A life that lit up every room
Juan Felino Salazar Leyran, aka Ninoy, was the stuff of legend. He was the brother, the uncle, the mentor, the buddy whom you thought would always be around until, to our shock and disbelief, he was no longer.
He died on the trails of the Japan Alps on Oct. 12 doing what he loved doing most, and with the love of his life. That’s the part of the devastating news that gave some comfort to us, his friends in UP Mountaineers (UPM) and beyond, who are still engulfed in grief.
Early days in the mountains
Many of us first met Ninoy some 34 years ago when he joined UPM in 1991. In his words, he was unsure whether it was the right thing to do, especially after his 115-pound frame almost tipped over after trying out a female trainer’s backpack.
What he may have lacked in brawn at that time, he made up for with zeal, energy and a bit (or maybe a lot) of mischief. Ninoy was equal parts goofy and nerdy. One moment he would amuse you with the latest antics of the characters in his animated world of “The Wonderfools”, which was inspired by his pet cat Ketchup. Then the next time you would bump into him, he had a copy of “The Poetry of Pablo Neruda” in tow.
A second home in UPM
UPM and its Tambayan, then on the left side of the UP Main Library, became a second home to Ninoy and to many of us. It was our life in Diliman. That’s where we would hang out before and after classes, before and after training runs, before and after climbs, before and after Sarah’s, before and after just about anything.
While most of us moved on after graduation and begrudgingly faced adulting, Ninoy kept coming back. In between building a career and starting a family, the allure of the mountains and their tribe kept calling.
Building a legacy of rescue and leadership
Once his professional life reached solid footing, he became more involved with the org again. One project he took on and became very passionate about was UPM Search and Rescue or UPMSAR, which he helped set up in the middle of 2011, in time for the 20th year of Batch `91 and UPM’s 34th anniversary.
From that lanky, wacky, reluctant sportsman of his youth, Ninoy became a quintessential, punk-rock mountaineer.
The mountaineer’s evolution
He dressed the part too. Gone were his favorite yellow, plastic poncho during our college days that we called his Sampaloc outfit, and in came stylish windbreakers, hiking trousers and waterproof boots. The ubiquitous Leyran shades stayed. As online shopping boomed, so did deliveries of climbing tools, housewares and Avelino-Cavinti essentials. Surely, who doesn’t need a dozen different lamps, portable refs and mobile bidets?
More than the OOTDs and the contraptions, he lived and breathed the outdoors. And what an adventure it was. He climbed peaks in the Philippines and overseas, completed marathons (and just last month did a 50-kilometer trail run), got UPMSAR up and running in the true embodiment of one of the codes he lived by: Idea mo, i-develop mo!
A man of many roles
He did all these while being a hands-on family man, overseeing his company - Stray Interactive, which he started in 2004, and doing a gazillion things for the people in his extensive orbit.
Testimonials from everywhere poured in since his death. In gatherings and social media tributes, everyone had a Ninoy Leyran story to tell; from the mundane to the glorious, from the crazy to the divine.
A friend to all
There were those who thanked him for pacing them in their first marathons. Tales about how generous he was with his time and talent flooded his wall. Others remembered how Ninoy made that life-changing invitation for them to join UPM. And once they were in, they were regaled by Leyranisms, whether his or borrowed.
“Yabang and good looks,” he would say, are musts no matter how tough the terrain was. Also, “life begins kapag hindi ka na nag-iinarte.”
A circle that stayed tight
His closest friends reminisced about the old times of the Timawa and the Tigang Gang including that Batch `92 induction climb where the Timawas (Ninoy, et al) defeated the Best Group in a fire-breathing dance performance atop Mount Banahaw.
Our ties transcended the mountains and evolved into lifelong friendships, becoming godparents to each other’s children who have become buddies too, watching UP MBT games together, going on out-of-town trips, hanging in each other’s homes (lately to play mahjong). Some would even palengke together. As we got older, the circle expanded and Ninoy labeled the (chat) group as UPM 50-50.
Everywhere, all at once
The many Ninoy lores would make one wonder how he managed to be present for his family and friends doing all those things, great or small, that impacted so many people, in the same 24-hour days that we all had. Through all those years, Ninoy was everything, everywhere all at once way before Michelle Yeoh popularized it.
To have had those meaningful connections with just about anyone he crossed paths with, to be there that exact moment when you needed him, was quite magical. And that just might be his superpower.
The glue that bound us
It’s hard to imagine a world without Ninoy. He was the glue that bound us. We thought we would grow old together; that he would keep organizing those reunions and hikes, that he would be the cool yet ever-solicitous Tito that our kids can run to when their parents are being corny, that he would dance with his daughter when she turns 18 and give his son tips on how not to break hearts.
That we have lost a friend, a brother and a hero is probably a sentiment that rippled across his many communities: his schoolmates in Ateneo and Lourdes, batchmates in UP Fine Arts, colleagues in Stray, former coworkers in ABS-CBN Foundation and 25X8, and of course his UP Mountaineers family.
The love that remains
Ninoy’s death left us with so many questions yet one thing is clear; he is deeply loved.
As we start to come to terms with our loss, we write the saddest lines: Paalam Ninoy. You will not be forgotten. We shall try to take solace in the words of Neruda that “if nothing saves us from death, at least love should save us from life.”
(This obituary was written by Ninoy Leyran's friend and UP Mountaineer colleague who wished to remain anonymous.)
