Vol. 7, No. 13, September 29, 2003

Iligan comes alive this week with the celebration of its city fiesta today, Sept. 29, in honor of its patron saint, St. Michael the Archangel. Major streets are adorned with buntings and streamers as the city prepares to welcome the hordes of visitors and pilgrims. The city government, hand in hand with private organizations and schools, has prepared a week-long celebration that includes a grand parade, sports competitions, cultural and musical variety shows, carnival, agro-aqua fair, and the Miss Iligan beauty pageant. City residents likewise are poised to receive visiting relatives and friends with the traditional fiesta banquets in their homes. The celebration culminates with solemn procession along the city's main thoroughfares and street dancing dubbed Wara-wara sa Kadalanan with devotees clad in an assortment of colorful costumes depicting through reenactments the legendary battle between Señor San Miguel and Lucifer.  By special law, Sept. 29 is declared a public holiday to allow students and employees to participate in the civic parade and other fiesta festivities.

Alumni compete in PAL Intersport

Several alumni sportsmen in Iligan joined forces with their Cagayan de Oro counterparts to compete in the Philippine Airlines Intersports Tournament in Bacolod City last Sept. 12-14.  The Iligan players were invited by PAL to join the Cagayan de Oro team in the annual sportfests sponsored by PAL.  The events included golf, badminton, tennis, bowling, basketball, and billiard.  When the smoke cleared, the combined muscles and skills of the CdO-Iligan team romped off with the championship in badminton, 1st runner-up in tennis, and 2nd runner-up in golf; and 3rd runner-up in overall team standing.  The team was also adjudged "Best in Uniform."  The players from Iligan were, for golf: Henry Dy, Jose Tan, Christopher Chua Tek An, Bebencio Palang, Atty. Concordeo Baguio, Leonard de la Cruz, and Roy Trinidad; and for badminton: Ronald Sy, James Booc, Brendon Chua (son of Alexander "Sandy" Chua), Franklin Tan (son of Calix Tan), and a Malaysian-Chinese son-in-law of the late Valentin Uy.  This is the first time the Iligan players participated in the PAL Intersports.  Among the privileges the players enjoyed were the 75% discount on their round-trip airfare for their CdO-Manila-Bacolod connecting flights and waived charges on the load weight of their golf sets.

A Casino in CdO?

With high prospects of becoming a boomtown, plans are afoot to open a casino in Cagayan de Oro City.  CdO Mayor Vicente Emano is leading the move to allow the Philippine Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) to open a casino in the city.  The mayor said it would bring more benefits to the city. He also said the casino would open only in the evening for tourists.  Casinos aren't intended for local residents but are meant for tourists and investors coming into the city, he added.  The City Government recently announced that several batches of South Koreans will arrive in CdO to play golf and discuss business ventures in the city.  The plan, however, is facing strong opposition from various sectors in the city. The local Archdiocese together with cause-oriented groups and the camp of former Mayor Pablo Magtajas had strongly opposed the establishment of a casino.  For now, it appears that the idea is facing an uphill climb.  City folks are likewise divided on the issue.  Many say that the idea, which was thumbed down when it was brought up two years ago, will again die a natural death.  Wanna bet?

Construction of new CdO airport to start March 2004

The proposed Laguindingan International Airport in Cagayan de Oro City will begin construction work in March 2004.  CdO Mayor Vicente Emano said the acquisition of lots and relocation of families affected by the project are now underway.  Around 289 hectares out of the needed 416 hectares for the project had already been acquired. These include the 88 hectares donated by the Ayala Corp.  With these developments, Mayor Emano said he is optimistic that construction of the airport can begin according to the timetable.  The City Government said the submission and opening of bids for the Laguindingan International Airport project will be ready by December this year.  The new airport, expected to be completed by October 2008, will service travellers from CdO, Iligan, and other areas in Northern Mindanao.  The project is being monitored by the Infrastructure Monitoring and Advisory Group along with the Mindanao International Container Port and Terminal Project in Tagoloan, CdO.

