REMEMBERING BUTCH AGTARAP

I met Alfredo ( Butch) Agtarap, Jr. in high school at the R.A. He is smart, good in English have a sense of humour. During that summer of '58,  ( or maybe even before,) we got involved with the combo thing, as I have mentioned in my previous entry. He could sing too ( a little bit ) as I could sing ( a little bit ). But if a singer do  rock and roll , no one cares if he could not sing at all as long as he gyrates like a drunken monkey on the stage. We had our balladers namely Teresita Villanueva, the younger sister of Nestor and Cora Tendero my first cousin with whom I shared a strong love for music. I learned my guitar skills practicing on HER guitar cuz at that time, I did not posses any kind of music instrument. Both ladies have such lovely voices that would even move a Sasquatch into tears!

Fast forward to the 90's..During one of my Balikbayan trips, whom did I met again but Butch!..He still looked the same. His jokes are still funny..And I know he would make a good salesman someday! I met him through Johnny Sindayen and we went places during those Balikbayan trips. One time  Johnny drove us to Binmaley, to visit another classmate Amado Benito who is the Officer in Charge of  an AFP camp.Butch was quite sick already, thats one reason why he came home..He already had a number of illnesses. I still have his calling card that says:

Butch Agtarap, Manager

Show room at Akariya Shopping Center

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

His address is just a postal box in Riyadh...

When classmates meet each other after decades of non communication, time loses its meaning..There is no time anymore and we like to catch up with so many things.It is summer '58 all over again..Thus we spent a day or two in Binmaley under Amado Benito's care..After a lunch of boiled crabs and raw oysters marinated with vinegar and spices, then washed down with  Ginebra San Miguel, we would go for a swim, floating  like a ball and enjoying the lukewarm water.

When I left Asingan, Butch said he is not going back to Riyadh yet.."Will see you again when I  return, maybe next year?," I asked. .." "Of course", he said with his familiar smile..

This entry, unlike the others, would end with a sad note. I heard sometime after that Butch had a heart attack and he did not make it. He was still in Asingan then. The next time I was a Balikbayan, I visited my Mother's tomb.  There  I saw Butch's final resting place.---#

FEED BACKS

Thanks for sharing this one.  I can almost see the Dad/grand dad beaming
with pride.  Congratulations!  Hey, you have any CD's of the concert?  the
CD player in my vehicle is working again (or hope it is. Haven't tried it
since I got it back from the shop).

Ben Soloria

***********

I made one for you, bud..Will mail it ASAP!The DVD version will follow later cuz it involves a more complicated procedure whereas the CD( audio only ) does not..The CD will arrive soon!

My favorite tracks are the 2 Elvis songs ( maybe due to the fact that I am an avid Elvis fan ). The 2 girls have their own style in singing HOUND DOG  and CANT HELP FALLING IN LOVE that I think the King will be pleased if he hears it..Reminds me again of a certain time when I was growing up. Remember the days of the homespun combos when the instruments are ukeleles, a guitar, some maracas ( if available )?. The bass guitar is a gasoline drum equipped with a  wooden handle. A plastic coated clothes line was the string. This kind of jug band was popular all throughout the Philippines during this era.

 . Asingan caught the combo fever at that time  and me, Nestor Villanueva, Alex Tanwangco, Butch Agtarap and some other guys whose  name I can't remember anymore formed a combo. The name? Blue Eagle Combo. A competing  faction, was formed by Jose Paringit ( son of the ex police chief of Asingan) ..The name? Red Lion combo.( Surprise, surprise ).We had a "battle of the bands" one New Years Eve in the plaza sponsored by the Municipio and witnessed by many Asinganians. The Red Lions won, we were close 2nd. Their prize? 10 pesos! Our prize? A can of  Selecta crackers! The Blue Eagles wanted to crucify the members of the committee in charge..But tempers subsided and we went on practicing regularly at night at the residence of Mr. Melecio Villanueva under the Ilang Ilang tree. It was fun. I  was one of the soloists and I did  nothing but the vintage Elvis songs. Hey, I didnt even had a haircut for many months! Then College work came and the band split, the members going their separate ways..That was one summer holiday to remember.

Vic Costes

CEMP Concert photos

TORONTO, July 28..Today I woke up early, missed my 2 naps ( morning and afternoon ) missed my lunch, lugged  a load of electronic equipments inside the trunks of  2 cars, then took off still wondering whether I left an important item behind. One car has the 4 singers ages 13 to 5 and whose chatter would put those 2 Disney chipmunks to shame. Fortunately, I was in the other car!   But the car I was in overheated on the way. We had to pull into a subway parking lot and finished the rest of the journey with one subway train and 1 street car. The weather was still mercilessly hot . I had to phone Miguelita on my cel to ask if the kids arrived.."Yes, they did.." "Where are they now?"  " In the restaurant, our daughter borrowed my Interact card.." There is a good Chinese restaurant next door to the library, and fifteen minutes later, Miguelita's card would be debited $40.00!Well, the singers need some sustainance so they can perform a good job...!  

And  they did perform a good job...There were a few hitches of course ( e.g. a missing track on the  karaoke disk thus we had to cut off 1 song ) I had to stop a bit to make some adjustments while my daughter impromptu went on stage and adlibbed  talking to the audience about music..This is not a part of the show, but it was hardly noticed . This happens when there is no dress rehearsal which we did not have because the concert hall is so far away, etc.

