Good and Bad News Today

I opened inquirer.net tonight to read some news after trying to squeeze my mind in vain for an article on multilingualism and the use of our mother tongue in education. I had hoped to come up with a really good article on the issue so I would finally be able to post something about it in Bilingual Pen. But after several hours in front of my PC, my computer screen still remained blank, so I decided to give up and go to bed instead. But not before clicking on the news website for some run down of today’s event, which I knew would revolve around Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao’s win over his much bigger and more famous opponent, Oscar dela Hoya.

So there he was, Pacquiao dominating the site. But somewhere below the victorious images of Pacquaio was a relatively less prominent headline which, nonetheless, shocked me. It read: Actor Marky Cielo Dead. The news story said the promising young actor died in his sleep. He was only 20.

I am not into celebrities, but I know Cielo rose to fame when he became the ultimate survivor of the talent search StarStruck season 3. I had liked him from the start because he looked very Filipino (unlike the faces dominating our television with their Caucasian looks). Though he proved to be very talented, he remained the epitome of humility. And what’s more, he was a proud son of one of the country’s minority groups — the Igorots.

When he won the top prize in the search two or three or four years ago, I had harbored hopes in my heart that Marky would be able to help make our people realize that there is nothing wrong about being a part of a minority group; that with his help, the country’s minority groups will finally be given the recognition that they deserve. Indeed I feel sad that this young man, this young soul who had shown a lot of promise is gone.

Indeed, life is full of turns. And death comes like a thief in the night.

May he rest in peace.


Check out my other blogs:
Bilingual Pen
Bard and Brain
Photo.Graphic Thoughts
Taeng ni Ayat