Meeting Someone I Got Seriously Attached With In A Second Run Movie Theater in Sta Cruz, Manila

My first book is now available in hardcover, paperback, e-book formats from my online store, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Xlibris.com, Powell's Books, and other online stores.
Having been away from the Philippines for over 6 years now, I don't know if this particular movie theater still exists somewhere in Manila as of this writing. It's standing right in front of this well known old restaurant called 'Ambos Mundos' in Sta Cruz, Manila, which I believe is along an old street called Oroquieta that runs parallel to Rizal Avenue where the LRT passes by before it crosses over the Pasig Rvier. Based on the details I would notice inside, the movie theater must have been one of the best looking theatres on its heydays but it has been in its rundown state by the time I discovered it in one of my innumerable sojourns in Manila and had since then started watching so many Tagalog movies inside, which were billed as double so you get to watch 2 movies at a price of one. Not a bad deal for someone with so little spare money for entertainment, and the deal becomes better as you get the chance to cruise around and play with fellows who may get attracted to you or those you would find interesting and attractive. Couples would make it while seated, or even in the bathroom. In the darkness inside the theater that was just lighted by the shadows cast off by the huge and already dust-covered screen, I saw all imaginable positions being performed by those who willingly played before my eyes; I remember seeing straight couples as well every now and then. And I also knew some families, most probably those of the workers in the theatre, live in one or two of the small rooms built-in into the theater.

This is not the same theater many of us regular patrons would call 'Perlas' or the Tagalog translation of the word 'pearl,' which was grittier and easier to find as the building stands on the main road, Rizal Avenue. This is another  of those run down theatres where I would see more flagrant and more shocking activities done among men who would get together to enjoy and have fun in each other's lovingly extended arms and playful hands.

Why I remember this theater, despite its physical ugliness, is mainly because of the many encounters I had here with different men who would seek out the company of other men to relieve whatever ails them sexually or probably emotionally. And one time, I met someone here who would become a lover for some time, and whom I would meet many years after in a different run-down movie theater in another part of Sta Cruz, Manila, but had since then been looking disheveled, older, and with one or two of his front teeth gone and not yet replaced. He would still recognize me but I would barely recognize him, which was unusual of me as I would always remember those who have been involved with me, one way or another. I heard his voice as he approached me while I was seated on the bench with faux leather in the dirty lobby of the balcony of that other theater.

We met in the first theater where I remember seeing him in his tucked-in shirt in denim pants and looking neat, cute and sexy. He's small in stature but you'd notice right away his bright, almond shaped eyes with long lashes and lips covered with light mustache. I never realized how hairy he was until we were together in a room that we hired for our first intimate encounter. We didn't stay much longer in the theater as soon as we met each other as the place was scalding hot and a lot of people were milling around us, probably hoping they could play with us, too.

I was soon penetrating him, which I continued as I stood over the bed and walked around the room, with him in his position where his legs were wrapped around my buttocks. I continued thrusting. And we continued kissing so longingly and warmly. Those were memorable kisses.

Afterwhich event, we hastily moved out of that rented space, which was around 3 blocks away from the theater. It's another very cheap looking motel, which the owners make money from, largely by renting the dirty looking rooms to people like us who need to keep what is left of our privacy while we're engaged in intimate acts we normally can't show to others. We would walk to Quezon Boulevard in Quiapo, the neighborhood next to Sta Cruz, where we took a jeep going to the Welcome Rotunda that stands along the border of Quezon City and Manila. I encouraged him to have a very tasty meat-based meal in a favorite foodstand where jeepney and taxi drivers would quickly have their meals. I totally enjoyed it, myself, as I had in the many previous times I was there.

The next time we were talking on the phone, he said he had a bad stomach from having that meal; I promised not to bring him there anymore. A few days after, he had to go back to the Middle East where he was then working. He would tell me of the many times that he almost got raped by Middle Eastern men who thought Filipino men are actually women in men's clothes. He came back again after a few months and we would meet and get to know each other better and become closer to each other's hearts. Soon, we became lovers and we would send each other snail mail for at least two or three years.

And he would proceed to marry a woman with whom during his honeymoon period, he would be calling me on the phone long distance. I wanted him to enjoy his honeymoon. And I couldn't believe it that he'd call me while being with his new bride. Another friend would tease me when I told him about it---it meant I was the one in mind of this fellow all along even if he was already married. I didn't really understand nor appreciate the meaning, for whatever reason it was that motivated him to call me while he's on his honeymoon.

