Orbiting Planet Earth

“All the world is a stage,” as Shakespeare puts it. The life of Mr. Gregorio Cesar Y Aguto, commonly known to his students as “Sir Hidalgo” or “Dr. Hidalgo”, is in fact a stage. His entrance to the very stage happened when he was in Grade IV.

War and all the fears that it brought made Sir Hidalgo forget the English language. Survival took over his mind, instead of sentences and phonetics. The education in Batanes, as with most places, continued after the World War II. Everything he knew about the English language was forgotten, erased by fear and survival. He was entering fresh in the academic world. Although he forgot the language, it was fine for him. But this changed when the Supervisor of Elementary Education, Mr. Fernando Barona, arrived visited his school. After seeing the classroom where Sir Hidalgo was studying in, and talking to the teacher, he looked around. And there he found Sir Hidalgo. “Is that you, Cesar?” he asked. “Send Cesar to Grade V.” he followed.

It was wrong to object the superiors in Sir Hidalgo’s homeland. There is nothing he could do about it, but he wanted to deny the promotion because he deemed himself illiterate. He was having a hard time remembering the lessons before the war. But all he could do was to follow his betters.

His first day in Grade V was mortifying. The teacher immediately gave out a test in the textbook, where she expected everyone to answer brilliantly. Of course, Sir Hidalgo could not even answer the test, he forgotten all about English. When the results were handed out, he turned to “escapism”, denying the reality he was in. This was only for a fleeting moment though. A sudden rush of determination illuminated his faculties. He was determined to learn English again. So, when he got back home, he urged his mom to teach him to read and write again. Soon enough, after only a night, he was ready. And in when he is in sixth grade the next year, he was already being appointed to recite poems in front of everyone!

His efforts, and especially his mom’s, in learning the English language, got him the honor of being a valedictorian of the graduating class.

There were complications that aroused before Sir Hidalgo entered High School. The most apparent was that it was too costly for his family, to send him to the only high school in the province, which was located in the capital. But somehow, everything worked out. And before he knew it, he was joining a group of three students from his barrio, to the capital. Despite the difficulties in living in the capital alone, save for the group he was with, he was topping the class. The only person that was in his way was a scholarly-looking girl, about his age, and a valedictorian from Itbayat.

The lowest point in his High School life happened on the day when he was about to compete in a declamation contest. Normally, he was informed of the time of the contests he joined in. But in a very unfortunate turn of events, Sir Hidalgo was not informed, save for a sweaty messenger that was sent by his class adviser, telling him that the contest was already ongoing. Fortunately, he got there on time, with a presenter just before his turn. He caught unwelcoming looks from his class adviser, but proceeded to declaim his piece. Though he gave it his best, he did not win. He lost to an articulate and pretty student named Araceli Cabal. The next day, he got reprimanded by his adviser, and gave Sir Hidalgo a D in Conduct. This disqualified him for any honors he might have received. And, as his culture was used to, he accepted this notion of his superior.

He moved afterwards to Feati High School in Manila, in the premise of helping his aunt’s store to pay for his education there. It was hard at first for Sir Hidalgo, in adjusting to the life in Manila, especially in speaking Tagalog, which was important if you want to converse with the locals. But he got through it, despite the difficulties. And soon, he was graduating high school, and entering college, the Philippine Normal College.

He did his best in college. He was an editor in The Torch, the official organ in PNC. He was being noticed by his professor, which was evident in his representing his college in the annual CONDA Conference, a national student organization, held in Baguio City. In this conference, his curiosity with the Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, even the non-Greek like Thomas Jefferson, John Locke, and Bertrand Russell, was aroused. And to top it all, he was a Varsity player in the track and volleyball! A very busy man he is.

Sir Hidalgo completed his ETC (Elementary Teacher’s Certificate) with honors, and was given the Leadership Award. It was time to serve the public schools. But before doing that, there was one thing that standing between him and his teaching in schools- The Teachers Competitive Exam conducted by the Division of Public Schools, Batanes. It is during this time when he met his future wife again, Araceli (Nelly) Cabal.

