 |
Three months
later, the first informal meeting was held at the
Cerritos residence of Mr. and Mrs. Ante Angeo. This
was attended by Cinto Ramirez, Ante Angeo, Romy
Medina, Sidor Angles, and the late Jimmy Linson and
which they lead and sorted out their brilliant ideas
and illustration plans towards the establishment of
a Maragondon association in California. Pursuant to
the great idea, they agreed to spread some of their
precious time and exert their pithy effort in
locating Maragondon townmates in the four corner's
of California.
Afterwards, in
mid-May of 1978, Mr. And Mrs. Nelson Arca threw a
birthday party in which may "kababayan" were
invited. Coincidentally, Mrs. Bana Unas, who earlier
had a commitment to collect some donation for the
Maragondon Catholic Church, was present along with
Dr. Teofelo Arca, Rody Narvaez and Manoy Binotapa,
to name a few. Sidor Angeles pas the hat around with
his $20 bill inside it. With the other following
suit, a final collection of over $200 was gathered
from from the first wave of Oddities. This even
inspired the founding fathers of Maragondon Cavite
Association of California. subsequently a date was
set up to visit the Maragondon folks in San Diego,
California with two purposes in mind: To collect
donation for Mrs. Unas said project and to inform
the newly-organized Maragondon Cavite Association of
California.
With Mrs. Bana
Unas at the Helm, the hard working group composed of
Lisa R. Cosuico, Nida De Guia, Ante and Roming Angeo,
Romy and Melo Medina, Delfin Narvaez, Manoy Binotapa
and Sidor Angeles headed south to San Diego. When
informed about the incoming Maragondon fiesta
celebration in the Los Angeles area, the fruitful
visit resulted in affirmation from the San Diego
District.
In the first week
of July, 1978, a potluck meeting for the Los Angeles
District was held at the Cerritos Park, spearheaded
by Mr. and Mrs. Ante Angeo. To name some, present on
that joyful occasion were the Dolorfino, Angeo, Arca,
Narvaez and Medina families. The celebration of the
Maragondon town fiesta on the 14th of August, 1978
at the Liberty Park in Cerritos and the formation of
different committees were part of the agenda.
Meanwhile, as the presidency of the organization was
still unsettled, Ante Angeo was designated by the
majority to be the acting chairman with Mrs. Unas as
acting treasurer.
The very first
Maragondon town fiesta celebration was a great
success. filled with great fun and excitement, and
meaningfully marked the birth of the benevolent
Maragondon Cavite Association of California. It was
a memorable day of finding and fellowshipping with
long-lost "kababayans." The hugs and embraces
evidenced the exhilarating spirit of long-sought
togetherness among Maragondon townsfolk's. A
specially planned program highlighted the
festivities of that day with Mrs. Lily Sustal, a
well-known local soprano, rendered a couple of
kundimans, stirring up enormous applause from the
delighted audience. The Los Angeles Dance troupe,
the counterpart of the famed Bayanihan, electrified
everyone with the Itik-Itik folk dance.
A month later
after the town fiesta celebration, the first
election of officers was held at the Gardena,
California residence of Mr. and Mrs. Sidor Angeles.
The first set of officer were: Romy Medina,
President, Rody Narvaez, Exec. Vice President: Bella
R. Angeo, Secretary: and Laling Sherman, Treasurer.
These first set of elected officers and together
with the five magnificent co-founder, namely: Ante,
Cinto Romy, Sidor and Jimmy became know within the
wonderful California family of Maragondon townpeople
as the few who inspiringly formulated so that many
can unselfishly share the fruit of the birth of the
Maragondon Cavite Association of California.
|
