YOLANDO BRAVO JAMENDANG JR PART II

Click YOLANDO BRAVO JAMENDANG JR PART I to read the first part.


The Makati Science Vision promised to publish the continuation of Yol's essay in its next issue the next school year. Unfortunately, I lost its hard copy and I was not able to retrieve its soft copy from the old English Department computer laboratory.

The next school year, Yol was invited to speak in the school's career orientation program. Near the end of his talk, he read aloud the following poem:

ako
(pasintabi kay AGA)

ako
ang gugulat
sa mga inaantok

ako
ang bubulabog
sa mga natutulog

ako
ang magpapahalakhak
sa mga naghihimutok

ako
ang makapangyarihang
pagsambulat ng utot

Yol's poem was a big hit. He left his audience laughing at the top of their lungs. He then informed them that he was working on his undergraduate thesis that will include a publish anthology of his poems. Before he graduated, he invited The Makati Science Vision to attend the SiningGang, the first art exhibition at the Ateneo. During a poetry reading session in one of the Ateneo's beautiful gardens, he read the following poem with feelings:

PagHIHIrap

Mmmahirap talaga
ang sumulat
ng tu-LA
kungangulammokanina'y
MANOK at uminom ka ng
Orange
juice
tapos
kumain
ka
NG
mmmanggang
hilaw
na
may
bago-
ong.
Fluuuuuuuussh. Haysalamat.

It was a riot and his audience clapped and laughed so loud and nonstop. Before the end of the poetry reading session with his fellow creative writing graduating students, Teb Gomez and Naya Valdellon, Yol thank his audience but he reminded them not to reproduce the book but to buy their own copies:

Pasasalamat

Salamat sa pagbasa.
Sana ay naaliw ka.
"Wag mo itong i-xerox.
Bumili ka ng kopya.

Months later, Yol visited the Makati Science with two copies of his book. He gave one to Mrs Ma Luisa Hernandez-Larcena, his English IV teacher, and the other one to me. In his dedication, he wrote:

Sir Escote,

Binibigyan ko ng kopya ng Wholly Trinity ang mga taong natatakot akong baka hindi ko na makitang muli. Ibinibigay ko ang kopyang ito na umaasang hindi mangyayari ito sa atin, na sa ating muling pagsasama ay makakalimutan ko ang aking kinakatakutan. Subalit inihahanda ko ang aking sarili sa kabaliktaran. Pareho naman nating alam na ang pagkakaibigan ay nalalampsan ang pisikal na pagkakahiwalay. Ibinibigay ko ito sa 'yo para saan ka man magpunta ay mayroon kang panghahawakang mga ala-ala at ako naman ay nakakasigurong saan ka man naroroon ay naaabot pa rin kita. Mr Escote, marami sa mga tula rito ang hindi naiintindihan ng mga hindi ako kilala. Pero hindi naman mahalaga ang mga taong hindi nakakasama, nakakainuman, nakakasabay kumain, at manood ng sine kung pagtingin sa buhay and pag-uusapan hindi ba? Para ito sa isang kaibigang mahalaga, at talagang nakakaunawa. Maraming salamat sa lahat!

Yol Jamendang
Istambay

He dubbed himself as a bum, but he was not. Right after his graduation, he was invited to teach at the Ateneo, and he was employed as translator from English to Filipino of online horoscope. In fact, while finishing his bachelor's degree in fine arts major in creative writing, he taught Filipino subjects at the Saint Joseph's College-Center for Positive Futures where he met his longtime girl friend, Annie. Krysta Ranillo, the daughter of movie and television star Matt Ranillo, was one of his students.

From then on and every year, I usually read Yol's hilarious poems to my students who got to know him virtually. Some even sent him messages via his blog, informing him that I read his works to them. From his anthology, the following is one of his poems that I considered blockbuster:

Binibini

Ang ganda mo.

Inantay ko nang matagal
ang pagbayad mo
kase, gusto kong ako
ang mag-abot nito

Para naman mahawakan ko
kahit man lang daliri mo.

Kaya nang sa wakas
ay igalaw mo
ang mapuputing braso,
pagkakataon na, akala ko.

Mangungulangot ka lang pala.

Nang muling sulyapan kita
ay sumusundot-sundot
at dumudukot-dukot ka

sa iyong bulsa.

Miss, kapag nagbayad ka,
tulog ako-

Ipaabot mo na lang sa iba.

To read more about Yol and his writings, read his blog at http://akosiyol.blogspot.com/