Power without energy; Off to Imelda’s musical in London!!!

All this talk about giving President Aquino III emergency powers to deal with the coming energy crisis is fueling fears about his real intentions. It comes in the middle of speculation that this president who has so badly managed the country may be up to dirty political tricks on how to stay in power with his disastrous term coming to an end.

On the surface it ought to be welcomed that we have a chief (Mischief Executive according to the New York Times) executive. But it does not take brilliant analysis to figure it would be useless to grant emergency powers to a government that had no energy program in the first place. It would create opportunities for more damage and corruption. It may give him the power but not the energy we need. 

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If you told me 44 years ago while my family and I were in exile in London that I would be back to be part of David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim’s “Here Lies Love” I would have sent you away and said “crazy”. But that is exactly what is happening on October 24 at the London National Theater

My daughter Veronica Pedrosa of Al Jazeera and I have been invited to be present for a showing of Imelda’s musical “Here Lies Love”, I for writing the Untold Story of Imelda Marcos and Veronica for Al Jazeera’s “Imelda and Me.”

In her letter to the organizers at the National Theater of London Veronica a said. “Let’s call it “Imelda and Us”. It would be a fairly informal chat with time for questions from the audience. “ The format of the interaction with the audience is still in the works but it promises to be an exciting novelty of using three mediums, a musical, a documentary and a book on Imelda at different points of our historyl

“It would start as a personal discussion of how my mother came to write the book and how we became political activists as a result.  We would then talk about how the Marcoses and their legacy continue to this day in different forms: impunity and their success in elections.  You may be aware that Ferdinand Jr aka Bongbong is expected to run for the presidency in 2016.  We would also talk about our sense of Imelda herself, what kind of person she is and how she’s become an icon of sorts.”

 This seems to be different way of doing theater. “We’re now looking at organising a post-show discussion with a panel of speakers including yourself who can talk about the social, historical and political context of the play in an informal and relaxed setting. The audience would have just seen the musical and this is a chance for them to explore the story further. We want it to be informative and engaging rather than too heavy. This would take place on either a Friday or Saturday evening.” London’s National Theater wrote.

Veronica had asked it was possible to Skype or Google Hangout so Filipinos at home could be in the audience but they said they had not tried that out yet. Al Jazeera has no objections to the National Theatre showing the documentary as part of the project.  

 “I really enjoyed watching your documentary, Imelda and Me and I was wondering if it would be possible to screen that here? organise one of our In Context events for Here Lies Love. This is a regular strand of programming – a half day seminar exploring a particular production or in this case the historical and political context during the period the play covers (Imelda Marcos’ rise to her and Ferdinand’s exile).

Byrne and Fat Boy Slim have created an entirely new way of presenting the musical. It was a roaring success in New York.

So what is the difference? “Here Lies Love is a wholly immersive theatrical experience featuring moving sets and a 360-degree scenic and video environment. Set in a pulsating dance club atmosphere, the show requires audience members to remain on their feet and be open to dancing and singing along with the actors in the 90-minute sung-through musical (written by the intriguing team of David Byrne and Fatboy Slim).

Balcony seating is also available for theatergoers who want to watch but not participate.?? Audience members spend 90 minutes on their feet (no sitting breaks!) so if your children are up for the challenge, they might relish the opportunity to dance and wiggle along with the actors, even if the show’s politically charged story goes over their heads.”

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My facebook friend, Jose Alejandrino, whose grand-uncle Jose Alejandrino wrote the lyrics of BayanKo (the name of the crowdsourcing website) has come home for good after a long time stay in Spain. Like a number of Filipinos he has gained connections and expertise abroad to see how he can help the Philippines. He showed me a brochure entitled the “XXI Century eco-barrio city in Tacloban”.

“Cidark System is based in San Sebastian in the Basque region of Spain. It specializes in manufacturing modular components of housing at affordable prices reputed for their quality and durability and are CEE certified. It builds hospitals in Florida, USA and has opened a manufacturing plant in Colombia. Its major stockholder is Sanitas, the Spanish leader in healthcare and insurance which has 8,389 employees and earned an income of 1.6 billion euros in 2012.”

Alejandrino has just been appointed the country representative of Cidark in the Philippines. He arrived in September 2 to take up his new position.

One eco-barrio project will serve as a model for the whole of Asia and spread to other countries in the region. This eco-barrio of 5,000 units will have a new system of drainage to prevent flooding, its own source of renewable energy equipped with solar panels and a garbage recycling system conversion to energy, and will be self-integrated with its own school, health clinic, market stalls, chapel, sports facilities, community and cultural center and livelihood means.

If possible, Joe would like to set up this project in Leyte to spur the rehabilitation of the typhoon-devastated areas. Joe already has the architectural plans. If there is a wide demand in the region, Joe said Cidark is willing to open up a manufacturing plant in the Philippines as it did in Colombia to service the Latin American region.