Haay, Majayjay! (Part 1)

(Or, retracing Ate Guy's steps where she had a Vidal Sassoon makeover in 1976)

Filled with Catholic guilt (the uppercase ‘C’ is proof of such guilt) every time Easter Week comes, I choose to stay home and not indulge in worldly pleasures like a four-day weekend at the beach or overseas.   As kids, we were taught not be cheery until Christ has risen.  The most I’d do since would be day-long trips somewhere close to Manila, places that I’ve never visited.  Last year it was Pila, Laguna, arguably the most picturesque little town in the Philippines.  The other day it was Majayjay, Laguna.


I thought it would be a long drive so I almost flaked when friends suggested Majayjay.  The only reason that really made me go was the fact that the town was the location of some of the most memorable movies I saw as a kid:  Ganito Kami Noon Paano Kayo Ngayon (1976); Pagputi ng Uwak, Pagitim ng Tagak (1978); Gumising Ka, Maruja (1978); and Tatlong Taong Diyos (1976).   In the last film mentioned, the town was as important as its star, Nora Aunor.   

Tatlong Taong Diyos tells the story of Rosario (Aunor), a sensible and feisty schoolteacher who gets raped by a Japanese officer (Christopher de Leon), whose troops overrun a quiet town in Luzon for three years.   Rosario then gets pregnant and falls for the Japanese.   The townspeople are shocked and ostracize the collaborator.   In the end, the women exact revenge on Rosario but cutting off her hair (Sounds familiar?  That was how the 2000 Italian film, Malena, ended as well.   But Nora did it 25 years ahead of Monica Bellucci. )

The film was significant because it started Nora’s career as a serious actress and producer.  But if you’d see it now, the results are quite laughable.   Christopher couldn’t be Japanese.   The staging of key scenes was theatrical.  The haircutting scene had women, all dressed in black like a Greek chorus, unnaturally encircling Rosario.  When she emerged from the ring, Nora actually looked better, when she was supposed to look shamed and ugly.  What a fab makeover!

Before

After

Unlike the film, the church remains beautiful though.