2. 15 WORLD-CLASS KAPAMPANGAN OLYMPIANS

As sportsmen, these select Kapampangan Olympians have lived their ultimate dream of competing for medals against the world’s best in the international arena. Ever since a Negrito named Basilio won the pole-climbing event at the 1904 Anthropology Days Competition—an athletic competition affiliated with the 1904 Summer Olympic Games held in St. Louis, there has been no stopping the Kapampangan athlete in helping carry the Philippine colors in the world’s premiere sports competition.

Yambao saw action for the Philippines at the Berlin Olympics

 1. FORTUNATO YAMBAO, Basketball, 1936 Berlin Olympics
The first known Kapampangan to participate in the Olympics was Fortunato Yambao, of Sta. Lucia, Masantol, who qualified as a member of the Philippine basketball team that played at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Adolph Hitler had used this event to prove the superiority of the Aryan race, only to be silenced by stunning victories of black American track star, Jesse Owens. Asia too, had reason to celebrate, for that year, Yambao and his squad (led by Ambrosio Padilla, Jacinto Ciria Cruz, Primitivo Martinez, Charles Borck, Jesus Marzan, Franco Marquicias, Amador Obordo, Bibiano Ouano and Johnny Worrel) lifted the Philippines to 5th place, the highest placement ever achieved by our national basketball team has achieved, with a record of 4 wins, 1 loss—against the Americans.

Fely Fajardo was a world-class cager and coach.

 2. FELICISIMO R. FAJARDO, Basketball, 1948 London Olympics 
Fely Fajardo (b. 26 Oct. 1916), forn to Emilio Fajardo and Elisea Rodriguez, hails from Floridablanca and, together with younger brother Gabby, represented the Philippines in the post-war London Olympics.This 5’8” forward was known for his pull-up jumpers, ball-handling and passing skills. As a cager for Letran, he led the Letran Knights to a National Collegiate Athletic Association title in 1936—the best all-around man in the NCAA. His other international stint includes playing at the 1941 Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere Games. Trained by another basketball icon, Jacinto Ciria Cruz, Fajardo also excelled in baseball, swimming, broad jump, baseball and volleyball. In 1952, Fely Fajardo became the first Olympian to be named head coach of the Philippine basketball team to the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. He was the first Filipino referee to be accredited to the FIBA (International Basketball Federation). In 1999, Fely Fajardo was inducted to the National Basketball Hall of Fame.

Gabby was the other half of the much-feared Fajardo Brothers..

 3. GABRIEL R. FAJARDO, Basketball, 1948 London Olympics 
Gabby Fajardo (b. 24 Mar. 1917), together with Fely, were the much feared Fajardo brothers in the basketball court. The solidly-built Kapampangan center-forward was known for his one-handed shot. He teamed up with Fely to give the University of Santo Tomas Glowing Goldies its first post-war UAAP (University Athletic Association of the Philippines) crown in 1946. Gabby actually qualified for the 1940 Tokyo Olympics, but the war forced the cancellation of the Games. It was only in 1948 that the 31 year-old Gabby made it finally to the London Olympics, with brother Fely. He then became a successful basketball coach, and taught mathematics at U.S.T. and Letran, before assuming the post of  P.E. and Athletic Director for Feati University. Gabby Fajardo was inducted to the National Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.

4. PONCIANO SALDAÑA, Basketball (1952 Helsinki)

“Pons” Saldaña (b. 19 Nov. 1928) comes from the well-known Saldañas of Guagua, a family that played a big role in developing  Guagua’s economy.  His family relocated to Iloilo in the 50s. In school, he was a  stand-out varsity basketball player of the San Beda College Lions, coached by kabalen Fely Fajardo. After graduation, he played for Philippine Airlines in the MICAA. In 1952, Saldaña was named to the national basketball team, which played at the Helsinki Olympics, placing  9^th place overall. At the 1954 Asian Games in Manila, the national team bagged Gold, which gave Saldaña a ticket to the 1954 FIBA World Championship in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, along with Bedan schoolmates Caloy Loyzaga, Tony Genato and Rafael Barretto. The Philippines won a historic Bronze in the tourney, behind USA and Brazil, the best finish by an Asian nation in FIBA history. Saldaña managed a resort in Guimaras and worked with PAL as Iloilo manager, before passing away on 21 Jul. 2006.

