Here's A Toast To Being Pinoy

On this Independence Day, I would like to take a few moments of my time to introduce to you my paternal grandfather, Ildefonso Santos Sr.

Lolo Ponso was quite old when I met him. Actually, I met him a few months before his death at the age of 87. I was only six. You might now be asking at this point how Lolo Ponso and my somewhat nationalistic blog title is connected. Here's how:

Born in January 23, 1897, Lolo (grandpa in Filipino) was one of two sons to a humble tailor in Baritan, Malabon, Rizal. I remember my father telling me of his love for books, how he emphasized the value of education and how important the Filipino language was to him. In fact, after graduating from the National Teachers College, he became the schools first Professor in Pilipino. He was also credited together with Julian Cruz Balmaceda and Francisco Caballo for writing "O Sintang Lupa" (Beloved Land), the Tagalog translation of the Philippine's national anthem, a precursor to our current "Lupang Hinirang". It was also the official National Anthem in 1948.

For those who took up Philippine Lit at one point, you may also be familiar with some of his works (they tend to pop out every now and then in our Filipino textbooks. I'm not quite sure if he wrote some of these under his pen name Ilaw Silangan (source: Wikipedia):

• Tatlong Inakay (The Three Chicks or Three Young Fowls)
• Gabi (Night)
• Ang Guryon (The Kite)
• Sa Tabi ng Dagat (At The Seaside)
• Ulap at Mangingisda (Cloud and Fisherman) and even some translations of foreign works (the only one of his books that I have at home)
• Ang Rubaiyat ni Omar Khayyam.

It is through these works that I am inspired to write about my thoughts and present through my work, the beauty of the Philippines and how cool it is to be a Pinoy.

From TMW (The Mediocre Wanderer), may all your wanderings, be better than mine. Happy Independence day!

(Note: Lolo Ponso's namesake Ildefonso Paez Santos Jr.  -I.P. Santos for those in the know ( and my Dad's older bro) has been named, by the Philippine government, as one of the Philippines' National Artist in 2006 for his contributions to modern Filipino landscape architecture.)