Balikbayan Part Eight: The Play
In late 2017, I started writing a play entitled Balikbayan, inspired by the series of short stories I self-published of the same name. Two years later, it was developed at The Playwrights Realm as part of the 2019/20 Writing Fellowship, where it was presented as part of the INK’D Festival of New Plays.
Balikbayan at The 2020 INK'D Festival of New Plays (Photo Credit: Daniel J. Vasquez Productions)
Balikbayan follows Alvin, a Filipino-American immigrant, who returns to the Philippines after the loss of his mother to learn more about his birthplace and to find his estranged father. During his trip, he meets a sharp boarding house lady, a lonely 8-year old boy, and a handsome nurse, who show him what it means to be “home.”
Below is an excerpt from the full-length play:
SCENE SEVEN
(ALVIN is hanging around Pala-Pala, an outdoor fresh, seafood market, holding a photo in his hand.
JESSIE spots him and walks towards him.
He observes ALVIN for a second before shaking his head and walks over and bumps into him.)
ALVIN
Sorry— oh. Hi.
JESSIE
Hey, Balikbayan.
ALVIN
Can you stop calling me that?
JESSIE
No.
(ALVIN rolls his eyes and starts walking away, pocketing the photo. JESSIE follows.)
JESSIE
What are you doing here?
ALVIN
Looking around. Why?
JESSIE
I was going to grab something to eat. Sama ka?
ALVIN
No, it’s okay—
JESSIE
Come on. This place has the best seafood. Promise. Super fresh talaga.
(no response.)
Balikbayan, are you afraid of me or something?
ALVIN
Why would I be afraid of you?
JESSIE
You keep avoiding me.
ALVIN
I’m not.
JESSIE
Okay. So... you want to eat?
(Beat.)
ALVIN
Fine.
JESSIE
Okay. You’re paying, right?
ALVIN
Are you kidding?
JESSIE
Hey, we’ve been a very good host to you, diba? It’s the least you can do.
ALVIN
Fine.
JESSIE
You have your wallet with you?
ALVIN
Yeah.
(ALVIN reaches for his back pocket. His wallet is not there. He quickly starts patting himself down.)
JESSIE
Are you looking for this?
ALVIN
Wh— how?
JESSIE
Here’s a good tip for you foreigners: keep your wallet in your front pocket, not your back pocket, especially in a crowded place like this.
(He hits ALVIN on the head with his wallet.)
Here.
(JESSIE starts walking towards the exit. ALVIN glares after him and mumbles something to himself.)
JESSIE
Come on, Balikbayan.
(ALVIN follows with a huff.
On the other side of town, MA’AM LENA is hanging outside BEBOT’s home. She moves to knock on the door, but hesitates. She pulls back and walks away.
ALVIN and JESSIE are sitting on an outdoor table. In front of them are all kinds of dishes. On the sidewalk, the sound of the busy market is accompanied by the gentle melody a man is playing on his guitar.
ALVIN grabs his spoon and fork, about to dig in.)
JESSIE
Woah! What the hell are you doing?
ALVIN
What?
JESSIE
What’s with the utensils?
ALVIN
I’m hungry!
JESSIE
No no no.
(JESSIE grabs ALVIN’s spoon and fork.)
We’re not doing that.
ALVIN
What the hell?
JESSIE
Look at where you are. You are amongst Filipino people. And if you want to be one with the people... you have to eat with your hands.
ALVIN
No. No way I’m doing that.
JESSIE
Balikbayan.
ALVIN
I don’t even know how to eat with my hands.
JESSIE
It’s eating with your hands! How hard do you think it’s going to be?
ALVIN
I don’t know!
(JESSIE grabs a handful of rice with his hands and feeds it into his mouth and gives a gesture as if to say “see?”
ALVIN does the same, but unknowingly takes too much rice.)
JESSIE
Wasn’t so hard, diba?
ALVIN
(through a mouthful of rice)
Mmph.
(The two share a laugh. JESSIE hands ALVIN a glass of water.)
ALVIN
Thank you.
JESSIE
So we haven’t really had the chance to get to know each other. Tell me about yourself.
ALVIN
What?
JESSIE
Tell me about yourself.
ALVIN
What is this? An interview?
(JESSIE picks up a spoon and directs it at ALVIN like it’s a microphone.)
ALVIN
You don’t even know me.
JESSIE
That’s why I’m asking.
(Beat.)
ALVIN
Um. Okay. I was born here. Moved to San Francisco with my mom when I was a baby and I’ve never been back here.
