Farming the Tridachna (Taklobo)

Abe V Rotor

The taklobo is now a threatened species.
Graduate students from the University of
Santo Tomas visit a taklobo farm in Masinloc,
Zambales, 2010.

Taklobo shell as holy water receptacle.
Mount Carmel Church, QC

One way to spend a summer is to visit marine projects such as a Tridachna or taklobo farm. Farming the sea includes seaweeds such as

Caulerpa or lato, green seaweed, ar-arusip in Iloko
Porphyra or gamet, red seaweed, also known as nori in Japan
Codium or pokpoklo, green seaweed
Gracillaria or guraman (Ilk), brown seaweed
Eucheuma or guso, brown seaweed

Fish cage culture of grouper and mullet has become popular in many parts of the world. And now, genetically modified salmon which lost its homing and free range characteristics by crossing genetic materials of unrelated species.

The earliest attempt to farm the sea is by building fishponds, converting estuaries and swamps into fishponds. But in large and open shallow areas, fish pens and cages, became more feasible. Prawn, milkfish, catfish, tilapia are among the common species raised.

Shellfish like oysters and green mussels are grown in the estuaries, and the traditional way of using bamboo and rope on which the juvenile shellfish cling to has not changed. Perhaps the most sophisticated marine farming is pearl culture, where pearl formation is induced.

Today, farming has spilled over seas, estuaries, rivers and lakes, after conventional frontiers have been conquered, threatening ecological balance, and pitting farming and environmental conservation as strange bedfellows. Runaway population, growing affluence, advances in science and technology are all aimed at the so-called Good Life. We are wrong.

The taklobo is a natural indicator of our planet's health. It is now a threatened species . Out there in its natural habitat one could hardly find a taklobo. Soon only its fossil can be found either in the museum or in the church as receptacle of Holy Water.~

Therapy with Pets

 Therapy with Pets

Dr Abe V Rotor

Author takes time out from work with Nikko, a Doberman.

More than the pleasant company they give, and sometimes because of the risk they take in giving us security, pets share our pain. They even get sick when we do. They help us dry our tears, soothe our frayed nerves, and break the monotony of our existence.

There is an inexplicable connection between man and animals. Even when man was still a wanderer, hunting for, and gathering his food, his companions, most likely, included animals. Domestication was the key to his new life and the dawning of civilization. We often hear about the dog as being man’s best friend. Among man’s other friends are: the cat that rids his home of rodents and other vermin; the bullock that plows the field and pulls the cart; the cow that gives milk; the honeybee that produces the sweetest stuff of nature; that silkworm that weaves the finest fabric. Horses carried man to battle, and brought letters across the continent.

In our periods of anxiety, when our body and spirit sag under the weight of modern living, we seek refuge and find comfort in the meaning to life. We seek answer to many whys to the many whys and ask questions only when we are down.

Good books, television programs and music provide us recourse, all right. They teach, inspire, and challenge us. We reflect, meditate and bridge ourselves with the omnipotent being. We search for the past, exorcising the hidden guilt into catharsis, and recreating pleasant memories into a renewable resource. In the end, we are left asking for more. It is not a deliberate demand for more. It is the opposite. It is a need for nothing but silence, something that silences our probing mind, our throbbing heart, and our tense muscles.

Let us learn from pets. Their reactions are pure and simple. Their message needs no words. As a writer once exclaimed, “What words can describe the feeling of a cat purring on your lap, a puppy lapping your face, a goldfish popping bubbles of air and glistening in the prism of sunlight?”

When finally we reach home to continue rest on doctor’s advice, we soon find ourselves facing boredom. Boredom is when we cannot do the things we want to do. The inability to do things because of our poor mental and physical state drains us. While we can still plan out things, we often loom at the edge of uncertainty and fear, something we may not have experienced before. To many of us the feeling is that of retreat, and we do not know when we will ever resume our normal lives again.

