Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Speak out: Fuente Osmeña
By Henry L. Yu
With Rosita's Fuente gone in the Fuente O circle, I am definitely missing this place that has been my one-stop-shop kind of store for the past three decades or so.
Oh, you cannot just throw away memories of those thirty something years, can you?
I remember, back in the '70s, Rosita's Fuente used to be located where the present International School of Medical Transcription (ISMT) is.
In the '90s, Rosita's Fuente transferred to that site vacated by Thrifty Mart (another landmark store of our time where we went for our grocery and other needs during the '60s to the '90s).
With Rosita's Fuente gone from the map, only Robinsons is left.
It is my wish that another such store will open within the vicinity of Fuente O.
Try spending an afternoon just standing somewhere in the vicinity of Fuente Osmena Rotunda and try to recall the past, of what was this area used to be.
Comparing it to circa '60s and '70s, Fuente O in the present tense is occupied by different establishments, along with a smorgasbord of sidewalk vendors selling VCD/DVD tapes, fruits, cigarettes, candies, etc.
Coming from Osmena Blvd. (used to be Jones Ave.), there's Metrobank, Robinsons, Mercury Drug, Pizza Hut, Rajah Park Hotel (used to be Rajah Hotel in the '70s, then became Park Place Hotel in the '80s, then Garwood Park Hotel), Shakey's Pizza, Julie's Bakeshop, Elegant Circle Inn, LBC, Chow King, Rose Pharmacy, Orange Brutus, McDonalds (occupying the place that Rosita's Fuente vacated), Sun.Star, Western Union Bank, Shamrock, RCBC, Police Station, Bank of Commerce, among others.
At night, Fuente O is still the place where taxis park and wait for passengers.
Nothing has changed much except that you see people texting while walking, or you wonder why a man is laughing or talking to himself, only to find out that he's holding a cell phone on his right ear (or with that earphone) and talking to somebody via this tiny gadget.
Oh, what a generation they have now!
But we sure are thankful that we're given the chance to have lived in the past and present generations: The Yeah Yeah Vonnel Generation of the '60s and the present dot.com gen.
Aren't you glad we have both?
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (June 7, 2006 issue)
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