Fiesta – Paranaque’s Moro-Moro - 5

God gave man imagination to compensate for what he is not and a sense of humour to make-up for what he is. This is patent in the moro-moro where plain fields playing prince and princesses create an illusion while clowns assert the reality. Moro-moro clowns are offshoots of the medieval jesters or fools. The best of them have two attributes; a physical deformity of peculiarity and wit. Their buffoonery consists mainly of drawing miniature swords from outsized sheaths and fighting with other clowns with their teeny or half swords. But they are the only ones in the entire cast that are permitted to ad lib.

They have the rare privilege of ridiculing the regal members of the cast and exposing the prominent people in the audience, making impropriety the source of their wit. Most clowns succeed only in manifesting their vulgar mentality.. But some are gifted and perform in the best comic tradition, using humour to present truth inebriated. If there is anything that the clowns prove, it is that man transcends the worst that can happen to him. On this score, they uphold the dignity of man. All Filipino comedians, in vaudeville, night clubs, movies, radio and television, descended from the moro-moro clown.

It was the fantasy world of the moro-moro that appealed to the Filipino. The Spaniards presented plays about the highlights of the Moro was in the Philippines, the last being La Conquista de Jolo in 1865. The Tagalogs never associated the Mindanao and Sulu Muslims with the moro-moro. They kept its mythical content. Local touches are the kumintang and arnis, the Tagalog war dance and martial arts. The last thing they wanted the moro-moro to be was true-to-life. The down-trodden don’t go to the theater to see more of life’s problems, but to escape from them. The moro-moro declined when the Filipino evolved to a political animal.

The comedia is part of the Filipino’s collective unconscious. Theater requires three things: an appropriate play, competent actors and an appreciative audience, with each giving something. This means participation, dedication and cooperation. Suffice it to any that Plorante at Laura, the greatest Tagalog literary masterpiece, is a moro-moro.