My dear friend, Leandro Mendez

Sunday, February 11, 2007


Leandro Mendez

From Manila to Vancouver


A screenwriter’s journey

THE year was 1997. In his last year of Mass Communication studies at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and still at a crossroads on what he wants to do in his life, Leandro dela Paz Mendez, decided to join his family in Canada, who had migrated and settled in British Columbia in the 1980s. A month after starting his new life in a new country, he received a call from his brother Oliver, who tells him: “You won!”

“I was absolutely shocked,” says 31-year-old Leandro. “I can’t imagine that they liked my work, enough to actually win.”

Leandro is talking about the script he submitted to ABS-CBN’s scriptwriting contest in 1997. “I found out about that contest by accident,” says Leandro. “I tagged along with some classmates, who were applying as trainees for the TV station, and saw this poster for a scriptwriting contest. For some odd reason, when I got home that day, I started typing my very first script—and yes, a manual typewriter, as computers were not really the norm yet those days,” he laughs.

After getting the phone call that his script was chosen among thousands of entries, Leandro had decided that writing was his calling, and he kept writing from then on.

“Of course, I was really disappointed that I couldn’t fly back to receive my award. It wasn’t practical, having just moved [to Canada] and just starting with a job,” he says. His brother had to accept his prize on his behalf, which was awarded by ABS-CBN entertainment head Charo Santos-Concio.

With the cash prize and certificate, came a job offer to work for the prestigious TV station, which was regretfully turned down by Leandro. “At the back of my mind, I always wonder, what if? But people make choices in life, and I guess I made mine.”

The youngest of eight children, Leandro finished his grade school in San Beda College. “During that time, I was also a member of the Manila Children’s Choir, which regularly performed at the CCP, usually for visiting dignitaries and official functions of Malacañang,” he says. “So very early on in life, I had been exposed to theatre and music, not to mention the fact that my three sisters were all singers in a show band called Hall of Fame.” The band did the hotel lounge circuit in the eighties alongside the likes of Kuh Ledesma and the Music and Magic and Music Making Company.

In high school, with a natural talent for dance and theatre arts, Leandro kept himself busy with extracurricular activities—from being an active member of the drama club, to choreographing dance numbers for school events, to directing plays.

Music and the arts seem to flow in the family’s blood. Leandro’s mother Erlinda, trained as a classical vocalist, having attended UST’s Conservatory of Music along with Sylvia la Torre as a contemporary. “My mother always had interesting stories about her days singing on the radio in the 1950s . . . and how she eventually chose a life of being a full-time wife and mother,” he added.

Leandro’s parents separated when he was only 2 years old, when the physical and emotional abuse by his late father toward his mother came to feverish pitch. “Although I was really young then, I remember it was the toughest time for the family, especially for my mother, who was left to single-handedly raise eight kids. But she managed to feed, clothe and put us all through school, and for that she has my utmost love, respect and unending gratitude.”

Devastating event

In 2000, Leandro, having just graduated from Vancouver Film School (Writing for Film and Television), was excited at the prospect of officially starting his career as a writer, when tragedy struck. His mother, 68 years old, suffered a massive stroke, leaving her paralyzed and in a 24-hour care facility in Vancouver.

“The whole family was devastated,” he says. “I was so distraught that time; I didn’t even know what to do anymore, as my mother had always been the center of much of what I do in my life.”

During his visits to the hospital, spending hours at a time at her bedside, Leandro’s mother started telling him stories when she was a young girl during World War II. How she became friends with a Japanese officer who became a sort of father figure to her, as her own father became a war guerilla and had to leave the family and go in hiding. Leandro had heard his mother’s stories before but it seemed like after her stroke, she clearly remembered more details from memory.

“I told myself, I had to move on and do something positive out of this sad episode. So I started writing my next script, Mariana, which is inspired by my mom’s accounts of her life as a young girl growing up in wartime San Miguel, Bulacan.

“Somehow, the process of writing Mariana was cathartic,” reveals Leandro. “It really helped me deal with what had happened to my mother and at the same time, it became my little homage to the extraordinary life she lived.” He eventually submitted this script to Star Cinema’s scriptwriting contest that year, but unfortunately did not make the cut.

A new venture

After such a painful period, Leandro put writing aside, and decided to put up his own business venture, Deco Attack, a small stall at Brentwood Mall in the suburbs of Vancouver. He started creating and selling his own line of costume handmade jewelries, using stones and materials from the Philippines.

“Writing is a very emotionally draining task for me. A writer pours out his heart and soul in every sentence he puts on paper. At that point in my life, it was the last thing I wanted to do.”

Although his jewelry line is praised and loyal customers had started telling friends about it, Leandro was barely breaking even because of the high rent for the space. Bored and broke, he decided to fold up. “I knew there was something else for me out there,” he says.

In 2002, he was hired by a production company to choreograph and dance for the show All Hail the Queen! “It was a new challenge for me, and I gladly welcomed it,” Leandro says. “The gigs helped pay the bills, and I was having fun at the same time.”

The following year, although still doing his occasional dance gigs, and working part-time in retail, Leandro decided to start writing again. He wrote Daryll James (a pilot episode for a planned TV series), which landed as a top ten finalist at the Scriptapalooza TV Writing Competition in Los Angeles.

