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URBANO IMPELIDO TANGONAN

Urbano Impelido Tangonan See photos Banong Banong & Charing Wedding

U

rbano, also known as Bano or Banong, was the eldest child of Hipolito Impat Tangonan and Basilia Madamba Impelido. He was born on May 19,1917 in Sta. Cruz, Sinait, Ilocos Sur.

His early years

He started his formal schooling in 1924 at the age of seven, in Binacud Primary School in Sinait, Ilocos Sur. By the following year, he transferred to Sta. Cruz Primary School. He was already a fourth grader and fast gained popularity among the school population as the bright boy and pride of the school for his high grades in all the subject curricular offerings. He would top all district contests in the academic subjects. His name was known in all the schools and barangays of the municipality. Urbano was promoted twice in every school year, that at a young age he was already high school eligible. As decided by his mother, and to Urbano's delight, he enrolled at the Ilocos Sur Provincial High School at the capital town of Vigan. He easily made it until his graduation four years later.

Back then, the children were expected to respect their parents and follow them without question. The same respect is accorded to older siblings. Urbano, being the oldest son and with his father, Polit, working far away in Hawaii, his siblings looked on him as the father figure in the family. Anytime Urbano would asked them to do something, his siblings would scamper to do it out of fear for their oldest brother. But Urbano proved to be a responsible brother even at a young age. He handled mature decisions especially regarding his brothers education. His advices were to trigger a memorable and episodic part of their lives.

Professional Life

Most of his parents' family members belonged in the groves of academe. This probably influenced Banong to become a teacher and it seemed a popular choice at the time. He was the first one in the family to finish the then 2-year course in Elementary Education in Philippine Normal College.

Urbano already had 3 years of teaching employment as an Elementary school teacher by the time his younger brother Dionisio finished high school. Therefore, he was in a better position to fulfill his promise of financial support for his younger siblings' college education. Fulfill fully he did as far as Dionisio's two year PNS Education is concerned from 1939 to 1941. For his financial assistance to the rest of his siblings had necessarily to be minimal.

He taught in several schools in Ilocos Sur and in the big school division of Pangasinan, including Camagsingalan Elementary School in Sual, Pangasinan and another school in Bautista, Pangasinan in the 1940's. He also taught for a year in Baclaran Elementary School. Most, if not all, was by promotion to Head teachership to Principal. His longest and last teaching post was in the elementary department of Ateneo de Manila from 1951 to 1983.

When he started teaching, the requirements for a teacher was not quite so stringent then. One need only to complete 7th grade to enter the teaching profession. By the time Banong worked in Ateneo de Manila, the Bureau of Education required additional units in Education making it a 4-year course. So from 1951 to 1976, he took up the additional units in the University of Manila and Roosevelt College. He finally earned his degree in Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education in Philippine Normal College in 1976.

A teacher's work is never done. A typical day for Banong involved going to work early, checking test papers or homework when he gets home, then prepare the lesson plan for the following day. He did these tirelessly for 50 years.

After retiring from Ateneo in 1983, he accepted the job as Editor of FNB Publishing, developing school textbook materials for publication. He also authored/co-authored several school textbooks in english and math, which started when he was still in Ateneo.

Family Life

Once, when Urbano and his brothers were having a discussion about multiple marriages, the brothers could not help but tease Urbano for having 3 wives. His reply, "Tatlo nga ang naging asawa ko, patay naman lahat!"Loosely translated meaning "I have 3 wives alright but they're all dead!"

He was widowed 3 times and losts 2 children during his lifetime.

His first marriage was to a woman known only as Rosalina Latina. They had a daughter named Charito (Chato) who allegedly died from food poisoning at the age of 2. Their second child, who remained unnamed, did not survive during Rosalina's second childbirth.

His second marriage was to Rosario Portugal Paz of Bantay, Ilocos Sur. They were married on June 30,1951 and had 2 children: "Chito" and "Willie". Banong pined for his first daughter Chato, so much, that he nicknamed his first son Chito after her.

His third and last marriage was to Esmenia Cajio Bagcal of Pangasinan. They lived together for several years before they finally got married in 1971. They had one child named Dante.

Like his father before him, Urbano was a strict disciplinarian to his own children. One slight and a whacking his children will surely receive. His style of parenting was not so uncommon in those days. The rule "children should be seen and not heard" certainly applies to his household. However, when his third son, Dante, was born, he was already in his mid 50's and his parenting somehow mellowed with age.

