Okay, siguro mga around two weeks ago, naging fan ako ni Rafa Siguion-Reyna. I think it started nung nilabas sa social media platforms ng Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral yung video where the cast read tweets about Goyo. Most tweets about Rafa kasi are about him being underrated kahit praiseworthy yung pagganap niya sa movie, to which I really agreed.
Siguro una kong napansin si Rafa sa Kambal, Karibal sa GMA. I used to watch that series religiously until school started for this academic year. Ayaw ko pa nga sa character niya kasi kakampi siya nung character ni Marvin, na kontrabida, but towards the end I loved the character development that Rafa’s character decided to side with the truth instead of paying back ‘utang na loob’ to Marvin’s evil character.
After that, since I subscribed to Direk Jerrold Tarog’s historical [hopefully] trilogy when Heneral Luna came out in 2015, of course I was interested in watching Goyo, the second part of the said trilogy. Honestly, of course, because Paulo Avelino will be in the movie. So I first watched the movie on September 19 (on its third week because acads huhu I’m sorry). Then I watched it again on September 21 with my mom (at least I watched it more than once? hehe). Lol I even tried to convince myself that I’m watching it because I have a major exam in Kasaysayan 1 (Philippine History) but lol who am I kidding the coverage hasn’t even reached the Spanish Colonial Era, but anyway. The following week was my ‘hell week’ so to speak, so I haven’t really gotten time for myself during that week. After that week, that’s when I started following Goyo fan accounts on Twitter, for puns, memes, fanfictions, AUs, and head cannons. I actually started reading more about Gregorio del Pilar, and about Goyo movie production as well. That’s where I watched behind-the-scene videos, blooper videos, reaction videos, as well as some bonus clips. I noticed how Rafa is such a softboi, and I can’t help stanning him. He’s such a softboi in real life playing Julian, who is the exact opposite, like, wow, that’s a versatile actor you got there.
Exactly week ago, I created a stan account for the purpose of actually stanning Rafa, Paulo, Arron, Carlo, and the rest of the cast. That’s where I found some old clips about Rafa, and found out that he was actually a great dancer. Marupok ako sa mga dancers! Haha! Sakto rin na lumabas yung interview video niya about an upcoming play, at doon ko nalaman na may upcoming play siya! Being a student in the arts, I started watching more stage plays this year, and I was excited when I found out that Rafa is actually a stage actor! That weekend, I fixed my to-do list and schedule carefully so I can have a work-life balance for the upcoming week. I worked on papers due this week and the next week over the weekend so I can freely fan girl for the rest of the week. Luckily, I had no classes for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for that week because of the Spanish Film Festival, and my Span 10 professor asked us to watch a film from the said festival and suspended the classes for the week. On Wednesday, I went to the mall to watch Mamu: and a Mother, too, a film included in the Cinema One Originals Festival where Arron Villaflor is in. That same day I bought tickets for Baka Naman Hindi, and I was delighted to have a seat at the fourth row at a student discount of 50% (that’s 600 pesos for the Orchestra Center ticket originally priced at 1,200 pesos)! But before I bought a ticket, I had a slight agony of what if Rafa wouldn’t be on the show schedule I just planned to buy tickets to? But I bought the ticket anyway. Also, they suspended the classes for Thursday because of ACLE, where I attended one focused on the Historical Analysis of Goyo (and got a photo and autograph from Direk Jerrold Tarog and Sir Rody Vera!).
Thursday night, for some reason, I was thinking about what will happen the next day. Will I meet Rafa? Will I have a photo with Rafa? Then I saw a tweet from someone who watched the play for its opening night! They are actually admins of Rafa’s twitter fan base account. They did have a photo with Rafa, so I was hopeful. But looking very closely, they posted close to midnight, and in the photos, Rafa was already wearing a backpack so I wondered if they waited for him or if they had special access because they are admins of Rafa’s twitter fan base. To calm my heart, I sent a twitter direct message to one of them, asking about it. Gladly she said that they waited just around 10 minutes and the cast were very accommodating for photos. So with that, I was sure I will have a photo with Rafa, and I can’t sleep probably because of excitement! It’s like I was actually ~feeling~, and it has been years since I felt that. Tachycardia-Hypothermia combo. Then I thought I need to have a friend with me to support me because I think I will be overpowered by shyness if went by myself, so I tried to convince Lika once more. Then, I reminded myself that I need a lot of sleep to look somehow fresh for the next day so I forced myself to sleep.
