The past few days, news channels and sites have been abuzz with items on COMELEC Commissioner Rowena V. Guanzon.
Many have been amazed at how vocal and fiery this ex-Mayor from Negros Occidental could be. Nevertheless, an article from Guanzon's newspaper column in 1998 lends us a glimpse on Commissioner Guanzon's roots and colorful background.
The column was entitled, Dear Coco, addressed to her niece, Coco - the daughter of Didoy Cruz Fullon.
Dear Coco,
I am, as your mother must have told you, your aunt, because we are third cousins. Not a very thoughtful aunt, because you are now thirteen and still have no idea what my side of my family looks. like But all is not lost, for this year I am determined to make up for lost time. It is time for you to know where your rebellious and sometimes near psychotic spirit comes from When you come to Negros we must spend time for story telling
Your family and mine are an interesting bunch. But just like any family, there are the good and the other side of things. I am grateful to your mom for giving us credit for your intelligence, because I am sure I can hardly take credit for your good looks.
Your great grandfather Justice Jesus G. Perez and my grandfather Mateo Casten Guanzon were first cousins, because Mateo I was the older brother of Filomena, your great grandfather's mother. If you were worried about dysfunctional genes you might have inherited when you saw our lovable, small but terrible grand aunt Luz Guanzon Perez-Zayco, you are right.
Lola Luz did get her artistry and esprit from her Guanzon side. Her hands and fingers were graceful on the piano, but she had a mean left hook too.
She had an elephant's memory, and a tongue, that could be tender but at the same time capable of sending her enemies on warp speed to Dante's inferno. Although we rarely saw her, she was a significant part of our family. We are proud to be related to her.
"My father is so enamored of her and her character that he named our youngest sister Maria Luz, a doctor, after her.
Lola Luz was buried last Saturday, and we had a last look of her small but proud face. We, the politicians in our family, your uncle Ysidro Zayco included, inherited from Lola Luz her genuine love for people. She loved politics. She would go around town campaigning, and could spend a whole day in the market without getting tired. She was a great storyteller too.
Ask Ali, she will tell you how Lola Luz told them her love story with Lolo Icoy, like it was a chapter from Romeo and Juliet. But when she got mad, she really got mad. Oh well, with that kind of character, charm and intelligence, there has got to be a trade-off.
At her request, Lola Luz is buried in the same ground as her father, mother, brother and sister, and not with her husband. As you can tell, she was extremely loyal to her family. The "lapida" (tombstone) of her maternal grandfather, Capitan Maximiano Guanzon is also in the same mausoleum Maximiano's father was Pedro. It is said that they came from Pampanga. It was Maximiano and his son Mateo who led the revolt against the Spanish soldiers in Kabankalan during the revolution. It wasn't much of a fight, for there were only a handful of the Spanish guardia civil. But you can check Father Cuenca-Martinez' book, A History of Negros for this, if you are interested. When the Americans Spaniards as our colonizers, father and son Maximiano and Mateo were accused of being rebels and were tied to and made to walk behind horses from Kabankalan to Bago.
It was only through the intercession of a Luzurriaga that they were released.
Your lolo Susing had the entrance road to Kabankalan named after Maximiano, so you have Guanzon Street there Tita Heidi remembers her father's Tio Mateo as having large ears. She said he often wore black and white shoes with a white suit. Tito Nonoy, aka Ysi, said that lolo Teo looked tall when he was a boy. I think it was more of the bearing than the height, for tatay said he did walk ramrod straight, with a cane for effect.
I have to check this, but it is said that he went to the Ateneo, something which none of us has done. I think he was a spoiled only son. He was a good friend of the Zuluetas of Iloilo, who also went to Americans took over from the school in Ateneo, and so it was not surprising that, as a result of his vacations there, he married their relative, Emilia Casten.
That is why my younger brother is named Casten, and so is his son.
The male Guanzons looked alike, as you can see from the pictures, which I will send your mom. Try to keep it for your next generation, for this is one way we can stay con nected. You are lucky, I must say, for having the Perez genes, for your ancestor was a Spaniard, and had fine features. I suspect that our ancestors were Chinese Filipinos I would fancy having some European blood too, but it doesn't go with my nose, so it is just as well that I have the skin of the great and noble Malay race.
Your mom and I went to law school together. I hope that someday you and my nephews and nieces will get to know each other well, and will be happy to claim each other as relatives. The distance may be a minor obstacle, but with e-mail, we can stay connected And then there is always the Christmas season, or New Year. Come and spend some time with us during your break. I am sure that you and I will find that although our relation may seem distant, we are alike. Let me guess. You have a strong sense of independence, and like things to be orderly. You like to study only what really interests you. You get angry when someone is treated unfairly.
If you also have a mean left or right hook, then you are really lola Luz's great grand daughter and my niece, blood of my blood.
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