The Main Hall

The main hall of the Kubo measures around 80 sq. meters. Upon entering the door which divides the foyer and the main hall, one is immediately welcomed by the main hall’s  high ceiling that is covered with nipa. This high roof ceiling is designed to look like a tunnel at the end of which is the space that allows illumination from natural light. I sometimes call this space as the light at the end of the tunnel.  This ceiling design was inspired by Cindy’s painting of  mommy represented as a blue butterfly heading towards the light. This main hall is designed to tell the story of mom’s journey from this world to the next. Her life has been transformed, not ended. The tunnel of light depicts her journey  from this earth to that kingdom where there is no more darkness but only light. Unlike the foyer which is surrounded by colored glasses, the main hall contains only clear glass to allow natural light to flood into every corner of the main hall. Light in its purity and natural state signifies God himself who is light. In the Psalms, we encounter a passage where it says: “in your light, we see light itself…” Mom has now come to this light. She has gone home to the father. There she will prepare a place for all of us. There, she will continue to pray for us, as she had always done in her earthly life.

The main hall is surrounded with panels made of intricate callado wood carvings which are located just above the doors and clear windows. These have also been made from Betis. The callado wood carvings depict images of foliage and flowers that seem to be heading towards the light. The callados at the end of the hall include the carved figures of a butterflies highlighted with a touch of gold. Mom’s transformed life is now symbolized by a butterfly. Like the butterflies depicted on the wood carvings, mom, too has taken flight towards the light. The carved callados are meaningful to us. During her lifetime, when mom would sit at the garden, she would instruct her maid to cut bougainvilla flowers and foliage and put them in a bottle. Even with Alzheimer, she never forgot to appreciate beauty and the simple things which always made her happy. So the carvings also in a way symbolize how happy she is now surrounded by God’s own love and mercy in heaven.

The main hall also has three concrete posts covered with bricks. These are accentuated by three lamps. These three lamps mounted on the posts represent the three virtues she always had in life: Faith, Hope and Charity. She was a woman of faith, praying very often, surrendering herself to the will of him who knows best.  Her hope never failed even in difficult and trying times. And her charity to everyone was heroic. On top of the post at the end of the hall is a mosaic cross also made by Cindy. Symbolically, this tunnel of light becomes the vision of those who have lived under Christ’s own victory through the cross. Two chandeliers hang over the main hall. Their lights look like candles with copper tubes encircling them. When I bought those chandeliers, the saleslady told me that they are called Atlas chandeliers because the encircling copper tubes resemble the image of the world. I said: “ that would be perfect.” That chandelier is like a “light of the world” chandelier. Like the chandeliers, Mom was for us, a light of the world, a salt of the earth, a brilliant light that we will never forget.

The main hall with the living and dining furniture.

                                                              

Details of windows and callado wood carvings.

Another view sala, windows, callado and the high ceiling and the light at the end of the tunnel ceiling. 

The high ceiling with the light at the end of tunnel feature. 

Another perspective of the Main Hall

The Foyer

Immediately after the front yard comes the façade of the entire memorial kubo. This kubo is divided in two parts: the foyer and the main hall.

Originally, the memorial kubo was designed just to have a single hall with no foyer at all.  But I decided to put a foyer. Sometimes a foyer can be called a lobby or an ante room. I have also decided to make the foyer a little larger, measuring about 30 sq. meters. Now if the front yard was to show how mommy’s early life was, the foyer was to tell her story as a mother and wife. This space was to tell her story with her beloved family. 

As you enter the door of the foyer, your eye will immediately be caught by a big portrait of her on the left rendered in sepia. In older days, photographs were either rendered in black or white or in sepia. Sepia has a brownish tone which gives it an old  classic feel. There she is with her beautiful profile, a young beautiful woman. Mommy was beautiful. I am not saying this because I am a family member. She was indeed beautiful. She became a beauty queen in a local college in Guagua when she was in college. She had so many suitors when she was young. When I was young, I thought she was just bragging about the number of suitors whom she claims fell in line at their house in San Antonio. Later, as I grew older, I did my own inquiry at San Antonio and found out that indeed, she was telling the truth about those suitors who had to schedule their visits to her since a number of them came to court her. Despite of this, I never got the impression that she was vain. She was so beautiful that her beauty needed no accompanying sophistication from either make-up, jewelry or dress. She was just beautifully endowed with her Chinese mestiza looks. 

