56. I FOUND MY DIARIES, AND STARTED READING ABOUT ME.

I FOUND MY DIARIES, AND STARTED READING ABOUT ME.

 I was 15 when I started a diary, December 1972 to be exact. I didn’t know what prodded me to write the daily details of my life—it may be because I was in the last few months of my senior high, a chapter that I did not exactly want to end. Or it could be my historical gene that compelled me to record events for my future descendants to read about—both milestone and everyday moments.

 Long before the age of expensive moleskins and fancy scrapbook journals, I was already writing down, at day’s end, the things that transpired at home and at school. I first wrote on unused notebook pages, bound in metal fasteners. I wasn’t much of a writer, often writing in phrases, and just enumerating sequence of events. 

My earliest Christmas day entry (December 25,1972, Monday) noted how my day started and the gifts I and my siblings received: “Woke up at 8:00 a.m., and I got my gifts—orange shirt and green ‘tela’, Php 10.00 bill from Ma and Php 5 pesos from Auntie Susing. Gregg got green shirt. Mike and Eric got chess sets. Froi got a toy harmonica”.

 Similarly, on January 17, 1972 I nonchalanatly reported the posting of our bi-weekly grades, while a 4th year student of Sacred Heart Seminary: “Ranked 6. Spanish-77, Physics-79, History-88, Composition-88, Literature-81, Religion-82”. And I thought I was a real “bobo” in Physics—I had a better grade than Spanish!

 There were days though when I started writing about my feelings—or more accurately, my mood swings—“Was very mad ‘çoz I can’t find my Jingle magazine! Locked myself in my room.” (17 January 1973. I wonder if that instigated my future obsession to organize my magazines and comics in neatly-labelled boxes, arranged by dates?).

 Of my high school graduation on April 14, 1973, Saturday, I wrote: “Final graduation practice. We had to carry lots of chairs, so tired. Got home past 11 and after a brief nap, I dressed up for graduation. I was with Ma, Beng and Cyn. The graduation was a quick one. Went to Tatang Ato and ate and ate.”.

 Even with such a bland description of an important school event, I could now recollect with greater details what happened that night. Our Class of 1973 graduation was held at the Sacred Heart Chapel. I was dressed up in a borrowed coat slightly damaged by a flat-iron scorch mark on the breast pocket, perhaps inflicted by a careless househelp. My mother insisted that it will not show on my pictures as the fabric was dark anyway (well, it did, Mother, the flash cameras captured it as a shiny blemish on my picture!). I remember the stifling heat and my hunger pangs—I couldn’t wait for the rites to end.

And when it did, I just rushed out to get some fresh air, and didn’t even have a chance to say my proper goodbyes to my teachers and classmates. Since I didn’t have any “handa” for my graduation, my parents and I decided to proceed to the house of my uncle, Tatang Ato and Mang Luning, who, at least prepared a party for cousin Ramiel, a fellow graduate. I remember having grilled tilapia for the evening, happy to feast and freeload.

 As I sift through my diaries now kept and sorted in three boxes (I changed to writing on Cattleya notes, instead of bulky notebooks), I, too, have become amazed at the trove of information I have written. The entries for October 1998, April 2007 and most recently, June 2009, were harder to write for they contain the last accounts of my father’s, my brother Eric’s and my mother’s valiant fights for their lives. To this day, I have no desire to re-read what I have written, for that only serves to bring back memories of great loss and mourning.

 But there were also momentous dates that I took note of, that were sources of joy for the family, all documented on my diaries---like the birth of my first nephew ( July 1978), weddings of siblings, my father’s Dream trip to the U.S. ( March 30,1980 ) my parents’ 25th wedding anniversary (15 May 1974) ,promotions on the job, passing of various board exams, and on a personal note, my London and U.S. agency training in July of 1989.

 Even what’s in between the pages of my thick and tattered diaries contain surprising stuff that never fail to amuse—a clipping of a “want-ad”of a Makati agency which I responded to. I was accepted for the job, but never got around to writing my first ad copy as the company declared bankruptcy on the very day I was supposed to start. There were also school programs, photo negatives, various receipts and scribbles of my 1981 swimming records that I diligently kept (1 min,: 38 secs for 100 m. breaststroke, Nov. 8, 1980—slow for a 23 year old).

