Barangay Santa Cruz

My parents still lives in barangay Santa Cruz although they also travel to Cebu City and stay with my elder brother's family. But we always consider this barangay as home. It used to be known as Pooc, a former sitio of neighbouring barangay Guiwanon. In fact, it is still popularly referred to as Pooc by the locals in the barangay and in Baclayon. It is not surprising to hear people refer to it as Santa Cruz Pooc or Pooc Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz is one of the 17 barangays of Baclayon, Bohol. As at 2007, it has a population of 1,399 and is classified as a rural barangay. If you are coming from Tagbilaran going eastwards, it is the first barangay of Baclayon that you passed by.

I already knew it was once known as Pooc and a former sitio of Guiwanon and recently, that it was founded in the month of June. But imagine my amazement one day when I did a search on it. I found the text of the very law that founded it, Republic Act (RA) 4408 - An Act Creating Certain Barrios in the Municipality of Baclayon, Province of Bohol.

Section 1.2 of the Act states that "The sitio of Pooc in the barrio* of Guiwanon, Municipality of Baclayon, Province of Bohol, is separated from said barrio and constituted into a distinct and independent barrio of said municipality, to be known as the barrio of Santa Cruz."

Other new barrios created by this Act includes Libertad, Dasitam and San Juan Buenaventura. It sets the founding date as June 19, 1965. This means that these barangays will turn 44 this year. Click here for the full text of RA 4408.

* the term barrio had been replaced with the term barangay; both terms are still used interchangeably to mean the same thing, it is the smallest political unit in Philippine politics.

Happy Easter

Today, most of Christendom celebrates Easter Sunday, which is the day Jesus was resurrected from the dead three days after his crucifixion. It also marks the end of the Lenten season. It is a joyous occasion where people in Bohol usually spend frolicking in the beach with lots of food, which signifies the end of fasting in previous days of the Holy Week.

An important activity held at dawn on Easter Sunday is the "Sugat" (Sugbuanon Binisaya = meeting), a religious procession that commemorates the meeting of Jesus Christ and his mother Mary. The part of the procession that churchgoers awaits most is when the angel (hanging from a harness) descend from heaven to get the veil off the statue of the Virgin Mary.

I have not had the chance to attend this activity during my childhood. I am not an early morning person so I'm sure I was woken up a number of times by cousins and aunts telling me to join them watch the Sugat in Baclayon's Immaculate Conception Church. I knew it was an amazing spectacle to see as it was the only thing that was talked about as soon as I wake up. And the highlight of the show? It is always the angel taking off Virgin Mary's veil e.g. who it was this year, still him/her this year?, how beautiful the angel's voice is, etcetera.

Looking back at it now, I do regret not being able to attend the Sugat but it is the past. If I am going to have another opportunity, I will not hesitate to go this time. But what I did not miss attending is the "pangaligo sa dagat" (Sugbuanon Binisaya = dipping in the sea). Would a child miss the most important thing during Easter Sunday? Certainly not me.

Photo - http://biblical-art.com (The Resurrection of Christ by Peter Paul Rubens)

Tilt-shift Photographs

"Tilt-shift" refers to a photographic technique that is used to create special effects when taking a photo. If you want to know how to do this read here.

The photo above is that of the iconic natural heritage that is synonymous with Bohol, the Chocolate Hills. This was taken a couple years ago during our holiday in my homeland of Bohol.

The photo below, also taken in the same Bohol holiday as the above photo, shows several of my pag-umangkon (nephew or niece) frolicking in the swimming pool of Bohol Tropics.

Family Tree

Due to my homesickness, I got really interested on family trees. I know my paternal grandfather's family pretty well; but, the clan is getting bigger and new generations are born. I hardly know children of my first cousins, especially the younger ones.

I started searching about family trees and how to create them. Then I got to know Geni (http://geni.com) and started browsing. Geni is a genealogy-related social networking website, which is just perfect. So, I created our very own family tree starting with my paternal grandfather. That was early last year. This year, I have counted about 200 family members and traced my ancestry as far back as my paternal great grandfather (presumably born in 1870s).

Geni's website describe itself as a fast, free and fun way to create your family tree with your relatives and stay in touch. I could not agree more. Not only can you build your family tree in Geni but also preserve your family history, share family photos and videos, celebrate birthdays anniversaries and other events, create profiles for your children, and memorialise loved ones. Our family members have done it all.

Also, you can send real and virtual gifts to your family including fresh flowers for birthdays and other special occasions. This is particularly popular with me as I send lots of free virtual gifts to my relatives.

This year, my family tree is getting bigger. I have already merged with my wife's family tree and intend to expand it more. And I have met more distant relatives from my father's family.

If you are interested in creating your own family tree, why don't you give Geni a try. It is private and secure since only people in your family tree can see your tree and profile.