This old house, on this old street…. Another book I wish I could make.

Our printer in Quezon City operates from a large pre-war house tucked away in San Francisco del Monte. The ground floor was completely converted to house the offices, the machines, and the pre-press and post-production processes; but the structure still has the old facade with the original grillwork in place. The second floor makes you feel as if you've stepped into a black-and-white movie on RPN-9. Colorized ofcourse. The wood is dark and the walls are green. (And there's something to this old-world cinema feeling because before it was an imprenta, the house was a movie studio where Fernando 'The Oblation' Poe, Sr. worked.)

On the way home I spotted another sleeping beauty on Quezon Avenue. It was a beautiful, white mansion (it seemed big enough to be one) flanked by stores and signages and whatnots. If I hadn't been looking closely, I'd never have known it was there.

After seeing 'Sleeping Beauty' I got another idea for a book. It might be too expensive to print so I might pitch it to an artist/architect as an urban stories exhibit for children.

The city is full of gorgeousness. (And awesomeness! And attractiveness!) But touring Manila can be like rummaging though a junkshop. If you aren't looking for anything beautiful, how will you find it? And if you can't imagine how a thing can look after the old spit and polish, you might leave it for someone else to find (or destroy).

I want a book that shows children how to look for beauty in the city. A book that helps them peel the layers to find the stories that take place as a neighborhood ages.

Jeannie Baker did something similar with Window, a wordless picture book that tells a story by showing how the view from the one window changes from wilderness to city.



In another picture book called Home, Baker tells a story about how a growing community transforms their grim, gray urban neighborhood into a safe and nurturing place.

This is my idea. Take a street like Quezon Avenue, San Francisco del Monte, Manila, New Manila, etc. where old structures and new structures are scrunched up together and render that street in layers.

(You know how encyclopedias show the human body in layers of acetate? First we have the skeletal system, then the respiratory system, then the circulatory system, and so on till you have the body.)

I want each layer of that street to stand for a layer of history. We start with the oldest parts of the neighborhood, each succeeding acetate is another year or another decade (we'll figure out the nitty-gritty when we've picked a street and gathered materials), and another, and another till we have the current neighborhood.

You could even pencil in characters that support the story through the layers. Though this might clutter the design.

Mind you, I'm not trying to glorify the old and vilify the new. I don't want some nostalgic boohoo over what-was-once-and-can-never-be because I also believe that there is beauty in the mess. And there is beauty as people build new lives around the old. I'd like each layer to capture the energy and the humor and the innovation that goes on. But I'd also like people to be able to peel back these layers to see each phase of history on its own terms. It could be a beautiful, beautiful thing.

I'm still uncertain as to what materials we could use. Photographs? Cityplans? Blueprints? Sketches? A little mix of eveything? It really depends on the partner/s I end up with. So.

Does anyone want to partner up? I could do research (because I like nerdy thtuff like that) and provide emotional and creative support. Wag lang financial support because on my own I am poor and this is not a Tahanan project. Fun lang siya. Gawa tayo tapos bahala na si Batman kung patulan tayo ng publisher.

Which probably means that whoever I end up with:
doesn't need the money
has a lot of time
OR loves this idea so much that s/he will make time

If yer interested, lemme know. Because I don't think I can do this alone.

Flan