AMIGO

Big news. Say goodbye to BARYO and hello again to AMIGO. Our movie has a new title, but it's actually the first title, the name under which John wrote the script.

We (I) went through a period when I worried that AMIGO was too Spanish and I listened to the skeptics who said everyone would think John Sayles was making another movie in Mexico.

So we changed the name to BARYO and under that name we had such a special time making the movie, that I am half-sorry to say goodbye to it.

We've been screening versions of the movie at least twice a week lately, for ourselves and for our friends here, and it is clear the movie is AMIGO. The word "amigo" is used many times in the script, usually referring to RAFAEL, the head of the barrio, and it resonates after you see the movie in a way that BARYO does not.

Plus, as someone said to me, "amigo" is an international word by now, known all around the world, and is, just on its own, a friendly word.

So cherish your BARYO T-shirts and shoulder bags. They are collectors' items.
And spread the word:AMIGO.

Our Talisay Family

You have met Sophia. This is her mother Clarissa. Clarissa and her mother Tessie are the caretakers of the Post House, and we are spoiled by their care.
Clarissa and I are shopping together. The fruits that look like big olives are ciruelas, like a kind of plum when they are a ripe maroon.
The yellow balls behind are lanzones and they are divine. The season for them is long:we've been eating them by the kilo since March, during the shoot. Like lychees, maybe. You break open  the peel and eat little perfumed sections that are almost clear. Avoid the bitter pit.
It's fun to shop with Clarissa. She's in charge.

Who says print isn't dead? Dave Eggers, of course

From all appearances, he’s out to push the boundaries of publishing, but “I’m actually quite a traditionalist,” he says. At McSweeney’s, the self-declared offbeat independent press Eggers founded, “We’re trying to make the business model rational, scalable, reasonable,” he says with a shrug.

By adopting a "how-hard-can-it-be" attitude, McSweeney’s has tackled projects that other publishers won't touch, like its acquisition of John Sayles' most recent (rather hefty) novel. “Thirteen hundred pages of Sayles! Can you imagine!” said Eggers, burrowing his fists into his temples, googly-eyed at the prospect of so much quality writing. 

It’s this undiminished excitement that makes Eggers innovative. At a time when most major publishers are enveloped in doom and gloom, Eggers’ faith in the power of the printed word sets him apart.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/04/who-says-print-isnt-dead-dave-eggers-of-course.html

Our playmate

This is Sophia. She is the granddaughter of Tessie and the daughter of Clarissa, our wonderful maids at Talisay House. Sophia keeps us all entertained, and she will miss Plummy so much when she heads back to New York tomorrow after three weeks with us here.

Good Friday procession

Driving home in Dieter's multi-cab from our trip to Mag-Aso Falls, we were stopped many times by processions like this one, here in Maribojoc.  "When you find yourself in the place just right..."

And we saw BARYO/AMIGO friends, JP Jagnos (ELOY) outside the church in Antequera where throngs awaited the start of mass (and me in my wet bathing suit hiding in the back of the multi-cab) and Mimi Ventures in her BARYO T-shirt, watching the procession from Alaguay.
Every church and every neighborhood organizes a procession and we drove through them till dark, watching people along the way light candles in their windows and doors to welcome the processions as they came by.
Thanks for an unforgettable ride, Dieter.

Good Friday preparations, continued

As we wandered around Bohol that day, Galia and Alan and I saw more and more of these images, in churches and even in people's gardens and driveways. Here is Veronica without her wig at the Tagbilaran cathedral, and wigged in Dauis. The sad Christ is from Tagbilaran too.

Good Friday preparations

How lucky we were to be here in the Philippines for Holy Week. I have been looking for the sort of creative popular expression I admired in Mexico for the celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and finally I found it. These statues are thoughtfully dressed and all the flowers are real. These are from the Dauis church on Panglao, readied for the Good Friday procession.