This classic of Filipino literature by Bienvenido Santos is about an aging expatriate who feels cut off from his culture. After years of menial work in the United States, the protagonist has no remaining Filipino family and only one local, possibly terminally ill, Filipino friend. Rather naïvely, he decides to approach and offer to host to a group of visiting tinikling dancers. He is ignored, but makes an audio recording of their performance to remember them by. In the depressing denouement, he faces the grim reality of losing them all. Themes: nostalgia, connection with one’s roots, aging and death.
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