 It’s been 45 years since I first took up a pen and began writing on a notebppk page that would become my first diary. For as long as there are things to write about, I don’t think I will stop writing. And I don’t care if these things I write about are only relevant to me. As far as know, they compose memorable references of the people I have known, siblings I grew up with, of fathers,mothers, grandfathers, and of forebears we now miss and honor,of classmates, teachers, officemates.

My diary doesn’t just document life events but they capture the nuances of relationships and illuminates what time has dimmed. So today, as I review the dog-eared pages of my diaries, I hope to explore again those shadows in my past that are vague and hazy; places, images and events that have been forgotten, ignored or taken for granted. Unravelling the magic of memory has never been so fascinating.

37. LOST IN THE CITY OF ANGELS

 THE OLD MUNICIPIO OF CULIAT

Memory is a wily keeper of the past, so they say-- often true and faithful, but at times elusive or even deceptive. Mine, however, are still sharp and bright, especially when it comes to Angeles City—a special place that I have always associated with a joyful time of youthful discoveries, when everyone’s idea of risky adventure was a quick trip to Pampanga’s playground--the “city of Angels”.

Growing up in a sleepy town-on-the-border that is Mabalacat, the nearby city of Angeles represented just about everything an idealistic “promdi” teen dreamed of. Angeles provided the ultimate escape, a 20 minute jeepney ride away to where the action is—there, in her downtown movie houses and cheap restaurants along its crowded alley roads serving Hollywood magic and meriendas; in its bustling commercial streets crammed with hawkers, shoppers and Muslim vendors; and in the famed avenues of Balibago lined with bright neon lights spelling familiar names straight from roadside Las Vegas: Copa Cabana, Stardust, Nina’s Papagayo.

More than just a center of escapades, Angeles was the place to kick off your shoes and get really comfortable, a city known for freely extending its unconditional welcome to one and all. They say in Angeles, everyone has a chance to make it and to this city gravitated every one – entrepreneurs, missionaries, U.S. servicemen, backpacking tourists , students, bar girls, artists, German and Australian retirees and even lost souls out to make a quick buck or two. Such was Angeles in my mind’s eye.

One could never imagine that this freewheeling city was once the farthest barrio of San Fernando, a clearing started by spouses Don Angel Pantaleon Miranda and Dona Rosalia de Jesus in 1792. Its early name was Culiat, from the woody vines that proliferated in the area. Inaugurated as a town in 1829, Culiat was dedicated to its titular patrons, the Holy Guardian Angels , hence the name “Angeles”, but it is certainly a strange coincidence that its founder was also named Angel.

The handful of nuclear families and their descendants that settled in Culiat soon expanded and grew, with family members often intermarrying. Large prominent families like the Nepomucenos, Hensons, Nepomucenos, Paras, Lazatins, Del Rosarios, Tayags have common genealogical roots, which explains why today, it is possible to bump into a distant relation just by walking the streets.

It is also the best way to discover the city’s soul, with its unexpected surprises that lurk at every bend. Recently on a week-end, I went on my own to revisit my old Angeles on foot, to retrace familiar haunts, half-expecting to relive my big city experience while exploring its contemporary attractions. After years of living in Manila and in other parts of the world, I was not disappointed.

Historic Sto. Rosario Street was my starting point. On this street stands the city landmark—the imposing Holy Rosary Parish, started in 1855 by Fr. Guillermo Masnou but opened to the public only in 1890. Its massive intricately carved doors feature religious figures central to the city’s story, most specially the Virgin of the Most Holy Rosary.

Most of Angeles’ ancestral buildings are clustered in this district—from the old Pamintuan Residence that was once occupied and transformed by Pres. Emilio Aguinaldo as his presidential headquarters, (now a Bangko Sentral regional branch), the restored Bale Herencia to the Nepomuceno’s Kamalig, an ancient barn turned specialty pizza restaurant, adjacent to Bale Matua, the old stone house of the original founders of Angeles.

