Sugar

This is a shot of Jovi's mom's sugar cane fields. As far as the eyes can see, it is Rodriguez land. Pretty crazy the whole sugar cane business. It is a six month a year job, for Jovi's brother. According to him, his workload is six months out of the year,four days a month, (every saturday), four hours a day, of which two hours is spent driving back and forth to the fields and two hours is spent walking the fields. Imagine that. the following six months is just pretty much doing nothing, and he is the loaded brother in the family.

The business was actually booming up until the 1980s, when the sugar market collapsed under the monopoly set up by Marcos. I was able to get a story from Tita Chita, Jovi's dad's wife whom we laid to rest, about the whole business from her perspective. You see her family ran pawn shops and jewelry stores in Bacolod. At the end of the harvest season, the farmers were issued certifcates A, B, and C. A for Export, B for local, and C for whatever, according to her. The C certifcates were almost always given to the wives of the landowners, who would proceed to purchase jewelry from Tita Chita. The thing was, at the beginning of each season, the husbands would demand that the wives pawn their jewelry so they can begin a new crop, so Chita put on her pawn shop hat and would proceed to purchase the jewelry that she sold them at the end of theseason for half of what she sold it to them, give or take. The cycle went on and on for years until Chita was involved in a holdup at the jewelry store that I believe killed her father. Not sure if that is true or not though. That was in the 70s, so her mom packed up the kids and moved them to the States.

It was quite an interesting story that she told me, because I really enjoyed hearing it. I enjoy hearing all kinds of stories about the Philippines, especially ones that discuss the history of sorts. Chita told me just her little part of the sugar history of bacolod. I only wish that I could have heard more stories from her like that.

In a FUNK

I've been in a funk ever since I got back from our trip to the Philippines. I can't really put my finger on it but for some reason, I have been feeling funky, and not in the good sense. I don't really know what it is, but for some reason, it has to do with the trip. Emotions. ;( The last time I went to the Philippines, in 1989, I came back in bitter disappointment. A lot of things went down in my life back then, and I had vowed then that I wouldn't go back. There was no real reason to. I had made some interesting decisions then with regard to my life and that of others that were wakeup calls to change the way I had wantonly did things to myself and to others. Young and Dumb. It was a roller coaster that fortunately for those involved, stopped, at least I hope, fairly quickly. I got off. Not my Cup of tea, as was always said.

I guess the trip brought back a lot of that history that I had gotten over years ago. I mean when I smelled that Philippine air, it was really different from those days of long ago. I expected the sweaty, sweet, pungent smell of Manila, but got a blast of nothingness. I didn't get a whiff of that third world air that I was expecting. Maybe it is a lost sense. Now it is really just that, the history of the whole affair. The good, and it was good, the bad, which was at its best, real bad, and the freakin fubugly, which was a lot of nastiness. Chock it up to inexperience, indifference or both, the feelings came back when I stepped off that plane and spent the last day of our trip to the Philippines in Manila, walking around Greenbelt, an old haunt that really struck a cord.

Usually I get blue like this around the Holidays, but fuck, it isn't even Halloween YET! I am not really looking forward to the crass commercialism of Christmas. I do though want to send stuff to my new found brother and sister ins-law and their family in Bacolod. I had the best time with them in the Philippines, so much so that we are planning to bring the boys back with us when we visit again this summer. I guess my boys will be getting a bit less, Shit they already have everything they need. Motorcycles, ATVs, a boat, all the material things teenagers could want. They don't need anything else but a good sermon from God himself.

Jovi was even open to the idea of living in Bacolod for a few years. Although I really like Tagaytay. I heard they are putting subdivisions up there like crazy. My job affords me to live pretty much anywhere in the world there is an Internet connection, and I was sorta shocked when she said that, because, I could move there yesterday. I just like the sweetness and the hospitality of the people in the Philippines. It truly is incredible how friendly they can be. Illongos, and especially those from Bacolod are very easygoing and friendly folks.

I think perhaps I need to go surfing, get into it again.

Feeling OLD

I am feeling old today. I just turned 38, so I don't feel like writing anything.

School kids

Beauty abounds in the Philippines






I volunteered to take a shot with this girl.








I was shooting from the car and these school children flagged me down, asking to take their pictures. So I did.

