ALBERTO SEGISMUNDO CRUZ BIO
By Percival Campoamor Cruz
I am the storyteller’s son. He, my father, wrote short stories, novels, and poems that became mainstream readings, say, entertainment before television and computers came about. Newspapers, comics, and magazines were the main sources of entertainment. Film and radio were at their infancy.
The magazines Liwayway, Aliwan, Bulaklak, Balaghari, Kislap, just to mention a few of the pioneers, featured short stories and novels. Some were “wakasan” (meaning, the stories end within a particular issue) or “itutuloy” (meaning, the stories had continuations as in serialized). The masses, majority women and young people, faithfully followed the serialized stories, week after week. The magazines came out weekly.
The stories entertained, but they also represented a body of literary works that the academicians refer to as modern Filipino literature.
That golden era in Filipino literature saw a nation’s identity, spirit, values, vigor, and challenges take form through the mastery of imagery and words by storytellers like my father, Alberto Segismundo Cruz, Amado V. Hernandez, Serafin Gunigundo, Genoveva Edroza-Matute, Liwayway Arceo, Antonio B. L. Rosales, Francisco Laksamana, Faustino Aguilar, Lazaro Francisco, Macario Pineda, Fausto Galauran, Nemesio Caravana, Simon Mercado, among others.
THE SEGISMUNDO-CRUZ AND LOPEZ-FOJAS FAMILY LINES
Great grandmothers and grandmothers on both sides owned real estate in Tondo and Cebu. Maternal great grandaunt Remedios Lopez was the first woman publisher in the Philippines. She produced illustrious sons Sen. Mariano Cuenco and Archbishop Jose Mariano Cuenco. Contemporary Fil-American fictionist Cecilia Brainard belongs to that side of the family tree. Also on the mother side, aunt Rosa Fojas owned a fleet of calesas and was known as the "Queen of the 'Cocheros'” before the outbreak of World War II. Uncle Raymundo Ocampo owned a fleet of jeepneys in Tondo and easily could have been that era’s "King of Jeepneys".
Father Alberto Segismundo Cruz was a famous short story writer, novelist and poet; and notable multi‐awarded fictionist during the American Occupation. Born in Sta Cruz, Manila, Philippines, he wrote for Bulaklak, Liwayway, Silahis, Kislap, Tagumpay, Aliwan, Balaghari, Ilang‐Ilang ‐ the country's leading weekly magazines during his time. He was the Poet Laureate of the Republic of the Philippines in 1947. He won the Commonwealth literary awards in the 1940s and the Rizal Centennial Literary Awards in 1961. His contemporaries were Amado V. Hernandez , Fausto Galauran, Simeon Mercado, Nemesio Caravana and Liwayway Arceo, among others. He was one of the best 50 writers of the Philippines, according to “Limampung Kuwentong Ginto”, a short story writers’ review edited by Pedrito Reyes.
My father told me that his father was a hat maker and his name was Bartolome Cruz. Other than that I have no other information about my grandfather. There were ten of us siblings of Alberto Segismundo Cruz and Patrocinio Lopez Fojas who grew into adulthood. There were two others, Jeremias and Patrocinio, who died when they were babies. I was born the 10th child.
Even my elder siblings have no memories of our paternal grandfather. He must have passed away at an early age; thus, denying us siblings of any memories of him. My father did not say much about him, either.
On the contrary his mother shone prominently in his stories. My elder siblings had the opportunity of seeing her. She was Eriberta Segismundo Cruz, also called Lola Petang, who I gathered, was a businesswoman who owned rental properties in Tondo, around the streets of Perla and Sande.
On the side of my mother, equally prominent in family stories, was Concepcion Lopez Fojas, also called Lola Cion, my mother’s mother. She was from Naic, Cavite.
And equally unspoken about was Damaso Fojas, my mother’s father, who, I presume, also passed away at a young age. I had heard that he was a Katipunero and there was a street in Naic or Tanza in Cavite named after him.
Basilio "Tata Base" Roxas, Eriberta's common-law 2nd husband.
On the side of my father, I remember a Tata Base, Basilio Roxas, who I presumed was Lola Petang’s second husband or common law partner. I saw Tata Base. He owned a farm in Malolos, Bulacan, the land that later on became the site of Cafe Valenzuela and an ice plant. It was on the northbound side of the main highway (MacArthur Highway) just before the intersection with another highway that went to the seaside towns of Bulacan, like Hagonoy. I remember there was a railroad alongside the main highway. From the train station (Tutuban) in Tondo, Philipine National Railways (PNR) ran a train service up to Dagupan, Pangasinan. That service ran right in front or alongside my grandfather’s property. From Dagupan people on the train were transferred to a bus and then taken to the mountain resort of Baguio.
My father, on weekends, took us to Tata Base’s farm. Tata Base caught a chicken that roamed around his farm every time we arrived at his house and cooked a chicken soup dish (called tinola) for us. I remember we sat around the dulang, a heavy wooden dining table without legs and without accompanying chairs; thus, we squatted on the floor for a meal. What I did as a boy of 6 after lunch was I explored his huge backyard. I climbed his duhat trees and ate the fruits (they looked like black berries) until my lips became black from the sap.
