With the Spaniards having successfully tamed Filipinos with the Cross and the sword for more than 300 years, the American “benefactors” having educated us in their brand of democracy for almost 50 years, and a local dictator having terrorized us for 14 years, it is not surprising if very few people will be moved by the message delivered by the play “Kundiman Party.”
Yes, we were touched, disturbed, and bewildered by the challenges offered by writer Floy Quintos, director Dexter Santos and the very splendid performance of a very abled cast.
After reading and hearing so many negative reactions to what has been happening in this country and now after watching the play, the silence of indifference is still almost deafening.
Etymologically, indifference means “no difference” but according to Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate, “[It is] a strange and unnatural state in which the lines blur between light and darkness, dusk and dawn, crime and punishment, cruelty and compassion, good and evil.”
On a brighter note, the soulful rendition of the cast of the protest song “Bayan Ko” moved many people to tears.
Could that be a sign that hope still springs eternal in every Filipino’s heart?
ELENA C. CUTIONGCO, retired UPIS professor