Sekder Ka Tan Dayew Mi, 5

BACK IN DAGUPAN. REPAST.

I got back to Dagupan a little before nightfall. I resolved to eat at places other than Galvan, but with the night creeping, I relented. I ate at the same place I ate that morning. I was served 1/4 kilo of pigar-pigar, but this time with no cabbage, just onions.

I had time to talk with the waitress. It was then she told me that kaleskes was made from beef also, though it was unclear if it was cow innards. When I said that I thought it was made from fish, she said, "Oh - that's kaliskis." I laughed: of course, what was I thinking?

-0-

EPILOGUE


I got on a bus that evening, bound for Manila. It was the best single-day trip I had ever made (with the possible exceptions of Gumaca, whose beach is accessible from the town center, and Atimonan, whose Lavides Bridge had me thinking about an earthly paradise for the eyes). It was truly worth going to Pangasinan, and especially as an unguided tourist. Every place is accessible from every other place, at least in old Pangasinan, the towns where I've been to. Of course, the west is a different story: the only real populated place there is Alaminos City, and the west is mountainous, kinda like Batangas. But central Pangasinan is steeped in civilization. It is right to be proud of its old buildings.

However, I would like to stress that Pangasinan must develop further. The city of Dagupan can develop its own metro region very fast, and it's good that the call center industry has started noticing it. But more entrepreneurs are needed in Dagupan. It cannot be forever known as the Bangus Capital; it must develop its own food chains, supermarket chains, etc. The CSI Malls and the Magic Malls are good starting points.

Lingayen, too, must develop its self-promotion as a historical and, well, recreational tourist destination. Above all, the old Casa Real must be restored. Spanish Lingayen and American Lingayen taken together provide a history lesson not only to Pangasinenses, but also to other Filipinos, not merely as a favorite invasion spot, but also as two different town layouts with different architectures and different auras.

And then, the province's historical connections with La Union and Benguet must be promoted as well, and expanded. As I've said, the Pangasinenses are cousins of the Ibaloi and other Southern Cordillerans, the most economically (and politically) successful of these Cordillerans. They have also worked with the hardy Ilocanos from the north. These connections situate Pangasinan where it really is. We need not imagine a Pangasinan polity - it is there, and such are its neighbors and influences.

-0-

I have yet to talk about my journey into Abra and Apayao, two very different provinces of the Cordillera Administrative region. That might be about mid-December already, because I've other topics to talk about. :D Stay sharp, y'all!