Aiming High This Fiesta

It's Fiesta time in Gagalangin! What fascinates me till this time is the inscription in every arch put up barangays at the entrance to their street/s: "Alay sa Mahal na Poong San Jose". I am struggling to find its exact translation for it has a poetic tenor that can't find a justifiable translation.

I remember one parish priest who used to address our patron as Señor San Jose. This seem didn't sit well with most parishioners as they continued to use the traditional inscription. It didn't sit well perhaps because of the word's connotation - it sounded foreign, it sounded Spanish in a town used to be a suburb inhabited by farmers who, I suppose, may have also been Katipuneros. (Gagalangin isn't far from the proper Tondo where the Katipunan was once located.) It didn't sound Gagalangineño.

"Mahal na Poong San Jose" is equivalent to "Apo San Jose" in Ilocano. Both "Poon" and "Apo" are titles used for elderly people or those in position. (Both words are similar to "lord", "lady", "sir", or "madam" in the English language, however I don't remember us addressing saints as such.) Needless to say, St Joseph holds the esteemed positions of husband of Our Lady, foster father of Jesus, and patron of Gagalangin.

In our parish celebration, let us once again thank God for the many blessings Gagalangin has received. Let us honor Mahal na Poong San Jose for always being there to interceded for us. Let us pray that we may always strive to be like him so that we may reap that "galang" (respect) from both God and men.

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Welcome to God's big family, Jasper Asher Basalo, my latest "inaanak" (godson) who was baptised on the 16th which coincided with his 1st birthday. Well done to his parents Jhun and Edelyn!

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Many happy returns to Guian Paolo Albano Axibal, my nephew and godson, whose 7th birthday is on the 18th. Guian, along with his younger brother Luigi, will be studying in Letran Manila this June - the third generation of Albano Letranites!

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Happy 2nd birthday to Nadine Sulit, another inaanak (my first goddaughter here in the UK!) on the 19th!

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Maligayang bati goes to my cousin Fides Samaniego-Santiago on her natal day on the 22nd! Take good care of yourself, Groovie, Sam, and Robbie!

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I'll turn 33 this Sunday and would like to thank the Lord for the year that will be gone and the one that is to come. I'd like to thank everyone else who have supported me all the way. My challenge to myself as I begin a new chapter in life is: "Aim high!" (Frank Horrigan as portrayed by Clint Eastwood in the movie "In the Line of Fire").