A Wedding and 8 Baptisms

We survived a war. That experience left within us an inexplicable longing, a deep hankering for life that many of us expressed with the happiest of occasions—weddings, births and baptisms. So it was with me.

On May 23, 1948, I married Katherine Sia Siu Eng. I was 26 years old, she was 21. Like me, Katherine was a Catholic, so we celebrated our union with Catholic marriage rites at the chapel of the University of Sto. Tomas. The priest who officiated at our wedding was an Italian named Fr. Casorari, who was a member of the Society of St. Paul.

Great Matchmaker

Today, I know it was a match made in heaven. Back then, I acknowledged the matchmaker as Sy Kim Po (Fourth Grand Auntie) because she picked Katherine for me from among the lovelies of Chinatown and set the wheels in motion for our first meeting. We had never seen each other before we were introduced to one another.

I remember preparing for our meeting with some trepidation, my heart fluttering and my stomach full of butterflies. What if she doesn’t like me? What if she refuses me? What if I don’t like her? I hadn’t even seen a picture of her! Worst, what if it didn’t work? What if it was a mistake?

The Sia family was from Chuang Chiu, my mother-in-law’s village in China, and they had migrated to the Philippines. My father-in-law came to the Philippines. They were married here and lived in a big house with many rooms on what is now the site of the President Hotel, on Ongpin Street. The rooms were rented out to different tenants who shared common bathroom facilities.

Fourth Grand Auntie’s son, Go Bon Bio, my uncle, accompanied me to their home. All my fears turned out to be groundless.

First I met her parents. Her father was Sia Eng Yin, who took to me immediately and accepted me in his family. Years later, just a few days before he died at the age of 86, he was baptized and he took Gonzalo as his Christian name.

Katherine’s mother was Maria Co Po Hap. She was also a Catholic. Katherine’s adopted brother, Sia Ting Kok, who was younger than she, was also there.

They had other relatives there, but I no longer remember who they were.Finally, I was introduced to Katherine. She was beautiful! She was slender and had olive skin and curly dark hair. Her eyes were like big almonds and her lips had a pout until she smiled. And then it seemed as if the sun lit up a new day.

Love at First Sight

From the moment I saw her, I loved her. And she fell in love with me also the moment she saw me. Love at first sight for both of us. What matched-up couple could be so lucky to find love so unexpectedly and have it last their lifetimes? Only by God’s grace did that happen.

Perhaps Sia Eng Yin considered me a prime catch for Katherine because I was responsible, hardworking and devoted to my family—I don’t know for sure. What I do know is that Sia Eng Yin made it easy for me to woo his daughter. He would drop by my office at Manila Commercial on Rosario Street and invite me to have dinner at their house, saying they had cooked something special for me. Willingly, I went and allowed myself to be charmed by Katherine.

We had a few dates before we got married. I remember taking Katherine to dine at Panciteria Shanghai and Panciteria China and to watch the movies. But don’t ask me what the movie titles were—all I can remember is being with her. She was wonderful!

When I recall those days, I remember the little details were unimportant after I saw her. But, as we got to know each other better, I learned that she was born here in Manila and graduated from Uno High School in Mayhaligue Street in Sta. Cruz, Manila.

Fortunately, my in-laws to-be liked me and they allowed us to marry after just a few months of courtship. I guess they realized that we were obviously in love. The wedding was a simple affair, with 20 tables of guests at our reception in Panciteria China.

As I mentioned in the previous chapter, former President Jose P. Laurel was our godfather. Among our guests were relatives and friends, including Jackson Horn (Ang Tian Seng) who gifted me with a Sacred Heart and Last Supper statue as a wedding present, which I still keep today. (Jackson married Beta Gotauco, a very jovial person and they had a happy marriage together.)

Simple Wedding

Our wedding was very simple. Katherine was so beautiful that she didn’t need any more adornments. We didn’t know back then that we would be so happy and so perfect together. All I can say is we were tremendously blessed and I am grateful for that!

After we got married, we stayed in Balmes Street. My granduncle, Vicente Gotamco, owned several apartments there and my father arranged for us to stay in one of them. As a young couple starting out in life together, we hardly had anything to our name. The son of Third Grand Uncle Golamco, Uncle Amading Golamco, who is still living today in Hong Kong, designed some furniture for us, including cabinets, side tables and our matrimonial bed, which is the same bed that I use to this day, nearly 60 years later.

What we needed at home, we eventually purchased. Back then, we didn’t have refrigerators, televisions, washing machines or aircons, so furnishing a home was easier.

Wedded Bliss

Wedded life was wonderful. Katherine, or Eng-nga, as I fondly called her, was perfect for me. She was loving, caring and respectful. She took very good care of me and our children, and we were happy together. I could not have asked for more.

In 1950, our first child, Syril, was born. I was very, very proud. I now had a son to carry the family name. Our second and third children were also boys: Marciano was born in 1951 and Pablo in 1952. Then came three girls—Agnes in 1953, Lucy in 1955 and Cecilia in 1956. They were followed by our youngest boy, Felix, in 1958, and our youngest girl, Anastacia in 1960. In one decade, from 1950 to 1960, we had eight children and each one of them as precious as the other to me and my wife.

Shortly after our children were born, they were baptized. Their baptisms and their confirmations provided other occasions to celebrate God’s goodness to us and His many blessings, and to cement our ties with the people we chose to be their godparents.

It was a busy time for us as a family and for me at work.