CAMBA, Meeko Angela R.

2014-09379

Comm 3 THU-1

Nov. 10, 2014

Ang Huling Lagda ni Apolinario Mabini

a reaction paper of the original musical by Floy Quintos and Krina Cayabyab, directed by Dexter Santos

On the 23rd of October, I witnessed the one of the last shows of the production that
raved so many great reviews: Ang Huling Lagda ni Apolinario Mabini. To be completely honest, I
wasnt really that much excited of watching the show rather, I was doing it for the fact that I
was required to. But boy did that all change.
Whilst watching the production, I did not at all expect to be so involved in the story and
be so emotional about it. It just happened. Throughout the production, I could barely separate
myself from what I was watching, which is, to say the least, pretty much an amazing
achievement for any work of art. Considering that it was all so new and unprecedented, it was
kind of unbelievable to have garnered such a positive response from the audience.
But what was it that made the production so good in the eyes of the majority? The main
factor for this, in my opinion, would be the story itself.
Brief Background
We all know Apolinario Mabini as the brains of the revolution. We may have
remembered his face from the 10-peso bills that used to circulate among everyone. But much
like that piece of paper, Mabini was devalued or in other words, a bit forgotten. This, I think
was the inspiration that got book writer, Floy Quintos, into lending the spotlight to one of
Philippine historys most underappreciated heroes.
Beginning from the time when the American colonizers exiled the remaining katipuneros
and other rebel intelligences to Guam, Mabini ponders on the beaches with his younger
brother, Prudencio, about how miserable it was to stay in a place that looks like home wherein

they are imprisoned. He expresses how much he longed for his country and how even poverty
would be better than a comfortable life somewhere where he is worthless.
As they walked through the beaches together, General Ricarte along with other exiled
rebels brings them the news that Pres. Emilio Aguinaldo has signed the Pledge of Allegiance to
the country of red, white and blue. On this note, an emotional what-if scene came into play
wherein Aguinaldo dialogues with Mabini explaining why he did what he did. The scene
presented an alternative explanation to how Aguinaldo saw his life and the troubles that lay
ahead as Mabini tried to understand. By the end of the scene, it was established that Mabini
and Aguinaldo were real great friends yet the former just could not agree to Aguinaldos
decisions.
As the story progressed, Mabini and Ricarte are the last two revolutionaries who have
not yet signed the pledge and are both determined to remain as such. But when they were
ordered to be brought back to their homeland, they knew that it wasnt long before the
American government asked them to do so. Aboard a ship, General Taft talks to both men,
persuades them at first, and then simply decides to tell them the magnitude of the decision
they were facing. Should they sign the agreement, they would be allowed to live in the
Philippines as free men. But should they decide against it, they would once again be shipped to
another far-off placeHong Kongand never be allowed to come back ever again. Ricarte,
sure of his decision, did not think twice and rejected the offer. Mabini however hesitates. Being
the old and fragile man that he was, he weighs his desire to die at peace in his country against
his integrity as a katipunero. In the end, it was through his talk with the Filipina nurse, Salud,
which helped him make his decision. She tells him how the Filipino people would be forever
grateful for all he had done for the country and that it was already enough. Mabini signs the
pledge all for the sake of his hunger for a peace of mind.
The story concluded with a reading of the True Decalogue of the Katipunan authored
by Mabini.

