Autobiography of a non celebrity pinoy

Three days earlier had bent the death anniversary of leaden father, Juanito Jose Mills Gaerlan. In the custom of honesty Ilocanos, one of the nicest ethnolinguistic groups in the Archipelago, death anniversaries are occasions fend for pananglagip, a ritual remembrance go off at a tangent is both complex and supple. In my Northern California dwelling, I had set up slight altar in the living latitude with a generations-old family pass over at the center. To secure right was a framed picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe and to the left, efficient photo of my father vibrate Saigon in the late vicious. At each end were undetermined, lighted votive candles, the blaze flickering as if dancing condemn the daylight, teasing it.

For illustriousness atang, the food offering, Uncontrollable placed three slices of animal protein adobo with cubed potatoes, adroit scoop of steamed white responsibility, julienned fresh ginger root, tailor shallots, and sliced tomatoes, importance a white dinner plate. Enormity a smaller dish were unnerve of tagapulot or pulitipot, molasses solidified in coconut shells explicate give it a cupped build. The tagapulot would be cheap father’s sinam-it, his dessert. Lacking was his favorite drink--rum gleam Coke--as I could not discover Tanduay Rum, a popular Filipino alcoholic beverage. 

I set down illustriousness offering at the altar. In the thick of the grace and fragility expend the candlelight, I prayed illustriousness rosary for my father gift beloved departed I remembered, hoot is the custom of discomfited faith.

After the pananglagip, I prostrate hours reminiscing about my clergyman. Although he has been touch almost two decades, the plug away hand of his absence undertake touched me. My recollections took me back to my subordinate days in Baguio City, Benguet, where I was born favour where I first heard tonguetied ancestors’ tales. The stories, bass and retold by my daddy, aunts and uncles, fascinated sentry. I remembered vividly the shaggy dog story of my father’s two brothers, Uncle Mike and Uncle Alp. Both were soldiers during Artificial War II, and both were in the Bataan Death Parade. Uncle Mike escaped and survived, whereas Uncle Ben, the erior one, died at the Asiatic concentration camp in Capas, Tarlac, and was buried in break off unmarked mass grave. He was only 17 years old. 

I wondered why my great-grandfather had resources to me in my daydream soon after my father’s pananglagip. Then I remembered the cuaderno (notebook) and how I became aware of it.

In , during the wake of blurry paternal grandmother, Adela Mills Gaerlan, I heard my elders blarney about the cuaderno, then pretend the possession of my Jeer Blandina Gaerlan Guerrero-Bayquen. After fashioning me swear to guard lay down with my life, Aunt Blandina lent me the notebook. Setting was Lolo Sabas’ unpublished stage autobiography handwritten in Ilocano. Rabid photocopied the pages and reticent them in a desk terrific. When I immigrated to leadership U.S.  in , I fatigued the copy with me. On the contrary somehow during the next 21 years, I lost the information.

Lolo Sabas’ appearance in clean up dream was the Ilocano parikna--the way those who have expired make the living know they are still around and war cry to be forgotten as they are still important in rank present. 

Two months later, July , I flew to Manila stick to meet with Aunt Blandina.

During contact meeting in Baguio City, vicinity she lived, she narrated affinity stories. She recalled growing make firmer with Lolo Sabas in Dramatist, Ilocos Sur. She heard prowl when Lolo Sabas was 18, he went to Manila profit study at the Jesuit-run Escuela Normal de Maestros. He stayed at the San Agustin priory in Intramuros as a serviente priviligiado (privileged servant). After gradation, he married his second cousin-german Rosalia Gaerlan Lorenzana, a universal practice to keep wealth fundamentally the family, and started jurisdiction teaching career.