An ode to my hometown of Kawit, Cavite (formerly known as Cavite el Viejo) the suite consists of 12 movements named after the town’s barrios. The first two movements, Poblacion and Marulas, are barrios I spent a lot of time riding my bike to from our house in Gahak. These were also the streets where Filipinos first raised their flag and defiantly declared independence from Spain in 1898. These areas are now the Aguinaldo Shrine and Park, named after the general who led the independence movement.
These areas are now unrecognizable from what I remember in the seventies. It is surrounded by major highways, quite congested and no longer feels like a province. Not a conducive place to bike for an 11-year-old that’s for sure. Kawit being a coastal town, I remember rows upon rows of stalls where fresh oysters were sold in buckets made of sawali, caught from the water just behind them. Manileños were known to drive to Cavite just for these stalls. Sadly, these areas are now esteros – polluted and undrained standing water. This is just one of the many changes that highlighted the dissonance between what I remember and what is now the reality.
So, yes Cavite el Viejo is a dreamy ode to what’s no longer there. An area that exist only in my mind. And I hope to post more of these discordant scenarios when I post the other movements in the next few weeks/months. Some are unfinished and I’m continually working on. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the music.
1 comment
U shd be doing more to revive Filipinos love for country. Bonifacio used to say walang pag ibig PA ang hihigit Kaya sa pagkadalisay at pagka dakila kundi pag ibig sa tinubuang lupa. Love of country is merely a phrase now. I don’t know what is being taught i by deped now. Love of country can be seen on how communities help via pantries But more than this, love can be seen by not taking advantage of the weakness of others, allowing others to take away what is lawfully ours which was purchased by blood of our ancestors.