The Bridges of Stotsenburg
A lot of people are fooled by the name of our street –
Stotsenburg st. Indeed, it sounds like a street inside a subdivision. From what
my uncle told me, it was taken from the last name of an American Officer, a
pilot, if I remembered right. However, when I was born in 1982 and while I was
growing up, how the place looked is definitely far from how it sounded like.
Stotsenburg st. is not fully concrete. Actually, it should
have been called Stotsenburg half street. Half of it is concrete while the
other half is a creek. People who have their houses on the opposite side of
ours have to build wooden bridges so they can cross to the actual street. In
these bridges, the creativity and resourcefulness of the people living in each
house are seen. I can still remember my Ninong Cris’ bridge which is perhaps
the safest. It is made of two planks of wood, each wider than most of the
bridges in our place. I can also remember Mang Juanito’s bridge which is a bit
narrow. We have to brave it so we can buy his one peso Indian mangoes and ask
him for additional “bagoong” or shrimp paste. I can also remember Aling
Victoria’s bridge. It is the second widest bridge next to Ninong Cris’. Of
course, I will never forget Aling Lilia’s. It was a tiny one which is attached
to Aling Victoria’s bridge. It shows how practical Aling Lilia is.
The creek played a major role in each resident of
Stotsenburg St.’s life. One has to fall to the creek before he or she is
recognized as an official “batang sapa” or child of the creek. We call the
falling process “baptism”. This happens in random – at the right place at the
right time. No one knows when they will be “called” by the creek. A friend experienced
it when her jump fell short. A cousin experienced it when we were running in
the streets one evening and I stepped on his slipper. I experienced it when I
was playing tag with my friends and somebody shoved me out of his way while we
were standing on Mang Juanito’s bridge.
These bridges served a lot of purposes aside from the
obvious. It was also used as the finish line of swimming races whenever it
rains too hard and floods. It also served as a gigantic toilet for little kids.
I know some people who were “baptized” while doing their “dirty” business.
We lived in a two-storey wooden house. On the first floor,
there is the living room which features the black and white tube television
which has its own wooden house. Our “sari-sari” or variety store is also there.
It also holds the dining room, separated from the living room by a wooden
divider which holds diplomas and wood laminated family pictures. It also holds
our bathroom with a large blue drum inside, or was it green? I can also
remember that the shower works.
On the second floor, there are two bedrooms separated by
thin plywood. It also holds a stock room. I love the stockroom. It is like a
Filipino version of an American attic. It is like a big treasure chest although
it smelled of rust and papers. I can still remember how I felt when I found a
bike. It does not have wheels, it was rusty, and there are some broken parts. I
convinced my father to fix it for me and he did! It became my best friend for
quite a while and I was told that it belonged to my father, passed on to his
younger siblings when they were kids. My aunt, their eldest, never had time for
it.
Every morning, when I wake up, I would call my younger
cousin and we would go to Aling Cora’s. Aling Cora sells a wide variety of
breakfast. Sometimes we would try the porridge or the macaroni soup but more
often, we buy the two-peso champorado. If we have money, we add a peso for
extra milk. We never bought pancit bihon, pancit canton, spaghetti, or palabok.
We believe that those are for old people since those are expensive. Each order
costs five pesos.
What I love most about our place is how everybody is united.
I remember how a burglar was caught by one of the residents. He shouted and
every man from each house went out to help. They captured the burglar and he
was turned in; not before he got a punch or two, though. When the stealing
started, a lot of those men lost sleep because they had to stay up to catch the
perpetrator. He must have known that he had it coming.
I also remember Fiesta, Christmas Eve, and New Year’s Eve –
Stotsenburg Style. Without much preparation, some of the well-to-do residents
would go out and host some games for the kids. They host some games for the
adults too. I remember that it was here where I first witnessed the beer
drinking game for moms – using a drinking straw. The beers were not cold too. I
can just imagine how it tasted. Then, everyone would bring out tables and food
and we would eat together with all our neighbors. Of course, drinking will
follow and it makes dancing a lot easier and more fun!
Aside of being a “batang sapa”, I was also a “batang
kankaloo”. Kankaloo means “Kalookan” which was how the city name was spelled
before Rey Malonzo was elected and changed the spelling to Caloocan as his
first official action as a mayor. One of the highlights of being a “batang
Kankaloo” is witnessing the Flores de Mayo of the Stars. Each year, the
Kalookan City government hosts a Flores de Mayo wherein the participants are
celebrities. I remember watching the parade for the first time and seeing
Manilyn Reynes, Janno Gibbs, Kristina Paner, Cris Villanueva, and a lot of
other celebrities. I remember being star struck when I saw the Reyna Emperatriz
who is Cristina Gonzales and the Reyna Elena who is no less than Ms. Dawn
Zulueta.
Back then, Caloocan City had Ever Gotesco as its mall. I
remember the good old days when they would have a mascot show outside the mall,
on a platform outside the second level of Ever a few days before Christmas. My
family would go there and my father will let me sit on his shoulders so that I
will be able to see the show. I also remember my aunt working there as a
saleslady. When we went there to buy my school bag, she was assigned to be the
bagger in one of the counters and my mom took me there to pay for the bag. When
I called her “miss” as my mom instructed me to do, she put her finger on her
lips as if to shush me off and then winked at me. I do not understand why she
did that even now.
After a few years, Ever Gotesco Grand Central was built. It
also played a big role in the lives of Caloocan City Residents. I remember the
McDonald’s with stools inside a bus, in the middle of the restaurant. I
remember the Penshoppe boutique where I usually buy my clothes and the Blowing
Bubbles boutique where I saw Ruffa Guttierez and Zoren Legaspi on its opening
day. I remember Gift Gate where I used to buy trolls and Kero Keroppi items.
Inside it is a shelf full of Swatch watches that I dream of owning. I remember
A&W restaurant where my cousin celebrated her 7th birthday. I
remember the 40-peso movie tickets where I watched my first movie, Fido Dida,
with my father.
Before the new millennium, the Asistio brothers, with Boy as
the mayor and Baby as the congressman provided funds and the creek was turned
into a road – a higher and wider one. It marked a new age for our street. The
creek was gone. No one will be baptized as a “batang sapa” anymore.
Kalookan is now Caloocan. Mayor Boy Asistio appealed for a
recall election. It was approved but Rey Malonzo emerged as the rightful mayor.
The park in front of Caloocan City Hall is gone. It was replaced by commercial
spaces.
Ever Gotesco lost its glamour when Ever Gotesco Grand
Central opened. My cousin and I still went there once a week, after school, as
if paying respect. Now, it was turned to SM Hypermart.
Ever Gotesco Grand Central was burned down just a couple of
years ago. When I went back for a visit, I was deeply saddened as I remember
the times I spent there with my family and with my friends.
A lot of changes took place. However, when I visited
Stotsenburg St., it’s as if nothing has changed. I saw the same smiles, I heard
the same laughter, I saw the same twinkle in the new generation kids’ eyes.
There was a lot of chatting. There were lots of embraces. There was the usual
teasing. I still felt the warmth. It is still my home no matter where I go.
