Good bye Paquito

Villains get all the best line-Roger Moore

So, Paquito Diaz is gone. Why do I feel sad?

I am not sad like I lost a relative or something. Its the sadness one gets from looking at an old wooden school building being torn down. Its the sadness of losing a rustic farm. Its the sadness of losing an old tree that has been there since I could remember, then waking up in the morning finding the tree felled. Its a sadness that one gets from losing a part of his life that is not really a part of his life. Its the sadness of losing a memory.

I never liked Paquito Diaz. As far back as I could remember, together with the late Romy Diaz and Joaquin Fajardo aka "Buwaya," he was baddest person I knew. I never liked the guy. He was evil incarnate. Growing up watching the movie of Fernando Poe, Rudy Fernandez, Lito Lapid, etc. as a boy, I always saw him beating the hero, raping many women, burning houses etc. He was a bully, a gangster, a murderer, a gambler, and of course a rapist. Of course as child, the line dividing reality and movies is not well defined. His effect on the screen was so convincing, rumor has it that when an FPJ movie was being played in the province, an audience toting a gun stood up and shot him in the movie screen. I don't know if this is true, but who knows?

Now, he is gone. I can't remember any title of the movie he played villain in. I can't even remember any name of the characters he played. But I do remember one thing, if its a bad guy, it has to be Paquito Diaz. He was the definition of the role. He was the epitome of the villain which without him, there would be no to guru for the new villains to learn from. He was the classic. His roles were so forgettable yet his acting was so unforgettable.

He was also a good comedian. I have seen him together with Eddie Garcia playing a Kompare of Eddie, and he was hilarious.

I don't know how many of FPJ's gang is still alive. But as one of FPJ's people are disappearing, so is an era in the movie history of the Philippines.

I hope old movies are being preserved so that the younger generation can appreciate the acting of the pioneers in the Philippines movies.

Good bye Paquito.