WELCOME TO MY SITE AND HAVE A GOOD DAY

Welcome to Las Vegas, Nevada- the Gambling Capital of US and the City that never sleeps! So, what has this city have to do with this site. The answer is none. I just love the photo, I took during our vacation to this city a couple of years ago. In this site, you will find articles from my autobiography, global warming, senior citizens issues, tourism, politics in PI, music appreciation and articles about our current experiences as retirees enjoying the "snow bird" lifestyle between US and the Philippines. Your comments will be highly appreciated. Some of the photos and videos on this site, I do not own. However, I have no intention on infringement of your copyrights. Cheers!

Saturday, February 28, 2015

A Simple Recipe for Oven Roasted Suckling Pig

The other day during our weekly outing of dining and slot machine playing, my wife and I decided to eat in the Buffet Restaurant of TVC, Lincoln, CA-our favorite Indian Casino. Of the hundreds of dishes ( Chinese, Mexican, Italian, traditional American), the highlight of the buffet that day was an oven roasted suckling pig. It was delicious and the skin was crispy and meat juicy. The problem was we can not find any liver sauce. This reminded me of our Pinoy, Lechon sa Kawali ( Roast Pig in a Pan). I searched for recipes in the Internet. There were several but the following published in the Food Lab I found very simple and easy to follow. Try it and let me know.


Whole Roasted Suckling Pig

Yield: Serves 12 to 16
Active time: 1 hour
Total time: 5 to 6 hours
This recipe appears in: The Food Lab Redux: 7 Pork Dishes for the Holidays The Food Lab: How to Roast a Whole Suckling Pig
Ingredients

1 whole suckling pig, about 20 pounds (see note)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
20 whole cloves garlic
1 six-inch piece of fresh ginger, cut into 1/2-inch slivers

Procedures

1 Preheat oven to 300°F. Season pig inside and out with plenty of salt and pepper. Fill cavity with garlic and ginger. If pig fits on a single rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan, place him on the baking sheet back-up and transfer to the oven. If pig is too large, remove a rack from the oven and place on your range. Overlap two rimmed backin sheets so that they fit on the oven rack and line the whole thing with foil. Transfer the pig to the overlapped baking sheets then lift the whole oven rack and return to the oven so that the pig is in the center.

2 Roast until an instand read thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the shoulder blade registers at least 160°F, about 4 hours. If ears or tail begin to burn, cover with foil and continue roasting.

3 Increase oven temperature to 500°F and cook until skin is crisp all over, about 30 minutes longer. Remove pig from oven, tent with foil, and allow to rest for 30 minutes. Serve by tearing skin into serving-sized pieces and removing flesh with your fingers and piling it onto a serving platter.

Note: You can order suckling pigs from your local butcher, or from online resources such as McReynolds Farms. Plan on a pound and a half of weight per person. You can feel free to substitute the garlic and ginger with any aromatics of your choice such as herbs, other vegetables, or fruit. Your pig can be removed from the oven and left at room temperature tented with foil for up to two hours after step two and before proceeding with step three if you need to do so for timing purposes.

About the author: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is the Chief Creative Officer of Serious Eats where he likes to explore the science of home cooking in his weekly column The Food Lab. You can follow him at @thefoodlab on Twitter, or at The Food Lab on Facebook.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

A Love Letter to the Filipinos


I received the following article from a friend today. This is must read if you have roots in the Philippines

I am writing to thank Filipinos for the way you have treated me here, and to pass on a lesson I learned from observing the differences between your culture and mine over the years.

I am an expatriate worker. I refer to myself as an OAW, an overseas American worker, as a bad joke. The work I do involves a lot of traveling and changing locations, and I do it alone, without family. I have been in 21 countries now, not including my own. It was fun at first. Now, many years later, I am getting tired. The Philippines remains my favorite country of all, though, and I’d like to tell you why before I have to go away again.

I have lived for short periods here, traveled here, and have family and friends here. My own family of origin in the United States is like that of many Americans—not much of a family. Americans do not stay very close to their families, geographically or emotionally, and that is a major mistake. I have long been looking for a home and a family, and the Philippines is the only place I have lived where people honestly seem to understand how important their families are.

I am American and hard-headed. I am a teacher, but it takes me a long time to learn some things. But I’ve been trying, and your culture has been patient in trying to teach me.
In the countries where I’ve lived and worked, all over the Middle East and Asia, it is Filipinos who do all the work and make everything happen. When I am working in a new company abroad, I seek out the Filipino staff when I need help getting something done, and done right.

