FAMOUS AND RICH

By Arnel Mirasol

Cover art, acrylic on paper, 1998, Tisa Roxas-Tan collection

The book The Brothers Wu and the Good-Luck Eel (above) is very special to me. Aside from winning a slew of awards both here and abroad, it also afforded me the chance to have a fleeting taste of the good life that is an everyday thing for the rich. Reni Roxas hosted two publisher's lunches - first at the Manila Polo Club and then at the Krocodile Grille - to promote the books about to be launched by Tahanan. That was for free, of course. And I - who was born and raised in Tondo, and who once considered eating out at the Wah Sun Restaurant (below left) in Sta. Cruz, Manila,  as the epitome of fine dining, - imagined that I have just climbed up a rung or two on the social ladder.

Domesticated wild pigs posted near the doorway of the Sun Wah Restaurant

The book launch and book signing was again held at the Manila Polo Club, that "watering hole" of the old rich in Forbes Park. I managed to sell there 13 of the 15 illustrations I did for the book. Among the illustrious persons who bought several pieces were Marixi Rufino-Prieto, Chairman of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, and husband Alex (below right). They bought three.

Me signing a copy of the book  for Marixi and Alex

Myself with my sons Kai and Bahgee

Marixi later on added to her collection of my works my illustration Snow White and Rose Red. It was the first time I sold that many artworks. I felt triumphant. So, I went home that night feeling already famous and rich. Just a fleeting sensation of course. Because money, like time, really flies away fast.

China Harbor, acrylic on paper, 1998, Marc Singer collection

The Duck Farm, acrylic on paper, 1998, Tisa Roxas-Tan collection

Thank You Eels, acrylic on paper, 1998, private collection

The author, Fran Ng, won First Prize in the Short Story for Children category in the 1998 Palanca Awards for this story, while the supposed excellence of my illustrations (below) landed me in the 2002 Honour List of the International Board on Books for Young People in Basel, Switzerland. "The Brothers Wu and the Good-Luck Eel" also won the 2000 National Book Award for Children's Literature.