It is April, high summer in the Philippines when local and foreign tourists swamp Baguio City and the rest of Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), looking for that “elusive dream” that nowhere and less can they find it on their home soils or stomping grounds.
For the locals happily called “taga Baguio,” wenno “Taga Trinidad,” wenno “Taga Cordillera,” however, April to them is, sun on the waters, their reason escaping towards lowland beaches and the air breathes with simulating energy; the plants well their buds, blow and expand their leaves, wooing even the jaded eyes and rubbing on the soul with beauty and perfume.
Life stirs; its wings soar, its fins frolic, glancing from out of every streamlet gurgling with water and the voices of the birds warble at the groves. While children of all sizes sport upon the springing grass with shouts of innocent delight and youth is fired up with animation as their gazes speak deeper meaning.
April to budding Cordillera maidens is rosy flush of their cheeks, filled with purer flushing from every motion of their faces which is the pure envy of tourist and other visitor females who wonder no end why their cheeks have never inherited that “Cordilleran ladies’ rosy cheek color” that goads bachelors to fantasize about courtship – if only for the sake of rosy cheeks and nothing else.
Marking the second quarter of the year, April is a propitious season passing through as Cordillera vegetable lands look green and bountiful as in the days of its pristine clarity. Vegetable lands are ready for the vegetable gatherers and the lands will soon change to golden hue, bidding the reapers to prepare for another plowing of the fields.
But alas, April also brings to mind that if for one misstep of carelessness among residents, the deadly threat of fire that can consume anything with savage fury, hence a reminder to all to take fire seriously and focus on fire prevention. For fire is a good servant but a very bad master.
As April’s first week comes creeping in, The Boundless Might that rules all living creatures holds sway. In humans beseeching for His Mercy, April’s first week now feeds upon a flame that feeds the heart – called Holy Week or Passion Week.
This is the season when her pages of wonders are widely spread out, on which the finger of the Almighty has everywhere inscribed in his Omnipotence, goodness and wisdom.
It is the season of life to which the Holy Week is the most corresponding and which it becomes and much it would profit you, fine readers, to mark the instructions which the Passion week brings as we have entered another summer of our beings this year.
Daily Laborer, who confesses with humility that he skips going to church one too many he could not already remember, still believes that during this Holy Week, there is yet a season for stillness or solitude which Almighty’s Grace affords us and which we may meditate upon the past and the future and repose ourselves for change.
For this Holy Week, while the shadowy valley opens which leads anyone’s meditation again to the abode of death to the Garden of Golgotha to a tomb which has never been used but later needed by the Son of the Mightiest who was mercilessly strung on a cross, as the Gospel of St. John reveals, yet it still speaks of that love which can comfort and save and which can conduct us to green pastures and still waters where there, there is an eternal spring for every child of God, so the Bible assures.
As the searching human spirit of every Cordilleran and visitor’s blends with the attractive charms of the glad, yet solemn season with rejoicing, that will draw pure draughts from the unfathomed well at Wisdom’s Shrine of the Cross and nurse the never dying lamp that burns brighter and brighter as ages roll on.
Perhaps, what Holy Week to the average Cordilleran and visitor, is, trusting in Him who giveth in His Mercy, joy or pains and appreciates with thankfulness every morning light from its crimson rest, upon awakening. When cheerful sounds, borne upon fresh winds, whisper to every Cordilleran and visitor to resume labor with better zest, gladness and honesty while bright dreams leap from rock to glen. Then, there is hope for everyone, probably including Daily Laborer. And that is the beauty of life.
Speaking about beauty, Daily Laborer had observed (he could be wrong) that during the period of April, some of our local and very pretty females, (now, ladies, don’t get hot under the collar at Daily Laborer poking a little fun at the fairer sex. Remember, he made two serous articles about women in the past issues of Herald Express, so, please, pretty please, be kind to him, if just for once this Holy Week) seem to wear a variety of characters, such as the gay, the frolicsome, the grave, etcetera.
