the guitar

This guitar is owned by an Asinganian who visited us about 3 decades ago. Her family name is Villanueva. Her first name? Either Aida or Aurora. I met one of them around 1960 when there was still an RCA ( Rice and Corn Admistration ) depot at the back of our house.

This was a government program of the old Macapagal administration when they sold rice to consumers at an affordable price. The government bought palay, polished it, and sold the rice through this national agency.

The building at the back of our house, which formerly housed the Asingan Theatre was converted into an RCA warehouse, complete with an office and a few personnel. The warehouse manager was a Mr. Tabayoyong from Laoac, and he was responsible to the Mayor Sison of Urdaneta during those years..

Anyway, the RCA served the Asingan people for a while. Several times, a long queue would form at the door of the warehouse waiting for it to open, hoping to buy rice which was rationed ( a few gantas at a time) .

Like any governement agency, all daily sales were recorded on a log book ( in triplicate ) to be submitted to a higher office. Mr. Tabayoyong, the ware house manager, appointed my mom to be the secretary in charge of this hectic and boring job of writing out the receipts and other required papers. My mom and he were relatives, since both of them are from Laoac.

During a church picnic in the Agno river in Sanchez, I met a lady there. She is one of the Villanueva sisters. She is from Dupac. She told me she also works for the agency in Urdaneta. which is a bigger branch. She told me she has a younger sister. My problem now is how to figure out who is Aida and who is Aurora. Anyway, from this picnic episode, we fast forward to several years later..

I was already residing in Toronto for just a few years when my sister- in - law, May Hufana ( younger sister of Miggie ) paid us a visit . She came with a companion, a Filipina nun. She is the other Villanueva sister. Miss Villanueva came to Canada on a visitor's visa since some members of a Religious Order can easily get an entrance visa.

So upon their arrival Miss Villanueva told me she has a sister who worked for the RCA at one time. The information brought me back to that church picnic in Sanchez. She was not wearing a nun's habit. And she was carrying this guitar.

She said she wanted to leavethe instrument with me so she won't be lugging it around in her walks with my sister in law. Both are tourists and they wanted to see as many people and visit as many places possible in a few days' time. She is going back to the Philippines after a few days via Seattle ( the home base of my sis-in-law). She told me she is picking up her guitar before she leaves Toronto.

Well you can tell what happened next. She did not pick it up. I can not remember whether she called or not, but she left her guitar with me..

Since I played the guitar a little bit ( just to accompany singers ) then it was a heaven sent gift ( literally because the last owner was a nun ). I never heard from her anymore up to the present.

But I made use of the guitar extensively at the St. John the Evangelist church. I was already a music volunteer then, and frequently, I used the guitar to accompany certain folk mass songs ( like songs by the MEDICAL MISSION SISTERS from PHILADELPHIA which were quite popular in the Philippines during the 60s. ).

I took care of the guitar. It first arrived inside a homemade sack with a cord for opening and closing up. Several years later, I saw a Gibson guitar case on sale at a Toronto music store and I bought it because I need it to transport the guitar to church. The guitar served several years in Sunday religious services and community get togethers.

My two daughters sang with me for several years, starting when they were young. They sang many of the Medical Mission Sisters hymns we learned from their long playing record. Vinyls were still in extensive use then.

Now my two daughters are married. Michelle have three daughters. She lives in Toronto and my other one, Berna lives in Ottawa. Michelle's eldest daughter is Mia, and she is musically inclined too. She and her younger sister Emma, picked up where her Mom and her sister Berna left in their music service at church. Mia and Emma became church singers too, accompanying me in my music service for the same church..

Last year, I lent the guitar to Mia, now 16, because there are too many guitars in our house. She do not know how then to play the instrument. But she took it anyway.

Within one year, she was able to learn how to play the guitar. I found out later as she showed me her new skill. She knows how to strum the different chords ( major, minor, augmented, etc. ) and she can do a bit of plucking.

"How did you learn how to play?" I asked her.

"Through the computer," she said. Then she she went to Youtube and showed me the several videos that provided lessons in guitar playing.

Last week, she told me she bought her own guitar. "Why," I asked. "Don't you like my guitar?"

"No, not that. It is a beautiful guitar." Indeed it is. It is crafted in Cebu, Philippines. "But I want to have my own. And besides that guitar belongs to you.." I said to myself, not really. It belongs to a Ms. Villanueva from Asingan.

Yesterday, we attended the first birthday party of her youngest sister, Isabella ( or Bella for short ). When they sang the happy birthday song, Bella was also singing. In baby language, of course.

After the party, Mia gave me back the guitar. It is still in mint condition, even if she used it extensively for her lessons. I am so happy to play it again in my house. I could use it in my current volunteer work for the Seniors.

This guitar travelled a long way musically and spiritually, in my hands and in my grandaughter's hands.---#