A Sentimental Trip

The Panaderos family never had a true ancestral home. If we ever had one, it should have been my great grandmother's old home on P. Campa Street in Sampaloc. Her home was built some time in the early 1900s. As was typical of the homes at the time, it was primarily a wooden structure, had capiz (seashell) windows, and a flight of stairs that led one from the street level up to the living quarters on the second floor.

However, after she died in the early 1970s, one of her sons, a great uncle of mine, inherited the place. Since he lived by himself, it was easier for him to visit the rest of the clan who resided in my hometown. Thus, the Panaderos family home in my hometown became the sort of de facto family ancestral home even though it was much newer.

As for my hometown, under the 1987 Constitution, it formed one of Manila's six congressional districts. Back in the pre-martial law days and under the 1935 Constitution, it was one of Manila's four congressional districts.

To share just a bit of its history, in pre-Spanish times, the district I grew up in was originally part of a rather large Muslim kingdom that covered what are now the cities of Mandaluyong, Makati, and Pasay and the Manila districts of Paco and Pandacan. I guess you could say that the kingdom was a precursor to today's Metro Manila. But when the Spaniards acquired the territory in the late 1570s, control of the area, my district in particular, was handed over to Franciscan missionaries.

In the 1800s, the town became one of the favorite vacation places for some of Manila's affluent families. A number of their vacation homes used to stand by the southeast banks of the Pasig River, at a time when the scent emanating from the Pasig was still described as "sweet". The famed tranvia ("electric streetcar") used to run along one of the town's major roads and the tracks ended practically at the footsteps of our centuries-old Franciscan Church.

The Panaderos clan moved into the district around 1940 from the neighboring town of Makati. Makati, at the time, was still a rural town with rice fields and was one of the towns that made up the province of Rizal. In Makati, the Panaderos family had lived in a house in one of the streets behind the Makati City Hall's current location. In my hometown, the Panaderos family rented a house that was part of three or four blocks of homes that were built and developed by the landlord, the Yutivo Corporation.

Unlike the Ermita and Malate districts, my town was generally spared from the large-scale destruction brought on by the Liberation of Manila. However, it was not without its share of war casualties. A couple of very close family friends lost loved ones during the war. Aling Violet, a next door neighbor and close family friend, had a Polish-American father who served in the USAFFE (US Armed Forces in the Far East). He fought the Japanese in Bataan and ended up losing his life there. Mang Roy, whose family lived next door to us, had an older brother who served in the famed Philippine Scouts. He was picked up by the Kempeitai (Japanese Military Police) one night on suspicion of aiding the guerillas. He was never seen alive again.

The district showed a lot of progress during the 1950s and 1960s thanks to the success and hard work of a lot of its residents. A lot of the old Spanish-style homes were demolished by their owners and replaced by new and modern-looking apartment-style buildings. Quite a number of stylish American cars also became present on its streets.

The 70s were a fun time for me. I became familiar with the places and personalities around the neighborhood. In the process, I made quite a number of friends, a lot of them were the children themselves of my father's friends. I participated in a summer basketball league one year (a topic that would be the subject of a future blog entry), climbed the big acacia trees that were a common sight in a number of the streets back then, helped put up streamers for the town fiesta, participated in games and contests held on the day of the town fiesta, and "helped out" with the Santacruzan processions. I also remember the dance parties my older cousins hosted at home with the lights turned "down low".

We also had some so called neighborhood personalities. The neighborhood pediatrician's last name was Jayme and so we took to calling him "Dr. J", patterned after the NBA star Julius Erving who was quite popular at the time. There was also Dr. G, the older brother of a Sampaguita Pictures matinee idol. To the boys in the neighborhood, he inspired fear for he was known as "The Great Circumciser". Hardly a summer vacation went by without his name being mentioned by the parents back then.

We also had Aling Linda, a lady who sold a variety of cold refreshments, "ulam" (viands) and snacks during the hot summers. She had to do so for she had to support a rather large brood. Sleek and Tomas were the town tailors.

Unfortunately, the 70s also witnessed the beginning of a decline in the neighborhood. By then, many of the old-time residents had either moved to the suburbs or had migrated to the US or Canada. A lot of newcomers moved in from various places and provinces around the country. Sadly, these people did not share the feelings of ownership and respect old-time residents had for the place.

My family moved out to the suburbs in the mid 1970s although we still made it a point to visit on weekends. My visits to the place became less frequent during the 1980s once I got busy with college, got into romantic relationships, and worked on starting a profession. The last long visit was back in the early 90s when I drove around the neighborhood's streets as some sort of goodbye before leaving for the States.

I haven't been to my hometown in a while. Although I was in Manila last August, I was only able to stop by it once to see a very dear Aunt and my dear cousins. It was a shame that due to a previous commitment, I was not able to stay more than a couple of hours. Given such short stay, I was not able to spend some time to savor the neighborhood of my childhood.

Although a lot of changes have taken place, in my brief visit I saw that a lot of the nice old Spanish-style homes are still there. Many still belong to the same families that have lived in the town for generations, some of whom have had a presence in our town since the early 1900s. The old acacia trees are now gone. In their place stand new apartment-style buildings. Although these new buildings look quite trendy and modern from the outside, neighbors told me that they were not as well constructed as the old ones.

Dr. J is retired now and one of his sons have taken his place as the town pediatrician. His clinic still stands on the spot where I remembered it to be. Dr. G, like his matinee idol brother, has long since passed away. So too has Tomas, one of the tailors. Sleek has retired too. Both of their shops now gone. Mang Roy passed away recently after a long bout with cancer.

My great uncle who lived on P. Campa Street is no longer around too, having passed away in the late 1980s. My great grandmother's P Campa residence is no longer there. The property was sold to a Manila businessman who had the house demolished and a commercial building put up on its old site.

Aling Linda, happily, is still around. All her hard work in the summers surely paid off for she has become a landlord and now owns at least two apartment buildings in the area. Most of her kids have done quite well too for themselves.

Those are the stories and there are much more, too many to fit into one blog entry. The town occupies a special place within me for all of the above helped me to become what I am. I don't know when I'll be back for another vist. But when I do, I'll probably stay awhile.