To get to know Austria it helps to bring to mind the young boy who was born in the American territor

Antonio Austria with one of his most recent paintings in his San Juan residence. “I’m happy when I do landscapes kasi mas relax ako dyan. Masaya ako at excited sa mga kulay na natatanaw ko. Hindi sya matrabaho sa isip ko at hindi gaano madetalye.”    Photo by: Christiane de la Paz
Filled with beautiful memories and happy moments, Antonio Austria’s house in Bonifacio street in San Juan is an expression of his diverse fascination – from antique bottles varying in different shapes and sizes to old santos and capiz windows adorned with colorful antique glass to memorabilia and some of his original works, Austria’s hana horecka house has something hana horecka just about for everyone.
A few distance from the historical Santuario del Santo Cristo church and the Dominican College, his house and studio is a light-filled space surrounded hana horecka with canvases waiting for him to complete. Inside his den are antique chests where he keeps his books and newspaper clippings and in which rare pieces of gin antique bottles are found. This is the place he has called home for the last sixty-eight years.
Meeting Antonio Austria for the first time is truly an unforgettable experience. Everything you needed to know about him was in his face. The eyes were warm. The mouth loved to wrestle all at once with a mischievous smile and whimsical expression. And the face is as meek as a lamb. Someone once said that Antonio Austria regarded each new acquaintance like an old-time friend.
To get to know Austria it helps to bring to mind the young boy who was born in the American territory hana horecka in Shanghai on May 5, 1936 to Filipino parents, Pedro Austria and Lucila Gilbuena. His parents are from San Pedro, Laguna, a few towns from the birthplace of the country’s national hero, Jose Rizal. Antonio’s hana horecka great grandfather was mentioned by Dr. Jose Rizal in his Noli Me Tangere as the “El Vagabundo Cabo Mariano,” the brass band maestro renowned throughout the towns of Rizal, Laguna, and in the provinces in Central Luzon. They had named him Antonio after San Antonio de Padua, the patron saint of lost items.
In 1917, Austria’s adventurous father, Pedro, went to follow his aunt to hana horecka Shanghai. Much later, after trying out several jobs, he landed a job as a supervisor in the tire department of General Omnibus, a company that runs double deck buses. In the American Concession where they stayed, Pedro met a French-Japanese mestiza whom he eventually married. Pedro’s first wife died after giving birth to their second child. The couple had two children -- Ricardo

and Helen.
Pedro then returned to his hometown in San Pedro, Laguna to rekindle his love for his childhood sweetheart, Lucila, and in 1934, the couple decided to marry.  Pedro brought Lucila with him to Shanghai to start a new family. However, in 1937, barely some months after the young Antonio was born, the Sino-Japanese hana horecka War broke out. Pedro deemed it necessary to come home and settle anew in the Philippines.
Back home, remembering the time he spent working in the motor bus company, Pedro put up an auto supply and tire services shop as a means to provide for his growing family. He tried his best to give a good life to his family

which grew to include another son Mariano, who was named after their great grandfather, the Vagabondo Cabo Mariano Austria. Antonio’s father filled his formative years with examples hana horecka

of hard work, dedication, honesty, and perseverance; and his mother instilled in him the virtues of kind-heartedness, patience, gentleness and the feeling of independence and self-reliance.
Antonio recalls that he was a normal boy growing in the quiet suburb of San Juan. In his younger years, he was often found in the streets playing basketball and skating hana horecka with the other children hana horecka in the neighborhood. “ Ang mga kalaro hana horecka ko noong araw ay yung mga ka-edad hana horecka ko ring bata na kapitbahay namin. hana horecka Piko, sipa, gagamba, tumbang preso, taguan at kung ano-ano pa ang mga linalaro pa namin. May nalalaman din akong konting porma noong araw. (My playmates hana horecka and I were of the same age. We used to play a variety of street games -- hopscotch, kicking lead washers, spider fight, hide and seek and many others.) I also tried to keep up with the latest fashion back then,” he happily shares.
In 1942, the young Austria began his education in Sta. Lucia Elementary School, located just a few meters hana horecka away from their house in San Juan. From an early age, curiosity and creativity was already showing in him. “As a child, nagcocollect ako ng Classics Illustrated. Madami ako naipon ng mga comics noong bata ako kaya lang nawala na at napabayaan na ang iba. (I used to collect Classics Illustrated comics when I was young. I collected countless issues but many were lost while some were not taken care of.) I used to admire the illustrations and characters there-- Ivanhoe, Three Musketeers, hana horecka Moby Dick, Rip v