The Gridcrosser Files

A Very Happening Place in Cebu

2012-01-18T04:55:00.000-08:00

The crowd—a mix of businessmen, tourists and society people, both foreign and local—were nattily dressed, gathering at the cavernous ballroom. On the stage, host Johnny Litton welcomed them to what is considered one of the most exciting events in Cebu, the Philippines’ second largest and most important metropolitan area, located in the central part of the archipelago. The wine was uncorked, and the curtains were parted, revealing waiters holding sparklers and tables laden with French food.

The Beaujolais nouveau day has been increasingly celebrated around the world to mark the arrival of the Beaujolais nouveau, a red wine made from Gamay grapes and produced in the Beaujolais region of France. It is fermented for just a few weeks before being released on the third Thursday of November. Georges Duboeuf, the biggest producer of the wine, created the event to promote it. Originally, the Beaujolais was made to celebrate the end of the harvest and for local consumption. From a local phenomenon in the local bars, and bistros of Beaujolais and Lyons, Duboeuf thought of a race to Paris of carrying the first bottles, which attracted attention. By the 1970s, it had become a national event. The next decade, the races extended to neighbouring European countries. In the 1990s, North America followed and then to Asia. The original date of the race was changed to third Thursday in November in 1985. On that day, people would shout “Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé (The new Beaujolais has arrived)!” This marks the beginning of a hearty merriment. Over 65 million bottles are said to be distributed around the world.

Since 1994, the Beaujolais nouveau event is being held in the Philippines, spearheaded by the French business community, particularly in Manila, which is becoming a lively social gathering that celebrates French food and culture. In 2011, Le Club, the French Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, had the theme Paris La Nuit for its Soirée Beaujolais, held at the Harbor Garden Tent of Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel on November 17. It featured the dancing of Cancan girls flown from France for entertainment, and French wines not just Beaujolais and food.

In 2007, the Soiree Beaujolais was brought to Cebu for the first time. Now, the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel is leading in its celebration. The last one was held on November 19, 2011, at its Cebu Grand Ballroom.

“You know, in any enterprise, you need somehow some vehicle for publicity. Advertising is just one, but you want also some other forms, and it could be in the form of excellent food. It could be in the form of an event. It could be in a form of charitable [activities, and under those are] corporate social responsibility and environment. And…you need to balance all of them, particularly in a hotel business, and we focus essentially on events that draw the crowd out,” said Johannes “Hans” Hauri, the Swiss general manager of the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel and the area general manager for the Marco Polo hotels in the Philippines. “This never usually happened in Cebu, so we took it over and extended it from Manila, where it has been an institution since the 1990s.”

Hauri said the Beaujolais event is in line with the hotel’s encouragement of cultural exchanges, particularly through food. Thus, it has become a celebration of French culture, with a French food festival at the hotel’s main dining, the Café Marco and French films being shown at the alfresco El Viento Restaurant and Pool Bar from November 18 to 27. The highlight is the Soiree Beaujolais, which has become bigger every year, attended by people from other provinces.

“In 2007, there were 240 paying customers, then there were 320, then 350. We sold 420 tickets this year, but 500 will be attending,” Hauri beamed before the event.

Hauri added that there are guests coming from other places aside from Cebu, many of them foreign “expats living in the Visayas, and some of them travel from Dumaguete, from Camiguin, from Bohol,” availing of the room packages Marco Polo designed for the event. He said that they have 94 percent occupancy that day, proving that the event has been successful in attracting people.

After the Soiree Beaujolais, the following months are busy time for the hotel because of events and celebrations. For December, it is Christmas and the New Year. Hauri informed that January to February seem to be the busiest for them

“Overall, in the year we’re running 70 percent (occupancy),” he said. “In January-February, we are maybe running 80 percent.”

He said that the Sinulog Festival, Cebu’s biggest event and one of the country’s major festivals, is a big factor, “but events can also be generated through conferences, congresses.”

“We have a lot of pharmaceutical or medical related conferences,” Hauri said. “So, it’s all stimulated by events.”

