A succulent Christmas party

(Text By Becky Buenaventura)

Last Dec. 14, the Cactus and Succulent Society of the Philippines (CSSP) had a double celebration: the 30th anniversary of the group and its traditional Christmas party. It was held at the showroom of Nuvo City in Libis, thanks to our chairman Kevin Belmonte, who happens to be one of the moving spirits behind Aspire Tower, a premium master-planned residential and commercial development along C5, Libis, Quezon City. Complete with amenities for world-class living, this project of clustered condominium towers is envisioned to reinvent urban living in the Philippines.

With our indefatigable president Dory Bernabe and members of the working committees — Serapion Metilla, Mely Sibayan, Cathy King, Linda Khitri, Sally Obien, Beth Mariano and myself — the party became a grand celebration with a landscaping exhibit of xerophytes owned by Serapion, Dory, Botchie Canicula and Bimbo Vergara. These were the “appetizers” for the day amid the array of succulents. There was also a plant sale of very rare cacti and succulents from the collection of our expert propagators Ceasar Cheng, Peter Bangayan and Kevin. They were on sale exclusively for members at very reasonable prices. The beautiful stage decoration was by Serapion, who had to transport some of his trees from his garden to transform the place into a Christmas wonderland.

With Noni Dolera and myself as emcees, the program started with the invocation by director Linda Khitri. (Kudos to Linda for going out of her way to personally deliver the invitations to our members, especially those we hadn’t seen for quite some time). Xerophyte guru Kevin delivered the traditional welcome remarks and Christmas message. He encouraged everyone to be hopeful and optimistic in the coming year despite the global recession. A video presentation prepared by treasurer Mely and her son Santi Sibayan led us to reminisce about the history and achievements of the society in the past 30 years. Certificates of appreciation were then given to Rosario Tiongco, Reuben Almazan, Serapion and Mely for their invaluable contributions to the society’s goals and programs. They have truly been sources of pride and inspiration to all of us. 

The gathering was one of the most colorful in the history of the society’s Christmas parties. We agreed to come in international costumes, and our chairman was astounded to see the cooperation of the members who came in unique attire.

My favorite ones, in addition to the winners of the contest, were those of Napoleon Bonaparte and Empress Josephine de Beauharnais worn by Bert and Rose Blancaflor, the shogun attire of Nolie Perez, the unique cowboy outfit of Elsa Perez, the golden yellow Balintawak of Lita Meneses, and the Korean costumes of Sally Obien, Chary Misa and Tess Baldonado. Judges were Mameng Florento, Noni and Dory, who unanimously selected the beautiful Empress Dowager Cixi attire worn by Tita Charing Tiongco, who was brought inside on a rickshaw by two attendants, and her son Rene Tiongco as the Tongzhi Emperor. The second and third-prize winners were Tess Gomez, who donned a gold and black authentic ao dai costume, and Bimbo Vergara in a unique Asian costume accessorized with a huge 72-inch-diameter oriental hat. Incidentally, the winner’s prize was a 14-inch flat TV donated by Dory.

Gutsy members showed their talent in the “Shall we dance?” portion of the party. Kevin contributed gift certificates for the winners. The tribal ritual presentation performed by Serapion and Tess Baldonado won the top prize, followed by the Golden Barrel Group with Tess Gomez, Norma Villanueva, Elisa Montecastro and Vicky Valle, and the Sanseviera Group with Sally, Cathy King, Elsa Perez, Bimbo and Jeff Patiag.

In the spirit of fun and friendship, games were led by Serapion and Pinoy jokes were orchestrated by CV Lazaro, Boyet Ganigan, Dr. Jay Silvestre and yours truly, filling the place with laughter and gaiety. Our gratitude to our plant raffle donors Don Eikel Ladores, CV, Efren Chato and Dory. The sumptuous food was prepared by Baby de Leon and the event was made more meaningful as members donated grocery bags that were distributed to the homeless and street children after the party.

Despite the tough and challenging year ahead of us, we remain positive and hopeful.