being a BEREBER

this is the first time in my life that i had understood the power behind my middle name. i never knew how being a BEREBER mattered so much.

the santacruzan was done hours earlier at the public plaza at pontevedra. i am part of that (not a queen of course) as a speaker. they gave me this introduction that flattered me at first ("This beautiful young lady....-i was pretty sure tita wen did that introduction) and then to the nearing end where they said my parents name. the introducer said it like this: she is the daughter of mr. emmanuel encarnacion and ms. cherrylin BEREBER encarnacion. get the point?? emphasis is on BEREBER.

a little background check. Bereber is mom's maiden name. My grandparents (her parents) had been the prominent rich families here in pontevedra (hence, the lifestyle of my mom).

The point is:
prominent=wealth=popularity=status

my grandfather (the late roberto bereber) was one of the most famous lawyers here in pontevedra in his time. he founded the knights of columbus in this place. my grandmother (corona bereber) had been the prncipal of the two schools here. she had been head of the ladies of charity for the longest time imaginable. she did not force her power. she was simply re elected. the both of them together built thsi very large business, the don pablo bereber hacienda. many people work for them, they are active in church, the priests loved them, parties are held in the house daily, and they had been the most powerful in this town. the name held power.

that's why the emcees kept on emphasizing my middle name. for a person like me who had always worked for recognition, THIS is very new. i was again recognized by this seminarian who did the closing remarks. here's what he said, "i would also like to recognize the prezence of our guest speaker stephanie BEREBER encarnacion." notice that this time, they ommitted martina, but still, did not forget to emhasize my middle name.

yes, the name held power, but it had not been that great. when mum was only 12, my randfather died. from then on, the business lied low.o, the family was not reduced from riches to rags. there had been tightening of the belt, tehy still have evrything. but it is not like what it had been before. looking around this house right now, it is still very glorious. no doubt that it is one of the best houses ever. but imagine this place, what it had been at the peak of it's glory. the glory of a BEREBER.

one of the really intriguing love stories ever was my granparents'. lolo was a lawyer, my lola was a teacher. she had been assigned here in pontevedra and during those times, lolo was a playboy. his friend kept telling him, "ikaw gid ya robening, indi ka gid bala kabalo sang kung ano ang babayi nga tama. muna! si corona. ina gid sa ya nang babayi nga dapat!" (you robening, do not know what a good find in a woman is. taht Corona! she is a catch!) until one thiing lead to another and my playboy lola courted ms. perfectionist lola. lolo was even threatened by many other suitors of my lola in mambusao since they think he was all airs. it was a love against the world. they got married in secret. with only their bestfriends knowing, but no matter, in the end, they made the marriage work. up to the death of my lolo and the old age of my lola, she never found anybody else. it had always been my lolo..

love. cliche-d line. love moves in mysterious ways, but i really like the story of my grandparents'. it goes to show that it does no amtter what others think. what's important is this.

the prestige of our name. everytime i go back here, i'll always have it. even if i am not here, it'd always be with me. i'm lucky to be part of this family. not only of the status, but just being with them makes all the difference.