The Wedding of the Century

Appears in
Memories of Philippine Kitchens
Memories of Philippine Kitchens

By Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan

Published 2006

  • About
This is the story of my grandparents’ courtship and their memorable wedding on November 11, 1911 (11/11/11). The number 11 has always been considered a number with an ominous shadow on it, as some unfortunate incidents in my mother’s family life happened involving the number 11. My mother’s brother Dody died at the age of eleven from a football accident, and her brother Toto developed a serious illness, also at the age of eleven, which luckily he survived.
This account is based on an interview with my mother, Dr. Solita Camara-Besa, in late 2003 from her own recollections and stories from her brother, Dr. Augusto Camara. Uncle Toto, a renowned cardiologist in the Philippines, amazingly has compiled little bits and pieces of history from his patients, some of whom attended the wedding in Nasugbu, Batangas, as little children.