al-drin [ (n. pang. ja-jin) ]

let me recall the story...

nang isinilang si aldrin ay may kakabit na itong swerte, nang iluwal siya ng kanyang ina ay balot siya ng isang manipis na latag (layer ) ng supot na nababalot sa buo niyang katawan maliban pa sa kanyang inunan. ayon sa mga nakatatanda hindi pangkaraniwan ang ganitong pagkakataon at ito raw ay swerte (  good luck).

i still remember, this "supot" was dried and keep by her lola areng in her wallet, at madalas noong panahong iyon, hinihiram ito ng aking ama ( alfredo castro sln ) upang magsilbing pampaswerte sa kanyang " cockfighting" sessions. simula pa lamang ay parang magiging maganda na talaga ang guhit ng tadhana para ay jajin.

it is so much easy to write and tell a lot of things to a person whom you have witness from being a small child to young man, its a full circle experience as they say. ang mga susunod na talata na inyong mababasa ay mula sa isa pang tunay na nakasaksi sa pagiging bata pagiging binata ni aldrin, ang kanyang kuya boy ( wilson aboboto ).

Simula pagkabata ay nasaksihan ko na ang kanyang paglaki, kung paano siya hinubog ng kanyang mga magulang, Ate Neri at Kuya Ed, kasama na ang kayang Lola Areng na napaka "spoiled" sa kanila; na maging isang huwaran hindi lamang  sa kanyang mga kapatid na sina Aljon at Lenlen kundi na rin sa mga kabataan na nakakasalamuha niya. Sa aking pagkakakilala kay Jajin, isa siyang "tahimik" na tao, maamo ang dating, malapit at maaruga sa mga bata, "shy or timid" sa kanyong lengguwahe ika nga, mga traits ng mga anak ng kanyang Lolo Diego. Maikukumpara rin siya sa isang ilog na tahimik, ngunit malalim..  sa sobrang lalim, di mo makukuha ang tunay na saloobin, di mo alam ang kanyang mga plano sa buhay. Madalas  pagkagaling sa eskwela, bahay lang at tindahan ng kanyang lola ang tambayan, magpatugtog ng mga CDs at MP3,  malayo sa dalawa niyang kapatid na very outgoing.

...

Sa aspetong "musikal" impressed talaga ako, pati na rin ang tropa,.( lakas tama gang ) Hindi naman ako nagulat sa pagiging mahusay niyang pag gitara, it's in the blood kasabihan na nga, isa pa rin marahil ay ang impluwensiya ng lugar. Ang Calasag ay napakayaman pagdating sa usapang musika at banda ( Pagtalunan at de Ocampo Band at ang Alon Band nina Ito) , mga manganganta sa entablado tulad nina Ditse Nene at kanyang ina, kasama sina R-5, at ang mga gitarero, mula kina Tata Imo hang gang kina Boy, ang "infamous" na Calasag Choir na pinamumunuan ng kanyang ama na si Kuya Ed at Nanay na si Ate Neri, kasama pa ang kanyang mga tiyuhin na sina Kuyang Pitong at Mamang, pati na rin ang mga bagong sibol na hindi ko na mga kilala...sa kadahilanang matagal tagal na rin akong hindi naglalagi sa lugar. Sa paghawak  ni Jajin ng gitara, napaka "impressive" talaga, malayo sa mga nakasanayan namin na "uwido" lang ang nalalaman, iba ang kanyang hagod o kaskas. More on "lead" si Jajin, isa sa aspetong kulang sa panahon nang nag babanda kami noon.


Kung natatandaan nyo pa ang LT bands noong  late 90's (Eraserheads, Parokya ni Edgar ,Rivermaya, Siakol,True Faith, Yano, Grin Department at Introvoys influences) ito ang panahon nang lumabas si Jajin bilang "Guitarman" ay siya namang pag-umpisa ng aming pagtuon sa aming mga sari-sarili naming buhay, kanya-kanya muna sa madalit salita. Subalit nariyanyan pa rin, di man madalas nakakatugtog, tanging mga instrumento na lang namin ang magkakasama sa ngayon, c/o Kuya Ed's Garage. 

