URDANETA, THEN AND NOW

"What do you want to drink?' asked my reception party as I settled down on one of the seats inside Jolli Bee.."I want a big cup of Pepsi.." Ester sent somebody to buy a drink for me.The last thing I needed after that long hike is to stand up in a long line just to pay one measly cup of pop..I was given that blue colored Pepsi. It is like drinking a cold glass of Windex with a straw, but it was really refreshing. After my drink, we headed out to the market to buy some groceries.You need a local to help you to buy fish and vegetables if you are in Urdaneta: and it is always a colorful experience especially exploring  the wet market.. Ester knew the sections where to buy whatever we need for the day. As soon as she started haggling for prices, I would walk away because it is something I am too embarrased to do: If a vendor says 20 pesos a kilo, I would give him/her exactly that. I always imagine the vendor has a family to feed, life is hard otherwise they wont be here selling stuff..Besides, I say if you convert the pesos into $, the price being asked is still cheap compared to what you will pay if you buy the same thing in North America. But my wife would always say "You men do not know how to haggle.." Its true, so we will just leave that the women, thats a woman's job!

The vendors are huddled so close to each other that sometimes I feel so afraid I might trip over a peanut vendors BIGAO and all of the peanuts will be scattered all over the roadside.But I did love the Tinapa made from Galong gong and Bangus and some smaller fish. They manufacture these ones as Cottage industries in some houses in Bayaoas close to the town proper.I also saw jars of of the reddish Aramang and thought how nice it would be to eat some green mangoes with them..After the big earthquake in the 90s, many of the big businesses established themselves in Urdaneta away from the massive rubble and devastation left in Dagupan..But then, like the mythical Phoenix bird, Dagupan rose to life again, bigger and better than ever..But it seems Urdaneta, now a city, is just a money maker as Dagupan because it would be catering to the surrounding smaller towns like Asingan, Villasis, Binalonan, etc. The people of these towns would rather go to Urdaneta at least to save time if not money.. Demographics have changed a lot since then and is still changing as I write..

In the late 50s, Urdaneta was just another small town where I went each time I do not have much money to splurge. Movies then were my only means of escapism from the humdrum life in Asingan. There were only 2 theatres at that time: the Nela and the Elite. The Nela was located near the Asingan-Urdaneta crossing and Elite stood facing the old marketpace. Tagalog movies were shown in the Nela and the English ones were in the Elite..Maybe both theatres were owned by a single person for they looked identical. At daytime, the interior of each theatre would feel like a sauna bathhouse, especially when crammed with patrons. The seats were full of bedbugs for those were constructed out of long boards nailed together.No cushions, no armrests. The seats are smaller boards, maybe three of them nailed together. Those pesky bloodsuckers would then lodge between the boards right under your butt. Often, I would see a patron stand up, burn a piece of paper and put it under the seat to broil the suckers which would drop to the floor. But this is only when the theatre is almost empty. And there were the  peanut vendors who would be walking around every time calling out MANI, MANI ( peanuts, peanuts ). No popcorn stands in the lobby here unlike in the US. For ventilation there were only a couple of electric fans to blow away the smell of perspiration and urine from the yucky washrooms. The mixed blend of sweat and urine smell would  hit your nostrils like a sledgehammer upon entering the curtain draped doors. But after a few minutes, your sense of smell would get used to it..It would take you awhile to get adjusted to the darkness inside.No ushers, they cant afford them.  You  have to look for your own seat. Sometimes there was a big post between an empty seat and the movie screen..If you have less luck, you will wind up with a seat near the screen and near the toilets. You would need gas masks if your nosetrils are very sensitive in this case.

With 2 pesos then, you can already enjoy a Saturday Movie matinee. 50 centavos would bring you from Asingan to Urdaneta and back..50 centavos would buy you a movie ticket ( orchestra ) and you still have some change maybe for some magnolia ice cream or some roasted peanuts.Thus in here I saw many classic Black and White Tagalog movies like DARNA ( starring Rosa del Rosario and Ben Perez ), or BERNARDO CARPIO ( Cesar Ramirez and Alicia Vergel ).The last jeep for Asingan would leave at about 5:30 or 6:00 pm..If you miss this, you have to wait for 8:30 pm to catch the Asingan Pantranco bus from Manila, assuming it was not cancelled.

My reminiscing stopped when my sister called me after she hired a tricycle for Asingan. Safety is always a risk but so far no hold ups along KETEGAN happened, at least not yet. The tricycle drivers are a brave, hard working lot and they do not also like to lose their livelihoods. So I squeezed myself into one of those vehicles: 3 passengers could sit inside and a 4th one could ride behind the driver. Then we would drive to Asingan in a comfortable speed and after half an hour or so, we would reach Home, Sweet Home--#