No one is spared from these moments in life. The more daring we are the deeper is the wound if we fail, and the longer it takes to heal. It takes more intellectual acuity and intestinal fortitude to be aggressive, which has various forms: like being enterprising, being more risk tolerant, adventurous, pioneering, courageous. These traits take us into the horizons ordinary people dare not tread. It is said that in our moments of glory we strive for more of it. But in our instances of defeat, we find ourselves deep in shadow. “Victory has a thousand fathers, while defeat is an orphan.” A pet can help resurrect us from defeat to a victory.

Pet Therapy in Hospitals

According to Time Magazine, there are hospitals in the United States today which train dogs and other pets to help patients recuperate faster. The patients coddle these pets, in the process, develop faster recovery. One report is about a patient who could barely move his hand as a result of a stroke. But with a pet around he began to regain the use of his hand. Dogs are trained to guide the blind, while there are dogs trained to play games with patients during their recuperation.

Pets help patients conquer depression, a condition that may lead to nervous breakdown, neurosis and even suicide. There are millions of people around the world, especially those living in industrialized nations, who fall victim to this modern day disease. Many become unwilling victims of drugs. Many lives are ruined if not treated early or on time.

Pets compensate for the lack of feeling and concern in modern day living. They heal the wounds of broken relationships and help fill out the vacuum of absence. They buoy the sagging spirit, accept us when we are rejected, and give the “human touch” to the high tech world of specialized medicine. Everybody seems busy doing his thing. After a hard day’s work, a dog wagging its tail meets us at the gate, begging to be touched, revealing unashamedly how much it had missed us. A pat and some leftovers of fast food may be all we can give, but our pet soon settles down, fully contentment in its world. That is because it has found our company again.

Tired and lonely? Just look up and say a verse or a line.

Tired and lonely? Just look up and say a verse or a line
Abe V Rotor

Cirrus cloud in summer, At home, QC

Cirrus clouds into feathers fly,
fly out of the blue sky,
away from the foliage curtain,
and next time, come as rain.

Century-old acacia (Samanea saman), San Ildefonso, Ilocos Sur

People look at you with heads turned up,
to liken you a cephalopod by shape and birth;
your tentacles are watershed to sun and rain,
to cool and quench the thirsty earth;
oh, monster of the sea in Jules Verne's novel,
Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea,
long a mystery and now you are free,
transformed into a big, big tree.

Limb of acacia, clothed with moss and epiphytes.
Ateneo de Manila University, Diliman, QC

Is it a veil you are wearing,
to mourn for something you've lost?
or a shawl to keep the cold and rain,
or just an outfit of a ghost?
On the campus where you stand,
you are a friend and a host.

Fiesta, San Marcelino, Zambales

Palo sebo - a pole coated with fat,
with a handsome reward on its top
to test the young and most daring
from among the village crop.

Norfolk pine (Aurucaria), Angels Hill, Tagaytay

The Aurucaria makes each day
Christmas throughout the year,
ever growing tall and green,
celebrating life with cheer.

Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) with mature pods.

The pods dehisce the cottony seeds that ride

on wind for dissemination. UP Diliman QC

The cotton tree makes confetti
in the summer sky and air;
bestowing honor each day
to the simple and fair.

Eucalyptus tree clothed with fruticose
lichen, a relationship called commensalism.
Angels Hill, Tagaytay

Lichen, lichen all over a tree
who is host, who is free?
answers the passing wind
whistling cool and clean.

Dita (Alstonia scholaris), UST Botanical Garden)

A Tower of Babel poses this lofty tree,
until some evil men shout, timber!
whatever reason other than money,
lo, it's mankind who loses at the end.

Palace garden, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Taller than any fence,
is life's aim and reference;
so with freedom
from cruel kingdom.

Talisay (Terminalia catappa) about to shed its golden
crown, a deciduous nature of this tree. At Home, QC.

There are those who wait for Spring;
there are those who wait for Summer.
there are those who wait for Winter.
there are those who wait for Autumn
with reference to a single tree changing
its crown season after season,
ad infinitum.

