Pila

Scheduled for the Easter holidays but postponed due to lack of participants, the heritage tour excursion to Pila (Laguna) finally happened one week later. Last Saturday, a group of Batch63 guys took to the road and headed for Pila in four cars. Manny R, Gabby and Pam, Jackie and Marilou, Gary and Lita, Oni and Bili, Lito Q, and Boy Charles more than comprised the required minimum number required for the tour. In addition, kin and friends joined Batch63 in the adventure. These were Jackie’s sister and brod-in-law (Maricris and Ernest) and Gary’s friend (Boy del Rosario with trip partner Baby Obrien). 

Prodded by the Wednesday Kapihan small group, Manny helped the tour get organized from Manila since he is from Pila. Manny’s cousin, Cora Relova (prominent heritage advocate for the town), was however the tour guru once the group reached Pila. Pila was a revelation. Its plaza setting contained the old church and many turn-of-the-century ancestral houses around it. This plaza block clearly illustrated the typical “Law of the Indies” town planning concept utilized by the Spanish colonialist. 

The vintage houses were mostly owned by Manny’s family. The crypts at the old church had mainly Relova (and Rivera) names. One crypt marker depicted the typical religious initials “D.O.M.” atop a Relova name. The Batch felt this was an apt heading over Manny’s name should he also be interred in the church walls some time. 

The ancestral houses were vintage 1900 Philippine colonial houses. Original furniture graced the houses. Intricate callados were everywhere. One foyer had a Kraut stained glass piece. The tour proved to be not only visually pleasing but was also a gastronomic success. The arrival repast at one of the ancestral houses consisted of Laguna’s best delicacies (suman, maja blanca, espasol, etc) while the lunch at Cora’s farm house introduced unique tasty Tagalog cuisine (the sauce for the fresh vegetables was blended with the santol fruit). 

Cora Relova proved to be the quintessential hostess as she pampered the visitors from Manila. The group should have left mid-afternoon but this departure stretched out for several hours since the members of the group (particularly the wives) placed orders for Laguna delicacies to take home. Shamelessly, the group also took home leftovers from the lunch (Gary cornered the Leche Flan). Clearly, The group enjoyed the day (despite bad Calamba and Los Banos traffic) and vowed to do another tour soon. 

See slide show for more photos.

DLS Homecoming 2014

Greetings! 

During the Grand Kapihan last Wednesday, the participation of Batch63 in the 2014 Homecoming project was broached.  A need to organize for the work was deemed necessary and a call for organizers was made. Last Monday, six from Batch63 met at Chukker Resto at Polo.  During that meeting a homecoming Project Team composed of the six was formalized.  The Team (see photo) discussed the possibilities and agreed to proceed with the project development on the basis of the following policy guidelines: 

1. The Taft stage presentation originally recommended by the Batch's class reps to DLSAA will NOT be implemented. The majority of the project team feels that the effort to mobilize for the show is too much to do considering the given time frame for preparation. The main activity of the Batch will instead be to hold a private party that will feature dancing and karaoke numbers to spice up the fellowship event.  The details for this activity is currently being finalized by the team. 

3. A damage per participant shall be levied for the Bienvenida party.  However Batch63 funds held in trust by Gary Salcedo may be tapped to support the project as needed.

Expect further details about this 2014 homecoming project in the future. The project team will be led by the Team Leader, Baby Angeles. Working committees were defined and created.  Tasked for the various works are Vic Romero (venue, food and music), Vince Misa (reception), Bambi Goco (guests and program) and Gary Salcedo (treasury and finance). Joey Estagle will continue to coordinate with the DLSAA for alumni matters. The Batch is enjoined to provide Baby with all your support so that we can have a successful event once more.

For any questions or suggestions, you may direct these to Babes Angeles.  

Onimayo

DLS Homecoming 2014

After a long while, the Menagerie is back for the moment. As we know, the annual DLS homecoming is nigh and Batch63 is seeking to support the successful implementation of the homecoming. 

Last Saturday, the DLSAA held their much delayed organizational meeting at the Board Room of the La Salle Taft campus. Joey Estagle and Oni Mayo attended for Batch63. Bong Africa and Tony Atayde led the appeal for the ‘golden’ batches to already submit their plans for their stage presentations. Batch64 is the major celebrant but unfortunately, did not have a representative in the meeting. This led to a concern that the stage shows traditional to the homecoming may not be as entertaining or grand. Batch63 is not among the accredited major celebrants for the night, but they were granted the privilege to also mount the stage if they wish. Of course, this is premised on the Batch’s ability to make a good presentation. (Was it because of last year’s exuberant Batch63 effort?) 

 Joey and Oni agreed to pose the opportunity to the Batch. A quick decision should be made by Batch63 since an official script is required for the presentation which is now only a month away. Whereas the Batch is not a major celebrating batch, and the time for preparation is brief, a short presentation that will once again highlight what is unique to Batch63 was deemed appropriate. It is however the idea that the presentation should be a bit organized in its implementation. While Batch63 should have fun doing it, we should not forget that there is an audience who should be entertained and not bored nor made to be tolerant of amateurish miscues on stage. 

The project will be led by Joey Estagle. Oni Mayo shall oversee the show details including the preparation of the script of the show. Initially a show idea that seems feasible is conjured. A small core group from Batch63 (minimum 6 pairs) who will dance on stage with their wives is required. The minimum requirement from the core group is that they will commit themselves to all official rehearsals and ensure their presence during the homecoming in March. For those who will not have time to rehearse, there will be a part of the presentation where all Batch63 present in the reunion will come up on stage for group singing. For those interested, please indicate your availability to Joey Estagle.

If the group is up to it, the decision to commit ourselves to the homecoming presentation can be made. At that time, we shall send out more details of the whats and hows of our presentation. Hasta la vista, amigos. See you at the Kapihan.


See slide show for more photos.