Why Carlo J. Caparas? Why not!?!

Why Carlo J. Caparas? Why not!?! FUNFARE By Ricardo F. Lo (The Philippine Star) Updated August 04, 2009 12:00 AM


We choose a Bb. Pilipinas and what follows is a howl of protest — you know, that she’s not deserving and somebody else is. On the heels of every awards night comes shouts of “cheating” (envelop-switching?) and lutong-makaw. Have we ever seen a candidate concede so easily after an election?

The latest brouhaha revolves around the selection of Carlo J. Caparas as a National Artist for Visual Arts and Film. They are all ganging up on poor Carlo as if he bestowed the much-coveted honor upon himself, not by a screening committee composed, I like to think, of distinguished minds, one of whom was quoted as saying that Carlo, and Cecile Guidote-Alvarez (National Artist For Theater and one-time Ramon Magsaysay awardee), were included in the honor roll on the strength of a “presidential privilege.”

One critic belittled Carlo’s achievement by dismissing him as a mere “massacre” director who can’t measure up to the likes of Lino Brocka and Gerry de Leon when, in fact, Carlo’s “massacre movies” were, so to speak, only a drop in the bucket of Carlo’s body of work.

Still another critic (whose claim to fame includes a memorable walk-on role as himself...a movie scribe...in the latest Juday-Ogie starrer) relentlessly “massacred” Carlo in his piece (appropriate title would have been, hehehehe, “kinatay”) questioning his selection while at the same time confessing that he’s “not privy to the selection process” and that he didn’t have anything personal against Carlo, “and I don’t even know him.”

Like, I am not privy to the “selection process” but I’m sure I know Carlo enough to give him, well, the benefit of the doubt.
This much I know about Carlo:

• Although he’s not a high-school graduate (having been educated in the School of Hard Knocks), he managed to create his own niche in the komiks world, no wonder he’s known as the Komiks King;

• He’s the only artist with a street (in Pasig City where in his early years he worked as a security guard) named after him;

• He has received so many awards not only as a komiks novelist but also as a scriptwriter/producer/director, plus an Ulirang Ama Award and a few more for propagating the National Language, that he has run out of space to display the trophies in;

• He’s the only komiks novelist (with more than 800 serials to his credit...and counting) who has successfully crossed over from the printed page to movies and television, with his hit movies based on his komiks serials now being adapted as TV series such as Joaquin Bordado (with former Sen. Ramon Revilla in the movie version and Robin Padilla in the TV version), Totoy Bato (the late FPJ in the movies and again Robin Padilla in television) and many others; and

• He has published more works, not to mention making them into films (starring movie greats including FPJ in the Panday series, Nora Aunor in Bakekang, Vilma Santos in The Lipa Massacre and Gloria Diaz in the Ander de Saya series), than any of his colleagues.

In short, Carlo has championed popular literature and, with his wife Donna Villa, continues to do so with their nationwide komiks caravan designed to keep the public’s interest and enthusiasm in the komiks burning.
With his National Artist award, is Carlo ready to rest on his laurels?
Guess again.

When Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last week announced the list of new National Artists before she left for the US, Carlo was in the Cebu set of his latest project, a trilogy for his and Donna’s Golden Lions Films which stars, among others, Manny Pacquiao, Gina Pareño, Jake Cuenca, Caridad Sanchez, Megan Young, Tommy Abuel, Joel Torre, Jackie Rice, Mon Confiado, Ronnie Lazaro and Mark Herras, introducing the Caparas children CJ and Peach.
“Like me,” said Donna, “Carlo is a multi-tasker. His imagination continues to work even when he’s asleep. So how can he retire?”Maybe the critic/movie-scribe should next do a cameo in a Carlo Caparas movie so that he can have a chance to know him up close.