Paoay church and belfry tower glow in a sudden drizzle, Paoay, Ilocos Norte

The rainbow descends in kaleidoscope
to honor the deserving and fit;
but few realize this mystery -
only those humble in spirit.

Nimbus cloud brightens before its falls as rain, QC

When tired and lonely just look up;
wish the dark cloud a silver lining;
better still wish it to fall as rain,
to make the fields and pasture green. ~

Cat on an Icon's Lap
Abe V Rotor

Photography and Art: With today's digital camera, all you have to do is "point and shoot" at any subject, openly or discreetly. With virtually limitless frames to use, high sensitivity, self-adjusting mechanism of lens, distance and lighting, anyone can be a photographer. Beyond photography however, lies a higher level of consciousness, the artist can make photography as an art. Here is photographer-artist interpretation of this subject. (SPU-QC)

The cat on an icon's lap,
would make one laugh;
silly the duo make
for some jocose sake.
Who is fooling who
maybe we may not know;
one reading a scripture,
the other deep in snore.
It's honor though to the sculptor
and to the Great Author.
Pygmalion would envy,
if he would hear this story;
his was a stone come alive,
but here stone cradles a live
creature, lost and lonely,
and his was for himself only.
The cat warmed the icon's heart,
what could be a greater art!
In return the icon gave the cat
a home. And I, for my part,
witnessed another mystery,
beyond science and philosophy;
a kind of love, undefined love,
coming from the One above. ~

Ur-urayenka, Anakko (I am waiting for you, my child.) A short story for Ilocanos here and abroad.

Ur-urayenka, Anakko (I am waiting for you, my child.) A short story for Ilocanos here and abroad

Sarita ni Abe V. Rotor

Ti daan a simbaan ti San Vicente Ilocos Sur.
Naipadakder idi tiempo ti Kastila, kamaudian ti siglo 1700.

Agladladingit ti langit. Nangisit ken lumabbaga ti tangatang, bumabbaba ti ulep.

Maisaak nga Prodigal Son. Siak ni Inting.

Nasursurko ti uppat a suli ti lubong, binirbirukko ti makuna a Utopia ti las-ud ti lima pulo a tawen – mamindua a nasuruk iti kabayag a natnaturog ni Rip Van Winkle, ti suyyek nga lakay ti istoria ni Washington Irving. Nagsardeng metten ti Cold War – lima pulo a tawen nga nabingay ti lubong iti dua a kampo a nagginginnura, nagsinsinnikap. Ngen saan pay la nga nagun-od ti pudno a kappia ti sangalubungan. Rimmasok iti gulib ti terrorismo.

Ket itan agawidakon ditoy ili a nakayanakak ken dimmakkelak. Simmabat ni tatang, aginnarakup kami. Ti ragsat saan nga maibalikas. Ket napaut ti panagkatkatawa ken panagtedted ti luami. Impagarupko nga ti adsaibbek ubbing laeng.

“Pakawanennak, Tatang.”

Ngen kunana, “Agragsat tayo. Nagbiag ti natay nga anakko. Partien ti kabubusnagan nga urbon a baka. Ket awisen dagiti kakailian.”

Lakay unayen ni tatang. Nabalo idi gubat idi dua pay laeng ti tawenko. Saanen a nagasawa. Saan metten a pimmanpanaw diay ilimi.

“Ni Manong Tonio, Tatang?”

“Umayto. Adda’t taltalon isuna.”

Agsangpet dagiti tattao.

Ditoy San Vicente nasapa ti panagbaro ken panagbalasang. Adu kami a pimmanaw, sinursurotmi diay bangir ti Cordillera ken ballasiw taao dagiti ar-arapaap ti agkabanuag. Lumakay ken bumaket inton makasubli kami - kaaduanna, balikbayan. Ngem adu met dagiti saanen a makaawid, numanpay a kasta, saanda a makaliplipat.

Sibibiag ni Apo Lagip - ti naglabas ken masakbayan kasla saan nga nagsina. Naanos ti tiempo. Bassit ti nagbalbaliwan ti ili, kasta met dagiti umili.

