Dear Erning, 
Your letter was long delayed, just as my
answer has taken so much time to write. All the
same I thank you for the card and the "small"
cash gift for my cigarettes.
And so the name TURLA is international?
How do you communicate with your two foreign
pen pals - in English? (Yes, in English. Until
about two years ago when I learned how to surf
the internet, I had never known other Turla
except those in our own country. Now, I know
that there are Turla in Italy, Latvia, Poland,
Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium. Maybe that
explains why my late grandfather and your late
mother surprisingly had blue eyes! Isn't this
something? - Ernie)
Yes, the two of us are the only remaining
close relatives. My sister Eden died some four
years ago.
How now can you get back your inherited
share of the ancestral house and lot, without
damaging the house? You either give up your
share or have Vivian pay for it. I advise you
not to bring the case to court; that resort
would only create a big scandal, when it could
be done through negotiation. What do you think?
It's heartening to hear that you plan to
visit your cousins in California. You may not
know the addresses of some of them. If so,
contact Annie (Filipinas) first. She will
guide you to them. Her address:
16399 Greenfield St.
Moreno Valley, C.A. (sic) 92551-7259
Eddie is here on vacation. He has no
permanent address. I'll give you his address
once he settles down for a job.
I'm glad to know you are interested in
the propagation of Kapampangan, our language.
(I have always been so! For one thing, I know
that its preservation and propagation greatly
depends upon us, and should be our utmost
concern as Pampangans. Whom should we entrust
it to anyway, the Institute of National Language?
That would be preposterous! I don't think the
I.N.L., due to conflict of interest, would ever
help any Filipino language other than Tagalog.
In fact it even seems to be a barrier.- E.T.)
Compiling Pampango words for a dictionary is
a big painstaking undertaking. Yes, don't
forget to send me a copy of your work once
it is off the press. (Note: I did send him
a copy. I mailed it on Jan.10 but by surface
mail. Hopefully, he was still able to get it
before he passed away. - Ernie)
Are you aware that our rich cultural
heritage has been on the decline since the
inception (by law) of Tagalog as our national
language? Look closely at these observations
of Kapampangan writers:
Edna Zapanta-Manlapaz, scholar and professor
at the Ateneo University in Manila, during her
survey on the literature of the Pampangos for
her book, noted that Kapampangan culture has
been neglected since the post-war period. (That
is pathetic. But who would ever invest his time
and money writing a book in Kapampangan if fellow
Kapampangans, perhaps for selfish reasons, would
not patronize it? - Ernie)
Another Kapampangan writer, Renato "Katoks"
Tayag, who also wrote in English, before his
death, observed that "Kapampangan is a dying
language" as more and more Pampangos are shifting
to Tagalog for communication. (Dying? Far from it!
My primary purpose in the publication of the
Classic Kapampangan Dictionary is to encourage
more writers in Kapampangan in all aspects of
writing: poetry, essay, drama, fiction. Moreover,
we still have the Akademya Ning Kapampangan, don't
we? - Ernie)
Years ago, Evangelina Hilario-Lacson, professor
at the Angeles University Foundation, cognizant of
the lamentable state of our culture, initiated a
crusade for the re-birth of Kapampangan, aimed to
be taught in all schools of the Kapampangan region.
This worthy project was disapproved for implementation
as it ran counter to the sole objective of the
Institute of National Language. (This is sad. It
reminds me of a George Bernard Shaw story in which
an official was approached by a Gaelic language
advocate who asked how the language could be saved
from an impending extinction. "Absolutely unnecessary",
replied the official, "Let it die a natural death.
The fewer languages there are in the world, the better
it is for communication and understanding." The
official did not give a damn, because it was not his
native language anyway, that darn idiot! And so it
came to pass that on account of that, another language
bit the dust, joining other dead languages. We shall
not let this happen to Kapampangan, shall we? No way!
