445. The Tears and Triumphs of ELIZABETH PUNSALAN, Olympic Ice Dancer, Lubao

ICE QUEEN, Elizabeth Punsalan, 5-time U.S. ice dancing champion, 2-time Olympian, has a full-blooded Kapampangan father, Dr. Ernesto Punsalan of Lubao. 

When skater Elizabeth Punsalan stepped on the ice with her partner-husband Jerrod Swallow at the Hamar Olympic Ampitheater in Lillehammer, Norway, she was a picture of poise and grace. She had done this many times before--with the eyes of the world watching, she had danced, skated--and won, despite the intense pressure of  competition.  But this time, the feeling was different. Behind Elizabeth’s seemingly calm exterior, was pain and quiet grief for her father, who, less than two weeks before, had been stabbed and killed by her own brother.

Elizabeth Punsalan (b. 9 Jan. 1971, in Syracuse, New York) was the daughter of Dr. Ernesto and Teresa Punsalan.  Her father, a surgeon, had come to America from Lubao, as a medical student. The family eventually settled in Ohio, where Dr. Punsalan began a thriving practice. Young Liz, on the other hand, was drawn to the sport of ice skating at the tender age of 7. Soon, she was competing in skating competitions, and winning ice dance contests. Early in her career, she found a partner in Christopher Rettstatt, and debuted at the 1989 U.S. Championships. They stunned the field by copping 8^th place in the country’s premiere sce-skating event.

That same year, Punsalan was paired with a new 22-year old talent, Jerrod Swallow. Their chemistry was apparent from the start. Under the watchful eye of their coach, Sandy Hess, the pair began training in Colorado Springs. At the 1989 Skate America, they placed 7^th, but did even better at the 1990 U.S. Championships, where they finished 5^th.  They capped their ice dancing campaign when they returned the next year, finally winning their first U.S. national title.

Coming in as the pair to beat at the 1992 U.S. Championships that also served as the Olympic team qualifier,  Punsalan and Swallow finished in third place, owing to a fall that Swallow made in the free dance. Disappointed at his performance, Swallow pondered about leaving the sport, but Punsalan encouraged him to continue. They would eventually marry in 1993 and become partners for life.

The tandem changed coach in 1992, and, under the help of Igor Shpilband, they again rose to skating prominence, rivaled only by the pair of Renee Roca and Gorsha Shur, who trained alongside them. But Russian-born Gorsha still had to meet another requirement to skate for the U.S.---an American citizenship. Punsalan and Swallow  waged a letter-writing campaign to Congress to delay the granting of his citizenship, as there was only one slot reserved for the U.S. at the 1994 Winter Games.  

This unsportsmanlike behavior was unwarranted as Punsalan and Swallow were uncontested all the way to the finals.  After Roca and Sur suffered spills, the beleagured pair eventually withdrew. Punsalan and Swallow thus, earned their second national title—and an Olympic spot --and began preparing for the Lillehammer event.

But just two weeks before they were set to go to Norway, a family tragedy befell the Punsalans. On the night of February 4,  1994, Elizabeth’s father, Ernesto,  was stabbed to death while asleep at his Sheffield Lake home in Ohio.  Worst, the assailant turned out to be Elizabeth’s third brother, Ricardo, who had been plagued with mental problems. The doctor was pronounced dead on arrival at St. Joseph Hospital and Health Center in nearby Lorain. He was just 57.

Despite her sorrow, Elizabeth Punsalan decided to continue with her Olympic journey, at the urging of her family. "My father was proud of my skating achievements and would have wanted me to go on to Lillehammer," the Kapampangan-American skater said. "I will try to skate my very best there in his memory." After her father’s funeral, Punsalan and husband Swallow, immediately flew to Lillehammer  to begin their quest for an Olympic ice dancing gold.

In the rounds leading to the finals, the pair skated through their personal pain, and secured 14^th place. But they would eventually dropped to 15^th position when Swallow fell during a lift, sending him and Elizabeth crashing down on the ice—along with their Olympic dream.

Beaten but unbowed, the couple bounced back at the 1995 U.S. Championships, finishing as runners-up to their arch rivals, Roca and Sur. They were on a roll in 1996, 1997 and 1998 championships, when they reigned supreme by winning 3 national titles—and another chance to redeem themselves at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. This time, the pair finished strong in 7^th place in the Mixed Ice Dancing event.

The ice has not yet melted in Nagano, when, at the 1998 World Figure Skating Championships held in March in Minneapolis, Punsalan and Swallow capped their sterling ice dancing career with a 6^th place finish.

After retiring from competitive ice skating, Punsalan and Swallow continued to skate in ice shows for a number of years. Punsalan became an ice dance coach at the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Once off the ice, Elizabeth also found a new interest and became an interior designer, while raising two sons, Gavin (13) and Alden (6).

When the 2019 U.S. Figuring Skating Championships unfolded in Detroit in late January, Punsalan and Swallow—five-time American champions themselves-- were there to welcome America’s best skaters to their city, which had become a prominent  international training ground for some of the greatest Olympic skaters on ice. The couple’s presence and their skating legacy would have certainly provided inspiration to the many young skaters who, just like young Elizabeth 2 decades before, have come to begin the realization of their Olympic dreams.

(POSTSCRIPT:  Younger brother, Ricky, was charged in the death of their father, but was found mentally unfit to stand trial. As of 2016, he remains in a mental health institution for at least the next two years. Punsalan’s mental health state will be reviewed again in December 2018.) 

SOURCES:

Elizabeth Punsalan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Punsalan

Elizabeth Punsalan photo: http://susanfieldofgold.blogspot.com/2014/12/day-7-liz-punsalan-and-jared-swallows.html

Skating squabble plays to soap opera background, by Milton Kent, THE BALTIMORE SUN,

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1995-02-16-1995047108-story.html

ICE DANCER DEDICATES GAMES TO SLAIN FATHER, https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-02-16-9402160123-story.html

Punsalan says he is Jesus, https://www.upi.com/Archives/1994/03/05/Punsalan-says-he-is-Jesus/9170762843600/

Why do so many international Olympic figure skaters train in Michigan?

http://www.michiganradio.org/post/why-do-so-many-international-olympic-figure-skaters-train-michigan

*442. RAYMOND L. OCAMPO of Lubao: A Winter Olympian's Long, Lonesome Road to Calgary

SKI IS NO LIMIT. Lawyer-luger Raymond Ocampo Jr. did not just want to compete in the Olympics, he wanted to race for the Philippines, his country of birth. But his dream was put in peril due to passport issues. Photo: NY Times,

When a topnotch Kapampangan-American athlete and lawyer was asked in one job interview which he would prioritize—to handle a major corporate client or to compete in the Olympic, he chose the latter—and got hired anyway. Such is the commitment of Raymond L. Ocampo Jr. to his chosen discipline—luge—a winter sport that is hardly known in the U.S., much less in the Philippines. But Ocampo did not just want to join the Winter Olympics; he wanted to compete for the Philippines.

It had been 16 years since the Philippines was represented in a winter Olympics;  the first time was in the 1972 Sapporo games when cousins Ben Nanasca and Juan Cipriano competed in alpine skiing. The two were adopted and lived in Andorra, and took to skiing in the Pyrenees. They became so proficient that the Swiss government recruited them for an alpine skiing group, which paved the way for their Olympic stint under the Philippine flag.

Ocampo’s journey was unlike our pioneer Olympians. Born in Lubao on 10 Feb. 1953, his parents migrated to Canada when he was 11. The young Ocampo channeled his energies into sports of all kinds—as a high-schooler, he became a member of his school’s basketball team that won the state championship. Even as a political science student at UCLA and later, as a law student,  he was running marathons in between poring over legal tomes.

After passing the bar, Ocampo went into private practice and continued with his love of sports. In 1986, the year he got employed by Oracle Corp., he became fascinated with luge—a fast race on artificial ice tracks using racing sleds that could be maneuvered to reach over 140 kilometer per hour.

What was amazing was that Ocampo learned the sports from scratch. He would watch old video tapes of past winter Olympics editions, but when he reviewed the Saravejo Olympics of 1984, he was surprised to learn that tropical Puerto Rico was represented by a skier named George Tucker. He seriously began entertaining the thought of representing the country of his birth.

First, Ocampo began investing in the sport, spending as much as $20,000 alone for trips and equipment. He started intensive dry-land training on a sled with wheels and joining races. His first big one was at  the Empire State Games at Lake Placid in 1986, finishing a creditable 7^th in his over-30 age group. One of those he defeated was Puerto Rican George Tucker! The experience buoyed his confidence and thus began his  personal mission to ski for the Philippines.

But first, he needed the permission of the Philippine Olympic Committee in Manila via the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco. It took awhile to convince sports officials that his application was valid: the International Olympic Committee allows an athlete to represent the country of his birth so long as he has not competed in the same sport  for another country. Besides, as a dual Filipino-American citizen, he was eligible to don the Philippine tri-color.

The national committee however, required him to hold a Philippine passport first—and thus began a series of frustrating passport issues that imperiled his Olympic dream. ''Luging is hard enough,'' he realized, but ''the paper trail was the hardest part.'' A personnel from the consulate volunteered to take his case, and his cache of supporting documents to Manila to discuss his request with the Olympic committee.