One day, he found himself in the airport of Batanes. Every week, people flock the place, because in an island as remote as Batanes, a plane’s visit was a major event. It meant of news and goods from Manila. As the passengers of the plane descended, he caught the glimpse of a beautiful, vibrant, and cheerful young woman, who was in the uniform of the National Teachers Collge, and clearly competing in the exam. He made his way to her, and in a trance of sorts, he did not introduce himself. He spontaneously said Tud dana kunu mahara u kapayrivyu mu aya, in English “I heard that you have been reviewing a lot.” And it was futile. She was not impressed. But clearly, Sir Hidalgo was head-over-heels about her.

The result of the exam, for Sir Hidalgo, was a blessing. He topped the exam, which he intended. He even bested his nemesis, Nelly, the one he was smitten with, who was a close second. He decided that he should get to know her. The opportunity came when the evening festivities honoring the new teachers commenced. He danced with her, to the point that no one ever got the chance to dance with her, except Sir Hidalgo and the Governor of Batanes, which was Nelly’s uncle. He courted Nelly afterwards. His mother objected.

His stint in teaching in Batanes was put to the test when he published an article in the Philippine Journal of Education regarding his teaching technique, the Integrativee Technique, and the supposed unfamiliarity of his observers with it. He surmised that observers that observed him had no idea of the technique. His intent was to target the principals and supervisors that observed him while teaching as a neophyte and a practice Grade School teacher. He did not mean to allude it to his own School Supervisor, Mr. Clemente Mata. Shortly after the publication, the supervisor showed him a book which present in great detail about the Integrative Technique. Sir Hidalgo was red-faced. He apologized to him. But the school principal felt that he was “arrogant”.

He was about to complete his two-year stint in Batanes, when he decided that he should go back and find a job in Manila. But it was hard for him because of the drastic change in his relationship with Nelly, which alarmed his mother. His mother’s reason for objection was because Sir Hidalgo was too young to be in a relationship, and he is also the eldest in the family which means he has to take care of his siblings first. There was also the religion issue because Nelly is in another religion, Baptist Protestant, which was anathema to the Catholic Church, where his family believed in. His mother even succeeded in transferring Nelly to another school, some fourteen kilometers away, in which a single dump truck that comes once in a while was the only transportation. But this did not stop him from visiting her, hiking 28 kilometers, to Ivana to Basco, just to see her. In one event, he even “borrowed” a horse from his unlce, without his uncle knowing, in desperation in seeing her.

Sir eventually left for Manila, and found a teaching job in the elementary department of San Beda College. He was even a part of the facult, because the principal, Rev. Fr. Benigno Benabarre, found use for him because he worked as an editor in The Torch. He was also appointed as a Special Assistant, where his first job was to edit the doctoral dissertation of the principal, at the University of Santo Thomas.

He taught English in San Beda College in the morning, and studied in Philippine Normal College in the afternoon. It was hectic. But he was used to it. Soon, he completed his bachelor’s degree in education in October 1956, graduating Cum Laude, and immediately went to University of Santo Thomas for his masteral program in education. Nelly also joined him in Manila, and they planned to marry on November of the very same year. They married on November 24, 1956.

Still, Batanes was not far from Sir Hidalgo’s mind. He and Nelly decided to publish The Batanes Star, a monthly paper for the province. He also formed the United Sabtang Association, him as the president, and Nelly as the Secretary-Treasurer. The said association went caroling to raise fund for the Church in Sabtang. The church needed pews, and eventually, enough money was raised for it.

Soon, Nelly gave birth to three beautiful and charming little girls, which was a sign of good luck. But the couple faced monetary problems. With Nelly wanting continue to pursue graduate studies, after graduating Magna Cum Laude, in her bachelor’s degree, the two formed a solution. She and Sir Hidalgo decided to take turns studying and working.