The old regional court across the church has been converted into Museo ning Angeles, a repository of the city’s historical and cultural treasures. The city’s more organized commercial center—Nepo Mart—is just a stone’s throw away. PX goods were once the lifeblood of the stores here. I remember, from school, I could dash here for my favorite fig newtons or Lay’s potato chips. Nowadays, Bangkok goods are peddled side by side U.S. products obviously purchased from Clark Field PX shops.

There are so much food choices here—from Everybody’s Café, a branch of San Fernando’s most popular restaurant known for its local delicacies like kamaru, betute and tapang damulag, Delyn’s Restaurant inside the Nepo complex, Susie’s Cuisine and its famous tibuk-tibuk, the outdoor Cely’s, with its array of Kapampangan value meals to this once-nameless snack house on nearby Corazon St. noted for its unique pastillas de leche-enriched halo-halo.

Recently, the age of malls has come to Angeles with the rise of Jenra and the multi-storey Nepo Mall, the city’s latest concession to progress. But the height of adventure begins in the downtown market occupying Miranda and Rizal St., where one can get lost amidst life’s most trivial pleasures. Snake in and around the stalls—if you have hunger pangs, munch a turon, eat suman, snack on pancit palabok. Kitschy gift shops stand next to hole-in-the wall beauty shops here. Down a narrow street, I checked if “Cool Spot”- everyone’s favorite high school snack hangout—was still around. It still is, thankfully, serving up the the tastiest pancit and pineapple-upside down cake this side of town.

Every Friday, the “tiangge ng Apu” comes to life on Burgos St., where the wildest assortment of merchandise at dirt-cheap prices abound for the picking—from CDs, VCD’s and DVD’s , batik dusters, ukay-ukay finds, tropical aquarium fishes, car tools, leather goods, glassware, fake GI surplus to pots, pans and what have you. The city’s own version of Divisoria has been around for years—but this baratillo paradise is much noisier, rowdier. Before, second-hand shops and thrift stores would also be located in this area, selling Clark Air base odds and ends—vinyl records, army trays, pocketbooks and girlie magazines.

Along Jake Gonzales Boulevard., the main artery linking Balibago and Angeles, motels and cocktail lounges abound. I remember a U.S. style hotel being built in the 70s here, called “Pauline’s, with surreal interiors embellished with concrete stalactites and stalagmites. It was never finished, and for years, was the boulevard’s signature landmark. No longer a hotel row, the strip is now known for its sisig stalls by the old railroad track, a legendary haven for beer guzzlers and pulutan lovers. Balibago, past the Abacan Bridge, has always had a honky-tonk feel.

In here, the attitude is a bit more brash, a little looser, a touch of the wild, wild west on Kapampangan soil. Balibago was both a residential and a commercial district—with prime villages like Diamond Subdivision providing major housing for American G.I.s and their families. The premiere hotel in the area was Marlim Mansion, which still stands today, and across it—the celebrated Angeles Fried Chicken restaurant—host to many birthday, anniversary and graduation bashes, owned by Taus family.

Other Balibago “institutions” include Johnny’s Grocery (where we went shopping for our Junior-Senior Prom food supply) and Del Rosario Swimming Pool Compound, located at the foot of Abacan Bridge, where many an Angeleño kid learned to swim. Balibago subsisted primarily on Clark, and the myriads of shops and businesses that dotted its landscape naturally reflected complex American tastes: swanky bars with go-go girls, galleries that peddled velvet paintings, Kon-Tiki carvings and artworks with exotic South Pacific themes, fastfoods with American names (Spic ‘n Span, A&W), rattan furniture shops, dozens of hotels and motels with pretentions of poshness. Along the main highway, animated neon signs advertised the clubbing pleasures of Little Brown Jug and Cock and Bull. The whole stretch of Friendship Hi-Way and Fields Avenue housed the seedier establishments that promised more wanton delights.