Saan a nagsukat ti abbong ti altar a naburdaan ti Ur-urayenka Anakko. Ubingak pay idi adda daytoy nga isu’t mangsabat ti mata pagserrek ti dakkel a simbaan. Agkupkupas ti kaaapros dagiti agraem ken Apo San Vicente Ferrer, patron ti ili.

“Ibagam man dagiti napnapanam ken nasarsarakam, Inting.” Kiddao dagiti kaubingak. Mabilbilangdan.

“Nasapulam kadi ti puon ti bullalayaw, Inting?” angaw ni Belen, maysa idi a princesa ti komedia no agpiesta ti ili, maudi a martes ti Abril. Badong latta ni Badong, ti katuturedan diay klasemi ti elementaria. “Ania, umay manen ti gubat?” Sa nagmulagat. Maymaysa’t petsa ti pannayanakmi idi gubat.

Umad-adu ti tattao, awanen ti pagtugawan. Nagdalupakpak pay ketdin dagiti dadduma. Malutluto ti pagraramanan. Malang-ab ti maletletson a baka.

“Denggentayo ti maisa nga anak ti ili.” Imbaga ni Mayor Simeon, apo ti dati nga alkalde. Sa immabay kaniak. “Mailiw dagiti umili kenka.”

Narigat ti agsarita no saan a naragsak ti ibaga. Kayatko a saritaen ti saan a nasayaat a rupa ti panagprogreso ti lubong. Ti siudad a balitok adda laeng ti arapa-ap. Ti Paraiso awan ditoy rabaw daga. Pantasia laeng ti Utopia.

Kasla mabasbasa ni Ben ti pampanunutek. Ni Ben ti valedictorianmi ti high school diay Vigan, daidi CIC, Divine Word College ita. Iniarisa-asna, “Istoria-em ti Four Horsemen of Apocalypse.” Naadalmi daytoy ken ni Sir Boni - Mr. Rafanan, titsermi ti history.

Saan nga pantasia daytoy a istoria. Impakdaar dagiti propeta, kasta met ni Nostrodamus. Ket dagiti saan a namatpati isudanto ti umuna a biktima. Kasla ti Sodom ken Gomorrah, Pompeii ken Herculaneum, ti dua a nagsaruno nga gubat ti lubong, ti panakabomba ti Twin Towers ti New York, ket umayto kano iti ukum.

Daytoy manen ti ibagbaga ni Alvin Toffler, ti autor ti Future Shock, ken da Naisbitt ken Aburdane, ti naggapuan ti tema a postmodernism. Kunada, “Ti panagprogreso saanen a malappedan ket dumardaras pay. Ti laplapusanan isu ti palab-og ti panagrigat ti tattao.

Immasideg, adu’t rigatna ni Lolo Silli, kalalakayan ti ili. Tinulonganda. Immasideg met ti Apo Padimi. Inyam-ammo na ti bagina. “Siak ti anak ti Bernardo Rada.” Kasinsinko daidi tatangna. Karuprupana.

“Kayatyo a denggen ti istoria dagiti uppat nga nakakaballo ni Apokalypso?” Bimtak ti iisemmak. Dagiti ub-ubbing ti immuna a nagtung-ed. Ipagarupda a maysa a pelikula.

“Adda uppat a nakakaballo nga akukuyog. Ti umuna isu ni Genie, ti higante nga awan bigbigenna nga amo no di laeng ti akin-iggem ti enkantado a lampara a naggapuanna. Sibubutengen ti lubong manipud idi bimtak ti umuna nga bomba atomiko diay Nagasaki ken Hiroshima. Ita ti armas nuclear napigpigsa nga adayo. Awan lisian ken pilpilienna, ket addan ti ima dagiti terrorista!”

“Dumanon kadi ditoy no bumtak dayta a bomba?” Sinongbatan met laengen ti kaabayna, ket saanen nga intuloy ti bumarito. Narigat a maawatan dagiti bambanag maipuon ti gubat no saan mo pay nabaddek ti paggugubatan.

