Life's short. And it's only when one gets closer to twilight that we realize that life is shorter than short. We scramble to do our bit - an iota of something, to a heritage that let us be. I think about
the language that I first came to appreciate experiencing the grace of life by and realised that it is at risk. It is fast getting diluted and the number of speakers is fast decreasing. Globalisation is attracting peoples towards a new world with new languages - foregoing ethnic traditions and heritages.
Ilocano was third most spoken language in the Philippines and it originated from the northern region in Luzon.
As I move towards my twilight, I thought I'll give it a shot - to celebrate my birth language and give it my last hurrah. It's the least I can do.
And so out came an anthology in ILOCANO about great figures in human history. I wish children of Ilocano heritage in the diaspora will get to read it. I hope that they get to know that their ethnic heritage has its own unique wealth of expressive articulation - that it,too, is noble all by its own.