The Reposo street festival

I have a hypothesis about Makati.
Back in the days before cars were invented, it was a settlement that bordered the Pasig River. Behind it, far from the buzz of it, was a burial place, which later on was called the South Cemetery. It used to be much bigger, but time had overgrown portions and later developers took over. So Bel-Air, San Miguel Village, San Antonio, and other villages have taken over. An Englishman I once met told me that he had a map that showed that the area where he was then renting a room, was over the English portion of that cemetery. "Can you believe it had a British portion?" he asked. I could. I knew that the British had occupied the Philippines a while and they must have had a portion in all cemeteries. Those who had lived here naturally also died here. Of course for me, this is just a hypothesis. I don’t bother to check it out. I don’t do any further research on it. I file it in my mind as material for fiction.

One of the access roads to St. Andrew’s Church and to the cemetery is Reposo. The whole road used to be called that. I thought it might have been left over from Avenida del Reposo, reposo being Spanish for repose, meaning re-posed that way forever. The person is stiffly dead and now will be buried in that new pose, re-pose, reposo. Now, however, from Gil Puyat Avenue you turn into Nicanor Garcia, previously Reposo, and Reposo does not resume until after you are past St. Andrew’s church. After you cross Kalayaan Avenue, you are on Reposo again. . Who is Nicanor Garcia then? Nobody really knows.

My office used to be there. It still is. Only I have moved out. I don’t work there any more, but something about the street seems to always call me back. My friend Rose Yenko’s office is at the LRI mall. It is a small sophisticated mall with great stores of furniture and household accessories located on the left-hand side of the street, if you’re coming from Gil Puyat Avenue or Buendia. My other friend Ed Soler’s art gallery is in there, too. Ricco-Renzo Gallery is where I teach my Joy of Writing course. Mandy Navasero, another old friend, has her photography shop there. So in a way, for me, being there is like having a reunion with old friends and at the same time making new ones. Alliance Francaise is across the street, between L’Incontro and Grappa’s.

One thing about Reposo is that it is a comfortable place. It has no pretensions. You can walk in and out, get what you want, sit around and eat, cross Kalayaan and go to Café Maestro, there are no affectations. Maybe that’s why when Rose Yenko said there would be a street festival on May 27 and 28, I quickly said, "I’ll rent a table. I will sell my things there." Then after a short pause – you know, I’ve gotten weird post-stroke – I asked again, "Wait, can I sell my things there?" Yes, Rose said. It was strange even for me. The thought of selling my things just popped into my head when she spoke of having a village fair at Reposo. When again we spoke, Rose gave me her spiel about selling artistic materials there. I said, "I’m an artist. I am selling my things. They are artistic materials!" She laughed and said nothing more.

So now I must begin with a confession. Since I returned from the USA in February, I have resumed my morning ritual – writing my Morning Pages, reading my runes, reading Simple Abundance. Then suddenly, I decided to make beaded hangings from my antique beads. I am an accidental collector of beads, old and new. Suddenly, I made strings for hangings, strings for eyeglasses, the one-sided kind, the one that makes wearing glasses look coquettish and fun, not the two-sided kind that makes you look old. I believe this bead craft is the resurgence of my creativity. Just like selling my things are, too. I have decided to relieve myself of everything – books, plates, glasses, glass bottles, glass pieces. I just need to clear my life and start over again.

So there will be activities on Reposo Street beginning on Friday until Sunday. It will be a mélange of activities. The street festival, where I will participate with my niece Cynthia Nakpil, will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 27, culminating on Sunday, May 28. It will begin with ribbon-cutting with the Binays and Cecile Guidote Alvarez as guests of honor. I will be there selling. The white wall across St. Andrew’s church will be converted into a mural by a group of upscale popular artists painting together. There will be street sculptures by Gildo Bien and lectures at the Alliance Francaise. On Saturday night, there will be a festival of entertainment – flamenco, jazz by the Ateneo, chamber music by St. Scholastica, then more dances by Cookie Chua and Bayang Barrios. It will be busy and I hope successful because I will be selling my things and I hope I sell out.

So, if you have nothing to do next weekend, come to this street fair. There will be many art items and baskets. It will be very interesting, but Reposo will be closed to cars and you will have to park at the corner of Jupiter and Reposo or Kalayaan and Reposo to get in. See you there!

* * *

For inquiries or whatever, please e-mail lilypad@skyinet.net.