Veronica Tries To Write

            The 1988 horror-comedy film titled Kumander Bawang tells the story of Tikboy, an awkward and frail teenage boy who suddenly becomes a superhero to save Matambato from Conde Regalado and his army of aswangs raging from vampires to self-segmenting viscera suckers by transforming to Kumander Bawang and using garlics to ward off the villains. The film opens when Tikboy’s grandfather laments that the Moro-Moro, a stage play depicting battles of Christians and Moros during the Spanish colonial period, is being less popular due to celebrities being invited during fiestas. Even in recent times, with the rise of popular culture and our fascination of Hollywood, this proves to be true. A reflection of the on-going struggle of cultural workers such as Lolo Ambo, countless days of practice, memorization and exaggerated movements with no room for mistakes, makes theatre a nurturing art form that unfortunately only rewards th...