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Notes on Bakya and Other Essays
Jose F. Lacaba’s Notes on Bakya and Other Essays, says Rolando Tolentino, “brings us readers sixty years back to the core of Philippine pop culture, and beyond. Pete Lacaba … clearly paved the way for pop to pop in the mainstream… [He] continues his exemplary writing in the cultural sphere of pop in Notes on Bakya, mostly in the pre-martial law era with the stellar account of the inauguration of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, and beyond with his writing of the night Lino Brocka died, on the travails of becoming a scriptwriter, and on ceasing to be a poet in English. This book navigates the life, times, and mind of a writer at the peak of his long writing career.”
158 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2024
About the author
Jose F. Lacaba
17 books21 followersJose Maria Flores Lacaba, Jr., better known as Jose F. Lacaba and Pete Lacaba, is a Filipino poet, journalist, and screenwriter. He was conferred the Aruna Vasudev Lifetime Achievement Award for Writing on Cinema during 10th Osian's Cinefan Festival held in New Delhi, India on 11 July 2008.
He is currently[when?] the executive editor of Summit Media's YES! Magazine.
His screenplay credits include Jaguar, This Is My Country, Fight for Us, Sister Stella L., Eskapo, Segurista, and Rizal in Dapitan.
He is currently[when?] the executive editor of Summit Media's YES! Magazine.
His screenplay credits include Jaguar, This Is My Country, Fight for Us, Sister Stella L., Eskapo, Segurista, and Rizal in Dapitan.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 19, 2025
Notes on Bakya and Other Essays doesn’t feel its age. I didn’t even realize it was old until I read the initial publication dates in the endnotes. Most of the essays were written in the 70s (1968-1979), and when they were written, they were simply timely commentary on current events in the arts, making these essays literally old news. Yet while reading it, the text invigorated me with its own energy. What are basically revived archives have a surprising abundance of humor, while possessing a sharp eye and decisive assessments that came together to create a propulsion you’d think was from something freshly printed.
There are still time capsule qualities in the work. Lacaba’s descriptive writing gives us information that were mundane details at the time, but are now strong signposts of the era that we can directly compare our present to—the peso's inflation rate, now-faded celebrity personalities, lost gravity of the UP student council, blurry government agency mandate, the oddly persistent Filipino stereotypes about the rich and poor, and the shifting meanings of major Metro Manila places like Tomas Morato, Plaza Miranda, and the CCP.
And I think that it actually adds a lot to the written work, this hearty mentioning of interesting things that modern writers consider the half-life bits that can quickly date your work. Because to reckon with historical context in full, we imagine how the past was experienced as the present, and what better projection of the present is there than the highly-involved first-hand account. The presence of outdate details also highlights the details that are still around today, like the phrase 'english-spokening', the reputation of expensive school like Ateneo and Maryknoll, and Juan Ponce Enrile. So I really appreciated it in that way. That, and that this information was really fun to post on IG stories.
One reason Notes on Bakya and Other Essays feels quite perennial is that Lacaba’s rendering of culture, while yes specifically describing 70s Manila, feels very malleable. All his probing essays are a rhetorical-hat thrown into the discourse-ring. In more defined terms, Lacaba’s Notes on Bakya and Other Essays shows criticism as one part of ongoing conversations, and criticism’s own inherent value as something that develops culture.
Lacaba is plainly an amazing cultural critic. With his scathing film reviews in `Yun ‘Yon Eh!, to the namedropped directors in Notes in Bakya, Lacaba doesn’t pull his punches. Even today, uncompromising cultural commentators are a rare breed, with the “culture”/lifestyle space primarily occupied by rich kids who are more thrilled by the by-line than the act of writing.
Rather than a willingness to be mean, I find that Lacaba’s critiques are strong for their acuity. He is convincing. When levying sharp observations, Lacaba states his thesis without opt-outs, exemption or preamble, certain of their legitimacy because it is propped up on solidly written rationalizations. On one end, he has the scholarly familiarity with established cultural critics and concepts, and on the other, the appreciation of his life experiences and self-awareness of how it influences his views. He has the prudence to know when and how to present either one in his text. A writer who comments on culture must be able to wield the medium’s tools to their purpose, if they hope to be convincing.
Mastering technique is compulsory, while gaining a literary voice is a treasure. Pete Lacaba inexplicably has both. This voice makes the author feel present throughout all of his writing. Most of the time, it's in direct ways. His humor comes through in the witticisms, funny asides, and clever turns of phrase in many essays. The titles are such a riot. He wrote Ateneo like Arrneo. Entire sentences and phrases are added just for to give snap, bounce and whatever other kinetics of pace. Text in Lacaba’s hands is not perfunctory but a joy to conduct as itself.
When he is not being explicitly present in the text, he is still a huge part of the work as the hand that composes its overall arc, content and flow with exactness. The 14 essays enclosed here are a wide array of forms, ranging from the obvious ones—like the theoretical essay and the policy position papers—to the surprising ones—like the explanation on his artistic choices and the plain narrative essay of a legendary filmmaker’s last day. There’s a wide array of essay types here. The calling of the pieces is committed to, with a great success that displays a chameleonic command of tone.
Overall, there is a higher-order value in this book, wherein I found myself really appreciating culture as part of a national continuity, a living thing every Filipino can build off of, and be part of, when you devote yourself to the craft it demands. Although I think it’s also great to come to this collection for the simple treat of reading involving, creative, and high-quality writing. On that, Pete Lacaba delivers on, 100%, from front to back.