Daily Laborer shared his observation to Olzi Nangayan, who, because he had built a house in La Trinidad, Benguet and another in Baguio City, is in a quandary where he should permanently reside; nonetheless, he is a keen observer on humans which he claims is his new and “exciting” job now that he has retired from his engineering work in the private sector.
Nangayan readily concurred to Daily Laborer’s observation, explaining further that during this lively April season of Cordilleran life place with varying visitors, it’s but necessary for Cordilleran maidens to carry this idea of presenting a variety of characters yet further by analogy because Cordilleran males, although they are more in numbers than the females, are quite timid.
“And you have recently written about statistics of males outnumbering females in Cordillera, remember? “Nangayan reminded the Daily Laborer.
“Well, if I did, what has that got to do with Cordillera maidens presenting this April a variety of characters,” Daily Laborer shot back.
“Do you know the reason why many Cordilleran males end up along the lonely trail of bachelorship or ba-ak life?” Nangayan asked. Daily Laborer shook his head in the negative.
Nangayan cleared his throat and speaking like he earned a PhD on Sociology said, “Our Cordilleran maidens, outnumbered as they are by Cordillerans males, know for a fact that many males here in Cordillera cannot be depended upon when it comes to the subject on courtship because our males are shy mango,” (an Ibaloi term that bespeaks about shyness).
“Our unmarried women cannot just go on waiting and waiting until there will be any who will court them while our males are undecided whether to court or not. The unmarried women will just grow old waiting and waiting for nothing.”
There’s this common fun among Cordilleran residents that Benguet folks and some folks in other provinces in Cordillera are, by nature, “shy,” kuno!
Now, Daily Laborer, who happens to have hundreds of E-Benguet friends, jumped to their defense and insisted by asking, “But what has that got to do with the unmarried females presenting a variety of characters this lovely part of April, eh?”
Daily Laborer and Nangayan, the former who is also from Benguet, happened to be sitting at a grassy place far from houses at sitio Lablab, barangay Camp Four, Kennon Road, Tuba municipality when their conversation occurred last week. Instead of answering directly, Nangayan produced a pouch from his jacket.
From it, Nangayan produced a nut, a leaf and lime and offered the same to Daily Laborer. Folding these into wads, the two placed these into their mouths, but not before Nangayan peeked around to check if there were officials wandering around. Seeing none, they placed the wads into their mouths and began to chew.
Chewing, Nangayan said, “Regarding your question, Bony, our unmarried women, knowing the folly of waiting for nothing this April from our unmarried males, because this shy mango syndrome having rubbed on other Cordilleran males from other provinces, have decided instead to present a variety of characters this April season for our male visitors or tourists for the chance upon chances to lure them to court them – and let our unmarried Cordilleran males go hang themselves from the nearest trees.”
Daily Laborer retorted by saying, “Are you telling me, in the case of our unmarried but expectant and frustrated ladies, that, if there is their will, there is their way?”
Nangayan immediately answered, “Correct.” Then eying a cockroach that got out from the heaven of a rock nearby, he directed his face towards it and with an expert spat, hit the cockroach like a sniper with his red spittle.
As for Daily Laborer, he has this uncanny fondness of swallowing all the redness of juices of the betel leaf, the betel nut and lime, reason why he never was afflicted by gout or, rheumatism and another reason why when he smiles showing his reddish teeth, some women simply bat their eyelashes and faint, or gravitate towards him.
Seeing the cockroach escape, Nangayan roused himself from the grass where they sat and said, “Let’s get out of here, head to the city and observe how our pretty maidens can charm tourists and visitors in their ways.”
As the aspect of April alters with the change of the year, so does the appearance of the Cordillera unmarried highland lass adapt herself to the time which passes over her.
For as Daily Laborer says, like a rose of Bahong, in La Trinidad, Benguet, our ladies bud, they blow, they bloom, they hope, this month of April, coming as she will.