Hey, Hivers! It's makiyumee here and I am back again with a new blog! How are you so far? The air is getting chilly these days and even if it is still October, I can already feel the start of the Christmas atmosphere. For today's entry, I am going to be sharing to you about our class's performances in our course Panitikang Filipino and The Life and Works of Jose Rizal. So, sit back, relax, and have fun reading this blog!
It was around 7 am that day when I arrived at school while carrying my costume and props for our performance task. It was quite heavy, but I still managed to arrive in school without missing or forgetting some of my things. The moment I got inside our classroom, I immediately took out my costume for our performance task in our first course in the morning which is Panitikang Filipino. My classmates were already busy changing into their outfits too since our class starts at 7:30 am.
After my classmates and I finished changing into our costumes, our teacher came in and checked our attendance. Right after, the first performers quickly moved to the center of the room and started their presentation. The class burst into laughter and teasing when the first performers, a couple, showed great charm while singing and acting out their chosen piece, which was a love song or a kundiman.
The performance went on, and my classmates each took turns showing their unique talents in acting, singing, and dancing. Some of them brought out funny props that made the whole class laugh, and they really got into the characters they were portraying. Whether it was a chosen song, a folk story, or a traditional piece, everyone gave their best effort.
It was clear that they enjoyed themselves, and their creativity shone through in their performances. The whole room was filled with energy and excitement as each classmate showed their own style and personality while performing.
When it was time for my partner and I to perform, we gathered all of our props together and made sure everything was in place. Once everything was ready, we started our little concert. I picked up my ukulele and began playing the chords of Dadansoy, the Filipino folk song we chose. I played the role of the woman singing Dadansoy to her lover since the song is about a woman saying goodbye to her partner. My partner, who is also a woman like me, dressed up as a man and acted as my lover. We sang our parts, but I almost stopped singing because I couldn’t stop laughing at our performance. It was just so funny, especially when my partner struggled to act like a man at times.
After our performance, it was my friends' turn to take the stage. Each of them showed off their own talents, whether it was through acting, singing, or dancing. Soon, it was @iamcheerfellll turn, and I clapped my hands when she and her group gave us an amazing performance of the folk song Sitsiritsit. As I watched them perform, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride. Even though the Philippines is a small country compared to many others, it is incredibly rich in culture, history, and literature. We have so many traditional stories, songs, and practices that have been passed down through generations.
Some of these stories may have been forgotten over time, especially since many were shared orally by our ancestors, but many of them have been preserved. Today, they are still practiced and studied, especially in schools where students learn about our rich cultural heritage. It made me realize how lucky we are to have such a strong connection to our history, and how important it is to keep these traditions alive for future generations.
After our first subject, it was time for our second class of the morning, which was The Life and Works of Jose Rizal. Our task for this class was to act out scenes about Jose Rizal and the women in his life. Yes, I know, Rizal had many women in his life—just like he had many names—just kidding! According to our course book, there were nine women connected to Jose Rizal, so we needed ten students for the activity, including someone to play the role of Jose Rizal. Sad to say, I was one of those ten students and the woman of Rizal that my classmates made me portray was O-Sei San, the Japanese woman of Jose Rizal who was a daughter of a samurai.
Since I didn’t have a yukata or a women’s kimono, I ended up borrowing the kimono of my sister's friend. I almost screamed with excitement and a little embarrassment when I realized it was Tanjiro's kimono from Kimetsu no Yaiba. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of Tanjiro, but seeing myself wearing his kimono is a different story. However, since it was for a performance task, I had no choice but to go with it.
After all the students who were chosen to portray Jose Rizal and his women, including me, we all showcased our costumes and said our lines one by one. It was like a pageant but with a little dramatization.
The most fun part was probably the part of Gertrude since the student who portrayed her was a male student. He was tall and lanky and the way he portrayed his character was just so hilarious. His voice rose a few pitches higher, and his actions were both feminine and masculine. It was good and funny kind of mess.
When all of us finished portraying our characters, our teacher told us that we all did a great job and that she was so speechless of our performance since we managed to exceed her expectations. We all thanked her for her words, and she even gave us ample time to rest since we did a great job. All of us were so happy because of our reward and because we survived and finished presenting two important performance tasks.
That would be all for today's blog. I hope you had fun reading it and I will see you all on the next one!
