SIGH... SIGH... SIGH
I knew it was going to happen one day and that day was today. Just this morning as I was warming up at the gym, a small, balding, effeminate man approached me and asked, "Are you Carlos Celdran, the guy who does the walking tours?" I said, "Yes I am." And he said, "I'm DL. I own the Avenue Theater." Now I must admit, my heart did rise to my throat a bit when I heard that. This was gym time, my personal time to relax, and I was in no mood to get into an argument about his/his family's decision to destroy a piece of our history. Surprisingly though, he did not come across as antagonistic and instead kept asking me questions about the history of the building, even asking for my contact details. I told him the Avenue theater was the only survivor of WWII on that side of Rizal Avenue and directed him to my blog to see photographic proof (which I posted above to make it easier for him to find). But even more surprising was how he went on about how some of the first FAMAS award ceremonies were held there and how it was designed by National Artist for Architecture Juan Nakpil. Jeez, if you knew it was such a historic building, why in heavens name did you tear it down? Judging by your fancy cellphone, it's obvious you don't need the money that badly. And as he rambled on, I kept wondering to myself why this man was being so cruel to me. Why was he bringing up the subject of the Avenue Theatre when it was no secret that I thought his family was despicable and deplorable to tear it down. I mean really, why even start talking to me? You already made your blood money off the carcass of this building, now you want to make a friend? Get the f*** away from me. However, I soon realized that he was not doing this out of malice, but only because he was clueless about the relevance of the building and about Philippine architectural history. His ignorance and lack of art and the culture in his life became even more evident when he said to my face: "You know the Odeon Theatre? I tore that one down too." before smiling as if expecting some form of approval from me. I felt sick. But whether he approached me with intent or simply because he lacked emotional intelligence, the end of our conversation spoke volumes about how the loss of our heritage architecture can be linked to the Philippine elite's disconnection to the history of the country which earns them their money. After I peppered our entire conversation with terms like "absolutely shameful", "tragedy and waste", and "doing a disservice to our nation" without getting the smallest rise out of him, I finally had to ask "Don't you feel any remorse about tearing down our heritage architecture?" He simply shot back, "No. I didn't grow up here" before going back to his treadmill screen to watch TVE (Television Espanola).
posted by carlosceldran @ 10:35 AM
55 Comments:
That is just sickening. Was he rubbing it in or what?!
Dennis Litonjua is gay? I knew it!
pwede bang pabugbugin ang taong ito?
Indeed, very sad!
I am impressed that you have the guts to confront this man with his own ignorance.
Education, education and education, for the poor and for the rich! That is the solution for most problems!
Hi Sidney! Whatever happened to your webpage.
Correction. I tried confronting him. I think at the end of it all, he just didn't get it. And he probably never will.
Carlos, You know there really are people who are zero when it comes to empathy. Unfortunately, you seem to have met one.
How clueless can he get?! I wouldn't have had as much self-restraint as you did, Carlos!
His excuse of not growing up here is illogical. You are right, he must be lacking in empathy and emotional intelligence. There's a streak of maliciousness that he didn't show in his face, but in his behaviour. Goodness, you faced evil in the face and you didn't blink. Good for you trying to use argument and logic. I'd have wanted to brain him with a 10 lb weight.
Trust me, there was no malice in his face at all. He truly did not realize what a treasure they destroyed and he truly did not care. It was like nothing to him. Different folks for different strokes. I have no desire to bear him any ill will.
Hey Carlos,
I found your blog thru Miss Jessica Zafra's links. I first heard about you and the work you do thru a travel channel on cable and I was so ecstatic when I saw you on one of your tours in Intramuros, I was however unable to approach you because you were with a tour group.
Your passion for Philippine history is infectious. I feel the same way you feel about the theater you mentioned only mine is for a tree. I know I know, not the same thing, but being in Baguio and the lack of historical architecture, I've cherished one particular tree in the middle of Loakan Road on the way to our residence. It was an urban landmark, supposedly connected to our infamous white lady. It's already been cut down. Its as much a part of Baguio History as all the buildings we have here.
Oh well, I don't wanna take up much of your comment space with my lamentations of a fallen tree. I just wanna express my admiration for your active promotion of Philippine culture.
You possess a dying Filipino virtue.
The chink watches Spanish TV? Hilarious.
I would have probably tripped him on his treadmill.
