An interview with my late father. Recorded to document family history. The details in his stories are no longer clear. He was 79 during the recording. We grew up hearing these stories, so, in my mind, I was filling in the gaps. Papa’s WWII stories are particular to his community and hometown, San Carlos in […]
Category: Negros Oriental
An unexpected discovery reveals that a great grandparent is Chinese. Surprise! The man first settled in Calatrava, Negros. So I got curious, whatever happened to Chinese immigrants of Negros during the Spanish times? The Chinese pioneer’s of Negros’ bloodline are still very much alive. “Gonzaga, Yanson, Locsin, Montelibano, Lacson, Yulo, Yusay, Guanco, Limsiaco, de la […]
Last year when I visited my last surviving lola we spoke a lot about her memories growing up. She’s the youngest of more than a dozen siblings. I was reminded of her and our conversation when a few weeks ago, an Australian man I’m training with told me about his experience and facsination with “arnis”. […]
San Carlos in Negros for me is home to forgotten family ties. My grandmother, a de los Santos, was a sugarcane farmer in the Ledesma owned Hacienda Fortuna. She came from a big family but believe it or not, I have not met anyone or known personally a relative from this town. My Nanay gave me […]
Don’t confuse Halloween with our tradition of commemorating the dead. This dishonors our tradition. American Halloween (31 October) can be traced to Celtic paganism. Its association with “Pista ng mga Patay” and “Todos Los Santos” can solely be attributed to its proximity to the Christian holidays. Other than this, it has nothing to do with […]
I’ve never met my maternal grandparents. They both died relatively young. I’ve never even seen a picture of them but growing up I’ve learned to imagine their faces and what they were like just by listening to my mother’s stories about them. They were buried in Bayawan’s public cemetery almost five decades ago. They both […]
Mt. Kanlaon (Canlaon, Kan-laon) with a strange cloud formation hanging on top of it. I took this photo at the port of Toledo just before the sun rose. It was a perfect day and we were headed back to Negros. Tañon strait was so calm that one could mistake it as a lake at that […]
Almost three hours of traveling – from Dumaguete to San Carlos. We rested at the San Carlos public market where my mother sold vegetables from Canlaon as a child. We then went to Toledo crossing the beautiful strait of Tanon. The journey was fast but very rough. The waves were high and the commuter boat, […]
An officemate was asking for directions to Dumaguete last Thursday. Not sure when will he go there but I hoped he follows the route I suggested to him which is perfect if you’re just after spending the day in Cebu and plans to go to Dumaguete the following day. I told him to ride the […]
The greatest collection of WWII memorabilia’s in the Philippines can be found in Valencia, Negros Oriental. Its not a modern fancy museum building with spotlights and tour guides, its actually the humble home of familia Cat-al. The collection was started by the patriarch of the family, Mr. Porforio Cat-al, who joined the resistance against the […]
Bacong is just 20 minute ride from the town of Dumaguete, I reached the sleepy town one afternoon whose claim to fame is being the hometown of revolutionary hero Pantaleon Villegas aka Leon Kilat. A Spanish descendant, born to an affluent Negrense family, he worked in a pharmacy in Cebu owned by a German firm. […]
This time I was sure that I’m not going to miss a visit to Casaroro, I have plenty of time and saved some money. My second visit to Negros Oriental would not be complete without it. The mercado of Valencia have many habalhabal operators that have brought people where the trail (its torturous ladder steps) […]
I got out one day, went straight to the jeep terminal near the market and just rode a jeep straight to Valencia. There I planned to hitch a ride to Casaroro Falls but I plan not to if I won’t get a good deal with the habalhabal (motorcycle operator). I just don’t have the money. […]
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