Roger Suminguit, Batch '73

Spotted recently sailing off to Cebu City were LCHS-AA treasurer Teresita Racines (Batch '67) and her aunt Dina Uy-Buenaventura (Batch '57).  They attended the wake of a relative in Cebu last Sept. 18.  From Dina who now resides in Cagayan de Oro City, "Tracers" learned a few interesting facets of school life during her time at LCHS.  Dina says that while her batch was taking Chinese high school classes at LCHS, they cross-enrolled at St. Michael's College for their English high school in the afternoon because LCHS offered English education only up to elementary level in the 1950s.  Among those in her batch taking English classes at SMC were Lilian Ang, Ellen Co, Minda Ang, Dy Phek Giok, Maria Jo, Monica Jo, Lim Choy Giok, Alicia Velasco, Alicia Bernardo, Lim Alim, Paciencia Chiu, and others.  The boys, on the other hand, enrolled at the St. Columban Academy for their English high school.  Among them were Robert Kho, Carlos Dy, Eddie Ang, Guardson Siao, Lucio Co, Victorio Tan, Felix "Lolong" Te, Jaime Sy Handumon, and Pablito Yu.

Dina also reminisces with pride that her batch was privileged to have been taught by the illustrious and pioneer teachers of LCHS, such as Ng Pue Heng, in photo at left (mother of Luis Kho); Lim Keh Siu, in photo at center (mother of Sy Chu An); and Sy Seng Chiok, in photo at right (father of Charles O. Sy).  Dina also recalls that among the campus beauty queens in her time were the likes of Gregoria Ang, and Lim Choy Giok (aka Maria Lim) who was first runner-up in the Miss Iligan beauty pageant.  Lim Choy Giok now lives in Manila with her family while Gregoria Ang now resides in Cebu.   Our congratulations to Remedios Tan-Wee (Batch '64) who was a recipient of the Madayaw Award given last Sept. 23 by the Philippine Airlines.  The award is given annually by PAL to top performers in the travel and tourism industry.  Remedios owns the Airtime Ticketing Travel & Tours in Cotabato City.  A day before the awarding, Remy took time out to enjoy some sun at the Dakak Beach Resort.  After bagging another Madayaw award, we think she deserves to bask in her new glory, aside from all the sun and sea.  Sharing the fun with Remy in Dakak were her sister Ricarda Tan-Lee (Batch '66) and niece Sharon Lee (Ricarda's daughter).  Our cheers to Dominic Siao (Batch '81) and Sheila Marie A. Siao on the birth of their baby girl named Jabez Amiel A. Siao last Sept. 8 at the Manila Doctors Hospital.  Still more cheers to Chester Dy-Carlos (Batch '87) and Angelie Dy-Carlos (Batch '87) on the birth of their baby girl, named Chestine Ashley Tan Dy-Carlos, at 4:55 p.m., last Sept. 12 at the Mercy Community Hospital.  The baby weighs 6-lbs & 5-oz.  Chester is the son of Carlos "Bonnie" Dy (Batch '58) and Angelie is the daughter of Gregorio Tan (Batch '55) and Marcela Uy-Tan (Batch '55).

Viva Señor San Miguel!
Fri, 19 Sep 2003 23:16:17 +1000

Hi Everyone! I am just wondering if Iligan still celebrates its fiesta on Sept. 29?  Well, it is because we are now only about a week from the big day, and yet I am not hearing of anything from anyone about Iligan's biggest annual event. Not from the latest Spectrum and neither HENRIO tm - the Fridayman mentioned in his Sept. 19, 2003 dispatch. Well, anyway I hope I am not wrong but let me be the first one to greet you all this time -- VIVA SENIOR SAN MIGUEL! From Sydney with love.  --Leonardo "Loloy" Tan (Batch '66), SSydney, Australia, email: edtan@iinet.net.au.  PS:  The Iliganons - Lanaonons In Sydney - Australia ( ILISA ) will be celebrating the feast of St. Michael on Sept. 27.  If you are in town, please contact me, so you could be our very important guest.