Rummaging over family pictures and letters, I saw an exchange of telegrams between my father and Tata Base. I gathered that Tata Base was a merchant marine and his ship sailed between California and Manila. My father’s telegram was asking for money for an important expenditure. Tata Base’s reply was postmarked Sacramento.
Tata Base survived Lola Petang. I remember he was living in the house in Malolos with a daughter, Bebeng Roxas (from a previous marriage), and Bebeng’s husband and children, at the farm I have described. Tata Base had a sister, Nana Coring, who was a nurse who lived in Tondo, and who we knew well because my parents consulted with her when we got sick. Nana Coring had a daughter, Lina, who also lived in Tondo. She was married to a BIR agent.
Lola Petang had a brother, Tiong Tato, we called him, Fortunato Segismundo. He lived on Katamanan St., also in Tondo. He visited my father a lot. He always wore the camiso chino and the pointed leather slippers popular at that time. He was a tall, fair-skinned guy, and he loved conversation. Tiong Tato had a daughter, Dosia, or Teodosia Segismundo, a teacher.
Poem written by my father dedicated to his mother, my Lola Petang:
WALANG KAMATAYAN
Baga sa pandayang namula't nagdupong,
Sa sungit-karimla'y lagablab ng apoy!
Kukutikutitap na ilawang tinghoy
Sa dapyo ng hanging tila lumulungoy . . .
Ganyan ang hamak kong kalagayan, noon,
Buhay na nalaan sa sadyang kabaong!
Sa apoy ng lagnat na taglay kong sakit,
Sa bigat ng aking ulong nag-iinit,
Kung ilan nang gabing di ako maidlip,
Laging guniguni ang sumasaisip:
Sa aking himalaya't tila lumalapit
Ang Aninong Luksang may dalang kalawit.
Dilat ang mata ko'y di nakakilala,
Bukas ang bibig ko'y di makapagbadya;
May puso rin ako na pumipintig pa,
Nguni't tila wala sa pagkabalisa;
Buhay pa rin ako't mayroon pang hininga,
Dapwa't tila ako buhay na patay na . . .
Nguni't . . . isang hapong magtatakip-silim,
Ang isip ko'y biglang lumiwanag mandin;
Umuulan noon na aking napansin,
Ulang umaawit sa tugtog ng hangin;
Sa pagkakahimlay, ako'y napahimbing,
(Aywan kung sa anong mahiwagang dahil.)
At ang aking diwa ay biglang naglayag
Sa pakpak na ginto ng mga pangarap:
Ang aking katawa'y tila iniakyat
Sa rurok ng langit na wari'y busilak;
Ang dinaanan ko'y landas ng liwanag
At ang hinantunga'y “altar” ng bulaklak.
Walang anu-ano ay mayrong nanaog
Na magandang Anghel at biglang lumuhod;
Lumapit sa aki't hiningi sa Diyos
Na ang hininga ko'y huwag na malagot;
Saka sa mainit na noo kong kunot,
Nag-iwan ng halik na lubhang mairog!
Sa halik na ito, ako'y nagulantang,
At napagmalas ko ang labi ni Inang
Sa noo ko pala'y siyang nakahinang . . .
Narinig ko pa ring siya'y nagdarasal,
Inuulit-ulit ang ganitong saysay:
"Diyos! ang anak ko'y huwag pong bayaan!
. . . At ang katawan ko'y aking naramdamang
Sumigla't uminit nang di ko malaman;
Kaya nayakap ko ang Ina kong mahal . . .
O! sa piling niya, ng ina kong hirang,
Ako'y laging ligtas: walang kamatayan!
Lola Cion had an aunt, Juana Lopez, who migrated to Cebu in the 19th century. Juana had a daughter, Remedios, who became the matriarch of the Cebu Cuenco Family. Here’s the story:
The Cuencos
SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2008MORE RE REMEDIOS DIOSOMITO LOPEZ CUENCO
CECILIA MANGUERRA BRAINARD
CECILIA MANGUERRA BRAINARD IS THE AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF 9 BOOKS, INCLUDING WHEN THE RAINBOW GODDESS WEPT, MAGDALENA, VIGAN AND OTHER STORIES, AND OUT OF CEBU: ESSAYS AND PERSONAL PROSE. SHE EDITED FOUR BOOKS, CO-EDITED SIX BOOKS, AND CO-AUTHORED A NOVEL, ANGELICA'S DAUGHTERS. HER WORK HAS BEEN TRANSLATED INTO FINNISH AND TURKISH; AND MANY OF HER STORIES AND ARTICLES HAVE BEEN WIDELY ANTHOLOGIZED. CECILIA HAS RECEIVED MANY AWARDS, INCLUDING A CALIFORNIA ARTS COUNCIL FELLOWSHIP IN FICTION, A BRODY ARTS FUND AWARD, A SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD FOR HER WORK DEALING WITH ASIAN AMERICAN YOUTHS, AS WELL AS A CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION FROM THE CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE, 21ST DISTRICT, AND THE OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL AWARD FROM HER BIRTH CITY, CEBU, PHILIPPINES. SHE HAS RECEIVED SEVERAL TRAVEL GRANTS FROM THE USIS. SHE HAS LECTURED AND PERFORMED AT UCLA, USC, UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT, UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES, PEN, SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY IN PARIS, AND MANY OTHERS. SHE TEACHES CREATIVE WRITING AT THE WRITERS PROGRAM AT UCLA-EXTENSION.