“Ket ituloyko. Maikaddua a nakakaballo isu ti al-alia ni Mathus, ti nangipakdaar ti panagbisin ti lubong gapu ‘ta nadardaras iti panagado ti tattao ngen ti kabaelan ti lubong a mangted ti umanay nga pagbiag. Rirriw ti mabisbisinan - ket umad-adoda. Saanen a mabilang ti matmatay.”

Awan ti nagsaludsod. Naulimek. Adda manutbuteng idiay likod. Naka-abbbungot ti nangisit. Tinalliao dagiti tattao ingana’t nagsardeng isuna ket pimmanaw.

“Ituloyko. Maikatlo, ni Frankenstein, ti doktor nga nangpartuat ti maysa a monster nga awanan puso ken kararua. Arigna isu dagiti nangpartuat ti hybrid nga virus ti trankaso nga naggapu ti tao ken billit. Narungrungsot nga adayo daytoy a virus mgem daidi virus idi rugrugi ti 1900. Nasuruk nga sangagasut ng ririw (20 million) ti natay.

Ita makaaramiddan dagiti sientista babaen ti “genetic engineering” ti klase a mais, soya, manok, ken sabasabali pay, a saanen a natural – dagiti makuna a GMO wenno Frankenfood. Saan nga adayo ti panagballegida a makaaramid ti tao ti babaen ti cloning nga makaparis ni Dolly, maysa a karnero nga immuna a clone. Kasla ketdin inagawen ti tao ken ni Apo Dios ti pannakabalin a mangparsua, kasta met ti mangpaungar ti natay!”

Dimmadakkel ti mat-mata dagiti agdengdenggeg. Maysa kaniada ni Maestra Karing, titser ko ti elementaria. Nakabakbaketen. Inasitgak. Inongngonak.

“Ket ti maika-uppat a nakakaballo isu ti inheniero ti Torre a Babel, agdan kano a mapan sadilangit. Napugipug daytoy, kasta met ti naatap nga ar-arapaap dagiti nangaramid ken dagiti buyotda.

Nangatngato nga adayo dagiti torre a maar-aramid ita. Atitiddug dagiti rantay. Agtutuon dagiti kalkalsada ken reles. Riwriw ti luglugan. Dumaddadakkel dagiti siudad, ket umad-aduda. Dumaddadakel met dagiti makina ti industria. Amin dagitoy ti pagtaudan ti pollusion ken panagdagaang ti lubong.

“Awanton ti lugar nga saan nga maabot ti komunikasyon. Kasla baryo ti kabassit ti lubong, awanen ti paglemmengan. Napukawen ti karbengan nga agmaymaysa. Ket posible a makadanonto metten ti tao idiay Mars?

“Siak ni Superman! Siak met ni Batman! Flash Gordon!” Ikkis dagiti ub-ubbing nga agpipinnalsiit ken agpipinnalsuot idiay liklikudan. Nagparang ni Rambo. Pinasiatna dagiti saan nga katataoan. Umap-apoy ti debateria nga paltu-ogna. Awanen ti aridengan.

“Agay-ayam kayo diay adayo.” Tegmaan ni Kapitan Inggo. Pimmanaw ket
intuloyda’t nagay-ayam diay minuyungan. Naggungon dagiti sangsanga, nagtinnag ti bul-bulong. Rimmuar ni Tarzan. Kasla Safari ti inaramid dagiti ub-ubbing. Maisaak kaniada idi.

“Ay, dagitoy ub-ubbing, ay-ayam laeng ti ammoda.” Adda gayam ni Celia, ti nalaing a kumakanta ti sarsuela no agpiesta ti ili idi.

“Umay ti Armageddon. Magunao ti lubong. Agbal-baliw tayo.” Timmakder ni Tacio a mangaskasaba, agtaytayegteg kasla propeta.

Saan nga agpa-udi ni Cosme, agpadi koma idi. “Quo vadis?” Ig-igananna ti daan a biblia. Inukragna ket binirokna ti pahina a mabasa. Inwarasna ti matana nga aglawlaw. Nagsardeng ti batugko.

