Mamang Pacing

THE NATIVES of Calumpang, a small fishing village in Caridad, district of Cavite City, called their mothers “Mamang,” Chabakano for Mama. Their fathers, they called “Papang.”

The sandy shore, which is almost a kilometer wide, faces the Corregidor Island. One can see movements on the Island. As you slowly turn your sight towards your right the taller buildings of Manila begin to emerge. On those days, only the building of Manila Hotel could be seen clearly.

My entire clan were all born here (except my youngest brother).

While I was employed in a government financial institution, some of my articles were published in its bimonthly magazine. So why in my late years did I suddenly think of writing about my very dear mother? Realizing her significance in my life... I will never forgive myself if I did not.

My mother and father grew up in the same neighborhood. They were very good friends till they were already in their teens. It’s not hard to say that their friendship became closer when they were teens. As I knew about this, I was telling myself where else could this lead to?

They both told us these usual happenings during their young days. A little tomboyish, my mother was always the fruit tree climber, while my father said that during those days, Mamang did not wear any underwear so that he never got tired of looking up before picking up the fruits she threw down.

By this time, my father, who was already applying for jobs in Manila, received a notice from San Miguel Brewery. He will be hired as a messenger (on a bicycle, with white shirt and pants).

As father got his job, he married my mother. They had their first baby, a girl, in May 1926. They were already set to move to Manila. So they started planning: “Who will come with us? Where shall we live?” Mamang was thinking: “Is there a place where I can sell fish?”

After two years of studying the situation, another baby arrived, this time a boy! That will be me; October 1928. But this did not stop their planning.

I was six months old when they decided... “Let’s go to Manila!”

Mamang took her father with her, two brothers and her younger sister. My father took his mother only.

Papang was offered a vacant, fivecar garage by his friend, Don Perfecto. We never met this man. But by his name, we took the offer. I did not know how much Papang was paying him. My uncles and their sister arranged it so that we had two bedrooms, a dining room, a toilet and bathroom and an oversized living room.

The location of our new house was ideal. Our street was Cataluña. A few steps to our left side is an elementary school. To our right is España street, we were only a block away from the University of Santo Tomas (UST). Mamang asked our new neighbors where the market was. No luck, but providen- tial. The market was only four blocks from Cataluña.

I would like to mention Don Perfecto once again. Does that name really mean something else for us?

It was 1929, if we did this today, we will be called “squatters”. But I said there were none yet at that time, so you may call us the “original” squatters.

Without wasting time, my mother started to look for the market closest to us. The Sampaloc market, located in Bustillos street, a few blocks from our new house. This will be my mother’s new world.

The next day, she was able to rent two vacant stalls. This is the start of her fishing business. She was alone tending the two stalls.

On her way home one afternoon, an old woman approached her, and after introducing herself as ‘Ale’ (pronounced Ah-Le), walked with her till they were getting close to home. And again, Mamang’s natural trait is that of a very friendly person. She is always smiling and when she laughs I call it more like roaring.

Anyway, she said that she is from Carmona - first time we heard of the place. So Ale stayed for the night and next morning went with Mamang to market. She started to help sell her fish. Mamang appreciated her help. So there was this elderly woman now living with us. But after a week, she told Mamang of her daughter who is in Carmona and, if Mamang would agree to have another help. Mamang agreed.

Aling Maria, that’s the daughter of Ale, came to us after Ale fetched her. How can I describe their meeting? A meeting between two lovers? Even the entire family showed so much love the very first time she appeared in our home. She was as tall as Mamang, but a little slim. A mestiza-like complexion with a beautiful smile. We called her Aling Maria or Inay Ange.

But where is Carmona? Never heard of it at all.

Meanwhile, Mamang’s business is getting better and bigger. After a few months, she had six stalls. Three back to back. This meant more helpers or ‘ tinderas’ as we called them. More girls came from Carmona, all cousins of Aling Maria.

Other stall owners met and became friends of Mamang. From this, the fish section of Sampaloc thought of organizing an association. And, they did! Guess who they selected to be their first president? A no-read-no-write woman... Mamang!

Now Mamang’s popularity in the market reached our home. Papang, who is now with the Accounting Department of San Miguel Brewery, did the accounting for Mamang’s ‘ kapisanan’. Papang who uses a manual adding machine at home was beaten by Mamang in addition. She can also count in Japanese and Chinese. Before I forget, Papang went to night school to take up Accounting and completed it.

More stalls, this time at the eatery section. Six of them! Three on each side. One side, a halo-halo stand. At the back, breakfast and lunch were served. Additional girls were admitted. Now a boy who can make ice cream and do special errands was hired (my cousin).

But let me now go back a while, or I miss a long portion of important events in Mamang’s and Papang’s lives.

Mamang gave birth to another baby boy. They called him Jose (Peping). This time San Miguel Brewery admitted all their employees and family members who needed hospitalization in a nearby St. Joseph hospital. Mamang gave birth to Jose here. The doctors found something wrong with her uterus. This made Jose to be her last baby. To add a very important step in their lives, they were remarried before they left the hospital, after having admitted that their first marriage was not Catholic. God bless Don and Mrs. Andres Soriano who were the sponsors.

Another phase in the lives of both me and Mamang: music. I was only six when she went around friends and relatives saying that I wanted her to buy me a piano. It was not true. Besides, I was thinking can we even afford one?

After about two weeks, a piano arrived. I never thought of having a piano and that I will be the one to play it. And so it goes, I took up piano lessons but only for a while. I stopped even when I couldn’t read notes yet. I went on playing ouido (by ear) and many admired my chords. I was in grade four when I accompanied all my schoolmates sing the two national anthems, and then played the march for them, as every student went to their classrooms.

