A word of pardon first. I don't know every relative by name. In fact, I've never met a lot of my relatives until this day. So, for those of you who know the faces that go with the names, please forgive me for any mistakes I may have made, and please, PLEASE leave a comment to correct those mistakes.
Your's Truly
Netty
At long last, the event that the entire family had been waiting for all year had finally arrived. The Labella Clan Grand Reunion. The last reunion was in 2000 1999, so this one was purported to be the reunion to out shine any other. So everyone made sure to look their best.
This is Cousin King, giving Cousin Bing a makeover. And that's yours truly, in the very back with the camera.
True to Filipino form, the three of us were late to the grand event. One and a half hours late, in fact. But no one noticed because there were just too many Labellas milling all over the place.
And to add to the festivities, Lolo just had a birthday three days before!
Lolo is the only living link that our generation has to the patriarch of the Labella Clan.
The reunion event had been meticulously planned, from a theme, down to the nitty gritty of who was receiving the Always On Time (so very un-Filipinolike) Award, that would have been Cousin Rita; and the Best Performance Award, who was the Auring Branch of the Clan, and supposedly the biggest competition again this reunion.
The meticulous planning also included color coded uniforms to distinguish the branch from which each Labella came. I will name off the branches' colors as best as I know:
Tinyong - lime green.
Cenciong - fushchia.
Speaking of which, pardon me while I reminisce on a joke about that color.
There were two contestants left in a drag queen beauty pageant, and the winner was to be determined by the final interview. Each queen was asked "What is your favorite color?"
Miss Bohol answered "Fuschia-red!" with such enthusiasm. After all, that was the color of the garrish, bodacious, most obnoxious ruffly gown he.. er, she wore. And no wonder, fuschia-red is a very powerful color, that only a rare number of brave fashionistas dare to wear.
"Miss Bohol," continued the MC, "would you please spell fuschia-red."
Miss Bohol was suddenly flustered. He - I mean she... or he... fine, SHE was so busy getting voice lessons, dancing lessons, walking lessons, picking out just the right gown for the pageant, that she forgot to study for the interview portion of the competition.
For those of you non-Filipinos who are reading this, you might not get the humor in it unless you are familiar with the Filipino accent. My name, for instance, would be pronounced nitty, which is quite disturbing because it sounds like an implication that I have lice. I had lice as a kid. What islander never had lice?! Anyway, that's besides the point, and I'm starting to veer off subject here. To finish the joke...
Miss Bohol, at a complete loss for any saving grace, finally stomped a foot on the stage floor, threw a sequenced gloved hand up in the air in defeat and announced dejectedly "Hay! Red nalang oy. R-I-D!"
So, where were we? Branches' colors:
Auring - rrid, I mean red. Ay nako, buko!
Coling - sky blue.
Sima - violet.
Felisa - orange.
Irene (pronounced Eerie-nee) - yellow.
Yours truly comes from the Irene Branch, and our uniform was yellow. Bright, sun-shiny, happy, win strong YELLOW.
Miss Panggangan, please spell yellow, and use it in a sentence.
"N-G-E-L-O... you drrink tuba no? Kay nang-ngelo gud your teeth."
Bow.
Alright, alright, enough with the jokes.
Dadang - gold.
Iyay - brown.
Or, it might be the other way around: Dadang brown, Iyay gold? I don't know these relatives. And this is EXACTLY why every family ought to have reunions - to reconnect with our kin. Which is exactly what happened on that joyful day!
There was so much happiness and tears of joy for seeing long separated fathers...
Cousins...
Nieces...
Nephews...
Sisters...
It was a time of novel experiences.
This was Jonjon's first time to meet the relatives other than his mother's siblings.
It was a time of introductions...
Richard, meet your cousin Jon. Jon, Richard.
It was a time of re-acquainting with kin who were wee little boys that last time you saw them...
This is my nephew Ryan.
Last time I saw him, he was a half naked baby, sleeping on the floor at my grandfather's funeral.
And a time of finding out that we are actually related to a TV icon.
The beautiful Cousin Cara of ABS/CBN Cebu.
The event itinerary included a Remembrance Ceremony, to honor the memory of our deceased patriarchs and matriarchs.
Lolo is paying his respects to his late father, Tranquilino, the Patriarch of the Labella Clan.
And then each Labella Branch came up to pay their respects to their fathers and mothers, the children of Tranquilino.
The Felisa Branch.
The Sima Branch.
The Dadang Branch.
The Tinyong Branch.
The Irene Branch.
As the Mistresses of Ceremonies (Cousins Ethel and Cara) said:
"The largest contingent of the Labella Clan!"
Lola Irene had 10 children.
Those 10 children had 40 children in all. Forty 1st cousins have children, so many that I have to use an abacus to figure it out. And some of those 1st cousins already have children of their own! Ay, it makes me dizzy to think how many crazy relatives I have!!!
What happens when you have a hall full of crazy relatives?
CRAZINESS happens!
Remember the The Fiesta post, where crazy relatives were dancing in a driveway? Well, here's the culminating purpose for it.
CRAZY. CRAZY. CRAZY. AND I LOVED EVERY MOMENT OF IT!!!
And of course, the Auring Branch took home the winning trophy for Best Performance again.
Their performance was a dance skit of how Lola Auring left her siblings behind...
... and sailed from the innocent and quiet island of Bohol to seek opportunity in the booming and industrialized city of Cebu, where she eventually brought some of her siblings after she settled down.
Henceforth, the Labella Clan spread to the far reaches of the world. To England, Italy, Japan, Micronesia, Guam, America, Canada, Australia.
Work has brought the Labellas to the Middle East, across the seven seas on ocean liners.
Competition has brought the Labellas to Ireland to run a marathon - sorry, yours truly just had to throw that one in.
Bravery and patriotism has brought the Labellas to Iraq and Afghanistan to fight wars.
Most endearingly, the heart of the Labella Clan still remains in the homeland, strong, dedicated, and devoted as they wait to welcome home those who crossed bigger seas and oceans in search of their own fortune.
Well, I hope you haven't fallen asleep at the monitor at this point. I forgive you. I know exactly how you feel, going through this seemingly endless post. We went through the same thing at the Reunion, waiting for the event itinerary to draw to a close.
Good night my loving Lolo, tias, tios, cousins, sobrinos, grand sobrinos, and friends.
The Labellas have left the building.
