Last summer, my cousin Guido was in town visiting when he called my dad by the name of Taquio. "Huh?!" I exclaimed I turned to him surprisedly, "What did you call him?"
"Eustaquio." he replied, "Our family back in the Philippines always knew him as Tito Taquio."
It was the best kept secret ever.
So the story goes that Dad left the barrio as a young man to study in Manila. I always knew that he altered his last name by changing the "e" in Abrenica to an "i" in it's current form of Abrinica. He always gave me this lame excuse about a wanted man who shared the same last name. What he failed to tell me was that he also changed his first name to John. Since this happened after he left Negros, all our relatives back on the island always remember him only as Taquio: The uncle who went to America.
As we roamed around the barrio village, people called out to Taquio as if he were a prodigal son. It was uncomfortable for me, because I've always known my dad as John, or even "Johnny" (something all his friends in the states have endearingly called him for years). I asked my uncle Toto why he never told me this, and he said he just forgot to tell me. After all, it was 50 years ago when my father reinvented himself with this new moniker. I suppose time is a great ally of forgetfulness.
I have to admit, Eustaquio (you-stock-e-o) doesn't have the same ring as John. My middle name is John. I like the sound of Marvin John. It has a stage name quality, don't you think? Like those guys with last names that sound like first names, so they end up with two first names. Marvin Eustaquio just wouldn't be the same. I don't think I could pursue an acting career with that name.
I can see why my dad changed it now.
-Marvin
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