The El Bimbo Variations

by Adam David

To write ninety-nine versions of a single line sounds like the idle boast of a literary geek in response to a drunken dare. Though endearing in its brain-over-brawn daredevilry, it smacks of absurdity, the chances of its successful execution slim. Up the ante—pick a line from a well-known and well-loved song, one that hardly needs rewriting to begin with—and the stage is set for the author of the boast to lose the bet, ending up naked, injured, or broke instead. Unless, that is, the literary geek in question is Adam David, who, in writing The El Bimbo Variations, turns what might be dismissed as a harebrained idea into a hilarious, thought-provoking read. --from the introduction by Conchitina Cruz

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction

134 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2010

Reviews

[K.D. Absolutely · Rating 4 out of 5]

#BuwanNgMgaAkdangPinoy
Aklat #30: THE EL BIMBO VARIATIONS by Adam David
(The Youth & Beauty Brigade, 2016)

The first time I saw Adam David was during the BLTX (Better Living Through Xeroxgraphy) at the Lopez Museum in December 2013. We were selling pre-loved books for Typhoon Yolanda (Hainan) victims. Adam David, the organizer of the event, approached our table and picked, among the many other books, my copy of Milorad Pavic's "Dictionary of the Khazars." He knew what he was buying because he asked me its gender. From then on, I look at him with high esteem.

I've been hearing about "The El Bimbo Variations" since when it first came out online in 2008 (Thank you, Goodreads!) but since my Kindle and Nook friends were first into this, I said I would just wait for its printed version. Not sure why I missed the earlier releases in book form, but when I saw this fourth (and probably last according to David), I decided to get five copies (one copy for each version I missed!).

This book is a strangely beautiful reading experience. First, I read the poems in normal way. The 29 retellings of the first two lines of Eraserheads' 1995 hit song, "Ang Huling El Bimbo." Those two lines are:

"Kamukha mo si Paraluman
Nung tayo ay bata pa."

I had to stop and admire the variations (poems and photos) but on page 54, I laughed out loud. On the next page, it got me thinking so I stopped laughing. Then right on the next page (p. 56), was a one liner and it got me laughing out loud again! It was good that all the people in our house were still asleep. Then I stopped because I had to go to the office and work.

Then before retiring last night, I continued reading. I must admit that there were pages (what is lipogram? univocalism? tautogram? homovocalism? etc) that bored me and so I thought that this book could be a waste of my money and time. [I normally read on bed and reaching out for a dictionary is a nuisance. Yes, I know, I should buy me a Kindle.] Then I began thinking that probably "The Dictionary of the Khazars" incident was an accident.

Then came the "Notes on These Pages." I had to use three fingers: first on the table of contents, second to reread the poems and third to read the notes. It was not only a good exercise for my arthritic finger joints but more importantly for my brain. I could relate to some of them like Getrude Stein's repeating rose like in "A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose" as I've read the novel that she dedicated to her girlfriend, Alice. I was surprised too that there is Joe Brainard's "I remember" when I thought that he is an unknown to many Filipinos. [I should probably start searching for a different set of bookish friends]. Then of course, who would not know Jose Garcia Villa, one of the National Artist of the Philippines for Literature. Reading and analyzing his poems was part of our college subject on Philippine Literature in English.

Undoubtedly, Adam David is not only well-read. He is not only a good stylist writer. He is definitely a genius.

Thank you, Sir Adam, for this clever book. I just learned so much that I want to go to Kamias and buy you a cup of coffee as gratitude for your brilliance. Keep on writing, please.

Wonderful. What a way to cap the #BuwanNgMgaAkdangPinoy !

