Meeting Melchor & Tess of Honda

By Al S. Mendoza

I COULD not thank Melchor and Tess Co enough for their warm hospitality during a trip I had made to Laoag on October 23-24.

The lovely couple made my coverage of the launch of the new Honda Jazz not only very extremely memorable but, more importantly, they’ve suddenly carved themselves a niche right into my heart.

My fellow, Manila-based journalists were likewise impressed by their hospitality, which was, I must say, world-class.

Melchor and Tess are not Ilocanos but, in my book, they proved equal to the world-famed warmth and friendship of our brothers and sisters raised in the so-called land of sturdy, yet happy people that is Ilocoslovakia.

I know a full-blooded Ilocano when I see one. Although I grew up in Mangatarem (my mother was from there), an Ilocano blood runs deep in my veins – my father being born and raised in Pidigan, Abra.

In the trip to Laoag, what happily struck my colleagues most was the lunch Melchor and Tess had served us at their spanking Honda dealership in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte, on October 23.

The smorgasboard of someof Ilocandia’s best, which included pochero (boiled beef in Manila), kinamatisang baka, dinuguan, dinengdeng, pongke-pongke and the immortal bagnet, drew raves from a throng whose palates are the hardest to please.

Melchor and Tess had relocated to Laoag only in November 2007, after having spent the last 14 years of their married life in Dagupan City.

Melchor has been a top gun at the famous Honda Calasiao, and it was only right and proper that he spearheads the breakthrough Honda dealership in Laoag for the long-overdue expansion heading North.

And while Melchor brilliantly steers the wheels of his family’s future and fortune through sheer hard work (he and the missus have three lovely, beautiful daughters with the witty intellectual Gwen, 17, as the eldest), Tess, originally from Binangonan, Rizal, complements the hubby with her warm mien backstopped by a sweet smile that seems stitched eternally in her lips. And, yes, Tess is a walking encyclopedia of songs. And she can sing, too! Celeste will have a run for her money with Tess’s rendition of “Ang Saranggola ni Pepe.”

Truly, many beautiful things happen at the most unexpected moments. A trip, indeed, can always serve as a happy door that leads to the heart of people you never have dreamed of becoming friends with.

For having met Melchor and Tess, dined with them and sang with them some of the most beautiful songs ever composed, under a starry night off Currimao’s charming shoreline at Playa Tropical, my gratitude also goes to the Honda trio from Honda Cars Philippines — Voltaire Gonzales, Tintin Reyes and She delos Santos.

Thank you, guys.

It was just two days, but it seemed like eternity.

* * *

Today being All Souls Day, let us pray for all those who have gone ahead of us; let us implore for God’s mercy in that our departed brothers and sisters, whether close to us or not, have already received the grace and forgiveness from our Dear Lord Jesus Christ.

(Readers may reach columnist at also147@yahoo.com. For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/general-admission/ For reactions to this column, click “Send MESSAGES, OPINIONS, COMMENTS” on default page.)

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