Foot and Fire

On 17 December 2022, I was standing as one of the Ten Outstanding Alumni of La Carlota High School, La Carlota City High School and Doña Hortencia Salas Benedicto National high School. I was in awe with the accomplishments of my fellow awardees and as the youngest among them and the one acknowledged for my poetry and writing, I feel I have to sculpt in words my admiration for each of them. This year's awardees are mere representatives of what a public school like Doña Hortencia Salas Benedicto National High School, often dubbed by other schools as having the "longest name" or the "San Juanico bridge" name, can nurture and send out to the various fields of endeavors. This batch of acknowledged men and women are filled with public servants, entrepreneurs, philanthropist, educators, artists and an engineer and a scientist.    Teachers are always our first role models when it comes to careers and this year, it is only apt that two educators m...

DHSBNHS’ 75th Founding Year Revisiting our alma mater through Gabaldon Buildings By Gerlie M. Uy Have you visited your alma mater lately? If so, your eyes had surely feasted on the newly-painted old buildings of the school, and such a visual feast surely turned into walking back to the memory lane. This happened to me twice this year when I requested for my high school diploma in August and saw the main building of Dona Hortencia Salas Benedicto National High School and then later in October when I accompanied my mother who is a current PTA officer to a meeting and saw the HE (Home Economics) building. The latter is located behind the main building so I haven’t noticed it the first time. What are Gabaldon Buildings? The Gabaldon buildings are school buildings built under the authority of Act 1801 of 1907 or what is called as Gabaldon Law as it was authored by then Philippine Assemblyman Isauro Gabaldon. The said law appropriated P1 million for the construction of modern pub...

Dream as you walk along the greeneries, dip and drink the cold sweet spring waters at So. Guintubdan, Brgy. Araal, La Carlota City or stroll down the steps from the La Carlota City Pavillon going to Dalupya Falls, or feel the cool breeze blowing as you ascend back while appreciating the garden or plunge in the chinese garden or the shower of Dalupya Falls.   Smell the coffee blooms, or stare at the magnificent Angel's trumpet blooms, taste mulberries and raspberries, bring home potted plants from those array of plants sold,   Or stop and see the sun set despite the fog and cold wind. These are what Guintubdan, La Carlota City can offer you. Nature.

I thought I have eaten and seen everything in our backyards but I was wrong. It was the first time I tasted raspberry and I picked it fresh from the shrub growing at the La Carlota City Pavillon in Sitio Guintubdan, Brgy. Ara-al where the  cold spring and tall falls are located. Aside from the mulberries, I was lucky to have picked raspberries on the third week of January this year.

If one wants to take a cold dip which is as cold as an iced water, Tuburan sang Guintubdan is the highly recommended place. Cold, freezing, running and with rushing waters, Guintubdan spring waters is located at Sitio Guintubdan, Brgy. Ara-al, La Carlota City, just a smooth 20 minutes from the city proper. Below are my latest photos of the coldest water ever (of course, because it was rainy season when we went there!)  *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Dalupya Falls delivered her waters to the waiting rocks with grace despite the rush. It rushes differently that day because it was raining on and off, with invariable heaviness. The falls delivered to us a sound which is music to our ears, a respite from our doses of noise. The lush greeneries and the blooming Angel's Trumpets added serenity to the falls. Also, the water is sweet, light and cold and easily quenches our thirst for more gulps.     *** *** *** *** *** We were not able to advance towards the Busay Kapid or the Twin Falls because the path towards it is hilly and slippery given the sporadic heavy rains, and there are no man-made steps with handrails yet. So we only managed to reach the viewing deck which is quite far and our view was being hampered by the fog which moved slowly with the wind. At any rate, we loved the forest greens and the dampness and freshness of the morning. *** *** *** ***...

I love my hometown. Small-bodied she may be, but the Mangkasanons (A native of La Carlota named after folk hero Mangkas or Mantas) live in her crown a million varied lives from OFWs to public servants to tillers of the land to sugarcane mill laborers to fruit-and-vegetable peddlers and more. From valleys to mountains, their last names may vary but their faces are almost always familiar regardless which part they come from: “Mangkasanon indi bugalon” (A Mangkasanon is not a snob). I love that her small body is landlocked (probably the reason why she has the Bureau of Plant Industry in her bosom) so unlike all other cities of Negros Occidental that stretch beside the seas. I love that her arteries are sugarcane fields plus the fields that produce the staples from rice to cassava to corn and sweet potatoes. For her seafoods – fish, oyster and seaweed – she has the nearby towns of Hinigaran and Valladolid. For her vegetables – cucumber, carrot, and cabbage – she ha...

A pose with the serene-faced Tiya Maria. If there is a Hall of Fame for the people of La Carlota City, Tiya Maria will surely be in the list. Her arroz caldo, a salted rice porridge topped with toasted garlic and served either with boiled egg or chicken part, has stood the test of time. She started her backyard business literally in her backyard in 1991. I was in my elementary years then and always passed by her house-turned-arrozcaldohan (place for arroz caldo).  From then on up to now, her arroz caldo earned a following, from hospital workers, police officers, school teachers to students as well as weary travellers who get down in the Happy Valley or in corner of Uriarte Subdivision. Now at 82 and suffering from cataract, Tiya Maria enjoys listening to the radio and the chortles of her grandchildren as well as great grandchildren. She passed on her trade secrets to her children who now run the business, still in their backyard. However, even without signboards or adve...

No rush can keep us from having our memorable sisters' twofies.  Hagimit Falls is interesting. First, we have a barangay in my hometown named Haguimit which has a man-made swimming pool with waters coming from the local spring. Second, the photos all over the website is amazing; I just can't get it out of my list of places to go despite the beach temptations. My verdict: the Hagimit falls are not gigantic but they are a series of brief falls that rush to many basins. It is a zen place for me. The paved steps down the falls from the entrance is quite a good walk experience because of the lush forest trees. While we were rushing to beat the imminent sunset, we were not oblivious of the beauty Hagimit falls. Since, this is located just near the Maxima Aqua Fun in the Penaplata District of Samal City, these twin sites are highly recommended for those who look for a one-day Samal experience.    Below are my eloquent witnesses: *** *** *** ...