"Bangaw"

My father's nickname was "Bangaw"

He was born Heracleo, but he never used that name. In his family, he was called Toto, and in his college days, he was called “Bangaw”. From his original Hercules to “Bangaw,” which means giant fly, connected, I think, to how he was the Big Man On Campus in UP Los Banos. “Bangaw” was sometimes shortened to Bangs. In Boracay, many people remember him as “Tatay Bangs”. I called him Papa, all the same.

He and my mom named me Marikit Tara, which I hated when I was a child. Saddled with a grandiose name, I was Marikit to my classmates, although Papa called me Kitang (a nickname that I also hated). Right before college, I decided to be called Kit, and I was known by that nickname in UP and beyond.

We are known by many names to many people. We experience each other differently, and the stories differ, according to the person you are talking to. The important thing is that we remember the people who loved us and made us feel special, because these memories acts as talismans against the dark.

Thank you, Papa, for doing that for me.