Batangas. Almost synonymous to Anilao beach, kape, balisong beinte nueve (29), Ibaan tamales, panutsa and tablea (cocoa balls).
A place where people love to drink. We even have our own word for drinking, "Barek".
My hometown. I was born and raised in Bolbok (sa may Bejasa Bakery laang).
Finished Elementary and High school at St. Bridgets College (Let your light shine!)
Was fed and nourished by lomi (special ha yung may chicharon at atay).
How to distinguish a true Batangenyo on a crowd? Just look for the jolly one with the distinct tone in his/her voice which almost always ends with a "ga!" or "e!"
That ear-catching Batangenyo tone was made famous by Leo Martinez in several of his characters like Atorney Manhik Manaog and Don Robert in the now defunct show Ober da bakod.
Everytime at the end of that show, 2 policemen will show up and always "arrest" Don robert for his crimes (which is sometimes as silly as "Illegal laughing"). =) To which Don Robert would say "Ay ano ga naman areng dalawang are at nandine na naman. Bakit ga ako ay inyo na namang huhulihin? Ano ga naman ang kaso ko ngay-on?" (I wonder why these 2 are here again. Why are you arresting me? What did I do wrong?)
Anyway, what i really want to discuss is regarding the innate quality of almost every Batangenyo - being a Barako.
Contrary to popular belief that every one of us wields 'beinte nueve' in our waists and that we are always 'Siga sa Barikan", Batangenyos are fairly peaceful and loving individuals. (And anywhere you go, you will hear something like this "Taga saan ka ga? Ikaw ga ay kaano ano ng Ka Bitoy Castillo ng Bolbok? Ay di ga tayo pala ay mag-pinsan"). Its like everyone is a relative of somebody there. So the word 'Pinsan' is very very common.
What does it mean to be a "Barako"? Is it to carry a balisong everywhere you go (and be able to open it in one swift motion)?
or is it to be the 'siga' of your place when drunk and yell "Sinong barako dito?" I dont think so.
Barako is a term used to describe our famous coffee which is rich in taste and really 'kicks'. I therefore conclude(ano to lab report?? hehe) that Barako in general, means strong.
And if you go to MSWord and search for synonyms of the word strong, you will see 'robust, sturdy, durable, solid, tough, resilient and heavy duty(parang eveready battery).
So I guess for me, being barako means to be:
Strong and sturdy in your faith and beliefs
Tough and resilient through life's challeges
Heavy duty = Dependable (Maaasahan)
Solid pag nagmahal.
Which is why everyday I try to be a 'Barako' in the way I think it should mean.
And anywhere I go, I will always remember that I carry in me the blood of the true Barakong Batangenyo.
Ikaw? Totoong Barako ka ga?
>>for more info regarding Batangas and its rich history, you may check out this site
http://www.eemfoundation.org/batangas.html
#rockdubai
A place where people love to drink. We even have our own word for drinking, "Barek".
My hometown. I was born and raised in Bolbok (sa may Bejasa Bakery laang).
Finished Elementary and High school at St. Bridgets College (Let your light shine!)
Was fed and nourished by lomi (special ha yung may chicharon at atay).
How to distinguish a true Batangenyo on a crowd? Just look for the jolly one with the distinct tone in his/her voice which almost always ends with a "ga!" or "e!"
That ear-catching Batangenyo tone was made famous by Leo Martinez in several of his characters like Atorney Manhik Manaog and Don Robert in the now defunct show Ober da bakod.
Everytime at the end of that show, 2 policemen will show up and always "arrest" Don robert for his crimes (which is sometimes as silly as "Illegal laughing"). =) To which Don Robert would say "Ay ano ga naman areng dalawang are at nandine na naman. Bakit ga ako ay inyo na namang huhulihin? Ano ga naman ang kaso ko ngay-on?" (I wonder why these 2 are here again. Why are you arresting me? What did I do wrong?)
Anyway, what i really want to discuss is regarding the innate quality of almost every Batangenyo - being a Barako.
Contrary to popular belief that every one of us wields 'beinte nueve' in our waists and that we are always 'Siga sa Barikan", Batangenyos are fairly peaceful and loving individuals. (And anywhere you go, you will hear something like this "Taga saan ka ga? Ikaw ga ay kaano ano ng Ka Bitoy Castillo ng Bolbok? Ay di ga tayo pala ay mag-pinsan"). Its like everyone is a relative of somebody there. So the word 'Pinsan' is very very common.
What does it mean to be a "Barako"? Is it to carry a balisong everywhere you go (and be able to open it in one swift motion)?
or is it to be the 'siga' of your place when drunk and yell "Sinong barako dito?" I dont think so.
Barako is a term used to describe our famous coffee which is rich in taste and really 'kicks'. I therefore conclude(ano to lab report?? hehe) that Barako in general, means strong.
And if you go to MSWord and search for synonyms of the word strong, you will see 'robust, sturdy, durable, solid, tough, resilient and heavy duty(parang eveready battery).
So I guess for me, being barako means to be:
Strong and sturdy in your faith and beliefs
Tough and resilient through life's challeges
Heavy duty = Dependable (Maaasahan)
Solid pag nagmahal.
Which is why everyday I try to be a 'Barako' in the way I think it should mean.
And anywhere I go, I will always remember that I carry in me the blood of the true Barakong Batangenyo.
Ikaw? Totoong Barako ka ga?
>>for more info regarding Batangas and its rich history, you may check out this site
http://www.eemfoundation.org/batangas.html
#rockdubai
Ay kagaleng naman ng batangenyong are. Gay-on nga..:)
ReplyDelete