HOW IT WAS.

Compiled from my previous Facebook posts. 

Old fan magazines in the Philippines. The most popular was called Kislap (sparkle). Showbiz gossip. The “better” read was Liwayway because this komiks-magasin also featured short stories and illustrated, serialized novels. Entertaining though. In those days, many categorized Kislap etcetera as “bakya” or low-class. Let’s fast forward to present times: “Gossips” are tossed via the internet. Then shared as silly, juvenile memes on Facebook. Tell me then, what is “low class.” 📰🇵🇭📰

Do you still iron your pants? Or clothes? Years ago, I did so diligently. My pants would have a neat “fold mark.” And so whenever I walked, I was like a robot-walkin’ lest my pants would get crumpled. In the Philippines, before drying or ironing (freshly laundried) pants and polo shirts, we soaked them in “gawgaw” or water thickened by cornstarch or cassava powder. Dried under the sun, then mom would iron them. Voila! Well-pressed pants!👖👔👖

These days a singular soda brand has many “incarnations.” Coke Classic, Coke Zero, Diet Coke etcetera. Then, when I was a little boy in the Philippines, the most popular was Cosmos Sarsaparilla. Aside from rivals Coke and Pepsi, others were Sarsi, Merinda, Uva Canada Dry, Royal Tru Orange etcetera. But soda were special drinks or treats-only when we had extra money. We usually drank “samalamig” or cold drinks concocted from fruits and coconut. 🥤🍼🧋

I used to obsessively watch all awards shows on TV: Oscar, Grammy, Emmy etcetera including beauty contests, a family favorite. I even kept a notebook of lists: Whoever won. But times have changed, indeed. I lost interest in awards shows, all of them. Judges seem to line up nominees and winners per diversity quotient, not because of aesthetic merits. Hosting is insulting. How many Oscar Best Picture nominees? Ten? Everybody’s happy. Uh huh. 🎬🎭🎼

“Songhits” was a publication that featured lyrics of popular songs. I used to save up from my school allowance to get me Songhits, especially when there were new pop hits on AM radio. And since I was already collecting vinyl records at that time, singing along with my fave cuts was sheer fun. My pleasures: “Il Mondo” by Engelbert Humperdinck, “I (Who Have Nothing)” by Tom Jones, “Walk Away” by Matt Monro, and Beatles and Bee Gees songs. 🎼🎼🎼

Santacruzan is a Catholic pageant held on the last day of the Flores de Mayo or “Flowers of May.” It honors the finding of the True Cross by Helena of Constantinople a.k.a. Reyna Elena and Constantine the Great. Its connection with May is the May 3 date of Roodmas etcetera. Highlight is the parade of village queens: Reina de las Flores, Reina Elena, and Reina Emperatríz. We walked alongside, singing: “Dios te salve, Maria. Llena eres de gracia…” Memories. 💐✝️💐

Share food with neighbors. Those days? The Reyes’es and Smiths could smell your seafood paella or beef bourguignon, Shared some! These days: People are suspicious of people. Worse, in case they see a sticker in your car, decor in your yard, or breed of your dog that suggests you’d be conservative or liberal, forget it. Or if you offer your neighbor air-fried chicken feet or squirrel casserole, ask first if they’re vegans or wellness personages, okay? LOL! 🍲😋🥘

Familiar with “Letter to the Editor,” Uh huh? (Print) newspapers of yore? Letters should be no more than 200 words. “Be sure to state your main point in the subject line and in the first sentence of the letter.” Brevity. Still, letter-senders were edited further per available space and subject’s current significance vis a vis current events. These days, we have Facebook et al. We write/post whatever zips along in our noggin, 24/7. Yet we whine per the First Amendment. ✍️📰✍️

“Inuman ng barkada.” Or drinking socials. Drinking alcohol wasn’t always done alone or in the solitary confines of one’s house. It was a sociocultural function. Drinks were equally shared. One round, one bottle each. Or via “tagay,” everybody drank on the same glass in a round interval/process. No one overdrank otherwise everybody overdrank, which was seldom. Jokes and songs were obligatory, no arguments, no unfriending. Everybody laughed. 

       Staple in “inuman ng barkada” is “pulutan,” finger foods while drinking with your homies. Examples of pulutan: grilled shrimp, raw oysters, “kinilaw” (ceviche), fried calamari, green mangoes, bacon skewers, fishballs, corn-dogged quail egg (“kwek-kwek”) and other street foods, including “balut” (you know what that is). 😊🍻😜

“Talipapa” is a temporary makeshift market selling food (in the Philippines), with easily removable stalls under inclined flat sheds. These spots are usually located in small villages, complementary to the bigger open market (“palengke”). Talipapas are put up in either private lots owned by a generous resident or an idle government property. My dad used to work (pro bono) for City Hall permits for a talipapa in our Quezon City suburban village of Project 6. 🍆🍞🥦

Photo credit: The Falcon Press.