“Maysa nga parbagon naglibas ni Pedro ket addan idiay ruar ti pader ti Roma. Sakbayna data binirbiruk dagiti soldado isuna. Ngen nakalisi ngamin ta nagsalawasaw - saanna kano nga am-amo ni Kristo nga amona. Sakbay nga sumina ti sipnget, nakasabat ti maysa a lalaki nga nangdamag kenkuana, ‘Quo vadis? (Sadino kadi ti papanam?)’ Apagkanito nagpukaw ti lalaki. Nalasin ni Pedro – isu ni Kristo! Nagsubli isuna ket nagbalin nga martir ti Kristianismo."

Naladaw ti panggaldaw. Bassiten ti agdengdengged. Nakatugawdan diay panganan nga agur-uray. Imnmado ti timmulong diay kusina. Kasta met dagiti agidasdasar. Saan nga makauray dagiti ub-ubbing, ket agsubli-sublida diay panganan. Naipusing dagiti makilkilimos. Adda met bagida. Agriringgor dagiti aso. Si-iiggem ti baut ken pagbugaw ti ngilaw da Nana Sion.

Linukatan ni tatang ti iduldulinna a basi. Intakona ti ungot diay burnay. Pinaramanannak a immuna. Kaiimasan met la ngatan. Baba-akan. Nabayad nga saanak a nakaraman ti basi. Ubingak pay idi nasursurok ken ni tatang ti panagaramid ti basi.

“In-yur-urayko kenka.” Matmatmatannak nga nangraman. Intumbak iti ugot, ket kayatko pay koma.

Malagipko ti kabsatko tapno paramanak met.

“Adda pay la isuna diay taltallon,” kuna manen ni tatang.

Binalonak ni Manong Tonio diay taltalon. Kaduana dagiti katalonan. Tallo a natatayag ken nababaked nga mandala ti mangipakita ti kanasayaat ti apit dayta a tawen. Saannak nabigbig daras. Naginnarakop kami. Nagsubli daras ti lagip di kaubinganmi. Kasla idi kalman laeng.

Nabayag ti panagin-innangawmi. Nagsadag kami ti mandala a nakasango ti bumabbaba nga unit.

“Nagbassit aya ti libong, Inting.”

Awan nangegna kaniak. Intuloyna.

“Malagip mo pay ni Mrs Villamor?’ Nalaing daydi dios-alluadna a maestrami ti literature ti high school

“Malagip mo ti inpamemoriana a berso ni William Blake?”

“Uh….saanko nga malagip, manong.” Nariknak bassit ti mabain, ta apay koma nga malipatak, ket isuna saan?

“Auguries of Innocence, saan kadi?”

Malagipkon. Nalaing a mannurat ni Blake, narigat laeng nga anagen ti pilosopiana maipuon ti panagbiag. Fundamentalist a makuna ni Blake.

Ni-recite ni manong iti maysa nga naadaw nga berso. Kasla umininom a kunada, nalawag ken naur-nos.

“Sarming ti lubong ket maysa a bag-giing laeng,
Ti langit agparang diay ruot nga agsabsabong;
Lawa’t tangatan, ta dakulapmo umanayen,
Ti maysa nga oras patinggana’t agnanayon.”

Insaruno na.

“Sinno ti makaimatang ti lubong, wenno langit babaen dagiti babassit a bambanag a pakakitaan, wenno dagiti simbolo ti panagbiag? Aglalo no kaub-bingan, kabanbannuagan? Anianto ngatan nga maawatam ti patingga ti lubong, ti panagnanayon ti biag?”

Kasla umis-isem daydi diostialluadna a Mrs. Villamor ti abaymi. Nakababan ni Apo Init. Nalabbaga it annaraar na. Nakaawiden dagiti kannaway. Nagaponen dagiti manok diay kakaikaiwan.

