The legacy of family

I just attended the 7th Lopez family reunion. It was organized by Bettina Osmeña who did a superb job. She worked tirelessly, together with other family members, for about 10 months, and the results showed. Serge (Sen. Osmeña) was clearly proud that his wife had done so well.

This is the third reunion I have attended and I have found it to be the most moving. The clincher here was a musical saga based on the life of the first recorded Lopez progenitor, Basilio, put up by Audie Gemora.

So here is the story. In the 18th century, Basilio left home to seek his fortune and worked as a bodegero for a childless Spanish couple. He was so hard working they were so enamored with him and they ended up adopting him and giving him their surname: Lopez. Basilio fell in love with the beautiful daughter of the laundry woman that was living in the house, named, Sabina. When the childless couple died, they left all their wealth with Basilio. Basilio eventually married Sabina and had 16 children.

Ten of the 16 reached adulthood. Eight of the 16 started family lines. They were Eugenio (where my line was born), Agripino, Clara, Eulogia, Francisco, Marcelo, Gregoria and Claudio. Thus the Lopez clan was born. But it’s not the numbers that moved me –– it’s the spirit embedded in the clan.

Basilio and Sabina became members of the elite in Jaro. Basilio eventually became a barangay head –– and Sabina also took position among the “principalia” of the city.

Basilio early on realized the importance of education and sent his children to Manila. Eugenio was the first to attend university. He took up Philosophy, but his interests lay elsewhere. Claudio, on the other hand, was the first to finish at the University of Sto. Tomas.

Eugenio manifested a capacity for a more “macro” perspective. The brothers went into business –– in particular sugar –– and were very successful. But even during this time, they had imbibed the values of service. During the famine of IloIlo, Eugenio and Claudio worked together to alleviate the suffering in the city.

The motto of the family, embossed in an icon, is “Gloria, Patria and Requeza: Honor, Glory and Wealth.” Creating wealth is important, but even more so, value, service. In fact even at the very end, the final song is about how values create the underlying thread that will last through generations.

It does something to one’s consciousness, to see the history of the family and feel the spirit that was integrated in the birth of the clan. It was very inspiring for me to see that the values of honor and dignity were started more than two hundred years ago –– and have been passed on from generation to generation. It’s deeply heartwarming to feel the bond with so many people…

I looked at the room with more than 700 people and felt, “Wow! This started from two people?”

Well, those two people had 16 children, then each of those children had their own set of offspring. Clara’s clan has the biggest number: 1,529. The offspring of the Eugenio line are at 1,085. Marcelo’s clan has 729. My uncle, Oscar Lopez who is a historian, researched all the lineages, and came up with a thick book. It is so interesting to look at the line. I looked for my name and my kids’ name and saw how there is such an inter-linkaging of families.

The event ended on a high note, with everyone singing and dancing.

On reflection: It’s the interconnectedness of life, the feeling of togetherness, the infusion of values in these links, that brought warmth to the room and filled our souls.

My Tito Oskie is a historian. His leaning has always been academic. As such, he took on the painstaking effort of researching –– all the way from the beginning. This is authenticated by birth records and death records. It was a mammoth endeavor.

Reflecting after the event was over, I wonder if he realizes what he has done. It’s not just an academic exercise; it’s the authentication of links, the stabilization of the foundation of a culture based on nationalism, integrity and service.

My eldest son was in Florida. And I gave in to the request of my youngest son to go to CamSur to be with his friends. I now wonder if I should have insisted that he attend. Sitting at lunch upon his return from Cam Sur, I narrated to him the event. I showed him the thick book, and his name listed there in the 7th generation. He saw his cousins’ name, his uncles’ name...

There must be an estimated 4,500 Lopezes that have sprung from Basilio and Sabina. And we are all intertwined somehow. This then is the legacy of family. It is the strengthening of basic values that are crucial in building character and a better world. I bless the day I was born in this family.

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I can be reached at regina_lopez@abs-cbn.com.