Isa sa pinaka memorable sa akin ay nang makasama namin siya ng tropa sa Music Warehouse sa Baliwag. Kung natatandan ko pa 2004 yon (with pics c/o Tito Lowie), na nalipat na sa basement ng Kristine Plaza mula sa ground floor ( ewan kung andun pa , wala na akong balita) It was uneasy at that time, dahil nga sa unang pagkakataon ay nakasama ko ang mag ama sa isang inuman, at iyon ang opisyal na kasama na namin si Aldrin di lang sa kantahan, pati na rin sa tagayan! 

Ang unang "gig" namin na nakasama siya officially ay noong ika-10 taong anibersaryo ng tropa back in December  2005 (YouTube  MTVoff ) He is on the lead, on progression pa siya noon pero plakado na., 

tatay & son

 and the last one is noong debut celebration ng kanyang kapatid na si Arlene back in November 2007 (with pics c/o  Aris). The following year nag work na ako sa ibayong dagat...I know may mga bago na siyang nakakasama sa mga "gigs" nila ngayon, patunay na malayo na ang kanyang nalalaman hindi lang sa pag hawak ng gitara, kundi na rin sa ibat ibang klase ng instrumento, pruweba na "talentado" / talented siya.

Kasama ang paggabay ng kanyang ama, at ngayon ay isa ka nang INHENYERO wala na akong masasabi sayo, the deepest of you coming out in the surface.. just in time na ikaw naman ang tutuon sa sarili mong buhay.. goodluck...so long.. magkakalayo man tayo, magkakasama pa rin as the Music Lives On...


the quest for victory does not end in just getting the title, the quest for victory has just begun.

ps: salamat kumpadreng wilson for the time and effort. lets join again in some other blog topics.

from pick a burger to minute burger

san ildefonso, bulacan has been my hometown for the past 29 years and in those years i still ask myself, why does it takes extra effort on my part to answer if an acquaintance ask where i came from.. and even before my existence, why there is no specific positive trait nor characteristic that really defines the town of san ildefonso. walang sariling pagkakakilanlan, na isang bigkas at banggit mo pa lamang ay may rehistro na agad sa sinumang iyong kausap.

i clearly remember those instances: a classmate in college, a friend at work, a chatmate on the net, a common "tao" in the long queue for a driver's license, their common question was, "taga saan ka?"..then i will reply, "san ildefonso" then with uncertainty they will ask, "saan yun?". with eagerness i would tell them the geographical description of the town, "malapit yun sa baliuag saka sa san rafael then after san rafael san ildefonso na, kung alam mo yung san miguel, bago san miguel san ildefonso muna..."..."ah meron palang ganun." it was the common reaction.

and if one would know the town, they will right away say, "di ba marami NPA dun..."

last january of 2012 i had the chance to go back home from overseas and seeing the changes in my hometown gives me a feeling of hope and resiliency. recollecting my elementary days at saint paul school and comparing the town to what it is now is a big difference. the changes are really evident in my own perspective, specially for me who has been away for years and i guess in my absence for long time made it more apparent.

the IN thing then was the "PICK A BURGER" its a small burger stand located in front of the church, it came at a time when the people in the town get to be introduced with the convenience and taste of a western burger pinoy style. and just recently a competitor came into being with a more established branding and promotional tactic with their buy one take one burger, the "MINUTE BURGER". there were attempts ( the magbitangs ) to put up a bigger investment with a bigger name in the fastfood industry (with a bee on its name) but they said it was not feasible to put up as such in an area where population's income is coming from agriculture and small- scale businesses.

sino nga ba naman ang uunahin pang mag "dyolibi" kesa ang ibili ng bigas at ulam ang kinikita sa isang araw na pinaghanapbuhayan din sa araw na iyon. ang mga magsasaka, mga mangingisda, mananahi at iba pa ay uunahain muna ang kape at asukal upang iuwi sa bahay at magsisilbing agahan at pampainit ng sikmura sa kinabukasan.

