Part 137
OUR children Jimmy and Luis finished their elementary studies at Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepcion. For high school, Jimmy went to the newly opened St. Francis of Assisi School in Peace Valley while Louie decided on Don Bosco in Talisay. After a year, he also ended up in St. Francis.
It was in 2002 that we discovered Luis had scoliosis. He needed an operation on his spine and we thought we could wait until he was 18. However, the doctor said it had to be done as soon as possible.
Cecilia and I decided it would be a few days after the school year ended, in April 2003. Preparations were done surreptitiously so as not to affect his final exams. It was only three days before the operation that we told him, when practically everything had been arranged.
On the day of the operation, Cecilia was at Cebu Doctors’ Hospital, while I spent the morning with Robin Aboitiz at her house, where she was most kind and understanding. I had also called our dear friend Georgina Padilla Zobel in Madrid for her to offer prayers at the sanctuary of “Madre Maravillas.”
Dr. Mickey Morales did a splendid job of the operation, and the recuperation was relatively easy. By the time the new school year opened Luis was able to attend classes.
That year 2003, the St. Francis of Assisi School presented the play “Scrooge” based on ”A Christmas Carol,” the novel by Charles Dickens. That was on Dec. 12 and 13 at the auditorium of St. Theresa’s College.
Luis was among the stage crew, but the star of the show was Jimmy who had the title role of Scrooge. We had as much fun watching him as he had emoting the part with relish. Cecilia could not contain her admiration nor her laughter at some points of the drama.
In December 2003, Qatar Airways started direct flights between Cebu and Doha. On Feb. 2, 2004, I was one of the media group invited on a famtour to see and
experience Qatar. The aircraft was brand-new, and in Business Class we could turn our seats into veritable beds.
We were billeted at the Doha Marriott Hotel where many of the staff were Filipinos. Gidget Diez from the Cebu Qatar office was our escort, leading us through a well-planned itinerary.
We had fun at Aladdin’s Magic Kingdom, a theme park with lots of attractions, visited in the evening when the desert climate is ever so much cooler. Shopping and sightseeing included the various souks— spices, clothing material, gold, fruits, vegetables, even falcons which could not be photographed.
The food was delicious wherever we went, inspired by Arabian and Lebanese cuisines. I loved the salads made with parsley. One of the best meals we had was at the buffet of the Corniche in the Marriott Hotel.
One afternoon we boarded a series of Toyota Land Cruisers which jumped over the sand dunes, giving us all quite an exhilarating experience. It had been quite hot during the day but it got chilly in the evening when we had dinner and piping hot coffee in a typical desert tent.
One day we visited an animal farm and had lunch under a grove of shady trees. We watched the ostriches but we did not get too close to the fence, lest they stretch their necks and pick out things from us. They’ve been known to swallow alarm clocks, a delicacy for them.
Some in our group changed into Arabian costumes for a photo op, and the more intrepid ones ventured riding on a camel for a short, and reportedly uncomfortable, “paseo.”
In March 2004, the Arts Council and Ballet Center presented a full-length production of The Sleeping Beauty Ballet. Fe Sala Villarica and Vivina Chiu Yrastorza headed the executive committee while Noordin Jumalon came to direct. The weekend of March 5 it was at Ayala Center, and on the next, at SM City Cebu.
Lead roles were danced by Ballet Philippine’s Krisbelle Paclibar as Princess Aurora, Jojo Managun as Prince Desire, and Ruben de Dios as the male Blue Bird.
Partnering him alternately were Sheila Lendio and Marijean Pestaño, who also alternated as the Lilac Fairy.
Benjie Diola was the wicked fairy, a role which he more than embroidered. Johanna Mangubat was the White Cat, surrounded by a coterie of white kittens.
Alternating as the King were Bunny Pages and Karl Hudon, general manager of the Cebu City Marriott Hotel, while alternating as the Queen were Dominique Riegel and Carmel Cabaero.
I was in it among the lords and ladies, with Mariter Klepp as my dancing partner. I wore a thick blonde wig which prompted someone to ask, having seen my name in the program, what my role had been.
It turned out that our group of courtiers was on stage for the longest time. That’s about the time I started to have problems with my back. It hurt to remain standing for long so I searched out a chair between scenes.
On opening night, after the show, many of us, still in costume, took Karl Hudson’s invitation to continue the fun at the lobby lounge of the Marriott. Arts Council president Petite Garcia came all enthusiasm, saying that the show had been a hit with the audience.
In May 2004, we heard from Pedro de la Peña whom we had met in July 1990. Pedro had gone to Amparito’s restaurant in Mango Avenue for lunch, and there he met Amparito Lhuillier and Teresin Mendezona. They called me up to come and meet him.
Pedro was an eminent writer in Spain, having published novels and poems which won him prestigious literary awards. He had come to research for a novel he was planning titled “Los Primeros de Filipinas.” It was a fictional account of the men in the expedition of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in 1565.
He wrote the book, published it in Spain with success, and for it obtained the literary prize Ciudad de Valladolid. He was launching it in Manila in July 2004 at Instituto Cervantes and wanted us to be present. We accepted, happy to meet him as well as Javier Galvan who by now was the director of the Instituto Cervantes in Manila.
Amigos de España en Cebu was formally launched on July 13, 2004 at the Casino Español de Cebu with the presence of the Spanish Embassy’s Chargé d´Affaires Alvaro de Salas and his wife Carmen Tornos de Salas. The Casino was housed at Garcia mansion in Ranudo Street, waiting for the completion of its new clubhouse along the same street.
During the brief program, words of praise were expressed by Casino Español de Cebu president Roberto Aboitiz. Amparito Lhuillier, as president of the Amigos, also delivered a speech. The rest of the officers were vice president Susan Montenegro Sala, secretary Myra Gonzalez y Osmeña and treasurer Julina Pando Muertegui.
Of great importance to Cebu that July 2004 was the inaugural of Gwendolyn Garcia as the first woman governor of Cebu province. The occasion was a brilliant event at the Provincial Capitol.
Gwen had been helping her father Gov. Pablo Garcia during his last term. One day at her office, she mentioned that her second name was Pilar, having been born on Oct. 12, feast of Our Lady of Pilar.
A few months before her birth her father, then the lawyer of Señorita Telesfora Jaen, one of the original owners of Casa Gorordo, had made a trip to Spain with Miss Jaen. They went to Zaragoza and stopped by the Basilica del Pilar.
Atty. Pabling Garcia prayed that his wife, pregnant at the moment with Gwen, have a safe delivery. And so Gwen was born on Oct. 12. I brought her a small icon of Our Lady of Pilar and told her that if she was meant to be governor of Cebu she’d win the election.
And if not, I reminded her, then Our Lady of Pilar would surely have something for her. As it was, Gwen’s election made history.