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SOMEONE ASKED me in a not so distant past as to my birthplace to which I simply answered: “Namundag sa Ciudad nin Naga Alagad Caramoan an Ginikanan Tabi” . (Which in English goes this way, “I was born in Naga City but my roots are from Caramoan”). I now realize that my reply, in particular, the phrase “Alagad Caramoan an ginikanan tabi”, has something to do with my going back to my humble beginnings, to the birthplace of my parents. Both of my parents were born in the Municipality of Caramoan, Province of Camarines Sur. At present, they are enjoying their much deserved retirement benefits and privileges, they too are members of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). I was not born in Caramoan, Camarines Sur but in my boyhood days the numerous fiesta celebrations I attended in the month of May in honor of its Patron Saint, Saint Michael the Archangel are still vivid in my mind. The last time I went to Caramoan was in the year 1987. I was then a fresh graduate from high school and a freshman in college.
After twenty (20) long years, my dream of taking a glimpse of a paradise called Caramoan would hopefully be much happier because of the efforts of the men and women of the Caramoan Residents Association in Naga City (CRANE) who conceptualized “BALIK CARAMOAN“ and are trying to translate such concept into reality. This is an endeavor which must be supported by different sectors of the society and line agencies of our government that promote tourism not only to our beloved paradise called Caramoan but also to its neighboring towns in the third congressional district of the Province of Camarines Sur. In fact, when I saw the picture of Gota Beach with its immaculate white sand, I was captivated by its unspoiled beauty which I considered at par with the world’s best beaches and resorts occasionally featured in a cable television.
Why is Caramoan paradise? Paradise has been defined as any place of or offering perfect happiness (The New Lexicon Webster’s Dictionary, 1995 edition). I say paradise because in my boyhood days during summer vacation, Caramoan provided my brother and myself together with my cousins a “swimmer’s paradise”. We would usually swim until we got tired in a river near the place my cousins fondly “river control, it is a river bordering the two barangays of Tawog and Ili. Incidentally, my father is from barangay Tawog and my mother once lived in an ancestral house located in barangay Ili. The house is actually owned by my mother’s eldest sister.
I said paradise because Caramoan provided me with native viands ranging from boiled sweet potato, the perennial leche flan, the famous fl our cakes which my relatives proudly called “upside down” and to the ubiquitous sumptuous menus of seafoods and meat that linger in my mind and make me crave for them everytime I recall those moments. I am amused listening to my relatives mostly from my mother’s side, they stay in my parents’ house in Gimenez Park Subdivision in Naga City during the Penafrancia Fiesta, when their conversations are laced with words and phrases like “ HADAW “ and “HADAW MAN HO “.
When I first heard of “BALIK CARAMOAN“, the joyous homecoming for the town fiesta come to my mind. I am glad and excited to catch a glimpse of a paradise we called Caramoan. To borrow the words as appearing in the November 30, 2006 issue of the CRANE MONITOR: “
To ensure that Caramoanons coming home on May 1 to 8, 2007 would forever cherish the experience.”
Let me therefore invite my friends, relatives and you, my dear readers of PENINSULA MONITOR, to join us in celebrating the activities of Balik Caramoan. You may visit the following websites: www. crane-caramoan.org.ph and www.napolcom.gov.ph and you may EMAIL at info@crane-caramoan.org.ph and ffba7680@yahoo.com.ph.