Nearby Clark Field was terra incognita for a lot of us teeners back in the 70s, an exclusive enclave reserved for a privileged few (Americans and their dependents). People spoke of a commissary with endless rows of the freshest apples and peaches, Pacex milk, Hershey’s kisses, macadamia nuts and more! There were stories told about fancy restaurants like Top Hat and Coconut Grove, of Olympic size pools with gleaming white tiles at the Officers’ Club and of visits by celebrities like Xavier Cugat and Bob Hope. I remember going there only once, as part of a group invited by Wagner High School officials, for a tour of their art-and-crafts facilities. I came away foolishly impressed by the American dream, and for some time, relished the thought of Philippine statehood as espoused by Cabangbang.

Now, more than a decade after Pinatubo, the atmosphere around this perimeter is more sedate, the din of raucous laughter a bit quieter. It still is a people-friendly place, and shopping here can be quite a thrill. Art galleries and frame shops --with their precious old stock of artworks, are concentrated here, and there is still that delicious possibility of unearthing a masterpiece from the 60s and 70s painted by Jose Bumanlag David, Patricio Salvador or Felix Gonzales—noted masters of the brush who once plied their talents here.

Astro Park, fronting the Clark main gate, provides the ideal green spot for games and afternoon gambols. Next door neighbors to galleries and furniture shops are modern-day KTVs and coffee shops, catering to a whole new community, more local than international. German and Australian retirees have replaced the Americans, even the Koreans have arrived, giving rise to thriving multi-cultural businesses and all-new relationships.

The big city of my youth seems so much smaller now, but with so many attractions (and, surprising distractions!) to assault the senses, it still is so easy to lose one’s way . In a sense, you can never find your way out of Angeles, because the city—like some giant magnet—will draw you back in. Perhaps it is its “there’s something-for-everyone” patronage to diversity that makes people stay. Or the fact that it has retained its human scale in the midst of growth and modernity.

To me, its enduring appeal lies in it capacity to make the most lasting impressions, a place of the rich past which has created its own vital present--where people can take comfort in knowing that they can leave Angeles, for half a lifetime or more, and return to find most of their fascinating memories of this proud city still safe and intact.

23. CENTER FOR KAPAMPANGAN STUDIES: Why It's OK to be K!

Welcome to THE JUAN D. NEPOMUCENO CENTER FOR KAPAMPANGAN STUDIES (JDN-CKS) of Holy Angel University, Angeles City! Today, CKS is perhaps the most high-profile, most progressive and most complete regional study center ever to be organized in the Philippines. This is where I also moonlight as a week-end Consultant and Museum Curator, a perfect job, if you ask me. On Saturdays, I get to report for work in shorts and t-shirt, receive a salute from the school guard and even get free parking! Three hours a week, and I am done. While my advertising work in Makati pays the bill, my part-time job with the university feeds the soul..

So here we are at JDN-CKS. For a trip, a tour, a treat. Its founding began right after the university hosted the 1st International Conference on Kapampangan Studies in 2001. I remember taking a leave of absence from work and attending this conference that attracted speakers from Germany, Mexico and the U.S. For 3 days, Kapampangan scholars like Ambeth Ocampo, Prof. John Larkin (author of 'The Pampangans') and even former Huk Supremo Luis Taruc opened and engaged my mind with talks on various aspects of Kapampangan culture, history and traditions. I never realized the depth and richness of our province's heritage until that said event, and I was determined to not become "a stranger in my own paradise".

It did help that the indefatigable Director of the Center, Robby Tantingco, was a kabalen and a Baguio schoolmate--although our paths never crossed at Saint Louis, as I was ahead by a good 3 years. In no time at all, I was part of the staff of the Center, which at the very start, also included Marc Nepomuceno who provided the impetus with his pioneering work on Kapampangan genealogy and archival research, Prof. Lino Dizon (another schoolmate!), Ivan Anthony Henares, a young heritage activist from San Fernando. Lending his expertise on Kapampangan language was Michael Pangilinan (aka Siuala ning Meangubie) and the Kapampangan-speaking French geologist, Jean Christophe-Gaillard (my ina-anak sa kasal, now married to Cyril and back in Grenoble, France).