Since it opened on April 27, 2006, the Marco Polo Plaza, a subsidiary of Federal Land and a member of the Metrobank group of companies, has established itself in the social landscape of Cebu. With a work experience in Asia for 25 years, Hauri, a graduate of the Swiss Hotel Management School in Lausanne and former general manager of many Hilton and Shangri-La hotels and the Singapore Mandarin International, was with the second Marco Polo hotel in the country from the start. In 2008, the urban resort and business hotel was given a deluxe class hotel accreditation granted by the Department of Tourism Region VII office.

While many resorts and hotels are located in nearby Mactan Island, Marco Polo Plaza is perhaps the only five-star hotel in Cebu City. The hotel enjoys a good location on the Nivel Hills in the barangay of Apas. Rising about 600 feet above sea level, it affords a panoramic view of the metropolitan Cebu and the Mactan Channel, which very few offers. The 24-story hotel has 329 guestrooms (144 Deluxe Mountain View, 84 Deluxe Sea View, 36 Grand Deluxe Mountain View, 18 Grand Deluxe Sea View, 22 Continental Club Mountain View and five Continental Club Sea View) including 20 suites (Junior, Executive, Honeymoon, Marco Polo and Presidential). The Continental Club at the 22nd and 23rd floors offers the more discerning guests privacy and luxury. The pool is shaped like a mango and has a small waterfall. The Wellness Zone Spa has adequate facilities and list of treatments. The hotel also has 12 function rooms, a grand ballroom and a garden terrace for meetings, conferences and events.

Marco Polo’s 7.5-hectare property is situated in the suburbs of Cebu, but it is very accessible to urban centers and shopping malls. “But there are customers who want to stay up here to find that piece of scenery,” Hauri said. “They want (to escape) the rumble and jumble around Ayala or SM or whatever. They find themselves in greenery, and we are fortunate enough to be surrounded with lots of greenery. Particular for meetings, they are coming up here because they can hold the people together.”

What Marco Polo is most proud of is its food. There are four dining outlets here. The Lobby Lounge offers drinks, snacks and entertainment. The Blu Bar and Grill, which opened in 2008, is at the rooftop, offering Continental cuisine, grilled meats, appetizers, seafood and a spectacular view of the city at night. The El Viento Restaurant and Pool Bar has Italian dishes and pizzas from a wood-fired brick oven. Right now, it offers a Mango Bango menu with all dishes containing the fruit, from appetizer (such as prosciutto-wrapped mango with Parmesan, arugula, cracked pepper and cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil) to dessert (such as wood-fired dark chocolate pudding with poached mango and white chocolate grappa soup).

The Café Marco offers buffet with four show kitchens: Asian, Japanese, Western and dessert. With 535 square meters, it can seat 144 guests. With wooden floors and panels and chairs in green, mustard and red, the restaurant is elegant as well as casual. At the helm of the restaurant is executive chef Luke Gagnon, who was born in Southern Ontario, Canada, and moved to Toronto at 18 to begin his culinary education and career apprenticing at the Four Seasons Inn On The Park. Then he went to Four Seasons Yorkville, Sutton Place, The Prince Hotel, Westin Harbor Castle and Sherwood Inn Resort. He also joined chef Milos Chelika at the Golden Mushroom Restaurant in Southfield, Michigan. His stint in Asia started at the Excelsior Hotel in Hong Kong then to Shangri-La Shenzen, Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort, Casino Windsor and Sutera Harbor Resort in Malaysia.

“Through the quality of the food, the variety of food that we are offering, that serves as reputation for the best hotel in the city,” said Hauri. “It is a deliberate tactic that we want to anchor our reputation on the food. We want to anchor our reputation to the restaurant because that’s drives our business.”

He explained: “Many people ask what’s the most important thing in a meeting. I guess the first one is the meeting and the second is the food. Where do we go where there is good food? So it’s not necessarily the light bulb. It’s not necessarily the wallpaper, pattern or whatever...They are here for the fundamentals. Can the hotel deliver the service and does it have good food? That’s all you need.”

