This is a temporary website that serves as a supplement to the virtual staged reading or “Enhanced Community Reading” of the play “MONGOLOIDA'S CASA DE PUN” by Claro de los Reyes. The reading of the play was directed by Guelan Varela-Luarca and Zoë de Ocampo for the Virgin LabFest 2020 Kapit, a new play festival held annually in Manila, Philippines. This year the festival took on a virtual theatre format.
Please feel free to peruse the materials included below.
To watch the staged reading of “MONGOLOIDA'S CASA DE PUN” presented at VLF2020 please find the link at the bottom of this page.
PLAY SYNOPSIS:
“Mongoloida’s Casa de Pun (a brown comedy / ang isang komedyang kayumanggi)” is an experimental one act play that explores socially constructed borders of Philippine racial identity. The play follows the internal struggle of Enrica, an mixed race Filipina, who has migrated to New York City under contentious circumstances related to her upbringing. In a liminal space, Enrica confronts a transnational cast of historical characters who navigate life with differing world views; together they reckon with their beliefs and reflections through shards of glass and mirrors. The play questions the structural frames that shape clouded lenses often seen as cultural traits.
Notes from the playwright:
Theatre artists looking to produce this script have freedom to experiment with its staging. The use of live music, movement, and projection is encouraged.
The pop culture songs included in the text are free to be swapped out for other songs for the same effect.
Important to the script’s transnational vision is its specificity to vernacular and accents, and I deeply encourage theatre artists to preserve the sonic and optic specificity referenced in the text.
All characters in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
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Dedicated to Filipinos sitting in Darkness,
When rays of light enter our world
Let us question its royal origins.
- Claro
A Glossary compiled by the playwright - Mongoloida’s Casa de Pun
.45 Caliber Colt - a popular pistol used by American soldiers in the War against Moro warriors during the American occupation of the Philippines circa 1903-1913. American soldiers felt it necessary to increase their firepower as the previous .38 caliber revolver proved ineffective against the Moro warriors. There was an updated model named the Colt. 45. Caliber 1911 model which was nicknamed “the Philippine Killer”; this model was created during the tail end of America’s war with the Moros.
Aeta - an indigenous community in the Philippines that are known to be the native population of Zambales province in Luzon. Aetas are often classified as Negritos (see write up of Negrito below). Today, this community continues to be marginalized by mainstream Philippine society.
Billy Ray Bates - "The Black Superman" - An African American basketball player from the United States who was tremendously popular in the Philippine Basketball Association during the 1980s; he was a notable player for Ginebra San Miguel and Crispa Redmanizers.
"Brown Monkey" - a racial slur that White Americans directed at Filipino migrant workers in America during the early 1920-50s. As migrant laborers in the American west, Filipinos were subject to racism and deadly xenophobia from White Americans. Signs that read “No Filipino Dogs Allowed” “Positively No Filipinos”, were common sights to see in front of businesses refusing to service Filipino migrants during this time period.
Buffalo Soldiers of the Philippine American War - the nickname of 24th Infantry Regiment which consisted entirely of African American servicemen serving in the U.S. combat operations in the Philippines between 1899-1902; this was during the era of the Philippine American War. [see the write up for David Fagen below]
Caucasoid - a word for the socially constructed caucasian race. The name Caucasoid refers to an outdated grouping based on unscientific research that created racial classifications based on body types and features alone with no account for genetics. In this erroneous pseudoscience, human beings were divided into fictional racial classifications and caucasoids were said to be from Europe, Western Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, North Africa, etc. Unfortunately this fictional science continues to hold negative influences on global culture today.
C.P.T.S.D. - an acronym for Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; it is a mental health condition that may be diagnosed in adults or children who have repeatedly experienced long-term traumatic events, such as violence, neglect or abuse. Symptoms may include flashbacks, unstable moods,depression, thoughts of sucicide, dissociative symptoms, hostility to the world, etc.
David Fagen - was an African-American corporal of the 24th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army who served in the Philippine American War. Fagen is known to have defected from the Americans to side and fight with Filipino revolutionaries led by Emilio Aguinaldo.
D.I.D. - an acronym for Dissociative Identity Disorder and previously known as multiple personality disorder (MPD); it is a mental disorder characterized by the maintenance of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The illness is accompanied by memory gaps beyond what would be explained by ordinary forgetfulness. (Wikipedia)
"Erpats / Erpat" - a Tagalog language slang word meaning Father. It is an inversion of the word Father but pronounced ‘PAT-ER’ and positioning the last syllable of the word as the first: ‘ER-PAT’. Inverse spellings of Tagalog and English words are common in Tagalog slang.