Here, in this 3 -storey building at the heart of the university campus, the Center does its business, encouraging everyone who enters to "Be a good Kapampangan to be a better Filipino".

The Center has a museum, a gallery, a library, a research center, and archive section and a theater. If a visitor is lucky, he may even be welcomed by the school rondalla!

At the Ground Floor Level, we see a special display honoring the grand old man who started it all: Juan De Dios Nepomuceno (1892-1973). Don Juan was the prime mover in helping Angeles grow into a progressive city. He established the 1st ice plant, the 1st electric plant and the 1st Catholic co-ed school. He also served as a town mayor and was a delegate to the 1935 Philippine Constitutional Assembly. As a writer, he translated English works into Kapampangan--some examples of which you will see here: "Ing Cacanan Cu Qng Aldo-Aldo" (My Daily Bread), "Ing Manual nang Oficial ning Legion of Mary" (Official Manual of the Legion of Mary), and many more.

The Ground Floor houses many interesting displays, but the focal point is definitely the Kapampangan Retablo.

The silver-panelled and gilded centerpiece was carved by local craftsmen and completed in 2002. It features carved minitaure santos representing the patrons of the province's 21 towns, as well as the images of Santo Cristo del Perdon and Virgen de los Remedios, the patroness of Pampanga.

All around, one can see informative picture panels like this one, which shows vintage photo reproductions of old Pampanga Churches from the Augustinian archives.

Thematic posters carry write-ups about local culture and traditions--from Pampanga's culinary arts to interesting footnotes to history.

Also here, one can find a glass-encased diorama that replicates a typical Kapampangan nipa house made by a local artisan.

By the entrance door, we also see brass laurel leaves used to crown poeta laureados of the province, an august group that includes J. Crisostomo Soto, Vedasto Ocampo, Amado Yuzon and Jose Gallardo.

For those wanting to buy souvenir, the modest Reception cum Gift Shop sells the Center's publications--books (Abe, Views from the Pampang, Gloria, various Kapampangan grammar books, etc), research journals (Ayala) and the popular Singsing, the center's newsletter-magazine. Those interested to hear Kapampangan songs and music can either choose Mon David's jazz albums, ArtiSta. Rita's traditional and acoustic compilations, Cris Cadiang's Kapampangan hymns or go with the more current RocKapampangan. Shirts, postcards, bone santos, key holders are also on sale here.

A door to the right leads the visitor to the Center Museum, which has, on display, archaelogical finds and artifacts from Porac, giving us a glimpse of Pampanga's pre-colonial past.

In here, one also can read up on the story of the enigmatic Macabebes and their true roles in the Philippine Revolution.

Part of the museum's permanent exhibit is the Kapampangan Timeline, a photographic mural of landmarks and landscapes in the Kapampangan Region.

Upstairs, the walls feature the 100 Faces of Kapampangans born each year of the 20th century, as well as photo collage of famous Kapampangan personalities.

Greeting you upstairs is a die-cut standee of 1926 Carnival Queen Socorro Henson of Angeles. This corner pays tribute to legendary Kapampangan beauty titlists. Note the shadow box that displays an assortment of vintage Manila Carnival medals and a real rhinestone crown from the 1920s.

Back at the Ground Floor level, we move to the left wing that houses the Library and Research Room. But first, more displays to see. Old Kapampangan ephemera can be found here--from music sheets, theater handbills, awit and corrido books.

Against the wall, one can see the death masks of Benigno Aquino Jr. and Fernando Poe Jr. as cast by National Artist Napoleon Abueva. Fernando Poe's Kapampangan roots can be traced from the Kelleys of Lubao.

 
On a more festive note, an authentic San Fernando Lantern hangs year-round at the Center.

The entrance to the Library is prefaced by a miniature working "parol", that is connected to an electric armature, which, when wound, gives the lantern its characteristic brilliant play of lights.

Upstairs, books galore--anything and everything Kapampangan is housed here. Rare books include the Philippine Encyclopedia (written by Kapampangan Zoilo Galang), the complete Blair and Robertson volumes, out-of-print reference books, books by local authors, souvenir programs and commemoratives.