(JESSIE sits back and waits for more.)
That’s it.
JESSIE
That’s it? Wow, Balikbayan. I might have to use this spoon to open you up ha?
(ALVIN shrugs.)
What do you do back home?
ALVIN
Nothing. Well, not nothing. I work part-time in a coffee shop right now. I graduated last year and didn’t really know what I wanted to do after. Still figuring it out.
JESSIE
What did you study?
ALVIN
English. Well, Biology first. Then Business. Then Philosophy. And then I landed on English after I tried to do Art and realized I couldn’t draw past stick figures.
(JESSIE laughs.)
Is the interview over yet?
(JESSIE nods.)
JESSIE
Okay. How about I tell you about myself. I’m Jessie Alvarez. I’m 29. I’m a nurse. I grew up in Bacolod. Never left. Never been anywhere else. Can’t wait to get out.
ALVIN
Is that why you applied to work abroad?
JESSIE
Alam mo, I never wanted to be a nurse, but I knew it was the best way to leave the country.
ALVIN
You want to leave that bad?
JESSIE
Yes. And no. I grew up here and I love it, but…
ALVIN
But?
JESSIE
It’s all I’ve ever known.
ALVIN
Is there anything wrong with that?
JESSIE
No, but it’s a big world out there and I don’t want this town to be the only place I’ll ever know. Don’t you want see what else is out there?
ALVIN
Not really.
JESSIE
What?
ALVIN
This town probably feels small to you, but at least you have a home here, right? So who cares about seeing the rest of the world when you have that here?
JESSIE
That’s because you’re looking at this town from a foreigner’s point of view. Trust me, there’s absolutely nothing here.
ALVIN
At least your family’s here.
JESSIE
Sure. But you can’t tell me that you hate being in America?
ALVIN
I don’t hate it, but I don’t think it feels as free as you think it is. Actually, it feels pretty—
JESSIE
What?
ALVIN
Pretty lonely.
(Beat.)
Anyway, when do you hear back about your application?
JESSIE
I have to wait and see what this hospital in London says about it, so for now, I have to keep working and saving money. It’s expensive to start a new life.
ALVIN
“Libre lang mangarap.”
(JESSIE stares at him for a second before laughing.)
JESSIE
Where did you learn that, Balikbayan?
ALVIN
My mom used to say it a lot. We didn’t really have a lot of money when I was growing up, so whenever there was something that I wanted that we couldn’t afford, my mom would say that to me. “Libre lang mangarap.” “It’s free to dream.”
JESSIE
It is. At least we can afford to dream.
(Beat.)
ALVIN
Can I go back to my food now?
(JESSIE nods.)
Wait. I did have one question. What’s it like growing up with Ma’am Lena as your mom, I mean she’s pretty tough—
JESSIE
Oh no. We’re not related at all. But I’ve lived in the boarding house for so long, we might as well be. I grew up in an orphanage. Ma’am Lena let me live at the boarding house when I got too old to stay there. Haven’t left since.
ALVIN
Ah. Sorry. About your family. And about asking.
JESSIE
Okay lang.
(ALVIN nods awkwardly.)
Are you always this serious?
(JESSIE throws some rice at ALVIN.)
ALVIN
Did you seriously just do that?
(JESSIE does it again and laughs. ALVIN moves to do the same.)
JESSIE
Balikbayan, no. Put it down.
(JESSIE grabs his hands and covers it with his own.)
JESSIE
Hey hey, put it down. We don’t play with our food.
ALVIN
Well, you’re not gonna tell on me are you?
(The man with the guitar starts singing the chorus of “Ang Huling El Bimbo” by Eraserheads.)
MAN WITH GUITAR
“Magkahawak ang ating kamay at walang kamalaymalay...”
JESSIE
(pulling his hands away)
Tarantado.
ALVIN
What?
JESSIE
Huy! Kuya! Pwede ba? Ibang tao naman ang buysetin nyo.
(The man with the guitar starts singing louder.)
JESSIE
Huy!
(The man with the guitar puts his palms up.)
JESSIE
Anak ka ng pu—
(JESSIE reaches into his pocket to pull out some money. He offers it to the man with the guitar.)
JESSIE
Eto. Umalis ka na.
(The man with the guitar winks at him and walks off, finishing the rest of the song.)
ALVIN
What was that about?
JESSIE
Nothing.
(ALVIN, feeling he’s missed something, stays silent. JESSIE goes back to eating.)