Fiesta festivities
Sun, 21 Sep 2003 22:30:23 +0800

Yes, Iliganons still celebrate the fiesta of St. Michael on the 29th of this month. Last Saturday, Sept. 20, was the day when Iliganons witnessed the start of the celebration. This is what they called "Pagkanaug ni San Miguel" and in the evening of that day we had the "Balik Iligan COncert" of Regine Velasquez, Asia's songbird. It also signaled the start of the 9-day novena for St. Michael. --Terry Racines (Batch '67), Iligan, Philippines, email: csm-tur@sulat.msuiit.edu.ph

To Marie Janiefer Lee:  I noticed your new writing style in "It's My Lifelong Wish" (Spectrum, Sept. 15, 2003 issue). Credit to your new education in creative writing.  The essence is poignant. It can be entitled "Mother's Love.  Poetry in Love." --Rene Tio (Batch '70), Cagayan de Oro, Philippines, via text message +639177066834

May I request anybody out there who knows where Elsa Lagrosas is now to please provide me the info where I could reach her?  --Alex Rodriguez, Miramar, Florida, U.S.A., email: alpacino_8@hotmail.com

Hi Henrio, how are you?  Long time no e-mail.  But I always go over your TGIF.  What I meant is sometimes I read them and sometimes I just browse.  It is because there are times when I just could not relate to what you are writing ... such as when you write about your medical profession and colleagues and friends.  But I find it very interesting when you write about the past in Iligan which I could really relate to ... just like the last TGIF.   Well, thanks for all the TGIF you have shared with me.  Thanks for the memories.  --Leonardo Tan (Batch '66), Sydney, Australia, e-mail: edtan@iinet.net.au

Dear Loloy, great to know that you're reading TGIF.  Regards.  --Henry Lim Yu (Batch '69), Cebu Cityy, Philippines, e-mail:  hvty@skyinet.net

To the Campus Keeper staff:  Whatever happened to Campus Keeper? Did you revive it? Have you revived it?  Are you reviving it?  Did you come up with a revival issue?  What happened to my article and my photos which I sent supposedly for the maiden/revival issue of Campus Keeper?  --Henry L. Yu (Batch '69), Cebu, Philippines, email: hvty@skyinet.net

Donations trickle in for scholarship fund
By Igdono Caracho (Batch '66)

Responding to an appeal by the LCHS Alumni Foundation, Inc., two generous alumnae in the U.S.A. recently sent in their cash donations for the scholarship fund.  Aurora Tansiokhian (Batch '58) and Santas Tan-Seitz (Batch '61) contributed US$100 each.  Their donations were coursed through past LCHS-AA president Calix Tan (Batch '57) in Iligan City, who turned over the cash to the LCHS Alumni Foundation during its officers meeting earlier this month. The Foundation, through its president Dy Sio Te, is appealing to the generous hearts of LCHS alumni to extend financial assistance to the scholarship program.  Donations may be made through a direct deposit to the account of the LCHS Alumni Foundation, Inc., Banco de Oro, Iligan Branch, Iligan City, Account No. 607-10200047-7, or to Dy Sio Te or Fe Dy Quimbo in Iligan City.

Pacificador M. Lluch Jr.

Have you ever entered the wrong CR?  I have.  And in a spectacular fashion.  I was a diffident young college student then in one of Manila’s universities whose CRs are located one on top of the other, first floor CR for men, 2nd floor CR for women and so on.  These CRs are located right across the classrooms, so that when you enter the CR, everybody inside the classroom can see you by just glancing sideways.

Well, the absent-minded type that I am, I got to the wrong floor, thus to the wrong CR.  I can be very slow-witted sometimes, for it took me quite a while to realize what happened, why there were two girls inside the CR and why the urinal was missing and why there was a mirror on the wall where there was supposed to be none.

The two girls didn’t make much fuss, just eyed me rather oddly.  It was only on my way out that the full impact of my folly hit me.

