Nostalgia Bloggista: Wendell Capili

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Name: Wendell Capili
Blog: http://todaimitaka.blogspot.com

1. Where did you grow up, and what made that place special?
I grew up in Sampaloc, Manila. It is special because it is situated within Manila's university belt. Here, people come from all walks of life--the richest of the rich and the poorest of the poor, the middle class, city-bred folks and those who come from the regions. It is very gentrified. There are people in the streets 24 hours a day, public transportation is easy, basic commodities are easily accessible.

2. What was your favorite tv show, cartoon, or children's show growing up? What did you like about these shows that made them your favorite?
I grew up with Sesame Street and Electric Company, Justice League, Captain America, Superman, Aqua Man, Mightor, Moby Dick, Popeye, Mickey Mouse Club, Josie and The Pussycats, Wait till your father gets home, Scooby-Doo, Road Runner, Bugs Bunny, Batman (with Adam West), Wacky Races, and the Funky Phantom. This was going on from age 3-10. By age 11 or 12, they introduced the Japanese robots: Mazinger Z, Voltes V, Daimos and Mekanda Robot.

I liked the shows I mentioned because they challenged my imagination. I also learned new words and situations. I outgrew them later, but they enthralled me at the height of political upheavals around me during Martial Law.

3. Favorite music group or artist? Most memorable song?
As a kid, I liked Rupert Holmes' Terminal and Bread's Aubrey and If. The lyrics became sillier as i got older. But I still like the melody and the interpetation. I grew up with a lot of Original Pilipino Music (OPM)-- from Pilita Corrales to Pepe Smith, Basil Valdez, Rico Puno, Hajji Alejandro, Celeste Legaspi, Leah Navarro, Didith Reyes, Cinderella, Hotdog, Vst & Company, New Minstrels, Louie Reyes and Eugene Villaruz, Nanette Inventor & her group called FILIPINA (with Marian Saenz, Bambi Bonus and Babsie Molina) way up to the generation of Nonoy Zuniga, Gary Granada, Kuh Ledesma, Joey Albert and my elementary/HS school mate Jamie Rivera. I also studied music and listened to a lot of AM, FM and even short wave radio as a child so I was acquainted with classical music, jazz, R&B, american top 40 and world music at an early age. I loved too many songs. Too long to mention everything.

4. Share with our readers one of your fondest memories of growing up.
Watching the sunset at Manila Bay with my parents and siblings on Sundays when Luneta was cleaner and greener. Manila had less traffic then. The pollution level was even less. We had buses of international tourists roaming all over the city. We had more trees and Roxas Boulevard had rows of quality live entertainment.

5. What do you miss from back then that's not available today?
Streets were safer. Life was far more simple. Kids can play Patintero, Siyato, and other street games. Many kids today don't even know how to play these games.

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