Three Mateos in One

All my three sons are coffee connoisseurs or experts. They deeply appreciate and understand the subtle qualities of coffee.  I overhear them talking about flavor profiles, bean types, roast levels, and brewing methods. Duh. 

I drink only three-in-one. It’s a convenient mix of instant coffee, sugar, and creamer pre-blended and packed in single-serving sachets. I simply need to add hot water and I have my coffee! Fast and easy. 

My three-Mateos-in-one was just as fast and easy.   

While writing the first book in the Oh, Mateo! series (total of 16 books to date), I needed a Filipino name for the little hero. I didn’t have to look far. My dad, my brother, and my brother’s son are all Mateos.

At that time, I wasn’t thinking of a series, but that first book, The Boy Who Had five Lolas, won first prize in the Palanca Awards. I wrote a second one, Apo Mayor, using the same character. Guess what. It won another Palanca first prize the following year. And so Mateo went on . . . and on . . . and on. 

Last week, my sis Aie sent photos of the three Mateos that she salvaged from the monstrous flood that damaged our ancestral home. “Look, manangest!*” she wrote. “Your three Mateos.”  

(Left to right) My dad had long gone home. My brother Mateo Jr. is now a senior citizen, and Mateo III is running a thriving family business. 

Twenty four years is a long time, but the Mateo in my books is still the adventurous, smart,  and God-fearing eight-year-old who, as a role model, is helping shape Christian values among readers. 

In the Bible (the scripture of my faith), the first book in the New Testament is Matthew (Mateo in Filipino), which presents Jesus as the Messiah and King, fulfilling Old Testament prophesies to establish the "Kingdom of Heaven.” It details Jesus' birth, ministry, miracles, and teachings as Emmanuel (God with us). In Matthew, Jesus, the promised King, issues a universal call to make disciples of all nations.

ooo

*Manangest is the superlative form (our family group chat invention) of manang, an Ilocano honorific for older female.  I happen to be the oldest of the brood, see?