He maybe reticent at times, but Urbano was fun to be around when going out with his kids. Every weekend, he would ride the bike with his son Willie from Tambo all the way to Luneta Park. There, they would meet Esmin and Chito, who would arrive via jeepney. They would rent an extra bike and enjoy the rest of the day. On long weekends, Chito remembers how his father would dress him and Willie in the wee hours of the morning. Still asleep, he would whisked them off to their grandmothers home town, Sinait, Ilocos Sur. Urbano would let them decide if they want to take the bus or the train.

Though he worked for a long time in one of the prestigious school in the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila, his teacher's salary, like many others in the country, did not afford him much luxury. It did not help, too, that he and his third wife, Esmin, indulged a little too much in playing mahjong and bingo. He bought his very first television in 1963 and his very first refrigerator in 1969. Sad to say the refrigerator was never replaced till his death. He bought a home in SSS Village, Marikina, in 1970 at the age of sixty. He owned his first car when he retired well into his sixties. His most prized possession was the Remington manual typewriter. Money being scarce most of the time, countless relatives and friends have come and gone into his home, for it was always open to those who needed a place to stay.

The one thing that Banong wished was to have a son to graduate in Ateneo. As one of its staff, he was entitled to a fair discount in tuition fees if his children were to enroll in the said school. Being the sole breadwinner of the family, he could not afford to do so. Nevertheless, he was able to send his two older children to a less pricey private school. Chito graduated in the University of the East with a degree in Accounting. Chito took it up out of expediency as it was the cheapest course available. Banong's second son, Willie, being so sickly, managed to finish a vocational course.

When Chito was fortunate enough to work in Saipan, CNMI, his youngest brother, Dante, was given the chance to study in Ateneo. Chito even bought a college plan for him. But Banong's wish never came into fruition. Dante got into every conceivable mischief in his years in Ateneo that he needs to finished his last year of high school in another institution. He was never able to use his educational college plan for he also married early in his teens.

Urbano passed away on May 20, 2001, in his residence in SSS Village, Marikina. It was the day after his 84^th birthday. He was buried in Loyola Memorial Park, also in Marikina.

ROSALINA LATINA

R

osalina Latina, nicknamed Saling, was a schoolteacher by profession. For a time, she and her husband, Urbano Impelido Tangonan, lived in Bautista, Pangasinan. Not much can be told about her or their life together for it was said that Saling had never been close with the other members of the Tangonan Family.

For those who met her, they called her "the lady in red" for she was often seen wearing a red outfit, with matching red shoes, red bag and red lipstick. She can speak Niponggo fluently and can also write in Kanji, probably because she was schooled during the time of the Japanese occupation in the Philippines.

She died during the birth of their second child in the 1940's.

ROSARIO PORTUGAL PAZ

Rosario Portugal Paz See photos Charing Banong & Charing Wedding

R

osario Paz, also known as Charing, was born on October 1,1915 in Bantay, Ilocos Sur. Her brothers were known only as Tacio and Junior. Her father's name was Demetrio, who was a goldsmith by trade.

A woman of small stature, she was only 5'0" tall, but she was said to be a beauty queen in her youth.

She was in her 30's and teaching in Candon Elementary School in Ilocos Sur when she met her then future husband Urbano Impelido Tangonan. After getting married, they first set up house in Baclaran.

When she was on her second pregnancy, a tragic incident occurred that profoundly affected the family's life forever. She accidentally slipped and broke a delicate part of her lower backbone. This caused her paralysis from the waist down. She was forced to have an early delivery so an operation could be performed for her broken bone. Sadly, the operation was unsuccessful. She remained paralyzed for the rest of her life.

This single incident also have a grave effect on the life of her second son, Willie. Being born prematurely at seven months, he was sickly as a child and continued on into his adulthood.

Charing stayed in Philippine Orthopedic Hospital for 5 long years. It was the family's weekly routine to visit her every Sunday. When she finally came home, her firstborn, Chito, was already going to school. Incapable of moving by herself, she spent most of her time reading and sewing at the second floor of their home in Tambo, Parañaque.

Chito's fondest memory of her was her storytelling. Every day when Chito and his brother Willie got home from school, Charing would tell them of what she had heard from a neighbor's radio. Television was not so common back in those days. Her favorite radio programs were "Tantarangtang" starring Pugo, Bentot and Sylvia La Torre, "Dolphy/Panchito comedy hour", "Lola Basyang" stories and "Gabi ng Lagim" starring Ben David.

She quietly passed away on May 1, 1961 and was buried in Parañaque Municipal Cemetery.