Friday came, and I had some papers to fix in UP Manila in the afternoon. Inaasahan kong marami-raming lakaran ang magaganap kaya nagsuot muna ako ng casual clothes: t-shirt at sweat pants. Nagbaon na lang ako ng damit para sa actual play. Habang papunta, iniisip ko na kung ano ang mangyayari, at para lang akong tangang pangiti-ngiti, ini-imagine ko na yung pose na balak ko i-request na gawin with him. Pagdating ko sa UP Manila, inasikaso ko na yung papers: kinuha ko kay Ma’am Isay sa CN tapos pumunta ako sa Faura para magpa-notary at magpa-photox. Habang papunta ako sa Faura, tinext ko si Samie na nasa UPM ako. Pumunta ako sa Beh Sci after ko magpa-photox. Kinumbinsi ko rin siya na manood ng play kasama ko, pero wala daw siyang pera at tinanggihan niya yung libre ko. Naisip ko na baka pwede na lang siya pumunta after tapos siya mag-picture. Ang funny, kasi iniisip ko pa lang, sina-suggest na niya! We love supportive friends! So ayun, plano ko kasi mauna na sa Harbour Square para mauna sa parking, kasi kasabay pala ng sold-out concert ni Lea Salonga yung play. Also, balak ko tumambay sa Starbucks para mag-asikaso ng kaunting acads. Mga alas-tres na ng hapon yun, at sabi ni Sam ay mauna na ako doon at susunod siya at around 5PM. So bumalik na ako sa Pedro Gil para i-submit yung notarized na papers sa CN, at nag-drive papunta ng Harbour Square. Habang nagd-drive papuntang Harbour Square, napaisip ako, ano kaya ang call time nila sa theater? Baka kasabay ko pala si Rafa dito, baka katabi kong kotse o sa likod o sa harap, baka. Pagdating sa Harbour Square, wala pang masyadong mga sasakyan kaya nakapili pa ako ng parking spot ko na malapit-lapit sa Starbucks. Naka-t-shirt at sweat pants pa rin ako. Sabi ko mga around 6PM na lang ako magpapalit. My tweets were as follows:
So pumunta na ako sa Starbucks. Walang vacant na private-ish table, so doon ako umupo sa may long table. Nag-order. Binuksan ang laptop. Nag-open ng Spotify at nag-plug ng earphones. In-edit ko na yung mga kailangan kong i-edit. Saglit ko lang natapos yung papers.
Sinara ko na yung laptop, at sinimulan ko nang galawin yung mga in-order kong food, habang nagbbrowse sa Twitter. Pangiti-ngiti na naman na parang tanga; nagsscroll sa stan account habang iniisip na naman ang mga mangyayari mamaya. From the start, wala akong katabi sa left side. Sa right side lang. Maya-maya, wala na rin akong katabi sa both sides.
TAPOS ETO NGAYON!!! May biglang naglapag ng drink sa left side ko. Nasulyapan ko lang yung name na nakalagay. Unang tingin, akala ko “Rafa” yung nakalagay. Tokwa akala ko namamalikmata lang ako. Nung tinignan kong mabuti, Rafa nga yung nakalagay sa cup. Tapos nung titignan ko na yung may-ari ng cup, TOKWA SI RAFAEL SIGUION-REYNA NGA!!! Besh I am so proud of myself dahil sobrang composed ko TOOOOOOKWA. Nakapag-tweet pa ako na katabi ko si Rafa sa Starbucks tapos parang hindi ako makapaniwala.
Tapos nahihiya akong tawagin yung attention niya kasi naka-earphones siya tapos may ginagawa sa phone. TOKWA I WAS SO SHY I WANTED A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPH OR BOTH BUT I WAS SO SHY!!! As in ang dami kong hesitations!
Tinetext ko si Samie at si Lika. Tapos maya-maya, empty na yata yung seats sa left side niya so he moved two seats away pero wala pang nakaupo between us. I was texting Lika and Samie and tweeting subsequently like anong gagawin ko. Hindi ko alam kung paano ko gagawin!!!
Sam suggested to wish him good luck sa play or show him the ticket. I had an idea na ipa-autograph yung ticket so nilabas ko siya. Hindi ako mapakali like nag-aaktong tatayo tapos uupo ulit AHHHHH. Tapos habang nag-a-alinlangan ako, may umupo na sa left side ko, pero empty pa rin yung right side ni Rafa. Tapos nagmamasid din ako sa paligid kung may ibang nakakakilala sa kanya, pero wala akong napansin.
Tinawagan pa ako ni Lika HAHAHA. I swear I was reaaaally careful with my words kasi baka mahalata niyang pinag-uusapan namin siya. Tokwa during that phone call I hid my face in my arms across the table HAHA kasi di talaga ako mapakali like hindi ko talaga alam ang gagawin! After that phone call kay Lika, nagkaroon ako ng lakas ng loob. Tumayo ako, bitbit yung ticket at sharpie, at pumunta sa place niya. He was wearing earphones so I had to tap his shoulder. Di ko na matandaan yung pagkakasunod sunod but anyway. I said Hi. Sabi ko manonood ako ng play later, and showed him the ticket. I said I was wondering if I can get an autograph from him, and then he signed my ticket, he kind of thought pa kung saan siya magssign because he said “they tear this part off” while pointing at the sides so he signed at the center na lang. I also suggested he sign at the case of the ticket, to which he also signed. While signing I can’t help saying “oh my gosh” every now and then. “I didn’t think you’d be here” sabi ko, tapos sabi niya, I actually just got food lang din before the show. “I’m such a fan” sabi ko tapos nags-smile lang siya and giggle SOBRANG ADORBS. He also asked who I was with, sabi ko I’ll be with my friend, she’ll be coming from school pa. Tapos after nun, I asked if I could take a photo with him, “sure, sure” sabi niya tapos tumayo pa siya!!! I was expecting like while sitting lang sana. Tapos pagtayo niya, nag-offer yung girl na umupo sa gitna namin if I/we want her to take our photo, tapos nag-thank you ako sa kanya. She let me check the photo, and ayos naman.
