Mona Lisa (or La Gioconda)- do you really think so that this Leonardo Da Vinci masterpiece has the smile that captivated the world and cryptologists Robert Langdon and Dan Brown all over? What’s with the absence of eyebrows? This is how the age-old question goes.
Niccolo Machiavelli- the notorious but celebrated statesman whose “The Prince” was then sweetly defeated by Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s alien little prince; Machiavellian vs. Elizabethan, Niccolo nonetheless, could had been the ‘object of envy’ of those English playwrights. Which of this do you prefer? Politics and governance or the entertainment for the amusement of the Queen with her flawless alabaster skin, her elite circle and the select few?
Girolamo Savonarola- fiery Dominican reformer and martyr. Not a Protestant, just a protesting Catholic; theocracy advocate but never a Taliban model.
***
Dusk, not twilight... I have never been a fan of sexy vampires or hunky werewolves, not even that of the lovestruck damsel in distress caught between those... those... creatures! Romanticized monsters or creatures out of medieval beliefs and superstitions out of colorful imaginations.
What’s this mystique about the serene sky and calm setting sun at dusk? The thought of people going home, the smell of dinners or supper prepared, evening news, and the descent of the planet Venus in the west as well as the ascent of the stars.
***
Botanical impressions during the rainy season.
***
I develop a habit of placing bread crumbs and left-over rice in one corner of our rooftop and then leave it till the sparrows (maya) come and feast on it. I think they already know me for there are times when they seem to catch my attention. Pigeons or doves are not the only cageless birds around. Move over, here comes the sparrows, the ‘stay out’ pets.
***
Xocolatl, the “bitter water” that the Aztecs introduced to the world. So popular that it blotted out the fear of imagining how the cult of the war and sun-god Huitzilopochtli took place each day during the heydays of the Mesoamerican empire. Then Quetzalcoatl wannabe, “El Adelantado” Hernan Cortes whose guns, goons, and gold policy probably got taken by the seductive powers of Montezuma’s most prized beverage that which undergone a swift and sweet evolution to become the world’s favorite flavor.
Marabou (dainty and tidy confection made in Sweden; I thought that the marabou storks of Africa have the same ‘dirty jobs’ like that of their vulture peers!)
Cadbury/ Toblerone
New Zealand Whittaker’s- this became my favorite choco brand for its right amount of sweetness and consistency and no cloying aftertaste that sticks on the tongue for some time even after you drank almost a liter of water; only that the new price greatly disappoints me and the other chocoholics who already got hooked on it. From 39 pesos in Mercury Shops and most supermarkets to 45 pesos?! What the heck they have done?
When I was in high school, I used to buy Meiji Chocolate (it is at par with Hershey’s) in the 7-11 store outside St. Mary’s Academy- Pasay and it was sold for only 16 pesos. Well, what ever happened to this Japanese brand now?
Chocolat (French/ ‘sho-ko-la’), the choco-themed cafe with a little but comfortable branch in SM Mall of Asia. Ricoa powder for champorado and hot cocoa. Milo and other instant choco drinks. Tsokolate e, the traditional, steaming hot and syrupy drink from tablea prepared in the old-fashioned way using the almirol and batirol (remember the chapter of Noli Me Tangere where the San Diego alferez would spread rumors that his frenemy, Padre Salvi, had the habit of turning off some of his guests by offering them poorly prepared hot chocolate if he ask his helper to make it ‘tsokolate a’?). The choc-nut, Goya sans a Chinita endorser, or the Bulacan-made chewy Lala. The imported chocolates your balikbayan relatives give. All the chocolates in the world! And yet ONLY ONE has the ultimate right to be called NO. 1 in the world...
Theobroma cacao, the prime source of cocoa.
