The Quiet Heart of Alabang

By Michael Rubio

I've lived in Alabang for 19 years. And in all those years I've always had only love and thankfulness for the opportunity to live in such a beautiful and well-kept subdivision. My father started paying for the property since 1980 (it took him over 20 years to complete the terms as an employee of Ayala Corporation), when the whole place was a dry brown patch of white houses with red tegula roofing in the middle of the remnants of the mango plantation as the land used to be when it belonged to the Madrigal family.

As a child I would always look forward to visiting our little house (one half of a duplex bungalow) coming all the way from Sampaloc, Manila. The primary novelty of Alabang to me then was grass. We didn't have grass in Sampaloc, you see. And in Alabang you saw wide open spaces with tall Cogon grass, as well as tough Carabao grass, and most delightful the manicured lawns with grass that had impressive names like Texas Blue, and Bermuda.

You could actually pick mangoes from the ground then. But what really captured my young heart so powerfully as it still does now, are the many parks within the village. And my favorite then and now is the Narra Park smack in the middle of the village, with one of the sanitation creeks running through it.

Home to a number of playgrounds, two basketball courts (of late these courts have fallen to disrepair) and of course the bridges. Even though the creek that they span is actually coursing sewage water, it doesn't detract from the charm of the wooden structures. At night, the bridge that effectively connects Madrigal Ave. to Acacia Ave. through San Bernardio and Dao sts., cutting across Maria Cristina and Narra.

Well, at night especially when the lights are out(due to the rare power outtage) the bridge (and the park itself) can seem sinister and spooky. Jogging there at night can still give you the creeps. Imagine seeing this area at night:

Well, I think it only adds to its charms. No one really talks about the park, even among residents. And you almost never see it crowded (and for me that's diving), except for the weekend bazaars held on the Southwest section (approaching De La Salle Santiago Zobel School). I think it's a great place to wind down a romantic evening, with a reliable breeze (it's never failed me yet!) and conversation on the bridge.

The latest addition is a shrine to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, which really does wonders in reducing the spook factor. Located right next to the busiest bridge, she feels at home at the very heart of our beautiful home.