Badion originated the 'bicycle drive'' of play

5. CARLOS VELASCO BADION, Basketball, 2-Time Olympian (1956 Melbourne, 1960 Rome) 

Carlos Velasco Badion of Lubao first competed at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, where the Philippine team finished strong in 7th place. His teammates included the basketball legend Caloy Loyzaga and Kurt Bachman. Badion also grabbed Gold at the 1958 Asian games and took part in the 1959 FIBA World Cup, where the Philippines finished 8th. In his heyday, he originated the so-called “bicycle drive”and “jack-knife lay-up”, basketball moves that young athletes emulated. Badion was named “Mr. Basketball”, appeared in a movie and was crowned as the Most Valuable Player by the Asian basketball Conference (ABC) in his heyday.

Cruz was a be-medalled hardcourt hero in international tilts.

 6. GERONIMO CRUZ, Basketball, 1960 Rome Olympics 
 Born (b. 27 Dec. 1937) in Betis, Guagua, Pampanga, Gerry grew to about 6-foot-2 to become a star player of Betis Elementary School, Guagua National High and Far Eastern University, where, in his rookie year, the Tamaraws won the UAAP title. He was recruited by the Ysmael Steel Admirals, many-time MICAA and National Open champions from 1956 -1964. In 1959, Gerry was invited to play for the University of San Francisco Dons, but he returned home after two months because of shabbytreatment. Gerry saw action at the 1960 Rome Olympics(11th place), one world championship (8th place, Chile, 1959), two Asian Games (Golds at Tokyo 1958, Jakarta, 1962), and one Asian Basketball Confederation (Gold,Taipei, 1963). He retired in 1964 due to a knee injury.

"Mr. Basketball" Ocampo played in 3 Olympics.

  7. EDGARDO ‘ED’ OCAMPO, Basketball, 3-Time Olympian (1960 Rome, 1968 Mexico, 1972 Munich) 
Edgardo “Ed” Ocampo was born to illustrious parents: Arch. Fernando Hizon Ocampo of San Fernando (Father of Philippine Modern Architecture) and beauty queen Lourdes Luciano of Magalang. His international basketball career spanned 3 Olympics—1960 (Rome), 1968 (Mexico) and 1972 (Munich). The versatile Ocampo was originally a member of the Philippine football team when basketball beckoned. Ocampo was hailed as Asia’s Best Guard, and, like Badion, was voted as “Mr. Basketball” by the Philippine Sports Association.

Feliciano was a shooter, military man, dancer, TV host and artist.

 8. ADOLFO “Chito” FELICIANO, Shooting, 2-Time Olympian (1960 Rome, 1964 Tokyo, 1968 Mexico) 
Chito Feliciano was a great-grandson of Valentin Ventura of Bacolor, a Kapampangan associated with the national hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal. Feliciano was raised in Manila, where he spent his early school years at the Ateneo. In 1949, he enrolled at the University of the Philippines-Fine Arts where that he discovered the sports of shooting. As a sophomore year, he tried out for the U.P. six-man shooting team and topped the field of 80 students. Feliciano qualified for the 1954 Asian Games where he upset favourite Martin Gison for the gold in the small bore rifle, 3-position event. Feliciano’s next stop was the 1960 Rome Olympics, which was every athlete’s dream. He placed 51st among 54 shooters in the small-bore rifle with 1,083 points in three positions. He would compete in 2 more Olympics—at Tokyo in 1964 where he placed 2nd in the small-bore rifle prone in 3 positions—a demonstration sport. His last appearance was in Mexico where he finished 22nd of 30 shooters in the Free Rifle event. Feliciano also gained fame as a dance show host (“Dancetime with Chito"). His sharpshooting expertise enable him to join the Philippine Navy as head of the Sniper Training Unit. Maj. Feliciano died in a helicopter car crash in 1972.

Henson was the 1st Filipino to compete in Olympic gymnastics.

9. NORMAN HENSON, Men's Gymnastics, (1968 Mexico Olympics)
Norman Henson (b. 3 Mar. 1950), from an unknown town of Pampanga, was a ward of the Boys Town in Marikina when he discovered the sports of gymnastics. Henson, who was a shade under 5’4” and weighs 128 pounds, was perfect for the sports; by his mid-teens, he was excelling in the discipline. When he was sent to Copenhagen to compete in the International School Games held in connection with the city’s 800th anniversary, Henson placed first in the floor exercise, besting gymnasts from ten countries. At age 18 , Henson—together with another Boys Town product, Ernesto Beren, became the first Filipino athletes  to compete in Gymnastics at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. He saw action in the Men’s Rings,Parallel Bars, Horse Vault, Floor Exercises and Individual All-Around. Henson became a Gymnastics Coach until his death in April 2014.