His family, particularly his ageing mother, was happy to see him getting married. I know I heard from him one time that his mom knew about his previous long term relationship with someone who was a college teacher in one of the public universities along Taft Avenue, near the City Hall. But for some reason, they parted ways after some time. I would become his next long term lover, and we shared memories, mostly of the sexual variety to my recollection. I also knew that he contacted my Mom while they were both working in Saudi Arabia; my Mom was curious who he was in my life. I won't be able to explain myself to her, I would recall. How do you explain to your Mom that the one who called her from nowhere in a strange, middle eastern country, was actually her son's current lover (and who could have been her son-in-law if marriages among those of the same sex had been legal in the Philippines).

But he's a warm, loving in his own ways, thoughtful, sweet person who taught himself to love someone like me who's adventurous, bullheaded, arrogant, and temperamental. I was still in the process of discovering myself along these encounters. Those intimate encounters we had were tempestuous yet we complemented each other's bodies; he's among those few I met who I deeply really cared about and actually enjoyed having me inside of him. Being abroad and most probably lonely most times, he's the one who would often write me handwritten letters with his latest photos attached, some of which had been very revealing. I would imagine him making it up with a lot of lusty-looking Middle Eastern men, but I didn't have the gall to ask and confront him about the truth being previewed in my youthful and jealousy-wrought imagination. I just didn't know how to cope with the long distance relationship then in place between us, and we were then both young, goodlooking and proud, which probably gave us so many other opportunities to date and hang-out with other people in and out our respective networks. 

Somehow, his marriage floundered. His wife would be the one to stay and work in the Middle East. He would soon be tasked to take care of their son, so he stayed in the Philippines. Domestic issues in their marriage crept in. I saw the toll on his face. But he then had a new lover and they even brought me to the place where they live. It's in the middle of a squatters community somewhere in Manila. A lot of the houses are in concrete, and they show the growing affluence of their owners who have relatives abroad who would send money back to the Philippines and gradually improve their respective economic standing in the local neighborhood. They've got very similar narratives with other families I know personally. But in contrast, my friend and his lover live in a very humble, pock-marked house where they would work together to build a cooked food retailing business, sold on cash basis. Somehow, the earnings had been sustaining them, it seemed to me as I continued observing their situation as we got drunk and shared merriment among ourselves.

Nowadays, I would see him on Facebook often. His memory has been etched in my mind now, most particularly the time when he showed up in the funeral of my late father, whom he knew personally. I was then already involved seriously with another partner. I think I managed to introduce them together. I just don't know what my partner then was thinking after the introduction I made. I guess, I could not guess that correctly anymore. 

I'm Wondering If Cruising Still Takes Place in those Baguio City Cinemas

My first book is now available, in hardcover,  paperback, e-book formats from my online store, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Xlibris.com, Powell's Books, and other online stores. 
Years ago, I made a trip to Baguio City from where I used to live in Quezon City. Alone, I found myself checking out and researching on the cruising scene inside Baguio City's moviehouses. I started my cruise in a theatre on Session Road, where I went one time in a previous trip on my birthday to watch and weep over 'Good Will Hunting.' Finding nothing was happening there, I decided to check out and move to some other place. Actually, these movie houses are really cheap places offering 2 movies at the ticket price of one and where you can while your time away before going to your real, official destination in this city known as the 'Summer Capital of the Philippines.' Inside the theater, I noticed people would actually watch the movies being shown on screen. I was actively cruising inside one of those theaters whose name eludes me now; I heard about it from another good friend who already passed away at least 2 years ago as of this writing.

This movie theatre wasn't along Burnham Park, and if my memory serves me right, it's located somewhere near the Baguio Public Market. Getting a ticket for a seat in the balcony section, I would notice that the seats were all made of wood. The floor was also wooden and I realized that the whole place is made up of wood, except for its roof. I would soon find myself inside one of the bathroom stalls in the male bathroom (called 'CR,' as in 'comfort room' in Philippine local parlance). I would notice other guys staying longer than necessary in the urinals where they happened to be waiting for something more to happen. I positioned myself and would soon be exchanging meaningful glances with a light skinned, chink-y eyed youthful looking fellow with rosy cheeks. His medium built has made me think that he could be descended from among the local tribes. And he behaved like he knew what he wanted. After paying attention to each other, we would soon move inside one of the stalls and were talking to each other.