Opposite her portrait are the paintings of Cindy, my sister. When I told her to paint for this memorial, she immediately painted what inspired her about our mom. The biggest painting she did was a painting of a tree with several branches which represented all of us. But on the tree’s main truck was a bright fuchsia flame, burning bright. For Cindy, this bright flame symbolized our mother. There was another painting of Cindy of a blue butterfly flying towards the light. She painted this long before I told her to paint for this memorial. She painted it right after Mom’s cremation. This butterfly describes our hope as a family, believing that mommy’s life has now been transformed (aptly symbolized by the butterfly) and is now heading towards the light, God’s pure light of everlasting happiness. The third painting was a mother and child theme. The colors of this painting were inspired by Henri Matisse a French artist who used bold bright colors to paint his subjects. Lastly, a colorful painting of a butterfly amidst flowers of zinias. 

Below Mommy’s portrait are framed pictures of the four boys in the family. Each of us with mommy. On the other side are the framed pictures of the three girls, each of them with my mom. 

The entire foyer is designed like an old Filipino Spanish house with its rich intricate “callado” or “dinukit” in kapampangan that are set against amber – colored glasses. These decorative elements of glass and carved wood give it a strong Spanish feel. At the same time, the traditional elements of the capiz windows and the lights still give it a traditional Filipino feel. The large sliding windows with clear glasses open the foyer to the rich greenery outside. 

In a way, the design of the foyer indeed describes my mom’s family life. The room tells her life in the family – happy, beautiful and indeed filled with wonderful colors. She gave color and meaning to our family life. It also speaks of the artistic talents of her children who have developed wonderful talents in music and the arts. 

The facade of the memorial. 

Mom’s picture on the left wall of the foyer

On the right side of the foyer are Cindy’s paintings about my mom. 

A full view of the foyer with the capiz windows in front and the intricate callado on top of the capiz windows. Mommy’s portrait at left and Cindy’s paintings on the right. Vigan tiles used for the flooring. 

The Lolita B. Lapid Memorial Hall In Memory of Her: Celebrating the First Death Anniversary of Mommy

As I've written in other articles in this blog, the idea of building something to remember mommy came from my father. Then I told the idea to my siblings who agreed on the idea. In December 2013, my sister Beth gave an initial seed money to start the project. Her donation gave the important impetus to start the project. Eventually, my Dad, encouraged by what my sister Beth has done, gave his commitment to start the project.

It isn't at all surprising that people who have lost someone dear to them build or create something to perpetuate the memory of a beloved departed. When you think of great buildings to serve as memorials like the Taj Mahal, one couldn't keep wondering why people spend so much resources to put up such structures in memory of a beloved departed. Now that I and my family have ourselves experienced this deep loss of a beloved, we now understand what it means to grieve for someone so dear. Perpetuating her memory by putting up something simply becomes so natural and consoling at the same time.  The death of my mother left a gaping hole in all our hearts since she left us. To this day, we still grieve over her demise. But I’m sure, time will heal and make us accept the reality that she is no longer with us and that she is now in a better place where she is very happy, with God, his angels and all his saints.

The structure we've built for my mom’s memorial is designed like a kubo. This is also in keeping with Sa Kabukiran’s theme of being a Filipino Eco-friendly farm. But while maintaining its “kubo” feel, it is designed more like a tropical modern house.  This means that while it has the features of a kubo, its modern features and fusion of traditional Filipino elements make it a tropical modern house. I have myself designed this house. Just like all the structures Sa Kabukiran, I have done all the designing and landscaping. I was intent on designing a tropical modern house that will serve both as a memorial house and an all purpose structure which can be used also for gatherings like seminars, meals and special occasions. But more importantly, I wanted to build a structure that will tell the story of my beloved mother, so that people who may come and use the place will know her and her story.  

I have divided the space and the structure of this memorial into four parts namely, the front yard, the foyer, the main hall and finally the back and surrounding yard. So let me tell the story of each of these parts.

The Front Yard

The front yard facing the memorial house is roughly about 50 sq. meters. Prominent in this yard is a yellow Chinese bamboo. This bamboo has beautiful yellow bamboo stalks. I planted this as a single stalk back in 2010. Now it has created several shoots which are almost 10 to 12 meters high. I have trimmed the bamboo so that its beautiful stalks can be seen clearly. On this front yard, I have placed colored pebbles to surround this bamboo. These pebbles have this beautiful muted orange tones that are simply perfect to create a sea-like image of pebbles similar to zen gardens. These pebbles are called Mindanao Yellow stones. I guess, they come from Mindanao. I haven’t seen such stones anywhere here in Pampanga or in Luzon. But they are just perfect for the place. On top of these pebbles are some ten brown boulders which I have taken from the hillsides and foot of Mt. Arayat. I understand that Mt. Arayat used to be an active volcano. The presence of these boulders lying on the hillsides of Mt. Arayat simply indicates that there once was a time when Mt. Arayat spewed out these boulders from its top and are now randomly strewn along its edges.