Reaction
The stage was as simple as it couldve been; the music ensemble small and intimate yet
everything that happened atop the Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater stage that afternoon was
AMAZING. The contrast of the simplicity of the things that supported the production (set, music
ensemble, theater, etc) to the aggressiveness and highly-energetic quality of the show itself
sparked so much admiration in me that I could call this possibly the epitome of Philippine
Musical Theater.
But before I get ahead of myself, I should first enumerate the things that made the
production so great.
The material done by Floy Quintos (libretto) and Krina Cayabyab (music) was
considerably well-combined. Though some songs did not blend as well as one wouldve hope,
the overall appeal of the story and the music was great, to say the least.
The actors who played Mabini (Roeder Camaag), Ricarte (Poppert Bernadas) and
Aguinaldo (Nazer Salcedo) were all excellent in the interpretation of their respective roles. I
enjoyed how each of them brought the heroes of our past (and present) to life through their
impressive technical abilities and more importantly through their emotional authenticity. The
way that each of them employed such amazing vocal qualities and made use of appropriate
non-verbal gestures (even Mabinis mannerisms were showcased) were just so admirable. Their
voices were effectively projected even all the way to the farthest area of the theater which
implies just how much they have mastered the proper use of their instruments. I just had to
particularly single out Salcedo because his voice was so resonant and rounded that it just
sounded so pleasurable in my ears.
Another thing that I loved was way that they reacted with their fellow actors because
they made it seem purely spontaneous. It really looked as if they were in the moment,
dialoguing with each other for the first time. I was so caught up with their characters that I
actually cried thrice during the show.

But as we all know, live stage productions almost always have flawsand DUP was no
exception. There was one actress who kind of lost her credibility, in my opinion, at some point
during the show. The actress who played Salud was actually doing so well in the acting and
spoken parts but when she started to sing, her voice just didnt want to come out. It was such a
shame because I really thought that that song was supposedly the best one. But, like I said, she
did a great job acting; Im just not able to say the same thing for her singing vocals. Although for
the rest of the cast and ensemble, I think they did a highly-commendable performance.
Their costumes were also great in terms of manifesting who they were as the
characters. These non-verbal artifacts were so effective in communicating the periodical
context of the story as well as the individual characterization of each role that I did not at all get
confused with whos who. An example of this would be Taft and Ricarte. One would note that
both of them were actually generals but the way they were dressed signified which one was
from which country and the person who exhibited more power (in that time period).
Another form of communication that I noticed during the show was the secret, nonverbal communications of the musicians who were supporting the singers. Of course they
werent allowed to talk, but communicating among a musical ensemble in whatever way is a
necessity. They developed their own form of non-verbal signals and symbols that I thought
helped a lot in unifying their sound as a whole.
However, with all things considered, I think it was Dexter Santos direction that truly
made everything work. From the set design and the use of the mixed media as a backdrop, to
the choreographies and the artistry of the scene frames, everything showed nothing but
quality. His vision and the way it manifested through the work was so coherent and clear that I
have nothing bad to say about it. Everything coordinated with one another which is really
important for the success of a production like this.

Reflection
In times like these where the Philippine society is struggling to find light within our
nation, I thought that Dulaang UPs staging of Ang Huling Lagda ni Apoinario Mabini is timely
and very much relevant. The way that it tackled issues such as equality, humanistic values,
freedom, and nationalism through the in-depth look into the last years of Mabinis life proved
that our history holds more lessons than what we have actually learned. This saddens me in a
way because the fact that the issues that were faced then are still apparent today means that
we have learned almost nothing throughout our years of oppression under foreign countries
colonization. Even worse, we have become victims of our own fellow countrymen.
The True Decalogue of the Katipunan that Mabini wrote held so much meaning and
integrity that he believed the Filipino people possessed. His works are testimonies of what our
people should be practicing and fighting for. Instead, we find ourselves in the midst of growing
poverty and escalating crime rates present even amongst our elected officials. But this does not
exclude the complaining citizens from the blame. We have all been contributing to the endless
cycle that has brought our country down on its knees, begging us to quit all the selfish pride
wars and show some dignity.
What frustrates me even more is that everything that would lead us to development
has been stated in this work more than a century ago. If we all work with honor and integrity
towards goodwill service, Im sure that we would be miles away better from where we are now,
to say the least.
I applaud Dulaang UP for presenting to the Filipino audience a production that holds
true to us today. Because of its relatable-ness and comprehensibility, I think that Ang Huling
Lagda ni Apolinario Mabini is a good start in reminding our people who we are and what we
can become.
Apolinario Mabini was a man who used what he had to stand for the good of his country
and his people. If we all channel him in whatever it is that we do, I assure you the Philippines
isnt that far away from the greatness it deserves.