Comedy in the Philippines

Dolphy, considered by Filipinos as King of Pinoy Comedy

Comedy in the Philippines has had a significiant presence in Philippine culture for as long as Filipinos have had mediums of entertainment, and has transformed to adapt to the ebbs and flows of Filipino life and history.[1]

Although there are very few contemporaneous descriptions of early Philippine performance arts, the prominent use of humor is evident in documented folkloric forms as the salawikain (proverb),[2] and oral epics such as Lam-ang. Oral epics notably contain prominent instances of physical humor, such as the incident of Lam-ang's bath in the Amburayan river.[3]

The Philippines' colonial era saw the introduction of new forms of entertainment, which included comedic performances in these new formats. The Spanish introduced the comedic anti-Muslim propaganda play called the "Moro-moro," and the tragicomic three act play known as the Comedia. The American occupation and the industrial age brought new forms such as cinema and the Bodabilshow.

Comedy in the form of Political satire have played an important role in Philippine life, especially during times of repression and censorship, such as the Philippine American War, the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines, and Martial Law under Ferdinand Marcos,[4] when serious dissent was straightforwardly suppressed, but comedy was allowed greater freedom of expression because it wasn't so serious.[1]

Comedy in early Philippine history

When Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and his men colonized the Philippines, a comedy theatre already exist. Well not necessarily a theatre but an ethnic ritual of dances and jokes. Ethnic Groups in the Philippines (such as the Ifugao, Ibaloi etc.) created these comedic dances but are being outlawed by the Spanish when they colonized the Philippines to prevent the rise of Revolts or anti-Spanish Propaganda.

Rakugo and the Philippines

Japanese and other Foreign kingdoms (or countries) went to the Philippines to trade their merchandises. Japanese merchants entertain Filipino buyers by doing comedy. This kind of entertainment is called Rakugo. Japanese Immigrants settled in what is now called the city of Paco, Manila and entertain Filipinos Rakugo and some Japanese teach Filipinos Rakugo until the Spanish replace local entertainment to European-style theaters.

Local comedy

Filipinos during the pre-colonial times created their own ritual comedy but these rituals did not survive longer because of the Spanish colonization in the Philippines. The only recorded Filipino ritual comedy is from Legazpi's sailor, "Roque", written in his diary. It is stated that Filipinos are proud from their ritual comedy.

Many of the Indians who watch the ritual, laugh so loud that they enjoy and love the ritual so much unlike our European counterpart of ritual. Maybe it's not a ritual, it's a comedy entertainment. Maybe the ancestors of these Indians already know comedy. I ask an Indian but he never understand me, so I went to visit an Indian scholar to know about their language. I study their language for just about ten months. I watch again from the ritual and I was very enjoyed. Their comedy is rare from our style of comedy where jesters went to the stage and make funny jokes about someone who is in the place. And there is strange part in this ritual where an Indian stands himself and tell jokes not about someone like teasing him or her but telling stories. These kind of ritual must be preserved for future generations to come.

— Roque

Roque is the first Spaniard to study the Tagalog language but in the written names of Legazpi's crew, there are 5 sailors who have the name of Roque and 2 have the nickname of "Roque".

Carina Chotirawe traces Pinoy humor to the Filipino peoples' history of colonization, alienation, and tragedy: "Humor and pathos are two sides to the same coin of the human experience, alternating in ways that speak of enduring tragedy and turmoil yet interminable light-heartedness and optimism."[5]

Comedy during the Spanish colonial era

The advent of European colonialism in the Philippines, beginning with the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 and the largely successful conquista of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi in 1965 and onwards, brought about the dominance of European modes of entertainment.[6] The most comedic of these forms was the Moro-moro, a form of anti-Muslim propaganda arising from the Spanish colonizer's long history of hate for the Muslim moors in the Iberian peninsula.[6] Another form with significant comedic elements was the tragi-comic Comedia, three-act play combining dramatic and comic elements.[7]

The advent of "Bodabil"

The Spanish-American War and the American colonial period which came about as a result of the 1898 Treaty of Paris brought a new format of comedy to the Philippines as part of variety shows called "Bodabil" - the predecessor of today's Filipino noontime variety shows.[8]

"Pistaym" Bodabil

American vaudeville acts were originally brought by the Americans to the Philippines to entertain locally stationed American troops.[8] Local performers such as Zarsuelista Atang de la Rama and singer Katy de la Cruz began joining these vaudeville acts in the mid 1910s, and in 1920, a Filipino entertainer named Luis Borromeo (who renamed himself "Borromeo Lou" after a brief stay in North America) organized what became the first Filipino bodabil company.[8] Segments of these variety shows included humorous elements such as the acts of dancer Bayani Casimiro, and the magician and Chaplin imitator Canuplin.[8] Bodabil remained a dominant form of entertainment during the "pistaym" ("Peacetime") years before World War II despite the introduction of cinema.[8]

