Memories of Bicol

Among the Regalado clan, our family was the only one who planted its roots in Manila. Mom moved to Manila after marrying Dad, while the rest of her 9 siblings stayed on in Bicol, then 4 of them moved to the U.S. eventually.

Because of that, my memories of Bicol aren't as abundant as my other cousins who grew up and lived there. My memories of Bicol are the short summer vacations we'd spend there. We'd usually live in Lolo Iking's beach house in Bacacay, then spend a few days a week at Lolo Doring's house in Malinao. During summer, my sisters would join the Santacruzan and would usually get the top spots (Reina Elena and Reina Emperatriz), then we'd sometimes sneak out at night to go to the "baraylihan" at the Malinao plaza.

Eventhough I didn't see Lolo Doring and Lola Pining as often as I should have, I have so many fond memories of them. They were both politicians - being both Mayor and Vice-mayor for several terms. Both Lolo and Lola were very eloquent, principled, and very good with people - trademarks of politicians during the olden days, or the glory years. Whenever I'd drop by the Malinao Municipal Hall, I'd always marvel at Lolo and Lola's portraits as they hung on those hallowed halls.

Lolo Doring would have this habit of gargling his water before drinking it. Lola Pining would dress up in her proper church attire before crossing the street to hear mass. We would always have lunch and dinner together on that long table in the dining room. And we would always end up at the "palitada" after dinner to just talk and bond with our cousins.

Another memory of Bicol consists of the photos that were on the wall of Lolo and Lola's house in Malinao. Since they were both politicos, they had photos with Ferdinand and Imelda, photos when they were sworn in, photos of their projects, and of course, photos of their families. I found a couple of those photos on my sister's facebook account, posted by one of our cousins who was still in Bicol.

Here's a photo that I always found interesting. It was a photo of my Mom's family sometime in the 60s. It shows Lolo and Lola, Mom and her 9 siblings, and 8 of my cousins who were already born that time. It wasn't unusual in Bicol to have large families, and my Mom's family was large.



The other photo is something that I've seen for the first time. It's Lolo Doring with the late President Ramon Magsaysay. As it turns out, Lolo was a member of the Nacionalista Party. Makes me wonder if he would've voted for Villar if he were still alive today.



It's been a long time since I last went to Bicol, and there are times when I think that I should go there more often and get to know the place where my Mom was born and grew up. Get to know the place where my Lolo was Mayor and Lola was Vice-mayor, and when their terms ended, my Lola became Mayor and my Lolo became Vice-mayor. Get to know my cousins and catch up with them.

Yup, I think it's time to get to know Bicol a bit more.