Your international reputation as employees is that you work hard, don’t complain, and are very capable. If all the Filipinos were to go home from the Middle East, the world would stop. Oil is the lifeblood of the world, but without Filipinos, the oil will not come from the ground, it will not be loaded onto the ships, and the ships will not sail. The offices that make the deals and collect the payments will not even open in the morning. The schools will not have teachers, and, of course, the hospitals will have no staff.

What I have seen, that many of you have not seen, is how your family members, the ones who are overseas Filipino workers, do not tell you much about how hard their lives actually are. OFWs are very often mistreated in other countries, at work and in their personal lives. You probably have not heard much about how they do all the work but are severely underpaid, because they know that the money they are earning must be sent home to you, who depend on them.

The OFWs are very strong people, perhaps the strongest I have ever seen. They have their pictures taken in front of nice shops and locations to post on Facebook so that you won’t worry about them. But every Pinoy I have ever met abroad misses his/her family very, very much.

I often pity those of you who go to America. You see pictures of their houses and cars, but not what it took to get those things. We have nice things, too many things, in America, but we take on an incredible debt to get them, and the debt is lifelong. America’s economy is based on debt. Very rarely is a house, car, nice piece of clothing, electronic appliance, and often even food, paid for. We get them with credit, and this debt will take all of our lifetime to pay. That burden is true for anyone in America—the OFWs, those who are married to Americans, and the Americans themselves.

Most of us allow the American Dream to become the American Trap. Some of you who go there make it back home, but you give up most of your lives before you do. Some of you who go there learn the very bad American habits of wanting too many things in your hands, and the result is that you live only to work, instead of working only to live. The things we own actually own us. That is the great mistake we Americans make in our lives. We live only to work, and we work only to buy more things that we don’t need. We lose our lives in the process.

I have sometimes tried to explain it like this: In America, our hands are full, but our hearts are empty. You have many problems here, I understand that. Americans worry about having new cars, Filipinos worry about having enough food to eat. That’s an enormous difference. But do not envy us, because we should learn something from you. What I see is that even when your hands are empty, your hearts remain full.

I have many privileges in the countries where I work, because I am an expat. I do not deserve these things, but I have them. However, in every country I visit, I see that you are there also, taking care of your families, friends, bosses, and coworkers first, and yourselves last. And you have always taken care of me, in this country and in every other place where I have been.

These are places where I have been very alone, very tired, very hungry, and very worried, but there have always been Filipinos in my offices, in the shops, in the restaurants, in the hospitals, everywhere, who smile at and take good care of me. I always try to let you know that I have lived and traveled in the Philippines and how much I like your country. I know that behind those smiles of yours, here and abroad, are many worries and problems.

Please know that at least one of us expats has seen what you do for others and understands that you have a story behind your smiles. Know that at least one of us admires you, respects you, and thanks you for your sacrifices. Salamat po. Ingat lagi. Mahal ko kayong lahat. By David H. Hartwell

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

David H. Harwell, PhD, is a former professor and assistant dean in the United States who now travels and works abroad designing language training programs. He is a published author and a son of a retired news editor.

Monday, February 23, 2015

An Incident of Mistaken Identity and Stereotyping


While I was browsing in the Web today, I saw an article that the Rancho Bernardo Tennis and Swim Club in San Diego has closed. I thought this was the same place as the Rancho Bernardo Inn Resort also in San Diego that my wife and I attended (Tennis Vacation package) in 1982. I guess I made a mistake.

Anyway today, the above article reminded me of an incident that happened to us in 1982 when Macrine and I attended a 3-DAY of Tennis Class and Vacation Package at the Rancho Bernardo Inn, which at that time was a five star resort. The following article (excerpt in Chapter 10 from my autobiography, written in 2009) is an example of an ethnic stereotyping based on my skin and appearance as an Asian man and a Filipino. The article is as follows:

"Life in Pinole, California would not be complete, If I do not write about our tennis activities as related to our 25th Wedding Anniversary in 1982. As part of our community activities, Macrine and I played tennis almost everyday after work. On weekends. I also played double with the men's team at Contra Costa College. So, as one of my silver wedding anniversary gift to Macrine, we decided to attend a 3-day tennis academy package at Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego. The five star resort is home of one of the best tennis academy in California at that time. For the three days, we played tennis 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. In between tennis we had gourmet meals and entertainment at night. The cost of the tennis package was very expensive, comparable to the cost of playing golf and staying at Bellarocca Resort here in Marinduque today.

The cost of the trip was not my concern, since it was my Silver Wedding Anniversary gift to both Macrine and myself. An incident at the resort is why I am mentioning this trip. As soon as we check in, Macrine stayed at the front office to smoke, while I carried our luggage to our room. On my way to our room, an elderly white couple approached me and requested that I also helped them with their luggage as soon as I finished what I was doing. I gave them a surprise stare and blurted out, "I am just checking in myself,and I do not worked here". They apologized profusely.

Later on, I realized why I had been mistaken for a porter. About 90% of the resort porters, janitors and maintenance workers were either Filipinos or Mexicans. This incident is an example of how people judged you with the color of your skin and not what you had accomplished or what is in your head".

The above tennis vacation package, a post 25th wedding anniversary gift to my wife and myself, we will never forget, because it reminds us of our younger days. Moreover, the above incident also reminds us that most people first impression of you is your external appearance and not what is inside your heart and head.

If you are a Filipino-American, have you experience a similar incident in your life?

Friday, February 20, 2015

Guimaras Island-Home of Philippine Mangoes


Have you heard of Guimaras Island in the Philippines? When I was growing up in the Philippines, Guimaras island was still a part of the province of Iloilo -my province of birth. It became an independent province only in 1992.

My fathers roots ( K(C)atague surname) are from Guimaras. Today I have still relatives in the island. The video below from Living Channel Asia is a must view if you want to know more about this small province in the West Visayas Region of the Philippines

Guimaras is a fourth class island province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Among the smallest provinces, its capital is Jordan. The island is located in the Panay Gulf, between the islands of Panay and Negros. To the northwest is the province of Iloilo and to the southeast is Negros Occidental.

The province consists primarily of Guimaras Island, and also includes Inampulugan, Guiwanon (or Guiuanon), Panobolon, Natunga, Nadulao, and many minor surrounding islands. Geologists have concluded that the island once formed one landmass with Panay.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Philippines Schindler's List

The movie Schindler's List that I posted in my blog the other day reminded me of the following article I wrote about four years ago, about the Philippines participation in saving more than a thousand European Jews from the Holocaust.


A friend from the Philippines forwarded this article via e-mail today. I was 5 years old when this was the news. I barely remember it from my parents conversation about World War II. Anyway, if you are a Filipino or Filipino-American, you should read this and be proud of the Philippines.

Monument in Israel honors Filipinos, For saving 1,200 Jews from Holocaustt, By Volt Contreras, Philippine Inquirer dated August 24, 2010.

"MANILA, Philippines—Before Schindler’s List, there was another document—the Philippine visa—that saved hundreds of Jews from the gas chambers and mass graves of the Holocaust.

In 1939, two years before World War II reached the Pacific, the Commonwealth government under President Manuel L. Quezon allotted 10,000 visas and safe haven to Jews fleeing Nazi Europe. Some 1,200 Jews made it to Manila before the city itself fell to Japanese invaders.

Before sunset on June 21, 70 years later, the first ever monument honoring Quezon and the Filipino nation for this "open door policy" was inaugurated on Israeli soil.

The monument—a geometric, seven-meter-high sculpture titled "Open Doors"—was designed by Filipino artist Junyee (Luis Lee Jr.).

At the program held at the 65-hectare Holocaust Memorial Park in Rishon LeZion, Israel’s fourth largest city south of Tel Aviv, the mere mention of "Taft Avenue" by one of the speakers brought Ralph Preiss to the verge of tears.

Preiss, a father of four now in his 70s, later explained that Taft Avenue was where a synagogue-run soup kitchen provided the first hot meals he had as a refugee. He was eight when he arrived from Rosenberg, Germany, with his parents at the port of Manila on March 23, 1939.

"If I stayed in Germany I would have been killed," Preiss, a retired engineer living in Connecticut in the United States, told the Inquirer in an interview.
"My cousin who lived in Berlin and whose father was a lawyer went to Paris [instead]. The Paris police handed them over to the Nazis, and they were sent to Auschwitz and got killed," he recalled, adding:

"I’m very grateful to the Philippines for opening the doors and letting us in."

‘Salamat sa inyo!’