But the official’s timing was bad; Corazon Aquino had just ousted Marcos, and a new government was being put in place. It did not help that the official had strong ties with the Marcos administration, so upon landing in Manila, he was withheld, and his papers were confiscated, including Ocampo’s pertinent documents. The disappointed Olympic hopeful had to start all over.

Ocampo personally sent a letter to Vice President Salvador H. Laurel. He sent another letter to Sec. Gen. Francisco Almeda—who had denied his first request. The United States Luge Federation even sent a letter of recommendation to convince the Olympic committee. When still a deluge of letters and telex messages from Ocampo were left unanswered, the weary athlete phoned Almeda directly, finally convincing him how serious he was. With that final go-signal, Ocampo gave a big sigh of relief as he mused:  ''It was an exhausting process…more exhausting than lugeing.''

When the 15^th Winter Olympics unfolded in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on 13 February 1988, the triumphant Ocampo marched into the McMahon Stadium, proudly  holding the Philippine flag up high. He was the lone Filipino among the thousands of international athletes who congregated in Calgary that year to vie for medals in the premiere winter sport games of the world.

Never has there been an athlete who have worked and prepared as hard as Raymond L. Ocampo Jr.—even before the Games had started. ''A medal is not something I'm shooting for,'' the Kapampangan-American said. ''But whether I win one or not, it would be nice to bring a focus to the Philippines for something other than the troubles they have been having. That's just the way I feel.''

 (POSTSCRIPT: Ocampo was fielded in the men's singles luge event and finished 35 out of 38 overall. In 2010, he served as an honorary captain of the U.S. Olympic Luge Team that competed in Vancouver,Canada. He is the current President and CEO of Samurai Surfer LLC, a private consulting and investment company)

SOURCES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Ocampo

Raymond L. Ocampo Jr. , https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=667210&privcapId=338154

OLYMPIC PROFILE: RAYMOND OCAMPO; One-Man Luge Team With Tale of 2 Flags, By MICHAEL JANOFSKY, Nov. 29, 1987, https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/29/sports/olympic-profile-raymond-ocampo-one-man-luge-team-with-tale-of-2-flags.html

Pictures: https://www.h5.com/ray-ocampo-jr/

New York Times, Nov. 29, 1987

*412. SPANISH HACIENDEROS IN PAMPANGA

LORD OF THE LANDS. Spaniard Jose Puig,  a successful owner of  a milling business and a 
 dealer of sugar milling machiinery, owned and operated the vast Hacienda Puig in Pampanga.

In the economic heyday of Pampanga brought about by its lucrative sugar industry, scoress of Kapampangan landowners raked in untold wealth from the fat of their lands. Prominent names like Mariano Pamintuan (Angeles), Jose L. De Leon, Roman Valdes (Bacolor) Augusto Gonzales, Manuel Escaler (Apalit), Jose Maria Panlilio (Mexico) , Vicente Lim-Ongco (Guagua) and Manuel Urquico were top on the list of the province’s richest and most influential hacienderos.

 Joining them were a small group of Spaniards who took residence in Pampanga in the 1800s, after the government lifted a ban against living in the provinces. They acquired lands, became agriculturists and founded viable extensive estates. (The Chinese showed no interest in land speculation, opting to engage in commerce, manufacturing and processing of products.)

 A list of landowning Spaniards from 1887-1888 included about 58 names—fewer than those in Negros, possibly because Pampanga landowners tended to hold fast to their lands, thus creating difficulties to outside investors. Many of these Spaniards also appeared to have leased their property than personally run the affairs of their land. At the turn of the 20th century and into the early years of American regime, the list of prominent Spanish sugarland owners include the following:

The Arrastias. The patriarch of the Arrastias of Lubao was,Valentin Roncal Arrastia, a Basque from Allo, Navarra, Spain, who went to the Philippines to seek his fortune. He, not only found wealth in the country, but also a Kapampangan wife—Francisca Serrano Salgado of Lubao. The couple’s consolidated properties included their vast hacienda planted with sugar and rice, as well as flourishing fish ponds that provided a luxurious life for their 9 children. Befitting their stature, the Arrastias built a magnificent residence sometime in the first two decades of the 1900s, fronting the Lubao municipio. 

The Gils.  In the 1850s, the colonial government allowed the selling of lands to Spaniards and one beneficiary was Spaniard Felino Gil. He turned his land parcel of over 530 hectares into the Hacienda Mamada de Pio. Gil was first of many generations of his family to settle in their Porac hacienda. While other Spaniards sold off their lands to natives who divided them into smaller portions. But Spanish settlers in towns like Lubao, Floridablanca and Porac retained their large estates, some as big as 1000 hectares. The Gils remained in Porac for a long time, including a nephew from Valencia, Spain-Rafael Gil.

The Puigs. Spaniard Jose Puig, who has been accumulating lands for over years, established a profitable sugar milling business and the selling of agricultural equipment back in the 1890s. He became a well-known dealer of steam mill machinery, which he also leased out to farmers. He is credited for the shift into steam milling by many Pampanga farmers. Puig remained a farmer in the province after the arrival of Americans. Other Puigs like Francisco Puig continued the landowning tradition by acquiring 51 hectares of rice and sugarlands. A daughter of Don Honorio Ventura married a Puig and settled in Barcelona.

The Toledos. By 1854, Roberto Toledo had amassed large tracts of agricultural lands in the Porac-Lubao-Floridablanca area, which he rented out. His son, Roberto Jr. managed to increase the landholdings to over 3,000 hectares. He become one of the most progressive sugar planters in Pampanga. The Toledo estate was not spared from the violence in the late 1930s that rocked Pampanga’s sugar areas, which caused landlowners to form an association to protect their interests. The Toledos and their casamacs settled for a 50 centavo increase –raising their pay to 2 pesos per ton, for every cane delivery to Pasumil.

 The Valdeses. Hacienda del Carmen was founded in Floridablanca by Capt. Basilio Valdes of the Spanish Navy, who married a Manileña mestiza, Francisca Salvador. The agricultural lands were later managed by his children, led by Benito Salvador Valdes, a doctor, who was a classmate of Jose Rizal at the Universidad Central de Madrid in 1885. During the Revolution, Valdes was imprisoned in Fort Santiago for charges of complicity. Later, Benito Salvador became the director of San Juan de Dios Hospital in 1900. With first wife, Filomena Pica, he had a son, Dr. Basilio J. Pica Valdes who became the president of Hacienda del Carmen, aside from being Quezon’s Chief of Staff and defense secretary. The place where their tenants lived and work was named Barangay Valdes.

 Other known Spanish landlords included Don Ricardo Herreros (who owned an 81 hectare sugarland), Vicente Borrero, Julian Blanco, Manuel Fernandez, Juan Landaluce, Dolores Lombera and Emilio Borrero.

 The days of those grand Spanish-owned haciendas are now long gone—the properties sold by the original owners’ descendants, subjected to land reform, or redeveloped as residential subdivisions.

Vestiges of Spanish colonial power and presence could still be seen in some parts of Pampanga—the Pio Chapel and the manor of the Gils remain in Porac looked after by caretakers, and barangay Valdes continues to thrive in Floridablanca. The fabulous Arrastia mansion has been sold and relocated to Bataan as part of the Las Casas de Acuzar heritage resort. Finally, Kapampangans could re-claim and live on their lands again.

Sources: 
John Larkin, The Pampangans / Sugar and the Origins of Modern Philippine Society
Sugar News 1925 ed.

*407. FISHING FOR COMPLIMENTS

FISH BE WITH YOU. A belle and her bangus, on the way home from the pampang. Fisheries remain to be an important industry for Kapampangans living in the delta region, c.1915.

Being in the central plains of Luzon, people are sometimes surprised to know that Pampanga, too, has a fishing trade, an industry  associated with coastal places like Navotas, Malabon, and the Visayan islands.

Actually, Pampanga has an area that is heavily watered by the great Pampanga River and its tributaries. In the delta towns of Guagua, Lubao and Sasmuan, as well as in the low-lying towns of Masantol, Macabebe, San Luis and Candaba, fisheries is a source of livelihood.

Fisherfolks catch fish either by the traditional method of setting traps in the water or by building fish ponds, which are a common sight in Macabebe and Masantol, where they are diked and seeded with fingerlings.

Upon maturity, the fish are harvested by letting the waters spill out. Large fishponds also served as swimming holes and picnic sites in the 20s-30s, as they not only had picturesque locations but they also provided an unlimited number of fish for food. Unfortunately, ponds have also become contributors to the worsening of the flood situations in these areas after the silting of major estuaries caused by the Pinatubo eruption. Fishponds have also been blamed for the disappearance of mangroves since their proliferation beginning in the 1970s.

In Candaba,  depending on the season, the swamp serves a dual function. During summer, it is used as an agricultural field to plant rice, vegetables and grow watermelons. But when the wet season arrives and rainwater fill the swamp, it turns into a lake teeming with bangus (milkfish), tilapia, paro (shrimp), ema (crab) and bulig (mudfish). (Tip: the Friday Candaba Market in Clark is the go-to place for the freshest catch of fish, shrimps, crabs, eels and other crustaceans).

