Lolo Satur and Lola Pinay

Here’s a picture of my mom’s parents, Saturnino Fontecha Farrales and Josefina Labrador Firme. Gorgeous picture right after their wedding, isn’t it? This was taken in 1929 in Manila at Sun Studios. Note the 1920s style flapper dress – straight, loose, bare arms, and indicative of the new woman of that age. The white stockings and bright necklace are classic for the roaring twenties. Lola Pinay was a modern woman, having graduated nursing from the University of the Philippines during the early years soon after the program started. Lolo Satur, then in the U.S. Navy, was home on shore leave. I find it unsettling to see him so young and with a perfect set of two eyes – I’ve always remembered him having one glass eye that he would remove to wash in the sink every morning. Here she was twenty-five years old and he maybe three years older.

Navy men weren’t exactly in the highest echelons of society even in small town San Narciso because they didn’t go to college. This despite the steady income.

The story is that lolo was home for shore leave and staying in Manila with some Farrales relatives. Inang (although that’s mother for Ilocano, that’s what we grandkids called her) was staying in the same compound because she was related to the in-laws (Madarang). She already finished nursing and was working. It was raining that day when lolo offered to pick up inang from work using a karitela (single horse-drawn carriage with two wheels). She was surprised. Because of the rain the driver put up a partition between him and the passengers to cover them, and lolo promptly… kissed her. Nadadael ti dayaw (ruined virtue), so they had to get married.

Fast forward one year and mom appears, then five years later Auntie Luz appears, the time difference between them a function of the shore leave interval. Uncle Jovelo appeared twelve years later because of the war.

So there you have it, brothers, sisters, cousins, kids, nieces and nephews – you’re all here because of someone’s ruined virtue!