Hauri, who is also president of the Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu, is particularly meticulous about their local cuisine. “I’m very conscious about the quality of local food that we are offering,” he said. “Usually international hotel are very good in international food — club sandwich, burgers, French fries, things like that. I want to understand local food so we hired a local consultant who comes every Saturday. She either takes the cooks down to the market, shows new sources, makes new recipes, then they cook their recipes, try it out.”

Hauri was talking about restaurateur Jessica Avila, who, he said, “has the resources and passion. She has the iron discipline to whip these boys to their places.”

“So in local cuisine, we have an edge over other hotels. I’m proud to say we are offering the best local cuisine,” he declared.

Thus, Cafe Marco enjoys robust patronage. “I would say 75 percent would be making bookings because they don’t want to be disappointed and 25 percent are walk-in (customers),” Hauri estimated.

But they are not planning on expanding the restaurant. What are in development are the four-tower residential condotel Marco Polo Residences next to the hotel and a new Marco Polo hotel in Metro Manila, particularly in the Ortigas business district.

He explained: “We now have 152 seats, and every night they are occupying 123 to 150. If you drive it up to 180 very quickly, some days people will say, ‘Oh, it’s only half full,’ and half full in people’s mind is no success. So it is better to be small and consistently full. Don’t become greedy. Better have a reputation of people making a queue than people who can walk in freely.”

The Beaujolais event was a show of Marco Polo as an excellent venue for events, as well as its culinary prowess. After the toast, which gave honor to the wine, the event became what it really is—a celebration of food and company.

The hors d’oeuvres consisted of prosciutto-wrapped artichoke hearts, salmon tartare crostini with goat’s cheese and mushroom duxelles crostini. The cold selection included pate de volaille en croute (chicken pate in pastry); jambon persille tradition Bourguignonne (Burgundian ham brawn with parsley); poivrons rouges rotis et anchois de collioure (baked red bell peppers with anchovies); salade de pouple (squid salad); Nicoise salad; a selection of pates, terrines and galantines; wood-fired vegetables with olive oil, balsamic and Parmesan; tomato bruschetta with goat cheese, basil and roasted garlic; a selection of smoked meats and cold cuts; house cured gravlax with traditional condiments; Caesar’s salad; and a “seafood bar.”

The puree Saint Germain (green pea soup with bacon) went well with any of the breads—fouace (crown loaf), pets de nonne (cheese beignets), pissaladiere olive and onion flat bread and French bread.

The seafood entrees were sumptuous with chapon roti aux oignons, petit jus aromatize au chorizo (roast ocean perch with onions in chorizo sauce); fish fillet hazelnut crusted with piquant red pepper coulis; supions aux artichauts, vinaigrette a l'orange et crème au noix (small octopus with artichokes and savory walnut cream); and bouillabaisse rich Provencal fish stew with rouille piquant sauce to accompany fish soup.

Also vying for attention were the traditional chicken coq au vin; couscous au mouton a l'algeroise (mutton couscous Algerian style); daube de beouf a la Provencale (beef in the style of Provence); quiche lorraine (bacon pie); pommes gratin Dauphinoise; ratatouille (Provencal stewed vegetables); and a pasta station.

The hotel hired cheese expert Richard Poirier to take care of the cheese selection. Aside from the Crottin de Chavignol AOC Pasdeloup, Coulommiers Donge, Cam. Normandie Vert AOC, Reblochonnet Edelmont, Ste-Maure Soignon Coque Blanc, Pyrennees Onetik Cire Noire and Bleu Auvergne ‘or des Domes, Poirier concocted a cheese inspired by Cebu—the delicious mango cheese.