 “Asan” is the Kapampangan term for “fish”, but today, when people ask “Nanung asan yu?”, they also mean “What’s your food?”—whether your “ulam” (viand) be made of meat or vegetable. “Masan” is a verb meaning “to eat”, it is specific to eating cooked fish or meat, thus, “masan asan” is “eat cooked fish”. There is hardly a difference between “asan” and “ulam”, as used today, which underlines the importance of fish in the life of the Kapampangan.

 While today’s Kapampangan is familiar with fish like itu (catfish), kanduli (salmon catfish) , sapsap (ponyfish) and talangka (small crabs), our old folks knew other kinds of fish with fascinating names that may sound alien to our ears today. A goldfish was called “talangtalang”, while a “pacut” is a small crab. Another name for kanduli is “tabangongo”, a “talunasan”, an edible eel. A “palimanoc” is a ray fish, a “tag-agan”—a swordfish, and its small look-alike is called “balulungi”, 

Our contribution to the culinary world include fish-based treats that include “burung asan” (using bulig),”balo-balo” (using tilapia, gurami and shrimp), and “taba ning talangka”. We also have our delectable versions of sisig bangus, pesang bulig and rellenong bangus. During Lent, we prepare sarsiado, escabeche, suam a tulya, and seafood bringhi. In our fiestas and holidays, we serve fancy fish dishes like Pescado el Gratin, Chuletas (fish fillet), and Pescado con Mayonesa. For many Kapampangans, there’s never a day without fish on the table.

 “Nanung asan yu?”

*390. THE CASE FOR THE PRESIDENTIABLE DELA ROSA

A LEADING ACTOR TO LEAD THE COUNTRY. Rogelio de la Rosa...but is he qualified? ca. early 1960s.

The Philippine Presidency, it is said, has occupational hazards that could kill. After all, three of our presidents have died at work. Yet, then, as now—the position remains as the ultimate aspiration of all Filipino political leaders, for the immense power that the office brings and glory it represents. The 1961 Presidential Elections put to fore the qualifications of the aspirants—the first, the incumbent president Carlos P. Garcia (Nacionalista), the second—the incumbent vice president Diosdado Macapagal (Liberal), and the third, a movie star-turned-senator, Rogelio de la Rosa, an Independent. 

It was easy to deride Rogelio “Roger” de la Rosa for his being just an ”artista” , viewed in the light of the silver screen as a leading man, which he was, some twenty years ago. The son of Feliciano de la Rosa and Rosario Lim, he was born on 12 November 1916 in Barrio san Jose de Gumi in Lubao, Pampanga. His paternal grandfather , Francisco de la Rosa, was a Spanish surveyor, while his grandmother, Marciana Dariano was an Ilocana from La Union. Everyone knew too, that the 45 year old presidential bet had been at political odds with Diosdado, his own brother-in-law. (Macapagal was married to Purita, Rogelio's sister, who died during the war).

 Dela Rosa’s first and only political experience was when he ran for the Senate of the Liberal Party and won—heavily supported by fan votes. Because of his background, he was looked at as “non-intellectual” (he went to Lubao Institute and finished Liberal Arts from Far Eastern University) . His followers, however, were quick to point out that even Magsaysay was a “non-intellectual”; he, like Dela Rosa has a practical grasp of problems and disdains convoluted, belabored discussions. As for his fans, it could not be denied that they are certainly an articulate and potent force to reckon with--part of the common “masa”. 

Moreover, during the last war, when many politicians were collaborating with the Japanese-sponsored government, Dela Rosa was working as a fighter of the underground army; this he repeated when he volunteered to go to Korea to join hands with the United Nations peacekeeping forces there. As Magsaysay’s labor adviser, Dela Rosa was valued for his troubleshooting skills in resolving agrarian and rural improvement issues.

 As Senator-elect who topped the polls with 2 million votes, Dela Rosa also had an enviable record, sponsoring a law to condemn the illegal appropriation of public streams and rivers by rich fishpond owners. He was known for making on-the-spot visits to the backwoods to as a way of showing deep concern for the common tao’s problems. It is interesting to note that Dela Rosa’s campaign seal shows a salakot with a pair of bakya (wooden shoes) , underlining his pro-masa approach.

 To this day, many believe that Dela Rosa could have been an apt leader for the country in 1961 with his social and political thinking that tends towards egalitarianism. If he had not given way to Macapagal, he could have, they say, ended the heavy-handed domination of politicians, by his institution of a regime that was truly mass-based, ethical, competent and honest. Then he would have also been irrefutably—the world’s most handsome President!

*386. Bale-Matua: THE ARRASTIA HOUSE, Lubao

TO A MANOR BORN. Home of Pampanga sugar planter of Don Valentin Arrastia, Luba, Pampanga. 1925.

 In Lubao, in front of the municipal hall, once stood the palatial house of one of the town’s most affluent Spanish-Filipino family—the Arrastias. The patriarch, Valentin Roncal Arrastia, was a Basque who had come all the way from Allo, Navarra, Spain, to find his fortune in colonial Philippines. He, not only found the wealth he was seeking, but also a Kapampangan wife—Francisca Serrano Salgado of Lubao.

 The couple’s consolidated wealth included their vast hacienda planted with sugar and rice, as well as flourishing fish ponds. Befitting their stature, the Arrastias built a magnificent residence sometime the first two decades of the 1900s, where they raised their 9 children: Carmen (Mameng), Jose (Pepe, father of Ambassador Mercedes Tuason, and Ruby aka Neile Adams, wife of actor Steve McQueen), Justo (founder of Lubao Institute), Benito (died at 19), Crispula (died in infancy), Juanita (Miss Pampanga 1926), Esteban (Teban, father of actress Letty Alonso, married to actor Mario Montenegro), Francisco (died at 12), Enrique (died during the liberation of Manila) and Sebastian (Bastian, whose daughter, Sylvia is married to former senator and radio personality, Eddie Ilarde).

 The Arrastia House, designed by the patriarch no less, was typical of the architecture of the period—a transitional style featuring elements of the ‘bahay na bato” and modern American influences. The ground floor--which includes the receiving room, is made of concrete, its windows protected with wrought-iron grills. The lower floor could be accessed from upstairs through a secret passage that led to one of the storage rooms. The second storey features high frosted glass-paned windows and a wrap-around eave to shade the residents from the harsh Pampanga sun.

Ventanillas protected by ornamental grills had sliding windows to let air in and an enclosed balconaje (balcony) decorated with fretwork could be found on the upper landing. The roof itself, is made from thick American G.I. sheets. The house was fenced with simple metal grills and surrounded with bushes, shrubs and other greeneries. Accenting the garden is stately water fountain, ornamented with classical statues, while a pool is located at the back.

Lavish parties were regularly hosted by Don Valentin for his friends—mostly rich hacenderos and fellow-sugar planters. One such talk-of-the-town affair was the luncheon thrown by the Arrastias in honor of Mr. R. Renton Hind, a high-ranking American official of the country’s sugar industry. The guest list included Pampanga’s well-known sugar barons, mostly from the Del Carmen district which Mr. Hind used to manage: Dons Carlos Layug, Francisco Reinares, Martin Gonzalez, Alfredo Infante, Braulio Mendiola, Carlos Gil, Joaquin Varela, Quiterio Araneta and Leonard Moore.After felicitations were exchanged, the guest of honor was presented with a handsome desk set, and a case containing a solid gold pen and pencil.

 When Valentin and Francisca passed away, the house was bequeathed to the Arrastia children. Daughter Juanita felt most passionate about the house and the memories it held, so her husband, the famed doctor Wenceslao Beltran Vitug, bought out the shares of her siblings; in this way, the ancestral house was passed on to the Vitugs. Seven children were born to Juanita and Apung Beses, and they too, spent their growing up years in the house.

As such, the house teemed with househelps, mostly wives, sons and daughters of sharecroppers who worked on the Arrastia farmlands. A Japanese driver was also employed. When World War II broke out and Japanese forces overrun Pampanga, their officials took over the house and used it as their garrison. Thanks to their Japanese driver who couched for the Vitugs’character, the grand Arrastia mansion was spared from the ravages of war.

Also associated with the Arrastia house and its residents was the late president Diosdado P. Macapagal. It was said that the poor but bright Lubeño boy would pass by the house everyday. Catching the attention of the Arrastias, they would eventually learn of his plight and decided to help him with his school needs. Macapagal graduated valedictorian of his elementary class and finished his high school on 1929 with flying colors. He would eventually take up Law, enter politics and become president-elect in 1963. 

 A succession of Vitug descendants acted as caretakers of the house after the death of Apung Beses (+1986) and Juanita (+1994). The family finally decided to sell their ancestral home in 2007 to Architect Jose L. Acuzar. It was dismantled, transported and reconstructed in Bagac, Bataan as a heritage house of Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar.

*374. THE SUBJECT WAS SHOP

IF I HAD A HAMMER. Lubao Elementary School Shop Class for boys. 1936-1937.

 My least liked subject during my elementary days was Industrial Arts. Taught to fifth and sixth graders, industrial arts was meant to equip students with manual and vocational skills that one may find useful in a future career in woodworking, cottage industries and native crafts.