"Ermats / Ermat" - a Tagalog language slang word meaning Mother. It is an inversion of the word Mother but pronounced ‘MAT-ER’ and positioning the last syllable of the word as the first: ‘ER-MAT’. Inverse spellings of Tagalog and English words are common in Tagalog slang.
Gerilya - the Pilipino spelling for ‘guerilla’ - Noun. A member of an irregular usually politically motivated armed force that combats stronger regular forces, such as the army or police. (dictionary.com)
Gifford Pinchot - an American conservationist and eugenicist. Pinchot was appointed by President McKinley to head the US division of forestry in 1898. He worked closely with Madison Grant linking the erroneous pseudoscience of eugenics and racism to American conservationism and environmental protection. [see write up for Madison Grant below]
"G**k" - a racial slur used to degenerate Asian peoples from East and South East Asia. This term was a popular slur used by American soldiers towards the Vietamese during the Vietnam War. Its origins are in question but some have traced its roots to the slur “goo goo” which American soldiers used to degenerate Filipino freedom fighters during the Philippine American War. It continues to be a highly offensive word.
"Import Player" - a slang term for basketball players recruited from the United States, and other places abroad (in relation to the Philippines), to play professional Philippine Basketball.
Madison Grant - a lawyer and writer of “The Passing of the Great Race, or The Racial Basis of European History ” 1916. This book promoted the ideas around the pseudoscience of eugenics and racial hierarchies; Adolf Hitler used this text as his foundation for the Nazi genocide and ethnic cleansing aspirations. (for more info see: https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/environmentalisms-racist-his tory)
Manananggal - a type of Philippine Aswang (evil spirit/ ghoul/ or witch) that detaches her torso from her lower half and then takes flight during the night to eat infants. It is believed to take the form of a woman during the day time. The word translates to "one who removes/takes off/separates” and is derived from the Filipino word, "tanggal," which means "to separate"; this is because of the Manananggal's ability to separate itself from its lower body. It is believed to be a vampire-like viscer sucking hunter who especially craves the fetus of pregnant women. Theories of its origins date back to pre-colonial Philippines though there are claims that this particular Aswang was created by colonial Spain to demonize and eliminate the archipelago of its influential herbalists, mediums, and shamans who were largely female or non-gender conforming.
Mangyan - a collective term for the 8 indigenous groups in the island of Mindoro: Iraya, Alangan, Tadyawan, Tau-buid, Bangon, Buhid, Hanunuo, and Ratagnon. Today, this community continues to be marginalized by mainstream Philippine society.
Metropole - The metropole is the homeland or central territory of a colonial empire. (Wikipedia)
Mongoloid - a word for the socially constructed Asian race. The name mongoloid refers to an outdated grouping based on unscientific research that created racial classifications based on body types and features alone with no account for genetics. In this erroneous pseudoscience, human beings were divided into fictional racial classifications and the mongoloid race included various people indigenous to East Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, North Asia, Polynesia, and the Americas. It is one of the traditional three races first introduced in the 1780s by members of the Göttingen School of History, the other two groups being Caucasoid and Negroid. Their usage is now generally considered outdated and offensive. Unfortunately this fictional science continues to hold negative influences on global culture today. Also, Mongoloid is an outdated and offensive word for persons with Down Syndrome.
Negrito - a member of a people belonging to a group of dark-skinned peoples of small stature that live in Oceania and the southeastern part of Asia. (Meriam Webster) Addition by the playwright: This term was codified by the Spanish colonialists who overtook and racialized the peoples of the archipelago now known as the Philippines. These types of colonial constructions of color classifications (Negrito, Meztizo, etc...) continue to uphold social divisions based on color (and false science of “race”) that affect everyday life in the Philippines.
Negroid - a word for the socially constructed Negro race. The name Negroid refers to an outdated grouping based on unscientific research that created racial classifications based on body types and features alone with no account for genetics. In this erroneous pseudoscience, human beings were divided into fictional racial classifications and Negroid were said to populate Sub-Saharan Africa and isolated parts of South and Southeast Asia (Negritos). Unfortunately this fictional science continues to hold negative influences on global culture today.
"N*gger" - a racial slur used to degenerate African American in the United States. This was also used by White Americans as a slur towards Filipinos during the Philippine American War. It continues to be a highly offensive word.
