Notes of An Interview with Juan S.P. Hidalgo 1

Last week, I had an opportunity to interview Juan S.P. Hidalgo - considered a mentor to many writers for his 30 plus year tenure as editor of Bannawag and as founder of GUMIL. I feel like anything I write will not do him justice so I would just like to take this opportunity to jot down some preliminary notes about the interview.

I arrived a little early for the 2:00 interview at his home in UP and was trying to look inconspicious as I walked up and down his street carrying a big red box of Red Ribbon ensaymadas. A few minutes before 2, as I was walking past his gate for the third time, a man in a sando and khaki shorts watering his plants called my attention with a simple raise of his eyebrows.

"I'm looking for Mr. Hidalgo," I called out, whereupon he smiled, pointed his thumbs at himself and waved me over to the gate. I was then led by Linda to the backyard where I sat, taking notes of the writer's home. There were about ten plastic chairs arranged in a circle, with a round table at the far end. On the table was an ashtray, a pack of Marlboro reds, Guitar matches and scattered papers with handwritten notes.

Mr. Hidalgo followed after a few minutes and we shook hands. He asked if I spoke the language of the Maharlikas and I stuttered, unsure if he meant Tagalog or Ilokano. He invited me to read a screenplay that he was editing (a translation of one of his works into Tagalog) while he took a shower. I scanned the neatly typed pages, specifically looking for his handwritten notes but only found a few corrections including one that crossed out the typewritten word "dinengdeng" and replaced it with "pinakbet" in a printed blue scrawl.

I spoke for a few minutes with his daughter Marie Sol and her husband Dexter, a film director before Mr. Hidalgo returned wearing a brown plaid polo, black plants and sandals.

Our interview was scheduled for three hours but stretched to seven such that we continued our conversation (or more aptly monologue) by candlelight. I still have three 90 minute tapes to transcribe.