Mamang could really sing. There is truth when she relates her singing with Leopoldo Salcedo, who is also from Caridad. She relates that every time there were parties where Salcedo and she were present, they were both requested to sing. He was not yet in the movies at the time.

Contrary to my Papang, who sings very much out of tune, my sister unfortunately got her singing from him. But Peping’s voice is ok.

I’m sorry but I have to cut the subject about music which has truly been my life ever since I started playing the piano. Let me get back to my important subject: Mamang.

This next part, I would consider an epic...

Once, as I was doing the dishes after dinner, I accidentally broke a plate. My grandmother just got a foot long piece of wood and started spanking me. Even if I was already crying and shouting, she didn’t stop. Mamang was not able to hold herself, she boldly pulled me from my grandma’s reach and was able to take me away from her beating. In a very quick act, she was able to put a raincoat on top of me, then with an umbrella in her other hand, she pulled me out of the house. It was raining hard, but she didn’t care, she just wanted me safe from more harm. No act from Papang, because that’s his mother?

Before I knew it, we were riding a “Pasay” bus. I knew those buses went to Cavite, so more or less, I knew where we were going. Our original nipa house near the shore was still there, I noticed. I was born there. My Mamang started shouting, “Manang, Manang Viring!” repeatedly until they appeared her husband, Tay Momong beside her. What a sight to see, at a time like this one!

With tears rolling down her cheeks, like the rain falling in the night, she shouted, “I do not know what to do with him anymore. I don’t know how you’ll do it, but I am leaving him with you!” With these words, she led me into Manang’s hands. When I felt the warm embrace of Manang Viring, I looked back and watched my dear mother disappear in the middle of a dark and very wet night.

It took Manang Viring almost a week before she brought me back to Mamang.

1950: We were already in Carola street when my grandmother got sick. She was in bed for two days and Mamang was taking care of her.

While still with a fever on the second day, she suddenly stood up saying that she wanted to go downstairs. I heard some voices shouting for her not to stand up. At that very moment, I was standing near the stairs and she was going my direction. She ignored all of us. As she was about a few more steps before me when she missed a step and fell forward where I was standing. I was able to embrace her while she was falling.

I knelt, holding her by her neck and shoulder and tried hard to make her face upward. She did not move for quite a time. It was another voice near me who said, “patay na siya!” (she’s dead).

It took me more time to really feel her in my arms. When there were more shouting and crying, I suddenly looked up and asked, “Is this your plan for me, Lord?” Then after a while, thoughts of her cruelty to me started to lessen, until it was gone.

With the coming of the second world war and the Japanese occupation of Manila, Mamang was able to continue with her business at the Sampaloc market. But as the Japanese occupation went on, after the third year, living in Manila became dangerous. Scary at times, with the Japanese soldiers getting more restless. My entire family was invited by now new relatives from Carmona. My Uncle married one of Mamang’s tindera of halohalo, so we accepted the invitation. The entire Ignacio family evacuated to Carmona three months before the US army returned to the Philippines.

Most of us learned how to harvest rice, while Mamang used a ‘ bilao’ to sell fruits and vegetables. She took this to Manila walking, then returned in the afternoon with girls and baby wears in her bilao. She sold these in Carmona. She did this twice a week!

When the forces of General McArthur returned in October 1944, my family walked back to Manila. Mamang at once returned to her stalls in Sampaloc market. With all the destruction the war brought to us, but with the grace of God, Sampaloc remained as good as before with only minor damages. Again, Mamang’s business grew as days of liberation brought her good results.

Mamang was able to buy a used pick-up. Of course, with a new member of her staff: a driver. So she now gets her fish from Navotas. She leaves the house at 2:00 a.m., fills the pick up with several bañeras (big buckets or tubs) of fish, brings them to Sampaloc by 6 a.m. By this time, stall owners buy their fish from her, which showed that her business was really getting bigger. At this time, the San Miguel building was still being repaired so Papang was still not going to work, but attended to his garden.

Proof again: Mamang bought a twostorey house in Carola street. Also near UST but this time at the other end of España. Perhaps UST did not want us to leave the place. We all stayed in this house until I, my brother and sister got married.

Peping and I were able to finish our college courses in UST. He was able to secure a job in San Miguel Corporation, in Papang’s department, when he completed his course in Accountancy.

When Peping and I started working, both of us gave our salaries to Mamang even without her prompting or asking us to do so. We thought of how she took care of paying for our studies and that it would be the proper thing to do.

Mamang was very much affected when she contracted the disease that our family dreaded so much: Diabetes. Our family was called “maruekos”, meaning families who are fond of eating sweets. I don’t know what it means, but all of us cannot end each meal without swallowing a piece of ‘ panutcha’ or anything sweet before taking a glass of water. They said it runs in the family, especially the old ones who were not with us anymore. My sister, brother, uncles and aunts had it.

God did not allow me to have it despite of my being fond of sweets. Mamang jokingly tells everyone: “you put sugar on a tobacco, he will eat it!”

To let the family know how serious her diabetes was, she stopped going to the market after she got wounds on her right leg. She let her tinderas attend to her business.

The wounds on her right leg were spreading, covering almost the entire leg. By this time my siblings and I had our own families already. And while my house was in Las Piñas, we took Mamang and Papang to our home for many days to take care of them, especially Mamang.

My eldest daughter did the cleaning of her wounds. But when we took her to FEU hospital, the doctors mentioned amputation. By this time, Mamang’s heart was also suffering due to her painful wounds. Peping and I told the doctors that we have made a decision... no more amputation.

But the date of her amputation never came anyway. Mamang went on ahead to meet her Maker.

My most loved one was taken away from me. But one thing is very sure, she knew how much I loved her till the end. Now, she also knows that God loves her.