“Being a finalist really inspired me. I figure writing is still in me, and something I should pursue,” he says. He started writing Lihim—a suspense thriller screenplay.

In the midst of writing, Leandro, who is always open to new challenges, also tried his luck as an actor for the first time. He auditioned and got picked to play the “drag witch” Addaperle, “The Good Witch of the North” in the Vancouver production of The Wiz—the same role made popular by comedian Andy Dick (of the US TV sitcom Newsradio) in the Broadway musical. Leandro’s stint as an actor was short-lived though. “I couldn’t wait until the show run was over. It just wasn’t me!” he exclaims.

Win some, lose some

In the meantime, his brother in Manila saw a TV advertisement, calling for entries to the 1st FSR Screenwriting Contest, in memory of Fermina Salvador-del Rosario (a.k.a Mina Aragon), an actress and one of the prime movers of Viva Films. He encouraged Leandro to submit the screenplay Lihim, but still unfinished, they started brainstorming through e-mails and online messaging to finish the script.

It was submitted on the day of the deadline. “I was on the phone with my brother as he drove, and that was such a nerve-wracking moment. He barely made it in time before the Viva offices close for the day!” Leandro recalls. “But it was all well worth it.”

In July 2004, Lihim was announced as one of the winners of the Viva contest. Leandro hopped on the next available flight to Manila. “I told myself, ‘I am not going to miss this for the world—not this time.’”

Leandro was awarded P75,000 and a trophy by Vic del Rosario, chairman and CEO of Viva Entertainment. Del Rosario also promised that the screenplay would be produced and made into a movie.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Leandro presented several original stories he was working on to Cel Santiago, head of creative writing of Viva Films and to del Rosario.

In 2005, Viva got back with Leandro about one of the storylines he submitted, a dark comedy called Reyna, about “a woman impersonating a man in a last desperate act to win a beauty pageant crown.”

Viva had continually requested Leandro to write the full script, as they love the storyline, convinced it would make a good comedy movie. Unfortunately, Leandro, with much regret, had to decline, as he was in the middle of creating the show, Tina—A Rock ’N’ Roll Journey. The piece is a stage musical biography of rock legend Tina Turner, which he was commissioned to write, choreograph and direct.

“I was really choked when I had to make that tough decision of declining the offer of Viva. I knew that it was my chance to get my work produced for the big screen, but it came at a time when I had committed already myself to another project,” Leandro explains. “I guess you win some, you lose some.”

Viva purchased the rights to the storyline of Reyna from Leandro, and had asked another screenwriter to pen the full script. He later found out too, that the title role went to Keanna Reeves, although during negotiations, the part was being considered for Ethel Booba.

A new journey

In September 2006, Tina—A Rock ’N’ Roll Journey held its world premiere in Canada. It opened to rave reviews and is enjoying a successful tour run, with several sold-out dates. Tina showcases the remarkable life of rock icon Tina Turner, her story told through her own hits.

Described by Leandro as a “live visual feast,” the show features Luisa Marshall, a Filipino-Canadian singer/actress performing as Tina Turner, going through various wig and costume changes to cover the four-decade reign of Turner as the undisputed queen of rock ’n’ roll, with a gorgeous ensemble of dancers and dynamic video imagery shown on a giant screen as backdrop.

Leandro is hoping that Tina goes worldwide. “So far, the show has been touring Canada then [this year], there are planned dates already across the United States,” he says. “Also, there’s discussion of a possible European tour in the summer of 2008 but I don’t want to elaborate further on it. I don’t want to jinx it!” he laughed.

“I’m really proud of what I have accomplished,” Leandro says. “This project was very challenging for me as a writer because I had to interpret Ms. Turner’s tragic and colorful life to the stage without the use of dialogue. And the fact that the life story of a recording artist like Ms. Turner is told through her own songs is very special to me. It hasn’t been done before. Also, the video imagery and symbolism shown throughout the show prove that a writer can clearly convey a message yet leave the audience to draw their own interpretation and conclusion,” he added.

When asked what inspired him to work on such a project, Leandro responds: “I have always admired strong, independent women—like my mother. And Tina Turner reminds me of my own mother, somebody who has endured so much hardship in life but still came out a winner. She epitomizes a woman of true courage, survival and triumph over adversity. Physical strength in a woman . . . that’s Tina . . . that’s my mom too.”

Future projects

In June 2006, Leandro saw Lani Misalucha in concert at the River Rock Casino in Vancouver. Totally astounded with her talent, he was inspired to start creating an all-new stage musical, with Lani Misalucha in mind, as the headliner. “She’s just amazing! A real world-class talent!” he exclaims. “The production company I work with is in touch with her people already, and we’re preparing a proposal. What’s the musical about? I can’t talk about it yet, but rest assured it will be as awesome and as exciting as Tina,” he added.

Almost 10 years after moving to Canada, with some career setbacks, personal sadness and missed opportunities, Leandro, at 31, finally feels he is at a good place in his life, and is raring to come back to the Philippines to share his creation to his fellow Filipinos, and maybe given the opportunity, to be able to see his screenplays come to life on the movie screen.


http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/feb/11/yehey/weekend/20070211week3.html