But over all, the singing was good! No fancy props or lights, just good, strong young voices which  captivated the audience...The music glued the audience to their seats I mean the bare floor of the auditorium. Only the adults were seated at the back, the bulk of the audience ( kids from the neighbourhood ) had to sit on the floor. But they didn't mind...At the end of the show, no one wanted to leave, but we had to say like Porky Pig: THATS ALL FOLKS!!

MORE FEEDBACKS

Kuya Lito,

This is good, thanks for sharing.  I know Vic Costes-heard his name when I was growing up..  Parang nai-imagine ko noong kabataan ko pag nagbabakasyon sa Asingan. ( I can imagine my childhood days when I was taking holidays in Asingan ) As a matter of fact, last night I mentioned to Nap about a buwaya(?)( a crocodile) that lolo Alvaro brought home from the bukid (field) and my Mom and Tia Nena both were taking off the skin so they can cook it It's still clear in my mind, dahil sa paghila ni Tita Nena ng skin, natumba siya.  ( as Tita Nena was pulling it, she took a spill)  

No one (the site you sent) has mentioned about the camaren( warehouse)-across from Lolo's house, why?

Lily 

Editor's Note: Crocodile meat  is a delicacy. However, these are not that easy to catch.  Big tree lizards are also a delicacy. Some say lizard  ( or crocodile ) meat tastes like chicken. I also read about a restaurant in Hong Kong which serves snakes in their menu. The account said that there is a glass cage full of snakes in the dining area. The waiter picks up a handful of snakes, put these on the table and tells thediner: "Pick a snake, any snake.." Whatever snake(s) selected goes to the kitchen to be prepared by the cook. Voila, fricassed snake!

BIRTHDAY GREETINGS TO LITO DOMAOAN!

 

Happy Birthday to Lito Domaoan! I won't be asking how many candles he blew out on his birthday cake..:)

He sent me an interesting e-mail. 

 The heat index here is over 100, its so hot you wont even dare  go outside. Last Saturday my two sisters treated me to a Japanese restaurant in our place. The prices are very reasonable . Here in this restaurant you pay only $6.50 for one individual. You have your soup, salad, tasty chicken about 7 pieces, 2 pieces of Japanese small hot dogs, one piece of  desert made from soya beans. You  have to buy your own drinks. But there's a lot of choices in the menu. The food displayed in  plastic form in a bowl or in a plate is so realistic that you will think it’s the real thing. You could also go to another Japanese restaurant in the same complex where they offer Japanese style Italian food. Its also cheap you have your free soup drinks, salad, your choice in the menu which compose mainly of noodles or spaghetti with meat or shrimp, or tuna or meatballs, chicken, pork, with spinach, etc. A special menu which includes a dessert of tirarmasu or other special cakes  will only cost you about $7.20. If you don’t want salt added you could also request the servers not to put any salt. The restaurant is facing  the  Hudson river and a good  view of New York City  --#

FIRE IN THE HOLE! by Ben Soloria

I have a story about a US Navy tradition called Chiefs' initiation. Sometimes, this tradition gets very intense that some Navy Chiefs actually balk from it, others go through it and later file harrassment complaints, but most go through it and take the experience as an inescapable chapter in the life of a Navy Chief Petty Officer. I participated in one when I was promoted chief in 1989.

I was fed live gold fish, at least a dozen of them. At four o'clock in the morning I was made to swallow an earthworm;  raw eggs, raw oyster and fish sauce mixed together . At the height of this ritual, I was placed inside a coffin with a hole cut out right over my face. The chiefs who had been through this initiation and who are present at that time in my initiation, took turns yelling, "Fire in the hole!", followed by a bucket of iced water poured over my face.

Luckily, the coffin is not water-tight, so, the cold water just drains, although it's somewhat slow. I was half-submerged in iced water the entire time I was in the coffin. Finally, the coffin was opened and I was let out and blind-folded. I was made to touch a box of sharp broken glass and was told that the box of broken glass will be placed at the foot of a ladder which I was made to climb blindfolded. As I climbed the ladder, I couldn't control my entire body from shivering. The crowd started to laugh at me and made comments like, "What kind of a chief will you be? Chicken?" "Call a doc, this chief won't make it. He's shaking like a leaf." Finally, the "Judge" (he's the man in charge of the rites) yelled "Jump!" And I did just like I was told. I jumped off the ladder and landed on my butt in the box at the foot of the ladder. I heard this crushing noise which sounded like a pile of broken glass. I said to myself, "Oh, shit, I messed up my butt." But I didn't feel any pain. "I must be numb from the cold," I thought, "Can't feel anything." Suddenly, my blindfold was removed and I saw that I was sitting in a boxful of potato chips.

Everybody busted laughing again. "is that what you're shaking about, Chief?" everyone asked almost in unison. I tried to be a sport so I simply said, "You dumb
assholes, you froze me to death in the cold, that's why I'm shaking!"---#

The "Singing Angels" of St. John

Our Pastor, Fr. Bob Glen sometimes call them as such. This is the group that I am handling presently ( as mentioned in the last part of a new entry). Organized in Oct. 2004, the group never missed singing in church every Sunday since then. One lady said "your voices sounded so pure..like angels.."  Another said "when I hear your singing, I remember my own childhood days when I was also a member of a children's choir in Ireland..." plus many, many others who lay their praises on them. Sometimes I feel that the reason of my existence is doing this kind of work every week, every year since 1960 when I joined that small choir in the St. Louis Bertrand church, Asingan, Pangasinan.