Mama Glo Celebrates Her 80th Birthday

My mother, Mrs Gloria Flores vda. de Santiago (a retired Talakag Central Elementary School teacher), recently celebrated her 80th birthday in Talakag, Bukidnon. The big party was attended by members of her family, relatives and close friends; some of whom have even travelled all the way from England, Austria, USA, Bulacan, Antique, Bohol, Don Carlos, Malaybalay and Cagayan de Oro City.

“Happy 80th Birthday Mama Glo and may you have many more to come!”

Talakag, Bukidnon - My Home

Wherever I may roam
the distant land to see
I long to go back soon
to sweet Bukidnon home.

Her lovely mountains high
her forest old and grand
bring memories to me
the home I long to see.

There my heart, yearns to be
in far away, Bukidnon land
under its blue and starry skies
where love and joy never die.

When you think of Bukidnon, what springs to mind? We all have our own ideas. The word bukid means mountain. So it follows that the word bukidnon means full of mountains, mountainous, or highlands? Bukidnon is a province in the heart of Mindanao and is often called the highland paradise. The province of Bukidnon, of course, is more than just mountains. It is famous for the Kaamulan festival, the cattle and farming industry, being home to Del Monte’s pineapple plantation, and the second home of sugar centrals.

You couldn’t blame me for wanting to move back home to Talakag, Bukidnon. Just read the lyrics of the song above. It says it all. It’s a beautiful song, although I can’t remember who wrote or composed it.

We used to sing the song in our primary class every morning before starting our lessons. It was almost like the provincial anthem (next to Lupang Hinirang which is the national anthem). When I come to think about it now, we were perhaps indoctrinated into a sense of belonging and taking pride of our origin by our educators at that time. I wonder if the school children in Bukidnon still sing the same song these days. Do other provinces in Mindanao have their own song? I do not know - but it should be interesting to find out.

At that time, the song didn’t mean so much to me. Perhaps it’s true that you have to leave home in order to realise what you’re missing. Living and working abroad is challenging and life-enhancing but it’s not easy when you often long for your sweet Bukidnon home. This time I’ve put a lot of thought into each line of the song and recently started humming the tune again. I guess I’m just excited because my husband and I are moving back home to Talakag, Bukidnon soon. There is absolutely nowhere else we would rather be.

Extract from my article in the Mindanao Blog

Photograph by Bob Martin

About Talbuks Cafe

Welcome to Talbuks Cafe - a virtual hang-out where fellow “taga-Talakag”, friends and visitors of Talakag can stop by anytime, from wherever you may be and catch up with some online news/information about Talakag, Bukidnon. I hope to keep this site updated on a regular basis so that you can check out what’s happening in this beautiful town and its people.

The place has changed so much since I left in the 1980s. Now I am looking forward to rediscovering it once again and writing about what it’s like to be living here nowadays. After 25 years of living abroad, I have returned for good and will be sharing my thoughts and experiences about “Life in Talakag Today” through a collection of news, events, photos and stories from a balikbayan's viewpoint.

So that’s most likely what you’ll find in here. Thank you for dropping by and till next time...