Despedida for Bess ATBP

Bess Despedida
Da Bess Silva came to town for a visit and she just gave the CAFAs a one day window to set up a reunion for her.  She was in touched with Rita . . who called Oni . . who in turn advised the CAFA group about the despedida.  And thus, another party!  Those who came were:  Tong and Rita, Pearl and Vic, Oni and Bili, Dinky and Milu, Nore, Rodi, Emi and Fe.  They brought the menu fare for the night which due to the rush organization resulted in 4 types of pancit!

From the start of the party early on at 5PM, it was one continuous banter and merry making. i.e. Food and wine flowing freely.  Kodakan.  Singing of CAFASingers trademark songs. Group discussions.  special discussions (see photo of Emi and Alex for example ).   More Kodakan.  Piano playing (I was agaped - Fe is a pianist who can really read notes!).  Naughty songs (Gusto kong maging . . lastiko!).   Bess providing her alto for the melody line of the Tennessee Babe song.  Tong singing Sound of Silence anew. Republicans versus Democrats issues.  PNoy things. The next CAFA grand reunion (cruise?).  Lots more.

Those who gave notice that they will not come to the despedida were: Hector, Dero and Sam (for Sandy). Although they had valid reasons for not making it, the unforgiving CAFA group feels 'let down'. Hence, these guys initially took the brunt of the sniping and backbiting.   And then Bess' family (daughters and apo) came.  Heading the group was Bess' chill 90 year old Aunt who came in shorts!  (the group came from somewhere and were fetching Bess to go home)

It was close to midnight when the group finally called it a day. Everyone had an enjoyable time that led to more reunions being scheduled.  On February 16 a despedida-karaoke of sorts will be hosted by Fe for Tong and Rita (leaving for their US home shortly after that).  Be sure to bring your M1s for this one.

UP Fund Raising Art Exhibit
Last February 2, Oni and Nor attended an art exhibit at UP Diliman.  Pearl and Vic Ortega were also there at the exhibit.  The exhibitors were 2 senior artists and 2 younger artist with vastly different styles. The raised funds will go towards upgrading the UP Fine Arts building facilities.   It was good to rub elbows with national artists BenCab and Araceli Dans.  After the ribbon cutting, Vic and Oni headed for the tables in the far yard. There the waiters freely served cocktail food and drinks. Good art.  Interesting personalities.  UP colleagues.  Free food.  What more can one ask for?





See slide show for more photos.

The Big Seven

The CAFAs came out in force to see Oni off at the start of the new decade in his life. The Balikbayans were  Tong and Rits, Rodi and Nore.  Old reliables present were Emi, Pearl, Baby, Alex, Hector, Dero, and the trio of Dinky-Milou-Teena.  Extension CAFA members Francis, Titus and Botchi were there too.  The other guests were Oni's family and classmate friends from high school and grad school.

Attending to the many guests, Oni was not able to listen much to the CAFA talk.  But from their guffaws, Oni surmise that they were making interesting (uncharitable?) commentaries about  CAFA absentees.  It's a good thing that the small musical program started right after dinner, otherwise the sniping might have continued unabated.

Oni had planned for a small musical program for the guests.  It was the kind of program where selected talents from among the guests were the performers themselves.  Alex Salva (Neo pianist) was there to make the "unplugged" performance happen.  Oni's grad school classmate Noni Dolera had the Diomedes Maturan sound when he dished out "Ako Ay  Nandito" (Oni's original composition).  Tachi Billano from Oni's Christ the King Music Ministry had everyone agape with her classy rendition (theater musical quality) of two other original songs.

The program actually started with a blast when Da Dero took over the 'stage' for the opening number.  He surprised everyone with a medley of his past jingles which he sang with gusto.  Ultimately he called the CAFASingers in to provide the singing for an M1 medley of CAFASinger standard songs.  Mind you, this was all unrehearsed.  Da Dero seemed to enjoy and had to be "dragged" away from the stage by Titus since their Rockin' 60s group had sets to do at Chef & Brewer.  They were already 20 minutes late for that!

After the rehearsed songs by Noni and Tachi, it was "open mic" time and Alex Salva had his hands full accompanying next singers who were remiss in the accuracy of their lyrics and tempo.  It was good to see that most of the audience stayed on to listen even to unrehearsed music.

The CAFAs talked about old times again.  (Hindi na nagsawa).  As Baby said, she is a masochist by remaining a loyal CAFASinger fan despite the fact that she is made to listen to only 4 standard songs every time the CAFASingers performed.  Tong was not spared by Baby who teasingly called him "Mr. Sound of Silence". Tong was defensive and said that he knew other songs but that this song is for a duet.  He apologized for his duet partner Ely who he said unfortunately knew only that song.

The CAFAs also contrived another inane game again that night.  It was called "matira ang matibay".  This means that nobody makes a move to leave the party!  Seated around one of the big tables the CAFAs continued their merry making ways drinking coffee and picking on cakes.  By 1:30AM Oni observed that the caterers were beginning to surround the table.  They were waiting for the CAFAs to vacate their table so that they can take it and leave.  It was only then that the party ended.

