Ibaan

I have many fond memories here when I was a kid.

Every December 30, Rizal Day, it coincides with the town "fiesta" or anniversary. So from our place in Mandaluyong, my family goes there to eat, drink "kapeng barako" (Batangas coffee), and sleep there overnight and go home on December 31, just in time for New Year's Eve.

Ibaan is a small town in Batangas City, a little farther than Lipa and Cuenca. There's no resort to speak of, no tourist attraction that makes you want to come back for it. It is not as popular as Nasugbu or Lipa since there's really no activity there. Still, there's no place like Ibaan.

I remember when me and my cousins were still kids, we behaved like  brats. And we bully the local boys there as if we have a swagger in us. Those were the days. How I wish that we behaved well back then.

It was there, as a kid, when I first witnessed live how the "experts" kill a calf or a pig. Maybe at that time, my curiosity got the better of me back then instead of shying away from such "grossly" and "gruesome" act done to mammals.

I must admit that even though Ibaan is not known for tourist-like places, Ibaan is known for good food if you are a meat lover. I always look forward going there every town fiesta to savor the meals that our "lola" prepares for us. There's longganisa, dinuguan, adobo, apritada, kaldereta and lately they coined this word, "kaldorobo", a mix of kaldereta and adobo. I also remember picking up some "coffee beans" from the trees in the backyard and starbucks was not a household name yet.

What makes the place special is that my "lolo" used to be a town mayor during the time of President Magsaysay. I learned that it was my "lolo" who was responsible for providing adequate water supply in the whole of Ibaan. And now decades after his death, the street where my mother's ancestral home is located is renamed after my lolo's name. During my lolo's political reign, corruption is unheard of. And that makes me prouder to be one of his grandchildren.

I wish I could relive the days when all the families from my mother side flock there to celebrate the town anniversary. Those were one of the happiest moments of my childhood days.

But now I have come to grips with reality. My mother's ancestral home is no longer livable and soon a new owner will take its place.

Goodbye Ibaan. Thank you for the memories. You will forever live in my heart.