When I was just entering the women’s CR, the teacher across the room had noticed what was happening, and in gleeful anticipation of what promised to be an extremely interesting incident, had bidden the whole class, in a manner of a science professor conducting an experiment, to “observe, ladies and gentlemen, the interesting human reaction to a rather unexpected stimulus.”

When I hurried out rabbit-eyed and feeling as if I had just committed a whole chapter of crimes in the Penal Code from lasciviousness to peeping tommery, what should confront me but 40 pairs of eyes watching intently whether it’s really true that the hair on a person’s head would stand on end just like in the comic books when that person is subjected to severe shock.

Amid the deafening guffaws, my face turned red as a traffic stoplight and I wished with all my might that a pterosaur or a pterodactyl would appear and carry me off to Mars.  Well, that episode made me into a campus celebrity of sorts.  Coeds would put their hands on their mouths when they’d see me coming and burst into suppressed giggles after I pass by.  This explains why I’m terribly frightened of women until now, which makes my wife happy.

Marie Janiefer Q. Lee, Batch '87

Lesson in Weight-lifting

Lift 15 more reps, keep the goal realistic, we will tone those muscles and
melt those love handles, not to look like Cameron Diaz, but to live a
healthy life.

Lift 15 more reps, stretch those dormant muscles and squeeze them tight,
feel the tingle of warmth in those fibrous tissues as blood rushes through
the site.

Lift 15 more reps, with legs shoulder-width apart, slightly bend those knees
and tighten those hamstrings at each pull,
Inhale and exhale is something we shouldn’t forget, for the muscles want as
much oxygen as it can get,

Lift 15 more reps, tighten those biceps and never let go of those dumb bells,
stomach in and chest out, pay no attention to the feeling of black-out

Lift 15 more reps, think of the muscles pushing those toxin out, trying to
regain their rightful place. Sweat may come by the bucket but we’ll surely
zoom through life like a rocket.

Now, lift 15 more reps.

This is amazing.  Try to read the paragraph below, then consider what it actually says. The brain is a wonderful thing, isn't it?

Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer are in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe and the biran fguiers it out aynawy.

She is a small woman with a big heart.  And when she speaks the world listens.  Weighing barely 90 pounds, this frail-looking woman is the driving force behind one of the world's largest networks of charity missions.  Who is this little Chinese woman whom many have come to revere as the Mother Teresa of Asia?

She is Wang Chin Yun, now known the world over as Master Cheng Yen (in photo).  She is a 67-year old female Buddhist monk and founder of the Tzu Chi Foundation in Hualien, Taiwan.  Tzu Chi (which means compassion and relief) is a vast charity organization that extends medical assistance to the sick and the needy in 37 countries.  It was founded in 1966 by Cheng Yen with only 30 housewives as members. Today, it has over 4 million followers in Taiwan, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, and Africa.  Over the past three decades, Tzu Chi has helped more than one million people around the world and has distributed over US$68 millions in relief goods and services.   No mean feat for a woman who started out with virtually nothing on her back.

Master Cheng Yen was born on May 14, 1937 in Taiwan. Her father died when she was 23 years old.  In her depression, she decided to become a nun.  She wandered and settled in a tiny broken-down temple with another nun.  They passed their days in hardship, with barely enough shelter to keep themselves from wind and rain and barely enough food to fill their stomachs.  Nevertheless, she held firm her decision not to accept donation from local people. Their rule was "If you don't work, you don't eat."  They farmed vegetables, knitted sweaters, sewed concrete sacks into small bags to hold animal feed and sewed baby shoes.

One day in 1966, Master Cheng Yen saw a pool of blood on the floor in a hospital.  When she asked what happened, someone told her that a woman living on a mountain had a miscarriage. Her family carried her to the hospital for help but they didn't have enough money, so the family had to take her back home.  Upset and moved by what she saw, Master Cheng Yen decided to establish a charity foundation to help the poor and educate the rich.  She began her very first work by asking each of her 30 followers to collect 50 cents each day and to donate them to the poor.  The motto of  "50 cents can save people" quickly got around.  More and more people participated and the program gathered strength.  In March 1966, the Tzu Chi Foundation was established.

