The Making 0f Eca Mamaco

Nostalgia. My brother Chito's notes on the Eca Mamaco MTV:
6 years ago, July 2006, when the FBB reunion planning committee was conceiving of a theme for the forthcoming 31st Bautista-Bautista-Carrillo Family reunion in December, the idea of not forgetting the Bautista roots was seeded by KoTon and Teresa to Tita Tessie.

KoTon’s concept dwelt on looking at the future through the past which Teresa translated in words “E mu cacalinguan, Bautista ca.”

The idea eventually evolved as a song presentation using the original Pampango lyrics of ”E ca mamaco”, popularly believed to be composed by Lolo Felix Bautista. To put life to the song, Tessa visualized an audio video presentation featuring family members’ old and contemporary photos against the soundtrack of the familiar Pampango folk music.

Encouraged by the general excitement and acceptance, Teresa initiated the planning and production of an MTV funding the creation of a musical bed, minus one and a dummy soundtrack.

Initially assessed by the oldies Tita Betts and Tita Tessie even Ate Corrie, inputs on the raw output were provided centering on the correct syntax, pronunciation and structure. As further enhancements were made, old photos were collected coming mainly from the files of Tita Tessie, the Razon’s and even the Vergara’s and the Carrillo’s. Contemporary photos were grabbed from the files of Mayo Bautista and other younger photographers.

As the line producer of the project, Tessa working with husband Raul laid in the final soundtrack and oversaw the appropriate use and transition of the visuals. Tita Tessie saw it appropriate to end the presentation with Tatat and even provided a bookmark with Tatat’s picture as a material for digital scanning.

3 December 2006, in the air conditioned social hall of the Carrillo’s at the Don Enriquez Subdivision in Quezon City watched by about 200 relatives, “E Ca Mamaco” was premiered and warmly received by relatives and friends. Using technology, the video was privately circulated all over the world to share the message of not forgetting one’s roots, that of a Bautista. (It was on the same reunion when we launched Tita Nette's book Dear Pamangkin. to immortalize her letters to her pamangkins.)

Because of the association of the MTV with Teresa and the use of her voice in the raw outputs, it has created an urban myth that she sang the soundtrack. We leave it at that, a myth.

In the 37th Bautista-Bautista-Carrillo reunion hosted by the FBB at the Bel Air Multipurpose Hall in Makati, “E Ca Mamaco” in its original edit was aired to close the glorious family reunion as requested by the birthday celebrant Tita Tessie.

Six years after its premiere, “E Ca Mamaco” still evokes the same message but with a deeper appreciation for its intention because so many milestone events have happened and a stronger call of bonding is needed. The presentation reminds us that the Bautista will endure because “E mu cacalinguan, Bautista ca.”

Thanks to all who helped make it happen. Maligayang Pasko!

http://tochsarchives.blogspot.com/2012/12/e-ca-mamaco.htm
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Eca Mamaco

Nostalgia. A video of our Bautista Family, by sister Tessa and Eca Mamaco sung by her. Nice to see Lolos, Lolas, Titos, Titas, cousins. I spy 10 photos of me of yore; siempre, kapatad ang gumawa, our photos were accessible. An updated one with other families' photos will be made. So send your photos now (easy to do now); K. Chito can keep them for Tessa.

http://tochsarchives.blogspot.com/2012/12/e-ca-mamaco.html

Mangan Tamu: Recipes of Love

A feature on the family's cookbook, Mangan Tamu, 2012 by Ms. Ballesteros,
Lifelong Learners. Carmelita C. Ballesteros

Mangan Tamu: Recipes of Love

What does Mangan Tamu mean? Is it a Japanese manga (comics)? Why would my friend Tish, a noncomics person, give me a manga?
Well, after a closer look at the book’s cover, I realized that it’s a cook book. “Mangan” is pronounced with the Filipino /ng/ sound as in “ngayon” which means today. The sentence, “Mangan Tamu,” is the Kapampangan equivalent of “Let’s eat.”
My family and I flipped through the pages of the book and found ourselves smiling, chuckling, laughing and enjoying the stories behind the recipes.
Compiled and edited by Gigi Bautista-Rapadas and Tish Bautista (2012), it is a tribute to their aunt, Noli H. Bautista. The back cover says, “The kitchen was her haven and all of us who tasted her food tasted heaven.”
Although Noli, fondly called Tatat by her nieces and nephews, never married, she gave birth to several generations of food-lovers and kitchen wizards in the Bautista extended family. She always told them that the magic ingredient is LOVE.
Bound by the enduring ties of family, the Bautistas around the world contributed recipes learned from Tatat as well as from other family members and friends. Here’s a sampling:


MORISQUETA TOSTADA a LA TATA PAUL. I’m putting this ahead of Tatat’s recipe because it captures the spirit of the book and Tatat’s legacy. Contributor Ditos Capati writes, “…I couldn’t give any measurements as these are all tantiya-tantiya and just gut feel. So sorry, cannot say kung ilan ang ano!”
Ingredients: Leftover rice refrigerated overnight, Leftover pork chop or barbecue or fried chicken chopped in small bits, Eggs, Chopped garlic, Salt, Oil (Purico then).
Procedure: 1) Soak the refrigerated rice in water while at the same time breaking it up with your hands so the rice grains get all separated. Drain the water afterwards and dry. 2) Heat up the oil with the chopped garlic and when brown, pour all the rice mixing it until almost dry.
3) Now dump in all the pork or bbq or chicken. Break eggs over the rice and mix them in. Don’t bother scrambling them as they will end up scrambled anyway. 4) Keep mixing until the rice is fully fried and voila! Kanin na, may ulam pa!


ESCABECHE A LA TATAT. This is from the affectionate recollection of Lorni Capati-Dillon.
Ingredients: Fish, garlic, onions, ginger, sugar, vinegar, salt, cornstarch, red or green bell pepper.
Procedure (verbatim from Tatat): 1) Fry fish a little (not fully cooked). Set aside. 2) In a pan, guisa (sauté) bawang (garlic), sibuyas (onions sliced big), ginger and a little water. 3) Add sugar, vinegar, salt and cornstarch. 4) Add fish, let boil. 5) A few minutes before being fully cooked, add sliced pepper (red or green).


DRINK OF THE GODS. Actually, this is a nontraditional recipe. It comes with a heart-warming, funny, and nostalgic anecdote written by Ditos Capati.
Tata Nilo loved spending time with his nephews back in Pampanga in the 1950s. The sharpest sharpshooter in the neighborhood, he was adored by his nephews. They loved Tata Nilo because unlike their parents, he didn’t make them take a bath. He would take them hunting birds, then he and the boys would grill birds as well as hito and bulig for lunch.
One day, Tata Nilo took them boys to a sugar cane field where a carabao was pulling huge gears to draw juice from sugar cane. The juice was being cooked in a cauldron to make raw sugar. Thick and black, raw sugar looked absolutely revolting.
Tata Nilo asked for bamboo glasses, had them filled with raw sugar, then told the boys to try it. Fearless cowboys that they were, they downed the enemy in one gulp. It was the sweetest drink with a divine sweetness beyond words. It’s the drink of the gods!
DOREEN FERNANDEZ’S LECHE FLAN. Doreen Fernandez, the food guru, was also a literature professor. She and Tish Bautista were visiting lecturers at the Ohio University in Ohio, USA in 1983. Tish, like other international visiting lecturers, was invited to showcase a native dish during a party for students.
Tish writes, “Doreen knew I had a fear of kitchens and so she taught me the simplest recipe she knew – the recipe below.”
Ingredients: 1/4 cup sugar to caramelize, 1 regular-sized can evaporated milk, 3 eggs, 3/4 cup sugar.
Procedure: 1) put 1/4 cup sugar in big leche flan llanera and caramelize directly on burner. Do not stir with a spoon. Just swirl and slide back and forth over the fire until it turns amber. Watch carefully as this burns easily. Let cool. Caramel should harden.
2) Beat eggs slightly in a bowl, just to break the yolks. Add milk and sugar and stir gently, just until combined. Tip: do not use a mixer for this, otherwise bubbles will form. 3) Pour mix into a llanera – make sure caramel has completely cooled and hardened before doing this. Cover with aluminum foil.
4) Steam leche flan over boiling water for about 40 minutes. To check for doneness, remove foil cover and gently shake llanera. Flan should be firm. 5) Cool leche flan completely before serving. Run a knife around the edges and then invert onto your serving plate. Caramel should coat top of flan and run down the sides.
SPAGHETTI IN A JIFFY OF TITA AGGIE. When maids take a day off, the kids are drafted for kitchen duty so they would learn how to cook. But some simply don’t like cooking. What happens when the maids are not around and no one among the teenage kids know how to cook?
Fortunately, there’s Tita Aggie whose recipe below is a real lifesaver. It can be done in 10 minutes and it tastes so good you would eat your plates clean.
Ingredients: 1 box of spaghetti, a big can of tomato sauce, a can of Libby’s Corned Beef, and Tita Aggie’s magic hands.
Procedure: 1) Boil the spaghetti until pliant enough. 2) At the same time, heat the pan with the tomato sauce in it. 3) Mix in the corned beef and stir to perfection. 4) Pour the spaghetti into the pan and stir them all together.


Mangan Tamu is a simple cook book with no pretensions to culinary perfection. The loving, honest, down-to-earth, and funny anecdotes thrown generously into the recipes turn them into priceless ‘value meals.’
For comments or inquiries, please e-mail Dr. Ma. Lourdes S. Bautista