Where in the world is San Narciso?

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Where in the world is this town anyway?

About sixty miles northwest of Manila is the coastal town of San Narciso. The South China Sea borders it to the west. The Philippines is divided into three geographical regions – Luzon, Vizayas, and Mindanao, with Luzon being the northernmost island and where San Narciso is. Subic Bay and Olongapo are only twenty miles away, although as a kid that drive seemed to take ages. Before they left, the large presence of Americans in the Subic Naval Base and the Angeles Air Force Base led to a relatively large number of Filipinos from that area, including San Narciso, serving in the U.S. military or working as civilians in the bases. My dad was one of them. There’s a rich history of Americans in the area that dates back to before WWII.

To the south of San Narciso is San Antonio, where there used to be a small U.S. naval base. More on that in the book and perhaps in another blog entry. To the north is San Felipe. I think the Spaniards have plenty more saints than towns and that’s why they weren’t afraid to use them all.



The three mile trip to San Felipe used to mean the karitela. In the photo is a karitela (no, not the karitela referred to in the second blog entry that led to Nadadael ti dayaw ) that lola Pinay and mom used for going to San Felipe. Lolo Satur, after all, came from San Felipe. It was Lola Pinay who was from San Narciso. This karitela, horse and cart, was purchased by lolo Satur for his brothers to make a living. Mom here is three months old. To the right is one of her cousins from the Cava side, and to the left is lola Emilia Firme.

The Makolkol river had to be crossed to get to San Felipe. I have fond memories of swimming in the river with my siblings and cousins and of one particular event that lola Aurea (again, more on her later) sponsored – a kite derby at the Makolkol. I had never seen such fancy kites before then. I haven’t seen the Makolkol after Pinatubo erupted, but my understanding is that it became a path for the lahar, the muddy volcanic ash and debris, to flow out to sea. The eruption is what finally drove out the U.S. military from the area.