Here are what I consider must reads:
Final Thoughts
Readers of Notes of Bakya and Other Essays are treated to cultural commentary from a fully arrived writer. With a lively voice, a sharp eye, and a steady hand, Jose F. Lacaba teases out the deeper questions beneath the surface of artistic pieces, ideological trends and cultural attitudes of 1970s Manila. A sense of immediacy resounds from his active posture about culture which, along with the continued relevance of his concerns and observations, makes a book that pulls at the reader on multiple levels. Filipino cultural commentary has been in a slump era, and Lacaba shows off that critique is as crucial as it is artistic, as it is really fun.
__________________________________________
Initial impressions:
This is a Pete Lacaba. Why did I expect anything else but a 5. Full review to come
There are still time capsule qualities in the work. Lacaba’s descriptive writing gives us information that were mundane details at the time, but are now strong signposts of the era that we can directly compare our present to—the peso's inflation rate, now-faded celebrity personalities, lost gravity of the UP student council, blurry government agency mandate, the oddly persistent Filipino stereotypes about the rich and poor, and the shifting meanings of major Metro Manila places like Tomas Morato, Plaza Miranda, and the CCP.
And I think that it actually adds a lot to the written work, this hearty mentioning of interesting things that modern writers consider the half-life bits that can quickly date your work. Because to reckon with historical context in full, we imagine how the past was experienced as the present, and what better projection of the present is there than the highly-involved first-hand account. The presence of outdate details also highlights the details that are still around today, like the phrase 'english-spokening', the reputation of expensive school like Ateneo and Maryknoll, and Juan Ponce Enrile. So I really appreciated it in that way. That, and that this information was really fun to post on IG stories.
One reason Notes on Bakya and Other Essays feels quite perennial is that Lacaba’s rendering of culture, while yes specifically describing 70s Manila, feels very malleable. All his probing essays are a rhetorical-hat thrown into the discourse-ring. In more defined terms, Lacaba’s Notes on Bakya and Other Essays shows criticism as one part of ongoing conversations, and criticism’s own inherent value as something that develops culture.
Lacaba is plainly an amazing cultural critic. With his scathing film reviews in `Yun ‘Yon Eh!, to the namedropped directors in Notes in Bakya, Lacaba doesn’t pull his punches. Even today, uncompromising cultural commentators are a rare breed, with the “culture”/lifestyle space primarily occupied by rich kids who are more thrilled by the by-line than the act of writing.
Rather than a willingness to be mean, I find that Lacaba’s critiques are strong for their acuity. He is convincing. When levying sharp observations, Lacaba states his thesis without opt-outs, exemption or preamble, certain of their legitimacy because it is propped up on solidly written rationalizations. On one end, he has the scholarly familiarity with established cultural critics and concepts, and on the other, the appreciation of his life experiences and self-awareness of how it influences his views. He has the prudence to know when and how to present either one in his text. A writer who comments on culture must be able to wield the medium’s tools to their purpose, if they hope to be convincing.
Mastering technique is compulsory, while gaining a literary voice is a treasure. Pete Lacaba inexplicably has both. This voice makes the author feel present throughout all of his writing. Most of the time, it's in direct ways. His humor comes through in the witticisms, funny asides, and clever turns of phrase in many essays. The titles are such a riot. He wrote Ateneo like Arrneo. Entire sentences and phrases are added just for to give snap, bounce and whatever other kinetics of pace. Text in Lacaba’s hands is not perfunctory but a joy to conduct as itself.
When he is not being explicitly present in the text, he is still a huge part of the work as the hand that composes its overall arc, content and flow with exactness. The 14 essays enclosed here are a wide array of forms, ranging from the obvious ones—like the theoretical essay and the policy position papers—to the surprising ones—like the explanation on his artistic choices and the plain narrative essay of a legendary filmmaker’s last day. There’s a wide array of essay types here. The calling of the pieces is committed to, with a great success that displays a chameleonic command of tone.
Overall, there is a higher-order value in this book, wherein I found myself really appreciating culture as part of a national continuity, a living thing every Filipino can build off of, and be part of, when you devote yourself to the craft it demands. Although I think it’s also great to come to this collection for the simple treat of reading involving, creative, and high-quality writing. On that, Pete Lacaba delivers on, 100%, from front to back.
Here are what I consider must reads:
➤ Lino Brocka’s Last Shooting Day. Hour-by-hour narrative essay. Sketches the legendary film-maker in a vulnerable, tender light. The details of his last day speak for his character. Subtle, very deliberate way for thematic building.
➤ If It’s Wednesday, This Must Be the Cultural Center. Captures the political-battleground character of the CCP. Also feels like a small cross-section of the political players during the pre-Martial Law Marcos years. Great story-telling.
➤ Notes on Bakya + Movies, Critics and the Bakya Crowd + The New Sound: Burgis Goes Bakya. Triple feature of the titular concept. Biting commentary backed by a confidently said and strongly formed argument. Relevant till this day.
Final Thoughts
Readers of Notes of Bakya and Other Essays are treated to cultural commentary from a fully arrived writer. With a lively voice, a sharp eye, and a steady hand, Jose F. Lacaba teases out the deeper questions beneath the surface of artistic pieces, ideological trends and cultural attitudes of 1970s Manila. A sense of immediacy resounds from his active posture about culture which, along with the continued relevance of his concerns and observations, makes a book that pulls at the reader on multiple levels. Filipino cultural commentary has been in a slump era, and Lacaba shows off that critique is as crucial as it is artistic, as it is really fun.
__________________________________________
Initial impressions:
This is a Pete Lacaba. Why did I expect anything else but a 5. Full review to come
March 4, 2026
Giving this 5 stars for his Notes on Bakya. Just a masterclass in pop culture writing.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews