Local playwright and poet Robert (Bob) Francis Flor has presented work about Filipino and Filipino American culture and history for many years, and his works My Uncles’ Letters, Mabuhay Majesty, and Alaskero Memories have been covered in these pages. Now, Flor returns with a series of radio plays focusing on characters from Filipino and other mythologies.
So far, the story of Mara Hukluban consists of four radio episodes. Episodes 1 and 2 are subtitled Underworld Princess – First Kill, while episodes 3 and 4 focus on Mara’s role as Assassin of Souls. All of the episodes were recorded at the Jack Straw Cultural Center, and will be aired during March, April, and May.
Flor’s main character Mara Hukluban borrows her name from two cultures. “Mara is the Hindu demon who sought to destroy Buddha,” Flor said, while Hukluban is one of the mortal daughters of Sitan, a dark god in Filipino mythology and ruler of the underworld.
Likewise, the character of Mara’s father, Sitan Helel, is a construct from two cultures. Sitan is the chief deity of Kasanaan, a Filipino village of grief and affliction. “Helel is a Hebrew devil, Lucifer, the fallen angel,” Flor added. “He seeks the accumulation of power and the destruction of human souls.”
Basing Mara’s character on a local serial killer, Ted Bundy, who served as a political consultant during the 1973 State Senate campaign of Bob Santos, on which Flor worked, Flor is exploring the dark side of world mythologies. “She’s the epitome of evil,” he said. “Mara is employed as Sitan’s central weapon in his quest to corrupt humanity.”
These global explorations began many years ago, when Flor read Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces. “I was struck by the notion that cultures throughout history formed mythologies and religions with similar stories or values,” Flor said. “Characters varied from culture to culture, but these were the same stories in a different wrapping.”
He also became more aware of the myths and folklore of cultures around the world. “Like most educated in the States, I learned stories from European traditions,” he said. “In this country, we generally aren’t exposed to these others, as the stories have been suppressed.”
Initially, this character research led Flor to write The FAYTS, a play about a young group of local Filipino Americans in Seattle with political ambitions. He later changed that title to Adama meets the Demons, and then narrowed his focus to Mara and Sitan for these latest radio plays.
Flor came to radio plays through happenstance at different points in his life. “During the ’40s and ‘50s, we didn’t have television,” he recalled. “I’d come home after school and delivering papers, and listen to broadcasts like The Shadow, Lone Ranger, Straight Arrow, or Zorro. These adventures shaped my imagination.”
More recently, the Covid-19 pandemic struck and theatres were closed. “Audiences disappeared, but radio programs didn’t require a theatre,” Flor said. “I transitioned by enrolling in online courses from Liberty City Radio Theatre in Philadelphia and courses about fairytales and mythology offered by the Smithsonian and Hugo House.”
Initially, the Mara series was read by Liberty City Radio Theatre. “Radio depends on description and telling the audience where characters are and what they are doing,” Flor said. “It’s sound-oriented.”
The Liberty City program asked participants construct a sound board. “I had to learn to create scenes, action, and images using sounds,” Flor said. “For example, if you required a stabbing sound, they recorded a melon being stabbed.”
The entire process required teamwork and consultation. “I discovered that BBC has a library of sounds they allow use of for free,” Flor elaborated. “Music’s also important, as it may be under copyright. Washington Lawyers for the Arts provided guidance on legal issues.”
Linda Cardona-Rigor performed the role of Mara, while Ayesha Ubayatilaka was the sound engineer. “Linda had acted in the Mabuhay Majesty production in 2017, which her mother, Eloisa Cardona, directed,” Flor reported. “Ayesha guided the cast through a recorded sound check session in which voice adjustments were made.”
The cast were Filipino or Latinx, most of whom had never previously recorded for radio. “Actors came prepared and enthusiastic,” Flor said. “The cast and staff camaraderie made the entire experience worthwhile and fun.”
Originally, Flor had hoped to air the Mara series on KVRU Rainier Valley. “This area was home to many from the Filipino community,” he said. “My brother-in-law, Jim Cantu, was a part-time broadcaster for them. He was familiar with the role of Sitan, having participated in early readings.”
But at the time, KVRU struggled with maintaining operations, so Flor sought alternatives. “Jim had a connection with Bellevue College Radio,” Flor said. “He also recommended talking with Hollow Earth KHUH 104.9FM, a community station broadcasting over Capitol Hill, the University District, and Beacon Hill.”
The Mara series will air on those two stations, and then the character of Mara will return in Adama Meets the Demons on a theatre stage. “It was recently read by the Seattle Playwrights Circle,” Flor said. “It’s in revision.”
But that’s not all Flor has planned for 2025. “I’m engaged in producing a new stage play Salamangka Returns at the Theatre Off Jackson in mid-May,” he said. “The play was inspired by the popular 1970s band Tamaraw.”
He’ll also be revising his play Pinoys Play Ball. “It sprang from an early short work The Injury, about a softball incident,” Flor said, mentioning a ten-minute play that was covered in these pages over a decade ago. “This new work is inspired by two Asian American Seattle-area teams, the Pinoy and Gohan.”
Mara Hukluban, Underworld Princess – First Kill, episodes 1 and 2, was broadcast on March 2 and 9, 8pm, on Hollow Earth Radio KHUH 104.9 FM, and will show again on March 8, 15, 22, and 29, 4:30pm, on Bellevue College Radio KBCS 91.3 FM.
Mara Hukluban, Assassin of Souls, episodes 3 and 4, will be broadcast on April 6 and 13, 8pm, on Hollow Earth Radio KHUH 104.9 FM, and on April 12, 19, 26, and May 4, 4:30pm, on Bellevue College Radio KBCS 91.3 FM.