THANK YOU, RP In gratitude for the Philippines’ ‘open door’ policy for Jews escaping persecution in Nazi Europe, a steel monument of three doors was unveiled last week in Israel. VOLT CONTRERAS

Saturday, February 14, 2015

My Formula for a Lasting Marriage

Today is an excellent time to repost the following article I wrote last year on Valentines day! Happy VD to All!

TODAY is Valentine's Day. A day for lovers, young and old. This is the best time to write Part 2 of my article on the Formula for a lasting marriage. I wrote my first article on my formula for a lasting marriage about a year ago. I did receive several positive comments on that article. In that article I emphasized that open trust and communication between the husband and wife is a must for a lasting marriage. Another point I discussed in that article was accepting the flaws as well as the strength of your partner is a must for a lasting marriage. This new article (Part 2) is inspired from two incidents that I experienced recently.

The first incident occurred while my wife and I were waiting in the patient lounge at the diagnostic laboratory for our normal six month interval blood work check up. A couple seating near us mentioned that they have been married for 63 years. I asked the guy, if he has a secrete formula for their lasting marriage. He jokingly answered "I do what she wants pointing to his wife". His wife heard it, she smiled and reply, that is not true because I also like to please him whatever he wants almost all the time. The lesson here is the "gave and take" is still one of the formula for a lasting marriage.

The second incident happened while I was in line at our friendly local bank cashing a check. The line was long and the bank had only two clerks because it was about lunch time. The wait was about 30 minutes and to get rid of boredom, I started a conversation with an elderly lady next in line. After a few pleasantries, she mentioned that yesterday was her 54th wedding anniversary with her second husband. Her marriage with her first husband lasted only about a year, because both of them were young and immature. So I asked her if she has a formula why her second marriage has lasted for more than 54 years. Her quick reply was, my husband and I just laugh a lot. If we have problems we talk about it and just laugh about it.

To me this means that to have a positive attitude and not taking problems seriously is another formula that helps guarantee a lasting marriage.

So my dear readers if you have been married for more than 10 years, can you share with me and my readers, your formula for a lasting marriage. I will appreciate it very much and thank you in advance for sharing. Again, Happy Valentine to You All!

Thursday, February 12, 2015

An Imelda Marcos Musical Update

Last year I posted a short article on the musical, Here's Lies Love based on the life of Imelda Marcos. Here's an update for your information, in case you have not seen it. Enjoy!

First Lady Imelda Marcos, was born on July 2, 1929. She is the widow of the deceased and former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and forms half of their so-called conjugal dictatorship. She is remembered as a symbol of extravagance during her husband's twenty-year rule because of her collection of more than a thousand pairs of shoes.

Imelda began her career as a local singer and model in Manila before meeting her husband Ferdinand, who would later be elected as President. After the declaration of martial law in 1972, Imelda began holding positions in the national government that allowed her to travel the world and accumulate artwork and property. The couple consolidated their power allowing them to transport funds from the Philippine treasury into offshore accounts, such as those within banks in Switzerland. Accusations of corruption and human rights violations against them would culminate into the assassination of Benigno Aquino, Jr. that would lead into People Power Revolution which forced her family out of office and into exile in Hawaii. After her husband's death, she and her family were given amnesty by Corazon Aquino. Her return to the Philippines has since allowed her to restore her political dynasty and she was elected in the House of Representatives in 1995 for Leyte and again in 2010 for Ilocos Norte.

Despite facing numerous cases involving alleged corruption, she has yet to be imprisoned and she continues to wield power. She remains one of the most enigmatic figures of both the 20th and 21st centuries. Her qualities of grace and beauty along with her ability to survive upheavals has led her to be called the "Steel Butterfly."

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Friday, February 6, 2015

The Nieva Clan from Marinduque-Chapter 1


One of the many joys I experienced as a blogger is to share writings of other writers in my blogs. The following series of articles is written by Rene Nieva- my wife's( Macrine Nieva Jambalos) first cousin whose roots are also from Marinduque. At the end of this posting is a short biography of Rene.


AN INFORMAL HISTORY OF THE NIEVA FAMILY: ( First Draft by Rene Nieva*)Chapter 1


The first Nieva in Philippine History

It is not known whether the Nievas are descended directly from him but the first record of a Nieva in Philippine history was of a certain Spanish priest named Domingo de Nieva. De Nieva was born in Spain in 1563 in the town of Villoria in the province of Castilla northwest of Madrid. He entered the Dominican Convent of San Pablo in Valladolid. It would be a source of pride if he was our ancestor because, by all accounts, Fr. Nieva was a remarkable and admirable person.

