Basta Pasko
By Hazel Suson-Alvarez
PASKO 1995 : It’s been over a decade ago but the memories are still fresh as hot pandesal and puto bumbong in the nippy December morning. And because I was single and detached, “Tayo na giliw, magsalo na tayo, meron na tayong tinapay at keso, diba Noche Buena sa gabing ito at bukas ay araw ng Pasko” didn’t necessarily apply to me then (with all due respect to Prof Felipe De Leon who wrote Noche Buena).
So I thought.hmmm, why not write a song about food during the holidays and make it generic for all to relate to, whether single or married, separated or widowed, especially for “foodies” like me. My mind was hyperactive at 11 p.m., trying to fight off hunger pangs as I was too lazy to get out of bed and make a sandwich or get a bowl of noodle soup. So I contented myself with visions of “puto bumbong, bibingka, suman at queso de bola, castanas , hamon, basta Pasko hayun, pagkain naroon.” Thus was born my first-ever song composition entitled “Basta Pasko” released by Papuri Music Ministry in December 1995. The Papuri Singers told me they had fun cutting the song and the whole album as it overflowed with spontaneity. They even had time to banter with “Pasko-Paksiw” tongue-twisters at the tail-end of the song. The rest of the lyrics goes: Tapsi, longsi at toci, siopao, siomai at mami, luglug at bihon, basta Pasko do’n, pagkain naroon. Dagdagan mo pa ng gulaman at sago, sa umaga nama’y may kapeng barako. Itlog, kamatis at daing, super-anghang na laing,mechado’t morcon,basta Pasko tsong, pagkain naroon. Pwede bang humingi ng mineral water at samahan mo ng dalawang alka-seltzer? Then, of course, for the finale, I threw in something more lasting than food- of- this-world. Basta Pasko kahit alin basta’t may makakain, hanggang mabusog alalahanin biyaya ng Dios sa atin.
Basta Pasko’y isipin din-pag-ibig na inihain, pag-asang handog di magmamaliw,ang sarap talaga nito, ang sarap tuwing Pasko, ang sarap-sarap talaga basta Pasko (paksiw-pasko-paksiw-pakso-paskiw) I came home for Christmas that year to my widowed mother with the song as my gift in remembrance of my dad who passed in July of that same year. He was a composer in his own time (Silvio Suson) Together we feasted on God’s abiding comfort, food and melodious memories that drew us closer than ever before.
Tags: christmas
