With the MassKara fever over, the countdown begins for the cultural observance on Nov. 1 of All Saint’s Day – which is among the most popular homecoming occasions in the country.

In Western countries, the Nov. 1 commemoration is preceded by the tricks and treats of Halloween, which is also a time for ghost-hunting and related activities. To an extent, the showing of Yanggaw, a  story of a witch’s addiction to her preys, adds to the local ambience of a Halloween mode. By coincidence, StarLife chanced upon the scriptwriter and director of the widely-acclaimed Ilonggo film who shared with us the influence of his boyhood days’ experiences in Manapla, Negros Occidental in the development of the story which he translated into the bigger screen.

Our cover story features our question-and-answer interview with Director Jonathan Somes, who feels blessed with the support of Ilonggo friends and his family in the making of the film. He said he is also feels privileged to have been part of bringing to the wide screen something that is very close to our cultural milieu – and as, we said, something which strikes close to our heart at this time of the year.

We expect terminals of bus, ship and airlines to be loaded to the brim later this week as Negrenses and other Filipinos go home to be with their loved ones in remembering members of their families who are now in the Great Beyond.  While we have in our thoughts always our departed loved ones – those who have touched our loves immensely in their lifetime -- this occasion brings us closer to them once more as we celebrate it in the presence of others who loved them just as dearly.

The following lines from an anonymous writer gives us greater strength over the thought of having lost my own parents –and I am hopeful that you will gather the same strength as you remember your own beloved already gone:

“They are not dead,
Who leave us this great heritage of remembering joy.

They still live in our hearts,
In the happiness we knew, in the dreams we shared.

They still breathe,
In the lingering fragrance, windblown, from their favorite flowers.

They still smile in the moonlight’s silver,
And laugh in the sunlight’s sparking gold.

They still speak in the echoes of the words we’ve heard them say again and again.

They still move,
In the rhythm of waving grasses, in the dance of the tossing branches.

They are not dead;
Their memory is warm in our hearts, comfort in our sorrow.

They are not apart from us, but part of us,

For love is eternal,
And those we love shall be with us throughout all eternity.”