“I was delighted to receive the following email. I've been interested in my family genealogy and have done a fairly good job going back 4-5 generations on my mother's side. But the farther back you go, the more it sounds like the bible, "So-and-so begot so-and-so." I knew that Juana Lopez from Naic, Cavite begot Remedios Lopez who married Mariano Albao Cuenco. They begot Mariano Jesus Cuenco, my maternal grandfather who married Filomena Alesna; they begot Concepcion Cuenco who married Mariano Flores Manguerra; they begot me.
“Remedios Lopez fascinated me because she was the first woman publisher in the Philippines. This happened by default when her husband died, leaving her his publishing business. With the help of her sons: Jose Maria, Mariano, and Miguel, this young widow of 38 years successfully ran Imprenta Rosario. (I think by this time, her oldest son Jose Maria had become a priest, so he wouldn't have been around a lot, although he published his religious periodicals).
“I heard she had a sister, Blanca. And there's documentation that suggests Juana Lopez had been a resident of then-fashionable Tondo, although I always heard she was from Naic, Cavite. Juana bought properties in Cebu - I have some documentation of that. She married a Veloso from Baybay, Leyte.
“So when I got this email from Percival Cruz today, I learned that Juana Lopez had another daughter, Concepcion, and that they were indeed from Naic, Cavite.
To answer Percival's questions below: Archbishop Jose Maria Cuenco was my grand-uncle; he was the brother of my maternal grandfather. Senator Mariano Cuenco was my grandfather, my mother's father.
~~~~
From: Percival Cruz
I just ran across your name and your blog as I was googling Arch. Jose Cuenco and Sen Mariano Cuenco. They were my uncles.
My grandmother was Concepcion Lopez of Naic, Cavite. Her sister, Remedios Lopez was the mother of the two illustrious Cuencos.
So, our family tree developed a branch in Cavite and another branch in Cebu. I belong to the branch that got rooted in Luzon.
Do I understand it that the archbishop was your uncle? Then we may be related somehow.
The good archbishop sponsored my brother, Feodor, in the priesthood - first in Jaro, then in U.S.T. and then in Rome. He was to be ordained in Rome.
I've been in the Los Angeles area since 1984. I now live in Burbank. It's good to know you.
Percival Cruz
https://www.tagalogshortstories.net/
MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015
Philippines: Cuenco Family of Cebu and Lopez Family of Naic, Cavite
Percival Cruz sent me a picture that includes my grandfather, Mariano Jesus Cuenco. Mariano is the gentleman in the middle of the page, behind women in black. This photo was taken at the funeral of Mariano's maternal aunt, Concepcion Lopez.
Read more »
POSTED BY CECILIA MANGUERRA BRAINARD AT 6:15 AM NO COMMENTS:
LABELS: CEBU, CUENCO, CUENCO FAMILY, GENEALOGY, POLITICS, REMEDIOS LOPEZ
TUESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2008MORE INFO RE JUANA LOPEZ, REMEDIOS DIOSOMITO CUENCO
I was thrilled to have heard from a relative, Percival Cruz, who emailed the following. FYI Juana Diosomito Lopez was my great-great grandmother; Remedios Diosomito Cuenco was my great-grandmother. Following are important genealogical info re the Diosomito, Lopez, Cuenco, Manguerra, Reyes, Gonzales, Borromeo families of Cebu:
~~~~~~~
Dear Cecilia,
It has been a while since I last wrote you. Rest assured though that I have not forgotten; I visited your websites and assimilated the wealth of information you have put together about you and the Cuenco family.
My mom, Patrocinio Diosomito Lopez Fojas Cruz, passed away in 1986. Whatever information I have about the Lopez family I had heard from her.
Remedios, your great grandmother, was the sister of my grandmother, Concepcion (Lola Cion).
Their mother, Juana Diosomito was married to a Lopez. The Diosomitos and the Lopezes were and still are natives of Naic, Cavite. Juana's first husband was a Spanish priest (or ex-priest, maybe). Again, this is the story of my mother and something that I have not documented. Juana's 2nd husband was a Veloso from Baybay, Leyte.
My Lola Cion owned and rented out houses and apartments in Tondo. She may have inherited these properties from mother Juana. Juana may have owned properties in Naic and Tondo, as well as, in Leyte and Cebu.
My Lola Cion never left Luzon Island. On the other hand, her sister, Remedios, migrated to Cebu.