 American teachers paid attention to this non-academic subject as Pampanga’s economic activities seemed to revolve around those industries. Crafts such as buntal hat and basket weaving, pottery, blacksmithing, furniture making were known in such towns as Betis and Apalit. Which is why, when the Bacolor School of Arts and Trade made its curriculum, it included advanced courses in carpentry, furniture-making and iron works. It was just a matter of time that the subject was adopted in public elementary schools, under the name ”Industrial Arts”.

 I was a total klutz when it came to handling tools, and I couldn’t even tell a screwdriver from a can opener. So it was with much anxiety that I entered the Industrial Arts building located at the rear of the school—students simply called it “shop”. It was lined with long work tables and had cabinets full of carpentry tools, each little gadget in its own space. The teachers manning the ‘shop’ had a reputation for being ‘terrors’ so this did not help me in appreciating this subject.

But luck was on my side when I found out that our class was assigned to the more mild-mannered Mr. Dimabuyu. My parents knew him personally and they requested him to go easy on me. I had such a weak constituent that even a simple chore like pounding a hammer could trigger an asthma attack. So, for the next weeks, I was spared of carpentry work and was given drafting duties instead. I learned to draw schematic diagrams of every conceivable geometric figure known to man, using a T-square, a triangle and a ruler. I wonder if I could actually make a living out of this. After awhile, boredom set in and I started watching and helping my adept classmates with their handiworks that were becoming more interesting every day.

 The first project was a dustpan fashioned from old cooking oil cans and a piece of wood. The next was a shoe mud scraper made from soda crowns hammered onto a plank of wood. Simple enough. But the succeeding projects became even more elaborate, requiring more sophisticated tools and skills.

For the fruit tray, one had to be good not just in handling the jig saw but also in weaving rattan strips that constituted the side of the tray. The serving tray was the piece de resistance—individual bamboo tiles had to be cut and glued into place much like parquet—and then made even with a shaving plane. The surface was then hand varnished to gleaming perfection. Each finished piece had to be presented to Mr. Dimabuyu for grading.

With his critical eye, he took note of the accuracy of dovetailed pieces, the craftsmanship and the over-all aesthetics. Every flaw was met with a frown while the outstanding ones merited words of praise. In Grade 6, I felt courageous enough to take part finally in our shop class even if I was now under a terror teacher.

The first project stumped me though, a wooden animal pull toy with wheels. I simply could not handle a jigsaw, so I cheated by asking Sidring, our househelp, to do all the sawing, drilling and assembling.

Every day I would bring the pull toy, a work in progress, to the shop, sandpapering it to death so it would look like I was busy with it. I did the painting though, a no-brainer, but still I got a deduction for painting the toy dog green.

 Later, in the school year, a radical set-up was introduced for intermediate students—both boys and girls-- which took us by surprise. The role-reversal experiment called for the girls to take Industrial Arts and Gardening, and the boys to study Home Economics. We had to learn the parts of the sewing machine, do kitchen work and hawk merienda food from class-to-class. That was the worse part as the sight of boys in aprons selling kakanins always caused people to snicker. The girls, on the other hand,  were actually doing well with their bamboo-and-paper parol project.

 It was only when I began living alone that I learned to appreciate this subject now absent in most school curriculum. Industrial arts did not make a handyman out of me, but it sure did prepare me in coping with the challenges of home improvement and repair, which I think I am now capable of doing. With my basic knowledge of carpentry, I could frame pictures, install shelves, mend broken furniture—thanks to the subject I loved to hate—industrial arts!

*364. MSGR. DIOSDADO G. VICTORIO, Lubao's Man of Letters, Man of Light

REV. FR. DIOSDADO G. VICTORIO, as a young  J.C.L. Classical Studies graduate of the University of Sto. Tomas in 1939.

The town of Lubao counts not just presidents and acting families as its native children, but also accomplished men of the cloth like Rev. Frs. Francisco Cancio, Pedro Punu and Fidel Dabu.

One other Lubeño religious who stands out for his brilliant intellect was Rev. Fr. Diosdado Victorio y Galang.

The young Diosdado entered the San Carlos Seminary, which had a large population of Kapampangan seminarians in 1928. He graduated in 1932 with a degree in Philosophy, but stayed on to earned another major in Theology, completed in 1934. After which, he took up Canon Law from 1934-1938.

In 1938, he entered the University of Santo Tomas to earn a Licentiate in Canon Law (Juris Canonici Licentia)-Classical Studies. That same year, he was ordained as a deacon on 21 December 1938. He gained his licentiate in 1939.

As a student at the pontifical university, he was member of the Lambda-Sigma, and was a Librarian on the side. Rev. Fr. Victorio was assigned to Lubao after his studies, and quickly played an important part in the Catholic education of the youth. When the Lubao Central High School was founded on 28 October 1950, it was under his direction that the administration of the school flourished. The school, started in the large house of Felicidad Manuel, would eventually be known as the Holy Rosary Academy of Lubao.

In February 1952, when Bishop Cesar Guerrero conceived of organizing the Crusade of Penance, Charity and Goodwill revolving around the veneration of Virgen de Los Remedios (Patroness of Pampanga), he named Fr. Victorio as its Spiritual Director. He was then serving as the cura of the Sta. Lucia Church, in Sasmuan. The cruzada was launched and it successfully ward off the polarizing effects of Socialism which was on the rise in the province.

From 1969 to 1973, now a Monsignor, the very reverend father was assigned at the Archdiocese of San Fernando, succeeding his kabalen, Msgr. Pedro Puno. His next stop was in Angeles, where he served at the Most Holy Rosary Parish until 1980. The good father from Lubao finished his earthly mission when he passed away in 1982,

*362. MUSICUS: The Sound of Our Fiestas!

MAJOR, MAJOR, MAJORETTES. Lovely Kapampangan majorettes pose for a shot before joining the local 'musicus' in their rounds around the town, lending a festive air to Pampanga fiestas. ca. 1950s.

It’s our Mabalacat city fiesta as I write this article---and it’s a pity that I am not there to enjoy the festivities, not to mention the colorful sights, smells and sounds that accompany the yearly February 2 proceedings. You just know it’s fiesta season when blue and white buntings start lining the streets and tiangge stalls begin popping up along the church perimeter, offering all sorts of goods, from the useful to the bizarre.

 But nothing says “fiesta” more than the presence of music-making bands—“musicus”—staples of every fiesta, in every town and barrio of the Philippines. With their gleaming brass horns, cymbals, lyres, trumpets, drums and bugles, uniformed band members--preceded by a bevy of pretty, baton-twirling majorettes—are always a striking sight when they take to the streets, making stirring melodies as they march, with a bit of choreography on the side.

 Evolved from the roving “musikung bumbung” (bamboo bands), today’s bands drew early inspirations from the acclaim gained by the Philippine Scouts Band at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. The band was the largest at the fair, and it had a large repertoire of 80 pieces, against Fredric Sousa’s 65. “They were good and had temperament which the other bands lacked”, wrote one visitor.

 Needless to say, they took the world’s fair by storm, often performing in drills with “Little Macs”—young Macabebe veterans who enlisted for service to fight for the Americans in the Philippine-American War. Certainly, the incredible feat of that Philippine band helped fuel interest back in the islands for organized bands.

Just 4 years after that U.S. triumph, the Philippines had its own national fair—the Manila Carnival—and in 1909, the band from Angeles outplayed its rivals to clinch first place in the musical band competition. It was during town fiestas, however, that local bands gave rein to their musical creativity.

In the Betis fiesta of 1959, a local band—Banda 46—was tasked to march around the town starting on the fiesta eve, from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m.— to rouse people from their sleep—for a period of nine days! The day was capped with musical duel between bands---Serenata ning Musicus—in which Banda Sexmoan 12 played against Banda Sexmoan 31 at the church patio in a test of musical endurance and bravado.

 On 29 December, an exhibition was staged by a bevy of band majorettes, displaying their dancing and baton-twirling skills while band members in their gala uniforms played their best. On the fiesta day itself, 12 bands paraded along the streets, with some, invited from different provinces: Banda Baliwag, Banda Cabiao 96, Banda San Leonardo, Banda Bocaue, Banda Sexmoan 31, Banda Sexmoan 12, Banda Pulilan, Banda Candaba, Banda Duat Bacolor, Banda San Antonio Bacolor, Banda 48 Betis, Banda 26 Betis and the 600 Clark Field Air Force Band thru the courtesy of Mr. Salvador Pangilinan.

The bands then converged to escort the carrozas of the town patrons for the grand procession. The 1939 Lubao town fiesta from 4-5 May, was also made exciting with the presence of 3 “musicus”: Banda Lubao, Banda Sinfonica (Malabon) and Banda Buenaventura (Baliwag). The 3 bands were gathered at the municipio before they set out for the Poblacion, treating Lubeños to a musical extravaganza never before seen in the town.

 A 1946 fiesta souvenir program from Sta. Rita detailed also the arrival of 3 bands that played on the eve of the fiesta, the first one held after the Liberation: Banda Sta. Rita, Banda 31 from Sexmoan and Banda San Basilio. The next day, May 22, they gave it their all at the Serenata ding Banda de Musica. Even a small barrio could very well afford to pay a local “musicus” to lend gaiety to its fiesta.

