WE HAD the opportunity to be invited to the 100th birthday of Johnna Oppen Montilla Corral. The whole ambience was German from entrance to birthday songs to food!!! It is not everyday that we get to celebrate a hundred years of life so Hanelli, Christy and Fred refused to have this great year pass without a celebration of life.
Although I have not seen much to Tita Honey lately neither was she in the party, but I had a pretty good glimpse of her from her granddaughter Hanchen who had this story to tell. It is a most interesting story.
Although born in May 29, 1910 in Ubay, Pulupandan to Johanna Engel Busch, an accomplished German pianist and Federico Montilla Oppen, a German-Filipino dentist. Johanna Oppen Montilla Corral, spent most of her childhood years in Germany. When my grandmother turned 1 year old, her family sailed back to Germany. They resided in Dresden.
At that time, the cultural center of Germany, housing masterpieces and exquisite works of art. Abuelita used to tell us how beautiful her beloved Dresden was. The poignant recollections of the city figured much in her childhood memories. Unfortunately, Dresden was one of the most heavily bombed cities in WWII. They didn't stay in Dresden for long because with a growing family, LoloFederico felt that the countryside was a healthier option for his children. As luck would have it, there was a summer villa, being offered in the market.
Originally commissioned for a certain Prince Max, it was not as secluded as the prince wanted it to be. And so abuelita's family settled down in a beautiful 5-storey structure made of red brick and curved glass windows in the quaint village of Hosterwitz. The children promptly dubbed their new home the 'Red Castle'. From the hill where it was situated, they had a breathtaking view of Czechoslovakia.Abuelita used to describe how her garden was filled with cherry and pear trees, and her favorite flowers, pansies!
When the war broke out, they were trapped in the country and could not come home. Suddenly, the idyllic life changed. Lolo Federico was drafted as an officer in the German army. LolaHannchen, her mother, Lola Berta, and a helper, were left to tend to all six children. Life became extremely difficult for the family. Funds ran dry because all monies sent from the Philippines were stolen at the post office. Hunger became a prevalent problem and abuelita said they were malnourished during the war. Lola Hannchen sacrificed the most for all the children and their cousins. She would allot her share of food for them and consequently became ill and passed away in her mid-30s. In order for the family to survive, the children were farmed out to different places. Nesting went to a dairy farm and abuelita, who was around 7 years old, was sent to neutral Holland where stayed for 6 months.
It is incomprehensible, the sadness and the hardship my abuelita had to suffer during the war. To say that it must have been emotionally difficult for a little girl to deal with deprivation, death of her mother and grandmother to whom she was so very close to, plus the absence of her father through all this in a span of a few years would certainly be an understatement. And yet, her resiliency and quiet strong spirit because she grew up not harboring any bitterness or stigma from her childhood ordeal is indeed admirable. She loved life and found so much joy in it, which was mirrored in her paintings and her pets later in life.
The First World War ended in 1918 and Germany lost. The economy was in a shambles, leaving the deutschmark almost worthless. Weakened from having inhaled mustard gas from a bomb attack and burdened with three motherless young children, Lolo Federico decided to go back to the Philippines, where he had family and some properties left.
Upon reaching the Philippines, the family lived in Ubay with Tita Choleng Montilla Oppen. Abuelita was 13 years old then. Being thoroughly German, she experienced culture shock, having to learn English, Spanish, and the Ilonggo dialect simultaneously. To her, Ilonggo sounded very tribal due to its repetitive syllables. Because of the severe deprivations of war, myAbuelita was very thin and short when she arrived. But when carne frita was introduced to her, she loved it so much that she ate and ate so that in a very short time she had a terrific growth spurt and weight gain.
During her teenage years, she grew to love Ubay because she had so many cousins whom she could relate to. She was especially close to her first cousins Maruhing, Lenchen and Solita Oppen. Abuelita's innate love for animals of almost any kind, her mild manners, kind heart and nurturing nature endeared her to people, young and old. It was precisely those traits that attracted my grandfather, Carling Montilla to her. In 1934, at the age of 24, they married.
Since she was a Lutheran and Carling was a Catholic, they could not marry in church. So they had to get married in the house of her Tita Choleng. In the early years of their marriage, abuelita developed bleeding ulcers and Carling had to sail with her to Davos, Switzerland for her urgent treatment. Their trip marked a turning point which led to her become a Catholic. During her confinement, Lolo Carling fell seriously ill which left him delirious in the hotel room. Being very sick in a foreign country, abuelita prayed earnestly for their recovery and promised Our Lord that if Lolo Carling would weather the crisis, she would convert to Catholicism. He eventually recovered and she held true to her vow, converted, and has remained a Catholic ever since.
Lolo Carling and abuelita went back home to Ubay but later settled in Hacienda Sacio, Isabela. Still childless, Abuelita adopted a menagerie of animals. The most beloved of which were a monkey and two Great Danes named Marco and Senta.
The monkey was outfitted with a wardrobe which was constantly updated by her niece, Tita Inday Montilla Peña, who would sew little trousers, shirts and pajamas for the pet. Life was blissful in Isabela. Lolo Carling and Abuelita enjoyed horseback riding around the countryside. People were respectful, there were no NPAs, no land reform and everyone including the workers seemed to be generally contented. At that time, life in Isabela centered around Isabela Sugar Central owned by the Montilla clan. According to Tita Inday Pe Garcia, this sugar mill was advanced for its time because aside from sugar, it was already producing ethanol in 1935. Each hacienda had its own railroad track that would connect them to the mill. During that time, she and other relatives would ride the hand car or 'Buda' to visit my Abuelita.
