From Poet, to Speechwriter, to Ad-man, language paved the way.
Written by Paul Panaguiton
Sometimes, all we want to do is talk and talk. Luckily, we have a nifty tool called language, a tool exceptionally wielded by the Nagmamahusay Podcast’s most recent guest, Mikael De Lara Co, or simply, Kael.
Kael paved his path with words, he claimed recognition in the literary scene in 2007, when he got his first Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Award in Poetry and has become a Palanca Hall of Famer ever since.
To him, Poetry was just the beginning, as it served as a gateway for opportunities that require an adjacent level of care and control of language that he exhibits. He was able to become a communications strategist for the Liberal Party of the Philippines and serve as a speechwriter for its prominent figures such as Former Senator Mar Roxas, Former President Benigno Aquino III, and Former Vice President Leni Robredo. He did not stop there, as he recently made a move to Advertising to become the Head of Copy for IXM-Hakuhodo.
A man of—certainly not few, but important—words, what can we learn from Kael?
Using Language With Intent
Kael became aware of the power of language at an early age. He recalls his summers in Nueva Ecija where he would exchange playful banter with his cousins. At the time, their teasing would include remarks on someone’s appearance. For example, Kael recalls a cousin asking another, “Bakit yung boyfriend ng ate mo mukhang hinugot sa talaksa ng uling?” (Why does your sister’s boyfriend look like he was pulled from a pile of charcoal?)
Lines such as this, are said to elicit a reaction, and for him and his cousins, the one who elicits the loudest laughs wins.
This awareness of using language with intent easily awakened the writer inside Kael. He also added that his experience growing up in Blumentritt, in a bustling barangay in the heart of Manila, requires you to practice the art of grabbing attention, lest the noise will drown you into obscurity.
How A Poet’s Mind Operates
It is relatively easy to imagine how a storyteller’s mind operates, in a sense that a story has an identifiable beginning, middle, and end structure. Or as Kael views it, a storyteller is more concerned about the causality of things. But how does a poet’s mind differ?
While a storyteller is concerned on what’s next, a poet is concerned on what is said. Poetry, for Kael, is the only genre that is “aware of language as language.” He listens intently and intensely, on how a line is said, and how it attempts to achieve its desired effect.
“[Ang pagtula…] hindi siya narrative movement. It is really that striking line, that moment na boom! Gumanon sa puso ko,” he tells us.
(“[Poetry…] does not concern a narrative movement. It is that really striking line, that moment when, boom! It hit my heart.”)
The Time You Enjoy Wasting For Art Is Not Wasted
Kael’s success, of course, did not happen overnight. It is composed of several nights. Some nights where he felt that he was playing around, savoring his youth.
He talks of his younger days,
“Gumraduate ako, tapos… gusto kong maging makata. Gusto kong tumula, gusto kong maging artist. So ano, starving artist, literal. Medyo bohemian lifestyle… paraket-raket sulat-sulat sa magazine, wala talagang income masiyado, magtuturo, magtu-tutor ng konti. So, ganung lifestyle…”
(“I graduated, and then… I wanted to be a poet. I wanted to write poetry, I wanted to be an artist. So, I was a starving artist, literally. A bit of a bohemian lifestyle. Doing odd jobs writing for magazines, not much income, teaching, tutoring a little. So, that kind of lifestyle…”)
Kael started with bearable but unstable income, jumping from projects to projects ranging from writing commissions and tutoring gigs. He did not let himself be buried with work, and took the time to spend nights drinking and talking with like-minded people who share the same intensity and passion for the arts as him. Those nights, he recalls:
“Formative ‘yun. ‘Yung gabi-gabi kong pag-inom at pagsusulat ng tula, kasama ‘yung mga katulad kong like-minded people, yung exposure to people who respected the labor of it as much as I did. Gabi-gabing ganon, training yun. Gumaling ako doon. Malinaw sa akin na umangat yung skill level ko dahil doon.”
(“That was formative. My nightly drinking and writing poetry, along with like-minded people, the exposure to people who respected the labor of it as much as I did. Night after night, that was training. I got better there. It’s clear to me that my skill level improved because of that.”)
Some guy named John Lennon has said, “The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted,” especially when it is wasted with the right people. In 2007, on his fourth try, Kael finally bagged his first Palanca Award in Poetry, which opened the opportunity for him to become a speechwriter.
Speechwriting Is Almost Akin to Acting
People often misconstrue the job of speechwriting as putting words onto other people’s mouths, even if those words are deemed untrue. However, Kael proudly argues that writing speeches for significant figures is far different from plain, deceitful, ghostwriting. He went on to discuss that,
“The job of the speechwriter is not to ghostwrite, not to write for someone. Ang ginagawa namin talaga is, it’s almost akin to acting. In a sense that what I try to do is, I inhabit, I dwell within a character. And yung character na ‘yun yung principal. And when I dwell within that character, what I try to do is, imagine: ano ‘yung best self niya? Kapag nagising siya sa umaga na siya yung pinaka-inspiring, pinakamabuting taong kaya niyang maging—ano ‘yung lalabas sa bibig niya?”
(“The job of the speechwriter is not to ghostwrite, not to write for someone. What we really do is, it’s almost akin to acting. In a sense that what I try to do is, I inhabit, I dwell within a character. And that character is the principal. And when I dwell within that character, what I try to do is, imagine: what is their best self? When they wake up in the morning as the most inspiring, the best person they can be—what would come out of their mouth?”)
If that made you want to know which iconic lines from Mar Roxas, PNOY, and VP Leni Kael contributed to, you might want to tune in to the full episode here.
There Are Things Your CV Couldn’t Show
Kael claims that—however fruitful it may be—he did not design his career and life to be in the way it is now. He admits that a lot of it could be attributed to luck and knowing the right people. But he tells us that it’s more than that.
“It’s important that you know the right people but knowing the right people, you have to be able to earn their trust too. And that is something that will come with, one, doing your job well… Being the best at it. Number two is being reliable. Being professional, having professional integrity… I think part of it is being kind, sometimes, being angry at the right things… Ultimately being someone people know na, ah ito mapagkakatiwalaan to.”
Kael confidently values his values. As he also advises professionals to never accept clients, we could not be proud to work with. “Huwag ka kukuha ng kliyente na kailangan mo ibulong,” he says.
He puts an emphasis on how a person’s kindness and integrity outshines their achievements. He tells us,
“Madaling halungkatin ang mga medals at trophy na ‘yan. Madali lang hanapin ‘yan. Pwede kong iabot ang CV ko. Ang hindi niyo makikita sa CV ko, yung testimonya na siguro, maayos ako. Maayos akong tao. Pwede tayong magbangaan pero maayos ako.”
(“It’s easy to dig up those medals and trophies. It’s easy to find them. I can hand over my CV. What you won’t see on my CV, perhaps, is the testimony that I am decent. I am a trustworthy person. We can clash, but I am decent.”)
Kael is truly a lover of words, and what we often forget is that our name, too, is a word. Throughout his career, he ascribed so much depth, skill, and meaning to the word that is his name, Kael.
May the insights he shared inspire us to live us to our own names.
