For the first time i wore one of her dresses, my mom took out antique outfits from our aunties who taught dance in alameda’s bohol circle in the late 40’s – early 50’s; the pink and cream flowy dress was handmade by her i assume, as she has passed on when i was in high school and did not know about it and could not ask now. Auntie heidi and her sister auntie matilda are my lola (grandmother) nening’s sisters; they came to the USA in the 1940’s during the time when the manongs could bring back brides from the islands. Mom says that uncle bob, he worked as a janitor and was a boxer, had a thing for my lola nening, who was widowed and left with four children to raise but somehow he ended up marrying my auntie matilda who was still single. Auntie matilda was a teacher and i always remember her staunch warnings, ‘do not waste water’ as i dutifully washed dishes as my house-chore. Auntie heidi travelled via a ship with her first husband who was a cook in the ship that took ~3 months to dock in the sf bay. Auntie heidi was afraid to fly. Her first husband died of cancer i heard and she remarried an irish-american longshoremen, uncle bill. What i remember of auntie heidi is that she loved to dance and loves cheesecake. She introduced me to my first love affair with cheesecake on 12/25/1981; it was her birthday and she puts on a great party with pre-ordered cheesecake from wisconsin? I was 11 years old and fresh off the plane. Today, 10/5/2013, It is a great honor to wear her dancing dress with my nephew ray rizal and friends at san francisco’s asian art museum’s filipino american history month celebration with an opening ritual ceremony, spearheaded by cristy rose and friends of the center for babaylan studies, as we humbly harmonized our version of a lullaby chant among the natives of the Cordillera mountains, salidumay, celebrating farms to table, our manongs, our manangs and the historic passing of AB123 – much mabuhay to assembly member rob bonta. Daghang mabuhay!
Photo by karen pennrich
Baybayin placards by kristian kabuay:
Panibago
Kagandahan
Ipagbunyi
Mapanlikhai
