Zoe Madridondo Got Hit By A Jeep: A (Very Short) Fascinating Feature
By Mikael Borres
Quotes have been translated from Cebuano (Bisaya) to English for clarity and length.
For almost three years living in Cebu, Davao City-native Kenneth Zoe Madridondo was haunted by what he calls “The Cebu Curse”.
But what exactly is “The Cebu Curse”?
Case in point: just when Zoe thought he would be having an easy day of going to school, he got hit by a jeep just outside the school entrance.
“I got hit by a jeep!” Zoe exclaimed to me—but in a hushed tone. “Like, what?! Where did I go wrong?!”
The jeep didn’t injure Zoe, but Zoe described the impact as feeling a “really hard push” on your back that forces you to run. And run he did. If he hadn’t, then the fall would’ve been harder.
Zoe didn’t say much to the driver, mainly because it was a jeepney that hit him. “But maybe, if it was a [Toyota] Land Cruiser that hit me, I would have been rolling on the floor.”
Zoe got hit during the height of the “No To Jeepney Phaseout” movement, when the clamour to protect the livelihood of jeepney drivers was strong and kicking. Making a fuss about the accident would not have been the move, Zoe opines. Who would want to get back at a person who’s just trying to make ends meet? Not Zoe.
“The Cebu Curse” consists of a string of small mishaps that hindered Zoe’s life in Cebu. They’re never significant to be life-altering, but the medley of misfortunes never fails to frustrate him. Zoe getting hit by a jeep; Zoe walking down the street, then having his shoe’s sole become undone; Zoe being forced to be stuck in the airport terminal for six hours because of his delayed flight from Davao to Cebu. “I have to address so many things. Like, can we just chill?”
He calls it “The Cebu Curse” because when he’s outside Cebu, such ill fortunes do not happen to him at a relentless frequency. But when he’s in Cebu, it’s open season on Zoe's convenience.
“Do you believe in God?” I asked Zoe.
“I choose to not follow, but I suppose there is a supreme being.” Zoe answered.
“Do you think that God’s playing games on you?”
“I feel like, Where are you, bro? Help me! I’m struggling here!”
His unluckiness, Zoe says, compels him to be prepared. It’s why he carries so much stuff in his bag and knows how to fix and make stuff when something breaks.
Zoe’s preparedness corresponds with a specific belief he holds, which is that there are three things a person must possess to address any issue: luck, resources, and time. According to Zoe, you need at least two of the three to work things out.
But Zoe sometimes only has one of the three. His limited allowance restricts him from having ample amounts of resources, while his luck in Cebu—as described in most of this article—edges towards non-existence. So, in Zoe’s prayers, his preparation will save him if anything goes wrong.
“I don’t want to pity you, because no one deserves pity,” I told Zoe.
“Exactly! But I feel like God is tempting me, or fate is tempting me. Ah, so you’re prepared? Alright, let’s see.”
Zoe continued: “I feel like I’m attracting [bad luck] because I keep preparing for it!”
Zoe and Mikael conducted an in-person interview on Monday, August 26th, 2024.
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Picture by Arlou Pura
