Mt. Cloud reaches its sonnet age

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – We remember 14 years ago when Padma and Fifi Perez were always inside one of the huge rooms at Casa Vallejo. It was empty then but slowly, the shelves were built and the sliding ladder was finally set into place. Padma and Martin Masadao placed an old typewriter and empty bottles of Irish whisky on the top. And the huge rice paper lanterns like moons were set in before the opening day.

Fourteen years later, I was in their new space in front of Brent Road. The lanterns, typewriters, and sliding ladder were still there. “Plus ça change, plus c’est la meme chose (The more things change, the more they stay the same),” as we would say in the south of France.

I was stuck in front during the Third Monday of the Sun while Hungry Cow and Danum.PH were serving hors’ oeuvres or bugnay wine which we call inabsolute kurrant somewhere.  

While the young poets were reading their poems, I thought of 14 reasons why Mt. Cloud will stay for a long while:

1. Poetry slams. I thought we started this about a decade ago. It was supposedly a pre-Valentine’s Day gimmick. I remember I attended a reproductive health event in Manila in the morning and was carrying hundreds of condoms as I arrived just in time when the slam event started. We were startled at the people who arrived to join the poetry slam and since then it has become a highlight for the cafe. We even had a Baguio vs. the rest of the country poetry slam event when the fellows of the UP Writer’s Workshop would word-joust with us. At first, the UP guys were lording it over but we were able to steal some thunder from them. Padma and Fifi must have amassed a lot of videos and should have a documentary in the next months.

2. We had a special ghost reading with Amnesty International where we read “real” ghost stories to remind people about the horrors of EJK. Dana Batnag, Chi Vallido, Diane Mendoza, Abbie SJ de Lara and I formed “Graveyard Shift” and we later partnered with the midnight photographers and artists of Manila on this. We hope we can make this a more regular Halloween feature. Monsters are still with us.

3. Third Monday of the Sun. Padma thought of having this (every third Monday of the month) as a way of “training” the young ones for the poetry slam. They would read their poems from their notebooks until they all were reading from their phones. Even during the pandemic, these young poets would meet through Zoom to keep the spoken word alive. On the 15th anniversary, Padma said they will gather the best readers for a reunion.

4. We had a ghost back in Casa Vallejo. This was even immortalized in the comic strip of Manix Abrera. This friendly ghost would drop the book meant for you. We knew it was a cat because of this propensity for dropping but Martin insisted it was a clumsy Spanish ghost or something. We didn’t know if the ghost followed Mt. Cloud to Brent.

5. Speaking of cats, you can now order coffee at Hot Cat located below the bookstore, and bring the brew back to the cloud while you peruse the books you got.  

6. The book recommendation package is back, Padma said. This popular feature, which was introduced in 2015, brings you to the “Mt Cloud Subscription Slumbook” where you are asked about the author you want to rap with, your favorite color, your favorite genre, and all that. Then give the clerks two weeks to find the book you or your giftee would love to read.

7. Tchotchkes! tchotchkes! (Okay, we wait while you Google for the meaning and pronunciation.) Mount Cloud has lots and lots of interesting and intriguing tchotchkes that Padma and Fifi have hunted from somewhere. Also, local artisans have been consigning them here.

8. They have the best bookmarks as well.

9. While writing this, I came from reading an article in the New Yorker. by cultural critic Louis Menand, which talks about how bookstores may not be the best place to store books like the Amazon warehouses. But the great thing about independent bookstores is that they build communities of readers.

“The chief rationale offered for brick-and-mortar bookstores today is that they are community-building spaces. That is how Friss describes the Three Lives bookstore—forgive me, shop—and it’s how almost all the store owners in “The Secret Lives” (and many of the librarians) explain what they do and why it gives them satisfaction,” Menand said.

“They are practitioners of bibliotherapy. They introduce people to books that will help them overcome grief or minister to confusions about life choices or personal identity.”

10. In the essay, Menand mentioned Walter Benjamin talking about the auratic enjoyment of fondling books. Never underestimate the feeling of holding a book and reading a passage. That is why Mt. Cloud discourages sealing books in plastic. If valuable books are in plastic, you can ask the clerks to open them.

11. Let’s talk about the Mt. Cloud clerks, past and present. I am friends with them and I am so proud of what they had become when they left the shop. Many are poets, songwriters, artists, and writers. And they all are proud to be Mt. Cloud alumni and what they have learned from the shop. They still recommend books to me, too.

12. The “Baguio book section” is the best, of course. Also the Martial Law section and the poetry section. They also love their Baguio writers. The book launches of these local writers are so well attended that you think they’re having a party like no other. Non-local authors love having their launches here because it brings them good luck in their sales and careers.

13. There are also special events like Nick Joaquin’s “May Day” reading on the night of April 30, which is like a panata for Gabe Mercado and Lissa Romero-de Guia. Also a Gay Pride night.

14. They are finally launching their own publishing house. First in the offing is an anthology on why we read. Wait for it on their website.  

– Rappler.com