Her being an accommodating and fun-loving aunt that she naturally attracted a lot of nieces and nephews. My cousins and I can attest to this because we all felt her genuine delight whenever we were around her. She really loved children and as children, we all adored her as well. Inday Pe Peña Garcia recalls abuelita's lush orchard where they had so much fun picking all the fruit they wanted. She always looked forward to their visits because if there was any one thing abuelita was extremely good at, it was her quite unique knack of making one feel important.
Just before 1938 when WWII first broke out in Europe, abuelita's father, Lolo Federico passed away. Before he died, he asked to be interred in Dresden, Germany beside his wife,Lola Hannchen. It fell upon abuelita to bring the body back to Germany. Upon arrival, she felt the miasma of fear pervading the country which terrified her. Everyone seemed to be a fanatic supporter of Hitler and she was cautioned to be careful of what she said and did lest she get arrested. Now, as a foreigner in Germany, she was shocked to know that she had to salute Hitler at every instance.
A few years after she came home, Pearl Harbor was bombed and the Pacific war broke out. Lolo Carling and abuelita evacuated to Inampulugan and then later went up the mountains of Isabela to hide from the Japanese. In 1944, just before Liberation and after 10 childless years, she gave birth to her first child, my mother, Hanneli whom she formally christened Johanna, being the 3rd Johanna in the family. Abuelita was so excited to have a baby after so many, many years that she heaped a lot of names on my mom in case she would be her one and only child. So, poor Mommy was baptized with a kilometric name: Johanna Else Elena Lina Judith Lucy Corazon.
After the war, they settled in the town proper of Pulupandan where, to Lolo Carling's and abuelita's delight again, she gave birth to her second daughter, my Tita Cristie. Then, after year and eight months came her only son, Tito Freddie
Lolo Carling and Abuelita had a beautiful marriage. They were very much in love. Lolo Carling treated abuelita like a princess and in return, she treated him like her prince. Every time they were together, he would always put his arm around her. They seemed even more romantic because they would always converse in Spanish. Mommy said their song for each other was "No Other Love."
Abuelita was a very understanding and caring mom who always put the needs of her children ahead of hers. Aside from being a good mother, she was a wonderful employer. A lot of household helpers stayed a long time, some of which are still living with her, although retired in their old age.
As the children started to attend school, Lolo Carling and Abuelita moved to Bacolod permanently. They built a house in 20th street beside her sister, Else, so they could still be together. With Lola Else, they had so many hobbies between them. Lola Else enticed abuelita to paint and sculpt. Being artistic herself and possessing impeccable taste, abuelita was also a very good self-taught interior decorator.
In 1957, the family moved to Manila where the children studied. To fill her time, she would immerse herself in crafts such as pottery, sewing, and painting. Also her hordes of pets were a constant in her life.
In March 8 of 1964, Lolo Carling suffered a fatal heart attack. Abuelita was inconsolable and grieved for him for many years. In 1967, with Tita Cristie, abuelita went abroad for a reprieve. The world trip proved to be very good therapy. She came back rejuvenated enough to join the Garden Club and started to enjoy socializing again.
On the 31st of December 1969, Abuelita tied the knot again with Dr. Antonio Corral, also known as Lolo 'Toning'. They were active with the Cultural Club of Bacolod where she was inducted as one of the officers. With this group, she judged art contests and hosted grand parties for foreign ambassadors who had been invited to visit Bacolod. She earned the reputation for being an elegant and gracious lady. As a fun person, she was game for anything. At one Ati-atihan festival, she and Ellen Ortaliz danced and led the tribal dancers down the street. After years of marriage, she became a widow for the second time when Lolo Toning passed away.
It was also at this time that abuelita acquired a new role, that of a doting grandmother with a young attitude. She told us stories, taught us to love animals and encouraged us in arts and crafts. I inherited my love for birds from abuelita. She taught me how to tame them and even raise the young chicks. And oh, she had the patience of Job! If we wanted to play pretend house by setting up several folding beds and sheets in her room, she would just nonchalantly pick her way about with nary a complaint about how messy we were. Oh how we loved her!
Towards her old age, Abuelita kept her love for music and dancing. Even in her 80's, she was lively and was still the life of every party she attended. As the years went by, abuelita's health declined. Now that she has reached the ripe old age of 100, she is bedridden and can no longer talk. But her smiles still show that she is still the same wonderful mother and grandmother that we all love very much. Long ago, abuelita would quote these lines of a poem she loved to me: ""Du bist wie eine Blume/ So hold und schön und rein". And now I say it back to her with all my heart: "You are like a flower so lovely and beautiful and pure". To my Abuelita, I love you! You are a paragon of a true lady of elegance, virtue and good grace. You will forever be in all our hearts.
The story cannot be told with more love and affection!!!
Zum Geburstag viel Gluck! Zum Geburstag viel Gluck! Zum Geburstag liebe... Tita Hanni! Zum Geburstag viel Gluck!