Aside from books about Pampanga, the Center Library has also purchased and collected every known Kapampangan material from the National Library---including Erecciones (history of the town foundations), the Luther Parker Collection and Historical Data Papers. The jewel of the collection are the microfilm copies of Pampanga's canonical books from the Family History of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. These include available Baptismal, Marriage and Death Records from every Pampanga town--some as early as the 18th century. Those interested in constructing their family tree and genealogy will find these microfilms helpful, indeed.

To the Second Level we go. Take a few moments to appreciate the works of Kapampangan craftsmen: the old-fashioned etched glass and metal frames, boxes and ramilletes made in the traditional "pukpok" (repousse) style were created by artisans from Apalit.

Oops! What's all this mess? We used to hold office here, but as part of the expansion program, this space has been vacated to give way to our Archival Museum, which will feature the Center's most valuable and important books, documents and paper materials. This is my assignment for the year, so wish me luck! Watch this space soon...

One level up, on the Third Floor, we take a sneak peek at the Archive Section (aka Stockroom). Collections and artifacts not meant/not ready for display are stored here. This is where we also keep the donated Dr. Raymund Feliciano Albums. the peripatetic doctor-photographer who has been visually documenting the country's Semana Santa processions for nearly 20 years. The result of that undertaking are over 80 albums featuring images of santos, carrozas, churches, sacred art and related subjects from all parts of the country. The microfilms are also stored here in a temperature-control room.

Leading to the Theater, we see more "pukpok" frames containing pictures of important Kapampangan personages hanging on the wall..

The best part of the house! The uber cool and comfy Center Theater with its own state-of-the art equipment. We use this for showing films, documentaries and for various presentations and lectures.

So now what happened to our Staff House and Office? It has now been recently relocated outside of the building, a few steps away from the Center, right of the Main Entrance. You can't miss it because you'll see this hanging sign:

Dig our cubicles in vibrant shades of blue and green?

Our always-crowded work station, pardon the messy files:

Office of the JDN-CKS Director (don't mind the wallpaper and the carpet that is the color of a golf turf..;-)

There you have it--the Juan D. Nepomuceno Center for Kapampangan Studies. My office away from the office. We hope that by preserving and promoting the Kapampangan cultural and historical heritage, we can do our share and contribute to the total development of the Kapampangan people, the Filipino nation, and eventually, the global community. Do come for a visit and get treated to a generous dose of Kapampangan hospitality you'll never get anywhere else. And that includes a salute and free parking.

 Luid ya ing Kapampangan!

(12 June 2008)

22. FELIX GONZALES GOT EBAYED

I am an armchair art lover, driven primarily, I confess, by laziness. The past year, I haven’t done much gallery-hopping, especially those located in malls; noisy mall crowds turn me off. I prefer the solitude of browsing through the net at your own time and pace, checking what’s out on my favorite online auctions like ebay.

 Ebay.com to me is one big, happy international flea market—you’ll never know what will turn up once you do a quick search. I just type in “Philippine painting” and a listing will instantly be generated of all the Philippine-made paintings available for sale, new and old, made by all sorts of painters—some crappy, a few named artists, and on very rare occasions, by well-known Filipino masters.

 The works of Isidro Ancheta, C.V. Lopez, Ben Alano, Oscar Navarro, Jose B. David, Gabriel Custodio, Edouard Perrenoud, Romeo Tabuena, Cesar Buenaventura, I have seen on ebay. An Ang Kiukok was offered once, and even an Amorsolo work—unsigned but with what seemed like an authentic provenance--was put up on ebay. I remember bidding on that oleo with my friends: the subject was a woman carrying a pot and it was being sold by an Austrian dealer whose grandfather had worked at the University of Sto. Tomas where, the dealer claimed, the painting was given to him by THE Fernando Amorsolo.

 I lost, of course, and the winner, a Pinoy doctor from the U.S. won the masterpiece for a little more than $8,000—dirt-cheap, by any standard. A few days after, the bidding story was reported by Butch Dalisay in his column which was entitled “An Amorsolo on ebay”, detailing the fever-pitch war between the last two men standing--‘arcastro57’ and ‘drpineda’, with the latter finally winning and “laughing all the way to the bank”. In my collecting life, that probably ranks as “the biggest one that got away”.

