Obscure Town

My storybook series, Oh, Mateo!, takes place in an obscure town called Umingan.

“Is it a real place?” “Where is that?” These are some of the questions my readers ask.

“It is a real place; and it's the place where I grew up,” is my reply. For Umingan is really on the map. Unfortunately, it is not one of the more popular places which people have heard of at least once in their lives.

In my books, Umingan is the quiet, serene town that I remember—and love. That was before the advent of computer, fast food, cellular phone, and tricycle. It has changed, as did many towns. But in my mind, and in my books, it remains the Umingan of my youth.

With typhoons Pepeng and Ondoy, Umingan was ravaged like it never was before. And suddenly, Umingan had its one brief shining moment. It was half of the front page of Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI)—in the form of a handmade thank-you card by the students of an Umingan school for the help extended to the town by PDI.


If I may, this heartwarming card might have been done by Mateo, a thoughtful, caring Umingan boy who is grateful for the outpouring of grace at a time of great danger and devastation.