Sonny C. BellezaWest Covina, CA
For Cita and I, visiting our beloved hometown in Laguna is a must. We left Manila early in the morning. Before leaving for our destination, I texted Mina, a niece and Ate’s (my Auntie’s) overseer of the houses, that we will be in Cavinti before lunch time.
Upon seeing our ancestral home, memoirs of my childood days flashed back into my mind. The jackfruit tree in front of the house which our late Nanay Isiang had always wanted and used to cut down but failed, was laden with fruits. Had I known beforehand that there were many young jackfruits, I should have informed Mina to prepare some “ginatang langka,” too, for lunch.
However, Mina served us a typical Cavinti meal for lunch. There were “pinais,” “tinuto,” “nilagang karne with kamoteng kahoy,” and “pritong tilapya.” What a sumptous meal we had!
And our long-time-no-see relatives and friends were there
to meet us: Ate Bebi & Kuya Ben, Jingjing and her children, Pening, Louie, Ate Delia and Kuya Tuding from Canada, Eman, Felino, Kuya Ely and of course, Mina’s family. It was a happy reunion. How I wish we could stay longer, but we had to return to Manila to avoid the heavy traffic during the late afternoon rush hours.
