HAPPY birthday coach Dolriech “Bo” Perasol. If anyone is still wondering why your nickname is such, now they’ll know. Your natal day coincides with that of a national hero, someone who came from modest beginnings but dreamt big things for his country and self. Not unlike you!
Of course, Bonifacio died because others didn’t see things the way he saw them, and he was deemed a bigger danger than an asset to the cause. Happily, people in the world of collegiate basketball see you for the value that you bring to the cause and continue to value you, in turn. For that.
Was just wondering the other day — had you been born on June 19 would they have called you Pepe?
Thank God you weren’t. Because Bo Perasol has a nicer ring to it than Pepe Perasol.
And while Andres Bonifacio may not be the primus inter pares among our heroes, he sure is deserving of the respect befitting the patriot that he was.
‘Giving in to his feelings, our hero eventually became the victim of his own burning passion so much so that the promise that was born in Tondo died in Maragondon in Cavite.’
Born in Tondo, self-educated, Bonifacio is the epitome of the Filipino who goes on to achieve (if not over-achieve) despite the limitations that fate had bestowed on him. Because he knew how to speak English, perhaps as a result of being an avid reader, he was able to clerk for a British trading firm and help support his family. His exposure to the world of business must have inspired him to think bigger things — and yet at the same time made starkly clear to him the unjustness of the society in which he lived. Not surprisingly, this “Tondo boy” was soon caught up in discussions about a better future; he joined La Liga Filipina and then was drawn even deeper into the idea of a reformed society that culminated in the establishment of the Katipunan, of which he was Supremo.
History will always allow us to look at Bonifacio through two lenses. Through one, we would salute his patriotic fervor and celebrate his “humble” roots; the other would show us his shortcomings, especially as a strategist on the battlefield. It is this yin and yang of Bonifacio’s character and personality that coats him, given his fate, with a tragic aura or appeal; but it was also the basis for his very undoing.
Revolutionary fervor, like love, could generate smoke that gets in your eyes, blinding you temporarily or rendering you unable to see clearly. Giving in to his feelings, our hero eventually became the victim of his own burning passion so much so that the promise that was born in Tondo died in Maragondon in Cavite.
Then again it was the body that died: the dream and the spirit lived — and lives — on. Other than or beyond the part about his burning love for his country, may Bonifacio’s story inspire more young ones from Tondo to believe in themselves and in the power of their passions and dreams.
Happy birthday Gat Andrés!
