Oyen hasn’t been to Divisoria. Everytime she hears Divi, she would always remind me to bring her. A few times we made plans but there’s always some important things to do so I never got to bring her to the shopping mecca in Manila.
(photo taken on friday, November 30, 2012)
I was exposed to the hustle and bustle in Divisoria at a very young age. I have seen my parents in action. As soon as we reached Divisoria, my father would bring my mom to Tabora and leave her there so he could buy his stuff. I would follow my mom while she weaves thru the narrow alleys. “Suki, Ano ang hanap mo?” I hated it when she leaves me behind at her suking tinadahan for 2 or 3 hours while she finished her buying. I would cry from boredom and restlessness.
My parents, Ka Felicing and Ka Cardo, both hardworking and enterprising, regularly bought their merchandise from Divisoria. My father traded rice, sugar, bought “darak” for his piggery, corn for his poultry. He bought drums of flour, milk, sugar, sacks of mongo, beans, pinipig, popsicle sticks, plastic containers, wrapping papers, and other supplies and ingredients for our ice candy factory. My mom would go every two weeks to buy her fabrics, beads, sequins, flower girl baskets, ribbons, silk flowers, crystal crowns, etc. for her bridal gown rental business. She also bought items for her mini gift shop- glasswares, dinner plates, dessert plates, cups and saucers, gift wrappers, fabrics, hand gloves, bags, slippers, etc.
I would sit on a tall wooden stool, tired, hot, hungry and thirsty. I didn’t have any money. I would just wait impatiently for my parents. Like a digital clock, my father would suddenly appear at the strike of 12 and fetch my mom from the store where she left me.
“Ma, nauuhaw ako”.
“Mamaya na. kakain na tayo”.
We would walk several blocks to where my father parked his vehicle.
Sometimes we would ride a caritela to bring us to Ongpin.
(photo taken on November 30, 2012)
Going to Chinatown and to have lunch in Peace Panciteria is always the highlight of their trip to Manila, The fine dining restaurant that’s witness to some of our family’s celebrations like Kuya Junior’s graduation from UST and when Kuya Lito passed the board exam. Not all our trips to Peace Panciteria were happy. I remember we went there for lunch but I knew my parents were having some money problems (mahina ang negosyo), when my father ordered our food, we only had rice, hototay and pancit, nothing else. No 7-up and lumpiang shanghai.
I wonder if that pre-war building is still there. It’s one block from Ongpin Street, just over the bridge. If I remember it right, there’s a Peace Hotel above it. I want to go one of this days to check it out. If it’s still there, siguro I would both feel happy and sad. Happy because the memories of our past are still there. Sad because I wish my parents were still alive. I would bring them there and wan-to-sawa ang order. Kahit isang kawang lumpiang shanghai, at may take out pa.
From here, we would always proceed to the house of Justice Benjing Capili in Carola Street, Sampaloc, to visit my brothers who were all studying at the University of Santo Tomas (UST). My parents would stay for about an hour and head home. We would arrive in Binangonan before dark. By 8 pm, my parents would be standing at the door, waiting for their goods to be delivered by the truckers of Ka ILustre. If by 9 or 10 the goods haven’t arrived, my father would walk two blocks to the garage of Ka Ilustre to check what happened to his goods. A few times, the truckers failed to load the merchandise he bought from Divisoria. He would be so worried that his merchandise would be lost.