Awan iti maibangak. Mariknak ti bain apay a naglibassak idi. Pinanawak da tatang ken ti katsatko. Linuktak ti bentana saak bimmaba ti maysa a parbangon, lima pulo a tawenen ti naglabas.

Tinipedko ti luak. Nagpangressak tapno mabang-arannak. Mailemmengko ti riknak.

Saanen nga intuloy ni manong. Nakadlaw.

Ket intuloyko nga anagen. Nauneg daytoy a kapanunotan.

Narigat awaten ti biag. Isu nga awan ti sardeng ti panagadal. Bag-giing, bato agbalin nga bantay? Ti kabusbusor a ruot, apay a nakapinpintas ti sabongna? No saan nga ukraden ti dakulap kasano ti itutulong? Makigayyem? Makikappia? Apagkanito kadi ti biag tapno ammo tayo ti agraem, ken agpakumbaba? Pumanaw ti biag tapno ituloy dagiti sumarsaruno? Inggana’t kaano?

Kasla mabasbasa ni manong ti pampanunotek.

Kunana. “Maysa a libro ti biag, Inting. Ngen saan a inkapilitan nga napuskol daytoy nga libro. Adda iti pateg ken kinabukel na.”

Itan malagipko ti kuna daidi Santo Papa, John Paul II.

Kunana:

“Daytoy nga lubong nga kadadakelan nga pagadalan tapno mapunuantayo ti kinasarib, ditoy nga maimatangan ti progreso ti sibilisasion, manipud iti kinabaro ti sistema ti panagiwarnak, iggana’t sistema ti wayawaya nga awan tungpalna – daytoy a lubong, uray kaanunto, saanna nga maited ti kapupudnuan a ragsak ti tao.”

Immay ti panagtutudo. Simmaruno ti kalgao. Tinawen a kasta.

Inggana’t immay ti nadagsen ken nangisit nga ulep. Sapasap ti inulesanna. Ulimek ti nagturay. Nabayag nga naawan ni Apo Init.

Napintas unay nga dengdenggen ti kantakanta nga aggapu’t kuro! Dua kami ni Manong Tonio nga abibiolin idi no dumanon ti Misa Aginaldo. Paspasurutanmi dagiti babbaro ken babbalasang nga agkankanta. Ket daydi Maestro Selmo ti mangiturturong kaniami.

Diay altar maiang-agin ti abbongna nga naburdaan, Ur-urayenka Anakko. Agpaypayapay.

Lukatanyon dagiti bentana tapno sumbrek ti nalamiis nga agin nga aggapu’t daya. Ket bay-an dagiti kandela nga maiddep a saggaisa.

Simbrek ti nalamiis a pul-oy ti panagbannaoag. Dua a medalla ti agbitbitin, agkilkilap, agtintinnupa a kasla kampanilla. Adda iar-arisaasda.

No ti mumalem ket ngumisit ken lumabbaga ti Laud, ken bumabbaba ti ulep a sabaten ti sipnget, istoria-en dagiti lalakay ken babbaket nga makita iti aninag ti dua a tao nga agin-innarakup diay puon ti dudu-ugan a kamantiris diay turod. Adda met aninag ti tattao diay kataltalonan. Dua a nakasadag ti mandala. Mangged pay kano ti katkatawada. xxx


Buya diay ngato ti poblacion San Vicente. Makita ti daan a simbaan.

UST-AB Photography Review: Capturing Emotions

Abe V Rotor

Even without caption there are photographs such as this that are filled with emotion - feelings and moods often associated with personal experience.

We often observe this scene during passionate moments, when tragedy strikes, on receiving a shocking news, when one has lost hope to live. It could be the opposite: rejoice in the birth of a child, on winning a lottery or a highly contended title, on exchanging vows, on recovery from a serious illness, and the like.

Observance of the Lenten Season brings scenes that offer the artist the opportunity to capture deep personal feelings. Real feelings however, are extremely difficult to capture in photographs and in words. Great skill is needed to be able to succeed. Thus this subject of art in perhaps the most elusive, yet the most challenging. AVR

Crucified Christ, St. Paul University QC Garden.