Claire Agbayani-Isidro

In his funky new cafe, poet-filmmaker-musician Khavn De La Cruz encourages patrons to express and explore themselves.

The first chapter of Genesis, the first book in the Old Testament, chronicles how "God created the heavens and the earth." From day one, He created everything we might need: light and darkness, day and night, the sun, moon, and stars, land, sea and sky, creatures big and small, trees, plants, fruits --- and man and woman. And in the end, "He saw how good it was."

For 23-year old Khavn De La Cruz, poet, filmmaker, and musician, and of late, cafe owner, it is the artist's foremost duty to create. "Create until you drop. Just express whoever you are, and in whatever form you'd like such creation to take," Khavn says.

And when it comes to creation, as far as Khavn is concerned, "Walang baduy. Walang OA. Walang malalim. Walang mababaw. Walang pangit. Walang maganda."

Khavn knows whereof he speaks. Sometime last year, he did "Alaala Ng Madaling-Araw" [Memory Of Dawn], a video documenting what no one else ever thinks of doing: He shot his mother doing the dishes, and his sister playing with her baby in bed. One who expects a story --- a denouement even --- would probably get impatient, but it is precisely this domestic situation we're all so familiar with and therefore, take for granted, that made him win the Bronze Award for the 19th Tokyo Video Festival '97, an international video contest for amateurs and professionals. And to think that on local shores this same entry ws snubbed.

"Larombata" [Childsplay], a set of poems he submitted to the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, lost in 1995, but won second place two years later, and was interpreted by Joel Torre during the awarding ceremonies at the Rigodon Ballroom of the Peninsula Manila Hotel. Khavn wasn't fazed by his initial defeat. Deep in his heart, "I felt it was worthy of a prize." And so it was.

He writes songs too. While he didn't make it to the Top 12 in the Metropop Song Festival, he landed in the short list, or Top 25. Amusingly enough, and as if to taunt the judges who didn't make him win, the song is titled "E 'No Ngayon" [So What].

"The duty of the artist is to get his creative work down --- or it will never be. It will never exist," Khavn states.

He advises the artist thus: "If you have an idea, just do it. It is not your role to judge. Your role is to create."

And while some of us can only dream of putting up a cafe, Khavn has done just that. Late last month, he opened Oracafe (at 21 Kamias Road in Quezon City). In Khavn's own words, "Oracafe is a restaurant, piano bar, theater, folk house, concert and dance hall, art gallery, coffee shop, library, movie house, and oracle center all rolled into one."

In a flyer he gave out, Khavn wrote "All practising artists (and shadow artists) or anybody else who would like to contribute their talents for the sake of art are invited to express and explore themselves by sharing their gifts at this one-of-a-kind rendezvous."

To date, a lot of young people you'd normally see in a place like, say, Strumm's, Conservatory, or Cafe Caribana come by anytime before midnight. Musicians who have gigs in nearby '70s Bistro and Freedom Bar (and those performing as far as Mayric's in Espana, or even bars in Makati) find solace in the company and spirits at Oracafe long after midnight. A UP professor, who shall remain unnamed, actually left at 9am, the following day.

Khavn, who handles entertainment for the cafe, makes it a point that all artists have a particular night just for them. For instance, Mondays are for poetry readings; Tuesdays, short films; Wednesdays, stand-up comedy; Thursdays, dance; Fridays, theater; and Saturdays for performance art. Every night is open for all genres of music --- whether classical, jazz, rock, and everything else in between.

Another major come-on --- at least as far as the ground floor is concerned --- is the manghuhula [fortune teller]. (I tried it, and ended up in the oracle room for two hours!)

Khavn velieves it is important for everyone to have a mentor of sorts --- someone to recognize your skill and encourage you --- as in, "You can do it." For Khavn, it was a teacher at the Ateneo De Manila University, where he majored in Interdisciplinary Studies, who complimented his "flair for words" when the class was asked to do an exercise: "comparing the writing of a poem to flying a kite." <"sa paglipad ng tula" [on flying a poem]>

It was published in "Heights", the literary journal of Ateneo College, although Khavn had earlier on represented the Ateneo High School in an on-the-spot poetry contest. "I believe in the power of the first draft," Khavn declares. Thus whatever he writes, "That's it."

For a while, Khavn was deep into sports. In grade school, he was into cycling. At some point, he was the youngest member of the Philippine Darts Council, and was with the varsity table tennis and swimming teams in high school.

It was not until freshman highschool that he took a serious interest in music, taking lessons in piano, classical guitar and drums, and doing some self-study on instruments such as the recorder flute, percussion, and the trumpet.

At the cafe's "Rock Stars Read Their Poetry" series of readings (exclusively by musicians), he has invariably read, sang, and played the accordion and synthesizer.

To date, Khavn's work has crossed into the mainstream. "You Love Me", a song he wrote, composed, and played on the piano, was included as the first cut in Cacai Velasquez's debut CD. He is also negotiating with an international recording company for a contract.

Sometime last year, he did the music and libretto with Zosimo Quibilan of "2Bayani", a rock musical on Andres Bonifacio which was staged at Ateneo, Central Luzon State University, and the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Indeed, everything's coming up roses for this artist who is barely 23 summers young. But then, this go-getter knows what he wants. he believes that "It is important to see what is in front of you." And he sure sees far, far ahead.

Sunday Inquirer Magazine
January 4, 1998

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