Photo from Way Back

Found this picture from one of those Nadja was scanning.  This is vintage 1960's I guess.

My parents, Manuel Ginete (left) and Maria Futalan (center), pictured here obviously in a party or gathering at some place in Bicol.  My father, Manuel, was a very active social leader - he was a campaign manager, member of farmers' associations, adviser in the barangay in Gate and caretaker of the pieces of land bequeathed by his parents, Tiburcio Ginete and Tomasa Gueta, to their seven offspring.  Being the eldest son, he was a natural leader.  People in Gate would always consult him on many matters and he would always have time for sessions like this.  Despite his reaching only 3rd year high school, my father was wise in many ways.

My other, Maria, on the hand, was the supportive wife.  She was the home organizer.  When we were younger, she would normally be the one who would cook for all of us.  As soon as we grew old enough for some tasks, she would delegate.  But there is one thing she did not give up until the time she couldn't physically do it:  do the laundry.  She was so  keen on how white shirts and dresses should be:  spotless white.  She would normally soak these clothes twice (kula, in Tagalog) so that they would be very white.  Even colored clothes were not spared of this penchant for kula.  Mamay was also the dessert whiz:  every special occasion she would cook desserts like dulce na silot, arnibal na pili, dulce na pina, molido, etc.  Even her coconut jam is legendary:  bits of pili floating in right mixture of panocha and coco milk.  The viscosity is perfect that it does not turn sugary nor stiff when put in the ref.

I recall hearing Papay tell their story as husband and wife in the 1939 - 1940 period just when WWII was about to break out.  Papay was a tailor, something he also taught Mamay to do.  Together in our old house, they would accept tailoring jobs (I still recall their brand name:  Manly's).  And while Papay was busy tailoring, Mamay was making some native goodies (suman sa ibos, sinapot, etc.) just to help make ends meet.  When war broke out, all the brood of Tiburcio Ginete went as one family into Loyo, the piece of land my grandfather owned.  This was just across the river in our place in Gate yet it provided sanctuary during the war.

In 1972, both my parents faced one of their toughest times.  One of my brothers, Pancho, was in the militant organizations and when martial law was declared, he was imprisoned.  Papay looked for him in the different detention centers in Sorsogon and finally he found Pancho in Camp Vicente Lim in Laguna.  All throughout those months, we were witness on how our parents used all means to be able to find a missing son.  Not a week passed that we did visit Pancho in Laguna and later on in Bicutan.  It was always something that both my parents had to do for their son.

While we were young, my parents would also make sure we go to Sunday Masses in Bulan.  There was no Sunday Mass in Gate except I think on the 3rd Sunday so for the other Sundays we would normally go to Bulan.  We would wake up very early and make sure we dress our Sunday best.  After Mass is a real treat:  we would have our breakfast in May Celing's canteen.  May Celing is the wife of my mother's elder brother.  Her small cafeteria would have goodies such as binot-ong, suman, ibos, etc.  In case you're not familiar with binot-ong, this is malagkit rice cooked in coco milked and wrapped in banana leaves.

In their more than 60 years of married life, my parents tried their best to raise all nine children in the way they see fit:  having fear of God, being kind to people, valuing education, and most of all taking care of the family's reputation.  We may falter in some at one point or the other, but I guess these stay with us all our lives.

Taguktok: the essential Ginete Meal

What’s a Ginete meal like?  Growing up in Bulan, Sorsogon, our meal meant the simplest of food:  cocido with fried fish and lots of rice.  Cocido I later found out was markedly different from those in other regions:  it is simply fish soup soured with kalamansi (Philippine lemon) and with lots of sweet potato tops.  The soup is a bit reddish courtesy of the sweet potato tops and the slightly sour taste complements the fried fish.

With a big brood of nine kids, my father had to really make sure there was enough food for everyone.  Meal meant eating together in a large dining table (this one is still in our house in Gate), no second batches otherwise you’ll get hungry. Two regular viands and lots of rice will do.

Mondays to Saturdays we subsist on ordinary and simple meals.   Paksiw is one.  This is the ubiquitous Filipino dish of fish cooked in vinegar, spiced with onions, garlic and tomatoes and crushed black pepper and made aromatic with a piece of chili pepper added just before serving. 

My mother used to say that my father cannot survive a week without beef.  So on Sundays, it is a must that we have beef on the table, whether with vegetables or stand alone as beef steak.  The steak is distinctly Filipino:  marinated in soy sauce, kalamansi, lots of garlic, onions and a good deal of black pepper, fried and sautéed to tender perfection.  (This makes me hungry).

Bulan is blessed with bountiful seas.  And this meant enjoying special seafood dishes.  One of which is the taguktok that spicy concoction of diced tomatoes, onions, ginger, garlic, green pepper stuffed into the belly of a fish called alumahan or buraw in Bicol.   The fish is then cooked in vinegar and again lots of black pepper.

And if one really wanted to turn it into a Bicol dish, then just cook it with coco milk and garnish with fresh pepper leaves.

 If you think that laing is the ultimate Bicol dish, think again.  For us in the family, it is the taguktok.  We smother platefuls of rice with the hot coco milk sauce of this dish and lo and behold, we forget everything!  The flavor is tangy and spicy with a slight twist of sourness.  The chili peppers make you eat more rice while the fresh fish cooked in coco milk makes up for the perfect dish.

Yummy!

Hopes for the Future

"The problem with the future is that it keeps turning into the present".  This is what Hobbes (of the Calvin & Hobbes cartoon team) said in the strip I read today while munching on a peanut butter lunch.

Wise words, indeed.  Plans will stay perfect if left alone.  Intentions are noble when they don't hit the ground.  Reality, our good intentions and well crafted plans, well, they sometimes do not go hand in hand. 

Cynical? Practical?  But consider this:  how many New Year's resolutions have really come true?  As soon as the last firecracker was lit, there goes whatever we promised ourselves to do.  So I guess, Hobbes' comment was more apropos that anything else - let the future stand still.

I'm writing this while 2011 is still new and I'm not swamped yet with a lot of things.  But also as a way to reckon when end of 2011 comes  - if I was really able to do something, or at least, write something this year.

What do I hope for in 2011?  Let's see.  In a general sense, I hope that whatever the future holds for me, I could be up to it.  And in more ways than one, enjoying it. 

For the Ginete family, I hope that we are finally able to see a leader who can marshal all our resources and abilities into a single flame that shines for all and burns no one.  I guess we all need this in our family.  While we go on with our lives, we get inspired by the thought of a leader brave enough to overcome our limitations as a group and wise enough to let everyone realize his/her potentials.

For each one of us in the family, I hope we live true to our desires, never losing track of what brings us together and what positively sets us apart from the rest.  While comparing brings out one's vanity, it is always good to have something to bank on - a brand proposition in marketing parlance.

While it is technically just another day, the beginning of the year always forces us to reflect on what we've done and what else do we need to do.  2010 has shown that many of our elders have passed on; that a new generation of Ginete's is now in-charge.  So I hope that in this "passing of the torch", as they say, we don't forget to look back as we move forward.

As a Filipino, I hope that do things I could be proud of, not just because it touches my ego but proud because of the concrete value I add to the things I do.  Be better at doing my job, for instance.  Be better at understanding people and helping bridge gaps between people.  Be more responsible for my own welfare and happiness. 

So I think that while Hobbes may be complaining of the future always turning into the present, there's also that hope and optimism that this future is always better, moving forward and mindful of the past.

What's your hope for 2011?