 A week ago, on the same online auction site, I chanced upon a dealer’s items for sale that included three Philippine paintings. The first two were 1940s mixed media paintings signed by a certain Lingat, typical of cheap artworks sold in Manila shops. The third though was signed “F. Gonzales” from the 50s and I knew at once that this was Felix Pinto Gonzales (b. 2 May 1902, Navotas), a U.P. trained artist who worked in the realist tradition and whose works had appeared in Graphic Magazine before the War. The dealer had apparently misread the artist's signature.

 At one point in the 1950s, he served as President of the Academy of Filipino Artists. He set up a gallery at the Manila Hotel and also forayed in nearby Angeles City where his Pacific landscapes, ethnic types, portraits and velvet paintings found a willing American market. Felix Gonzales,who married Concepcion Sanchez,  is largely unknown till now, thanks in part to renewed and growing interest in the so-called “Mabini Art”. Felix’s own son, Federico and grandsons, Ferdel, Froilan and Dennis, are today, talented painters themselves and their works resonate with their late father’s exuberant spirit. The artist died with a smile on his lips,on 11 Dec. 1976--after completing his last painting of a blooming flower.

 This particular ebay painting I was eyeing had quite a commonplace, but appealing subject—a boy riding a carabao out on a frolic—a favorite visual theme of Filipiniana artists that celebrates the lost, innocent joys of rural childhood. This was no Amorsolo, but this work is becoming more collectible. Besides, it was painted very well, the colors subdued, the size perfect. Most of all, there was a strong Kapampangan connection which I favor. The only drawback was that it had a reserved price, meaning, and, until that price-- unknown to the buyer-- is reached, the Seller will not sell.

 In a few days, there was already one enthusiastic bidder. I kept telling myself that I would bid close to the ending time, but I never got around to doing that—I am lazy, remember? The bidding came to an end, the reserved price was not met, and the painting didn’t sell. Worse, the painting was not relisted, another case of another one that got away.

 But just two days after, another painting surfaced from a dealer in Florida—he had a smaller painting of yet again, a typical, overdone Filipino subject: a bahay kubo under a palm tree with the usual rural landscape in the background. But it was beautifully painted with characteristic short strokes, serene colors and a certain moodiness that’s so Filipino. The 1955 painting, in its original scruffy frame, was signed, according to the dealer, by a certain “R. Gonzales.”

Of course, by this time, I have become so familiar with the way Gonzales signed his work—he signed using the initials of his first and middle name, followed by his last name. His F(elix) merged with his P(into) so much so that to an untrained eye, the linked letters would look like R.

 Two Gonzales paintings in two days, offered by two different sellers. This must be more than just coincidence, I told myself. And I promised that this time around, I will own a Felix Gonzales vintage painting. In the dying hours of the auction, I checked the item and it had already 2 bids, the top bid being $63. I put in my maximum bid, turned off my computer and went to sleep.

 The next day, it was my turn to laugh all the way to the (rural) bank. Felix Gonzales was mine!

(28 May 2009)
  
(POSTSCRIPT: When I contacted the Florida dealer to inform him I bidded all the way from the Philippines, he responded by writing “Maraming salamat po!”. It turned out that the seller was a kabayan, which makes the painting truly and proudly Philippine made!)

20. THE HERITAGE DISTRICT OF ANGELES

Stroll around the heart of Angeles, a city that grew out of a town called Culiat, and see some of interesting heritage houses and buildings still lining its major streets.

DE MIRANDA HOUSE

The Founders of Angeles--Angel Pantaleon de Miranda and Rosalia de Jesus—built their house along Sto. Rosario St. in 1824, from materials salvaged from their original 1811 house in barrio Cutcut. It was inherited by daughter Juana de Miranda (married to Mariano Vicente Henson) , and later by Don Mariano Vicente Henson. Upon Mariano’s death in 1917, it was successively passed on to son and heir Pedro Henson then to his son Vicente Henson, who in turn passed it on to daughter Rosalie Henson.