Macapagal's father and half-sister were Philippine presidents.

 10. ARTURO MACAPAGAL, Free Pistol, 2-Time Olympian (1972 Munich, 1976 Montreal) 
The eldest son of Pres. Diosdado P. Macapagal with Purita de La Rosa, Arturo dela Rosa Macapagal ( b. 14 Sep. 1942/d. 11 Aug 2015) was also the half-brother of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He started competitive shooting as a hobby, that he became adept at the sports. Competing in 2 Olympics, Macapagal’s best performance was in Munich where he established a national record for free pistol, a record that stood for 21 years, the longest in the country's shooting history. For that feat, he was named the All-Around Filipino Sports Awardee by the Philippine Sportwriters Association in 1973 and 1974. He was chosen as the "Most Outstanding Shooter of the Decade" by the Philippine Olympic Committee in 1980. Macapagal also led the Philippine National Shooting Association for many years and also served the Philippine Olympians Association as president.

Yap competed in Munich that was attacked by terrorists.

 11. MELCHOR YAP, Skeet-Shooting, 1972 Munich Olympics 
There were Kapampangan members of the Philippine Shooting Team at the the tragedy-marred Munich Olympics of1972. Joining Macapagal and veteran Feliciano, was a young Holy Angel student who gunned for a medal at skeet-shooting, a discipline that demanded speed, foresight and accuracy. Yap didn’t win any, but made Pampanga proud for his barrier-breaking feat----joining the ranks of the world’s best hotshots.

Ocampo is the first and only Kapampangan Winter Olympian.

12. RAYMOND L. OCAMPO Jr., Men’s Single Luge Event, 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.
Lubao-born Raymond L. Ocampo, Jr. (b. 10 Feb. 1953) is only the 3rd Filipino to represent the country in an Olympic winter event. The first time was in 1972, when two Filipinos competed in alpine skiing. Ocampo’s Olympic stint was put in peril due to passport issues. As a dual Filipino-American citizen, he was eligible to represent the Philippines, but the Philippine Olympic  Committee at first insisted that he hold a Philippine passport. Eventually, the POC allowed him to compete at the XV Winter Games. Ocampo was fielded in the men's singles event where he ranked 35 out of 38 overall. Success in the Olympics, he said, is of secondary importance. In 2010, Ocampo, a lawyer, served as an honorary captain of the U.S. Olympic Luge Team that competed in Vancouver, Canada.

Punsalan's Olympic medal quests were marred by family tragedies.

13. ELIZABETH PUNSALAN, Ice Dancing, 2-Time Winter Olympian (1994 Nagano, 1998 Lillehammer) 
The first Winter Olympics was held in 1924, in Chamonix, France. At two editions---Nagano (1994) and Lillehammer (1998), a skater with Kapampangan blood represented the United States in Ice Dancing. Elizabeth Punsalan (b. 9 Jan. 1971) was the daughter of Dr. Ernesto Punsalan of Lubao and who had come to America as a medical student. Together with partner, Jerrod Swallow, Punsalan qualified for the 1994 Winter Olympics after placing first at the U.S. nationals. Two weeks before she was set to go to Nagano, her mentally-troubled brother, Ricardo, stabbed their father dead. This affected her performance, and the couple placed 15th overall. Punsalan bounced back in the next Olympics, finishing in a creditable 7th place.

Von Heiland is direct descendant of the Pamintuans of Angeles.

 14. ERIKA VON HEILAND, Badminton, 2-Time Olympian (1992 Barcelona, 1996 Atlanta) Another Kapampangan athlete who made it to the Olympics as part of Team America was the badminton ace, Erika Von Heiland (b. 24 Dec. 1965). Born in Angeles City, Erika’s father was Theodore Pamintuan Von Heiland, the son of Paz Sandico Pamintuan with second husband Frank Von Heiland. Her great grandfather was Don Florentino Torres Pamintuan, an affluent citizen of the town and builder of the still-extant Pamintuan mansion. Von Heiland participated in two Olympics, Barcelona (1992) and Atlanta (1996), playing in both singles and the doubles round.