Bodabil during World War II

The Japanese invasion of the Philippines in late 1941 led to a halt in film production in the country, at the insistence of the Japanese who were not keen to allow Western influences to persist within the country.[8] Bodabil however was permitted, and it became the predominant form of entertainment in the country. Many film actors whose careers had been stalled became regular performers in bodabil shows.[8]

Among the performers whose careers were jumpstarted during this period were Panchito Alba, Anita Linda, Rosa Mia, the tandem of Pugo and Togo, and Dolphy, who started under the stage name "Golay" as a comic dance partner of Bayani Casimiro.

Many bodabil shows during the war incorporated subtle anti-Japanese and pro-American messages.[8] Pugo and Togo had a popular routine where they portrayed Japanese soldiers wearing multiple wristwatches on both of their arms, and they were soon briefly incarcerated for that spoof.[8] There were comedic and dramatic skits that referred to the impending return of "Mang Arturo", an allusion to General MacArthur's promise, "I shall return."[8] Even guerilla members attended bodabil shows, and when word reached the performers that the Kempetai were due to arrive, they'd break out into a special song that served as code to the guerillas to leave the premises.[8]

Comedy during the Marcos dictatorship

When Ferdinand Marcos announced on September 23, 1972 that he had declared martial law throughout the Philippines, he also ordered the shutdown of media and performance venues.[9] Some radio and television stations were eventyally allowed to return to air, but these were mostly stations belonging to cronies of Ferdinand Marcos.[4] Comedic performances soon became one of the few venues through which Ferdinand Marcos, his wife Imelda Marcos, and other key figures could be criticized within the political mainstream.[1] A number of comedians became very popular for this, notably Willie Nepomuceno and Tessie Tomas, who were known for their comedic impersonations of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos.[1] Nepomuceno would later reveal that he would regularly be approached by generals of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to stop impersonating Marcos "dahil siya ang presidente" (because he's the president) and he's supposed to be treated with respect. Nepumoceno says that he still did the impersonations because he felt that was the only way he was able to serve the country during the dictatorship.[1]

Comedy in the immediate Post-EDSA era

The ouster and eventual exile of Ferdinand Marcos and his family in 1996 led to the reopening of previously-shuttered radio and television stations, allowing comedians to express themselves freely once again.[1] Political satire became a mainstay of Philippine television, with programs such as the Sic O'Clock News taking a satirical look at current events. Satire became a big part of comedy films as well, with films like Juan Tamad at Mister Shooli sa Mongolian Barbecue taking obvious potshots at contemporary issues such as corruption, feudalism, the irrational aspects of Philippines' legislative process, foreign intervention in local politics, and election cheating.[10]

Contemporary comedy

In contrast to American and Western comedies, contemporary Pinoy Comedy is marked by a series of non-profane comedic words (although they use words like tanga, sira ulo etc.), funny faces, physical comedy, and comedic sound effects.

Stand-up comedy began to grow in the Philippines at the turn of the 21st century.[11]

Notable Filipino comedians

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 De Veyra, Lourd (2017-03-26). History with Lourd: Political Satire sa Pilipinas (YouTube Video) (News Broadcast Segment) (in Filipino). Jun Sabayton. News5. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
  2. ↑ QuindozaSantiago, Lilia. "Early Philippine Literature". National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
  3. ↑ Lopez, Mellie Leandicho (2006). A Handbook of Philippine Folklore. Diliman, Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press. ISBN 9789715425148.
  4. 1 2 Francisco, Katerina (2016-09-22). "Martial Law, the dark chapter in Philippine history". Rappler. Archived from the original on 2016-09-23. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  5. ↑ Chotirawe, Carina (2010). "Humor and Pathos". Thammasat Review. 14 (1): 74. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  6. 1 2 "7 Fascinating Ways Filipinos Amused Themselves Before Television". FilipiKnow. 2017-01-09. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
  7. ↑ Campbell, Jodi (2006). Monarchy, political culture, and drama in seventeenth-century Madrid: theater of negotiation. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 0-7546-5418-4
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Doreen Fernandez (1994). "Philippine Theater". In Nicanor Tiongson. CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art. VII (1st ed.). Manila: Cultural Center of the Philippines. ISBN 971-8546-30-8.
  9. ↑ Chanco, Boo (2017-04-03). "Blame the messenger". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  10. ↑ "Reflections from Jun Urbano, Shooli & FPJ". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
  11. ↑ Zoglin, Richard. "Stand-up comedy". www.brittanica.com. Brittanica. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
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