Surprise Party for Esmeralda

I saw this picture below recently in my Facebook page which was posted by Sylvia who is at the top row on the left.  All of us in the picture were classmates at St. James Academy in Malabon Rizal or Metro Manila now. I believe we just finished our 4th grade when this was taken in the late fifties and we were on our break from school. At the front row from left to right are Celia, Esmeralda and Mary and at the back from left to right are Sylvia, Vida and myself. But what was the occasion when this photo was taken you might ask?

If my memory is correct, Vida organized the group to go to Esmeralda's Dad's photo studio, V'Rionez, to attend Esmeralda's birthday party.  Vida lived across from our house in Tonsuya and she invited me to go with her to Esmeralda's dad's photo studio in Sangandaan.  We rode the commonly used public transportation in the Philippines called jeepney to get there.  I was both excited and scared to ride this very unique and iconic colorful Filipino vehicle without any grown up with me. Just my very confident friend Vida. If you know Vida she can conquer the world including in this case my own fears.

I really do not remember how Celia and Mary got there.  Celia lived pretty close to Vida's place and might have gone with us by walking from their house at Borromeo Street. Mary who lived by Bayan might have taken a short jeepney ride to Vida's place  to go with us.  Sylvia's house was quite a distance from where all of us lived in a street called Acacia Street and might have been dropped off by a relative.  Anyway somehow we all were at the V'Rionez Studio.

There was one problem.  Esmeralda's parents did not know we were coming and that there was a birthday party.  I think their daughter mentioned it to Vida and the latter just assumed there was one. I wonder if Esmeralda herself knew this was going to happen.

Both parents were surprised but unflappable. Esmeralda's mom improvised and fried hot dogs.  I could still picture her frying them in oil in a tiny little cubicle in the studio. They were so delicious that their taste and aroma are stilll embedded in my memory.  Her father made the occasion extra especial by taking our group picture as shown above and also a picture of each one of us giving a gift to Esmeralda.  I think I brought her a handkerchief as a gift or maybe we just used a pretend gift for the picture.   Of course we were thrilled.  It is much better than an iPhone shot don't you think?  We had a professional photographer after all and hey look the group picture landed in Facebook decades later.

Almost everybody still keep in touch with each other except we have not heard from Esmeralda. She left after grade school and did not go to St. James for high school. I wonder what she would have said of that day we surprised not only her but her unknowing parents!

This whole surprise event is a testimony to Vida's leadership and organizational skill which are evident even to these days as she generously hosts several reunions at her place in Los Angeles some of which I have written about in this blog.

Vida is leftmost at the back while Sylvia is second from the right. I am in front on the left. This was a mini reunion of our high school classmates at Vida's place in 2009. Left to right standing, Vida, Temy, Cbristy, Irma, Jenny, Sylvia and Malou. In front sitting, me and Zeny who were both surprised with flowers, leis and even a crown for me during the reunion by the thoughtful host, Vida.