"Out of Many One People" - The Jamaican national motto is ‘Out of Many One People’, based on the country’s population and its multiracial roots composed of a deep blending of its indigenous communities (like the Taino peoples who are native to the Carribean) and African, Asian, and European diaspora communities.
Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man - is a book published in 1952. It chronicles the travels of its narrator, a young, nameless black man, as he moves through the hellish levels of American intolerance and cultural blindness. Searching for a context in which to know himself, he exists in a very peculiar state. "I am an invisible man," he says in his prologue. "When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination--indeed, everything and anything except me." But this is hard-won self-knowledge, earned over the course of many years. -Melanie Rehak (Amazon.com Review) / Also, the book addresses many of the social and intellectual issues faced by the African Americans in the early twentieth century, including black nationalism, the relationship between black identity and Marxism, and the reformist racial policies of Booker T. Washington, as well as issues of individuality and personal identity. Invisible Man won the U.S. National Book Award for Fiction in 1953. (for more info see: https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/ralph-ellisons-invisible- man-as-a-parable-of-our-time )
Rekonsentrado - Detention camps or concentration camps set up by both the Spanish and the American Empire in order to corral and police rural populations during the Philippine American War and the Spanish American War. This was a technique used to centralize populations as a way to defuse the organizing of guerrilla freedom fighters. This technique was also used simultaneously in Cuba during the same time period.
"Tao Po" - a statement used by Tagalog speaking Filipinos to announce they have arrived at the entrance of someone’s house and want to enter. The literal translation of “Tao” is person or human in the Tagalog language. It is believed that this announcement has pre-colonial origins and was a way to reassure the homeowner that the guest who requests entrance is a human being and not an Aswang, an evil spirit/ ghoul/ or witch who would be unable to communicate in verbal human language.
Tarsier - The world’s second smallest primate. It is known for its oversized eyes. It is native to the southeastern part of the Philippines.
"For the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change."
Audre Lorde
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Recommended Resources compiled by the playwright:
Link to article by E.J.R David - “Addressing Anti-Black Microaggressions in Filipino Families” https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/unseen-and-unheard/202006/addressing-anti-black-microaggressions-in-filipino-families-0?fbclid=IwAR0wrJVc2bMrdLPGzJ9jmS4zp67ucsJRRWpmDN9POz071F3aXodj9kAyfxI
Link to an essay by Patrick Rosal - “Mutual Regard A Love Letter to the Origins of Black - Filipino Resistance”
https://hyphenmagazine.com/blog/2020/07/mutual-regard-love-letter-origins-black-filipino-resistance
Living Google Doc - “ Events Addressing Anti-Blackness in Asian / Filipinx Communities and Supporting Black Lives” https://docs.google.com/document/d/175aJXF9KjgApqdizQxi2zWyuErqGWvawx4J5UFGUTh4/edit?fbclid=IwAR0UYun7DYz16LgmH1klBjZK7XMye6qY6M4vNKLVN0r30GxK_Oj69TS3Hn0
CHARACTERS:
Enrica, GI Negrita - A Mixed Race -Filipina. Played by a Filipina/o or Ethnically/ Racially Mixed performer. A codeswitcher and speaks in a variety of distinct accents.
Doña Isabel II - The Queen of Spain. (one of them) *can be played by the same actress as Enrica Filipino or Ethnically/ Racially Mixed performer.
Imelda - A Fictional First Lady of the Philippines. (one of them) Played by a Filipina/o or a Ethnically/ Racially Mixed performer.
La Virgen - (one of them) *Non-Speaking (can be played by the same actress as Enrica). Can be played by a Filipina/o or Ethnically/ Racially Mixed performer.
Brownman - A shapeshifter - a tortured soul, a comedian, a brooding youth, the grandson of David Fagan. Played by an Afro-Filipino/a, a Filipino/a, and/or a Ethnically/ Racially Mixed performer. A codeswitcher and speaks in a variety of distinct accents.
Enrica's Landlord - The masculine caregiver of Puns. A Haitian-American Man. Played by a Black performer. Speaks in a Haitian influenced English or some type of muted American English.
Riya - The Punnygyal, a Chinese Jamaican Woman. Played by a Black or a Ethnically/ Racially Mixed performer. Speaks in a Jamaican influenced English.
Nanay Josephine - Filipina. *can be played by the same actress as Imelda Marcos. Played by a Filipino or a Ethnically/ Racially Mixed performer.
Jose Rizal - The Philippine National Hero. *can be played by the same actor as Brownman. Can be played by a Filipina/o or a Ethnically/ Racially Mixed performer.
