Hello, everyone. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you from the Sarmac-Elizarde family. After 17 years, Joe and I got the chance to go back and visit our hometown. Our son, Glenn (now 21) and Desiree (15) came with us. Both of them were born in California. This was Desiree's first time to see San Manuel, and here is what she has to say of our hometown. Thought I'd share it with you. Here it goes ...



Everything seems so blurry and surreal. This old Philippine town of San Manuel is a place that I feel only exists in my mother’s childhood stories, yet I stand here in the center of it. I’ve never walked these old untouched dirt roads nor rested my eyes upon the lush, green surroundings, but for some reason this town holds a sense of serenity, acceptance, and history that as from a past life, this place seems all too familiar to me.

There’s nothing like the streets of San Manuel. Never can I feel so close to the natural world as I do here, where it seems civilization may exist without having to spare the serenity of rural life. As though riding through a safari, the tall grass sways with the wind. Cool fresh air brushes against one’s face as if inhaling it could cure one’s breathing ailments. Unlike the tainted and abused street corners of East L.A. San Manuel is a virgin, untouched and sacred, making isolation a grace . Here, there are no tall buildings. In fact, some citizens may not have any knowledge as to what a skyscraper looks like. When in San Manuel, the hustle and bustle of city life are galaxies away. This place would be almost frightening to an outsider who hasn’t experienced tranquility so intense. Few cars speed by. The only sounds are the vibrated fading hum of a motorcycle , or the rhythmic clippity-clap of a horse-drawn carriage. The peacefulness of this town is almost spiritual. People carry on with their routines until six o’clock each evening when the church bell rings, and the whole community becomes silent and still for prayer.

The poorest part of San Manuel is the part I envy the most. The homes are painfully too small, but somehow are able to fit a family with at least five children. The women do not show off the newest elite fashions, and the men do not cruise down the street like on Hollywood Boulevard showing off the most luxurious cars. Children do not wear the coolest shoes to school or out to play. Ignorance is bliss here, because for us, spoiled westerners, life is hell without the materialistic things we take so much for granted. For these San Manuelians, life is grand despite misfortunes. I can hear the echoes of continuous laughter down the way, and I see that happiness is achieved easily here, even without the shallow comforts money can buy. Unlike many places in America, San Manuel doesn’t impose on us pressure to live up to social standards. There’s no need to impress them with what we have. Their arms are open wide to outsiders without judging stares, but with the utmost respect, kindness, and hospitality.

San Manuel is a sanctuary of stories, and a haven of history. Being here, for me, is like stepping into the pages of a favorite children’s book, for it is the setting to many of my mother’s tales of childhood and adolescence. I am able to walk down the same steps as she walked. I can feel the same cold, wet stones at the bottom of the same river she swam in. Here, her stories miraculously come to life. To be in the same houses my mother and father grew up in gives me a better understanding of where I come from, and a catalyst for self discovery.

I never knew my grandparents, but hearing their legends from the people who knew them well, and standing next to their graves in the town cemetery at least grant me the satisfaction of understanding what they were like. Like traveling through time, San Manuel provides answers to my previous questions, while arousing even more curiosity about the past.

In a world where many things contribute to chaos and tension, San Manuel contributes to peace of mind. While big cities have been made artificial and powdered to perfection, San Manuel is a place blessed with the ability to remain naturally scenic with it’s green, fertile lands and freshwater springs. While there are people in this world who are disturbed by greed and who live life poorly, San Manuelians embrace the poor and they live life richly. While some walk around not knowing their background, I walk straight ahead, knowing that my heritage, my being began in this old Philippine town of San Manuel.