Oh, well.  That's one birthday bash Oni will never forget.















See slide show for more photos.

Late Thanksgiving / Early Christmas Party

The CAFAs had another get together recently. Tong and Rita are in town and that wasn't going to get by the sentimental CAFAs without a party. The activity was held in Oni's house in Greenmeadows.  The pot luck set up saw an overflowing of fine meriendacena food and drinks. 

Those who came for the occasion are: Fe and Bobby Bareiro, Pearl and Vic Ortega, and Rita and Tong (of course lang). And then the singles were NeoCafas Dero, Alex, Dinky and Oni. (Milu is in Silay and Bili is in NY). Emi said she would come but she got stuck in her own family party. 

The merienda talk ranged from politics to geriatric diseases to life lessons. Surprisingly, there was not much CAFA bashing concerning those who were not in the party - there were so much other better things to discuss (or bash). Alex exposed to the group a stage play project that Oni is working on. That was fodder for "whazzup" questions which put Oni in the hot seat to face the critical CAFAs. Oni tried to 'obfuscate' the situation by explaining the nuances of the project through 'inchoate' means. It wasn't enough smokescreen to elude the bashing. (Emi, your support would have come in handy, heh heh). 

Dero was the sage who gave good advise. He said that at this stage, we should really make it a point to document any good ideas we have and share these with the world. Oni agrees. Because of Senior moments, Oni forgets at times details of the play script and music that he himself created . For instance, Tong's suggested a change in the story timeline (from 3 years to 5 years) which added to Oni's confusion since the suggestion does make sense. Am I making sense?

IMPROMPTU CAFA REUNION

Kincaid's, Jack London Square, Oakland, California

Sept. 13, 2014 

It had to take Bess to make the impromptu reunion to happen! 

She came to San Francisco with Eddie (who had some business to attend to), thinking that the CAFA mini-reunion was on Sept. 13. She didn't know that it had been moved to Sept. 20 because Ben's son was celebrating his birthday of the 13th and the father and son had planned to spend the day together. Since Bess and Eddie had to be back in LA by Sunday, the only time we could all get together was late afternoon of Sept. 13. 

So, there we were -- Bess and Eddie, Ben and Tess, Mynna and Dynn, Alice, Milou, Teena and I -- at Kincaid's, a classy resto beside what looked like a yatch club at the Jack London Square in Oakland, having dinner and enjoying each other's company! Bess and Eddie drove 5 hours from LA Friday night, Mynna and Dynn drove from Sacramento 2 hours and picked up Ben and Tess along the way, Alice took the BART from Union City, while Milou, Teena and I came from our son-in-law's parents' place in Vallejo which was about 40 minutes away. 

Typically CAFA, it didn't take much to convince everyone to change whatever plans each one had already made, and come to the impromptu reunion! It had to be done in Oakland because traffic into San Francisco on a Saturday evening is just as bad as traffic on EDSA on a Friday night . . . even without the flooded streets! Ben chose the resto, Kincaid's, which had a wide choice of seafood dishes. We had calamare for starters. Clam chowder and shrimp bisque were the soups of choice. For the entree, some ordered steak, some had crab. Everything we ordered had fancy names! And, of course, we had good California white wine to go with the meal, although Dynn found it too sweet (but drank it anyway)! 

But it wasn't so much the food, but rather the company that we enjoyed. It was great to spend time with Dynn, Ben and Tess, Bess and Eddie and Alice whom we had not seen since Pala Mesa in 2012. Mynna we saw when she came to Manila and joined the trip to Silay and Iloilo in 2013. But like always, it seemed like we had not seen each other for a very long time! We, of course, talked about the people who were not present! Somehow, the topic of conversation kept on going back to who were grandparents already, or how many grandchildren does each of us have. Dynn surprised us that her eldest grandchild is already first year college. And Alice was even more surprising when she announced she'll be a great-grandmother in January! 

Before we all parted ways, Alice asked where and when the next grand reunion will be. No one could give an answer but someone (I think it was Bess) who asked "Isn't it going to be in Manila?" Bess also said she'll be going to Cagayan de Oro in January for her grandmother's 90th birthday. Mynna also mentioned she'll be in Manila in February. There will be a period in early February when both Bess and Mynna will be there. In true CAFA spirit, that sounds like a good reason for another reunion! 

By the way, Alice, Bess, Ben and Mynna took a lot of photos and hopefully will post these for everyone to see. Alice and Bess sent me some of the photos they took last night on my disposable celfone. I tried to text them to acknowledge receiving it but I can't figure out how to turn off the "predictive text" on the phone! I know Americans are good at many things, but I don't understand why they have predictive text!

Cheers!

Dinky


See slide show for more photos.

One Last Adieu & Hurrah

Last Saturday, the members of the exclusive CAFA Art Club got together at the Grove. The on-and-of affair finally pushed through after a required adjustment in the party venue. The party was essentially for the classmates to see each other and reminisce about those who have gone ahead. We know that in the recent past, the group had lost two of its stalwarts in the persons of Bong and Nic. 

