99
{ }
A C C I D E N T A L H E R O E S
9
“
Dowhat you love and
get people talking”
A day in the life of Lourd de Veyra
is, in his own words, “exhilaratingly
exhausting”. The 37-year-old is a
vocalist and songwriter for Radioactive
Sago Project, a published poet and
novelist, a writer for
Spot.ph
,
a
weatherman for
Aksyon TV
,
a talk
show host of
Wasak
,
a radio host on
92.3
News FM, and most notably the
main man behind the funny
Word of
the Lourd
(
WOTL).
When told this is a hero piece, he
laughed. But then, as head of an NGO
aptly called Dakila — a Collective for
Modern Heroism that uses avenues of
creative expression to engage in social
issues — you’d think he’d identify with
the title a little more than he let on. But
the hero references screech to a halt
there. What de Veyra is, is someone
who gets paid to do what he loves
—
and that is to write commentaries
that open people’s minds. On WOTL,
his irreverent discussions about social
issues and current events make
audiences laugh, but also get them
thinking. He may not describe himself
as brave, but he does put himself out
there with his political satires. “My
mom sometimes worries I may have
pushed too far [on WOTL],” he says.
“
But I’m still alive, thank God. Either I’m
lucky or nobody actually watches me.”
But people are watching. “I hosted
this concert a few years ago. I was
drinking myself silly backstage when
all of a sudden, a bunch of teenagers
went up to me asking who they should
vote for in the elections.” The group
was followed by another, and another,
and another. “It suddenly dawned on
me that some of them actually believe
the crap I say.”
His self-deprecating attitude, and
flair for telling the truth in a manner that
tickles, are what make people want to
pay attention to what he has to say.
But more often than not, he’ll tell it like
it is sans a funny punch line. When
asked how it feels like to influence his
audience’s thoughts about being Pinoy,
he replied, “Some wise man once
said that being Filipino is not a state of
being. It’s a state of becoming. It’s about
sinking your feet into the soil of your
home ground as your arms embrace
the ever-changing winds of the world.”
Lourd de Veyra’s
social commentary
makes his audiences
stop, laugh and think
