Of waving green balili
grass undulating with the wind. Of quaint nipa
huts with dirt floors. Of bitter-tasting
rain water as drinking water from an earthen banga, fed and replenished by rain
flowing from the nipa roof. Of dusty
rolling streets where noisy kids paddled their rickety rubber wheels, up and
down. Of a decrepit panaderia at the
bottom of the road. Of an old lady named
Inoria resting in her creaky lantay, selling the most delightful bread and
pastries a child could hanker. Etc.
Of these are the
itchy splinters that keep resurfacing, as I recall distant time of youth in the
bosom of then enviable Cebu City, in the colorful milieu of my mother, her mother,
and their relatives. Mostly of renowned birth, but quite simple and unpretentious in living style and quarters.
My mother
originated from old Cebuano families with roots that dated back to early
Spanish times. My father who was himself from old Cagayanon families married
into that. Thus, as kids we had spent
time in both Cagayan de Oro and Cebu.
While I was already born in Cagayan de Oro, my elder siblings were born
in Cebu.
As such, part of
my early youth was spent in Cebu and these recollections partake of that part
of my growing years. Of times when we vacationed
in Cebu in my grandmother’s house located close to the intersection of old
Sikatuna St. with D. Jakosalem Street., a rather quaint section of the city
with narrow lonely streets then as now.
We lived intimately nestled close to relatives of my mother. That meant most of our neighbors then were
close relatives, and thus we lived in a small community of extended families. All this spelled happy and lively times of
camaraderie and laughter for the many kids around there.
Thus I reminisce
of cool afternoons, just roaming around with other kids inside my grandmother’s
homestead which was essentially an empty lot save for the two diffident huts,
blanketed by tall green balili grass waving in cadence with slow breezes of the
afternoons. And we kids would just romp
and play, tumbling and horsing around not really minding that later on our
bodies would get itchy from the grass.
But as kids we frolicked in gay abandon.
My grandmother’s
house was situated closer to the lower end of the road downgrade which
originated from D. Jakosalem St., set back a bit from the road. A little bit up but closer to the road was
the even smaller house of my grandmother’s little sister, Lola Pepang Ramirez. Both houses were close enough for
conversations to be carried with ease between the two places. And these modest homes paled in comparison to
the size of the lot that grandmother owned.
And she also possessed more real estate in other parts of the province.
My grandmother’s
house was a very retiring nipa hut with dirt floors, though the bedrooms may
have been a bit elevated and thus had wooden or bamboo floors. I do not recall our having electric lights
then, nor indoor plumbing. We had
drinking water coming from a banga that was fed with rain water coming from the
roof. My grandmother being widowed
early, I do not have any recollection of my grandfather. Similarly, her little sister was also already
widowed when they lived close to each other.
One significant thing I do remember what my grandmother busied herself with
after her prayers which spanned throughout the whole day was that she was so
attached to sewing and darning clothes.
And she was so good at it in detail and symmetry, that the result looked
like they were done by machines. This I
can easily recall because I used to watch her often. And this experience I believe may have also gotten
me interested and into sewing and darning clothes. And this acquired skill has done me good up to
this day.
In this rustic
environment, we spent whatever little time we garnered during our not so often
vacations to the land of my mother, embraced by a tiny neighborhood of
good-looking relatives, a welcomed result of an admixture of different ethnic
hues obtaining in that place. From Spaniards, to Chinese, and other
mestizos. Grandmother’ stock was
considered Mestizo Sangley, and her husband was most likely with Spanish blend.