I think youre giving him too little credit. I think he knew exactly what he was doing. That parting shot said it all. He was aware of the historical significance of the building but he didnt care.
So how do we stop things like this from happening? We just cant let people run roughshod over our heritage just because they have the money to do so.
If he grew up abroad, he should have all the more learned about culture and history. I wonder where he grew up? In the jungle perhaps?
Calling Bureau of Immigration! Calling Bureau of Immigration! Please deport this unwanted alien!
It's really sad that some people would sacrifice art for commerce. Just visited Divisoria today and on the way there I saw so many old buildings, mostly with art deco designs and thought, downtown Manila must have been so elegant and regal back then. ;) Thanks to your tours, more and more Filipinos and foreigners appreciate the beauty of Manila. My sister's one of them! Felt bad I wasn't able to join you in any of your tours, knowing I will be leaving the country and may not be able to come back in a very long time. :(
No. I looked into his eyes well. There was no malice in his eyes. He was really just ignorant.
" Anonymous said...
The chink watches Spanish TV? Hilarious. "
He's not chinese. And "chink" is a..... Wait, are you the same anonymous as before? No, lets not go there again.
... and so goes another episode of queer eye for the demolition guy.
I know Danilo. Abroad? Since when? He has a thick Filipino accent that he is now desperately trying to turn British or something like that.
The real problem here is that there remains no economic reason to keep heritage buildings alive. The solution here is to start finding ways to reuse those buildings along Escolta and turn them into hip, gentrified dwellings or something like that. Without an economic return, there will always be a strong incentive to topple these buildings.
As your experience shows us, we can't use 'historical' or 'heritage' as a means of talking to these building owners. Heritage means nothing to them. They are only concerned about the economic bottomline.
LOL at acidboy's "queer eye for the demolition guy."
Is his house anywhere near reach of our demolition crew? I wouldn't feel no remorse at all. Really.
I hope the Litonjua family reads this so that they know just how much people hate them for what they've done.
Not that they would care.
Save Manila Popeye! Save it from the heartless spinach eating monster from Spain.
Proof that even if one has tons of moolah he can still be a BIG moron
grey's anatomy. one of the last shows from the season (episode 25 - "17 seconds" -i think) -minor plot line had this guy who was managing a burger shop -a shooter came in and took down two guys at the counter.
manager is at hospital getting treated for minor wounds and he keeps talking about how he's just one lucky dude - that he keeps fit so he was able to duck really fast
next to him are 2 of his employees -with serious wounds. one girl who was liked by everyone is in critical condition,
and the manager kept going on and on about how lucky he was.
not a clue. not a single clue.
so, maybe we need a shooter?
i wouldnt mind moving back to manila if they cleaned it up- at least bring back how it looked back in the 70s-early 80s. before urban decay and political decay reared its ugly head.
an organization like a heritage trust should have stepped in.
i dont know if the philippines has one though.
its a shame and more shameful when ignorance to such matters
takes over.
Mr. Celdran, i might see you sometime this coming December
for your tours.
cheers,
crez
(syd,aus.)
He grew up in Spain?? The centre of most Spanish cities is heavily conserved so if he lived there he would have seen it for himself that they don't tear down historic buildings. Most of the new developments are on the edges of the city. Even the caves in Andalucia are protected, you can't just plaster cement over the walls just because you bought it. Building regulations state that you must retain around two thirds of the original structure or should you want to extend it, it should fit well with the environment.
My God, such an insensitive man! May the heavens have mercy on him.
-Free
Oh, for the love of all that is good! The man is just clueless about concepts like "historical value" and "heritage", isn't he? But the sad fact remains that unless you ally those abstract concepts to a financial bottom line, and show people that it does work to keep famous buildings alive, there won't be many of those lovely buildings up for much longer, and the only way to keep them alive is through photographic evidence.
Grrf. Even I, with my roots firmly entrenched in the CBD side of Makati, have enough sentiment in me to appreciate those buildings that were up before I was even born. "Downtown" was a magical place in my childhood, and I remember the facades of those old theatres so well ... the Odeon, the Lyric, the Avenue ... a familiar litany of landmarks. Looking around Manila these days can be a downer, when you see the architectural styles of the fifties giving way to antiseptic glass and steel. Which has its own beauty, but still.
Ah, well, time to get down from the soapbox. Kudos to you for trying to make a ripple about preserving a neglected area of culture!
Besides being ignorant (this goes to show that our built heritage needs more promotion), that was quite an insensitive comment even arrogant. Is he related to Ditas?
