Traces of Angalo, the Friendly Giant

Traces of Angalo, the Friendly Giant

Dr Abe V Rotor

Pinsal Falls, acrylic AVR

Imagine how big Angalo, the legendary giant of the Ilocos region is. One foot of his left an imprint on a rock in Pinsal falls in Sta. Maria, and the other has its mark way up north, somewhere in Magsingal, two towns in Ilocos Sur some fifty kilometers apart. He must be a giant indeed surpassing the size of King Kong or Gulliver in Lilliput. I once stood in his huge footprint and what a minuscule I must have looked.

We ponder on Angalo’s power, we kids of our time. He is friendly and helpful in our mind, just as our old folks told us in many stories, wrapping him up into one gentle giant. He would stop flood, hold mountains apart, stood guard against the sea, roll the clouds and bring rain. And we kids would like to be as strong and brave, friendly and helpful just like him. How could we have idolized one whom we never saw, one who exists only in our imagination? It was a child’s gentle way of growing up into a giant.

Although legends live forever, Angalo and his kind, have been lost in the jungle of characters created on the screen and cyberspace. ~

Footprints of Angalo images from the Internet