For Mother

Circa 1938.  Often called "Shirley temple" by friends, neighbors and relatives for she was being adorned with elegant clothes by her alluring mother, Ramona.  To playfully pose in style at a Glamour Studio located at the corner of calle San Rafael (now Fernandez St.) and calle Concepcion (now Coronado St.) beside the stairway leading to the Roman Catholic Church.  Her father Adriano, an Artist/Photographer owns and operates the studio.  He is the only Artist/Photographer in the locality who organizes out-of-town trips for glamour and leisure.

By a struck of fate, her lavish lifestyle so suddenly changed upon her parents' demise at a young age of 5.  She was then adopted by her lolo Francisco, a farmer living in far away barrio Alumbrado.  She went back to town only when she entered 4th Grade up until she finished her studies with the help of her lola Belen and her tio Mateo's family.

Today, November 15 could have been her 85th birthday if she is still living.  Her name is "Bella".  She is my mother.

**Picture taken and painted (mix media) by her father. She was 3 years old then.

November 15, 2020 Facebook post link:

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=3412154392187611&set=a.413539768715770