RETRACING OUR HISTORY

It was such a blessing to have Tita Alice visit us in NJ one year. Her stay was very brief but I made it a point to tap into her knowledge of family history. The Facebook Group page for the Baranggay has also been a great resource for our "unfolding" history. Keep 'em coming dear family!

We start our story in the small dusty town of Passi. Most of the town in the late 19th century belonged to only three families: the Padernillas, the Pamplonas, and the Paneses. "The Padernillas owned practically half of Passi," according to Tiyoy Nono. Their property back then spread across an area that included the whole of Barrio Imbang, Barrio Asisig as well as the farm of the Aventuras in Barrio Balatocon, at least. Anyway, part of our family history starts with the Padernillas.

Padernilla Family Tree

The chart above (click on the image to enlarge) traces the bloodline back to Lucio Padernilla and Gregoria Pamplona. In their day, their union probably placed them at the highest standing in Passi society. They had three children, that we know of. Our line comes from Felicidad Padernilla, who married Exequiel Estepar. Our beloved Lola Maris was one of their daughters.

Note the interesting relationship between the families of Tatay Juan and Tatay Exequiel in the next graph (click on the image to enlarge). Legend has it that at his deathbed, Juan asked his sister's brother to look after his widow and children after he was gone. True to his word, Tatay Ike did a very GOOD job taking care of his brother-in-law's family. The fruit of his generosity were Maria/ Maring and Emma/ Eming.

Estepar-Bravo Family Tree

How did our Lola Maris feel about her father's embarrassing and scandalous affair? Tiyoy Nono tells the story: "Mama was the "enforcer" of the Estepar-Padernilla household at age 13. Manay Ester was 2 yrs older than her but she was the goody-goody type of a girl. They often saw Lola Idad brooding and crying over the "indiscretions" of Lolo Iki. Mama would wear her Papa's "sharkskin" pants (unheard of in those times: a girl wearing pants) and drag Lola Idad so they can confront (dumogon ta, said Mama) the chick of Lolo. The chick was Lola's own sis in law, the biyuda [widow] of Lola's brother. Nanay Maring and Nanay Eming, Lolo's daughters outside the chicken coop, were very young then and were not parts of the equation."

But even before Tatay Ike, our family already had a scandalous history. Tatay Ike's father was Padre Crisentio Bravo, a Catholic priest from Palencia, Spain. He was the last Spanish friar stationed in Passi. He was described as a "Spanish Moor" and thus, a Spaniard with darker skin. That's why here in New York City, where being of mixed decent gives you some cache, I sometimes like to say that I am either part black or part Arab.

Perhaps because Padre Bravo was trying to conceal the miracle he made with one of his flock, he gave his children the name "Estepar" instead, which was his mother's maiden name. Although in those days, it was pretty out in the open that the priests had "wives" and children. Most priests also made sure that their families were well-cared for, and many lived privileged lives.

With the wealth of the Padernillas, Lola Maris was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Unfortunately, her parents, Lolo Ike and Lola Edad, were somewhat "irresponsible" with money. When Lola Maris was only seven years old, her parents sold a large piece of property which was Barrio Lungao, and used the proceeds to vacation in Iloilo City. The family and their servants, riding on several caromatas pulled by oxen, probably travelled for a couple of days or so to reach Iloilo City. They used all their money to live it up, shop and party hard in the city. They only lasted a month. After that, they went back to Passi with nothing to show for the property that once was Lungao except, perhaps, for memories of a really good time.

Lolo Dinoy has a slightly different, but also "very interesting", family tree (click on the image below to enlarge). Lolo's father, Fernando, had at least eight children with six different women. Talk about being busy! Tita Alice said that Tatay Fernando Patino was from Dumarao (?) and Nanay Itak was from Dao, Capiz. 
 

Patino Family Tree

Lolo also grew up very differently from Lola, who reminded him quite regularly in the earlier years of marriage that she was from buena familia. Lolo Dinoy's parents were married to different people before they met. Nanay Itak had a philandering husband (he was ultimately sent to Palawan to perform forced labor for the Spanish and was never seen again) and Fernando, or Tatay Ido, was also married but "liked" the ladies very much. Itak and Ido lived together for some time and had Lolo Dinoy. Somehow things did not work out and Itak left Dumarao with Lolo and settled in Passi where she became the laundry lady of Padre Amado Panes. As Lolo got older, it seemed Fernando was not much of a presence in his life. Tiyoy Nono notes that he did not really support Lolo. If fact, it was actually Padre Amado who supported Lolo and sent him to college in Manila at the University of Santo Tomas. The priest noticed how brilliant our Lolo was as a young lad and took him under his wing. Lolo originally wanted to become an architect, or perhaps pursue some kind of creative field. But Padre Amado wanted him to become a pharmacist to complement Lolo Marin, who took up medicine. Lolo Dinoy set-up the first pharmacy in Passi.


Editor's note: Some of the details above may be slightly inaccurate, as I try to patch the story together from different story tellers. Please post any corrections or additions to our Facebook group.