Today, the Foundation started by this diminutive woman helps people by building hospitals and medical centers for free, building educational and cultural centers, collecting donations for the poor, comforting the sick or the elderly in nursing homes, cleaning the environment, beaches and lakes, visiting disaster areas and offering relief to the victims, helping other people whenever and wherever they can.  One of its current projects is collecting used clothings, carton boxes, papers, plastic materials and tin cans for recycle, the proceeds of which are in turn donated to charity.  This is in line with the Foundation's current thrust to clean our environment and save the earth from pollution and decay.

Recently the Tzu Chi Foundation made newspaper headlines in the Philippines when it volunteered to undertake and spend for the separation of  Siamese twins, Lea and Rachel Awel, from a poor barangay in Pasil town in Kalinga province.  The conjoined twins were brought to Taiwan by volunteers of the Tzu Chi Foundation.  Over 60 doctors, nurses and other medical staff performed the operation that lasted seven hours.  In all, the Foundation spent P17 million.  The operation was a success.  It was the 8th such operation conducted by the Tzu Chi Foundation in different parts of the world without costing the families a single cent.  What sets the Tzu Chi Foundation apart from other charity missions is that it does not stop after offering medical aid or operations to the sick.  It continues to provide post-surgery care and rehabilitation expenses until the patients are well and back on their feet.

In Manila, the Tzu Chi chapter is headed by Sy Siu Yong, the sister of the late Sy Eng Bee and aunt of Stephen Sy. The chapter is currently constructing its own building and medical center in Manila. Also actively carrying out charity missions for the Foundation elsewhere in the Philippines is its Cebu chapter headed by Sally Chan-Choachuy.  It holds office at the second floor of Dunkin Donuts on Osmeña Blvd., and provides charity services at the compound of the Cebu Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce.  Its volunteers spend every Sunday providing charity works and health care for the poor and the needy.  It has also conducted free clinics in places like Bohol for cataract, harelip and cyst operations.  According to Master Cheng Yen, it is this kind of activities, given without strings attached, that endears our overseas Chinese to the hearts of the people in their respective host countries.

The headquarters of the Foundation in Taiwan also runs a TV station called Da Ai (meaning Great Love) that features news with a positive orientation, charity works of Tzu Chi members and volunteers around the world, and a daily discussion by Master Cheng Yen on her philosophy of life: a world without suffering, and harmony in human relationship characterized by love, compassion, and selfless giving.  Her daily sermons on dharma, expressed in Mandarin and Fukienese, on the Da Ai channel are simple, practical, and full of infinite wisdom.  People from all walks of life who follow her program draw strength and inspiration from her words. The program is telecast on cable TV worldwide (Channel 61 on Sky Cable in Cebu).

When my sister Yok Eng fell ill, she was disconsolate.  She went through her days struggling with the harsh realities of life confined to her hospital bed until she turned to Master Cheng Yen's daily sermons on the Da Ai TV channel.  Gradually, she began to discover a deeper meaning of life and how to cope with her fate.  From Master Cheng Yen's inspirational messages, my sister soon learned to accept her karma and to be at peace with her condition without remorse, without any qualm, without a word of bitterness.  She drew strength from Master Cheng Yen's words of wisdom.  When her final day came, she passed away in peace and contentment, bearing yet one more testimonial to the wisdom of Master Cheng Yen who says, "The fruits of our current lives come from the causes created in our previous lives. Everyone has his own karmic affinity. Only if we can bravely face up to reality will we be able to clear up our karmic cause and effects."  Simple words, profound wisdom.

Snow White
By Candice Ang Uy
Cebu, Philippines

Once there lived a queen
long had she yearned
for a baby daughter to wean.

With hair of deepest, darkest night
lips of ruby-red blood
and skin to rival that of fairest light.

Granted was her heart’s desire
how everyone was gladdened and rejoiced
this time was but a while.

Death soon came for the queen
a chill upon the castle
as though by a hand unseen.

