Shrine of St. Joseph the Patriarch

Come to San Jose and you will see a typical Philippine town layout with its center at the town plaza. There you will see the municipal hall, schools, ancestral houses, all dominated by the church perched on the hill.

A popular Catholic pilgrimage site, the Shrine of St Joseph the Patriach was built by the Augustinian friar Fr. Manuel Blanco in 1812 and is an excellent example of Baroque architecture in the Philippines with its geometrical decorations and flowery capitals on the columns.

Below is an excellent video of the church provided by Nathaniel Ona (thanks Tita Olive for forwarding the link).

We all have a responsibility to preserve our heritage. It is my fervent hope that the succeeding parish priests think well and hard before making decisions which would spoil the very things that make the shrine so special. Come on -- painting certain sections of the church pink???? Planning to replace the floor tiles?????

Restoration, not renovation please!!!!

Café Casa Rap, San Jose, Batangas

Not really Clan related but I love spreading the news about our hometown. Ross Harper-Alonso recently recommended Cafe Casa Rap as a "tranquil stopover.. like chicken soup for the soul". The Cafe is run by Emma Alday and Felma Lagahit. The next time you visit San Jose, Batangas, be sure to drop by.

Details and reservations: 043-7262873; Sister Emma: 0916-212-6685.

Aguila Clan 2007

Under the presidency of Engr. Edgardo Ona (Luciana branch), the Aguila Clan reunion will take place on Sunday 29 April 2007 at Villa Marines in Ibaan, Batangas, the same venue as the 2001 and 2004 reunions. Registration is at 09:00 and the program starts at 10:00.

Deadline for the submission of materials for the souvenir program is 15 February 2007. The cost per page is still fluid.

December 26

Ever since I can remember, the Onas have celebrated Christmas with the birthday of Lola Canding. Every 26^th of December, we would all gather at Lolo and Lola’s home in San Jose, Batangas which, in grand fiesta tradition, was (and still is) an open house to all. It is a time to remember the past and celebrate the newest additions to the family.

We had a lot of things to be thankful for in 2006:
Aguila Clan reunion presided by Nitong Ona
Wedding of Takoy and Tere
Births of Martin, Lauren, Princess Jasmine and the much-awaited twins of Cute and Heidi
Successful medical procedure of Proning Ona
Kasalan 2006 – Nas and Sharon
18^th bday of Celine Lejano, eldest great-granddaughter of Narding and Canding

December 26 is also the day when the MALOCAs would hold our annual meeting to finalize our plans for the summer outing, recompute our SJA dues and come up with projects for the upcoming year. 2007 is shaping up to be a great year. =)

Pics taken on Dec. 26 (stills at http://joelleoh.multiply.com)