ON THE sprawling grounds of Ermita Hill, several hundred locals and a few tourists waited for the sun to rise. Their patience paid off for, that morning, three rainbows arced across the sky, providing a spectacle.
A taho (soybean curd) vendor was also on the hill that morning, tending to the hungry.
Using a ladle, he scooped out taho from a double-lined tin receptacle. He filled large plastic cups for people, topping the soybean curd with syrup. It provided just the right sweetness for the otherwise bland taho.
Pride of work is what fills Nestor Atendido Atayde, 59, a taho vendor for most of his adult life. And he is only too happy to go by the name ?Boy Taho.?
?In Manila, [the taho vendors] scrimp on the soy beans and put more sugar in the arnibal [syrup]. Look at my taho, see, it hardly jiggles, it?s solid,? Boy Taho said as he pointed to the creamy white contents that filled his tin receptacle.
Finding his fortune
Thirty years ago, Boy Taho and a friend took off from San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija, and went to Manila to work in a Chinese-owned taho factory.
Later, Boy Taho sold taho on the streets of Tuguegarao.
He later heard of a more progressive little town farther south along the coast. In Baler, Aurora province, Boy Taho found his fortune.
Proclaiming his ?huge success,? Boy Taho revealed how he was able to buy a house and lot through sheer hard work.
From walking the streets with the tin cans strung on a bamboo pole slung over one shoulder, Boy Taho went on to ply his trade using a bicycle with a sidecar.
Now, he owns a motorized tricycle, he said.
?My taho also produced a Pharmacy graduate. She?s at home reviewing for the Board exams,? he said, beaming with pride.
He has seven other sons and daughters, the youngest of who is in high school.
On the hill that morning, Boy Taho?s grandson Roman, 10, wove through the throng of sightseers, handing out soybean curds, receiving payment, and picking up discarded plastic cups, which he properly disposed of in trash cans.
Proud Baleriano
Another proud Baleriano is Zosimo Torres, 55.
He gave up a high-paying job as grounds maintenance supervisor at the Riyadh International Airport in Saudi Arabia.
When homesickness took its toll after six years, the agricultural engineering graduate returned to Baler, married Rowena, and begot four children.
Torres accepts orders for file boxes, lidded document boxes, placemats, bags and decorative mats. All are made of sabutan (pandanus sabotan), a material similar to buri, dyed in brilliant or pastel colors, and woven into intricate, sophisticated patterns.
At first, Torres tried opening up a store to sell his wares. But the handicraft completed by his ten weavers? would sit for weeks on the shelves waiting for customers. Now, Torres only takes orders for various products before his weavers get to work on them.
Rummaging through his wares being readied for delivery, a reporter spied a gorgeous box in various shades of green interlaced with beige strands.
?Oh that,? he said. ?I found a small burn on it, so I didn?t deliver it.?
Asked if he could sell it to the reporter, Torres refused, even though the damaged part of the product was imperceptible.
Torres later decided to give the box to the reporter, declining payment for it.
Perfection
Striving for perfection in their work seems to go hand-in-glove with pride of place among Balerianos.
At Gerry Shan?s Place one afternoon, a tall, bespectacled woman took customers? merienda orders.
The same woman personally served the dishes, taking pains to please the customers.
?We?re so sorry, there?s not much ube [yam] in it,? the woman apologized to one customer, referring to the dish being served.
The professional-looking woman is Elsa Barros, a member of the Manila police force.
Her husband is ?Gerry? Shan Gao, the talented chef behind the scene.
At Gerry Shan?s, there appears to be only one female helper who wipes the tables clean and washes dishes ? a far cry from most other Filipino restaurants where there are lots of hired help.
The restaurant is impressive in that, it is run like an out-of-the-way family-operated European bistro ? no frills, just good food.
Bit of history
Ilovita Mesina is curator of the Baler Museum. On the museum property is the humble nipa hut of Manuel Luis Quezon ? president of the Philippine Commonwealth.
Mesina is a treasure trove of Baler?s rich 400-year history.
She walks tourists from her bailiwick to the church around the corner. There, she would tell the story of how the Katipuneros held a Spanish garrison at bay.
A moving story that can only be told by a woman who takes pride in her heritage.
