works, for future generations to better appreciate the rich wellsprings of our culture and pop culture. Meanwhile, Doy and his similarly gifted siblings continue to do their father proud!

GK’s Enchanted Farm opens

On another “free” day, we went with Gawad Kalinga’s Rose Cabrera to Angat, Bulacan, for the opening of GK’s new “totalized” community initiative – its Enchanted Farm.

Many supporters of the movement were in enthusiastic attendance, and saw for themselves that Gawad Kalinga is no longer “just” into building homes for the poor, but has graduated to building lives with its new Enchanted Farm template, which combines dwellings and livelihood opportunities.

Thus, at Angat, we saw the GK village surrounded by farms, cottage industries, outlets for handicrafts and decor items, a flavorful tea concoction called Enchantea, even salted duck eggs – colored, not the usual red, but Cory yellow!

The new initiatives were run by young entrepreneurs who were bent on helping lift their workers out of poverty. Education is high on the expanded GK community’s list of priorities, with a college even planned to be established in situ.

Before GK chose the remote site, it was unremarkable in every way. Today, however, it is a thriving community that attracts numerous visitors from other parts of the country and even abroad, excited to see how a culture and mind set of poverty can be overcome and surmounted, if people focus on the promising and enlightened future, not on the dim, defeatist past!