In another the king hoped to find solace
love and caring for his daughter
who’d never known of a mother’s embrace.

The stepmother’s beauty well hid the evil within
a witch of blackest magic
her stepdaughter’s demise she was planning.

A rose in bloom, Snow White grew
arousing the queen’s jealous heart no end
like the most potent of her poisonous brew.

With none to compare as fairest of all
the queen decided for the
royal huntsman to bring Snow White’s fall.

Bring her heart to me
and you shall be greatly rewarded
as far as you can see.

The huntsman went to do as bid
but his love for his princess
compelled him to halt the deed.

Weeping, he fell on his knees
telling her of the queen’s evil plan
hurriedly into the forest Snow White flees.

The woodland animals helped in her flight
taking her to the tiny house
where the Seven Dwarves took pity on her plight.

While the dwarves worked in the mine
washing clothes and keeping house
Snow White spent to while away the time.

But all was not well
the wicked queen’s thoughts once
again on Snow White dwelled.

Transforming herself to her raven’s surprise
she became a toothless old hag
such a clever disguise!

She went to the cottage by the clearing
offering the Apple of Death
in exchange for water from the nearby spring.

At that first bite
Snow White fell into eternal sleep
and the queen quickly took to flight.

The seven dwarves chased her down
shrieking, she fell off the cliff
her broken body lying on the ground.

They lay Snow White in a glass coffin
by her side all day and through the night
they kept watch on the princess within.

Then one day came Prince Charming
astride his mighty steed
with its glossy mane tossing.

He had come from far away
hoping to catch a glimpse
of the princess he had heard people say.

His heart stirred with love
a kiss he pressed upon the pallid lips
Snow White’s eyes flickered to look above.

She was again filled with life’s glow
as with that kiss
her breath did it bestow.

He carried her off to be his bride
to that faraway land
where all happy endings reside.

Chinese businessman
Forwarded By Peter Dy (Batch '66), Edmonton, Canada

A Chinese businessman walks into a bank in New York City and asks for the loan officer.  He tells the loan officer that he is going to Taiwan on business for two weeks and needs to borrow $5,000.  The bank officer tells him that the bank will need some form of security for the loan.  So the Chinese hands over the keys to a new Ferrari parked on the street in front of the bank.  He produces the car registration papers and everything checks out.  The loan officer agrees to accept the luxury car as collateral for the loan.  The bank's president and its officers all enjoy a good laugh at the Chinese for using a $250,000 Ferrari as collateral against a $5,000 loan.  An employee of the bank then drives the Ferrari into the bank's underground garage and parks it there.

Two weeks later, the Chinese businessman returns, repays the $5,000 and the interest, which comes to $15.41. The loan officer says, "Sir, we are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled.  While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multi-millionaire.  What puzzles us is, why would you bother to borrow $5,000?"

The Chinese replies, "Where else in New York City can I park my car for two weeks for only $15.41 and expect it to be there when I return?"

I missed those times in Iligan when as early as ante-bispiras, we would have folks from Dalipuga, our copra base, spending the days with us at our Roosevelt Extension home to prepare and cook native delicacies for three straight days. We would have a pig grown at our backyard, groomed for this occasion. After a year of feeding with lamaw, it would have grown fat and big, and this would be our main staple for days. Bispiras would be the i-haw day and hence the feasting started.  A big portion of the meat would be for adobo.  Soon there would be embotido, dinuguan, etc.  Piglets would be brought in from Dalipuga, and roasted at our backyard.  The lechon would be served for lunch on fiesta day.  How I missed those times, the preparations, the backyard cooking, the good natured barrio folks who spent days with us, their barrio cooking menu, the sounds of pig wailing, of chopping boards, the cracking of firewood, the scent of smoke, of cooking ... these comprised  95% of the fun in celebrating a fiesta.  Quite memorable.  (Reprinted from the Sept. 28, 1998 issue of the Spectrum.)