Geisler, like hisactor-brother Baron, went to Chevalier School

 15. DONALD GEISLER, Tae-Kwon-Do. 2-Time Olympian (2000 Sydney, 2004 Athens) 
At 2000 Sydney Olympics, another Angeleño marched proudly as our country’s bet --and flag bearer of the Philippine delegation--in the sports of tae-kwon-do. Donald Geisler (b. 6 Oct. 1978), of German-American-Filipino descent, had previously won an Asian Games silver medal in 1996, at only 18 years of age. After the Olympiad, Geisler continued his winning streak, garnering medals at the regional Southeast Asian Games—a Silver in 2001, and a Gold in 2003. This paved the way for his return to the 2004 Athens Olympics. Unfortunately, he was injured in his match and did not advance The next year, he struck Gold again at the 2005 SEA Games. Today, he coaches in various school, and runs the Donnie Geisler Taekwondo Training Center.


Originally appeared as a blog article on "Views from the Pampang"
by Alex Del Rosario Castro. 
Sources: 
 Badion, Carlos: http://america.pink/carlos-badion_865506.html 
 Feliciano, Adolfo: Manila Chronicle
Arturo Macapagal: The Sunday Times Magazine, 1972
Raymond Ocampo Jr.: VB profiles, https://www.vbprofiles.com/people/raymond-ocampo-3e1429c09e597c1008073489
Donald Geisler: Donald Geisler FB Page 
Punsalan, Elizabeth: http://susanfieldofgold.blogspot.com/2016/01/elizabeth-punsalan-and-jared-swallows.html 
Von Heiland, Erika: http://www.coca-colacompany.com/coca-cola-unbottled/for-coke-s-erika-von-heiland-strader--ties-to-the-uso-run-deep
Yambao, Fortunato:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortunato_Yambao
Henson, Norman: "RP's Gymnastics Duo-Well Balanced", The Sunday Times Magazine, 13 Oct. 1968, p. 34
All others: www.sports-reference.com 

Special thanks to:
 Gloria Ocampo for the info on Geronimo Cruz: http://www.philstar.com/sports/156002/11-named-national-basketball-hall-fame 
Dennis Albinto, for info on the Fajardo Brothers
Legends and Heroes of Philippine Basketball

1. 10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT KAPAMPANGANS

So you want to live in Pampanga, or room with a Kapampangan, or even marry a Kapampangan? Prepare for a bumpy ride! Here are tips to help you survive the company of this much-admired, much-reviled and much misunderstood people:

1. Kapampangans talk loud when they’re together. 
They enjoy listening to themselves and to the sound of their language. They love their language with a child’s love for his mother, calling it amanung sisuan (“suckled word”). They’d navigate across a crowded room to find anyone speaking in Kapampangan, and when they do, they’d gush like long lost friends. They sound like they’re arguing, but they’re actually just tracing their six degrees of separation in search of a blood relation or a common acquaintance. You can’t blame them for savoring each other’s company. There are only two million of them left on Earth, compared with 22 million Tagalogs, 20 million Cebuanos and eight million Ilocanos.

2. Kapampangans are proud of their race. 
Call them conceited, call them ethnocentric, but they sincerely believe that they’re the first, the best and the most in everything. Bravest soldiers? Check. First Jesuits? Check. Best cooks? Check. Prettiest women? Check. Longest literary work, first woman author, first vernacular zarzuela, first novel in English. Check, check, check, check! Kapampangans are fiercely patriotic — not to the Filipino nation, but to the Kapampangan Nation, which they claim (correctly) to be older by a thousand years. Other Filipinos deny their ethnicity, but Kapampangans will announce it even when no one’s asking! Their attachment to their land of birth compels them to stay, but if they leave at all, they always look to Mt. Arayat as a sentimental beacon guiding them on their way back.

 3. Kapampangans are offended when they’re called dugong aso (dog-blooded). 
They take it as an attack on their personal integrity and an affront on the memory of their ancestors. Generations of Kapampangans have endured humiliation from people carelessly and even maliciously calling them traitors. Who wouldn’t resent being told that treachery runs in your blood?

4. Kapampangans can really cook, and Pampanga is really the food capital of the Philippines. 
You can contest the other claims, but this one is universally accepted. Other regions are known for single dishes and desserts; Pampanga has a whole cornucopia of culinary delights, from colonial to folk to exotic. This gift can be traced back to their access to the friar’s kitchen, their land’s plentiful harvests and the episodes of floods and famine that have taught them to improvise. Everyone in Pampanga can cook, even the men; woe to the Kapampangan who can’t cook!

