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Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Te: Lives behind the lechon
By Jeanne Tan Te
Flavors
THE month of May brings to mind cherry pink bougainvilleas, fiery red suntans, chanting voices of old church ladies in hymns of Marian praise, merry faces, heartwarming smiles, and the mouth-watering aroma of pancit molo, kaldereta, kare-kare and lechon. This is the month of festivals -- of the flowers, of the mothers, of the patron saints. This is the month that highlights the budding of flowers and plants, the efflorescence of life. SUPPOSED TO BE.
This is supposed to be the time when yellow birds and orange butterflies abound in our gardens. I remember summer time when I was in early elementary. We would go for a vacation at my maternal grandfather's residence in the province of Antique. My lolo had such a collection of the varieties of carnation, gumamela, rose, bougainvilla, etc. You name it, and he would most likely to have it. His house would be surrounded with the rich colors of these floral blooms during summer. The most wonderful time would be the first week of May. Since my grandparents lived near the sea, there would be a sort of a swimming festivity in the barrio at this time.
All the youngsters would be there and we would all plunge ourselves into the warm water of the sea while the cool breeze of May would caress our cheeks in early morning sunshine. After this delightful ritual, my cousins and I would leap around my lolo's garden as we watch the birds and butterflies dance around with us. Well, those were the days. Probably for many of us, those are now, the old days once. Now, I can hardly see a single butterfly in my own garden. If ever I would be able to spot one, it would be the brown-colored kind - much like a dusty, haggard-looking traveler.
Butterflies are very important in maintaining the health of our environment: they help pollinate fruits, flowers and vegetables; provide food for other animals; and of course, they enchant little kids and the kids in us with their beauty, color and graceful flight. Their escalating absence in recent years means that the food resources around us are also getting depleted.
According to the different ecological organizations, the main causes of the butterflies' sad plight are pesticides and loss of conducive habitats due to development. We now have less land and vegetations that can keep lives in a timeless and balanced cycle - not only that of the butterflies or the birds and flowers, but even our own human lives.
Pleasant memories of spending the summer at my lolo's would also include Flores de Mayo. I may forget all the other details but I would always remember the sweet smell of calachuchis. We would pick these flowers from lolo's garden and bring them to the barrio chapel where we would spend many afternoons lip-synching songs that I never really learned nor understood. All I knew was that the old ladies were most intent to show their utmost reverence to the Blessed Virgin - if only for those nerves bulging on their throats as they yodeled the Ave Maria.
But as I grew to adulthood, these acts of devotion were slowly replaced by a series of culinary experiences as I got invited to fiestas after fiestas. Based on experience, the month of May has the most number of patronal fiestas. Those were the abundant, adolescent years. It didn't matter which saint was being celebrated. It only meant one thing, LECHON. I used to go to this particular fiesta where three large-sized lechons would grace the buffet tables. As the years went by, they got reduced to only one and then later, the guest list was trimmed down to close friends and relatives. I wonder if they still continue to serve the shiny, crunchy, roasted, delectable beast of banquet. I would not know. I was neither a relative nor a family friend.
The presence of lechon marks a great impact in Filipino celebrations. It symbolizes financial abundance and success. Likewise, many Pinoy feasts are made to coincide with the commemoration of particular Church saints. Fiestas are supposed to be ways of thanksgiving for abundance, not representations. They are a time to reflect on the exemplary lives of the saints for whom we prepare the special cuisines; on the extraordinary sacrifices that these persons - beyond their beatified titles - have made in order to extend or alleviate the lives of others; the daily attempts that we make to respect the lives surrounding us, human or not.
Behind all the colors, rituals, and delicacies associated with the merry month of May, it is really the abundance of life that we are celebrating. Or do we still have any reason to be festive about? (Tan Te writes for Sun.Star Iloilo)
(May 17, 2006 issue)
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