In 1957, Valdes, a barrio of mostly agricultural families in Floridablanca, had two bands performing for their May 19 fiesta: the popular Banda 31 of Sexmoan which delighted residents in Gasac and Talang, and Banda Juan dela Cruz which came all the way from Cabiao, Nueva Ecija, to play at Looban and Mabical. On May 18, Saturday, a free concert was mounted featuring the two bands, highlighted by a military drill.

 I just can’t imagine a fiesta without a “musicus”. Bands just don’t set the stage and the mood for a celebration. But long after the food, the drinks, the rides, the sideshows and the baratilyos are gone, it is the voice of the band that will live on—inspiring, rousing, uplifting airs, that may as well be the theme music of our joyous lives!

*347. KAPAMPANGAN VOICES IN TAWAG NG TANGHALAN

TAWAG'S HOSTS WITH THE MOST.  The iconic tandem of Lubao-born Patsy and Lopito will forever be inextricably associated with the most successful talent show ever to air on radio and TV. Tawag ng Tanghalan produced a bumper crop of singing superstars like Nora Aunor, Novo Bono Jr., Diomedes Maturan, Edgar Mortiz--including Kapampangans Cenon Lagman and June Pena.

Before the Filipinization of ”American Idol”, “America’s Got Talent”, “The Voice” , “X-Factor” and all those stateside talent searches, there was the one and only “Tawag ng Tanghalan”, the first true national talent search conducted by the local manufacturing and marketing giant, Philippine Marketing Company or PMC. PMC had been producing staple products for Filipino families for years, such as Luto, Perla Soap, Dari Crème, Star Margarine and its banner brand, Purico.

When it was bought by the global company, Procter and Gamble, its new product offerings expanded even more to include icon brands such as Tide, Vicks, Camay, Safeguard and Mr. Clean Camay (Crest, Zest, Oil of Olay and Ariel would follow many years later).

 To promote its products to the mass market, PMC sponsored a nationwide singing talent search in 1955, with the intent of discovering a young amateur champion from the contests conducted through 7 radio stations and open auditions using 13 roving advertising trucks. Regional finalists, judged by a panel, were then transported to Manila for the national finals held at the capacious Manila Jockey Club to perform before a huge crowd.

In the end, a Spanish mestizo, Jose Gonzalez was adjudged as the first-ever Tawag ng Tanghalan champion with his song “Angelitos Negros”, followed by Angelita Espinosa, and the Montecillo sisters. Jose Gonzalez – who would later be known as Pepe Pimentel—received a cash prize, PMC products and a surrealistic trophy designed by artist Cesar Legaspi.

This marketing ploy proved to be effective for PMC that, when television became the next big thing in media, the company bought air time on Channel 3 and produced TV version of the same contest, which proved to be a long-running success, broadcasted from the radio and TV media from 1955 to 1972. There were to be 3 years (1966-69), that “Tawag” ceased airing, but the contest resumed in 1970, spawning artists like Novo Bono, Edgar Mortiz, Jonathan Potenciano and Nora Aunor.

Closely associated with its success where the hosts, Patsy and Lopito. Patsy Mateo of Lubao, spent her growing up years in Hawaii, but came back to pursue a career in stage (‘bodabil’) and film, during the Commonwealth years and after the war. “Tawag ng Tanghalan” would giver the opportunity to flaunt her Kapampangan-ness by breaking into the language at every opportunity—to tickle the audience, calm down contestants’ nerves, or even console losing singers who were dispatched home at the sound of a gong.

Patsy was not the only Kapampangan personality in “Tawag ng Tanghalan” as conetestants from Pampang regularly joined the weekly auditions. In 17 years of “Tawag”, at least two Kapampangans have brought home the Grand Championship trophy.

 Cenon Punla Lagman of Masantol, Pampanga was a fisherman-turned singer who wowed judges with his inimitable renditions of kundiman songs. At the age of 24, he won the “1960 Tawag ng Tanghalan Grand Finals” with his performance of “Ikaw Lamang ang Iibigin”, succeeding the very popular Diomedes Maturan.

The two ”Tawag” stars went on to co-star in the movie “Maturan and Lagman”, under VIN productions. Lagman, known as the “Prinsipe ng Kundiman” went to on to record under Mayon Records, popularizing songs like, “Pandora”, “Bakas ng Lumipas”, ”Bakit Di Kita Malimot” and “Salamat sa Ala-ala”. Later, he joined Alpha Records while raising his family in Las Piñas. He died on 25 May 2013.

 June Peña, the 1965 Grand Champion, is listed in the “Tawag” record books as having represented Dagupan, Pangasinan at the national finals. In truth, Peña comes from Barangay Batang 2nd, in Sasmuan, Pampanga. It so happened that while he was paying a visit to his girlfriend Helen in Dagupan, the “Tawag” auditions were also being held there. He signed up, won the Dagupan regionals and was whisked off to Manila where he bagged the major prize with the song "Autumn Leaves", succeeding Eva Adona. Peña still resides in Pangasinan today.

 Attempts at reviving “Tawag ng Tanghalan” began in the mid 1980s with a special “Reunion of Champions” telecast that gathered past “Tawag” champions. Abroad, especially in the U.S., the spirit of “Tawag” lives on in several singing competitions that have adapted the same contest title. It is almost certain that a Kapampangan Come audtion time, it is almost certain that a Kapampangan will join, make the cut and give the performance of his life. With music in his blood, he will find it hard not to respond to the roar of the crowd and answer the call of the stage—ang “Tawag ng Tanghalan”!.

*313. PATSY: Tawag ng Tanghalan's Hostess with the Mostest

PATSY PATSOTSAY. The loveable, laughable Patsy Mateo, from Lubao, is most well-known for her long association with perhaps, the greatest talent search in Philippine TV history--Tawag ng Tanghalan.

One comedienne who created one of the most iconic characters in Philippine movies based on her provincial background was the loveable Patsy. As the bumbling, hysterical Patsy Patsotsay, she would often spew out Kapampangan non-stop when caught in a fix.

This loveable, all-around entertainer with Lubao roots, come from the same town that nurtured the talents of movie greats Rogelio de la Rosa, and Jaime de la Rosa and Gregorio Fernandez.

 She was born as Pastora Mateo on 12 April 1916, in Sta. Elena, Tondo, the child of Alejandro Mateo, who worked in a stall at the local market. As a youngster, Patsy was given the nickname “Lapad”, in reference to her flat nose.

 Even under the watchful eye of a very old-fashioned father, Patsy grew up breaking house rules to follow her heart’s desire. She was but 6 when she caught the Lou Borromeo variety show performing in a theater along Rizal Avenue. She broke into the theatre unnoticed via the back stage. Patsy was immediately smitten by the smell of the greasepaint and the roar of the crowd.

 In 1924, she was in 2nd grade at Magdalena Elementary School when she saw and answered an ad about chorus girls being wanted at the Savoy Theater, just a walk away from Clover Theater. Together with her sister Rosa, she auditioned –and passed, until her parents discovered her adventure. John C. Cooper, the Savoy Theater, had given everyone of his troupe a five peso loan—which Patsy and Rosa proudly turned over to their father. The two truants were given a sound trashing, but they kept going back to the stage anyway. Eventually, the Mateo elders relented and allowed the youngsters to pursue their showbiz interest.

 Patsy was just eleven when she joined a group of entertainers to tour Hawaii—along with Diana Toy, Sunday Reantazo, and saxophone player, Baclig. She was gone for a full year, but upon her return in 1928, she was immediately taken in as a feature singer at Tom’s Oriental Grill in Sta. Cruz. After 3 months, she was back dancing at the Savoy. In 1933, Patsy moved to the Palace Theater as a song-and-dance girl, performing alongside such veteran stalwarts as Katy de la Cruz, Tugo, Pugo and Amanding Montes.

 From the bodabil house, Patsy broke into the movies in 1934, playing a supporting role in “Ang Dangal”. She rounded up the decade with roles in “Dasalang Perlas”(1938) and “Ruiseñor”(1939).

 In 1939, while singing with comedienne Hanasan (Aurelia Alaldo) on stage, somebody in the audience informed her that her father had died. “I had to go on with the show my aching heart”, Patsy revealed in an interview. “Amidst all the buffoonery, tears were cascading down my cheeks.”

 The War nipped Patsy’s budding film career, but in 1943, her showgirl career took a major turn when she became a comedienne. On one fateful day, Toytoy and comedy partner Gregorio Ticman had been scheduled to do an act together. As luck would have it, Toytoy fell ill and Patsy was asked to take over .She did a skit using her now famous Kapampangan-Tagalog dialogue—which brought down the house. A new star comedienne was born.

 Patsy continued to entertain onstage during the years of the Japanese Occupation. As soon as thing settled down, she was back on screen in “Alaala Kita”(1946), The ‘50s and 60s decades marked her heyday as one of the country’s most favorite comedians. She appeared in the comedy hit, “Edong Mapangarap”(1950), opposite Eddie San Jose, “Bohemyo”, “Babae, Babae, at Babae Pa”(1952), “Basagulera”(1954).

