THE LACARS OF BACARRA, ILOCOS NORTE, PHILIPPINES

They came home for the first death anniversary of their father Severino, who died at the ripe age of 99: Francisco and his wife Linda (originally from Batac), Francisco's Canada-based Manong, Rev. Fr. Sylvio; Teresita L. Rentz, also Canada- based; Juanita and her husband Michael, both based in South Australia; Corazon who is married to a Hernando and live with her husband and their children in San Nicolas; and Maria L. Vinasoy, Isabela. Their brother Daniel lives in the ancestral home in Bacarra. The house is a split-level concrete structure with a concrete post shaped like a leafless tree jutting from the floor to the ceiling. While we ate lunch (the Max Restaurant date in Laoag was canceled), we had a grand time exchanging views and experiences: bullying in school in Australia, Francisco and his wife talking to their grandchildren in Iluko, racial discrimination which is a no-no in Australia, the Ilokano diaspora and Ilocanos speaking the language in London, the Philippine phenomenon where Tagalog is the language of the home in Amianan when one of the spouses is non-Ilokano. The Lacars sponsor the annual Severino and Eufemia Lacar Commemorative Award in Iluko Poetry.