A story carried by the wind

Most tourists only find cool destinations, extreme adventures, scenic views and picturesque landscapes in places they visit. Little do they know that there are stories waiting to be told; simple realities that touch a heart and draw a curve on the lips. Simple realities made more alive by the characters figuring in every story.

One of these is the story of Aling Rosa—a story we learned about during our taping in one of the places we featured on Traveldotcom.

Rose Rosas lives in Imbo, Anda. She is an abaniko (fan) maker for which she has been called ‘Ate Palaypay’ by her townspeople.

She does it all by herself. She cuts the leaves she uses for the fans she makes. She dries and dyes them, then she crafts them into beautiful big fans. Later on, she sells each for P25—an amount just enough to pay for all her effort.

At most, she finishes 15 fans per day.

She has children whom she tries to teach how to make fans themselves. But they are not interested with the skills she intends to pass on to them. They have other interests from which they say they can make money. That leaves no one to inherit the craft.

She no longer has a husband. She says she has returned him to his parents after learning that she had ‘co-owners’—eight to be precise. For many years, she has performed the role of both a mother and a father to her children with only her fan-making business and other side line jobs to get by and provide for her children.

Despite all the hardships, though, one trait resonates in her personality. She is jolly. She is a person full of humor, with a face drawn with a sincere smile, with wrinkles sketched by many years of loud laughter.

We ask why she never married again and if she would. She quips with a grin, “It is better to be alone than to have a bad companion.” Yes, she speaks English from time to time. She talks about her amigas from other barangays asking her why she speaks English. Then she continues to say, “Kelan ko gagamitin ang aking Ingles? ‘Pag ako’y patay na? (When will I speak English, then? When I’m dead?)” Then she laughs.

She never seems to get tired. Not even a bit. Not even for a second. It seems that being tired is a luxury she does not have time for. She does not stop working. She stops perhaps only to answer nature’s call, or to do other chores. She does not quit talking. She pauses only to breathe and get ready for another round of stories. Above all these, she does not lose her confidence, her comic self, her resilience, her fighting spirit.

She lives a simple life in a simple home with a simple business.

She originally hails from Lopez, Quezon. In 1987, she had moved to Anda.

She is Rose Rosas, Aling Rosa, Ate Palaypay. She is happy. And this is her story.