When was the last time I joined Iligan in celebrating the city's fiesta?  Ah, it was in 1979 when I had my postboard rural health service (after the medical board exam).  But prior to that, it was in 1967 when I was then in my third year high school at LCHS and was still a permanent resident of the city.  Since then, I haven't been in town for the fiesta not until after twelve years (that is, in 1979).

September 29 is St. Michael's Feast Day -- the patron saint of Iligan City.  I will never forget this particular date. After all, it's been there long before I was born. Besides that, September 29 happens to be my sister Mila's birthday.  She was born 1945. That's where she got her name (Miguela).

So, what's so special about fiestas?  For Chinese Filipinos like us, who have embraced the customs and traditions of the Republic of the Philippines, fiestas are times of jubilation, excitement, foodfests, etc.  It is an occasion for honoring our patron saint and thanking him for protecting the city, for everything nice and wholesome.

How were fiestas celebrated during our time in the early 60s?  I was in my grade school (1959-1965) at LCHS then. Two weeks before Sept. 29, you would know it's going to be the city's fiesta again because the carnival would start setting up their paraphernalia at the Iligan City High School grounds.  What fun it was to be riding in those Ferris wheels, caterpillars, sail boats, swings, roller-coasters, etc.  There were also betting games like jumping horse, dice (kago-kago), shooting gallery, freak shows and other trade exhibits. Games were priced at 0.10 centavos. A bottle of Coke then cost only 0.25 centavos and a bagful of popcorn or cotton candies at 0.10 centavos.  A week before the fiesta, there was the "China Night" when our school held a dance and musical program at the city auditorium. Other schools also had their turn in the presentations. Then on vesperas (Sept. 28), we would prepare excitedly, specially our school's drum and bugle numbers, for the civic parade the following day. On the day of the fiesta, a diana would be heard at dawn, after which a High Mass was celebrated at the St. Michael's Cathedral. The parade would start 8:00 a.m. passing through the key streets of the city.  I vividly remember our LCHS majorettes then like Nene Ang, Vivina Chiu, Bonifacia Co, Virginia Handumon, etc.  Friends and relatives would come to our house at lunchtime for the kumbera of fiesta foods, like lechon with matching dinuguan, morcon, fried chicken, sotanghon, kaldereta, humba, menudo, among other delectable homecooked delicacies. The procession was held in the afternoon.

I wonder how Iligan fiestas are being observed these days.  All I know is I will always remember September 29 as the Feast Day of St. Michael and even if I may not be around the city, I always make it a point to hear mass here in Cebu on that day as my way of paying tribute and remembering St. Michael the Archangel -- who has been a part of my childhood vocabulary as the mighty one, and who is still one of my favorites at 45.  It may have been decades, but the memories of those fiestas of our beloved city of Iligan will forever linger on. After all, Iligan was the city of my youth.  And nothing can beat that! Yeees!  (Reprinted from the Sept. 29, 1997 issue of the Spectrum.)

Time was when fiesta celebrations in Iligan City were never complete without the carnival fair or feria.  As a child I never failed to visit the carnival during the city fiesta year after year.

Back in the 60s, the playground at the Iligan City National High School, along Gen. Wood St., served as the perennial site of the carnival. Complementing the festivities were the agro-industrial fairs at which scale model exhibits of local factories were among the crowd drawers.  There were also trade fairs showcasing local products and delicacies like tira-tira, ibus, bucayo, and siakoy, among others.  But what drew children like us to the site were the main carnival attractions. These were the carousel or merry-go-round, Ferris wheel, octopus, roller coaster, among a host of other rides that offered fleeting moments of thrill for adults and children alike.

The rides, however, did not really appeal to me as much as they did to other kids. While my friends were screaming their lungs out with every ride, I would often wander off to try my luck in games of chance, such as pinball, kago-kago (dice), bingo, and the shooting gallery.  What little pocket money I had was often spent and lost in the bets.  But my losses were compensated at times by my winnings in the "jumping horse" game, from which I would proudly bring home a drinking glass or a can of pineapple juice as consolation prize. I was drawn to the "jumping horse" game so often that I was able to memorize the nightly spiels of the game master, such as, "Otra vez llamada, atensyon paminawa, i-pusta na ang kwarta, para makadaug ug grasya!"  Well, for whatever it's worth, that was better than screaming myself hoarse at the top of a cranky Ferris wheel.

