Two on the home province

Due to be launched at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 4 at the CCP Main Lobby is a handsome book, Nandaragupan: The Story of a Coastal City and Dagupan Bangus. Published by the Dagupan City Heritage Commission, Office of the City Mayor, it’s a model of a coffee-table book on the spirit of a place, and should set the standard for such hometown books for the rest of the country.

It’s informative, highly readable, and extremely well designed, too. As a bonus, you get to learn a lot about our national fish and its production. Credit should go to editor-in-chief Ma. Carmen Melecio-Prieto, assistant editor Cynthia H. Evidente, contributing editor Alex V. Villaflor, historical researcher and writer Crispina M. Reyes, and main writer Jesus Victor R. Vistro.

Art director Dopy D. Doplon outdoes himself, as usual, in applying state-of-the art design. Photo editor is Romeo Raymundo M. Sta. Domingo, while the lavish photographs are provided exclusively by members of the Federation of Pangasinan Photographers.

Also involved in rendering the tapestry of historical background, contemporary stories of inspiration, and interesting trivia are contributing writers Sheila Aquino, Florangel Braid, Mariano Cruz Jr., Jorge Estrada, Alfonso Hiquiana, Norma Liongoren, Alfonso Peñamente, Sunshine Robles, Susan Searle, Juanito Velasco, Melandrew Velasco, Alex Villaflor, and Waldomar Zuñiga. This well-directed book is obviously a labor of love.

The Thursday launch will involve a program and culinary presentation that will showcase Dagupan culture. Part of the launch fare will be a symbolic turnover of the first Manila-Dagupan locomotive that the PNR is donating to the city. Now that should be a first at the CCP: The whiff of grilled milkfish mixing with ceremonial steam from a vintage train.

The 256-page volume in horizontal format is divided into two parts, with the first, titled "Dagupan Through the Ages," taking up a full two-thirds of the pages. The sections are: Foundations for Progress: From Nalimpit to Dagupan; Emergence of a Harbor Town; American Years; The Birth of a City; and Honing a Culture of Excellence in the 21st Century. Part Two features "The Bangus Capital of the World."

We know that Dagupan was badly affected by the July 16, 1990 earthquake, due to soil liquefaction. But its residents didn’t give up and transfer elsewhere. They found out that measures could be taken to prevent or minimize a similar occurrence, and resolved to rebuild their city. They have been largely successful.

"The potentials for growth abound. Dagupan as it stands today is the trading center of northern Luzon, a close rival to nearby Baguio as the educational center of the north; it is rich with human resources of which over 60 percent belong to the 15-to 64-year-old economically productive age group; and is the center of medical health care with the most number of hospital beds in the region."

The remarkable resiliency parallels the story behind the incorporation of the slogan "Sigue Dagupan" in the seal of the city: "This was Juan Villamil’s response to an order given him by foreign superiors to abandon railroad work in Dagupan. It has since become the battle cry for the city’s quest for progress."

The familiar images we associate with Dagupan, aside from its much-favored bangus, is the proliferation of tricycles and the longest barbecue line (grilling bangus) that made it to the Guinness Book of Records. Here we also find out that heritage houses continue to be preserved within the city, that there is a Dagupan-Milpitas sisterhood pact, and that native sons include Victorio C. Edades, National Artist for Painting, and Salvador Floro Bernal, National Artist for Theatre Design

There’s the Gef’s Waterpark inside the Leisure Coast resort, a one-stop shop business center that’s the epitome for government service, and the exemplary Magsaysay Fish Market that has been yet another project of the often unjustifiably maligned Speaker Jose de Venecia, who has also seen to good roads and highways as part of the city’s admirable rehabilitation.

Then there’s the marvel of bangus production and envisioned technology that starts with the Bangus Processing Plant. Why, there’s even a Gawad Kalinga Bangusville that helps manifest how much of a model community this city has become, thanks to its long line of enlightened mayors.

It was in 1953 when Pangasinan "was cited as a bangus producer by Albert W. Herre, the foremost American scholar on Philippine fishes. Since then, the culture of bangus in Dagupan, as in the rest of the province, has reached a high degree of industrialization." From a daily production of 3,000 metric tons a decade ago, Dagupan now harvests 19,000 metric tons of bangus per day. While this phenomenal jump in production virtually tells the story of the city’s rise from mud and destruction, Part II of this book tells us all we want to know about milkfish.

