May Day
The first day of May is a very important date for workers worldwide when labor movements celebrate their social and economic achievements. In the Philippines, May 1 usually marks a new battle for labor groups and advocates as they strive to fight for better or higher wages for workers. As long as I can remember (since I moved to Manila in college) the common scene at this time of the year are rallies in Maynila, specifically in Mendiola and near Malacañan Palace. But this post is not about Labor Day or wage hikes. I leave the discussion of these topics to the experts.
I wait for a different ‘event’ in May. I’m a probinsyana, a girl from the countryside. I grew up running along cornfields, chasing chickens, walking between paddy fields and watching rice stalks gracefully dancing to the music of the provincial breeze, climbing guava trees, collecting sticky sap from the trunk of jackfruit trees and use it to catch dragonflies and butterflies in the field (hell! I didn’t even know the existence of the net!).
May is a month of many festivities. But aside from Flores de Mayo and the numerous fiestas in almost every corner of the country, I anticipate the coming of the first rain of May, better known to us probincianos/probincianas as Agua de Mayo. I remember my grandmother telling us that the first rain of May is sacred. It’s a blessing. Others believe that it’s similar to agua bendita or holy water and it has healing powers. For whatever other reasons, Agua de Mayo is important to agricultural communities. An ample amount of rain during this month signals a good planting season for rice farmers. I’m really praying for a good planting season and good harvest for our farmers and a sincere hope that we’ll get through the rice crisis.
Anyway, when it rained on the first day of May, I couldn’t let the event pass by. I just had to get out and feel the rain on my skin. And take pictures, of course!
Raindrops keep falling on my… hand! Lamig!
Welcoming the rain.
The fog almost covered the mountains.
Proud probinsyana rin ako. Nakaka-miss magtampisaw sa ulan at manghuli ng tutubi at magpatulog ng salagubang. hehe
Salve: Kaka-miss talaga maligo sa ulan. Andaming nakaka-miss na bagay sa probinsya.
uy, sarap sa probinsya. manila girl ako e, pero kapag bakasyon, sabit ako sa mga pinsan ko na magkabasyon sa probinsya
at sempre, maki piesta.
Salve: Sinabi mo! At ang fiesta, bongga talaga. Pwede ka makipamiesta kahit dun sa di mo kakilala.
Mare, ang ganda ng mountain view from your place:) And for seconds, this entry let my mind wander away from work as I imagined the dancing rice stalks and vast cornfields:) Relaxing
Salve: oo, mare. lalo na pag mainit.
Nami-miss ko na nga yang dancing rice stalks. matagal-tagal na din akong di nakakauwing bicol.
Uy Salve, you made me smile a real soothing smile sa post mo na ito. Ako ren, PROMDI hehehe!
Gusto mo, punta tayo sa Ilocos. Gawan kita ng bahay kubo na dayami. Tapos, gagawa ako ng pito from rice stalk, tugtugtugan kita ng “Naraniag a Bulan”. Oy, huwag punain tagalogko ha, hehehe!
Haynaku, I miss the full moon sa amin while making “lubi-lubi” or cooking tupig while the others are singing kundiman. Dito sa BRU, you only see the full moon once every four years. It rains 365 days a year hehehe!
Salve: buti naman at napangiti ka dito, VF!
Sige, call ako dyan sa pamamasyal sa probinsya. Kelan? Ano pala yung “lubi-lubi”? Ang alam ko kasing ganyan, yung ginugulay.
tama ka dyan iha! yan rin ang kwento sa akin ng parents ko pagdating ng mayo pinapaligo na kami sa ulan kahit tinatamad ako kc pagagalitan lang ako pag di sumunod so go nalang para hindi mapalo uniko iho (tama ba ako) paborito kung manood ng santakrusan kc dami magaganda sana ako eskort nila hehehehe!
Salve: di mo type maligo sa ulan? sarap kaya. si dallen pasalihin mo sa mga santacruzan paglaki nya.
Teka muna, ano bang kinodak mo dun sa may bahay na picture? Mountain, bahay, untended lawn, picket fence or yung ihi na hindi nalaglag?
… kung marinig mo lang ang halaklak ko…
Salve: lahat sila, kinodakan ko, vf. wa care kung umuulan man!
Wow, kitaing-kita ang view ng mountain mula sa inyo ahh. San nga ba province mo sis? Bicol nga ba? Naaalala ko din noon, kapag unang ulan sa atin papalabasin na kami ng mamsy ko para maligo kasi nga daw nakakalakas ng katawan. Sana nga mawala na yung rice crisis sa atin.
Salve: yun ang masarap dun, may view. kaya kahit medyo malayo from work, umuuwi talaga ko everyday.
hello salve, it’s been awhile and i thought i’d tag you. =P ..when you have the time.
http://backlinemedia.com/?p=111
Salve: thank you for the tag paolo. I had fun doing it.
Pasalamatan magiliw balutin…
Kung ka mangilangan A Blog , subukin sa tumingin “Leoxa.com”
( ang paksa ay pagayon nakatutuwa )
ganda naman ang scenery..
kakamiss ang pinas..
i have a tag for you here.. i hope you can grab it when you get a chance…
http://tinyurl.com/4fr8ld
thanks!
Salve: hi, vhiel! thanks for dropping by. Promise, I’ll do your tags soon.
may is also raft3r’s birth month
hehe
i’m back
i couldn’t access wordpress from majuro
weird!!!
how are things?
Salve: hi, raft3r! welcome back.
ako din, kababalik lang sa blogosphere.
happy memorial weekend..
got a tag for you here.. http://tinyurl.com/55mveb
May in the Philippines used to be quite magical to me. The first rain in May is special and we would go out and shower with friends.
Thanks for visiting Norwich Daily Photo and leaving your comments. It’s been a while but I hope to visit your blog more regularly. A lot of things have happened in my so called life, which prevented me from being more active online. Enjoy the week ahead!
joy
A Pinay In England
Your Love Coach
I, Woman
Salve: thanks for dropping by, Dr. Joy. Missed having you here.
ako din promdi na medyo malapit sa lungsod! alam nyo ba ma’am dahil sa mga piyesta piyesta na yan trapik na lalo sa Antipolo haayyy anyway ang aga nga ng tag-ulan ano? weird talaga! wala lang po nag-papansin lang ako!
Salve: hi, eka! kumusta ka na, hija?
wala tayong magagawa sa mga fiesta. ganyan talaga pag mayo sa Pilipinas.
oy, pasyal ka sa office. yung ice cream daw.
Aba Bb. Salve, wala na bang mababasa dito? Haynaku, laos ka na yata, kagaya ni Claudine!
Salve: VF, laos na si Claudine? Di ka siguro namakyaw ng pelikula nya.
musta na po, lolo?
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