Bernales is a frequent surname in the Philippines, where 16,409 people bear the name.
Bernales is largely found in the Philippines in three areas: the National Capital Region (17%),
Calabarzon (11%), and Central Visayas (11%). Over the past years, the leading cause of death
among family members, including extended family members, were age, lifestyle, accident,
cardiac arrest, and stroke. Hypertension, arthritis, and sinusitis are the common illnesses.
Moreover, most of the family member’s usual lines of work are teachers, businessmen, and
nurses. Wide forehead, pointed nose, frizzy hair are the prevalent physical features.
Additionally, the majority of the members are naturally talented. They are equally good singers.
Back in the days, my beloved family received different awards and won different prizes in
singing contests. Now, some of them are making use of their talents to serve the Lord, as an
occupation, or even for certain causes. Regarding the family practices, we usually follow the
typical Filipino practices such as “pagmamano”, being both religious and superstitious, enjoying
mealtimes together, showing respect to other people, especially who are older than us, by using
“Ate”, “Kuya”, “Tiyo”, “Tiya” among others, and we celebrate birthdays or any important family
events together. Likewise, every 3 years in May, many members of an extended family
congregate to hold a family reunion in an open backyard somewhere in my hometown. It is our
family tradition. We gather for three days and two nights to reconnect and strengthen bonds
through amusing activities like talent shows, photo booths, parties, games, and especially story-
telling by older folks. True enough, there are just so many stories that are buried on family trees.
As I look back and traced my family history, I realized that the best love stories are not from
books or films, but those of our own families.