#BuwanNgWikangFilipino (taglish po ito)
#PinoyReadsPinoyBooks

[Aldrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raymond Queneau's “Exercises in Style” has been translated to numerous languages, not including, not surprisingly, Filipino. But not to worry: Adam David proudly presents “The El Bimbo Variations,” the closest thing—probably the only thing—Philippine literature has to a local version of Queneau’s masterpiece of verbal smithing. In it David subjects the famous first line of the Eraserheads song “Ang Huling El Bimbo” (“Kamukha mo si Paraluman nung tayo ay bata pa.”) to different sorts of formal treatments. Often he takes his cue from the work his literary forebear put in “Exercises in Style,” but he also includes new forms and techniques of playful textual manipulation interspersed with ingenious graphic material made in collaboration with illustrator Josel Nicolas and inspired by Matt Madden's own tribute to Queneau, the graphic novel “99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style.” Finding a more entertaining collection of renditions of a single line from a song will likely be an exercise in futility.

[Shin · Rating 4 out of 5]

fashioned after #RaymondQueneau's Exercises in Style among other experiments in the literary form, #TheElBimboVariations are formal and thematic reconstructions of the Eraserheads song's iconic first two lines. different writing styles both Western canonical and local are demonstrated.

i actually liked this so much more than Queneau's and not necessarily for its cultural relatability or humor (which I don't think i personally connected with). all the texts are composed with much thought. #AdamDavid's intelligence shines through.

[Edd Valdez · Rating 5 out of 5]

For no apparent reason, I'd like to hypothesize this book will be awesome to read while getting stoned with friends.

[Viel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Discovered this after being nostalgic for Eraserheads songs, fueled by having just watched The Reunion, a movie filled EHead songs produced by Star Cinema. Undoubtedly my most loved EHeads song is Ang Huling El Bimbo - from the first line "Kamuhka mo si Paraluman, nung tayo'y bata pa."

This is the line that author Adam David chooses to base his variations, a literary gem of different perspectives and styles. Amongst my favorites were Reductive, Doubtful, Different Generation, SpecFic, and Tabloid News Clipping.

[Kristine Muslim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know what this is -- a mishmash of lyrics, impressions, dream fragments, quirky one-liners, social propaganda, comics, witticisms, etc. -- but I'm liking it in a way I've never liked a book before. This eclectic collection is not for everybody and is highly esoteric (you have to know a local band called Eraserheads to appreciate it).

[june · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[renzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

at first i was like.. what the hell is this
this is genius so much creativity went into this

best enjoyed if you have an unhealthy amount of eraserheads scrobbles

[Meeko · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t know what I expected when I opened this book but it wasn’t this. This is creatively well-put. It’s impressive and brilliant and funny at times. I really enjoyed going through it and I’m still in awe of how it is put together. I mean, it’s a crazy idea and really mind-blowing compiling and thinking about possible variations of a single popular line in an OPM song but Adam David pulled it off, exceeding whatever expectations you’ll have in reading this. Wow.

[ps.stillreading · Rating 5 out of 5]

The El Bimbo Variations is a collection of poetry variations of the line “Kamukha mo si Paraluman nung tayo ay bata pa” using the creative constraints from The Oulipo Compendium. Filipinos will be familiar with the song “Ang Huling El Bimbo” and this line in particular, which made reading The El Bimbo Variations so fun to read. Dude I read the entire collection in one sitting. Then I read it all again the next day. That’s how much I loved it.

[Eunice Helera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading the 2016 edition again while waiting for its latest print edition to be released this month (March 2022). I haven't read any other Filipino works that have tried to work on variations like David. I equally enjoyed this, just like Raymond Queneau's Exercises in Style (1947). 


"*Sigh*"

- David, Adam. “Sound Effects.” The El Bimbo Variations, 2nd ed., 2016, p. 87.

[Jessa Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

GOOD BYE SELF-ESTEEM

[Jed Tamboon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was thinking of Queneau for some reason this morning so I decided to reread this.

[Ti · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's been a while since i read something literary and i thoroughly enjoyed! one of my favorites for sure.

[K Bulseco Yenogacio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Required reading for our FILI subject! Very fun read!