Ay Philippines

We returned home after our last day in Manila. didn't expect to go but at the last minute, we decided to take the noon flight out of Bacolod and spend the day in Manila, My how things have changed. We spent almost six hours just walking around Greenbelt. . . 1 2 3 and Four. Last time I was there I think it was only Greenbelt 1. I had no idea how big that place has grown. We stayed near the fountain and Jovi's girlfriend spent several hours catching up as I wandered aimlessly through the various Greenbelts that have sprouted over the last 15 years. The place is really nice and well kept. There are guards at virtually every entrance to keep out the riff raff. We dined at a place called Recipes, which serves Filipino food. It was a really nice place. Clean and the food was good. We had lechon Kawali with I forget the vegetable, Generals Chicken, and another vegetable that was quite good. Service was really nice, and the folks were friendly. We then went to a place called Cafe Bretone, right next to the Cafe Havana, right next to the Starbucks for coffee and crepes. IMagine that, French, Cuban and American coffee houses right next to each other. Outside cafes are cool. Outside cafes in Greenbelt are even more interesting.

We checked out the shopping stores and I bought a book at the National Bookstore, (Hagedorn's The Gangster of Love) but for the most part we were all shopped out, so I just wandered aimlessly about trying real hard to remember the place as jovi and her girldfriend caught up on chismis. I ambled over to Greenbelt 1, which is now totally different than what it was 16 years ago. I don't remember any of the shops. I rented some time at the internet cafe there and cruised the net and just did next to nothing, Then I decided to people watch, so I sat on a bench for a while, checking out all the women walking by, texting on their cell phones and just looking like typical pretty Manila girls. One even smiled when I smiled at her. Ay how hard it is to smile in the States.

Then it was time to get back to the airport for our return flight home. The traffic was pretty incredible. Very busy and the air seemed a lot more dirty than I remember, but with a population growth of about 20 million in the last 15 years, you'd expect that sort of thing. I really feel sorry for those who live in Forbes park and Dasma village, because even though they can hide behind their secure 15 ft walls, they are still breathing that dirty dirty air. Really lucky for those who live in Ayala Alabang or BF Pque, but then again, I didn't visit those places this time so I don't know how it is there air quality wise. The pollution is absolutely insane in Makati. Totall unacceptable. At the airport we stayed in the Mabuhay Lounge, and got a full body massage, Jove went for a neck and shoulder massage and I went for the full body massage, which was quite refreshing considering the major haul we had to embark on for the next 12 hours. I really enjoyed that airport massage and only wish I could have one everyday.

The continued Oppression of the Filipino

The Pilipino is a prisoner in his/her own country. Not really knowing much about the stratification of a country, I really feel the Philippines is a classic example of how money and the color of your skin affects your chances in the country. Perhaps this is true in other countries but in the Philippines, I think it is more pronounced. In the Gaisano mall in Bacolod, I noticed that a lot of the mall patrons had lighter skin, either with spanish or chinese blood. I didn't see the brown skinned Filipinos at any of the malls I visited. Not in Bacolod, and especially not in Greenbelt. What I am talking about are the people that keep the economic wheels turning in the Philippines. The taxi drivers, the street vendors, the people you see taking the public transportation, you don't see those types at the malls. Perhaps they can't afford to shop at the fancy malls, or perhaps the security guards screen those who are allowed in, it was really rare to see any Filipinos in the malls. Maybe I was blind to it before or naive ( I was very naive back then, really dumb) but this trip, I saw a very different Philippines than 16 years ago.

But really that is how things go in the Philippines. I just wish somehow someone in power will have the guts to start making a change. As of yet nobody in politics is interested in making life better for Filipinos. They are still more interested in enriching themselves. Ninoy Aquino was killed more than 20 years ago. Who has the werewithal, the charisma to step up and lead the land of squatter camps out of its misery? I continue my depression.

