Of architects and storytellers

Last week was a reunion of sorts with people I have met and covered during my early career as a journalist and with whom I have kept in touch with through the years, well into their retirement and mine as well.

Retired architect Gilbert Yu, now 83, was among those I had met and covered in the early 2000s, or 25 years ago, during my stint as a trade and industry reporter. Architect Yu was at the peak of his career and was a strong advocate for the protection of property rights of buyers, stories of which I wrote about as a reporter.

Somehow, through the years, we lost touch until he reached out a couple of years ago to meet up and get to know his son Terence, and for me to introduce him to Iris Gonzales, who was then my business section reporter covering the private sector and SEC/PSE beat, and who would eventually bring pen to paper to chronicle the stories he had to tell – his life and adventures, as he and his sons transitioned to a new phase in their lives.

Even then, Gilbert was already bursting with eagerness to proudly talk about the accomplishments of his children -- his daughters, sons – Terence and Gibson, and grandchildren. He had also decided, even then (at possible consequence to himself), to talk about his kidnapping and detention in China, all of which is now properly chronicled in his recently launched book, “The Life and Adventures of Architect Gilbert Yu,” written by Iris.

At the launch last week, and appropriately enough, at the Diamond Hotel which he helped design, Gilbert happily shared and signed his “passion project” book, surrounded by his family, friends, colleagues, architect friends, classmates and various individuals who truly know him, such as Grace Glory Go, who is a family friend.

His son Terence, who spoke at the book launch, acknowledged that more than an architect, his father is a storyteller – “he was my Netflix.” Terence regularly hears from his father’s friends and colleagues that his father is a “great, great architect, but throughout the years, I’ve come to realize that my father’s talent, his sort of superpower, is not just in being a good architect...but my father is a really, really good storyteller.”

Gilbert captivated Terence, then around five years old, and his sister Candice, six, with nightly stories of how hard it was when Gilbert was very young. According to Terence, “At that time, he was my Netflix. He told me rags to riches story, starting off as a gasoline boy, and then becoming successful as an architect. He also told me some stories that are a little bit comedic, a little bit tragic…’we used to have a sari-sari store, but unfortunately, the sari-sari store nalugi (lost) because there are nine siblings, and lahat sila magaling mag-kupit (they all knew how to steal) so they would eat off the produce, so nalugi, we could have become SM sana.’ “

Terence also recalls stories that were kind of scary, because he told me that my angkong (grandfather) was stricken with tuberculosis. And at that time, that was a deadly disease and he was in charge of giving him injection.

However, one story that Terence admits to doubting was when his father told him that his mother, Tina, chose him because he was handsome. “He said to me, ‘you know, when your mom was younger, she was very, very beautiful and she had many suitors.’ I believed this, because when I look at their bed, there was a tiara, there was a trophy, and there’s a black and white picture with my mom with a sash when she was a Miss UE. My dad had said, ‘out of all her choices, she chose me because when I was younger, I was extremely handsome.’ “

Terence notes that storytelling “was the way that my father taught me about life. That’s the way that he gave me lessons about life. And one of the lessons that struck with me was when he described how his whole architecture career was just like a short drip in time. It was just like a fleeting moment. So he illustrated it like this, when he bowed his head down to start drafting, and then when he looked up and looked around, he’s already old. Time had passed by. So that stayed with me. But then I realized that in that fleeting moment, he lived a full life. As you will see in the book, there is danger and redemption when he was abducted. There’s a risk, there’s success and failure. There’s misfortune, there’s blessing, there’s love. All of these stories normally a conservative Filipino-Chinese family would just rather keep it to themselves, but my father has decided to share these parts of his life to everybody.”

Terence admits that in reading the book,”I learned that life doesn’t have to be perfect, to be successful... most of the time it’s messy, sometimes it’s chaotic, but it’s in the unpredictability of life that gives us a sense of adventure. So, many years later, I asked my mom, ‘Mom, is it true that you chose Dad because he’s pogi (handsome)? And then my mom just smiled at me, and she said that ‘I chose your father, because I know in his heart he has big dreams.’”

For Terence, the purpose of the book is to reach different readers “who my father can possibly inspire to live their life with big dreams, with color, with adventure, life, and embrace the messiness in life because life is fleeting. So that when it’s their turn to lift their head up from drafting, or what is it ever that takes their time... once you lift your head up, you would have stories to tell and inspire the next generation.”