It was in 1587 that Nieva, who was still a deacon at the time, joined the group of priests and deacons who sailed from Spain via Mexico to propagate the Catholic faith in the Philippines. It was only 66 years after Ferdinand Magellan first landed in the Philippines in 1521, followed by Ruy Lopez de Villalobos in 1543 and then Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in 1565 who finally succeded in colonizing the Philippines and putting the islands under Spanish rule.

Man of Great Virtue and Ability

According to Father Diego Aduarte, who wrote a history of the Dominicans in the
Philippines, Deacon de Nieva's first assignment was in the then newly-established vicariate of Bataan along with three Dominican priests. Father Aduarte singled out de Nieva as "a man of great virtue and ability", aside from being hard-working ("an enemy of sloth") and "with a great aptitude for languages". He learned Tagalog fast and before long was preaching to the natives in their own tongue. But being still a deacon, he could not hear confessions. Hence, upon reaching the requisite age of 25, de Nieva was ordained a priest in September 1588.
In 1590, the then Superior of the Dominican Province in the Philippines, Fr. Juan Cobo, assigned Fr. De Nieva from Bataan to the Parian mission in Manila to strengthen the said mission and hasten the conversion of the Chinese immigrants to Catholicism. Fr. de Nieva also learned Chinese very fast as he did Tagalog before. This again made him more effective in preaching to the Chinese community and convincing many of them to join the Catholic faith.

Helped produce first book in the Philippines

In 1593, Fr. de Nieva earned his place in Philippine history when he and another Dominican priest, Fr. Francisco Blancas de San Juan, produced and printed from wood blocks the first book in the Philippines, the Doctrina Christiana. They were assisted in doing so by a Chinese craftsman named Keng Yong, whom the Dominican fathers converted to Catholicism and given the Christian name of Juan de Vera. It was de Vera under whom Tomas Pinpin, the first Filipino printer, took apprenticeship and mastered the art of printing.

Helped found University of Santo Tomas UST

Fr. de Nieva went on to write and publish several devotional treatises in Tagalog and Chinese. In 1603, in recognition of his capability, he was elected Prior of the Santo Domingo Convent in Manila. In 1605, he and
another priest, Fr. Bernardo Sta. Catalina, helped the then Archbishop of Manila, Archbishop Miquel de Benavidez, in founding a seminary for Filipinos wanting to study for the priesthood.

The archbishop bequeathed P1,500, a huge fortune at the time, and his personal library which served as the nucleus of the seminary which opened six years later in 1611. The seminary was initially named Colegio de Nuestra Senora del Santisimo Rosario but was later renamed Universidad de Santo Tomas in honor of the foremost Dominican theologian St. Thomas Aquinas.

Died on way back to Spain

At the end of his three-year term as Prior, Fr. de Nieva was promoted Procurator of the Dominican Province in Manila and Rome. He set sail to go back to Mexico and on to Spain and Rome in 1606 after nineteen years in the
Philippines. However, he died on board the ship at the still young age of 43, the cause of which has not been recorded.

As earlier stated, it is not known whether the Nievas of today are direct descendants of Fr. Domingo de Nieva as it was not unlikely during those times for Spanish priests, being just human, to take on native women as mistresses and have children with them. Firstly, they were lonely, being far from their home country. Secondly, they were in the Philippines at an age when they were still in the height of their sexual prowess. Third, the native women must have been attracted to them being so tall, fair and and powerful and influential in the community. So it would not have been surprising if Fr. De Nieva had children by women from Bataan and Parian where he was assigned, one of whom would have been among our progenitors.

But if he was the ancestor of the Nievas, it comes as no surprise as many of his descendants seemed to have inherited his qualities of being competent and industrious and with an aptitude for writing and speaking in different languages, as he was described by his fellow Dominicans. I'm quite sure if it turns out he is our ancestor, we would be very proud of him. And even if we were not related to him by blood, we still would be proud that a man with the same Nieva surname lived once upon a time in the Philippines and played such an important and beneficial role in our history.

(Next Chapter. From Albay to Marinduque)

* Rene Nieva, is chairman and president of Perceptions Inc.,a Public Relations (PR) company organized in January 1987. Rene is an experienced PR professional who has worked with leading PR agencies in Manila and New York.