 Her biggest break, however, was when she was approached to be one of the hosts of a highly-popular singing contest that was sponsored by Procter and Gamble PMC : ”Tawag ng Tanghalan” which started on radio as “Purico’s Amateur Hour”. A unique feature of the program was the sounding of a bell that cut off the performance and signalled elimination of au unfortunate contestant. It had for its first grand champion, the Spanish-Filipino singer Jose Gonzales (Pepe Pimentel) who won with the song “Angelitos Negros”.

 Patsy teamed up with Lopito when “Tawag”moved to television, a new medium that would also catapult the tandem to national fame. Patsy and Lopito had such charisma on TV, diffusing the pressure of competition with their humorous repartee in which they often argued and fought on-air. 

As emcees, they also put contestants at ease with their light, easy patter, and the duo were witnessed to the meteoric rise of some of the “Tawag”winners through the years: Diomedes Maturan ( 1959), Kapampangan Cenon Lagman (1960), Nora Aunor (1968) and Edgar Mortiz.

 Eventually, the TV show found its way to the silver screen in 1958 starring Susan Roces. Patsy supported the 1959 winner, Diomedes Maturan, by appearing in several of his movies, starting with “Private Maturan” (1959), “Detective Maturan” and “Prinsipe Diomedes at ang Mahiwagang Gitara”(1961). Even as she was becoming a household name on TV, Patsy continued to work the stage circuit, doing live acts in theaters like Clover, in Manila.

She was back in films in the 60s and among her most hilarious hits were “Juan Tamad Goes To Society”, “Manananggal vs. Mangkukulam” (1960), “Kandidatong Pulpol” (1961), “Triplets”(1961) and “The Big Broadcast” (1962). Patsy was also part of the celebrated group of seven bungling househelps (Aruray, Chichay, Menggay, Elizabeth Ramsey, Dely Atay-Atayan, Metring David were the other maids) in the blockbuster movie “Pitong Atsay” (1962) under dalisay Films and megged by Tony Santos. It chronicled the “naughty, nutty misadventures of 7 zany house maids, their lives and loves, in their guarded and unguarded moments”.

A sequel was hastily filmed on the heels of the movie’s success: “Ang Pinakamalaking Takas ng 7 Atsay”. TV kept Patsy busy in the 1970s; she played the role of the matriarch in the highly-rated comedy show “Wanted: Boarder”, opposite Pugo on Channel 2.

When Martial Law closed down the channel, the show reincarnated in Channel 5 as “Boarding House”, with practically the same cast. In 1975, Pugo and Patsy were the parents of Jay Ilagan in another hit sit-com on RPN 9, “My Son, My Son”. Then there was the short-lived, “Sila-Sila, Tayo-Tayo, Kami-Kami”, with Chichay.

 In all her appearances, Patsy consistently remained true to her character—splicing Kapampangan words into her dialogues at every opportunity, speaking with that distinct “gegege”accent that became her trademark. The Patsy-Pugo tandem could have endured as another great comedy pair, but that ended with Pugo’s demise in 1978.

A few months after, the irrepressibly funny Lubeña—Patsy Mateo—passed away in 1979. When a Tawag ng Tanghalan retrospective show was produced by Procter and Gamble in 1985, comedienne Nanette Inventor (from Macabebe) portrayed her so effectively, that for a moment, it seemed that the wise-cracking hostess with the mostest--Patsy Patsotsay—had returned to conquer the stage she loved all her life.

*287. LETTY ALONSO: The Kapampangan Kontrabida Beauty from Lubao

THE BEAUTY IS A BIDA. Leticia Johnson Arrastia came from the landed Arrastia-Salgado family of Lubao, of Spanish-Filipino ctock. The LVN star of the 50s became the wife of fellow movie star, Mario Montenegro and quit the movies soon after.

The ‘50s decade is regarded as the golden age of Philippine cinema—when the works and performances of Filipino producers, directors, actors and actresses animated the screens of theater houses, captivating audiences both here and abroad. Leaving their marks in Philippine cinema arts were Kapampangan artists led by Rogelio de la Rosa, the Best Actor of the 1959 Asian Film Festival, Manuel Conde, of “Genghis Khan” fame which made waves at the Venice Film Festival in 1952, pioneering director Dr. Gregorio Fernandez and alluring screen goddesses like Lota Delgado, Rosita Noble, Rosa Rosal, Lydia Montañez and Gracita Dominguez.

To this august roster of Kapampangan artists from this glorious decade, we add the name of Letty Alonso, the beauty from Lubao, who despite a short career in the movies, made her presence felt in a few films with her memorable and convincing performances, mostly as a beautiful but scheming ‘kontrabida’.

Letty was born as Leticia Arrastia y Johnson in 1932, the daughter of Esteban Arrastia y Salgado and Rosalia Johnson y Espinosa. Esteban’s father, Valentin Roncal Arrastia, was a Basque from the Navarra region in Spain. He had settled in Lubao to seek his fortune, and it was here that he met and married local girl, Francisca. Together, they successfully established various businesses from their vast land holdings that included sugarlands, rice fields and fish ponds. In no time at all, the Arrastias would become one of the influential and leading families of Lubao.

Her father, however, would die young at the age of 29. Growing up fatherless, Letty would be raised alone by her mother Saling, but surrounded with caring cousins, grandparents, relatives and friends of the large Arrastia clan.

The Arrastia women earned quite a reputation for their flawless mestiza beauty, which was validated early on with the victory of Juanita—Esteban’s older sister—at the Pampanga Carnival of 1926, where she was chosen as the Queen. Letty’s cousin, Beatriz, would become the mother of world-class socialite beauty Isabel Preyler, while another cousin, Ruby Arrastia would find fame in the U.S. as an actress-singer-dancer named Neile Adams---and the 1st wife of Steve McQueen.

At age 18, Letty caught the eye of , Dña Narcisa ‘Sisang’ de Leon, the matriarch-founder of LVN Pictures Inc., who was impressed with the Spanish-speaking beauty with high cheekbones, fine lips and straight legs. She immediately convinced her to be an actress. LVN Pictures, founded in 1938, was then one of the leading film studios of the country, with a proven track record as a builder of stars. Its stable of artists ranked among the best in the industry: Rosa Rosal, Rogelio de la Rosa, Carmen Rosales, Lilia Dizon, Delia Razon, Mario Montenegro. Soon, Letty became one of LVN’s contract stars, assuming the screen name of Letty Alonso.

Her first movie was ‘Bohemyo” released in 1951, playing the role of a villainess who intrudes in the love affair of Delia Razon and Mario Montenegro--who would later figure importantly in her life. So effective was her portrayal that she would be typecast as the perennial ‘kontrabida’ in her next movies: “Señorito” (with Manuel Conde), “Tatlong Labuyo” (again with Mario and Delia) and the romantic comedy “Batangueña” (with Jaime dela Rosa) all completed and shown in 1953. Letty would also be chosen as a celebrity endorser for such major brands like Cortal and Camay Soap, touted as “the soap of beautiful women”.

It was while with LVN that Letty met a fellow ‘artista’, the handsome Roger Collin Macalalag who was known to thousands of movie fans as Mario Montenegro (b. 1928/d.1988) . Born to a Filipino father and a French mother, Mario was a former U.P. student who had joined the Hunters ROTC Guerilla unit during the war. Discovered for the movies after the war, he had been cast in the World War II drama, “Capas”, filmed in 1949. He found fame in LVN costumed epics and historical films.

After their marriage, Letty retired from the movies to raise her children with Mario. A daughter, Honeylet, was a popular commercial model and occasional film actress in the early ‘80s. Honeylet’s own daughter, Valeen Montenegro Vicente, is also a budding young actress today.

*278.NEILE ADAMS: The Kapampangan Side of Ex-Mrs. Steve McQueen

NEILE, MCQUEEN'S QUEEN. Neile Adams (aka Ruby Neilam Arrastia y Salvador), actress-singer and dancer, with the action star of the 60s, the late Steve McQueen. Neile's father, Jose, hails from the prominent Arrastia-Salgado family of Lubao. Ca. mid 60s.

Minda Feliciano and Isabel Preysler are two of the more high-profile beauties with Kapampangan blood to have relationships with international celebrities. Angeles-born Minda (b. 1 June 1931) had a celebrated romance with English actor Michael Caine in the late ‘60s, while Isabel Preysler, whose family comes from Lubao, is well-known as the former wife of Spanish crooner, Julio Iglesias, and the mother of Enrique Iglesias.

But before them was Ruby Neilam Salvador Arrastia, who came to be known in Hollywood as the actress-singer-dancer Neile Adams—and the first wife of actor, Steve McQueen, the hottest new male star of Hollywood back in the early ‘60s.

Ruby was born on 10 July 1932, the child of Jose (Pepe) Arrastia of Lubao and Carmen Salvador. Carmen came from a family of stage and movie performers of mixed German-Spanish-Filipino blood; she was a professional dancer herself, while a more famous brother became the noted character actor Lou Salvador Sr., who was active in show business from the 1930s-60s.

Her father, Jose or Pepe, was the eldest son of Valentin Roncal Arrastia, a Basque Spaniard, with Lubao native Francisca Serrano Salgado. Jose’s parents were the most prominent hacienderos of the town, and he grew up living the privileged life, together with siblings Carmen, Justo, Benito, Crispula, Juanita, Esteban, Francisco, Enrique and Sebastian. When he came of age, Pepe married Teodorica (Kika) Reinares of Orion, Bataan, with whom he had two children, Mercedes and Beatriz. A relationship with Carmen resulted in a third daughter—Ruby.