THE PAMINTUAN MANSION 

In Barangay Sto. Rosario, one can still see the restored grandeur of this mansion built by Don Mariano Pamintuan and Dna. Valentina Torres in 1890 as a wedding gift to their unico hijo. Florentino Pamintuan. On the 1st anniversary of the Philippine independence (12 June 1899), Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo watched from the window of this house a parade of revolutionists led by gen. Gregorio del Pilar and Gen. Luciano San Miguel. Gen. Arthur MaCarthur also stayed in this house during the American Occupation of the town in 1901. In 1942, Japanese imperial officers also took residence in this house. The Tablante Family bought the house in 1959 from the heirs and leased it as an annex to the nearby City Hall. In 1981, the crumbling mansion was donated to the Central Bank as a regional clearing house and subsequently restored under then CB Governor Jaime Laya.

THE DEPOSITO

This structure—which was meant to be a used as a storage and parking house for carrozas and processional santos, was built in 1899 by Jose Pedro Henson. It served as a jail for errant American soldiers during the Philippine-American War. After the last war, it was rented to the U.S. Army 11th Film Exchange. Once again, it was used as a jail by the U.S. military police and 13th U.S. Air Force at various times, from 1947 to 1965. It was converted into the city’s post office building frm 1967-1978 and today it houses a Physical Therapy Clinic.

MARIANO LACSON MANSION

This 1930s concrete building with its expansive lot still stands at Brgy. Sto. Cristo. It was occupied by the USO, an agency of the Ameircan military in the 1950s and most recently was used as the site of the first OB Montessori Pre-School in Angeles—whose most famous alumni is international Broadway star, Lea Salonga.

ONOFRE LACSON HOUSE

This house was built from 1918-1920 by the family of Manuela Lazatin Lacson, and passed on to Onofre Lacson, both relatives of Mariano Lacson. The children of Onovre now occupy this house in Brgy. Sto. Cristo.

OCAMPO-DE JESUS HOUSE

The original owners of this Barangay Sto. Rosario eood and stone structure were Jose Sixto de Jesus and Apolonia Tablante, Spaniards from Malabon who migrated to Angeles. The house was bequeathed to daughter Maria Luz de Jesus, who married Meliton Ocampo.

THE DAYRIT HOUSE

Located in Brgy. Lourdes, the Dayrit house stands next to the the Apung Mamacalulu (Lord of Mercy) chapel, which houses the miraculous image of the dead Christ. It is visited daily by hundreds of devotees. The house was also the execution site for American cavalry deserters in the early 1900s.  

YAP HOUSE

Located in Brgy. San Nicolas, this stately residence was built by the first Chinese immigrants in Angeles. It is now under the care of a descendant, Lydia Yap.

CAMALIG 

This granary was built in 1840 by Don Ciriaco de Miranda, son of the town founder and the 1st gobernardorcillo of Angeles. It functioned as a granary for 120 years until it was converted into a pizzeria in 1973 by the Nepomucenos. The kamalig houses many old family photos and artifacts original to the granary.

MUNICIPIO 

The town hall was constructed during the American regime, in 1922, under mayor Juan D. Nepomuceno, and was built from the original 1840 Casa Tribunal. A detachment of the Spanish Army occupied the Tribunal in 1897, and the Philippine Revolutionary Government took it after the Spaniards fled in 1898. It was in this building that the Ameircans installed Florentino Pamintuan as the town alcalde. During WWII, the Japanese used the town hall as a jail for American escapees from the Death March prior to their execution. Beginning 1999, the town hall has been converted into a museum, Museo Angeles, by the Kuliat Foundation.

STO. ROSARIO CHURCH

This 1877 twin-towered church was built on land donated by Don Mariano Vicente Henson and wife Dna. Asuncion Leon Santos. It was done in the romasque style, and built from adobe quarried from Porac and iron roofing imported from England. During the Revolution, the belfries were used as watch towers. Gen. Arthur MacArthur converted the church as a military hospital while the Japanese used it as a horse stable. The dome was bombed in 1945.