We shall overcome! Kapampangan, mipacde ca! - Ernie)
What then should concerned Kapampangans do to arrest
somehow the inflow of Tagalog in our language? The
revival of the zarzuela, Crissotan, comedia, etc. could
be of tremendous help towards this direction. But the
revival of these cultural forms can not be realized
in the short term. There are formidable constraints
to face and solve. It will take years to have them
realized for stage showing. In the meantime, there
should be an alternative approach to begin with in
the campaign or "crusade" to regain what have been
lost or neglected in our culture.
To lead off the crusade, I would suggest the
publication of a literary news-magazine in
Kapampangan. [Whatever happened to "ING SUSI"?
If it needs funding, it should request help from
certain Kapampangan associations here in the U.S.
some of which are well-known for their humanitarian
work. The Aguman Capampangan of the Northwest is a
fine example. -Ernie] Such a magazine,I believe,
could be an effective means in arousing the
interest of the Kapampangans - let alone the local
writers and poets - to read in their own language.
The mechanics of preparation for and production of
the magazine can be discussed later. For the moment,
I just want your opinion on my proposal. (I agree
with you on this 100%! In this, we should probably
cultivate and utilize the vernacular talents of the
"locals" there in Pampanga and Tarlac, and organize
an annual "Kapampanganfest" where we can showcase
the best in Kapampangan writing, and where we can
have a writing contest in Kapampangan. We,
Kapampangans in the U.S., can probably sponsor such
events and give away trophies or plaques, and of
course, prize money. This, I think, is even more
meritorious than medical missions, because here,
we're trying to save a language. - Ernie)
Please, duplicate this letter with your computer.
Send the duplicate to Mr. Alejandro Camiling who I
understand, is another civic-minded Kapampangan. He
is an amateur practitioner of the broadcast and print
media according to my daughter-in-law, Grace, whose
mother is the sister of his wife. His address:
(Note: Here, the letter ends, unfinished. He must
have stopped to look for Andro's address. During the
interment, his son, Ivan, may have discovered the
letter and, finding it incomplete, supplied the
missing address which he wrote down. Sometime then,
Grace may have taken a glimpse of it and thought
that it was a letter directly addressed to her uncle
Andro, and she notified him in her long distance
call from the Philippines. Meanwhile, my cousin,
Ivan, promptly mailed the unfinished letter to me
and here is a short note he attached to the letter.)
February 17,2000
Dear Kong Erning,
My father passed away last Feb. 15, 2000. And
there was an "unfinished" letter on top of his desk
that I am hereby sending.
May this act of mine, in a way, accomplish
something about my father's last intention (s).
Regards,
Ivan V. Quiboloy
NOTE: C.T. Quiboloy, like his late brother, the
Kapampangan poet laureate, Delfin T. Quiboloy
was an uncle of mine. I maintained regular
correspondence with both of them through the
years, as they were my mentors in my writing
venture. (Tatang Delfin, in Kapampangan, and
Tatang Tino, in English).
He started his career as a classroom teacher in
his barrio, Sta. Catalina in Lubao, Pampanga.
He served as vice principal of Remedios Barrio High
School and as principal in various schools
including Dau Elementary School, the largest school
in the whole division of Pampanga. He retired as
supervisor of the Mabalacat School District during
the early 80's.
During his prime, he wrote several short stories in
English that were published in the Sunday Times magazine,
Kislap-Graphic, Graphic, Sentinel, and Focus - the
shining legacy he left behind here on earth when he
journeyed into the Hereafter on February 15, 2000.
C.T. Quiboloy's writings:
THE CLOCK {1948} -included in the index of Distinguished
Short Stories anthologized by Jose Garcia Villa
CARABAO MEAT {1952}
DARK NIGHT {1949}
SHE'S COMING BACK {1945}
THE SOWING {1956}
THE PRESIDENT AND I {1964}
THE INVISIBLE HAND {1962}
Visit these cool links:
Kapampangan Folksongs Album
http://maxpages.com/kapampangan
Andro's Kapampangan Page
http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~camiling/
 
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