Did mother Juana who got remarried to a Visayan from Leyte, a guy named Veloso, migrate to Cebu and take along daughter Remedios; while daughter Concepcion remained in Naic and Tondo? Very possible.
My mother used to tell me that her grandmother (Juana) owned lands in Leyte and Cebu. My mother also introduced us to the idea that we had relatives in the Visayas, which I found weird at that time. No one in the family spoke Cebuano nor talked to any.
I am among the youngest in a family of 10. I did not have a chance to interact with my Visayan relatives. Our eldest brother, Berting, worked in a boat that sailed regularly between Manila-Leyte-Cebu; he met Tio Menggoy (Domingo Veloso), who was either part owner or manager of the boat. One other elder brother, Feodor, met Archbishop Jose when I was in elementary (1956). He entered the San Vicente Ferrer seminary in Iloilo under the sponsorship of your uncle Jose. I remember my parents accompanied Feodor on this trip to Iloilo. A younger brother and sister made it, too; but I was left behind at home and did not have a chance to meet the Archbishop. My sister, Judith, worked as a secretary at the office of Tio Menggoy (did he become a congressman?). And my other elder brother, Walfrido, worked at the Congress at the behest of Senator Cuenco. In fact, my father worked also at the Senate and I would like to believe that it was your grandfather who made it possible. I also overheard my father that the good senator worked out an appointment for him to be a judge in Cotabato but my father declined. Had my father accepted that job, maybe I would have become a general in the Abu Sayaff army. While I was in U.P., I heard about Tony Cuenco. He was my senior. I did not have a chance to associate with him, though. My mother used to go to the senator's house somewhere near Sto Domingo Church to see your grandpa.
Concepcion Lopez who got stuck in Luzon was a good businesswoman. I remember my mother telling me that she owned houses in Tondo. My mom got her education at an exclusive all-girl school called Instituto de Mujeres, took up piano lessons and became a town beauty queen during her heydays. My father was a poet and novelist (he was a contemporary of Amado V. Hernandez). My father and mother met in one of those beauty queen coronations. My father recited a poem for my mother, they fell in love, and then they went on their happy way for 70 years. By the way, it might interest you to know that my father's collection of novels was published by the Ateneo and it is being used to this day as a textbook in college.
Concepcion Lopez may also had had a part in a "calesa" business; she had a sister-in-law or cousin (now I am not sure which) who became well-known for owning a fleet of "calesas"; she was Rosa Fojas who became known as the "Reyna ng mga Cochero" ("Queen of the Coachmen").
Remedios and Concepcion were both very enterprising, strong women. Remedios produced a congressman, a governor, a senator and an archbishop. Had Uncle Jose lived longer, he would have become a cardinal, too. That Remedios also became the first woman publisher -- wow!--
her accomplishments are really mind-boggling! I'm sure her genes rubbed off on you.
Other famous Lopezes, Fojases from Naic, who I'm sure are also our relatives --
Rosario Lopez - the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission
Dr. Marcos Fojas - the eye surgeon
Gen. Nazareno - PNP head during Cory Aquino's term
Judge Noel Diosomito
Felix Fojas - poet, writer
Good Friday is the traditional reunion day for the Lopezes/Fojases. The clan gathers in Naic, Cavite and fulfills the vow of having the 2-day "Pabasa" and "Prusisyon" in honor of Jesus. The family has an antique heirloom --- a black Nazarene lying in state ("Santo Intierro").
I have a famly tree -- just did it at Geni.com -- if you're interested, I can give you the link.
So long for now, I'm proud to have you as a relative.
Percival
Burbank, California
My mother was closest to sister Tia Pacita. She and Tiong Adong had for children (all girls): Flor, married to Dioscoro Papa, admiral of the Philippine Navy; Elvira, married to Rudy Nazareno who worked at the Bureau of Customs; Estelita (Itang), who got married to Sam Mesina, a U.S. navyman; and Emelita (Miling), a doctor who got married to Rene Paderna, a businessman.
For a long time, Tia Pacita and Tiong Adong lived on Trabaho St. in Sampaloc. Later, they moved out to U.P. Village in Quezon City. Tiong Adong was the chief of the administrative employees in U.P. Through his intercession my brothers Bert and Freddie found jobs as U.P. employees. They both received housing from U.P., so they raised their families in those houses ideally situated inside the U.P. campus.
Just other footnotes on the Diosomitos: Tio Adong had a broher who was judge in Naic. His name was Noel Diosomito. His house became a yearly pilgrimage for family members. There, the family heirloom, a hundred years old image of the dead Christ, laid in state. Every Holy Week, Noel presided over the pabasa and the participation of the Santo Entierro in the procession.
A notable relative was Rosario Lopez who became chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office during the term of Pres. Joseph Estrada. Her parents were well-off being the owners of the rice mill in Naic. She studied law in Spain and became the inheritor of the family business and sizeable real estate properties. She remained single throughout her life. It was believed that Rosario Lopez’ grandfather was a Spanish priest who broke the law on celibacy and took a wife and family. The family wealth may have originated from that priest.
