If not for storm Caloy and the waves it brought, our food bingeing care of chefs Toto and Kuya Bong (who fortunately decided to go to Antique, too), the novelty of the sights in the fishing and farming life, and the encounter with the balloon fish, our stay wouldn’t have been so colorful. Antique is a land of extremes, of rich landowners and poor landtillers. Those who have, have a lot while those who don’t, well, don’t.
This is my father’s birthplace, and so when the chance to visit came, we grabbed it. My father left this place when he was seven years old, and the last time he was here was when he joined the Marlboro Tour of Panay, some 30 or so years ago. It’s funny how some people still remember him because of that. I thought my father was exaggerating his role in the tour, until I met Antiqueños his age. We met a classmate of his in fourth grade, and she said that during the tour, it wasn’t important to them if he won the race or was at the tail end. What mattered was that he still represented the place and put it in the newspapers. They reminisced about how life was back when they were small, how my father and his friends would make the girls cry by splashing them with water whenever they crossed the rivers, etc, etc. I would occasionally catch my father wiping his eyes. I guess the visit was worth it, after all.
The province itself is fast developing, what with the cemented national highway that would put Manila politicians to shame. But I guess most of the developments may be attributed to the contributions of the many OFWs from the province, the bulk of which may be found in Austria. They are the ones who were able to invest in farms, fishpens and beach resorts, and bring other luxuries and technologies in the midst of mountains and beaches. For them, and for those who have chosen to retire from work and manage farms instead, Antique is the ideal place. But for the youth who has yet to discover himself, the province is still too laid back and limiting.
I am no longer in the youth bracket, but not yet in the retiring bracket, either. Antique still has a lot of time to develop into a place that has it all, hopefully. But as of now, it is not yet the place for me.
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