My mom's hometown

This was a painting of the Pateros River in the late 19th century by Jose Honorato Lozano.  It is my mom's hometown, Pateros, Rizal.

This photo is copied from Ambeth Ocampo's Facebook page

And this also reminds me of a lot of my childhood days.  After the end of the school year, I was happy that we could then go to Pateros and spend the summer there.  It was kind of ironic because we live in the province and was on vacation in a town near Manila.

Although this was not as I remember it, it reminded me of how laid back the town was during that times.  My lola cooks bibingkang itlog on some weekends and was using wood to cook our meals.  Once, she called me to buy 'casa fuego' and asked what that is:  posporo.

When May comes, we get ready at night for the 'Dios de Salve,' which was actually the 'Santacruzan.'  It is also ironic that in the province where we live, this tradition does not exist.  I remember I was always in a hurry to finish dinner and to wash myself so I can join the prusisyon.  After that, if it's still early, we can still play patintero sa kalye using the lines of the streets as our markers.

Pateros now is very different from this photo, as well as how I remember it from my childhood.  Sometimes I wish that some things do not change... like this.