Probably. Not sure if the Litonjuas are all related though. In fairness to him. I really think he wasn't malicious. He was just reeeeeeaaaallllly clueless.
Nevertheless, no excuse.
carlos,
i agree with Anonymous that the root of the problem is that "there remains no economic reason to keep historic buildings alive"...too bad.
in the meantime, you really should have bopped this guy on the head with a dumbbell, or flung some free weights at his balls. :D
They're all fookin gooks
Not looking for a fight or anything, but really -- what business is it of anyone here what those people do with their property? It's none of your business if he's rich and wants to be richer. I'd like to do that myself, and so do most of the human race.
So he's clueless -- big deal. At least he's curious -- more than what I can say to the lot of people here who've concluded that the guy's the devil incarnate on the say-so of one post.
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate Carlos's efforts at historical awareness -- but it's the bigoted, knee-jerk, and uninformed responses of people that I find unproductive. Kaya wala rin nangyari... di rin nailigtas yung gusali.
Yeah! It's my property. So what if I build a noisy, polluting factory on it? Or a golf course that will use up all the neihborhood's water supply? Or a prostitution den with really ugly hookers? If I, for example, buy the area around the Rizal monument, it shouldnt be anyone's business if I decide to tear it down and build a mall. :-)
Robby, you have the ugaling trapo, wa-class tulo laway, bagong yaman through katuwalian. Unfortuanately, these types are the toast of Philippine society. It's time they get cut down a rung or two.
Hi, jego,
That's exactly the point. Kung mayaman ka, then do what you want, without breaking the law.
Anonymous,
Duwag ka, but I agree with most of what you said there.
Well, Ronald Coase (Nobel laureate in economics) already answered anonymous' question, way back in 1962. If the costs (monetary and nonmonetary) felt by others (pollution, reduced income, disgust, etc) exceeds the benefits gained by the "perpetrator", then there can be a fruitful negotiation whereby the "victims" pay to get the "perpetrator" to cease and desist.
Did you bump into him in Manila Golf Club?
What a bloody cad. That fookin' gook should make himself a useful member of Philippine society by pulling rickshaws up and down gooktown to the delight of the tourists and Filipinos (his betters).
In the same manner his tuberculin uncle, Cross-eyed Foo, used to be a productive chap hauling my Uncle Alastair's rickshaw up Queen Vicky's peak when the fragrant harbour was a proper territory. Cuppa tea, luv?
pathetic but also true...in the end it's the bottomline that counts and it takes a lot of money to maintain such old yet elegant buildings
btw, i joined the Ayala Museum sponsored Historic Tour of the Pasig River with Prof Ambeth Ocampo as guide and you can still see remnants of our used to be beautiful city...took pictures of various old buildings and structures (even the Parola) though it's not a good time to take them--overcast! :(
Anonymous said...
What a bloody cad. That fookin' gook should make himself a useful member of Philippine society by pulling rickshaws up and down gooktown to the delight of the tourists and Filipinos (his betters).
yes, let it out...unfortunately, it won't make you a happier person.
pretty pathetic guy. how you could listen on and on was a feat.
cheers
john
Hi John! So nice to hear from you! Yeah. I know. I was actually too baffled to move.
Robby said:That's exactly the point. Kung mayaman ka, then do what you want, without breaking the law.
You know, carlos. Robby's statement has convinced me that DL is just clueless. I never thought it was humanly possible to be that clueless, but...
gawd!tumaas presyon ng dugo ko......this is the reason walang soul ang maynila....it is more than a dilapidated building for goodness' sake!!!!gusto ko pakulam or pabarang sa plantsadora namen yang lalakeng yan!carlos....may your tribe increase.
OMG! Filipino ba talaga yang DL na yan? kalungkot talaga, i love the look of the old avenida and it's just so sad that that fucking moron owns odeon as well.
Dennis Litonjua said he owns it but actually its a family heritage and he is just acting upon someone bigger than him. I doubt if he was even consulted. He just follows the advise thrown at him and he usually takes the flak . But I agree Ignorance is not bliss....
to each his own, people - some people like to judge others, others like to be judged; some see art in preservation, others in evolution. where do you draw the line telling other people what they should and shouldn't do with their property? if it were of historical significance, where's your government helping to preserve it? for all your righteous indignations about what the owner should or shouldn't have done to HIS property (who btw is an architect if it's the same dennis i'm thinking of), there are those who may actually see tearing those buildings down is the best thing one can do to remove a painful chapter of the past, one best left for the history books and grandparent-decendant storytelling. the emotional, spiritual and cultural significance of art does not end on its removal, you have a shallow sense of value if that were the case.
You call me shallow?
You obviously do not know me and what I do.
Yours is one of the stupidest and most ignorant of remarks I've read on this blog till now. "removing a painful part of the past?"
Ok. Malacanang is a painful part of our past, let's destroy it! Versailles is a painful part of France's past. Destroy that too.
Whatever!!
You have no idea. And you have no balls for signing your name either. Hope you don't mind me being harsh but I feel that I can since you have chosen not to say your name so don't take what I say personally.
And that Dennis is not an architect as far as I know. He is a cultureless bufoon. Sorry but that is the impression I got, and that impression will not change.
"the emotional, spiritual and cultural significance of art does not end on its removal, you have a shallow sense of value if that were the case."
Wow. Ok. That is just so stupid. You are obviously justifying the destruction of cultural patrimony. The taliban must have thought the same thing when they destroyed their centuries old buddha. And while were talking about it, let' blow up the Louvre so we can create some space for a parking lot. Hey! Even though all the art may be gone. At least we can describe how nice it was to our grandkids.
Are you even thinking before you write anything down?
Your thinking is dangerous. I really hope you are neither an architect nor a developer.
Nor a Filipino.
DOn't bother with this person Carlos. He is probably some Chinese land developer. They all think that way. That is the argument they always bring up.
They don't care. It's not their history they are destroying.
BUt worry not Carlos. Mayor Lim is very heritage friendly. Give him a chance. He just might be able to save the old buildings and put the greedy developers in their place.
i used "you" in its plural sense, but that you would take it personally is understandable - it is your forum. no, i don't know you, and it's fair to say that not everyone does many others in here (but maybe i'm wrong). i don't know who dennis is personally, but unlike many, i wouldn't be so judgemental as to generalize a person's business acumen as to his character without full account of the situation. what if the establishment(s) were costing his family far greater in upkeep than they were generating revenue? but who knows what their reasoning is - one thing is certain, it is their property and that alone is reason enough that they can do what they want with it.
but my response had absolutely no direct reference to one person or another and if it characterizes many that they would take it personally, it begs the question, how is it that they can easily dish out their criticism of others when they couldn't take one themselves? but i digress.
i qualified my statement with "if that were the case" to refer to art as multi-dimensional with multi-faceted mediums of appreciation. malacanang "has" a painful component, as has versaille, but their painful histories aren't their only hitorical significance; and niether is owned by one person or family - and if it were, then that owner's preference, whether we like it or not, is his or her prerogative.
carlos, i don't know you enough to judge you, nor take a direct personal attack on you, i have no reason for ad hominems. and yes i chose to withdraw my name considering how the respondents here generalize their opinions of a person over that person's family (as fair minded a person as i see you, i think you can understand it if i didn't want my family unfairly criticized on account of my comments now couldn't you?). just look at the person's comment about being a chinese land developer, as if there's anything wrong about being one whether you're chinese or filipino, and is a flat out generalization that carries as much sense as me generalizing everyone who's against developers are haters of innovation.
listen, i agree with your views about art, and i don't even disagree with you about dl. but i am merely pointing out the argument from the other side of the fence in as pragmatic a sense as i can put it. if you choose to get personal with me and characterize me, that's your prerogative - but doesn't that itself prove my point that you would opine about who i am based on what little you've learned about me, as i you, that dl and his family have their own reasons that are privy to them?
but hey, like i said, it's not my building and i see both sides of the argument. i also feel that if the city took interest in preserving history as its proponents in this forum do, it should have made an offer for it and turned it into a historical landmark (labeling them such prevents any entity from destroying them). historical landmarks themselves do cost the city/government money and as such have to lobby for funding of upkeep, or removal - the same forces that private owners grapple with when they do their fiscal budgets.
... talibans destroying the buddha or vandals demolishing The Louvre is quite different from an owner bringing down his property and i didn't advocate that every historically painful piece of the past be destroyed as you seem to suggest. i'm simply saying that if someone does decide to do it - as the Berlin wall - it's okay to relegate it to the books or storytelling. you are putting words into my mouth drawing parallels where there are no similiraties - vandals and terrorists versus property owners?
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