Portrait of Nick the man / A 15-year-old in recital

The thousands who have read the works of Nick Joaquin, the greatest Filipino writer in English, will doubtless welcome the book “Nick” which portrays the man. Written by Tony Joaquin, the nephew closest to Nick, and son of Nick’s sister-in-law, Sarah K. Joaquin, the person closest to Nick, the book is co-authored by Gloria C. Kasmadi.

The reader discovers how deeply and thoroughly Nick, the perennial observer, absorbed Philippine culture, history, tradition, religious customs and rituals which served as the background for his works.

His parents Don Leocadio Joaquin and Doña Salome Marquez, who belonged to the middle class, were open-minded enough to have allowed Nick to stop schooling after third-year high school because the boy claimed he learned much more from books than from school. Almost daily, Nick walked to the National Library, his second home; he also regularly visited the church libraries, retaining everything he read — Cervantes’ Don Quixote, English, American, even Russian literature, among others. He delved into Intramuros history, which was to become central in his writings. His large family and relationships likewise became a focal point.

He went to Mass and prayed the rosary daily as a devotion to the Virgin Mary. Once, he was asked: “Did you ever have a love affair?” He replied: “Yes. With the Virgin Mary.” How he loved his nephews and nieces — treating the children regularly to meriendas and outings!

Each person he knew outside his family became a source of information; e.g., Emong, the caretela driver, told him about the Tadtarin and the rituals which childless wives observe in Obando.

Shortly after the war, Sarah was requested by Capt. Vance Lester to arrange a cultural presentation for US soldiers. Sarah asked Nick to be her stage manager. As such, Nick was introduced to kundimans and folk dances; e.g., Pandango sa Ilaw performed by the Filipiniana Troupe which Sarah organized.

Becoming conversant with the authentic folk dances, the keenly perceptive Nick years later was to recognize how Leonor Orosa Goquingco, stylizing the folk dances and elevating them to a creative and artistic level, wielded a tremendous influence on the entire folk dance movement. Forthwith, Nick wrote: “Tomorrow’s Philippine dancers will specially be indebted to Leonor who created the mold in which Philippine dances are now presented. Leonor’s ‘Filipinescas’ is the peak. The native dance has been brought to its highest stage of development.”

To return to Nick, the shy and reclusive person later became candid, expressing his opinions fearlessly and too audaciously even in ceremonies at which he was the awardee! Nick loved Cole Porter and other Broadway songs of the era, often singing them at home in his rich baritone voice.

Incredibly simple and unassuming, Nick never owned a car. Friends and relatives who dropped in to visit often found him sweeping or mopping the floor. Some of his closest friends — Frankie and Tessie Jose, Greg and Lulu Brillantes, and UST Professor Elena Roco — were also his sincerest admirers.

When he began working for the Free Press, he jestingly called himself Proofreader-in-Chief. Writing under the pen name Quijano de Manila, he revolutionized journalism, lifting it to incomparably literary heights.

As a personal note, years ago, I was asked by I.P. Soliongco, Chronicle editor, to write a review of Nick’s “Prose and Poems” under Soliongco’s own byline!

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Pianist Denise Lim See, 15, a two-time NAMCYA winner, a recipient of a special jury prize in 2009 and a consistent winner at Piano Guild of the Philippines competitions, will give a recital on Sunday, Sept. 18, 7 p.m. at the Philamlife auditorium.

Denise will render Mozart’s “Piano Concerto in A Major” with the Manila Symphony Orchestra assisting under conductor Jeffrey Solares. She will also interpret compositions by Bach, Chopin — the “Revolutionary” and “Butterfly” Etudes — Debussy, Poulenc and S. Joplin.

Admission to the recital is free.