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

andaming funny bits! hahahaha nakakaloka 'yung patience ni AD for this ha

[PATRICK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Artistic! Creative! Funny! Divine! Crazy! Masterful! Just a great book about how you take a single lyric and create an explosion of definitions and meaning to it. Gooped and gagged.

[ebag · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Cow-moo come-on:
"See? Farrah loom 'n junta you, eye-butt tapper!" - Homophony

Oh this was an absolute treat.

[Zymon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was introduced to this book by one of my editors at the campus paper I was a staff of back in college. My editor uploaded a copy of it to our group on Facebook out of sincerity, to help us fend off any sense of trepidation that we might have been facing at the time as writers. Suffice to say: I bore witness to the various editions of this book. I bore witness to the changes, to the additions that have appeared up to this new edition under Paper Trail Projects.

I consider this as Adam David’s ambitious literary exercise. He was eager in interepreting a single yet popular line from an equally popular song by the Filipino band Eraserheads, and that eagerness translated fruitfully. He uses, manipulates both the printed text and images to spew more than a hundred variations of “Kamukha mo si Paraluman noong tayo ay bata pa.” Through this undertaking, he showcases his talent, his knowledge of established yet unfamiliar concepts that govern writing, and his wit. The El Bimbo Variations is a challenging book to finish, but he was clearly up to the challenge to stretch his creativity and imagination, and to entertain as well as inspire writers to rise above the literary and structural restraints in order to emphasize the “creative” in creative writing.

[Zanela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever, witty, and so, so fun. Ginawan namin ng pastiche ‘to dati tas ginamit namin yung Stupid Love ni Salbakuta (Nang mainlab ako sayo kala ko pag-ibig mo ay tunay).

Dante Alighieri

She brought upon me too little Lies,
With the truth that from my ideas came,
That I the hope relinquished for her Love.

Lipogram on “Salbakuta”

Glorified indecency of innocence: when evil live.
I, Condemn greed.

The Room (gawa ni Migs!)

She did not love me! It’s not true! It’s bull—! She did not love me! She did not! Oh, hi Mark

Python (gawa ni Marco)

reallove = input("Totoo ba pag-ibig niya? Oo o Hindi")
if reallove = Oo
sys.exit(‘reallove’)
else
print("Stupid love!”)

Lover, POV (Daphne’s!)

Kala mo noh?

Homovocalism

“Hala hija, ako ano…”
“Alam ko. Api!”
“Libo na! Lupa!”

143 na ganto ginawa namin (gets? Kasi 1-4-3 haha). Masyado kaming natuwa. Hahaha. Kamiss.

[Warlou Joyce Antonio · Rating 3 out of 5]

The El Bimbo Variations is a response to a challenge: write 99 versions of a single line, in this case, the lyrics of a famous Eraserheads song, “kamukha mo si Paraluman nung tayo ay bata pa.” What the author gives us is a collection made up of funny lines, lyrical verses, and even obscure references that had me reaching for my phone.

There were parts that made me laugh out loud. No question on how clever this book is. However, I personally thought that some portions felt contrived or less effective that’s why I didn’t give it the full 5 stars.

Mad props to the author, though. Daring attempt, good execution. I can only imagine the creative demand involved in this writing exercise.

Also, I love the cover of the new edition. My shelves are happy with the addition.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

First time writing a review about a poetry book.

I did not know poetry can be this chaotic yet one can feel a sense of calm, serenity. The Song, Ang Huling El Bimbo, or I guess the entirety of Cutterpillow, has me on a chokehold, recently, and continues to do so as Adam David, the genius Adam David, entangles me with his witty, comical, and alluring prose in this collection; albeit coming from a single line from the aforementioned song.

Hays. Isang upuan kong natapos, papangalawa naman bukas, papababa lang ng kalangisan sa librong 'to.

[elsewhere · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. Impressive.