(Below is an article that appeared in the, FREE REIGN column in the June 4 issue of the Manila Standard.  It was written by Jenina Faicol Alli, daughter of the former Dina Limbaga Faicol, younger sister of Vivette, Bobby and Jing.  Their parents are Tio Joaquin Faicol and Tia Yanang Limbaga.  We have Vivette's permission to reprint it here in its entirerity.)

     Either out of something he read or thought by himself, a friend of mine said to me once, "Leave your hometown and come back after a year, and you will notice all the subtle changes that suddenly make it a totally different place. But come back after five years, and you 'll see that it always has been, and still is, the same". 

   It sounded profound enough at that time not to have made any sense at all, as is largely the case with most profundities. And in any case that it did hold true, I could not imagine something so dismal a fate for a town or places as that of being so stagnant, the incapacity to adopt any real and substantial change. For most of the time, in 21st century living, change was usually a reliable indication of progress. Development. Modernization. 

    So I decided to put this little maxim to a test, though not deliberately as much as incidentally. I was born and raised in Manila. But most of my contemporaries, cousins and relatives from my mother side are from Tanjay, a quaint little town in Negros Oriental. I was forced to learn the dialect, Cebuano. But force did not come in the form of someone wringing my arm behind my back. Instead, it came in the form of being ignored by cousins during playtime because they couldn't understand a word I said, nor I they. Seeing as to how I was the outsider, I did as the proverbial Romans did. 

    Ever since then I have been an honorary "Tanjayanon", its utter small town warmth and natural congeniality endearing themselves to me; the sudden time warp where no one ever seemed to be in a hurry; where even something as simple as adobo or paksiw tasted ten times better as if there were something about provincial air that magically transformed ingredients which, even in the same quantities over a Manila stove top, would not yield as savory a result. 

      In Tanjay, something as simple as buying bread freshly baked at two in the morning and gulping it down with a cold bottle of soda (sans ice and glasses) was simply the best. I had tried that once back in Manila, it wasn't the same. Not just that, it was utterly boring and did not merit going out at two in the morning! 

     When I was of legal age, some cousins and I would go the beachfront and park our motorcycles on the breakwater. We'd wait for the first batch of fishermen to come along and buy some of their catch for as low as about six pesos per fish. We'd knock at the nearest sari-sari store and buy a liter of coke and a cheap bottle of rum, borrow some glasses, and ask for some vinegar and salt. There, against the sea's metronome of waves, we would roast fresh fish and banter over a few glasses of warm rum cokes. Occasionally breaking the buzz of talking would be Woody's (a friend with an overgrown but endearing nose) vocal offerings (most of which were songs circa alternative grunge era) accompanied by guitar strumming. Otherwise, in place of Woody's ode to Stone Temple Pilots would be Leo's unsung oratorios that poeticized the heroism as much as malignancies of local socio-political affairs. Such were nights of total B.S., but B.S. that one would find hard to forget nonetheless. 

     My summer visits to Tanjay became a yearly ritual until I hit mid-college, where term papers and a hacked schedule provided neither the time nor the money (though the latter, I am inclined to think, can be largely attributed to a mother who thought about severing the financial navel coil just because her daughter turned 18--in short, she had resigned from her post as holiday "cash cow"). 

    It has been roughly five years since I visited Tanjay, though I would receive news about changes that occurred within the town. The road systems were being developed. A hotel was built, which prompted me to ask "Para que?" It wasn't exactly a tourist magnet----something, which I was grateful for---and the only white boys who milled around were Mormons! I was also told that the Christmas lights which stayed lit in the city throughout the year (thus earning Tanjay the moniker "Christmas City") were taken down and were only hung during, well, Christmas. But, the good news was (or so it was to a few) that Tanjay had officially become a city! 

     Last week, as I flew to Tanjay for a much-deserved break, I anticipated the faint recognition with which I would probably greet the town that had long ago served as an idyllic escape rout during my childhood. I was preparing myself for diminished charm for a place that would lose its hold on me. 

     As I reached the main thoroughfare, I was indeed surprised to see no one I knew among the young facesmilling about in the park, during mass, at the town bayle. But then, I thought, that doesn't account for much change really. These young ones have just taken 
     

(Jenina is the daughter of the former Dina Limbaga Faicol, younger sister of Vivette, Bobby and Jing.  Jenina's grandparents on her mother's side are Engr. Tio Joaquin Faicol and Tia Yanang Limbaga, a nurse, sister of  Tio Nono, Tio Dido, Tio Jesus, Tio Ben, Tia Charing and Sr Matilda.  Engr Faicol, his brothers Joe and Ruben and their staff were  responsible for
"reviving and rehabilitating" the pre-war vintage electric plant in Tanjay in the early fifties.)
 

Tanjay Association, USA sincerely congratulates and wishes the best  to the newly elected officials of the new  City of Tanjay Baltazar Salma Mayor  Lawrence (Boy) Teves Vice Mayor Councilors               Rose Bumanglag                Nenet Rabaya                Erkki Lozarita                      Karl Condes                Estella Ramirez                   Titing Orlino                Tony Calumpang               Rey Conception                Teody Aguilar                    Pechon Barot

 

Tanjay Association, USA 2195 Adair St., San Marino, CA 91108 Tel: (626) 585-5485   Fax (626) 585-5480 email: mayen1@aol.com ROSTER OF OFFICERS FOR 2000-2002 President:                MARLENE ZERNA-ROBERTSON Vice Presidents:     TITA CUSIO-GOROSPE                           REYNOLD MERCADO REYES Secretary:                LUALHATI ZERNA-COLGROVE Treasurer:                SALLY DE LA CRUZ Auditor:                   MARIANE ALLERA-FAYSSOUX Board of Directors MATTIE ZERNA-TUASON LILLIAN GIRASOL-ZERNA QUIRINING NAVARRO-SAN DIEGO DR. BOY CARIÑO DR. JESSIE SAMSON MARIVIC BUQUIRAN DOUGLAS LOPEZ JOAQUIN VILLEGAS GIGI VILLAHERMOSA Board of Advisers Mrs. Frances W. Teves Mrs. Dely de  las Alas-Villegas Mrs. Rue Limbaga-Sibala Engr. Fernando Gil Mrs. Nora Villaflores-Pilas Engr. Enrique Cariño Mrs. Clarita Limbaga-Cusio Col. Dr. Gualbert M. Sanchez AFP Col. Losiette Oracion Dr. Ramon Señeris Past Presidents Pabby Utzurrum Lito Limbaga Wency Villaflores Nene Teves-Luminarias Badingding Señeris -Gil Fern Ann Teves-Cruz Braddock Calumpang