My own great grandfather on the mother side, was also believed to be a priest who fell in love with my great grandmother and raised a family in Cavite, my mother’s family the Lopez family. My mother was Patrocinio Lopez Fojas Cruz. So her mother Concepcion Lopez was the daughter of the priest. A sister of Concepcion, also a daughter of the priest, Remedios Lopez, was the one who migrated to Cebu and became the matriarch of the Cuencos.
To me, it appears that, the priest who was the grandfather of Rosario Lopez and the priest who was the father of my grandmother Cion was the same person. That made the mother of Rosario Lopez and my grandmother Cion and the one that migrated to Cebu, Remedios, sisters.
The Cuenco Brothers
Mariano Cuenco, Senator of the Philippines
In 1941, Cuenco was elected Senator of the Philippines but the onset of the Second World War prevented that Senate from going into session. After the Japanese Occupation, Cuenco was reelected to the Senate in 1946. From 1949 to 1951, he served as Senate President and Chairman of the Commission on Appointments. His term paved the way for many reforms and his significant contributions resulted in a more efficient legislative body.
As a member of the Liberal Party of incumbent President Elpidio Quirino, Senate President Cuenco was defeated in his bid for reelection in the Nacionalista Party shut-out during the 1951 Philippine general election. He ran and regained his seat as a Senator once again in 1953 and 1959. He continued serving in the Philippine Senate until his death in office in 1964.
Jose Cuenco, Archbishop of Jaro, Iloilo
José María Cuenco (May 19, 1885 – October 8, 1972) was the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Jaro.
Archbishop Cuenco was born in Carmen, Cebu, Philippines on May 19, 1885, the eldest child of Mariano Albao Cuenco and Remedios Diosomito. His father, a journalist and Clerk of Court, died in 1909. His mother largely raised Jose’s 15 sisters and brothers, among them, Mariano Jesús and Miguel, who became a senator and congressman respectively. The Cuenco family were involved with printing and publishing as newspaper publishers and owners of Imprenta Rosario, one of Cebu’s early printshops.
Given the best education of his time in the University of San Carlos in Cebu, in Manila, and at Georgetown University in the United States, where he earned a doctorate in law, Cuenco decided to forsake a career in law to enter the priesthood. He was ordained a priest on June 11, 1914.
It was as a churchman that he had a distinguished career. He was vicar general of the Cebu Diocese in 1925 and the founding parish priest of the city’s Santo Rosario parish in 1933. He became ssauxiliary bishop]] of Jaro in 1945. Six years after, he became Archbishop of Jaro.
Active and highly visible in evangelization work, Cuenco was the founder-editor of the Cebu Catholic newspaper El Boletin Catolico (1915-1930), continuing the work of his own father who was publisher-editor of the pioneering Catholic newspaper in Cebu, Ang Camatuoran (1902-1911). He authored and published close to a dozen books, mostly narratives of his travels and experiences, including Archbishop Cuenco: Autobiography (Iloilo: La Editorial, 1972), which came out shortly before he died in Jaro on October 8, 1972.
Miguel Cuenco, Congressman
Decades ago, the people of Alegria, Cebu erected three statues in their Plaza after members of the Cuenco family. These were: Mariano Jesus Cuenco (Governor of Cebu and Senate President), Dr. Manuel A. Cuenco (Governor of Cebu) and the third, Miguel D. Cuenco.
Miguel D. Cuenco was one of the sons of spouses Mariano Albao Cuenco of Sogod, Cebu and Remedios Lopez Diosomito of Baybay, Leyte. He was born on December 15, 1904, his elder brothers were Jose Ma. Cuenco, who became a priest and Archbishop of Jaro, Iloilo, and Mariano Jesus Cuenco.
Miguel, earned his Liberal Arts degree at the Colegio de San Carlos at the age of 14. He then took up Bachelor of Laws at the University of Santo Tomas finishing at the age of 18. He was admitted to the Philippine Bar on November 16, 1926. He was sent to the United States for further studies, he enrolled at Georgetown University in Washington, District of Columbia, took up Diplomacy and International Relations. He also went to Harvard University.
Miguel ran for Congress in the old 5th District of Cebu in 1931. He replaced his elder brother, Don Mariano Jesus who was Congressman from 1912 to 1928. Miguel was the Representative of the District from 1931 up to 1965, except only in 1946 to 1949, where Dr. Leandro Tojong was its Congressman. Dr. Tojong also became Mayor of Cebu City, and a street is named after him.
Congressman Miguel authored Republic Act 709, the law that made obligatory the teaching of Spanish in all courses of private and public universities and colleges in the Philippines. The law was approved on June 5, 1952 and was implemented in the school year 1952-1953.
