Unless there’s already a book on it and we just totally missed out on that one — in which case, we apologize — we heave a deep sigh of finally: A book about the hardcore rivalry between Ateneo de Manila and De La Salle Universary.
Blue Babble Gang Green is RJ Ledesma’s 6th book and what he says is the second most personal book that he’s written (his most personal book is his collection of essays on marriage, I Do or I Die).
It’s a collection of eight essays from his long-standing column on The Philippine Star, “Pogi from a Parallel Universe.” We chat with RJ one Thursday evening about being a student in La Salle in the 90’s, his creative process, and how Ateneans and La Sallians are actually just two sides to one coin. Here are 9 things we learned from the Royal Tru Orange guy.
Jessica Zafra is a huge influence. He was in college when Twisted by Jessica came out and it really made a huge dent on him, RJ says. From that time on, it became something of a peg. “Whenever I write my column, I always ask: is it worthy enough to put into a book format?”
Think of his books as a director’s cut of his essays. All six books of his are compilations of his essays from his 10-year-old column on The Philippine Star, “Pogi from a Parallel Universe” that have been re-edited. “Of course my column has space constraints so the essays see a lot of editing. In the book, we don’t have those concerns, so we’re able to put out an essay according to how I originally intend it to be.”
Blue Babble Gang Green is late — sorry. Originally, RJ and his publisher, Anvil, intended to put out the book in Oct, right in time for the UAAP finals. “But none of the schools won! Buti na lang,” he laughs.
You don’t have to be from either school to enjoy it. “Because it’s really just about the passion and the intensity,” RJ says. In fact, the book is something of a study in human nature. “Diba, there’s the social identity theory that says when there’s a rival, you identify more with your tribe.” Wow, taas.
FYI: It’s La Sallian, not La Sallite. RJ is a true blue, third generation La Sallian who thankfully corrected us when we mistakenly called him the latter.
The zero-to-hero win of DLSU in the UAAP 2007-2008 series inspired this book. It sparked the first essay on the book, “Remember the Animo,” which in turn inspired the Blue Babble, Gang Green collection. “Coach Pumaren said something like, ‘Ateneo brought out the best in La Salle,’ and that really struck me. There’s something there. I remember lumabas si Chris Tiu and the DLSU crowd were cheering for him,” RJ explains.
He can’t watch UAAP games. “I get nervous. I can’t think. I just read the news the next day. When I was still in school, in the 90s, ADMU wasn’t as their current level right now. It was when I left school that ADMU really went all out.”
DLSU AND ADMU have so much in common. The book isn’t so much about the rivalry as it is about how the two schools are actually so alike. “Did you know the schools share the same novitiate in QC? Also, La Salle’s Brother President actually went to Ateneo for college. The head of the Jesuits actually went to a La Salle school in Barcelona. They’re both Catholic Universities” RJ shares. “You know what can be said about one, can be said about the other, it really goes both ways.”
The book is more like a throwback more than anything else. And it’s a throwback to RJ’s time, in the 90’s, when Maui Rocca, Jason Webb, Vince Hizon and Richie Ticzon were the big men on campus. It was a time when the rivalry was intense but there was so much respect from both sides.
Blue Babble Gang Green (PHP225) will be launched on Nov 26, 2014 at 6pm, in National Bookstore Glorietta 1, Ayala Center, Makati.
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