The circus, too, was an all-time favorite.  The biggest circus that came to town was the Sheum Circus in 1961, headed by renowned Chinese ringmaster Sheum Siong Hok.  It was the first time for many of us to see live wild animals like Bengali tigers, lions, and elephants, not to mention the amazing performers in flying trapeze, trampoline, and other death-defying stunts.  It was also from the musical accompaniment of its high wire act that we first became familiar with the song, "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom Wine." And, of course, as in every circus, there were also the perennial clowns.  But I was never amused by their silly antics, having already grown accustomed to many of our own clowns in government service.

I could never forget the freak shows that always came with the carnival. The sights of midgets and people with physical oddities being presented as "dwarfs," "snake man," or "frog lady," and other eerie characterizations gave me goose bumps whenever I went in to watch them in their makeshift tents.  I remember once while watching one such show starring a pair of Siamese twins, the show's operator, a mean-looking, over-sized woman, caught my attention.  The sight of her endlessly munching popcorns so fascinated me that I spent more time watching her than the Siamese twins.  Apparently annoyed, she signalled to me from across the tent with a dagger look admonishing me to stop staring at her.  She would have chased me out of the tent if I told her that I had mistaken her for the featured "freak" of the show.

Another sidelights of the festivities were the musical and cultural programs at the city auditorium by the side of the carnival.  A crowd favorite among the nightly presentations was the "Chinese Night," (in photo) with performers representing the local Tsinoy community.  It was an occasion for students of LCHS to show off their talents.  Live music throughout the week-long programs was provided by the city orchestra.  The band treated the audience to a repertoire of ballroom music like "Moonlight Serenade," "Rhapsody in Blue," "In The Mood," and other great music of the legendary Glenn Miller Orchestra.

The highlight of the city fiesta, then as now, was the religious procession.  Devotees from neighboring towns mingled with city folks in the solemn procession in honor of the patron saint, San Miguel.  To children like us then, the attraction of such event was the reenactment of the battle between San Miguel and Lucifer that formed part of the procession.  Amidst chants of "Viva San Miguel," men dressed up as centurions engaged themselves in simulated skirmishes with men whose faces and bare bodies were painted with soot to portray the forces of evil.  While some of my playmates squirmed at the sights of the men in soot, I often wondered why these protagonists had to blacken themselves with soot when their faces were terrifying enough even without the soot.

Today, fiestas for me have taken on a new attraction. These days I am drawn to a fiesta mainly for the feast instead of the feria. Maybe fiestas have changed.  Or maybe not.  But to all children, old and new, a fiesta, like Christmas, will always have a special meaning in our hearts year after year.  (Reprinted from the Sept. 24, 2001 issue of the Spectrum.)
 
 

EDITORIAL STAFF VICTOR L. CHIU, editor Correspondents: Roger Suminguit,Teresita Racines, Charmaine Molo, Rodolfo Yu & Virginia Handumon-Te; Castor Ong Lim, business manager (Iligan); Igdono Caracho (Cebu); Marie Janiefer Lee (Manila); Peter Dy (Canada); Leonardo Tan (Australia); Ernesto Yu & Aurora Tansiokhian (U.S.A.); and Charles O. Sy & Henry L. Yu, past editors. Founded Aug. 1, 1968.  Published fortnightly since its revival on April 15, 1997. Distributed free on the Internet to LCHS alumni & supporters worldwide. Postal address: LCHS Alumni Association, Lanao Chung Hua School, Pala-o, Iligan City, Philippines. Web site: www.oocities.org/lchsspectrum. Spectrum welcomes articles, news reports & comments from LCHS alumni, students and readers. For subscription, contact Roger Suminguit, tel. 221-2422. For contribution, e-mail manuscripts to the editor: spectrum@iligan.com with cc to: perfidia6180@hotmail.com