Last
Father's Day Ditas and Carenna gave me Storyworth as their gift. I have
been enjoying the service, since all the questions I can easily answer
since most of them are already published in my blogs and autobiography.
What is StoryWorth?
StoryWorth is a service that can collect your dad’s favorite stories and memories and preserve them in a beautifully bound book.
StoryWorth is a service that aims to capture these precious memories — even the ones that are hard to talk about — over the course of one year, culminating in a gorgeous book.https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/27/cnn-underscored/storyworth-review/index.html
Here's the latest question regarding my elementary and high school years.
When the war started in 1941 I was only in 2nd grade. After the war my test level indicated I was capable of 4th grade, thanks to the schooling/teachings I received from my Father while we were hiding in the jungles of Panay. Thus, I completed elementary school years for only 4 years instead of six. I was 2 years younger than my classmates. In my autobiography, I wrote 3 events in my life, illustrating the statement that your failures motivates you to succeed. One of that event occurred during my elementary school days.
When I did not receive the first honor
award (I got 2nd honor award) during my elementary school graduation
both my parents and I were very disappointed. My parents even
contemplated filing an official complaint to the school superintendent
against my teacher and principal for nepotism since the valedictorian
was a close relative of the teacher and principal.
However, I convinced my parents not to do it. I told them I would work
harder in high school to be number one, to show the teacher and
principal they made a mistake in the selection process. The whole four
years of high school, I competed with the top five honor students from
my elementary school. Needless to say, I graduated valedictorian of our
high school class. My classmate who was the valedictorian in my
elementary school got the salutatorian award (second place). I was happy
and felt vindicated. My teacher in elementary school congratulated me
but without looking straight into my eye, when my parents invited her to
my high school graduation party at our house.
One of the highlights of my elementary school years was my participation in Our School District Declamation Contest.
I
was in 6th grade, when I participated in a declamation contest
sponsored
by our school district. There were ten schools in our district from
three neighboring towns. If you have not heard of a declamation contest:
It is just public speaking contest reciting and acting poetry, a short
story or an article. My English teacher was my coach. I remember
memorizing for 4 weeks, a short story titled "A Yankee in Love". The
short article were filled with American slang words that I could barely
understand. The piece was more suited to an older teenager, possibly
someone who has already fallen in love. As a result I delivered my
declamation piece without any feelings or emotion but with an American
accent taught by my coach. But I was surprise to win 4th place ( among
10 contestants). The gold medal winner was from the school in the next
town and I
remember very well her declamation piece was Jose Rizal famous poem, My
Last Farewell( Ultimo Adios in Spanish). Jose Rizal is Philippines
number one national hero. December 30 is Rizal Day in the Philippines.
Here's
the first and last stanzas of this patriotic poem both in its original
Spanish and an English translation. The poem has 14 five-lines stanzas
and has been translated into 30 languages. I will never forget this poem
as long as I live because of the Declamation Contest that I lost during my elementary school days in the Philippines.
Mi Ultimo Adiós.
Adios, Patria adorada, región del sol querida,
Perla del Mar del Oriente, nuestro perdido Eden!
A darte voy alegre la triste mustia vida,
Y fuera más brillante más fresca, más florida,
Tambien por tí la diera, la diera por tu bien.
Adios, padres y hermanos, trozos del alma mía,
Amigos de la infancia en el perdido hogar,
Dad gracias que descanso del fatigoso día;
Adios, dulce extrangera, mi amiga, mi alegria,
Adios, queridos seres, morir es descansar.
An English Translation-My Final Farewell
Farewell, dear Fatherland, clime of the sun caress’d
Pearl of the Orient seas, our Eden lost!,
Gladly now I go to give thee this faded life’s best,
And were it brighter, fresher, or more blest
Still would I give it thee, nor count the cost.
Farewell to you all, from my soul torn away,
Friends of my childhood in the home dispossessed!
Give thanks that I rest from the wearisome day!
Farewell to thee, too, sweet friend that lightened my way;
Beloved creatures all, farewell! In death there is rest!
The last phrase, "In death there is rest" ( morir
es descansar) is appropriate in Rizal's Life. Dr. Jose Rizal who was
executed by the Spanish colonizers of the Philippines on December 30,
1896 for his alleged role in the armed revolution against Spain. He was
in prison and on the night before his execution, he wrote this poem as a
final statement to his fellow Filipino countrymen. Here's a partial
video of the poem sang in English and Tagalog translations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUjqJzq8YhE
The
"Mi Ultimo Adios"(My Last Farewell) was originally written in Spanish. I
feel that the English translation loses the depth of emotion Dr. Rizal
felt at the time he wrote it. The poem is so inspiring, I do not get
tired reading it again and again.
My elementary and high school years were in the town of Barotac Viejo, Iloilo. Here's a brief description of the town.
Barotac Viejo, Iloilo(BVI) is a 3th class municipality about 60Km North of Iloilo City. Iloilo is one of the four provinces in Panay Island. Panay Island is part of the Western Visayas Region of the Philippines. The Visayas Region is the Central Part of the Philippine Archipelago.
BVI is the town where I grew up. It is the town where I finished my
elementary school years. It is also the town where I finished high
school. In 1951 I graduated valedictorian of my high school class. It is
the town where I have both pleasant and unpleasant memories of my
childhood and teen-aged years.
My childhood memories of the American-Japanese war occurred in the town
proper, foothills, seacoasts and jungles of this town.
When I left BVI in 1951 to pursue my college degree in Iloilo City and later in Diliman, Quezon City, BVI was a 4th class town with less than 5000 residents. In 2015, Wikipedia states that is now a 3rd class municipality, with a population of around 45,000. When I left BVI in 1955, there was the elementary and high schools, public market, Cockfighting Arena, the Catholic Church, the Post office and one gas station, a couple of hardware stores, a Chinese bakery and may be 100 residential homes in the town proper.
Today this 3rd class town has more
buildings both for business and private homes. The local high school was
named a national agricultural high school. Part of the land for
the school was donated by my uncle ( Jose Balleza) and my mother Paz
Balleza .
When I left the town in 1955, the mayor of the town was Luis Tupas, a
relative of my mother. Today the local politics, are still controlled by
the Tupas family and their clan. When I left the town, my parents
bestowed me a 12 hectare parcel of rice land as part of my
inheritance.
Today that land has been land reformed and I have not received a single
centavo from the Philippine government. What was left of my inheritance
is a 2-hectare parcel in the upland area without water irrigation and
not suitable for rice growing.
In 2005, my wife and I accompanied by my sister visited our parents grave site .
Me and Macrine(RIP) with sister Amor at the Cemetery.
Our old house (located at the back of the Post Office) was gone. The
only thing that remained was the foundation stone with the engraving
Dolce Building, 1952.
Tears from my eyes flowed like a gentle rain, when I saw that
foundation, recalling the pleasant memories of my teen-age years. The
house is gone but my memories of BVI will live forever.
Our ancestral Home-The Dolce Building, 1953- My Home during my elementary and high school years in the Philippines.
Here are some photos of my high school years (1947-1951).
My High School Graduation- 1951. I am in the front row Second from the Right.
National High School Conference for Visayas and Mindanao, Iloilo City, 1949
Delegates to the National High School Conference. I am in the front row knelling second from the Right
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