A Gentleman Mayor and a Game of Golf

By Marie. August 1, 2025

I met Mayor Zafiro Ledesma during one of my visits to a café managed by a friend, who graciously introduced me to the gentleman mayor. Since then, every time I came home for the Christmas holidays—back when I was working in Makati City—I would stop by the café for a brief chat with Mayor Zaffy, as we fondly called him. He was consistently warm and gracious, and over time, our conversations occasionally drifted toward his family’s old mansion.

Perhaps he noticed my curiosity, because one day, he invited me for a tour.

The Tour

I understood the weight of that invitation. To be personally ushered into a home built in 1922, where history didn’t hide behind glass but greeted you at the foot of the stairs. No camera documented that day, but I carry the images still. And somehow, I believe the house does too.

Midway through the tour, I asked him why he had always been so kind to me. He smiled, paused by the grand staircase, and said,

“Your aunt once challenged me to a golf match. I lost. But I never forgot her spirit.”

He was speaking of my Aunt Emma—statuesque, intelligent, and striking. She had once served as PR Director of a prestigious five-star hotel in Manila. According to Mayor Zaffy, she played a fierce game of golf.

The Golf Challenge

Years later, I asked Tita Emma about this story. She laughed and recalled how many men had sought her hand—or at least a date. To keep things fair, she’d issue a challenge: beat her at golf, and she’d marry the victor.

Mayor Zaffy wasn’t the only one who took up that challenge. Another friend of his, a fellow Ilonggo, joined the match.

“Well,” the mayor told me, chuckling, “we both lost.”

🖋 Author’s Note

This story is part of my ongoing exploration of memory-based storytelling and cultural reflection, as shared through my blog, Tita M Wanders. It reflects how serendipitous meetings can unlock long-lost narratives—how a conversation over coffee can stir ghosts and laughter alike.

Visuals in this story were designed using Canva’s AI image-generation tools to evoke scenes from memory and imagination.

💭 Reflection

What stays with me is not just the history inside that house, or even my aunt’s legendary golf challenge. It’s the way stories pass from one person to another, quietly shaping how we remember each other. Mayor Zaffy's graciousness wasn’t about grandeur—it was a nod to the spirit of someone he once met. And in the quiet of a stairwell, that spirit felt like it had never left.