Pasay City and Memories of Yesteryears

Volume 5, Issue No. 20

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of Romar Media Canada, The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail.com) and the Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .

 

Our latest as of Monday, January 8, 2024 

~ The old city on the banks of Manila Bay has lost much of its charm owing to urban growth that saw much of the waterfront being reclaimed, essentially creating a new city within the political and geographical boundaries of Pasay City. Ms. Clang Garcia, book author and gourmet, who was visiting Toronto weeks ago, and this reporter, had pleasant memories about the locality we discovered in the course of an interview is the same area we both grew up in. 

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INTERVIEW WITH MS. CLANG GARCIA

Conversation Turns Into a Trip Down Memory Lane 

The Book Author and Gourmet Was in Toronto for a Brief Visit

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

"There are events in one's life which, no matter how remote, never fade from memory". - Jim Corbett

TORONTO - Leafing through the glossy pages of Ms. Clang Garcia's Philippine Food Holidays is like taking a grand vacation with the diverse food there for the taking plus an overview of the whole spectrum of the changing landscapes one can only find in the 7,100 islands comprising the country.

She gifted me with a copy of her book, autographed and wax-sealed for authenticity, during an hour-long interview that swirled into a conversation much like between friends who had long lost contact with each other.

Over lunch of crispy pata, daing na bangus, and pinakbet at Casa Manila restaurant on Dec. 29, the question-and-answer inevitably veered towards matters of peculiar interest to us, perhaps an indication that we're at ease with each other. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHxFoFEc16o).

Halfway through the hour when the dishes were being served, Clang disclosed that she was born and raised in Pasay City. The mere mention of the locality rang a bell for, at that very moment, it took me back to the same place.

"Where in Pasay?" I asked without telling her that I knew the city like the palm of my hand. "Along F.B. Harrison St., actually on Villaruel St.," she said. It was an OMG moment. To hear her saying that immediately established a connection.

The length of that major road artery starting from the west-east Vito Cruz St. (now renamed Pablo Ocampo St.) that bordered the City of Manila up to Libertad St. to the south was kind of a playing field for me and childhood friends.

My reminiscing the olden days surprised Clang. I knew all the streets within a one-kilometer radius of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish Church, our church, where, Clang remembers, Ninoy and Cory Aquino were wed in October 1954.

From where my parents had relocated to Pasay City in the 50's from Naic, Cavite was just a block from Clang's. Our street, Perla, was at that time the choice housing spot for many province mates hoping to find gainful employment in Manila.

Ours was no different. My father had wanted us six siblings to study and pursue our ambitions. His earnings from his day job as cochero, and fisherman at night were not enough to support us.

Luck smiled on him later. His sturdy built fitted well with the job he had applied for - as machinist, a pressman - at The Manila Chronicle in Intramuros, Manila.

My brothers, sisters, and I, all grew up in Pasay City. As did Clang, she said, and began telling her story that somehow tied us to a locale common to both of us.

In grade school I went to Andres Bonifacio Elementary School on Leveriza and David streets, I told Clang, ang again she was surprised to know, for it's the same school she went to.

Her grandpa, she confided, had always gone to Perla St. to buy processed meat like corned beef and hotdogs because he felt they tasted much better than those available in the market.

I explained why because I knew why. The person who had been doing that - years older but still was a contemporary - used to work at Pure Foods Corp. Apparently, his children and grandchildren had inherited the knowledge and have created a home-based business of meat processing.

The Pasay of today is so much different from the Pasay I knew growing up. Buendia Ave., for example, had been renamed Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. and extended from its terminus at Taft Ave. to connect with Roxas Blvd. (formerly Dewey Blvd).

The shores of Manila Bay had been significantly reduced, erasing any trace of what once was our recreation area along the length of Dewey Blvd. 

On reclaimed land now stands practically a new city within the city where one finds the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Philippine International Convention Center, the Folks Arts Center, the Film Center, the Senate of the Philippines, the Mall of Asia, and other landmarks.

Talking with Clang was a fresh peek into over half-a-century of personal history and urban growth. I wonder if the horse-drawn kalesa still ply the streets from the public market on Libertad to home.

The only other person who shared a similar experience with me is the popular songwriter and singer Mon Torralba (remember his Hotdog band hit Pers Lab?) who, before his musical talent was bared to the world, resided in Pasay City at a street named Valhalla.

Clang also remembers walking from home to the Rizal City Bakery at F.B. Harrison and Perla St. to buy a bag of hot pandesal. It had been gone a long time ago. In those days when privacy was not much of an issue, my friends and I would slip into the working area and watch bakers cut up slices of dough that would become pandesal.

The Chinese restaurant at the next corner of San Juan St. and Harrison was the family's favorite for pancit. In good times when money was available, we would take a jeepney ride to Libertad for the more luxuriant, and expensive, pancit at Harlem restaurant.

The Commonwealth President Manuel Quezon (Related video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8FT2kEZfls) had a mansion on Roberts St., which is not far from either Perla or Villaruel. A kilometer away to the north at Salud St. was the residence of Senate President Eulogio "Amang" Rodriguez.

The length and breadth of Dewey Blvd. from Vito Cruz to Libertad streets, at least, had served as a playground. My childhood friends usually rented bicycles to roam the area. Quezon's abandoned mansion had been a big mystery to us. We thought it was ghostly.

One event etched in my mind was seeing US President Dwight Eisenhower in a motorcade along Dewey Blvd. in Pasay on his way to Malacanang from the airport in 1960.

All these memories came back during the interview with Clang. Because she also knew the places, it was not difficult to share stories from yesteryears. (Copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved).