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The Best Memory of the 1990 Earthquake: The Café

People I know that have visited Baguio would inevitably tell me that they ate at the Café by the Ruins. Whenever they would rave about the great food and ambience, I would nod my head in agreement but would seldom tell them of my intimate relationship with the Café.

I have now decided to tell you one of my Café stories.

In the aftermath of the 1990 earthquake, the Café was converted into a soup kitchen that fed countless of people. Padma was in charge of the operations, and together with other friends, I helped her out. Working and being in the Café then was like going through post-traumatic therapy. There was no time to dwell on the fact that people I knew and grew up with died and many more lost their homes. There was no time to be depressed about the fact that, for weeks after the earthquake, the roads leading to Baguio were blocked by landslides, the phone lines were down, there was no water and electricity and many of us were forced to sleep outdoors for fear that a strong aftershock would make our houses collapse. In the Café, there was only time to focus on helping others, moving on and being with friends.

At that time, the Café did not serve the dishes for which it is known. The Café was only serving relief goods, which consisted of white rice, fried Maling, Hunts Pork and Beans and instant minestrone soup. In the afternoons, milk and bread would be served to the children. For me, this is the best food that the Café had ever served.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 9th, 2009 at 12:08 am and is filed under The Baguio I Remember. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.