Today Perceptions is considered one of the country's leading PR and corporate communications agencies, counting some of the country's leading companies and the world's top multinational firms among its clients. It has won numerous local and international PR Awards, including the top PR award in the Philippines, the Grand Anvil Award, in 2003 and 2005.

Rene is now semi-retired and the daily management of Perceptions Inc. is under the good and capable hands of his son, Noel.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Andre Rieu and His Orchestra

It is time to enjoy some Andre Rieu music. In case you have not heard about Andre Rieu, do some Internet search and you will learn a lot about this Dutchman concerts all over the world. Enjoy!

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Have You Heard of Mikey Bustos?



For some reason or another, This is the first time I have heard of Mikey Bustos. So I did some Internet search, and here's what I learned.

Bustos is born from Filipino parents in the Weston neighbourhood of Toronto. Before Canadian Idol, he worked as a temp at the Bank of Montreal. He attended St. Michael's College School in Toronto.

Bustos placed seventh runner-up in the finals of first season of Canadian Idol in August 2003, despite Chart magazine's prediction: "If we were to lay our bets today, ChartAttack’s money would be on Toronto contestant Mikey Bustos, a slightly strange-looking young man with a shaved head and the voice of an angel. From his very first audition where he floored the four judges, he established the largest fan base early in the competition, and made headlines all over the country.

After competing on Canadian Idol, Bustos began performing throughout Canada and the US at many events and showcases at top venues. Mikey also had special guest appearances and interviews at numerous radio stations including CHUM FM, CFMT, Z 103.5 FM, Flow 93.5 FM, Mix 99.9 FM, AM 680 News, CHIN Ottawa FM, CKMS 100.3 FM Waterloo, and has several times appeared on CTV (Etalk Daily/ Canada AM Live), CBC Quebec, and local stations like Omni1 and Rogers .
I enjoyed very much his YouTube satires on the Filipino culture and way of life. Very funny,indeed!

Search This Blog

Popular Posts

Total Pageviews

Blog Archive

ABOUT ME

I am a retired (Chemistry Team Leader from USFDA) Filipino-American who loves writing, gardening and photography. My wife ( of 59 years) and I enjoy the snowbird lifestyle between the US and the Philippines. We have a small but very private beach resort in the beautiful island of Marinduque, Philippines. I have several blog sites (ten), a personal blog, blogs about Marinduque and about our beach resort and conference center-CHATEAU DU MER. I have also a writing account for Hubpages.com. I will appreciate very much any comments on my postings.



Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort

Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort
Beach House, Boac, Marinduque, Philippines

Genealogy of the Balleza and Katague Surnames

Several years ago, I started a genealogy of my mother's last name- “Balleza”. I was able to trace it back to the 15th century. The name originated from Bilbao, Spain. I then traced it to Mexico, then to US in Texas and then to the Philippines. I was able to locate a town in Mexico named Balleza, in the state of Chihuahua. The town was founded in 1640 and named after Fr. Mariano Balleza ,a Spanish friar.. I was able also to communicate with a radio announcer in Houston, Texas whose family name is also Balleza. I also found several Balleza families in Googles and recently in Face Book. Note that the name is similar to another name in the Philippines “ Belleza”, a Spanish word which means beautiful. But “Balleza” and “Belleza” are two different names in the Philippines. I am happy and satisfied with the origin of my mother's last name. When my mother was still alive, she told me that her grandfather was a Spanish soldier that participated in the Spanish colonization of the Philippines (1565 -1898). Today, I am curious on the genealogy of my father's last name. When my father was still alive, his last named was spelled with a “C” instead of the “K”. He changed it with the “K” when he was in high school. My father has two brothers who also changed it to start with a “ K”. But all of my father other relatives as far as I know has not change it. So there are a lot of “Catague's” in the Philippines, that are my relatives. The famous Catague is a painter named Fernando. His paintings are exhibited in the museum of Iloilo and Manila. My father has informed me that Fernando is a relative and originally was from Antique. . In the Philippines, I know there are Katagues in Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Bohol, Antique, Cavite and in Mindanao. I also found there is a Katague in Brazil from Googles. I just recently meet a niece in Face Book from Vancouver, B.C. She is the daughter of my first cousin from Bacolod, Negros Occidental. There are several Katagues in Face Book, and one in Twitter, but I do not know if we are related. Incidentally, there is a town in Bohol, named “Catague”. I am curious, how the town got its name, but I do not have the time to do research on it. If you know, please let me know. It will be highly appreciated. There are several variations of the Katague name. These are: Catague, Catage, Catagi, Katagi, Katage, Kataque and Kata Gue ( from Indonesia). I know of a Japanese chemist with surname of Katagi. It may be true that Katague originated from Japan from the surname Katagi as my father once mentioned. So if your last name is any of the above or if you are married to someone with any of the names above, we may be related. I will appreciate if you contact me in Face Book or in this site. I will be delighted to meet you on line or in person.