Miguel married at the age of 43, his wife was Fara Remia Jalbuena Ledesma of Iloilo. They were married on May 27, 1948. Her wife Fara, was born on August 13, 1913, from Juan Villalobos Ledesma and Purificacion Ireneo Jalbuena. A child, Marietta who grew up in adulthood (the other two, Juan Miguel and Maria died during childhood) married Antonio Casas Cuyegkeng II of Iloilo. His wife, Fara died on September 2, 1983. Miguel graciously gave way the district to his grandnephew Antonio V. Cuenco in the 1965 elections. Congressman Miguel retired from politics on December 17, 1965. His grandnephew Antonio known to many as Tony, became the youngest Congressman of the 6th Congress, elected at the age of 29.
Front yard of our house on Lakandula St., Tondo, Manila.
CHILDHOOD IN TONDO
My father and mother were natives of Tondo. My grandmothers on both sides were business-minded. They were renting out apartments. My parents, therefore, were well off. My mother went to the exclusive girl school, Instituto de Mujeres. She was taking piano lessons, as well. My father went to law schooI and became a lawyer.
My parents got married at a young age. Their first children Alberto, Walfrido, and Thelma had what may be described as pampered childhood. They had nannies from China. At that time, the Philippines was more well off than China. People from China ran away and found a haven in the Philippines. At the start, the Chinese fortune seekers took up lowly jobs that Filipinos were wont to take on, such as, street vending, collecting recyclables, serving as housemaids and nannies and the like.
I grew up in a two-story house on Lakandula St. in Tondo. My parents owned that house. All nine children (our youngest, Jennifer, who was born in 1957 grew up in another house in Sta. Cruz, Manila) grew up in that house. I remember that the house had ample playing spaces in front of it and behind it. It had a facade that allowed a street view from both first floor and second floor. And some kind of vine was climbing up the wall of that facade.
The elder siblings’ rooms were upstairs. The girls were together in one room and the boys in another room. The other boys, the younger ones like myself, slept in our parent’s room. The other boys laid down straw mats on the floor and slept there.
I remember how we took our meals. We all sat down at a long wooden table. There were no individual chairs. Two long wooden benches on either side of the table were our seats. My mother did the cooking with the help of my elder sisters. My mother apportioned the food by putting our shares in our plates, one by one. That way everybody got a fair share of the food. But not quite so, all the time. She gave the younger and sickly siblings slightly better servings. If its was a chicken dish, the younger ones got the nutritious liver and meaty legs.
Thelma was the eldest of the siblings, all living under the roof of the parents’ house and within their supervision. Thelma’s and Judith’s room had a window that led to the backhouse roof. Thelma, especially, used that window to get out of the house to be with friends.
My father
ALBERTO SEGISMUNDO CRUZ
November 21, 1901 – September 9, 1989
He was a Filipino poet, short story writer and novelist. Three of his novels have been published by Ateneo de Manila Press - Piling Nobela: Lakandula, Halimuyak, Ang Bungo (1997). Three novels that present the causes of the people’s misery. Written by the notable multi-awarded fictionist during the American Occupation.
Soledad S. Reyes of Ateneo de Manila University wrote: "The interconnectedness between the past and the present was a theme familiar to many Filipino writers who, in a variety of ways, argued the need to remember the past. Francisco Laksamana, Faustino Aguilar, Lazaro Francisco, Alberto Segismundo Cruz, Macario Pineda, and even Fausto Galauran, among others, constructed narratives enjoining the readers not to be dazzled by the present, but to remember the heroic and noble past of their forefathers."
Born in Sta Cruz, Manila, Philippines, he wrote for Bulaklak, Liwayway, Silahis, Kislap, Tagumpay, Aliwan, Balaghari, Ilang-Ilang - the country's leading weekly magazines during his time. He was the Poet Laureate of the Republic of the Philippines in 1947. He won the Commonwealth literary awards in the 1940s and the Rizal Centennial Literary Awards in 1961. His contemporaries were Amado V. Hernandez , Fausto Galauran, Simeon Mercado, Nemesio Caravana and Liwayway Arceo, among others. He was one of the best 50 writers of the Philippines, according to Limampung Kuwentong Ginto, a short story writers’ review edited by Pedrito Reyes.
He finished high school at the Manila North High School, now Arellano High School, in Sta. Cruz, Manila. He was in the same class (1923) as Lorenzo Sumulong, revered Philippine senator. He went to the University of the Philippines and National University, where he obtained his A.A. degree from the latter. He finished his law studies at the Philippine Law School and became a member of the Philippine Bar in 1939.
His literary and journalism career. As a newsman and writer, he was a member of the pre-war TVT Publication (Taliba-La Vanguardia-Tribune). He covered Malacanang, the Philippine Presidential Palace, the Senate and Congress. He contributed countless articles, features, short stories to the newspapers and magazines of his time. He was one of the few prolific writers in both English and Filipino.
Holder of the Literary Award Record in short story and poetry in the pre-war Taliba and Liwayway.
o Winner, Commonwealth Literary Contest (1940)
o Novelist of the Republic for his novel Muling Pagsilang (1942), adjudged by a jury headed by the illustrious senator and writer, Claro M. Recto
o Poet Laureate of the Republic (1947), with Simeon Mercado
o Winner, book-essay, Rizal National Centennial Commission (1961), with Leopoldo Yabes
o Winner, poetry, Rizal National Centennial Commission (1961)
o 1975 Palanca Awards - Sino ang Bulag at Iba Pang Tula
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Segismundo_Cruz
As a lawyer, he was associated with Atty. M. V. Roxas and Sen. Francisco Soc Rodrigo. He was in the Press Relations Division and also the Legal Division of the Office of the President of the Commonwealth from February 10, 1939 till December 31, 1941.
