All in the family
I used to secretly laugh and squirm—and was luckily spared from joining in because of my constant absence—over this revered tradition over the past decades, whether in Manila or overseas, of my Sta. Romana first cousins lining up chronologically according to year of birth, with the left hand on the shoulder of the one in front. But lo and behold, at the recent early May reunion, there I was in queue, finding myself happily in line as the fourth of 12. Head of the line was family patriarch Ramon/Romy Sta. Romana Magsumbol, 92, who has lived in the US since 1954. The principal reason for my visit.
It seemed a frill to travel to Naples, Florida where Romy lives, for a reunion of first cousins living on that side of the world, coming together from Vancouver, Toronto, New York, New Jersey, Grinnell in Iowa. And reckless too, with all the news discouraging travel to the land of milk and honey. But the May 3 reunion coincided with a short trip I wanted to make to see childhood classmates in Indiana and Bonita Springs, Florida. May 3 was also special to the clan, as it is Lola Gorgonia Osias Sta. Romana’s death anniversary.
Those of us in Manila have been having family reunions every January, organized each year by cousin-in-law Atty. Jackie Cruz and niece Carmina Flores. (Jackie had pledged to his late wife, my cousin Roxanne, that he would continue to do so.) This was the first time I would join a Sta. Romana reunion overseas, something they managed to do every year, especially when our youngest aunt, Sofia Sta. Romana Cruz, was still around.
My husband Elfren always said that our Sta. Romana reunions always seemed like political reunions. And he wasn’t exaggerating, not only because of political talk and inclinations, but because of the sheer size of family, as the family of Leonardo and Gorgonia Osias Sta. Romana of Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija had 11 children. For the Naples reunion, it was quite a feat that six branches were represented: those of Eladia, Policarpio, Osmundo, Pedro, Sofia, Clemente. The descendants of the other five siblings (Conrado, Jose, Eutiquio, Fr. Elpidio, Gertrudes) were not available.
Comfortable company
And instantly, in the comfortable company of first cousins, the flood of memories took over. Christmas reunions when we were all young, performing at the mandatory programs at gatherings, running around in the baking area of the famous Sta. Romana Bakery on Herran, lining up for the crisp 5 peso bills handed out to each of us, whether naughty or nice (the boys were mostly naughty), by eldest Sta. Romana uncle Conrado of Lake View Resort in Los Baños. Summers in the ancestral home in the Bonifacio district in Cabanatuan, mercilessly chasing the turkeys, chickens, ducks that our grandfather had in his poultry, and savoring the duhat-like calumpit picked from the trees in the yard. Todos Los Santos meant exploring the mausoleums in the city cemetery, more concerned about collecting wax from the candles, rather than fervent prayers for the dead.
We loved recalling our grandparents’ golden wedding anniversary rites at the San Marcelino Church, with my twin brothers Chito and Nelin as ring and coin bearers. And the family being named by President Ramon Magsaysay as Outstanding Family of the Year because all of the 11 children were successful professionals.
We smiled thinking of politician and former Vice Governor Policarpio proudly marrying off eloping couples. Eutiquio, a consul at the Department of Foreign Affairs, taking his family to exotic places that awed us, from Karachi to Amoy to London, for his tour of duty. Osmundo giving us movie passes during his years as Manila Times’ day editor. Elpidio the priest with his trademark “Mabuhay” greeting, and Jose, the military man. My father Pedro was the other doctor in the family, a radiologist, and Romy remembers carrying his black doctor’s satchel, tagging along as patients were being treated. And who can beat boyish Clemente as the medical board topnotcher? A no-nonsense plastic surgeon who would not engage with our beauty needs.
Sharp memories
Romy’s sharp memories manifest his continuing interest in Cabanatuan and the family ancestry. He is truly the source of long-forgotten memories and memorabilia. He has thick working documents in progress to supplement our grandfather’s commissioned book project recording the various family branches other than his Osias-Sta. Romana branch, aware of every new addition or loss. That family tree book which we all treasure today (and where we are all recorded) boasts of an introduction by a Cabanatuan friend and neighbor of our Lolo Leonardo/Adong, Lazaro Francisco, then a rising star, today a National Artist for Literature.
The reunion meant much reconnecting over three days of shared dinners and car trips, culminating on May 3, at the Sandbar, Pelican Bay members-only club arranged by doctor-couple Ishmael Sta. Romana (he will always be Bilbo to us, long before we knew of Tolkien and “Lord of the Rings”) and wife Lai. That was interesting because it was right by the Gulf of Mexico, leaving us thinking of the West Philippine Sea. And the belated discovery that Pelican Bay was the setting of John Grisham’s 1982 novel and the 1983 film, “The Pelican Brief.”
A welcome rediscovery was the 1935 book edited by Osmundo O. Sta. Romana, “The Best Filipino Short Stories,” featuring the index of short stories published in Philippine magazines as selected by Jose Garcia Villa and the Literary Guild of the Philippines. Wasn’t that a courageous venture in his youth, his daughter Effie Sta. Romana Hall, wondered.
Contributing a sentimental touch to the gathering was the souvenir cookie portraits lovingly prepared by Lycette Cruz, wife of Mike, featuring the Bonifacio ancestral home, based on an enhanced Christmas card developed by a cousin-in-law, Bong Reverente, husband of Marichu Sta. Romana. Here were two giveaways, and the other announced, “Sama Sama 2025.”
In recent years, Chito was the guest speaker at the inauguration of the Leonardo Sta. Romana Elementary School in Sta. Arcadia, Cabanatuan, built on a parcel of land he had donated, a school we continue to support with book donations, to keep alive our grandfather’s legacy.
The reminiscing goes on and on and we have gone on to different paths, and sharing many triumphs and painful losses. We try to continue to connect via our Leonardo-Gorgonia Viber chat group. And as the clan grows, so does the hope that the family bond endures stronger. Time and distance need not really matter, because there is so much of the family legacy to keep us together.
