THE SAO PAOLO ARCH in Barangay I
I ONLY have a slim chance of locating Mother anywhere else in a thick crowd. She hardly replies to my messages on ordinary days, to begin with. And at the foot of the gargantuan Christmas houses she has had imminent affinity with since childhood—I now decrease my hopes.
How high is the probability that she would reply to my text promptly this time around?
I was eyeing her during the fireworks display. She was just standing on stage in the city plaza, hands clasped in entertainment when the fireworks pierced the darkness of the sky—a jolt of a childhood past when she used to be a shakoy vendor marveling at the Santa Claus sleigh mounted on the façade of Pepsi Cola plant in Mabolo in the 60s.
I should know better. In Tangub City, fireworks always mean the beginning of something, especially for the annual opening and lighting of Christmas Symbols Festival 2018 on the first day of December. On its sixth year in the 25 years since its birth in Misamis Occidental, it carries the theme “Discover the World in Tangub City.” All 16 clustered government agencies and barangays have rendered interpretations of international landmarks, incorporating Christmas embellishments such as the nativity scene, Santa Clause, stars, and reindeers. They are on display through January 2019.
For the first time, monument versions are installed on the main highways—the gateways from Ozamiz (airport, seaport from Cebu), Pagadian, Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, and Davao. Meanwhile, in the innermost roads, arches hover above territorial boundaries such as Garang’s Jayamarthanda Gate of Mysore Palace in India. The pillars are decorated with lampirong (local shells), bunot sa lubi (coconut husks), and uhot sa humay (rice stalks). With the nativity scene, Santa Claus, reindeers, the Christmas tree is composed of empty bottles filled with artificial food coloring.
Basilica della Collegiata by the Northwestern Mindanao State College of Science and Technology.
Brandenburg Gate of Germany is translated into two textured towers of shells, crafted plastic bottles, and CD discs by the residents of Migcanaway. In Maloro, rice hulls cover the walls of the Blue-domed Church of Santorini, Greece. Barangay 1 has chosen to enliven the Filipino Misa de Gallo spirit into the development of the Sao Paolo Cathedral of Brazil arch.
In the city plaza is the spectacle in varied positions: a galleon, a church, a garden, and a crown that should be from all over Mindanao. Like a ship docked in tow, Gov. Alfonso D. Tan College’s Victoria Museum stands out because of its nearly exact size and shape of the actual galleon refurbished in Chile. Dubbed the “trading center of Tangub City,” Barangay III collected plastic utensils and soda bottles and built its own
version of the Emirates A380 of Dubai Miracle Garden, Dubai.
Tangub City National High School opted for the Beto Carrero of Penha, Brazil because the original creator Sergio Murad believed in “a world that is as big as your dreams.”
I still dial Mother’s number on my phone after three unreturned messages. No answer.
I snake through the crowd until I reach the far end, east of the stage where I last saw her 45 minutes earlier. She is standing at the back of the Ryugyong Hotel of North Korea of the City Engineer’s Office staring closely at the Santa Claus series lights.
At 57—surely, like most of the visitors—Mother is still that 10-year-old-girl who holds the penchant for the best things in life … and the cheap thrill of churchyard dolls.