He was corrector of style and professor in Filipino and translation technique at the National Assembly (1942). He was Inspector General of the National Land Settlement Administration from March 24, 1948 to December 31, 1949.
He was appointed Justice of the Peace for Indang-Inopacan, Leyte on August 16, 1951, but did not serve due to his commitments in the country's capital, Manila.
He was special attorney and legislative researcher at the Philippine Senate from March 1, 1951 until he retired from government service in 1961.
Service to the government and country. As the first accredited vernacular newsman in Malacanang, he was the first newspaperman welcomed by President Manuel L. Quezon to write and translate his speeches, addresses and pronouncements into the National Language, making it possible to bring the message of the Chief Executive and make it better understood by the people. To-be-president Diosdado Macapagal was in the same press relations office in Malacanang, at that time.
As lawyer of the Tondo Foreshore Residents' Association, he was instrumental in the preparation of a bill that granted the right to thousands of poor bonafide occupants of the Tondo foreshore area to purchase the lots they had occupied since Liberation on an installment plan basis. He argued for them in the hearings until the bill became Republic Act 559, benefiting thousands of families in the Tondo foreshore area.
Inspired by the late Claro M. Recto and Jose P. Laurel, he initiated together with Jose Villa Panganiban, who became Director of the Institute of National Language, the project to translate into Filipino all acts and resolutions of the Congress of the Philippines in order that the people may understand better their rights and obligations as citizens.
Ateneo Press published Piling Nobela, a collection of his novels: Ang Bungo, Lakandula, and Halimuyak.
Alberto immigrated to the United States in the mid-1960s to be with his children and grandchildren. His last work was Sariling Parnaso, a collection of poems. He had ten living children, nine of whom immigrated to the United States.
Service to the government and country. As the first accredited vernacular newsman in Malacanang, Alberto Segismundo Cruz (second from left), was the first newspaperman welcomed by President Manuel L. Quezon (third from left) to write and translate his speeches, addresses and pronouncements into the National Language, making it possible to bring the message of the Chief Executive and make it better understood by the people. To-be-president Diosdado Macapagal was in the same press relations office in Malacanang, at that time.
In 1964 The Philippine National Government ordered the year-long nationwide observance of the 100th birth anniversary of national hero, Jose Rizal. Artists, writers, were encouraged and given awards to create works that extol the greatness of Rizal. Alberto Segismundo Cruz is shown receiving the award for best essay, a 200-page document, from First Lady Leonila Garcia. Behind Garcia is the reknown anthropologist Otley H. Beyer. Cruz shared the award with UP Professor Leopoldo Yabes. Other awardees were Ricardo Pascual for the libretto of Noli Me Tangere, an opera. The composer-awardee of the opera was Felipe Padilla de Leon. In sculpture, the awardees were Guillermo Tolentino and Anastacio Caedo.
I saw instances of misunderstandings between my father and my mother. In the midst of heated disagreements I remember my mom going to her room and rummaging the closet, pulling out clothes, unfolding and refolding them and stacking them back in the closet; in the meantime tears were welling from her eyes and quietly she was nursing the pain. Yet I knew they loved each other and had thousands of romantic, tender moments. Or how else could they have produced 12 children! And Dad, in the middle of their argument, would always say, “I’d soon be moving out to the YMCA.” A threat he never fulfilled.
IMMIGRATION
My coming to the United States of America was a pre-destiny that I tried to resist and change and I was unsuccessful. Very quickly, the idea of immigrating to the USA was first hatched by my 7th sibling, Rogelio or Roger. He applied to join the US Navy and he was accepted. So off he went, the first in the family to leave for the USA. This was around 1962.
Two years later, 6th sibling Judith, a CPA by then, and 8th Feodor, a philosophy professor at La Salle College, followed Roger to the USA through some kind of visa program for [professionals. And as the years went on, my parents were petitioned by my siblings, then my other brothers and sisters were also petitioned; in the long run, everybody became residents and, ultimately, immigrants.
IMMIGRATION
My coming to the United States of America was a pre-destiny that I tried to resist and change and I was unsuccessful. Very quickly, the idea of immigrating to the USA was first hatched by my 7th sibling, Rogelio or Roger. He applied to join the US Navy and he was accepted. So off he went, the first in the family to leave for the USA. This was around 1962.
Two years later, 6th sibling Judith, a CPA by then, and 8th Feodor, a philosophy professor at La Salle College, followed Roger to the USA through some kind of visa program for [professionals. And as the years went on, my parents were petitioned by my siblings, then my other brothers and sisters were also petitioned; in the long run, everybody became residents and, ultimately, immigrants.
