That said, I’ll keep this week’s article light and fluffy, with some trivia fun from the summers of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Check out the images accompanying this piece and try to guess the what, when, where, who and how of a time when things were simpler, a bottle of Coke was 20 centavos and the only burger one could have was Tropical Hut’s P1.50 Reynolds-wrapped all-beef concoction.
1) First off, do you remember this petite Filipino beauty? She made the headlines in the summer of 1969 with the mind-boggling feat of setting the world’s speed-reading record at 80,000 words per minute with an even more astounding 100 percent comprehension! That’s like reading all the five-year’s worth of my articles for the Philippine STAR under five minutes. Her feat started a speed-reading fad. My brother and I tried out a self-taught program from a book and topped out at about 5,000 words per minute. I’ve slowed down appreciably since.
2) Gloria Diaz and Czarina Zaragoza won the annual beauty contests in 1969 that have become one of our summer landmarks. They posed on this beach for the cover of the Sunday Times Magazine. Which beach did they pose on? Hint: It was at the hometown of one of these lovelies.
3) Beauties abounded in the ‘60s, both above and below the water. A cool sight for warm summers was a group of mermaids in a metropolitan pool. Their bubbly performance drew hot-blooded males to a popular suburban hotel. Who cares about Nemo, where could you find these aquabelles?
4) For the younger set, there was TV. Summers were enjoyable because of cartoons and this favorite uncle of everyone. He ran a TV station and hosted his own popular kiddie show. Who was this "lucky" fellow? What station did he run and what was the name of his kiddie club?
5) TV was also filled with the choreography of this delightful dancing duo. These synchronized sisters debuted in the Tancho Tique Show in 1970 and never looked back for over two decades. At the same time, a tall "little" man sold milk, and stole the limelight from adult performers that included King Dolphy. Who were these celebrities?
6) Outdoor destinations were also popular for kids in the summers of the 1960s. The Manila Zoo was a popular destination. (It is being renovated by Mayor Lito Atienza today.) Who was the cute visitor in yellow? She’s a famous celebrity of sorts today, well-known for a service many seek for reasons of vanity. Hint: She just launched her own magazine.
7) Animals were also an attraction in this outdoor mall (when Manila’s air was cleaner). Middle-class families took to shopping sprees and promenades in this shopping center in the middle of an emerging business district. The developers commissioned well-known Filipino sculptors to create fanciful statuary and set them amidst an IP Santos-designed landscape. What and where was this center?
8) Getting places in the ‘60s one could take this kiddie train. The popular ride operated a decade before the LRT. Where did the train operate and what favorite ‘60s paradise was it located in?
9) For adults there was the new transport option of the Love Bus. Many hesitated to board these (then) comfortable buses for fear they would have to pay extra. To signal that you wanted to get down at the next stop, there was a button one had to press. What did the instruction label say in Japanese English?
10) Before badminton there was a popular homegrown racquet sport. Concrete boxes sprouted across the city and the nation. Tournaments blossomed and efforts were made to take the sport overseas. The fad died in by the 1980s. Many courts became warehouses, but while it lasted, everyone played it. What was this game?
11) This plant generated the city’s electricity and dominated the suburban landscape. It was decommissioned in the late ‘70s. The complex was turned into a mixed-use shopping/residential/commercial development. What was the plant’s name?
12) The country’s largest indoor mall opened in the summer of 1978. It was built on what was supposed to have been one of Manila’s largest green parks. The facility had deteriorated since and really should be turned back into a green space. What is this mall?
The answers: 1) Maria Teresa Calderon. Where is she now? 2) The two beauties were shot on location on the pristine beaches of Parañaque, Gloria Diaz’s hometown. 3) The Sulu Hotel offered this cool and wet show. One watched it sipping dry martinis in the hotel’s basement bar. 4) "Uncle Bob" Stewart owned and ran Channel 7, now the GMA network. I was a card-carrying member of his "Lucky 7 Club." 5) The Aldeguer sisters and Niño Muhlach. 6) The cute Manila Zoo visitor was Vicky Belo. She can now turn beasts to beauties with surgery and her contagious youthful vivacity that rubs off on you. 7) The Makati Commercial Center was the place to go. 8) The Rizal Park. 9) "Push button when get off." 10) Pelota was what the game was called. Officially, it was Pelota Filipina. 11) Rockwell, of course. 12) Harrison Plaza. It should be turned back into Harrison Park.
On a sad note, we just lost an icon of, not only the ‘60s and ‘70s, but of the last half century – Nick Joaquin. Gone to the great big beer garden in the sky, Nick was anything but trivial and his writing will never disappear, unlike many of our national landmarks. He will be sorely missed.