The yellow Chinese bamboo represents the barrio and rural roots of my mother. My mother was born in San Antonio, Lubao, Pampanga. Back then, San Antonio was quite a remote barrio far from the Poblacion. There were no paved roads leading to that barrio. It was in this obscure little barrio where my mother was born.

The stones, the boulders and the stone pavement while beautiful to look at symbolize the rocky start of mommy’s life. She was not only born from a poor family. She also started life with a life threatening illness. When she was born, she contracted pneumonia. At that time, such illness was almost a death sentence especially for a new born child, considering the unavailability of medical services. My mom used to tell us that her folks have given up hope for her recovery to the point that some barrio folks were already preparing for her funeral by slaughtering a pig in order to prepare for the meals that they were supposed to serve visitors during her wake. It was at these hopeless moments when my mom’s parents were advised to pray and seek the intercession of St. Anthony of Padua, the patron saint of the barrio for her miraculous recovery. Hoping against hope, my grandmother did just that. She went to the barrio chapel of San Antonio and there prayed to the saint for my mom’s miraculous healing. She also made a vow that if her daughter lived, she would be a devotee to him for all her life.

Miraculously, my mother was healed. She got well. The preparations for her wake stopped and she lived to see another 82 years! True to her vow to St. Anthony my grandmother dressed my mom with the habit of St. Anthony – a brown dress with a white cincture, symbolic of the friar’s belt with three knots.

Ever since her childhood, my mom wore the habit of St. Anthony not only on Sundays but everyday, at play, in school, at home, everywhere! It was only when she became a teenager that she began wearing the habit only during Sundays.

The yellow Chinese bamboo. Mindanao Yellow pebbles around the bamboo with ten small boulders as accents on the front yard.

Another view of the front yard with the Chinese bamboo, pebbles and boulders.

The bamboo, stones and boulders seen with the facade on the background. 

(To be continued) 

In Memory of Her: Celebrating the First Death Anniversary of Mommy

It was June 28, 2014, Saturday when we celebrated our mother’s first death anniversary. Our family, together with our close relatives celebrated it Sa Kabukiran. For some of my relatives, it was the first time for them to visit the farm. But I guess, for all who came, the highlight of the entire event was the inauguration of the Lolita B. Lapid Memorial Hall. I guess, everyone was surprised at the memorial hall including my dad and other siblings, since they haven’t imagined it to be that big and beautiful.

The idea of a memorial hall started out as something simple. My dad wanted to build something Sa Kabukiran as a memorial to my mother. First, the idea was just a simple structure. Then, it eventually turned out to be a 110 square meter structure that would house some family pictures of my mother and a hall which could be used as a multi-purpose hall for those who may want to use it. I guess, everyone who was there for the occasion were all surprised to see the finished structure.

The blessing of the structure began at around 11:00 a.m. with Fr. Larry Sarmiento officiating the blessing. During the blessing, Fr. Sarmiento paused for a while and asked if anyone could sense the presence of mommy. A number of my siblings, including my dad, raised their hand, confirming what Fr. Larry himself felt while he was blessing this memorial kubo for mommy. Then Fr. Larry blessed the other kubo. Thereafter we enjoyed a sumptuous lunch. We had a typical Sa Kabukiran lunch eating native dishes (Crabs, shrimps, adobo, chicharon, longanisang Guagua, tabang talangka and many more! Talagang Sarap!) using banana leaves as plate mats. Kamayan is the tagalog term used to describe how Filipinos eat with their bare hands. After eating, the guests were invited to a short program at the memorial kubo. There, we had a program to remember mommy with songs, dance numbers and some heart touching AVPs.  All of us in the family still miss mommy. But, remembering her and keeping her memory by building this beautiful structure speaks of how much we love her and how much we’ve missed her. People who will come here shall see her pictures and will be inspired by this kubo which tells her story.

The Blessing about to start with Fr. Larry Sarmiento and myself and family members.

Inside the Memorial Kubo with Mommy picture on the background

The Blessing with Cindy’s paintings on the background. Cindy and Dad at the background. These paintings were made by Cindy for Mommy.

The sumptuous kamayan meals Sa Kabukiran. Here on left is Koyang Saling, Dad and Tita Conching.

The program in honor of mommy’s death anniversary with us singing together at the memorial hall.

Some dancing during the program at the memorial hall

Some of the guests and relatives in the memorial hall during the program.