PATROCINIO, my mother
April 14, 1926 -
She was enrolled by her mother at the Instituto de Mujeres, an exclusive, all-girl school on Tayuman, Tondo. She did not go to college due to an early marriage to Alberto. While Alberto pursued his writing and law career, Patrocinio took care of the house and the family that grew into a big one, with ten living children.
She was good in the arts and home-spawned business. To help support the family, in between her chores at home, she made handicrafts like ladies’ hand bags made of straw, knitted shawls and caps that she sold to relatives, neighbors and friends.
Her biggest enterprise was operating a jeepney in the Sta. Cruz, Manila area. The idea of a transportation business came about from her belonging to a family that was successful in the transportation business. Her aunt, Rosa Fojas, owned a fleet of calesas, horse-driven carriages, that operated in the Pritil-Divisoria line. On account of owning so many calesas and putting to work so many cocheros, the men who drove the calesas, she became known as the "Queen of the Cocheros”.
Notable writer Virginia Moreno, sister of famous fashion designer, Pitoy Moreno, wrote about Rosa Fojas. She said one of Rosa's horse-and-carriages was used in the escape of former senator Jovito Salonga from the Japanese soldiers during the war. Unfortunately, the men in Rosa's family were all killed by the Japanese soldiers. In her later years, Rosa, physically, was still her beautiful and elegantly dressed self; but, mentally, she became weird. She went around town proclaiming that she was the Queen of the Waterworld. She visited my dad frequently. She would ask him, "Year 1957, March 17, do you know what happened on that day?" He would say, "No." "That was the day President Ramon Magsaysay died in a plane crash." She could remember dates and tell the significance of those dates.
Patrocinio’s brother, Raymundo, owned and operated a fleet of jeepneys in and around Tondo. His jeepneys were all painted green. Thus, it was easy to recognize which jeepney belonged to his fleet.
My mother’s stint as a jeepney operator was short and unsuccessful.
She also ran a retail store, then called sari-sari store, in front of the P Gomez Elementary School on P Guevarra St Santa Cruz, Manila. That business, later on, became a grower and supplier of nata de coco.
When my mother immigrated to the U.S., she lived with my siblings in New Jersey. She helped take care of my young nieces.
She also lived with my sister, Jennifer, in Los Angeles, California. She spent a lot of effort building a beautiful garden at Jennifer’s house on Atwater, LA.
PATROCINIO, my mother
April 14, 1926 -
She was enrolled by her mother at the Instituto de Mujeres, an exclusive, all-girl school on Tayuman, Tondo. She did not go to college due to an early marriage to Alberto. While Alberto pursued his writing and law career, Patrocinio took care of the house and the family that grew into a big one, with ten living children.
She was good in the arts and home-spawned business. To help support the family, in between her chores at home, she made handicrafts like ladies’ hand bags made of straw, knitted shawls and caps that she sold to relatives, neighbors and friends.
Her biggest enterprise was operating a jeepney in the Sta. Cruz, Manila area. The idea of a transportation business came about from her belonging to a family that was successful in the transportation business. Her aunt, Rosa Fojas, owned a fleet of calesas, horse-driven carriages, that operated in the Pritil-Divisoria line. On account of owning so many calesas and putting to work so many cocheros, the men who drove the calesas, she became known as the "Queen of the Cocheros”.
Notable writer Virginia Moreno, sister of famous fashion designer, Pitoy Moreno, wrote about Rosa Fojas. She said one of Rosa's horse-and-carriages was used in the escape of former senator Jovito Salonga from the Japanese soldiers during the war. Unfortunately, the men in Rosa's family were all killed by the Japanese soldiers. In her later years, Rosa, physically, was still her beautiful and elegantly dressed self; but, mentally, she became weird. She went around town proclaiming that she was the Queen of the Waterworld. She visited my dad frequently. She would ask him, "Year 1957, March 17, do you know what happened on that day?" He would say, "No." "That was the day President Ramon Magsaysay died in a plane crash." She could remember dates and tell the significance of those dates.
Patrocinio’s brother, Raymundo, owned and operated a fleet of jeepneys in and around Tondo. His jeepneys were all painted green. Thus, it was easy to recognize which jeepney belonged to his fleet.
My mother’s stint as a jeepney operator was short and unsuccessful.
She also ran a retail store, then called sari-sari store, in front of the P Gomez Elementary School on P Guevarra St Santa Cruz, Manila. That business, later on, became a grower and supplier of nata de coco.
When my mother immigrated to the U.S., she lived with my siblings in New Jersey. She helped take care of my young nieces.
She also lived with my sister, Jennifer, in Los Angeles, California. She spent a lot of effort building a beautiful garden at Jennifer’s house on Atwater, LA.
Lola's ID in 1943. Beside Lola is Tia Juanita, Lolo's sister.
Beautiful gazebo Lola and Uncle Danny built on the property in Atwater, LA. The Payabyabs occupied that house; later on, the Matics took over it. Little Miki, Little Omar, and Lili are in this picture.