B.R.A.V.E. Nights: Bolder Reaction Against Violence To Empower

B.R.A.V.E. Nights: Bolder Reaction Against Violence To Empower

I watched "BRAVE" tonight at Alek Cafe along Salcedo Street in Makati City.

I never thought that a monologue would have such a big impact on me. The performers successfully made me experienced a roller coaster of emotions. 

From the very first monologue, which conveys to the audience the important role of women and the change that they fought hard to achieved. It is only tonight that I learned that long time ago, Filipino women has no right of suffrage. Imagine the various times you did not exercise your right to vote simply because of traffic or you are just plain lazy. This made me realized that I myself must be thankful and be forever be grateful for the chance and the right bestowed upon us now because of the our foremothers. They fought hard so we can enjoy not only freedom but also the right to be treated as an equal in our society.  From now on, I should faithfully exercise my rights as a woman. After all, the freedom and all the wonderful benefits we are experiencing today were the end result of the sacrifices of the ones who came before us. So brave indeed.

The second monologue was heart wrenching. It left not only a pinch but a heavy feeling afterwards. My heart was bleeding. A member of the audience was crying like a baby. 

At first, the woman was shown overjoyed by the letter she got from her American boyfriend that he will be visiting her in the Philippines to marry her. Oh, you know, the typical reaction to be able to go to a foreign land and be rich. Fueled by their innate kindness and desire to help their family. She thought, America is the land of milk and honey. An answer to her prayer of a better life with a handsome husband. Five years after, the character is back in the Philippines, she tried to reach out to her former friends and classmates only to be ostracized because she has AIDS. No,it is not because she was a whore.  She was sexually molested by her American husband, having intercourse with her up to ten times daily and not only was he a sex maniac but he also sold her to different men. She was forced into prostitution by her good for nothing husband. If that is not enough, she discovered that he used different names and aliases to marry various Asian women and bring them to the United States and made them his sex slaves and afterwards sold them to other men in exchange for money. He was also physically hurting them with punches, kicks, burning them with cigarettes, putting wood or metal to their genitals until they lost consciousness.  A soulless man. A demon personified. The woman in the monologue experienced it all, no, not paradise but a real hell on earth. 

May this served as a wake up call to all mail to order brides, online internet brides, who fell line, hook and sinker to some foreigner's promise of a better life in "paradise". Heck, work your butt out and support yourself and your family! Never ever depend your life to others.

The third monologue is about a 55-year old gay, who acts on TV, movies and theater. He shared that he used to have dreams when he was little. Dreams like being an office girl someday. Dreams of being pursued by his crush. Then now that he is 55-years old, he realized that life is really complicated. His dream of being pursued never happened. Instead, it was he who had done the pursuing even paying his way to his object of desire's heart. But true love eluded him.  But, he remained steadfast, he said he'll never say die and will continue his search for love. Afterall, he said, at least he has so many stories to tell because of this crazy thing called love!  Many men had come and go, not one was left behind to fill the big void in his heart. But he said, he was happy, even if people call him not by his real name but as either gay, mang-aagaw ng lakas, shokla, bading etc. He may be old, but he said if given a chance, he'll live the same life again and will never get tired to love and be loved. So, brave indeed!

I am glad that the finale was light. Mosang is funny and she really nailed the character of an almost 60-year old elderly woman, trying to be "in". From having an instagram account, filming diy videos, dancing, ziplining, she also uses a voice activated bluetooth, and boy, she even had an action camera on her helmet.  She's so busy doing activities which made her feel young and energetic.

She shared how she fired her D. I ( Dance Instructor) because he is such a gossip. He allegedly told everyone that Mosang is "amoy alimuom".  Google is your friend, go on ask and you shall received the answer you're seeking. She was fuming mad with her DI and even came up with her own meaning of DI. She said, DI actually means Discreet Identity or in short he's gay because he loves to backstab other people. He said that he is bad because not only was he a gossip but he is also a traitor. She said she's the nicest employer and pays the DI good money. And yet, he still made her feel bad. Hey, that was in the monologue. Those are not my words okay?

  

She also shared her love story and the various changes that she's experiencing in her body because of menopause. From hot flashes, to dry vagina up to the different changes in her sleeping pattern, on her sagging skin, her being so forgetful etc. She is so brave in the midst of it all.

Lesson learned: Never judge. People learn. People change. People move on.

Overall, I'll give it a grade of S! Superb!

Please, don't just read about it, try to visit their performances and see for yourself how these men and women bravely fight their own demons and become an inspiration to others. Come visit them at Alek Cafe + Kitchen at the ground floor of #170 Builders Center Salcedo Street, Makati City one of these days! :

#MonologuesAndSpokenWords #Brave