A true-green La Sallite, Ignacio Escano, as a college student, gave his alma mater good reason to be proud of him. He was the captain of the De La Salle University baseball team that won two gold championships in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines and was a member of the Philippine team that earned gold in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

I recently asked his mom, Cathy, how she has been able to raise a champion in Ignacio, this despite having her hands full in raising as well two beautiful daughters, fashion entrepreneur Rocio and famous young soprano Natalia.

Cathy, a former Pitoy Moreno model and a single mother, shared that when she brought home her firstborn from the hospital 24 years ago, "Ignacio didn't come with a parenting 101 manual or a guide about what we are supposed to do for the next 20 years to raise a champion."

Instead, she left it to her son to make the proper choices in life, "having guided him as he was growing up. Once he has been able to identify his goal, vision and dream in his own youthful terms, which was to pursue his passion for baseball, it became my role to nurture that dream from that day forward. Most important I believed in providing the necessary support early on. It wasn't a walk in the park to drive him to and from all his baseball training daily and religiously attend all his weekend games, take photos and be his #1 cheerleader.

Faith, hope and love

"Just like any other recipe for success, I threw in all the other necessary ingredients and mixed them in just the right amounts. These included in no particular order giving him hugs, discipline, responsibility, values, space, guidance, affection, attention, consistency and the overused cliche of faith, hope and love. Somewhere along the way it was also important to instill in him virtues such as respect, compassion, patience, and service."

Expectedly, she vows to being "extremely proud of all his achievements in academics and sports throughout the years. But if I could choose just one, I am most proud of his most recent achievement, his receiving his Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering minor in Data Science diploma alongside being conferred the Athletics Award by DLSU."

As for his athletic prowess, she pointed to "my son being blessed to inherit his good traits equally from both his maternal and paternal sides. But he was very much influenced and inspired by his older cousins who are all elite athletes as well. My brother, Joey, also played professional basketball in his prime."

Grateful for their blessings
Since Ignacio is not the only achiever in the family, Cathy, always a caring mother, constantly reminds her children that "success can be temporary. And that they should always be grateful for all their blessings and not be boastful. To always give credit to the ones who helped them in their journey and motivated them throughout. It's also important for them to learn to accept criticism graciously as there is always room for improvement. Lastly, I counsel them that whatever skills and knowledge they have acquired on the way up, they should share it, pass it on and pay it forward."

Of course, a towering yet caring presence in the lives of her children is their grandmother, the virtuoso pianist Ingrid Sala Santamaria, who is Mama Ing to her 16 grandchildren and one great grandchild. "Ignacio's language of affection for his Mama Ing is spending quality time with her and assisting her in her various needs like like driving for her or accompanying her to her appointments. Whenever she performs or has special concerts you can be assured Ignacio is also in the audience to cheer her on."

If she had her choice, Cathy wishes as a Christmas gift from Ignacio "not material gifts that have a price tag on them, but instead, the gift of his precious time spent with us and in performing a good deed for our family."

All roads lead to Mama Ing
As Cathy looks back on Christmases past, she cherishes the memory of not one holiday season but "every single Christmas no matter how lavish or simple the celebration as long as we made an effort to be complete and together on this special day."

Since Christmas is "all about family and all roads lead to home, home to the family is wherever Mama Ing is. After all, she is the magnet and glue that binds us all. It is she who gathers us on this most special day of the year."

A tradition for the Santamarias is "when we are all gathered together, everyone has their spotlight moment to share what they are most grateful for and what they are looking forward to in the New Year. After this, our matriarch distributes her simple token of love and affection for her children and grandchildren  – Starbucks GC's! So after all the festivities at home, the party moves on to our neighborhood cafe where the 16 grandchildren bond more over some hot coco and fraps."

Cathy's Christmas wish for "my phenomenal son, Ignacio, is for his Christmas season be magical and filled with joy for the past year and full of anticipation and excitement for the next year. And to him, I say, 'Ignacio may your heart be filled with joy, peace and love. Always remember that wherever your adventures take you, a piece of me will always be with you.'"