Front Yard of Retirement House

Front Yard of Retirement House
Orchid and Bougainvillas, Chateau Du Mer, Marinduque

Genealogy of the Nieva Clan-Macrine's Maternal Side of the Family

It is summer time and time for family reunions. The Nievas of the World will probably be have a reunion in the Philppines or here in US sometime this year or next year. Hopefully, Macrine and I could attend this time. Macrine Nieva Jambalos and husband, David Balleza Katague of Marinduque and Northern California toasting champagne during their Golden Wedding Anniversary, Boac, Marinduque, Philippines,2007 In 2003, there was a reunion of the Nieva clan in the Philippines organized by Rene Elizalde Nieva, Macrine's first cousin. We were invited but not able to attend. Rene wrote in his invitation that he is in the process of writing a book about the Nieva clan. He said the book will be privately published with limited printing which will include a general history starting on the possible roots of the Nieva family as well as the achievements of various members of the clan and their contribution to the betterment of Marinduque and of the Philippines. As of this writing date, I have not heard on the status of Rene's book. In his invitation he invited all the direct and indirect descendants of the children and spouses of Calixto Nieva and Epifania Morente. Note that Rene is the great-grandson of Calixto Nieva and Macrine is also the great-granddaughter of Calixto Nieva , thus Rene and Macrine are first cousins. I just can not believe that my six grand children are now the great-great-great grand children of Calixto Nieva and Epifania Morente. Calixto and Epifania Morente had six children, four boys and two girls as follows (from oldest to youngest) along with their spouses. 1.Juan Nieva had two wives. The first wife was Isabel Decena. When Isabel died Juan remarried Elvira Sarmiento. Juan Nieva is both Macrine's and Rene's grandfather. He was the first governor of Marinduque and also the grandfather of the outgoing Governor. Rene and Macrine are first cousin of Jose Antonio (Bong) Nieva Carrion, the outgoing Governor of Marinduque. 2.Victoria Nieva married Doroteo Mercader 3.Dionisio Nieva married Salud de la Santa 4.Gregorio Nieva married Maria Arevalo 5.Jose Nieva married Trinidad Carmona 6.Rosita Nieva married Dr Angel Mayuga Rene's invitation also included the descendants of the brothers of Calixto, namely Pedro and Francisco Nieva. It also included the brothers and sisters of Epifania Morente, which included not just the Morentes but also the Roceses, Abadas, Trinidads and the Kasilags. Incidentally, the Reyeses are second cousins of Macrine and the other Nievas of Marinduque. This article will concentrate on the descendants of Juan Nieva and his two wives, Isabel Decena from Santa Cruz and Elvira Sarmiento from Buenavista.. Children of Juan Nieva and Isabel Decena ( from Oldest to Youngest) 1.Calixto Nieva married Juanita Jambalos 2.Blanca Nieva- single was killed by the Japanese during World War II 3.Elena Nieva married Bernardo Jambalos, Jr ( brother of Juanita) Children of Juan Nieva and Elvira Sarmiento(from Oldest to Youngest) 1.Guillermo ( Willie) Nieva married Dr Celina Elizalde 2.Rosario Nieva married Ramon Carrion 3.Ester Nieva married Rafael Seno 4.Monica Nieva married Conrado Luarca 5.Elizabeth Nieva married Romulo Santo Domingo 6.Asuncion Nieva married Dr. Rafael Ocampo 7.Fr Constantino Nieva- single For the purpose of this article, I will discuss only the descendants of Elena Nieva and Bernardo Jambalos, Jr. They have seven children as follows: ( From Oldest to Youngest) 1.Macrine Nieva Jambalos- married David B Katague from Iloilo ( that's me) 2.Sister Guia Jambalos- Order of the Cenacle-single 3.Bernardo Jambalos III married Loreta Mercader 4.Fe Jambalos married Edgardo Lazarte 5.Edgar Jambalos ( deceased) married Asuncion Pagalunan 6.Jean Jambalos married Mitch Maeda 7.Rosario Jambalos married Michael Levin Note that Rene Nieva is the oldest son of Guillermo Nieva and Dr. Celina Elizalde. The younger brother of Rene, Yong is my partner in our literary project, I left my Heart in Marinduque ( not San Francisco). http://marinduqueonmymind.blogspot.com Macrine's telephone buddy and first cousin from Vancouver, BC, Canada Olga Luarca Quiazon is the oldest daughter of Monica and Conrado Luarca The