Father's Day 2008

St. Monica's Parish Church does this really nice thing on Mother's Day and Father's Day. During the Offertory of the Mass, the priest invites mothers (on Mother's Day) and fathers (on Father's Day) to surround the altar. They are given flowers as well, and the community says a special prayer and blesses for them. It's a nice touch. Today's 9:30 a.m. Mass was standing room only. This 9:30 Mass is usually attended by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver and their family.

On another matter, my online class (Essential Beginnings in Creative Writing, UCLA Extension) ended last week. It was a particularly good class. There was a lot of talent and the participants bonded nicely. It was nice to see them develop dramatically in six weeks.

All for now,
Cecilia

FATHER'S DAY - Mariano Flores Manguerra

Today is Father's Day and I'm remembering my own father, Mariano Flores Manguerra, born March 8, 1894, and died October 29, 1957. He was born in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, son of Pablo Manguerra and Maria Espina Flores. Papa's full-blood siblings were: Pablo Jr., Concepcion, Estefania, and Pura. His father, Pablo, had other children. Papa's mother (Maria Espina Flores) had a brother named Jose Flores, who had a daughter named Mariquita Flores (first cousin of Papa, then). Mariquita married Justice Villamor and they were the parents of the Philippine hero-pilot Jesus Villamor. Papa was a civil engineer. He attended Valparaiso University in Indiana, and when he returned to the Philippines became a professor of Engineering at the University of the Philippines. Papa had a first wife, Catalina Abad Santos, who died; they had no children. 

 Papa's second marriage was to Mama (Concepcion Alesna Cuenco). They had 4 children: Maria Victoria, Mariano Jesus, Ana Maria Teresita, and me (Cecilia Catalina). 

Aside from attending Engineering school in Indiana, he worked there. He also worked in South East Asian countries. During World War II, he was in the guerrilla movement in Mindanao. He brought his wife and 2 children with him to live in places like Malaybalay, in Mindanao. His third child was born in Mindanao; a fourth child (a boy) miscarried during the war. I was born after the war. Aside from being a Professor of Engineering, he worked as a District Engineer in Talisay, Cebu, and later became an independent Contractor building highways in Cebu and in Dumaguete. He had also built buildings in Jaro, Iloilo and Baker's Hall in Los Banos, Manila. The highways and buildings are still there. 

 Papa died of a heart attack while on a holiday in Hong Kong, on October 29, 1957. 

 (Photo l-r: Ana, Mariano, Cecilia, photo taken circa 1956)