I finally got to read the TIME magazine issue about Asian Heroes. When I first flipped through it in the bookstore, I was disappointed to see that there was no one to represent the Philippines. Then again, I couldn’t really think of anyone to represent our country. So, I read the issue and read the ones that attracted my attention, the Taiwanese pop star that bridged political gaps, the Japanese cartoon character, the William Gibson article about the Japanese actor, the one about Jackie Chan, and the intro about the little boy defending his water buffalo. After leafing through it a third time, I finally read the editorial box and was surprised to find out that there was an article about someone in the Philippines.
As it turns out, our “hero” isn’t even Filipino. He’s an American living somewhere in Visayas and he’s a bookie for jueteng and he was considered the “hero” of the islands because he brought hope to hapless lives of the people.
And again, I thought there must be s...
The rants and raves of a copy/comic book/writer in Manila.