outgoing governor of Marinduque is the second son of Rosario Nieva and Ramon Carrion This posting continues with the offspring of Macrine Jambalos and David B. Katague. They have 4 children and six grandchildren as follows: 1.Dodie( Diosdado) Katague married Ruth Carver- They have 3 children, Philip Winchester, Alexandra and Marina Katague 2.Dinah E Katague married David E King- They have 2 children, Ian and Elaine King 3.David E III-single 4.Ditas Macrine Katague married Nick Thompson- They have one child, Carenna Nicole Thompson Fe Jambalos has two daughters, Lanie and Ella Jean Jambalos has two daughters, Yuri and Yuka Rosario has two children, Carlos and Zehara Asuncion and Edgar( deceased) Jambalos has three sons, Edmund, Nonoy and Jhun-Jhun and a daughter, Marilyn Bernardo Jambalos III has five children and three grandchildren as of this writing date. Accomplishments of the children of David B and Macrine J. Katague are discussed in detail at http://theintellectualmigrant.blogspot.com Some Interesting Vignettes: The marriage of Calixto and Juanita Jambalos was not approved by their father Don Juan Nieva. Juanita was the daughter of a barrio businessman from Laylay. During those time, if you are from the barrios, you are not welcome or accepted to the social group of the main town of Boac. The Jambalos family although well off were considered TAGABUKID ( from the bonies). Don Juan Nieva wanted his lawyer son to marry Enriqueta Nepomuceno, one of the popular socialites in Boac. When Juanita died, Calixto did not marry again. Soon Calixto also died and every one in town claimed he died with a broken heart. Enriqueta in the meantime was waiting for Calixto. Enriqueta never married and died as a spinster. Blanca Nieva graduated from Nursing School at Philippine General Hospital and was earning well. When their father died, she helped in sending her half-sister Rosario to College. She supported her sister and spoiled her by dressing her up to maintain her place in the high society of Boac at that time. Elena, is the third child of Isabel Decena from Santa Cruz. Isabel died giving birth to Elena. Elena was therefore nursed by the sister of Isabel, Regina Decena Reforma. Elena and Policarpio Reforma ( son of Regina) shared the same breast milk of Tia Regina. When Elena was five years old, she and sister Blanca as well as brother Calixto, were brought to Boac where their father Juan Nieva remarried Elvira Sarmiento from Buenavista. Elena grew up under the care of Lola Victoria ( sister of Juan Nieva). They lived in the old Nieva Building at the foot of the hill leading to Mataas Na Bayan. Elena later went to college at the University of the Philippines and finished her Bachelor Degree in Education. When Juanita Jambalos-Nieva( wife of Calixto) died during childbirth, Elena and Bernardo Jambalos II ( brother of Juanita) were made in-charged of bringing the corpse from Manila back to Marinduque. During the trip, people mistook them as husband and wife. Their romance started then and later were married at the Boac Catholic Church. Today, if I had to guess, there should be more than seven hundred members of the Nieva clan, just based on the six children of Calixto Nieva and Epifania Morente all over the world. If you include the descendants of Pedro and Francisco Nieva, the two brothers of Calixto, it could reached to more than a thousand Nievas all over the universe. If you are a member of this clan, please let me know. Someday, I may be able to trace the Nieva genealogy all the way to Spain, as I did with my mothers name "Balleza", several years ago. My e-mail is in this site and I am also in Face Book.

Citizenship Party, Modesto, California,1972

Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center

Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center
Beach House, Boac, Marinduque

Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center

Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center
Conference and Multi-Purpose Hall

Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center

Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center
Beach House Balcony at Night

marinduquegov

Dave and Macrine Katague

Dave and Macrine Katague
Golden Wedding Anniversary, May 8, 2007

BlogCatalog

Click on Brochure For Details

Click on Brochure For Details
Chateau Du Mer Brochure