PICTURES FROM THE PAST

Here are some photos I found between the pages of a book I kept in a cabinet.

One of them was taken at the Bachelors-Feminas (B-F) ball on December 28, 1975 at the Casino Español de Cebu. I was the escort and the Rigodon partner of Marison Veloso, one the year’s 5 Prettiest girls in Cebu.

Dancing the Rigodon with Marison Veloso at the B-F ball in December 1975

The year 1975 I went to Spain invited by Lufthansa German airlines, and spent a month in Zaragoza with the family.

After indulging I had gained so much weight the moment I got back I went on a strict diet from July to December and even beyond that. Recently I have gained many kilos and the doctor has told me my body can hardly carry my weight. At least for the knees, I’ve started on that diet. Meanwhile, the photo is inspiring.

The B-F that we once knew no longer exists despite the attempt to revive it. This year 2019 would have marked the centennial of B-F and no one has tried to at least hold a celebration the way we did when it was 90. Maybe it will be next year to observe 101.

For those of us who enjoyed the B-F tradition the happy memories shall remain, not forgotten but rather enhanced.

My graduation photo in 1964,. By Pepe Atillo.

There is my graduation picture taken in 1964 by Pepe Atillo at his studio in his house on Echavez street. I was already writing then, for Pedro Calomarde’s Morning Times.

I obtained a degree in Bachelor of Science in Commerce, major in Accounting from Colegio de San Jose – Recoletos which would become a university in due time.

Two months after graduation I found a job as accounts receivable clerk at Corominas Richard Shipping. Since I had 24 units in Spanish I was qualified to teach the language.

The University of the Visayas (UV) needed teachers, Coring Valencia told me, and suggested I see Señora Pining Gullas.

My grandfather Col. Jacinto Rodriguez had taught Spanish at the Visayan Institute (precursor of UV). Once in a while I would greet Mrs. Gullas at her little store in the corner of Mabini and D. Jakosalem streets. She and her mother, Doña Andrea Rivera used to sell tableya. They also made with their hands shimmering paper flowers for the altars at the San Agustin church, now Basilica del Santo Niño.

I went to see Sra. Pining when the school year opened and she told me to hurry, see Dean Nemesio Gambito of UV’s Teachers College. I said I had a daytime job, so I was assigned evening classes, every day from 5:30 to 6:30 PM. I taught in UV for 11 years.

A 1967 portrait by Cecil’s Studio

My portrait in a dark suit was taken in 1967 by Cecil Siozon himself at his studio along Echavez street. The picture was supposed to be for the souvenir program of The King and I, presented by Colegio de la Immaculada Concepcion.

My role was a small one, the British Ambassador, and I had to dance a waltz as well as flirt with the leading lady, Juanita Aberasturi Wonderly, who played Ana.

The picture eventually was not used for the program; a better on was found among the various proofs. I wore a white gold tie pin with an infinitessimal diamond which I had bought at Agencia Ciriaca in Plaridel street, managed by Corazon Velez and her niece Sony Velez.

Nearby was Oro China, the jewelry store that opened in Plaridel in 1967. It has now become a high powered jewelry brand which recently held a celebration.

I include this photo in this collection for it has remained hidden all these 52 years.

Cecilia in Calanda, Teruel, Spain

My late wife, Cecilia, could never say when this candid photo of her was taken but she remembered the place -- the bar in the center of the town of Calanda in Teruel, Spain.

The original photo is still there in the same spot as she was photographed. Calanda is famous for its drummers during Holy Week, and also as the home of film director Luis Buñuel. The house still stands, a veritable ancestral residence of grand proportions.

Dancing with Cecilia a 3-minute arrangement of a Strauss waltz in 2009

In 2009 I was elected chairman of the Cebu chapter of the Consular Corps of the Philippines. For an annual event I decided to team up with the Arts council of Cebu and hold a grand ball at Casino Español de Cebu.

It was a grand event with the officers of both organizations dancing a three-minute arrangement of the Strauss waltz Roses from the South.

The waltz was as enthusiastically applauded as the grand entrance of the dancers in Filipiniana attire. The picture shows Cecilia and I looking our best, she in a creation by Arcy Gayatin, and me in a barong tailored by Infini.

I had to take a pain killer as my knees hurt so much. “Don’t you take glucosamine?” I was asked. I did not know what that was but I sure started to take it every day. As Vic Torres advises, “Take the prescribed glucosamine sulfate.” Apparently one has to start taking it at forty, and there I was at 67 not knowing anything about it.