Summer has always reminded me of my childhood. As school year ends, my brothers and I would pack our bags and spend our vacation with our grandparents. Two months of carefree afternoons in my hometown of Bauan, Batangas. We would get as dark as fried chicken from too much dipping in the nearby Anilao beach and playing in the town plaza. The Balayong trees, our version of the cherry were in full bloom at the Church courtyard. I look forward to the Holy Tuesday and Good Friday processions. The ivory images of saints, apostles, the Blessed Mother and Jesus dressed in velvet and brocade were my first fashion spectacles.
I recently went back to visit, my grandparents long gone, their former house torn down. The Balayong trees were gone too and what remains is a huge paved parking lot. Except for the panciteria, there was little to remind me of the once breezy town where everyone knew each other, where one can walk from house to house.
Bauan has taken another form and so did summer, and I've started to advocate planting Balayong trees.
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| Summer of yore, Jake 7, JC 10 and JB 9. |
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| The remodelled Church of the Immaculate Concepcion. |
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| One of the few remaining old houses on Don Quintin Castillo St. |
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| Tia Nene's former house. |
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| 24/7 construction where my grandparent's house used to be. |
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| Good old Romy's Panciteria. |
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| Pancit Miki |
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| "Pupod" Pork Chicharon |
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| Modern day panciteria, McDonald's. |
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| Cadena de Amor. |
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| Thank God! Heritage advocates Belen Marquez and Fe Ferrer opposed the cutting of the town cemetery's 162 year old Acacia tree. |
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