"The Tagalog has a moniker for the specie at every stage of its development. It is kawag-kawag while still a fry; hatirin while a fingerling; ganungin, when it has become a longer fingerling; bangus when big enough for the dinner table; and lumulukso or sabalo when five years old and spawning.

"… Today, Pangasinan produces about 88 percent of the country’s milkfish, 17 percent of which is contributed by Dagupan. About 79 percent… are grown in fishpens and cages by more than 300 operators in 17 of the 31 barangays of the city…

"Two kinds of bangus or milkfish are cultured…. Of these, the preferred kind is the Bonuan bangus, mainly because of its savory taste. One can tell Bonuan bangus from other varieties. It is fat, with a relatively small head and a short tail, a short arched belly and fine white shiny scales.

"The exquisite taste of Bonuan bangus is attributed to the good quality of lab-lab or benthic blue algae, diatoms and planktons that are grown like a carpet in inland fishponds…. It is claimed that this gift of nature is unique to Dagupan. Sediment deposits in its rivers and ponds, a result of erosion in the surrounding mountains, favor the growth of these organisms…. This natural diet explains why the fish does not emit any foul smell when opened up.

"The second milkfish variety has a long arched belly and a long tail, is raised only in fish pens and cages, and feeds on formulated food. Bangus producers have taken to using commercial feeds to augment the supply of natural fish food, contributing significantly to the increase in harvest.

"… The National Bonuan Bangus Hatchery intends to supply 200 million bangus fries for the international market annually."

Today, Mayor Benjamin Lim, a self-professed bangus disciple, "believes that Dagupan is close to becoming the strongest economic powerhouse of Region I." He argues: "By exploiting the unchanging Filipino gusto for the Bonuan bangus, we can sustain an industry that has the capacity to generate almost P3 billion in annual sales… We have eight million bangus-eating Filipinos abroad. If we can sell to only five million of them, then we can do it."

It’s a good vision of a future built on delectable milkfish.

* * *

Tales from the Land of Salt: A glimpse into the history and the rich folklore of Pangasinan by Emmanuel S. Sison, published and exclusively distributed by Elmyrs Publishing House, compiles legends and historical vignettes that are presented as short stories.

We learn of the mythical origin of Pangasinan, and why it has the saltiest seawater in the archipelago. "Long before there was Pangasinan, the province, there was Panag-asinan – the Land of Salt. The salt people were also fishermen…."

Amply described is the homegrown hierarchy of natural deities, and preternatural beings such as mermaids, anitos and ghosts, as well as unnatural phenomena that have become part of the province’s rich lore.

One of the narratives traces Jose Rizal’s lineage, on his maternal side, to Lingayen. Another offers rich details on one of our national hero’s love affairs.

"Lingayen was to play host in nurturing his romance with his cousin, Leonor Rivera, in several visits to his relatives there. Lingayen would also bear witness to the demise of that love when it turned tragic for both lovers and the people they loved."

Other stories involve colorful episodes featuring the Sri Visayan Amazon Princess Urduja, the Sangleys or 13th-century Chinese half-breeds of Lingayen that preceded Limahong, the folk legend Juan Batugan, and the rebels Andres Malong and Palaris. Each of the 16 tales is attended by illustrations.

The book is available at all Booksale outlets. Or you may access the distributor through info@booksale.com.ph.

I wish this book came out 30 years earlier, so that I could have vetted the lore through consultation with my dad, Armando Sison Yuson, Lingayen-born. But it is not this filial relation or connection that makes me wonder why political leaders like Jose de Venecia, and FVR, for that matter, continue to suffer from cruel perceptions. They obviously have the smarts and the resolve to think and lead (which may be traceable to Sangley lineage). And they have done a lot of good for this country.

Sometimes I also wonder if the rest of us (or of you) just can’t stand Pangasinenses or Panggalatoks because they’re more intelligent and more civilized than most other Filipinos. O, sigue, ano?