A wedding like no other

It was the afternoon Hexilon G. Alvarez, son of Heherson ("Sonny") and Cecile Guidote Alvarez, was to marry Ma. Cristina H. Syquia, daughter of Roberto and Margarita Herrera Syquia, at the Santuario de San Antonio.

Presumably, a bride – any bride – has the right to make guests wait on her wedding day, and so even President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, along with other VIP sponsors – there were 20 in all! – patiently and graciously waited for half an hour or so outside the church. GMA, seemingly tinier than usual in a piña terno with long, flowing sleeves, was in a jovial mood as she chatted with Sen. Loren Legarda and Gina de Venecia, each of whom was making a fashion statement. Cecile G. Alvarez, mother of Hexilon, was elegantly simple in a floor-length gown in acqua. Former President Cory C. Aquino arrived on the dot; Secretary Richard C. Gordon came by helicopter although nobody saw it land. Manoling Morato was about to kiss the women who quickly reminded him of the unwritten SARS edict. Soon, guests were greeted with the "incongruous" sight of VP Teofisto Guingona escorting President GMA along the church aisle. The word "incongruous" is used advisedly, GMA’s views on RP-US relations being diametrically opposed to those of the Veep whose only concession to bilateral relations was a friendly game of tennis with US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone.

In any case, the bridal procession wended its way to the altar, and guests caught sight of Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo, Sen. Legarda, former Tarlac Governor Margarita "Tingting" Cojuangco, Gina de Venecia, Lovely F. Romulo (whose looks match her name), GMA’s son Arturo, tycoon Emilio Yap and Gen. Themo Y. Cunanan, among others.

Mr. Alvarez, father of Hexilon, walked down the aisle escorting Mrs. Margarita H. Syquia, mother of Cristina. Later, both discovered that Cecile and Margarita are distant cousins!

Bishop Diosdado A. Talamayan was the main celebrant; Msgr. Nico P. Bautista and Fr. James B. Reuter, SJ, were co-celebrants. A blind girl sang Panata sa Kalikasan to Mr. Alvarez’s lyrics which reflected his lifetime obsession to save the environment. Everyone present would have applauded the message under informal circumstances; likewise, each would have lustily applauded Fr. Reuter for exhorting every family to pray and fight together in order to stay together.

In this regard, having known Sonny and Cecile for so long, the valiant Jesuit went down memory lane, so to speak, recalling how Sonny’s brother, an activist, was brutally murdered, and how Sonny’s grief-stricken father succumbed to a heart attack.

Sonny and Cecile, uncompromising freedom fighters, went into hiding thereafter, fugitives from Marcos’s wrath. Cecile made a bet with Fr. Reuter that she could escape out of the airport. She won the bet, flying straight to NY, and staying there through the martial law regime. Sonny escaped by boat, later meeting Cecile in the big city. Before then, the two had gotten married clandestinely at the Bishop’s Palace in Naic, Cavite. (The ceremony, matrimonia de conciencia, is allowed by canon law.)

How dramatically that secret wedding differed from the fashionable exchange of "I do’s" at the Santuario! At the end of the latter rites, President GMA told the newlyweds: "You are so lucky to be enjoying the gift of freedom. Your parents had to fight for it."

Will Hexilon follow in his father’s footsteps and become a defender of human rights? He most certainly will. Currently, he is in dead earnest about his law studies.