Erlando Almaez Ayuste Finds Solace and Strength in His Volunteered Spiritual Undertakings
Posted on Sunday 13 March 2016
Erlando
Almaez Ayuste Finds Solace and Strength
In His
Volunteered Spiritual Undertakings
By Apolinario Villalobos
Orly, as his friends call him has been
living along F. Torres in Sta. Cruz district of Manila for more than 50 years.
He used to occupy a small studio-type apartment on the second floor of an old
building that unfortunately got razed more than 20 years ago. The incident made
him sleep on the sidewalk for several months until a friend took him in
temporarily while waiting for the vacancy in another old building. He moved on
to the new studio room and with a found makeshift table, sold coffee and
costume jewelries that he assembled out of beads from broken ones that friends
give him or he buys from junk collectors. The owner of the small building
allowed him the use of the studio room for free but the electricity and water
are on his account.
The portion of the street along which he
lives is where one can find sellers and buyers of second-hand cellphones,
watches and jewelries. F. Torres is stretched parallel to Arranque St, the
famous “thieve’s market”. At five in the afternoon a short portion of the
street teems with the curious and ambulant “merchants”. To them, Orly sells
coffee, and from some of them he buys broken jewelries. The earning is meager,
just enough to buy him three meals a day and replenishment for sachets of
coffee and small bags of sugar for his business.
The first time I saw him, I thought he was
some kind of an office worker who just dropped by the place to buy cheap
jewelry or cellphone. He was then attired in a collared shirt which was neatly
tucked giving him a sleek countenance. The next time I saw him, he was in
walking shorts that exposed the varicose veins in his legs. And, as it was
early in the morning, before 8AM, he was washing a couple of shirts in the
makeshift lavatory in front of the slim table where his coffee mugs and some
plates were stacked. As he was aloof, I did not bother to talk to him while
ordering a mug of coffee.
As I felt that his life could be colorful,
I kept on observing him, until after several mugs of coffee and days of
dropping by, he sort of trusted me with a modest smile. That broke the ice.
During our talks, I led him to open up and share his experiences when he was
just a stranger in Manila. According to him, he arrived in Manila from Tacloban
during the 60’s when Ramon Magsaysay was the president of the country. He initially
worked as a houseboy. He did his best to save out of his earnings so that in no
time, he was able to get a small room and supported himself by selling snacks
and coffee on the sidewalk.
I was surprised to learn that despite his
meager formal education, as he finished only Grade Five, he is able to speak a
sprinkling of German, though with fluency of Spanish and English. He told me
that he is a fast learner and a voracious reader. Another surprise is that he
can read musical scores despite the lack of a basic music education. He plays the piano and organ but admits that
he needs musical sheets to guide him. He learned to read music during the early
years of his membership in the Sta. Cruz parish choir, as he was then, fond of
observing their pianist. In this regard, he has been singing with the Sta. Cruz
parish choir for more than twenty years now.
Orly’s sister, Lydia lives in Masangkay
with her own family, and which is not far from F. Torres where he lives. Today
at 77, he dreams of owning a piano so that he can put to life the melodies that
have been bugging his mind. He dreams of translating them into musical scores. I
told him to go on dreaming for this blessing, as it is free anyway…for who
knows, some day, we might meet a musician who got tired of his Weinstein that
needs just a simple retuning of strings.
Every time I drink at least two mugs of
Orly’s coffee, I wonder if others can muster life just like he does sans bank
account or just a few pesos stashed away, and only with a few decent shirts and
pair of pants to wear on Sundays for his scheduled singing with the choir in honor
of the Nuestra Seἧora del Pilar. That’s Orly …strong and gutsy guy, who at 77 sings
and plays the piano for the glory of the Blessed Mother!
Discussion