 5. Kapampangans are notorious bashers. 
You make one small mistake, you won’t hear the end of it. You cook caldereta (stew) that’s a tad bland, you’ll be the topic for days. State a contrary opinion and you’re dead. Kapampangans are highly opinionated and contentious, probably the result of pampering by their colonial masters who gave them access to exclusive schools in Manila and Madrid (while their compatriots could only attend parochial schools) which in turn made them feel intellectually superior.

6. Kapampangans are deeply religious which, of course, is not the same as spiritual.
Their fetish for anitos (spirit idols) has morphed into an excessive, almost irrational, devotion to anything associated with their colonizers’ religion. Kapampangans have found their new idols on which to lavish their affections: the church temple for which they’d spend any amount to build, rebuild and renovate; the retablos and santos (altars and icons) which they over-decorate, over-dress, and over-process; and of course their priests whom they over-revere to the point of electing one as governor. Pampanga is home not only to the most devout Catholics in this country, but also to Eli Soriano’s Ang Dating Daan and the Kingdom of Jesus Christ’s Apollo Quiboloy plus a host of other churches, sects and cults.

7. Kapampangans love the good life. 
They can’t last a week without “malling,” movies and mahjong. A birthday, an anniversary, a promotion—there’s always an excuse to party and a justification for spending all their savings. This joie de vivre, this utter lack of proportion between work and play, has put them in stark contrast with the thrifty Ilocanos, whom God has only given a sliver of craggy land to work on while Kapampangans wallow in fertile fields and rivers teeming with fish. Kapampangans’ devil-may-care attitude is the reason hospitals, diagnostic clinics and dialysis centers thrive in Pampanga.

 8. Kapampangans have fine tastes — another offshoot from early exposure to their colonial masters’ lavish lifestyles. 
The rise of feudal lords and wealthy families in the province also nurtured artists and turned bucolic towns like Bacolor and Guagua into thriving cultural and political centers. Kapampangan writers like Aurelio Tolentino, Crisostomo Soto, Amado Yuzon and Bienvenido Santos; Kapampangan artists like Fernando Ocampo Juan Flores, Vicente Manansala and Bencab; and Kapampangan performers like Rogelio de la Rosa, Cecile Licad, Lea Salonga and Apl.de.ap all raised the bar of Kapampangan aesthetics and refined Kapampangan tastes.

 9. The other side of the carefree nature of Kapampangans is their durability. 
When Pinatubo erupted in 1991, even the proud scions of genteel families and descendants of poets and warriors had to suffer the indignity of staying in evacuation centers and the difficulty of starting over in resettlement areas. How the Kapampangans rose from a depth of despair this low to the economic peak this high is one of the most spectacular recoveries ever seen in this country. Kapampangans are a hardy people after all. It took a cataclysmic eruption, followed by four years of pounding by lahars, to bring out their hidden fortitude.

10. Kapampangans are risk-takers, almost to a fault. 
When the “brave youth from Macabebe” unsheathed his sword to take on a whole Spanish armada in 1571, he began a tradition of brave and bold Kapampangans who’d fight in battle, see the world, or start a business enterprise with an almost reckless audacity. The landscape of history is littered with fallen Kapampangans who dared to cross swords with much bigger enemies, from Maniago’s rebels in the Kapampangan Revolt of 1660 and the Macabebes whose town was razed to the ground by the revolutionaries, to Taruc’s Huks who fought the Japanese and Dante’s NPAs who fought the government and even Ninoy Aquino who fought the dictatorship. So there.

The list is by no means complete, and Kapampangans are certainly much more than the sum of these descriptions. But for starters you can use it as a roadmap to get into the conflicted, unpredictable heart and mind of Kapampangans. Kapampangans are hard to understand, and harder to live with. The contradictions that shaped their land and history — the cycle of feast and famine, the tension between loyalty and rebellion, feudalism and peasant unrest, Church tradition and folk Catholicism, and the presence of the largest US military base in the hotbed of Communist insurgency — have made Kapampangans truly unlike any other people in this country.

 First published in SunStar, July 30, 2013 

Robby Tantingco Robby Tantingco is the Director of the Center for Kapampangan Studies and Vice President for External Affairs of Holy Angel University. He is the author of "Destiny and Destination" and "Pinatubo: The Volcano in our Backyard" which won a National Book Award.

Picture credits: 2.Pampanga Pavilion (from Discovering Old Philippines) 7. Sampaguita Festival (Sinukwan Festival FB page), 9. http://eos.higp.hawaii.edu/ppages/pinatubo/5.lahars/  , 10. Painting of Tarik Soliman by Joel P Mallari