She spent her growing-up years in Manila, until the second World War. She and her family were incarcerated by the Japanese for 18 months, and after the War, she was whisked away to the U.S. The young Ruby took dancing lessons in school, and her terpsichorean skills, obviously inherited from her mother was soon being noticed in auditions. The pert and pretty Neile, as she now called herself, found herself being cast in shows and musicals, and one of her early appearances was in “Pajama Game”, staged at the Carnegie Hall. From the stage, she moved on to bit appearances on screen and on TV, with credits in the 1952 movie, “Grubstake” and as Patsy St. Claire in “This Could Be The Night” (1957).

Shortly after a dance rehearsal, Neile Adams met an up-and-coming young actor and a former member of the Marine Corps, Steve McQueen. McQueen had been bumming around in New York hoping to get an education, but he found his calling at the Actors Studio and decided to be a movie star. He found himself doing bit roles, playing second fiddle to Paul Newman’s “Somebody Up There Likes Me” and Ben Gazzara’s “A Hatful of Rain”, both produced in 1956. Upon Neile’s insistence, Steve accepted a role as a minister in the low budget movie “The Blob” . It proved to be one of the most successful films in 1957. That same year, Neile Adams and Steve McQueen were married and settled in Laurel Canyon, and then to Nichols Canyon, where they raised two children, Terry and Chad.

It was said that Adams’ influence with agents jumpstarted McQueen’s stellar career in Hollywood. Husband and wife appeared in a memorable episode in “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”. Separately, Neile accepted a recurring role in the TV series “Five Fingers” as Rita Juan in 1960, and went on to guest star in top TV shows like “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”, “Love American Style” and “Bob Hope Show”. But Steve’s career was on a major upswing: he was cast for 3 season in the hit TV series “Wanted: Dead or Alive”, and in 1960, the action film “Magnificent Seven” confirmed his big-screen star status.

In 1963, the McQueens built a grand retreat house in Brentwood with all the trappings of Hollywood glitz and glamour. They owned a fleet of cars like a Mustang, Porsche, Ferrari and Jaguar. Their Mediterranean stone house, set near the ocean side, could pass for a French castle, what with its huge stone courtyard, an expansive terrace and high oak gates.

The McQueens spent many years together in their fabulous enclave set in the hills of Brentwood. Steve’s insistence that Neile stop working started a friction that would culminate in 1972, when he made “The Getaway” in 1972 and fell in love with co-star Ali McGraw. Neile and Steve were divorced that same year. Steve married Ali in 1973, but that too, ended in divorce. He next married model Barbara Minty.

As for Neile, she continued to pursue her love for acting, frequently making guest appearances (sometimes billed as Neile McQueen) throughout the 70s and 80s in such popular shows as “The Bionic Woman”, “ The Rockford Files”, “Fantasy Island”, “Vega$” and “Hotel”. In 1986, she wrote “My Husband, My Friend”, a biography of her husband Steve, who, six years before, had died of cancer.

Neile Adams, now married to financial consultant Alvin Toffel, has expanded her interests to include horse-race breeding. She has also recently done a series of one-woman cabaret shows. Her son Chad as well as grandson Steven McQueen, are both actors. Neile’s half-sisters are also personalities in their own right. Mercedes (Mercy) Arrastia-Tuason is our Philippine ambassador to the Vatican, while Beatriz (Betty) married Carlos Preysler, the parents of the international socialite, Isabel Preysler.

*270. Power Couple: Dr. WENCESLAO B. VITUG & JUANITA S. ARRASTIA of Lubao

LIGHTS OF LUBAO. Dr. Wenceslao B. Vitug and Juanita S. Arrastia came from two different worlds--one, from a humble farming family, the other, from an affluent Basque Spaniards who settled in Pampanga. As a married couple, they were known for their compassionate spirit and generosity in running their vast haciendas, and in turn, were highly regarded by their loyal tenants. 16 May 19226. Photo courtesy of Cathy Engstrom).

From Lubao comes one of the town’s most celebrated couple, Dr. Wenceslao Vitug and wife Isabel Arrastia, who were best known for their extraordinary sense of community and magnanimous spirit, along with the wealth and power they wielded as successful landholders and professionals. Theirs is a story of selfless love and of enormous hearts which never cease to give and care, when others needed it most.

Wenceslaso “Beses” B. Vitug was born 28 September 1892, to Esteban and Juana Beltran. The future doctor had humble beginnings—his father was a farmer from Barrio Concepcion who went on to serve as a mayor of Lubao from 1910-13. It was his father who inculcated to the young Wenceslao the values of hard work, education and community service. After his early schooling at the Lubao Elementary School, Wenceslao graduated as Valedictorian of the Pampanga High School Class 1912. He then enrolled at the University of the Philippines as a medical student, and 6 years later, Wenceslao earned his degree in Medicine.

He trained at the Philippine General Hospital where he subsequently became a resident physician from 1918-23 and proceeded to make a name for himself as a professor of medicine at his alma mater, U.P.

In contrast, Juanita S. Arrastia was born with the proverbial silver spoon in her mouth on 8 March 1902, the middle child of Valentin Arrastia and Francisca Salgado. Valentin, originally from Allo, Navarra, a Basque region of Spain, owned a prosperous hacienda in Lubao that included fish ponds. The 10 Arrastia children all grew up in a splendid bahay na bato located right in front of the town hall.

But when it was time to seek an education, Juanita was sent off to the Colegio de Sta. Rosa where she aspired to be a nun. But fate intervened when, one day, Juanita and sister Carmen accompanied their diabetic mother to PGH for a check-up. Wenceslao’s reputation as an exceptional internist had reached Lubeños, impressing everyone—including the Francisca Arrastia. She did her best to push Juanita to ThE GoOd dOcToR—10 years her senior.

The search for the queenship for the 1926 Pampanga Carnival organized by Gov. Sotero Baluyut would provide another distraction for Juanita. Local organizers approached her mother, Francisca, to seek approval for her candidacy to the provincial fair. Her mother, in turn, referred them to Juanita’s father, Valentin Arrastia, who grumbled and showed no interest at the project. Unfazed, the organizers returned to plead with him. One day, tired of their implorings, he threw his arms in the air to dismiss them, and, walking away, exclaimed "Vanidades del mundo! (Vanities of the world!)" They took that as a yes. Juanita did not disappoint and was elected Miss Pampanga of 1926. Her King Consort was a relative—Gregorio “Yoyong” Fernandez (actor, director and future father of the late Rudy “Daboy” Fernandez).

To everyone’s surprise, the 24 year old beauty wed Wenceslao on 15 May 1926—just a few months after being named Miss Pampanga. The marriage of Juanita to a ‘commoner’ who made good was big news in Lubao, where they settled and became hacenderos themselves, noted for their compassion and kindness to tenants.

It was said that Dr. Vitug personally treated sick tenants while Juanita cared for the welfare of their families, even extending interest-free loans. To religious order, she donated acres of land on which to construct their churches and schools. She also gave away plots of lands to loyal farmhands and offerd their home in Manila to children of family and friends who wished to study in the big city.

The couple themselves were blessed with 5 children: Lourdes (Lulu), Amelia Juana (Melly) , Maria Magdalena (Nena), Antonio Jesus (Tony, a medical doctor), Luis Lamberto (died young, of bone cancer), Mario Venerando (died of aneurysm), and Roberto Nicolas (Bert).

The Vitugs would eventually settle in Manila , living long, full lives surrounded by the love of their children and grandkids. Wenceslao passed away in 7 January 1986 at age 94, while Juanita died in 8 September 1994. Their old Lubao house was acquired by an architect and had it transported to a seaside town of Bagac, in Bataan where it is now part of Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar.

(Many thanks to Cathy Gamboa-Engstrom for the picture and for the biographical sketches of Dr. and Mrs. Wenceslao Vitug, her grandparents.)

*245. FERNANDO POE JR.: Da King's Kapampangan Connection

THE ONCE & FUTURE 'DA KING'. Fernando Poe Jr., (aka Ronnie Poe, Ronwaldo Reyes) at age 18. FPJ had Pangasinan and Kapampangan blood in his veins,--which, ironically, his presidential rival--GMA--also had. This rare autographed fan photo was issued just about the time "Lo' Waist Gang" was released, the movie that catapulted him to stardom. Ca. 1957.

Many of the most iconic roles in Philippine movie history—Flavio (Ang Panday), Aguila, Totoy Bato, Roman Rapido, Teodoro Asedillo, Pepeng Kaliwete -- were essayed by an actor who would build a reputation as legendary as the characters he portrayed: Fernando Poe Jr. His was a long and illustrious career, from the time he was introduced to the silver screen in the 50s, to the peak of his fame in the 60s and the 70s, and all the way to a major professional move with his bid for the 2004 presidency.

