Christmas past

A. Paulita Roa

IT is in the region of Northern Mindanao that the Spanish colonial administration was firmly entrenched as it stayed here the longest coupled by the fact that this is where the Catholic Church exercised its strongest influence for three centuries. Notice the everyday Binisaya that we speak–it is sprinkled with many Spanish words like puerta, sala, la mesa, calle, canta and many more. Aside from the annual fiesta, the Christmas season is always celebrated with gusto in Cagayan de Oro as well as the rest of the coastal region. It meant family reunions, tables groaning with special dishes, colorful lanterns, gifts and dayegons or carols.These are the local cultural practices that we inherited from Spain.

Many Kagay-anons who were born before the war remembered the beautiful Misa Pastorela. These were songs sung specially during the traditional midnight Mass by a choir and accompanied by an orchestra at the St. Agustine Cathedral. This Misa Pastorela was composed by a Velez whose first name my source cannot recall. Nevertheless, the Velez family members are recognized as the most gifted musicians and artists in Cagayan since the Spanish colonial period. Therefore, I believe that only a Velez can composed the Misa Pastorela that was a huge favorite of the late Msgr. James T.G. Hayes. May I suggest that this should be revived by no less than a member of that distinguished clan–Ms. Ana Velez de la Fuente, head of the Music Department of Lourdes College.

In the 1950s, a young Kagay-anon bride whose husband belonged to a de buena familia of Manila wrote to her mother that the noche buena table of her new in-laws had ham, turkey, imported fruits, all kinds of cheese, ensaimadas but no torta. And how she pined for her mother’s torta! This torta is not the ordinary omelette that we know of but a special kind of cake that is served during Christmas by the Kagay-anons and the Visayans. It is cholesterol laden for it has over a dozen egg yolks, sugar, imported Queensland butter and pork lard per recipe. This rich dessert is ideally served with piping hot sikwate and slices of ham and quezo de bola. To us, a noche buena without the torta in our table is unthinkable.

We now see carolers sans musical instruments, singing while clapping their hands to the tempo of their songs. To quote 2015 Miss Universe, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, “It is very 2015.” I miss the cumbacheros who used to dominate most of the caroling in Cagayan when I was a kid. This group of young men had bongos, congas and maracas as their main instruments plus an occasional guitar and a bajo. It was a very Latino inspired music. What made them very popular was their catchy beat and the lively tempo that their percussion instruments produced. Listeners usually cannot sit still when they performed but danced to their music.Sadly, there is no new generation of cumbacheros here. But I still think of them as I listened to those carolers who clapped their hands while singing the classic “Silent Night” on a late afternoon.

My father, Pio died of a heart attack on the early dawn of Christmas. His death caused me to somberly reflect about the brevity of his 70-year old life and the quick passage of time. We spent the holiday at the funeral parlor and in our sala, the festive lights of the Christmas tree was turned off. We were all dressed in black and was in no celebratory mood to celebrate the Yuletide season. But there was one Christmas that many Kagay-anons willingly gave up. That was when Typhoon Sendong struck our city on Dec. 17, 2011, with such fury that left over a thousand dead and with thousands of families homeless.

The city had no electricity and water for a long time and all the funeral homes were packed with bodies. On the main streets were posters made by families who appealed to the public to help them look for a missing child or a parent. For me, it was all heartbreaking and surreal. I decided to forego the plan to celebrate Christmas with my family outside the city for I realized that I should stay in town, give up my holiday plans and help in every way I can to those who are in need. I was not alone in this decision for many of my friends and relatives did the same thing. I volunteered my services to the KEDRN or the Kagay-an Evangelical Disaster Response Network. The group was (and still is) active in the disaster and relief operations in the city, in Iligan and in other areas that were affected by TSendong. I helped distribute food, water and clothing to many survivor families. I listened to their tales and even prayed with them.

I will never forget that Christmas day when I went with a convoy this time composed of relatives and friends to distribute aid in Macasandig. We saw houses that were flattened and covered with thick black mud and equally muddied residents asking for help. I never saw such misery in my whole life. That experience taught me a whole new meaning of Christmas. It is not about the shiny trimmings on the tree, the gifts and feasting. Rather, it is to show kindness and generosity to those who are suffering and in need. Such is the real essence of Christmas.

Have a blessed Christmas everyone!