Then he went back to have a seat for a while then I said thank you to him na rin, and see you later. Tapos sabi niya, “yes, see you after the show.” I WAS SMILING THE WHOLE TIME TAKTE. Tapos when I got back to my seat, he was about to go na rin, pero nung dumaan siya sa peripheral view ko, nag-wave siya and smile before exiting Starbucks. SO AKO NAMAN SINEND KO SA MGA KAIBIGAN KO YUNG PICTURE HAHAHA tinweet ko na rin.
Tapos tumawag ako kay Lika at nag-kwentuhan about Rafa and some random stuff. Tapos dumating na rin si Samie. Maya-maya nagbihis na rin ako. At nag-make up. Ang bilis lang ng oras.
Tapos nung umalis na ako sa Starbucks, naiwan si Sam para mag-review for TOPIK. Naiwan ko phone ko so binalikan ko. Medyo nagmamadali ako ako 7:45PM na e 8PM yung show, although tawid lang naman yung CCP hahaha. Anyway, pagpasok ko sa venue, bumili ako ng souvenir program, tapos pumasok na sa theater mismo. Then I watched the show. NAKA-AMERIKANANG RAFA OMG HAHAHA. Pero ang luwang yata nung pants niya o baka sadya, ewan. May nagsabi sa twitter na bilangin kung ilang beses niya gagamitin yung comb so I counted haha. 12 times niya nilabas yung comb or combs niya, tapos 9 times niya ginamit panuklay. Tapos sobrang galing nung part na may nag-malfunction na stage prop and they had to do adlib grabe. There was a room na may dalawang sides, so umiikot dapat siya. One room is supposed to be a hotel room and the other ay parang quarters ng staff nung hotel. There was an old guy na natutulog dun sa bed sa quarters, which is currently exposed, and Rafa and Ms. Rina was in the scene. Rafa pressed the button to turn the room around but it won’t kasi nastuck siya dun sa katabing structure. Tapos nag-adlib sila, sinubukan nilang ulitin yung scene, pero ayaw pa rin, tapos ang fun part nung adlib ay yung tumayo na lang yung old man at lumabas ng pinto at sa kabilang daan dumaan!! Nagpalakpakan yung audience kasi sobrang galing nung adlib plus ang funny!! Then after the show, I texted Samie! Pahirapan yung signal so I was texting so hard buti na lang nasa vicinity na siya. So as advised, nagwait kami, expecting to wait around 10 minutes, pero I think mga around 5 minutes lang kami nag-wait. Nakita kong lumabas si Sir Ricky Davao, so I said ayan na naglalabasan na sila. Di rin nagtagal nakita ko si Rafa. Then medyo nagpanic mode ako slight kasi nakabackpack na siya so parang ready na sumibat anytime. So lumabas kami slight ni Sam para like abangan siya sa may door. Tapos may napansin si Sam na pogi daw haha si Sir Nel so I asked for an autograph na rin. Sir Nel asked for my name and wrote it. After nung I thanked him and congratulated him for the play. Tapos ayun hinihintay na namin si Rafa, maya maya tapos na yung mga nagpapapicture sa kanya so lumapit na kami. He recognized me! Kahit hulas yung itsura ko sa starbucks tapos biglang glow-up ano. So sabi niya, uy hi! Did you enjoy the show? Sabi ko it was so fun, and I mentioned about the malfunctioning stage prop and how amazing the adlib was. He replied that it’s the good thing about the genre, farce, and sometimes you can’t predict what happens in a play din talaga.
After the autograph, I asked for a photo, “Can we have another photo, but posing like this?” then I put my hand on my face. He said, “Sure, I’m game!”. I giggled then I said, “you like that pose” then we posed for the photo. I can see people looking at us while taking the photo but I don’t care HAHAHA. He was so game, I’m so kilig.
Then before parting ways, he asked to shake my hand to which I grabbed, and thanked him again and congratulated him for the play.
I also took a photo with Sir Ricky Davao.
Going out, I saw Sir Nel again and I forgot to take a photo with him earlier so I took a photo with him, and Rafa was in the background haha.
Then on the way out, I checked the souvenir program I asked some of the actors to sign. I got to Rafa’s page, and I noticed that he wrote my name even though he didn’t ask for it, because he saw my name in Sir Nel’s section. I’m so touched.
Ultimately, everything that transpired today probably wouldn’t have been made possible if God hadn’t allowed it. Thank you, Lord!
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