We agreed to move out of the smelly bathroom as soon as he agreed to join me in my rented room in a pre-war hotel, reputably haunted by ghosts as claimed by its customers, and built along the highway that I believe leads to the SM Baguio Shopping Mall. In my room, we were soon kissing, hugging, exploring each other's bodies. My good friend, who also told me about that theater where I met my companion right that moment, reminded me also of how he dislikes guys from the Mountain Provinces. Now, I would understand why. This guy's legs were speckled with scars from then healed small wounds; I suspect it's from certain unhygienic practices. They look clean from the outside as they're noticeably light-skinned (at least those whom I've dealt with). But I just kept my eyes closed and used my imagination more extensively to enjoy his company.

We would both come and would learn more about each other. As this experience happened so many years ago, I barely remember anything about the fellow, except that I was certain he was goodlooking and with a nice, bright smile. I was elated to have made it with him but I was troubled by the scars he had on his legs, which I didn't really have the heart to mention to him. Of course, he knew about them. I made sure I got into the shower as soon as we were done. I allowed the heat of the water to wash away whatever dirt I felt I got from him.

And I would remember we had a nice dinner together in one of those restaurants along Session Road. What happened between him and myself was not considered a commercial transaction, of which I was grateful. I won't still be able to remember more about him. I would say I enjoyed his company, and I think we exchanged contact numbers. I would never know if we actually contacted each other again. But I've grown more aware of the sexuality of men who are from Baguio City and the nearby communities.

I know from experience that men from the region are generally aware and open to the concept of men having sex with other men. They're among the sexiest fellows I've seen, especially when they're outfitted in their traditional garb that covers only their groin but has their butt cheeks exposed. I don't really care about their moral opinions about these behaviors. I would recall a news report about a man who filed a case against another man who sodomized him while both of them were drunk; I would never know whatever happened to that case. And I'm just aware, much more than I would even dare to share here, that men up there engage in intimate acts with other men. It's not only those who are considered natives; I recall having made it in a bathroom stall in a famous restaurant in Baguio City with a scion of a well-to-do family who have large swaths of real estate properties in the city. The last time I heard about him was that he got married and moved to Canada. But I would soon learn he's been divorced and has since been living in with a man.

Encounter In a Second Rate Movie Theater In What Used to be BB in Valenzuela City, Bulacan, Philippines

My first book is now available, in hardcover,  paperback, e-book formats from my online store, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Xlibris.com, Powell's Books, and other online stores. 
I will always have a special fondness for the memory of someone I met one time in a second rate movie theater somewhere in Bulacan. It's a place called 'BB', which I believe stands for the expansive 'Beer Brewery' buildings of San Miguel Corporation in the area, and I recall the place was just a jeepney ride away from Monumento in Kalookan City. I don't remember who introduced me to the place, but I'll probably be able to do so if I continue remembering the faces of those friends I met many, many years ago.

The movie theater, which was mainly wooden in its structure and design on its exteriors, and complete with mostly wooden theatre seats, would have served the community theater at a much earlier time when people would still go in droves to theaters to watch the latest or at least the more newer big screen movies. It's a testament to the brave entrepreneurial efforts of business persons who had the resources, the sense of civics, and the desire to make money by meeting the needs of the community. But in time, it has become run-down, kept un-maintained in its now-(then)-cheap looking appearance, and people, mostly menfolk, would show up and watch second-rate movies making the rounds of the marketing aspects of the cinematic business network in the provinces. But BB wasn't really provincial in atmosphere as it's close to Kalookan city, one of the cities making up the National Capital Region. And the theater's reputation would unwittingly spread and be known to the city-living gay folks (unless I'm mistaken with what I've seen so far, lesbians have not been known in any way to do this kind of very public cruising inside theaters)  and their many varied supporters who always had to find means to relieve themselves of their urges and other physical needs but away from the curious behaviors of the members of the more regular crowds that continue to confound businesses and marketers. As such, the daring and brave would show up in the theater anytime from noontime to at least 10pm in the evenings of the whole week to watch movies as well as to get some pleasure, briefly or more longer in duration, by cruising.