Bacolod Day 3

Today was yet again another shopping day. We went to the new Gaisano mall in town and on a shopping spree with Tita Annalie's older boys, Nico and Anton. Jovi gave them some money and we went shopping. Addidas was the first destination, and since Jeremy also plays futbol (soccer), I was able to buy him some futbol pants and a shirt. The cool thing was Anton and Nico gave Jeremy their last year's futbol jerseys and pants from their high school, LaSalle, so that was very nice of them and I am sure Jeremy will enjoy them. We also brought along Raymund's children, Luigi, LeeAnn, and Lyka. Luigi though is a very quiet kid. He is the oldest grandchild of Tito Monet, and he is very quiet, a silent Giant. I call him a giant because physically he is a very large man child, about 6ft 3 and 200+lbs. By contrast, Joshua is only 6ft and about 170lbs. Lyka is a very beautiful 11 year old and LeeAnn is a cute cute preteen, maybe 7 or 8 years old. We also brought along Annalie's younger children, Marco, and Marty. I guess that as people get closer to 40 years old, they tend to have a second set of children if they can. More on the shopping later.

Last night was the final night of Tita Chita's viewing. I met quite a few Montero's during the course of the last few days as well as most all of the political types of Bacolod. The funny thing about Bacolod, and perhaps the Philippines is the diversity of the country. It really is socially (read economically) and racially stratified. Even during the viewings of the last few nights, there was another family mourning the loss of their patriach, the Kramer family. The story (just story) is that Kramer was a very handsome German who married into the Montilla family of Bacolod. I heard it has been five generations of Kramers on Negros. They are rich and are white. The clan members that I saw during the last few nights look like Americans, yet they speak fluent Illongo and adhere to the customs of Negros and Bacolod. It appears that they don't inter marry with the local Filipinos here on Negros, but marry into other prominent Spanish or other non natives. Though they are really considered native because they've been here for so long. Its an interesting study into the culture of the country.

One thing that I realized is my lack of culture with regard to things Filipino. I witnessed some interesting culture with regard to the Montero clan and the Kramer clan. I witnessed a lot of culture that I was devoid of growing up in America. Coming to Bacolod, I was able to learn a lot of more about the Montero clan. There is a lot of Montero's and most of them are big, especially the men. I figure that because they are also Spanish, they are like that. It is also interesting to witness the Novena prayer to the dead. We did two days in Los Angeles and four days in Bacolod. I am not a midnight person, so the first couple of days was difficult as I dozed off. The last night was easier because I conversed with RJ Montero. RJ lives in BF Homes PQUE and is a software development manager in Makati. Finally I was able to converse with a fellow nerd. We spoke the same language! That made the night go very fast and soon as I knew it, it was already closed to midnight.

Bacolod Day 2

Today we went shopping for the most part throughout and then we visited with Raymund, Jovi's brother at his house. He lives outside the city on a big plot of land, almost like a farm, but it isn't the farm he works on. He lives on Jovi's mom's land, the Rodriguez side of the family. We had lunch there and met up again with his children, Lyka, LeeAnn, and Annalie's children joined us, Marco and Marty, Annalie's daughter.


At the viewing I met some more interesting cousin's of Jovi. Lilibeth is the cousin of Jovi on her dad's side, she is a Limsiaco. Her family is also part Syrian or Lebanese, so she is really pretty. Not beautiful but pretty. She is a flight attendant for Cathay Pacific, based in Hong Kong. She really has that metropolitan beauty to her. Her husband is a cousin of Jovi on her mom's side. He is a short chinese guy, really sort of ugly, but he is rich.

According to jovi's dad, he just goes around his businesses in Bacolod and collects the money. No realy work. lilibeth's sister, Lynette, is also a looker, if she toned down her makeup a little bit. you see she looks a like a cross between Michael Jackson and a man. she wears too much makeup, and she looks like perhaps she gets injections in her lips to make them puffier. Anyway, she walked in as if she were a princess.

But really Bacolod is a nice respite from all the bullshit you would experience in Manila. The people here are very friendly and they are all hard working. Even the security guard in McDonald's because it was so slow today, was cleaning up tables in his spare time. This McDonald's also has a new concept called the McCafe. Designed to better compete with Starbucks, the McCafe, is connected to McDonald's by a common wall, but it has its own separate entrance and its own goodies. The McDonald's here also has wireless access. It is provided free for up to one hour, just bring your notebook computer , and you can obtain the password at the counter. Pretty cool. This McDonald's also had an extensive toy collection, including a wall of what appeared to be every Happy Meal toy given out in various McDonald's throughout the world. The difference between the McDonald's here and in the states is the workers here are hard working. As a matter of fact, most all of the workers I've seen are hard workers.

