Madrid

Madrid, the capital city of Spain, has a certain beguiling character on its own but for Filipinos, ruled by monarchs that reigned from here, it remains a mystery, a name that in times past was afar and yet powerful and dreaded as to what decrees it might issue.

The names here are as much Filipino as they are Spanish. The Spanish missionaries did not only plant the seeds of Christianity in the Philippines, they also influenced our culture (sometimes by eradicating the native one) but also gave names to our towns and villages.

They likewise implanted their own race, forming families that today’s surnames can be traced here. When I went to the national library, the staff gave me and my wife, Verns, identification cards, laminated with our pictures taken right there and then. The instantaneous card should make the Commission on Elections ashamed.

As in the National Archives, our identification names followed the Spanish way. So I became Modesto Sa-onoy Palacios, rather than the last two names interchanged as we do in the Philippines. 

We took a stroll after Mass at the San Geronimo Church (founded 1602) and at the Jardin de Retiro which we thought was a garden for retirees only to learn that it was the garden where the monarchs of Spain took their strolls to relax.

There is one attraction in this huge garden of probably a hundred hectares right at the heart of Madrid, the glass palace. I was drawn however, to one spot – Jardin de Herrero Palacios.

It will be interesting for the Palacios family in Negros and the Philippines to know where their artistic abilities came from. Herrero was a famous architect who designed and converted a swampland where ducks were aplenty, into a beautiful garden but retained the duck pond and their inhabitants.

The other Palacios were in the academe and in the arts.

Now Alex Paglumotan, Greg Gasataya, Chrysee Samillano, El Cid Familiaran, Ricardo Presbitero, Girlie Belzunce, the Javellanas, Zarandins., Gonzagas and Villanuevas of Bago, the Chavez of Guimaras, and the Palacios scattered in the Panay and Negros and elsewhere in the Philippines, know where their skills came from. The wife of senatorial candidate Jackie Enrile is a Palacios.

A grand reunion of the Palacios blood in the Philippines would be interesting.

There is also Palacios City in Texas, USA where the Palacios from Spain settled and converted  a coastal swamp into a city.

The other families in Bacolod and Negros also trace their lineage to Spain, some from soldiers and government functionaries, others from immigrants and, none forgotten, from men of the cloth.

Had we joined a tour group, we would not have gone to where our tired feet and sleepy heads could bring us. As we went on our own two lonesome couple, we were able to meet and talk with people and see the countryside by bus and train.

It took a longer time but the time spent is worth it. We learned rather than just see in a group tour.

There are no porters in Madrid, as in other cities, at hotels, airports and in bus and train stations. One has to drag his own cargo.  We saw most travelers were old people, couples and singles and they too were dragging their large suitcases. Nobody was helping them, not even the employees at the airports and stations.

It was in Madrid when we first noticed that most people who go around were old. We thought the young ones were at school or in offices, but during the weekend in Madrid’s Retiro, more old couples moved around, a few children and young people.

The strolling seniors were well-dressed while the few young ones were lying down on the grass under huge trees. Some were sleeping while others were just kissing or hugging.

We thought we would witness live the rallies we see on television or read in the newspapers. Madrid was very peaceful. The newspapers and television channels did not report them.

Curious about this we asked and nobody claimed they know anything about these protest rallies. We told one woman about them and she answered, “Oh that” and added nothing.

How come? I went to the internet and the BBC news. When I brought the cursor to this news, it was blocked with the suggestion “transfer to another.”

Then I realized there is press censorship in Madrid. But at one government office, the woman has her protest placard right on her side for all to see. The government is deluding itself.

Except for the Euro and the credit card, no other currency is acceptable here in the European Union. Not even the dollar and currency exchange is by government alone.

Prices are high. A bottle of water (some restaurants do not serve free water) costs P108.*

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