By the time I have managed to show up in this theater in my early adolescent years, I would soon realize the theater's patrons have established implied rules and regulations while being in the theater. Men would be then walking most of the period while inside the theater. And men would wait for other men to sit next to them, open their fly and do what's expected between men who knew what they wanted and knew how to exactly get it with such temerity and shamelessness. You can cruise and be cruised around by other patrons, and it's really up to you if you like to join and have brief fun that lasts as soon as one comes literally and figuratively. I believe most would agree with other regular patrons that most of best daring public sexual live scenes between men (it's inside a movie theater where people would still gather) have taken place inside this theater, and such scenes have had been happening also in many similar theaters all over the Philippine archipelago. The director Brillante Mendoza's film 'Serbis' was able to catch and put on film some of those usual stuff that happen inside theaters like this one I've been describing here. But I know and would remember that not a lot of prostitution transactions happen in this theater---you don't really need to pay someone to work on you or for someone you'd like to work on. It's all out there for the grabbing and taking, using the tools you've learned as you were growing up and socializing with other people. If you're friendly enough, you'll always end up meeting with another one or more who are also friendly like yourself. I would learn and hear about  similar observations from other people I've met here in New York City where I am based now, and where the city still has a number of theaters where men would come and gather and have sex with those who attract them and those they find attractive.

In one of those encounters, I managed to be with one medium built light skinned fellow who was wearing shorts, eyeglasses, and some kind of a white undershirt. He could very well had been half Chinese but his eyes didn't show the typical slits in their edges. It's the appropriate outfit when you venture outside and come inside this kind of theater as it's hot, dark, and dingy when your eyes adjust to a different world covered by the theater walls. He appeared to look clean and neat to me, and still very young just like myself then, most probably in our early twenties. I remember he wore flipflops, and it's obvious he lives in the area. I would remember now that I would never encounter him again; if we did actually meet again in another time, he surely had evolved in looks into someone else I would most probably fail to recognize. But during that only encounter, he was one of the most pleasant, nerdy looking, youthful looking young man. We were soon chatting a bit, the details of which I won't be able to recollect now. Up in the balcony, everything is dark, except inside the two bathrooms that stand next to each other where lights are on and I remember the windows open to the scenes below including passersby, residents and visitors in that very commercial part of that small city. You could hear the cacophony of sounds being made by the tricycles moving to and fro their regular whereabouts in the streets of this city. While up in the theater, a lot of very strange and sexual events had been ongoing and taking place all day long.

With both of us still being youthful, we took chances to overcome whatever was bothering us and take chances with each other while others were actually cruising after us, even just for this only moment, which I believe won't even happen if I happened to meet him in the more regular events in our regular, respective lives. He led me to the ladies' bathroom, and inside, he made sure it was locked so we could do exactly what we wanted from and with each other.

I remember his eyeglasses getting wet from the profuse sweat his face would expire as we worked on each other's bodies longingly and most passionately as we could managed. We took turns putting each other's cocks in our respective mouths. By the time we were together inside that bathroom, we definitely knew what we wanted from each other, and there was no need to do more tutoring and get surprised about relatively newer sexual acts that our minds had been pondering on before going out to meet and fool around with other guys. I would remember the heat of those very moments: very hot, and I would probably was soon running a fever! I would hear some other guys trying to get themselves inside the bathroom and would be knocking as if they had to use it for their own private actions I rather not share here. Or they probably wanted to watch us engaged in those acts. In our private quarters during those brief moments, our tight hugs and pouring bodily sweats continued to be exchanged between ourselves, and I would soon feel relieved. I remember he was not circumcised, which is rather unusual for young men of that age. He's really sexy, I will have to add, though. And I had the time of my young life, then. And this particular encounter is probably one of the reasons why I kept on taking my chances by going there often in the hope that I would still see him again. I know he won't refuse me in case that would happen again---but such an opportunity never came again.

And I would be meeting other men of different ages and body builds in this same theater for the next few years that I had managed to be around in this area, in a city that would soon become part of the Philippine National Capital Region. I would be there once or twice on other non-sexual occasions because one of my good college classmates live there; she's already married and with a family and they're still in that city. I would often wonder if the theater has survived to this date the very fast rate of developments that would soon envelop and uncover in that city.