By: Telly Gonzaga-Ocampo
Flores De Mayo: again, where have all the young girls gone?
The Flores de Mayo is a whole month feast for the Blessed Mother. This observance of the feast was brought to our church in Baclayon by Nang Coring-Socorro Real Manding, then an interna of the Colegio De Sta. Isabel in Manila. This was during the pre–war years when Manila was at her peak as the Pearl of the Orient Seas.
The Flores de Mayo of my youth was something every young girl dreamt of before the month of May. When we were younger, we loved to attend the Flores de Mayo as “angels” garbed in white with feathered wings made of finely crafted paper. Flowers made out of crepe paper crowned our heads and a cape in pastel color trimmed in silver or gold adorned our angel’s garment. What a heavenly feeling! During our dalaginding years, we wished to grow a little faster, big enough to carry the letters of the Ave Maria so we could walk from the foot of the church to the steps of the altar as we were escorted by two angels with the choir singing Dios Te Salve Maria.
It was at this stage in our life when we came to meet and know the girls from the other side of town. It was fun, then, when we grouped ourselves: the San Vicente children, on the left side of the church while the Lujong Sawang children grouped themselves at the other side. Realizing the polarization, our coach and maestro, Nong Tekyo Caballo, became unhappy about the seeming stratification of young people. Kusi-on gyud mi ni Nong Tekyo ug dli mi mobalhin ug linya sa taga lujong sawang aron makighigala sa taga pikas. That form of discipline made us feel better because our circle of friends widened especially when we had to attend the catechism class prior to the repaso of the Flores de Mayo. During the the repaso and the klase sa katekismo, I could remember Nang Torya (Victoria Ayaay) one of the teachers and my Tio Brely (Gabriel Villamor Oppus) who was then a seminarian. Both helped in teaching us catechism and giving us estampita and medalya of the Blessed Virgin.
We felt, then, that we were real angels, blessed and chosen, as we were molded to learn and practice the virtues of the blessed Virgin. The catechism class was an avenue for us to make friends and play with the other children; while the repaso was an opportunity for good behavior especially on how to dress up and walk properly as we did our grand entry into the altar for the “Mangadto Kitang Tanan Sa Mga Bulak Nga Daghan”. The choir was heavenly. They sang in harmony with the accompanying pipe organ played by Ingko Marcelino Israel with Indong, his assistant, pumping “air and wind and fire” into the organ. Later on, there was Ranie Andoy with Eric Cañete, his disciple, who also gave life to our music. The group of cantores at that time was composed of Aying Israel, Justina Samson, Teresa Gamao, and Fidela andoy. But there was this one and only Mercedes Ginete Ramo, a soprano, who sang the Estrella De Los Mares with young girls spreading the golden stars with the colors of the rainbow.
The Flores de Mayo bonded our friendship with Zita, Lindy, Dalene, Nene, Nilda, and Flor. Today, though we cannot be seeing each other often, we are all connected in prayers. All of us are devotees to our Lady of Flores de Mayo up to this day and we continue to offer her flowers, in our home altars, despite the weakness of our gaits and the realities of our physical disabilities.
Trinity Sunday, would have been the peak of the celebration when all of the dayandayan for the Flores would unfold. I cannot help but remember those people who made our Flores de Mayo very meaningful and memorable, and to them we are grateful: Nong Tekyo Caballo; Ingko Lumen; Manding Eyay, for the daily novena; Custod, our version of the Red Riding Hood, who was always ready with her lipak for any misbehaving “angel”; and there was that one lady with angelic voice whose name I forgot; Anding Pilar, our stylist who made our wings, our crowns of flowers crowns including the decoration of the big letters of the Ave Maria. To all of you, you are well remembered and we are forever grateful.
Flores de Mayor: Where have all the young girls gone?
FLORES de MAYO at Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church in Baclayon, Bohol
The Reyna Elena during the Flores de Mayo celebration