What do you miss about the '70s and '80s?
We didn’t have computers then or laptops. There was no Facebook or email. But what wonderful decades the ‘70s and ‘80s were! Here are some of the best memories of those times.
DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman
I miss most the youthful innocence and wild abandon.
Bebot Teves Laurel, businesswoman
Dancing in the disco wearing bellbottom pants and platform shoes. The music: Boyfriends (the local version of The Bee Gees); Hagibis (the local version of Village People); and legendary rock groups like Hotdogs, VST & Co. Also, the TV show Charlie’s Angels.
Ricky Toledo and Chito Vijandre
We miss the art and culture scene of that time when the best of the world came to Manila and stimulated the local arts community with our own artists producing some really great work. Ballet legends Dame Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev, the Bolshoi, Alvin Ailey and Martha Graham dance companies were all here fulfilling every dance lover’s dream. Sopranos like Montserrat Caballe were also heaven-sent for opera aficionados. The restoration of the Bamboo Organ in Las Piñas attracted the brightest musicians and encouraged Filipino restorers to do the same for organs in churches around the country. Celebrated artist Claudio Bravo was captivated by the light as well as the country’s women whom he immortalized in the most beautiful portraits. The world’s most talented directors and actors were also here to premiere their films just as ours were flying to Cannes to receive awards. It was an exciting time with the parties and a disco like Coco Banana attracting an interesting, international mix of artists, intellectuals and celebrities.
Dr. Vivian Sarabia, optometrist/eyewear stylist
Anyone who is between 50 and 60 years old miss this: The Shangri-la in the basement of Shelborne Hotel was the place to go for dates if you wanted a dark and cozy atmosphere. The Black Angel along Shaw Blvd. near the corner of Kalentong in Mandaluyong was a good place to listen to soft music (The Fleetwoods, The Lettermen, Cascades) with the “black light” that made you look like Dracula. Bakuran was the in “thing at parties with “screening” from a friend to assist you in getting a dance with a boy who was very sought-after. Wack-Wack, the Sky Room in Jai-Alai, the penthouse at the Rufino Bldg., as well as Capri at the Sarmiento Bldg. were the favorite places for proms and balls and sikat your party if the DynaSouls, Tilt Down Men (Sotto brothers), Hi-Jacks, the Electromaniacs or Bad Habits was the “combo” playing. The Plaza was the favorite venue for all formal school and social functions. Every Friday night, the Plaza became an instant discotheque called “Pow.”
We ate at A&W along UN Ave. in Manila, Aristocrat’s across Malate Church, Bonanza Restaurant, Little Quiapo, Di Mark’s Pizza, Sulo Restaurant in Makati. We shopped at Bergs, Assanda’s, Syvel’s, Rustan’s San Marcelino and Aguinaldo’s in Cubao. We had our hair styled or permed by Nomer’s, Grace Lagman and Kayumanggi. We sang Devoted to You by the Everley Brothers, Puppy Love by Paul Anka, Young Ones by Cliff Richard, World Without Love by Peter and Gordon, Cherish by the Association, Because by Dave Clark 5, Distant Shores by Chad and Jeremy and all the Beatles songs. We danced at Manila Hotel’s Jungle Bar, Stargazer, the Nile, D’ Flame, Wells Fargo. Or, maybe rode a Motorco with your date and went around Dewey Blvd. When we got hungry we would drop by the Barbecue Plaza. We saved our whole month’s allowance of P50 to watch the Beatles perform live at Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Tony Seva, former EVO, GMA7
The song Those Were The Days summarizes my feelings about those vibrant exciting years. We worked hard and played hard (“We’d sing and dance, forever and a day”). The National Press Club was the watering hole as beer was priced for the starving journalist’s paycheck. Friday nights were celebrity nights, featuring name entertainers. But it wasn’t just drinking. There was good conversation, topics ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous, and of course, food. Congressional reporters gushed at the excellent pork chops of the karinderya at the Mini Golf Links while police reporters would endorse the pork chops at a roadside, 24-hour karinderya in Las Pinas! But all agreed that the best place to go to after some serious drinking was a soup joint in Libertad, Pasay. It served spicy beef/pork ribs broth aptly called gising-gising. It really woke you up! Those were the days, indeed.
