A selfie in Piaf’s Paris

MANILA, Philippines - “(Edith) Piaf is the music of Paris,” 22-year-old Sandino Martin shared his choice for a side trip to the world’s capital of romance, Paris, France.

Unable to dose off, he posted on Facebook shots of the Louvre Museum while waiting to be heavy-eyed. Still jet-lagged arriving from France the day before, the adrenaline rush of the previous night’s premiere of his first starrer, Unfriend, had not dissolved.

He booked to see the Arc de Triomphe on Champs Elysees, upon learning he’s attending the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival.

His surname “pronounced with a ‘malutong na R’” as volunteered by Martin, he got that Gallic itch when he played Theo Sarapo to Cherie Gil’s Piaf in last year’s staging of the musical Piaf by Atlantis Productions.

“Piaf required me to learn French so I studied her culture on the side. Falling for things French and knowing a bit of the language gave me the confidence to go there,” Martin explained his “tourism” decision.

He did this by listening to songs downloaded from iTunes, providing adequate language and song practices. He learned to speak like a French in no time, complete with the correct “ch” sound coming from the throat.

Right after the Berlinale, where his performance of a confused 15-year-old teen hooked on computers received raves, he took an hour’s train ride to Paris.

Upon arrival, he decided to eat at La Duree café. There he encountered Piaf. While feasting on candy-colored macaroons as he sipped freshly-brewed cappuccino, Piaf’s great hits like La Vie en rose played in the sound system, confirming he was in Paris.

Berlin and Paris are not the first countries he visited. Alone or with friends, he had traveled to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Bali and Singapore out of savings from talent fees as actor.

He’s prepared to get lost as he acquired map-reading skills as a Boy Scout. “Paris is my dream city because it is a city of art,” Martin shared.

To kick off the culture immersion, he joined Brillante Mendoza, who is also Unfriend’s executive producer, for The Filipino Channel interview. The Cannes Best Director was on layover from Vesoul International Film Festival.

Overcast as winter cusped to spring, Martin then scaled the height of the Eiffel Tower for an overview of city. “I wanted sana to use the stairs from the third level up but they were closed so I had to use the lift,” Sandino expressed a frustration.

Feeling the chill off his face and overhearing multi-lingual murmurs, he reached its acme. At first sight, the grand panorama of Paris and suburbs seized him.

His main destination was the Louvre to see its acclaimed beauty and buzzed mystery. Eight on the onset that’s what he experienced. He could not help but be overwhelmed once again by its size and extensive exhibits.

During the four-hour stay, his eyes and soul feasted on life-size Greek and Roman sculptures including Venus De Milo, Egyptian artifacts and the Mona Lisa. The Greek, Spanish and decorative arts galleries were under renovation.

A measure of reward is a best-kept secret: Bulols from Northern Luzon that reminded of home.

But what he would not forget was not seeing I.M. Pei’s glass pyramids and its link with the Da Vinci Code but the history as a haunted castle with a tower.

“There, the queen always goes there to meet the night’s lover. After making love, she pushed her one-night stand off the tower to kill him so the king would not know!” he narrated the black widow spider story.

“An artist is like god. He can envision, create and recreate according to his will and understanding,” Martin summed up his thoughts about the extraordinary experience.

For four days, he stayed in the flat of a friend’s friend. He ate mostly street foods like crusty French bread with crispy-skinned roasted duck for the local color and, for sure, to scrimp on French francs. He was either identified as Filipino, Mexican or Italian but did not suffer bias.

He finds the French snobbish when spoken to in English. “They like you to learn even a little French since you’re in their country,” Martin learned. “But once you do, they will smile and converse.”

As Frenchmen speak fast, he told them his French is not that good and if they could speak English. Put in bind when meeting no-English citizens, he took to hand signals.

Paris, he confirmed, is not that clean. As dog lovers, the expected happens when walking their canines. And its people are undisciplined crossing the streets anywhere convenient and cheats are ever present, well, just like home.

Walking its classic structures and bustling avenues, Martin saw beige, smelled fumes and heard “Non, je ne regrette rien” in his head, he smiled. And then he was drowsy.