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ISSUE 04

Hugot and Humor

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an emotion is highlighted by its subjectivity, brought about by our interpretation of situations. It is something that we feel, whether out of volition or not, a speculation that merits further discussions, and will always vary from one person to the other.

In life we are given choices, a choice between practicing spiritual benevolence or senseless violence after a heated argument, a choice between entering a relationship or putting it on hold, that choice between finding diversion by focusing harder on our work or just sulking in our rooms after experiencing a heart break. These choices are part of our responses elicited from different types of emotions. Now thinking about it, we realize the magnitude of how our emotion affects us and the importance of what it is in our lives; important regardless of how vague it may seem. Emotion, just like most of the millennials’ relationship status, is complicated. Oftentimes it can be irrational but it can never be judged. Through it, we try to fathom the unfathomable, comprehend the incomprehensible and explain the unexplainable, but in hindsight we know we will never truly succeed.

Above the emotions that we feel are 2 strong elements, Hugot and Humor. Ironically, they seem to be at different ends, but coincidentally, both affects how we feel.

Hugot is colloquially used to depict emotions, usually that of sadness. This happens when we relate sentimental events and melodramatic lines with our own lives, drawing out emotions from deep within.  Though highly associated with the subculture emo, hugot which literally means “draw out” or “pull-out”,  helps us draw out strength from our inner being,  strength we barely knew existed. Humor, on the other hand, evokes happiness and elicits laughter. Often, it is used to get over the pain caused by the disappointments in our lives.   It may also be a diversion or a way to see life in a better perspective.

Hugot and Humor, when joined together, create a powerful tool for people to cope and make things lighter in life.

For this issue, we venture into the different realms of hugot and humor. We get to know people who have mastered the skill of making people feel and get in touch with their emotions through different expressions such as writing, stand-up comedy, music, games, food, art, and dance. We talked to writer and playwright, Ina Abuan. She shared with us her writing style and her inspiration for the musical play, “Sa Wakas”. And who wouldn’t know the tagos sa puso, heart wrenching birit hugot songs of one of the most popular Filipino rock bands, Aegis? We also got a chance to know more about the music of Ebe Dancel, and the stories behind Sugarfree’s songs. We learn more about singer Issa Rodriguez, and how her soothing voice heals broken hearts. It was such a surreal experience to talk to stand-up comic, Rex Navarrete and get to know his craft on a deeper level. Indeed, we seldom realize the depth of stand-up comedy and the hugot component for the humor. We also got to know more about “Flirt” cards creator, Ria Lu, as she explained to us the hugot behind the game.  We also visited LinyaLinya , where we chose the witty, humorous hugot one-liner that hit the spot perfectly. They say one of the best ways to drown the pain is by eating, and we visited one of the best places to do just that, Beefx, an extraordinary burger place known for their foogot, food hugot. And when all else fails, “Travel!”  is what we say! Join us as we visit Benguet, a place where you can seek refuge when things have not been going your way or you simply just want to get away.  There, we learned some life lessons from extraordinary artist, Ben-hur Villanueva, Vizco’s proprietor, Jackie Vizcocho, Lily of the Valley owner, Jefferson Laruan and award-winning rooftop farmer, Danny Agliam.

In this world where people seemed to have been detached with their emotions, it is quite a welcome change to be more open to it and embrace what we truly feel.  And in our quest to explain our emotions, regardless of how unexplainable it may seem, we try to explore it more through hugot and humor.

BY DANE RAYMUNDO