Rosebud Ong
What I miss the most — the music and the dance of those decades. Rock in the ‘70s and ‘80s was so cool and clear. Nowadays, technology is so fast that even our age cannot learn fast enough. I miss the cheap price of gas, as in a P5 gas refill could bring you from Manila to Greenhills. I miss sending and receiving Christmas cards, birthday cards. We used to count how many Christmas cards we received, now it’s just recycled text greetings.
Nini Ramos Licaros, businesswoman
Oh, how I miss: melodies and songs we can all still sing today. When our water was drinkable, air was fresh and breathable and traffic was manageable. The days when Baguio was our Summer Capital where we would all make memories at Baguio Country Club and Camp John Hay.
Former Senator Orly Mercado
To receive, by mail, a handwritten letter from a friend. The one-way beeper that keeps you in touch but can be ignored. The 10-minute interval between the classes I teach that allowed me to shuttle between UP, Maryknoll and Ateneo.
Bobby S. Cuenca, president, Capital Development Corp.
Besides my youth, I miss the sense of anticipation brought about by the belief that, at the dawn of the ’70s, change was imminent. Forty years later, I struggle to keep the faith but I am not holding my breath. I also miss those great bars with live music like Pension Filipina in Malate. In fact, I miss the entire Malate street scene. No ersatz street scene manufactured by a mall can equal something as organic as the original.
Therese Coronel Santos, vice chairman, Cinderella Marketing Corp.
Being a foodie, I miss the resto Cucina Italiana. They had good pasta with meatballs and their steak al burro. That was the only Italian restaurant at that time. And La Cibeles, which had the best arellanas and tarta Madrid.
Grace Singson, former Rep. of Ilocos Sur, former Candon City mayor
The proliferation of all kinds of motor vehicles on the road nowadays gives you headache and frustration before you reach your destination. I therefore miss the 1980s when one could travel from Manila to Candon City, Ilocos Sur in four to five hours instead of seven to eight hours now. In Metro Manila, it was also much easier to move around the city. The flyovers, widening of several thoroughfares, the heroic efforts of the MMDA clearing the sidewalks of illegal structures, U-turn slots, etc. simply cannot catch up with the increase of the population, commercial malls, and vehicles plying our streets. We simply must have more mass transportation facilities like the LRT and MRT; while business, industry and schools should be spread out so that congestion in the urban areas will be alleviated. Yeah, I miss the 1980s.
Joy Buensalido, president and CEO, Buensalido & Associates Public Relations
The ‘70s and ‘80s were golden decades for many of us who experienced that “Renaissance” period. We enjoyed the best music, the wildest dreams, the strongest passions and some of history’s most unforgettable heroes and icons, such as Pope John Paul II, Ninoy Aquino, Madonna, Michael Jackson and Princess Diana. I miss the anticipation and pleasure of starting new jobs while facing the many uncertainties of our future such as when martial law was declared and we all had to be politically alert and involved. I miss my five-year stint in Ace-Compton advertising where I learned so much about creative people and “out-of-the box” ideas. Discos and club-hopping were the social scene at the time and fashion for women consisted of mini skirts, hot pants, bellbottoms, and very individual styles. Brand names were not yet in vogue so we could wear anything as long as it was creatively put together. Life was a bit simpler but so much happier and more fulfilling even if we didn’t have mobile phones or laptops because we communicated personally. We had long telephone conversations and wrote and mailed letters and Hallmark greeting cards to friends, loved ones, and even business associates. Relationships were not assumed or taken for granted but handled rather seriously.