The King or FPJ, as he is known to his millions of fans, was born on 20 August 1939, the son of Spanish mestizo Fernando “Nanding” Poe Sr.—himself an esteemed actor and a director of San Carlos, Pangasinan and Fil-American Elizabeth “Bessie” Gatbonton Kelley. Bessie was the product of the union of Engr. Arthur Kelley of Iowa and Martha Gatbonton, a Kapampangan from Candaba, Pampanga

Ronald Allan Poe was the second of six children; his siblings included Elizabeth, Andy (who, in real life was named Fernando Jr.), Genevieve, Fredrick and Evangeline. A half-brother is Conrad Poe, son of Fernando Sr. with Patricia Mijares, an actress.

One of the perks of being the son of a celebrated actor-director and producer were small roles in his father’s movies in the 1940s. Tragically, Poe Sr. died in October 1951, of rabies, leaving behind a devastated Bessie to raise her family singlehandedly. Ronnie finished his elementary schooling in 1953. He spent his high school years in San Sebastian College, Mapua and University of the East, but dropped out to help his mother support the family. It was just a matter of time that he joined the movie industry, working odd jobs as messenger boy and as a stuntman before becoming an actor. At age 14, billed as Fernando Poe Jr., he was launched in the movie “Anak ni Palaris”, which was not exactly a hit for Everlasting Pictures. But FPJ as a full-fledged actor, was on his way.

The movie that would make him a star was the 1957 youth-oriented film, “Lo’ Waist Gang”, from Premiere Productions. Just 18, he was paired with Corazon Rivas, and the movie started a national fashion craze for low-waisted pants. In 1961, he founded FPJ productions; subsequently, he formed other film companies like D'Lanor, JAFERE, and Rosas Productions.

In 1965, he played lead in the WWII movie, “The Ravagers”, considered as one of the most influential Filipino films. He would win the FAMAS Best Actor Award in 1967 for “Mga Alabok ng Lupa”, and he would repeat this feat with Asedillo (1971), "Durugin si Totoy Bato", "Umpisahan Mo, Tatapusin Ko"(1983), and Muslim Magnum .357 (1987). The 1960s were indeed, FPJ’s heyday, earning the title of “King of Philippine Movies” for his widely-popular action films. But perhaps, his biggest catch was another superstar of that era, Susan Roces (born Jesusa Sonora) whom he married in 968, three years after their first movie team-up entitled, “ Ang Daigdig Ko’y Ikaw”. They would star together in many movies that drew crowds and made money at the tills: “Bayan Ko, Lumaban Ka”, “Pilipinas Kong Mahal” (1965), “Zamboanga” (1966), “Langit at Lupa” (1967), “Sorrento” (1968), “Perlas ng Silangan” (1969), “Ikaw ang Lahat sa Akin” (1970), “Salaginto’t Salagubang” (1972), “Mahal, Saan Ka Nanggaling Kagabi” (1979), “No Retreat, No Surrender—si Kumander” (1987).

FPJ would also become the most highly paid talent for commercials, reprising his Panday character in San Miguel Beer ads that won raves and awards from the local advertising industry in the 80s. His later movie hits were “Kahit Konting Pagtingin”, “Dito sa Pitong Gatang”, and his last outing was with the billiard champ, Efren “Bata” Reyes (also a Kapampangan) in “Pakners”.

In 2004, FPJ announced his candidacy for presidency under the “Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino" (KNP) party. It was said that he was prevailed upon to run by his bosom friend, ex-president Joseph Estrada, against re-electionist candidate Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who was installed as president after he was deposed. He lost in the controversy-marred election. In a weird twist of fate, both FPJ and GMA had Kapampangan and Pangasinan blood running in their veins (GMA's parents were from Lubao and Binalonan, respectivey).

Later, on December 11, FPJ suffered a stroke and lapsed into a coma while attending an after-work socials. He died three days later at age 65, leaving behind wife Susan, an adopted daughter, Mary Grace Poe-Llamanzares, current MTRCB Chair, and two other children from other relationships, Lovi Poe (an actress) and Ronnian Poe. He rests in the family plot at the North Cemetery in Manila. On 24 May 2006, FPJ was posthumously proclaimed as a National Artist

FPJ’s death mask, cast by National Artist Napoleon Abueva, can be seen at the Center for Kapampangan Studies at the Holy Angel University, alongside the death mask of another great Kapampangan, Ninoy Aquino Jr.

*203. DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE

MASCUP RIVER. Picnickers frolic in the crystal-clear waters of Mascup River in sitio Bana, Dolores, Mabalacat, Pampanga. The river was a popular destination of local tourists since the 1920s, when the Tiglaos, on whose property the river flowed, developed the area as a natural resort. Ca. mid 1920s.

True, the great Pampanga River is one of the more well-known natural resource that defines the Kapampangan landscape. However, there are other bodies of water in Pampanga—rivers, estuaries, creeks and streams—that are no less important though not as known, providing Kapampangans with livelihood and leisure, main sources of nurture for farms and fields, and in the same vein, causes of some of the province’s most devastating tragedies. Snaking across the province “antimong ubingan” (like a snake) and branching “sanga-sanga” through towns and barrios.

The eruption of Mount Pinatubo brought many of these rivers into our consciousness and on national news. At the foot of Kamias Mountain in Porac is a stretch of the Gumain River, a pathway to the lowlands often used by the hardy Aetas. The river’s water source is Mt. Abu in Zambales, where it streams to Floridablanca and converges with Porac River in barangay San Pedro (Floridablanca) and Sta. Rita (Lubao). Torrential rains often caused the Gumain to flood the entire Lubao region. The cataclysmic eruptions of Pinatubo in 1991 buried the river.

Porac River descends from Mt. Dorst and Mt. Cumino, meandering through Porac, Del Carmen and Lubao, until it joins Gumain. The 1991-1997 lahar years brought unspeakable horror to Porac, causing the town’s evacuation as well as damage to property. Mancatian Bridge was washed out, 119 houses were buried and 3 Japanese perished while attempting to cross the swollen Mancatian River.

An often-mentioned name during the Pinatubo years, is the Pasig-Potrero River. With headwaters from Mt. Cumino, the Pasig-Potreo drains the area of Porac-Angeles and Sta. Rita-San Fernando. Its course shifts erratically, bringing along sand and silt deposits to the plain lands.

The capital city of San Fernando has a river of the same name that originates from Pampanga River and which cuts through Mexico where it is known as Sapang Matulid. When San Fernando River crosses Bacolor and Betis, it is called Betis River—merging with the Dalan Bapor River in Guagua that flows through the larger Guagua-Pasak River.

Another river—Kabalasan—is actually a major tributary of Sapang Balen in Angeles. It joins Calulut River and Sindalan River, losing its water as it heads towards Maimpis where it flows as Maimpis River. These rivers, like many others in the region, derived their name from their unique natural characteristics. Similarly named rivers in northwest San Fernando is the Malino River (named after the clarity of the water) and Pandaras River— “daras”, a gouging tool used in boat-making.

Every town it seems, has its own “Sapang Balen”, but the Sapang Balen of Angeles has a history that is intertwined with Taug River. This creek that cuts through the town proper follows the old path of the Taug River . At one point in time, Taug fed into Abacan, and its ancient riverbed is now occupied by the area that includes Brgy. Cuayan and Carmenville subdivision. Sapang Balen is heavily polluted now and currently, there are efforts led by the local church officials to keep it environmentally safe and clean.

Taug River is an offshoot of Ebus River that originates from the foothills of Mount Pinatubo. It joins Abacan River near Bo. Anunas. The river ( actually a creek that comes to life only during the rainy season) scared the city residents during the Pinatubo days when lahar from Pasig-Potrero River threatened to spill into its channel-- too narrow to contain such water volume. Had the worst case scenario happened, Angeles City would have been engulfed by lahar and pyroclastic materials. Taug River has had a history of dangerous overflows. In 1881, as recorded by Angeles historian Mariano Henson, a typhoon caused Taug River “to swell up to a murky clay-ey tone into the Sapang Balen creek, causing the destruction of three bridges”. Three more overflows were recorded in 1885, 1919 and 1961.

Abacan River separates Balibago (once a part of Mabalacat) from Angeles City proper. Abacan means “ early lunch or brunch”, because in the old days, traders from Mexico and other towns would sail on the once-deep waters and reach Culiat by lunch hour. It made national news on 15 June 1991 when the Abacan Bridge collapsed due to the surge of water and pyroclastic materials from the Pinatubo eruption that the shallow river.

The town of many rivers—Lubao—has interestingly-named waterways that evoke the physical nature of the place: Matsin, Mansanitas, Pinanari, Atlu Busbus, Pulung Kamuti, Maubingan, Sapang Pari, Kuwayan, Kulasisi and Sapang Ebun, Sapang Payung, Sapang Balas, Balantacan.

In Mabalacat, a once-famous watering hole and picnic site since the 1920s was the Mascup River in sitio Bana. Large rocks dot the river banks and its crystal-clear waters were perfect for swimming and wading. Sadly, just like the many rivers in the province affected by Pinatubo, the waters of Mascup flow no more.

Rivers may overflow, ebb, dry up, change course, get silted and polluted. But many resilient Kapampangans used to the fickle ways of nature continue to live by the river’s side. Conditioned to the changing seasons, to the cycles of floods and drought, they live, adapt and thrive--by learning to go with the flow.