By Rex Catubig I ALWAYS threw it a glance but never really acknowledged its presence so that it might as well be non-existent. It has always stood there–silent and steadfast amid the cacophony and chaos of the marketplace. Its facade looks perpetually unfinished, painted in “carboro” white that makes…
By Rex Catubig WHILE it is popularly believed that the senses are dulled as one ages, I find that the opposite is actually true: Age sharpens the senses and enhances one’s perception of things. Simply said, one becomes acutely sensitive to the changes around him. And one becomes…
By Rex Catubig IN early 1990’s, Mayor Al Fernandez pioneered the staging of Bangus harvest or Gilon in his fish farm as entertainment for visiting Balikbayans. Then in 1997, when Councilor Belen Fernandez was appointed Chairman of Agew na Dagupan, she tapped Resty Fernandez, fresh from a choreography workshop…
(Second of 2 parts) By Rex Catubig LORETA, now 74, recalls that one day, the Americans came knocking at her grandparents, Bae Placida Viray and Laki Bonifacio Cruz’s house looking for lodging. They rented the house. But finding its thatched roof too hot for comfort, they had it replaced…
(1st of 2 parts) By Rex Catubig THE coastal barrio conjured images of white-crested waves, blue waters and fine sand, and magnificent undulating sand dunes with ruffled furrows carved by the fierce afternoon winds surging from the high seas. On tranquil days, the place was tropical paradise. Its residents…
Sunday Punch Women’s Month exclusive 2nd of 2 parts By Rex Catubig MALYN Laigue Astadan was married at 16 to a boy she met at a school in neighboring Carael. But the fairy tale soon shattered. The union bore three boys and the burden of earning a living fell…
Sunday Punch Women’s Month Exclusive (1st of 2 parts) By Rex Catubig IT all started with an ice cream stick. One of three boys our overseas domestic helper was taking care of, asked her to buy him ice cream at the cold store. Which she did, thinking the boy had…
By Rex Catubig YEARS ago we had lunch at the Dulag, Binmaley bucolic church grounds as our high school classmate, Fr Jon Songcuan, was assigned there. After eating, Fr Jon toured us around. As we walked past the circular-domed chapel, having some discussion about the state of the…
By Rex Catubig IT’S been thirty seven years since the EDSA People Power Revolution—that historic event on a February love month in 1986 that made the world sit up and do a double take on this tiny patch of islands, whose simple folks became giant poster figures overnight of…
By Rex Catubig WAY before Bangus Festival was conceptualized, Pista’y Dayat was the summer event people flocked to in Dagupan. The mile-long Tondaligan Ferdinand–erstwhile known as Bonuan Blue Beach–was where all vehicles led to and where the action happened. Along the roadway within a stone’s throw from the amphitheater…
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