The only thing is the way the people here drive. It is really absolutely crazy. If you have an opening in the road, you go for it, no matter if you block the road, you inch and inch your way and then you go for it. Really the traffic is crazy, buit the drivers all anticipate what it is you will do and honk to let you know they know, or let you know not to do it. They use the horn all the time, like in Manila. But I've heard the traffic in Manila is really bad. We will be stopping in Manila on Saturday and will visit Jovi's friends at Greenbelt for lunch before we take off for California. I wanted to visit my cousins in Cavite but my dad says the traffic really is horrendous, especially on a Saturday as everyone is going to Tagaytay. At least I can do some last minute shopping at Greenbelt, and see how that place has changed.

Bacolod Day 1

This marks the first trip to nthe Philippines without me staying in Manila other than to transfer planes. Usually, when I go to the Philippines, Manila is the final destination. That is the way it has always been. This trip, Jovi and I bypassed Manila entirely and went to Negros island to the town of Bacolod, where she was raised. Now I am in a Villa in Capitolville subdivision writing about my first trip to Negros. Bacolod was the sugar bowl of the Philippines during its heyday up until the 1980s. Sugarland produced quite a bit of wealth for the people of Bacolod, and the island of Negros, but that has all for the most part stopped. I read of times when Negros experienced the kind of lifestyle reminiscent of the Great Gatsby; huge palatial grounds, fancy cars, lavish parties, and such. And in part I can see remnants of that, mostly in the way people dress here. We are here to bury my father' in laws, wife Chita, who died Nov. 7 of cancer. And Chita has a lot of friends. I met the ex governor of Negros, Lito Coscolluela, and his wife Betsy, one of Chita's best friends from childhood, who was chosen by Chita to help arrange her burial and wake, and most all of Jovi's siblings and cousins. Now I know why Joshua is so tall! It is in Jovi's Spanish Rodriguez blood. Joshua's first cousin, Luigi, is 6ft 3 and around 215 lbs or so and he is only fourth year high school His other first cousin Nico is around 6ft 1 and second year high school, and Nico's brother Anton is 5ft9. Joshua hovers right around the middle at 6ft.
The Negrenses are different from the Pilipinos in Manila. Their dialect, Illongo, has a non confrontational intonation to it. If there resemblance to another language in terms of tone, it would have to be French. Almost every time, the sound comes out like that of a question, even though it is not. Its hard to explain, but the tone is like a singsong. Very pretty.

Capitolville
The house we are staying at is in the Capitolville subdivision in Bacolod, one of Jovi's relatives is selling the house so we have pretty much free reign of it. It is a custom home that is made of pretty much all foreign materials. The tiles that line the dinig area and the huge sala in the backyard are 17 inch Italian tiles (I thought that we had installed some big stuff in our home at 13 inches but I guess not). The wood floors are made of exotics, probably a Koa wood or perhaps mango, I am not sure. There are two huge French doors that lead to the lanai in the back, of which there is a blue pool, of which I am going to swim. The backyard features square slate pavers and huge Vigan jars accenting the mini palms and Sago Palms, those $600 plus palms that Californians have to have in their yards. The roof's fascia is also made of exotic wood. The cinder blocks that make up a lot of the walls are also of high quality, I want to say marble, but I am not positive. The second floor is wood throughout, as is the staircase. The bathroom fixtures are American Standard ( I had no idea what Philippine Standard was when it was one of my jeepney stops in Manila until I saw all the toilet bowls. It took time to equate the two) The owner spared to expense. I want to buy this place. All I'd have to do is sell my house in California, move here and join the jobless.

The people of Bacolod
So far so good. The folks that I've met so far are very nice. All Jovi's cousins are accomodating and I am truly grateful for all of it. One thing I am not quite used to is the greeting. It is done not so much with a handshake but a kiss on the cheek. In Manila, I think that this is also done with relatives, but I am not sure if they do it with friends. Perhaps it is more a family thing than anything, but I am getting used to doing it with all the relatives I am meeting.

I haven't really had a chance to get to taste some of the food that Negrenses are known for, but I will have my chance today. Bacolod is known for its chicken, and since I am privy to most all foods, as long as its chicken, that is what we'll go for today.