there were a lot of establishment that came even before the minute burger. dunkin donuts who withstands the competitor mister donut, a good commercial bank which is metrobank.. mercury drug, the biggest name in the drugstore chains in which is good for taga bulaks, they have choices other than the botica / farmacia gonzales..even senior citizens can enjoy their discounts. and there is also pandayan bookshop which also presented themselves as a selection other than "MALIWAT" school supplies. who could forget the MALIWAT school supplies, every school project and supplies were supplied by MALIWAT. goldilocks bakeshop is also in the midst, although it is not a  totally goldilocks store it is commendable that it is readily available if you want it, hindi na kailangang umakyat pa sa kabayanan at karatig bayan upang makatikim ng goldilocks product...pero masarap pa rin ang pandesal sa "PAN GRANDE" at "PANDESAL NI DOLFO" andyan din ang TOOTSIES BAKERY at saka EVELYN SALAO BAKERY.

the town had been in the national media several times not for so good things but for controversial things. who would forget the case of galvez versus vinculados, a "lola" being raped in one of its rural barrio that was featured via abs-cbn SOCO, and few other things that demean the name of the town in some way or another.

the political climate in the town is like a tropical depression... it was even under comelec watch list for some election periods because of vote buying and a close fist, tight fight between opposing parties, the color separation of PULA AT DILAW. the town was under the helm of the galvezes' for so many years, from the deceased honorato galvez, tried to be taken over by the wife, then taken over by the brother of honorato in the name of sazo galvez, then after the, stewardship was passed on to the daughter of sazo, paula carla galvez-tan, the present head of the town. at may ugong na balita, the mayoralty seat is planned to be taken back by the son of the late honorato galvez even fighting with the uncle, the returning sazo galvez... so if rumors are correct it will be a galvez versus galvez fight. the question to be answered is, is it a political dynasty?

but some would defend it, "its not a political dynasty, we just want the next seating official to be an ally so that we can continue what we had started" but the question again is, what thing has been started that need to be finished? are those good things or bad things left unfinished?is it the town's economic progress or the town's economic continuing fall to a quicksand ( kumunoy).

in all fairness to the present seating mayor a lot would say she is very able and she knows what her plans are despite her young age.

the province of bulacan is known to many as the "lupain ng mga bayani at magagandang dilag" and there is nothing that i know of that came specifically from san ildefonso, bulacan. but there is "CHICHAY" the actress and commedienne of the 60's or 70's who has roots from san ildefonso, bulacan, famous for her role as the lola of bondying starring jimmy santos.

little did i know that longganisa ( pork sausage ) has been a signature product of the town, another variety to the existing san ildefonso famous produce like the pastillas ( carabao milk candies ), sabutan and buntal bags and some other crafts.

baliuag has their buntal festival, san rafael has their angel festival, marilao has their luyang dilaw festival and surprisingly there is gulay festival for san ildefonso, i just hope that the organizers will be able to sustain it every year for it to become a signature festival of the town.

who would also forget the haunted house ( bahay na pula in anyatam ). famous location in the movie "kumander bawang" starring herbert bautista and some other horror flicks and in history and in some documentaries the house was said to be the site of traumatic experiences by the comfort  women during the war.

the town and its people are without a doubt are the most hardworking.

so who is to blame for its obviously slow pace to progress? is it its people, is it the leaders or  just a stride of fate that we need to embrace? in our hands and in the hands of its leaders lies the answer to all of these questions. a leader should be taking care of its people and give them what is due to them, a political leader should not think of its post as a business to gain profit everyday as they work but as a dedication and vocation to serve the people everyday.

to the parents of this town it is imperative to invest on education to your children and education is the way to go.

we were once asked by our politcal science professor, "in which time where rich and the poor becomes equal in all its aspect?" then i raised my hand and answered, " election time". she tapped the table with a bit force and uttered the words "very good".

indeed in the practice of suffrage and election we all become equal, walang mayaman, walang mahirap. so its in our hands thats gives us and will give us hope everytime. so let us not let this opportunity of equality be wasted.