The ever attractive CAFA ladies who came to the party were: Emi, Fiel, Lulu, Cynthia, Norma, Cecille, Pearl and Nore. The male interlopers were Jess, Francis, Didi, Vic and Oni. Before the repast, a special prayer was said for the two late artists. In symbolic gesture, two black candles were dramatically placed on the dining table and lighted as the special prayer was read.

As usual Jess was a barrel of laughs.  Jess did not hold anything back when he described the last days of Nic and the private happenings he witnessed in the subsequent wake and cremation. The others in the group jumped in and contributed to the now growing urban legend of Bong and Nic. The group thought that this was the way Nic and Bong would have liked it. In eerie synchrony, one black candle was snuffed out after the group talked about Nic. The other black candle followed suit after the group talked about Bong. Hala! 

Overall, the talked about Bong and Nic was also about acknowledging their great talent and corresponding humanity (if not sexuality?). Typical of a CAFA Fine Arts party, the affair was boisterous overall and even raunchy.  Most of the sexual jokes were of course due to Jess' consistent teasing of the ladies and leading deprecating remarks re unknowing CAFA classmates who did not make it to the party.

See slide show for more photos.

Rodi’s Manda Pad

Last Sunday, the CAFA gang converged together once again. The place was at Rodi Picar’s modern pad in Pioneer Highlands building (in Mandaluyong). The modern interior of the pad showcased Rodi’s knack for interior design. The monochromatic dark hues of the pad’s interior surfaces (walls, ceiling and floors) provided an artsy and cozy base from where one can look out the long window line that wrapped around the living and dining areas. 

From the living room, the view of the Makati skyline is fabulous. Rodi’s guest enjoyed not only the view but also the good repast served by Rody’s old faithfuls. CAFA guests were Oni Mayo, Pearl Ortega, Dinky Einsiedel with Milou and Teena, Nore and Didi Lim, Francis RSantos, Alex Villaflor and Emi Mercado. Other guests include Ave and Marivic – Rodi’s friends visiting from New York. 

The ever present CAFA singing was evident. In the absence of the other NeoCafas, a new band spontaneously emerged. By this, I mean that new ‘members’ came to the rescue in the absence of the regular CAFASingers. Having listened to the CAFAs so many times, Didi and Francis knew the songs and thus they provided the melody line for the singing. With Alex, Dinky and Oni providing the harmony notes, a decent sound was actually produced! Drunk with the wine, filled with the food and relaxed by all the singing, the CAFAs finally ended up doing what they do best – chika! 

Of course the usual CAFA secret talk (with below the belt conjectures) regarding those absent was there. The long night ended with chikahan that was dominated by Emi to everyone’s amusement. I’m afraid there’s no way for me to properly describe what was said that had everyone in stitches.You just have to be there to enjoy – alam mo na.

See slide show for more photos.

CAFA 2014 Starter

Last Tuesday, CAFAs got together to celebrate Oni’s birthday and to greet balikbayans Rodi and Nore.  Upon arriving, Emi immediately inquired about Oni’s age but didn’t get a serious answer.  Finding out what Oni's age really is, the audacious Emi declared that it’s her favorite number (take it from there, guys).  Prior to the party, Rodi was tour guide to Howi (who had left for home) and so they were in La Union and Palawan a few days before the party.  Meanwhile Nore arrived from Singapore just that afternoon. 

For the record, CAFAs Pearl and Vic O, Emi M, Cecille A, Rodi P, Dero P, Alex V and Nore L were present and accounted for.  CAFA friends Titus and Botchi S  were also there to  join in the revelry.  Piano music was provided by Alex Salva, the NeoCAFA’s new musical director.  Fe B initially said she was coming but begged off since her visiting sister from Australia suddenly needed medical attention.  NeoCAFAs Dinky E (in Silay) and Hector L (committed) were not able to attend due to previous commitments.  The CAFA group stayed on past the midnight hour especially after Pearl insisted that the traditional birthday cake ritual be observed.  To those who brought gifts (birthday cake, chocolates, signature postcards, the limerick book, the gourmet hot sauce, wine, etc.) - my sincere thanks.    

The party was actually shared between Oni’s CAFA (College) and Ayayay (Gradschool) groups.  Both groups reportedly enjoyed the evening although it was observed that the Ayayays were semi-serious and modulated while the CAFAs were exhuberant and expressive (loud?).  Also, while the Ayayay hesitated to go forward and sing (since they were not prepared to do that), the CAFAs were bold and engaging (shameless?).  It was quite a novel and amusing combination . It is hoped that more CAFA happy reunions will be slated this year.  We’d like to hear from Bess C,  Tito V and Sam S – are you guys coming over this year or not?


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Gerry and Jojo R just came in from the USA and missed the Oni's party by one day.  It is one of their rare visits to the Philippines and the CAFAs got together with them at Comida China restaurant on Sunday. I understand that Gerry will be attending his HS Golden celebration.  The CAFAs who came to the resto to greet Gerry and Jo were:  Dinky and Milou, Vic and Pearl, Oni  and Bili, Rodi and Dero.    

See slide show for more photos.