Nanay Katrin and I had a very meaningful conversation when I visited her and her husband, Kidlat Tahimik, at their Tuding residence in Baguio, the day before Tatay Kidlat Tahimik’s birthday last October.

I told her about the book project I was working on, of which one of the main narratives was Indio-Genius that featured the works not only of her husband but of the entire family as well — Katrin, Kidlat, Kawayan and Kabunyan. She was very pleased with that. She always had faith in the family, community and the collective. “Nothing can be accomplished alone. It is always with others, with kapwa.”

She spoke about her ongoing journey and how she wanted the next evolution to have already come about. She had grown tired of “being strong and having to get through this.” A respiratory ailment had severely debilitated her.

Nanay Katrin and I got along well. She would encourage me by supporting my events and endeavors. However, she would also call me out and put me in my place. She would readily share my posts, just as she would comment for me to do better. She was strong and opinionated, yet she was also warm and compassionate. You can see how well her sons turned out.

When Kidlat de Guia, her eldest son, passed away in 2022, she was devastated. She revealed just before the first anniversary of his passing that she had given herself a year to grieve for him and that, after she had collected herself and evaluated her situation, we would have another kwentuhan. We completed that conversation last October, and I was given the chance to say goodbye.

Several years ago, I had given her a pis siyabit made by Tausug weaver Bu Ayang from Maimbung, Sulu. She wore it everywhere and kept it around her neck at all times. The small woven basket that functioned as her urn was covered in the same pis siyabit weave I had given her when I came to pay my respects.

Paalam, Nanay Katrin. Tuloy-tuloy ang biyahe. Wala nang dalamhati. I am glad you are now reunited with your son Kidlat.

#ProjectLarawan. Profiles of the Filipino. One portrait at a time.

Project Larawan is an initiative of Gabriel “Gabby” Malvar, a documentary filmmaker, writer and photographer, whose narratives are nuanced with unique, inventive perspectives to provoke an inquisitive look at his favorite subject, the Philippines. Become a part of Filipino identity every other Saturday on the  DAILY TRIBUNE.