The world through my lenses

Today I received a terribly painful Facebook message from a stranger. It read, “kuya pumanaw napo si mang ipe o efren elgo. ngayon po ang huling lamay bukas napo ang libing. sana makapunta po kayou .. salamat” (Kuya, Mang Ipe or Efren Elgo passed away. Today is the last day of the wake. The burial is tomorrow. I hope you can come. Thanks.) His children had asked her to inform me about his passing.

While his name will probably not ring a bell, one look at him and you’ll recognize him almost immediately. This former balut vendor with absolutely no acting experience brought tears to the eyes of hundreds of thousands of people all over the world as he played the dedicated, charming old man with a resourceful eye in “Fine Dining”. And although he probably never realized it, he did so much for me in that one day that he agreed to act in my film instead of going out and selling balut. I am forever indebted to the man, which is why it pained me to learn that he had died.

Immediately after receiving that message, I prepared a copy of the film on DVD and had a couple of screenshots of the film printed out. I then drove off to a place that I should have gone back to at least once after that rainy November day back in 2010, but never got to. It was difficult to bear the idea that the next time I would be seeing a man who changed the course of my life, he would be inside his coffin. I regret not being able to drop by even just once after winning in Manhattan, even just to say thank you, and tell him about what happened, or to bring a bilao of pancit for him and his family. Despite the torrential rains, I was determined to pay my respects to Tito Ipe.

I arrived at the Gawad Kalinga Selecta Village where he lived at around 5PM. I was met there by Bon, who had helped me shoot the film. As we walked past the children frolicking in the puddles and the men and women gambling on the streets, I saw the familiar sight of the street where we filmed the first few scenes of the film. I walked into his house, the same house which we filmed Fine Dining in, and it looked the same. Nothing much had changed, save for the fact that there was now a coffin in it. I met his wife, and some of his children, who congratulated me on the award.

I gave his wife, Tita Milet, the DVD, the photos, and a love offering. She looked at the photos fondly, remarking, “Ang payat pa ni Tatay dito.” He had gotten sick throughout the last few months of his life, and had gained a lot of weight. It was hard to tell just by looking at his body, but you could see hints of it in his face. I learned that Tito Ipe had died of a heart attack last Sunday, July 15. I also learned that I’d gotten his name wrong all this time; it was Efren Elgo, not Erpo. I must’ve misread it when he wrote it down for me that day.

I stayed to chat for a while as they offered me a bottle of Mountain Dew which I graciously accepted. As I chatted with Tita Milet, it was easy to see just how much she had loved Tito Ipe, and how painful his death was for her. She was quiet, but very much thankful that I had come to pay my respects.

A few minutes later, I met the stranger who had sent me the Facebook message. Apparently, she wasn’t a stranger. She was the one who played the daughter in the film. She had a different name on Facebook, which is why I didn’t recognize her at first. I greeted her, and chatted with her for a bit. She had seen the film, and had even seen it featured on Bandila. She was now going to use the film for a report in school. After our short chat, I thanked them for their hospitality and went home.

Tito Ipe, I know I never got to see you again, and I know you’ll never get to read this. But I’d like to thank you once again for agreeing to act in my film. I owe you so much more than that one thousand pesos I paid you and the Jollibee meal I fed you for your troubles that day. I owe the success of the film and the impact it has made on my career to you. I hope you enjoy a taste of the real Fine Dining up there in heaven. Maraming salamat, Tito Ipe!

If you haven’t seen the film yet, you can watch it below:

Today I visited what could possibly be my future office–Hollywood. It was a cool and rainy day, just like one you’d expect in Manila.

I arrived at LAX where Ate Carleen and her friend, who was also named Lants (albeit spelled differently) picked me up. We weren’t quite sure where we were going so we ended up going to Umami Burger, which is a somewhat gourmet burger. It was my fourth burger in as many days, and it was pretty good. It was a Bad Boy Burger, with swiss-cheddar cheese, griled onions, and bacon lardons, all with umami sauce. We had some cheese tots, smushed potatoes, and french fries to go with that.

We headed off to a nearby mall where I bought pasalubong for my lola. The mall was relatively small and pretty quiet. But that was probably cause it was a Tuesday afternoon. We looked around a couple of stores as well.

Next stop was Hollywood. We drove to Hollywood Blvd, home of the Walk of Fame. I regret going shopping in Denver now! There were some great things at the souvenir shops. I came home with a clapper board, a director’s plastic megaphone, and a mini Oscar Trophy for Excellence. It was like a dream come true, in some ways. I saw the hand and footprint exhibit which apparently now has the Twilight trio immortalized.

We drove further up to a place called Griffith Observatory which overlooks the Hollywood sign. It was too bad it was too dark and the sign wasn’t lit up! No matter though. I did a thirty second exposure and got a great shot. We also took some photos of the LA nightscape.

We grabbed In N Out for dinner. I had a Cheeseburger, Animal Style, which is supposedly in the secret menu. It was great for a fast food burger, but they all start to taste the same after a while.

I’m in the apartment of Ate Carleen and Larry now. We played a couple of NBA 2K12 games on the PS3 which is why I’m still up. I’ll be sleeping on the plane tomorrow anyway.

LA was great. I can’t believe I’m only here for a night. I’m finally flying home tomorrow. Manila, I’m coming home!

The surprising thing about Boulder is that, even if the weather reports all say it’s below zero, it doesn’t actually feel that way. I went out today with thermal undergarments under a shirt and khakis, and I was pretty much fine.

I heard mass with Tita Sockie at the Sacred Heart of Mary (I never knew there was such a thing) Church in Lousville. They had ministers holding chalices so it’s probably a bit safer to conclude that it’s a common practice in America.

I went to Target afterwards and bought a number of gadgets including a pair of noise-cancelling headphones for the plane. I also bought a cardigan that was on sale, and a black director’s hat (it’s really just one of those New York cabbie hats but it can pass for a director’s hat!). I really love the selections at Target. It’s just so convenient!

I got my first taste of real (sorta) rock climbing today. Uncle Richard took me to this outdoor goods store somewhere in Denver where we climbed a path (is that what you call it?) that was a 5-7 on a scale of 5.0 to 5,15. So it was hard enough to be challenging but easy enough for me to get all the way to the top. It required a lot of upper body strength which I didn’t really have, but I managed to find my way to the top nonetheless. It wasn’t easy though, and my forearms ached afterwards. I stretched them so hopefully they don’t hurt as much tomorrow.

We headed over to a small bar/restaurant called Gordon Biersch where we watched the Superbowl while I ate a Kobe Beef Cheeseburger that was delicious. It was my first time watching it, and I was not disappointed. Even the commercials were amazing. They should be–they cost $3.5 million a spot. We stayed until Madonna’s extravagant but amazing halftime performance, and then continued the game at home.

I was rooting for the Giants since I had just come from New York where all my cousins were cheering them on and I enjoyed seeing their amazing comeback. You don’t need to know much about football (I was learning as I was watching) to enjoy the great passes and the great tackles. Bradshaw’s drive and touchdown was amazing as well! The Patriots played well and I’m glad it really came down to the last pass. Games are more exciting that way.

I’m going to go skiing tomorrow! I am so excited. I hope I don’t freeze to death.