The movies in my mind

Photos by Jong Casino from Facebook page Old Tagoloan

by Susan Palmes-Dennis 

Yes, there were movies back on the old days of my home of Tagoloan town in Misamis Oriental, northern Mindanao in the Philippines. 

I speak of this after reading a Facebook post of my friend and town mate Gerva Tagapolot nee Celeredad.

It stirred memories of a time in Tagoloan town when TV and radio were considered luxury items. I wasn't sure whether it was in grade school when I saw for the first time a giant white “telon” in the public plaza.

What I do remember is that there would be a van or a jeep that would go around the town announcing a free movie showing at the town plaza later in the evening. 

I was reminded that the movies were sponsored by “Purico” and Star Margarine. Purico is a brand name for lard. A quick side note: I remember Purico as a white bar used in cooking by my mother.

Worth living
I also remembered placing Purico on hot rice or corn if there is no fried fish, chicken or pork to eat it with. If days are good then I would also place Star Margarine on my rice. 

Since movies were hard to come by, these public film showings were always something to look forward. For me it made life worth living. 

Why? That's the time when school hours would zip by and household chores so easy to do because everyone wants to watch that movie in the plaza. 

Watering plants and cooking are done quickly and when everything is finished I bathe my sibling and dressed them so we can go to the plaza. 

Film showings are usually held during the summer evenings when the night air is cool and the acacia trees sway comfortably near the town plaza.

At its best
Bringing our own bench and some essentials we head to the plaza. My late brother Ramon Naelga would go with his buddies Onyot Rollenas and the other guys. 

We would be walking with my  aunt Luz Pete Naelga and her mother Nay Doring. The plaza isn't far from our home and so we are usually the first to arrive. 

We usually sit in the second row because the front row doesn't actually offer the best view for such a large screen. Same principle applies to today's IMAX I think.

Commercials would be playing as we wait for the movie to start. Seeing those images on the screen brings out a sense of wonder and awe in our eyes back then. To my young mind, it was technology at its best. 

Unlike Gerva who recalled the names of every movie held in the town plaza, I can only remember those cowboy and Indian movies in which the Indians are the bad guys. 

Double feature
This is unfortunate because at the time we associated unacceptable behavior or anything bad with Indians.

As the commercials played, the town plaza would soon be filled with people from all walks of life. Boys would be running around and chasing girls. Most are sitting on their benches while a few stood.

The film showings would usually consist of a two-hour movie followed by a double feature. I loved the movies but strangely can only recall those cowboys and Indian films. 

But even now I didn't know there was a movie house in Tagoloan town until I read Gerva's Facebook post entitled The Movies in My Mind.

She recalled the big movie house of Iya Pepe and Iyo Oloy Factura located in the same street that she used to live in. The movies there were sponsored by Sputnik, a traveling theater from Jasaan town. 

Breaking news
Gerva said there was no permanent schedule for screening as Sputnik would come to Tagoloan only after visiting other towns where it was eagerly anticipated by the fisherfolk.

The day would start with Sputnik securing permit from the late Tagoloan Mayor Antong Cosin. “Among my playmates, i would be the first to know because of my Tatay Kiking who was a police then. Must have been an early version of "breaking news". Haha!!!,” Gerva said.

After securing the permit, the yellow Sputnik bus with the big megaphone on top would start going around town to announce the movie showing scheduled for the evening. 

The lines would be visible at the ticket booth early in the evening. Gerva said her mother has relatives working at the Sputnik bus so she and her family watched the movie for free. 

“Inside the movie house were rows and rows of long benches in the balcony and orchestra areas. And like the moviehouses in the city, there was always the peanuts and other snacks sold by vendors near the entrance,” Gerva said.

Open air
Gerva recounted that when the movies are shown, laughter and screams would be heard depending on the film genre. At the end of every show the people would  form a line and leave, each with their own story to tell about the movies.

Besides Sputnik, other companies sponsored film showings like Darigold, a milk brand from Procter and Gamble. “It was an open air film showing in the town plaza and it was always well attended. But everyone has to bring their own chairs,” Gerva said.

Yes, those were good times. I may not recall every movie, but I cannot forget those film showings for they helped make my childhood more enjoyable and introduced me to a bigger world of which I would soon be a part of.

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who worked as a nanny and is now employed as a sub-teacher and a part-time teacher assistant in one of the school systems in the Carolinas.

Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com and at http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/spdennis54. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.
You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)