The pastry selection was a delight with le millefeuille (three-layer puff pastry cake filled with confectioner's cream, decorated with iced almonds and icing sugar); macaroons; Saint-Honore (cream puffs arranged in a circle filled with Chiboust's confectioner's cream with added kirsch and eggs, as well as vanilla cream); Regal Chocolat (bitter chocolate sponge soaked in vanilla syrup with chocolate mousse and served with strawberry coulis); Paris-brest (wheel-shaped choux pastry with several layers of cream made of roasted almonds and hazelnuts, and dusted with icing sugar); tatin d’aubergines aux pommes (eggplant and apple tatin); la tartelette feuilletee aux pomes, noix, pignons et raisins florentins (apple tarts with nuts, pine nuts and golden raisins); and tarte au citron (lemon tart).

Wines flowed as well as beer. For entertainment, singer Verni Varga and the band Renaissance performed. The highlight of the entertainment was the Cancan girls from Le Centre des Ateliers de Danse de Figeac. The program was capped by a raffle draw with a trip to Paris as grand prize.

The party here is different from Manila, Hauri observed. “What definitely you see is great enjoyment for the food,” he said. “The curiosity of new things is very typical enough for any island folk. You constantly see arrivals. You see others departing. The curiosity here is very much in the people here, and Cebu also lacks deluxe boutiques. We don’t have Louis Vuitton. We don't have Ferragamo. We don't have things like. It's a little bit modest, but the sincerity and the connection are there because the families know each other for decades and some for generations. Others get married to each other and so forth. So all those have an impact on the social fabric of being humble, respectful, curious about things happening and so forth.”

“It's really Cebuanos coming together for social interaction,” Hauri concluded. And the Marco Polo strives to be a venue for these, making a landmark in the memories of its guests and of the city it is in.

Contact Marco Polo Plaza through telephone numbers (+63 32) 253-111 in Cebu and (+63 2) 234-8170 in Manila. Email mpplaza@marcopolohotels.com. Visit Web site www. marcopolohotels.com.

Pintakasi: A Need for the Painted

2011-12-16T05:54:00.000-08:00

The two meanings of the Tagalog word pintakasi seem paradoxical—a cockfight and a patron saint. But the two meanings are connected, even integrally—pintakasi is something done in honor of a patron saint, usually during his/her feast day and usually in the form of a cockfight—revealing the paradoxical and conflicting nature of the Philippine reality. For the new film that uses the word as its title, it is broken in two, pinta and kasi, giving birth to a new meaning—“painting (or I paint) because…” or “because of painting.”

Pintakasi merges different, usually opposing, elements—reality and romanticism, ugliness and beauty, live action and animation. It is an old and classic story told in modern ways. It is a colorful and interesting melange, incorporating animation, dancing and hip-hop culture into a live-action film that tells the story of a dreamy, young newcomer-painter who challenges the authority and effects change in a poor and troubled community.

Pintakasi is the most talked-about entry in the New Wave section of the forthcoming Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), which is a new division of the 37-year-old annual film fete, perhaps the country’s biggest but notorious for its commercialism and questionable awarding. Most likely inspired by the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, which has become an important film event, the New Wave section is dedicated to independently produced films, which are usually in digital format, and is divided into full-length and student short film categories. Pintaki’s competitors include Adolfo Alix Jr.’s Haruo, Yeng Grande’s Ritwal, Neal Tan’s HIV and Ogie Diaz and Sid Pascua’s Dyagwar.

The prominence of Pintakasi owes much to the fact that it marks the return to filmmaking of Imee Marcos, former congresswoman and now governor of Ilocos Norte. Aside from coming from the country’s most controversial political family, Marcos was a producer in the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines in the 1970s and 1980s, which came out with Ishmael Bernal’s Himala and Peque Gallaga’s Oro, Plata, Mata, two of the country’s greatest films, among other film classics. Her involvement in filmmaking was curtailed when her father, President Ferdinand Marcos, was ousted from power and the whole family went into exile. Upon their return, Imee entered politics but expressed a desire to return to her real passion, the arts, cinema in particular.

Recently, Imee formed the Creative Media and Film Society of the Philippines (CreaM), which not only produces film, but also animation and graphic novels. CreaM is also into music, merchandise and game development. The studio has already produced animated short films “Fly Aswang” and “Likas Ligtas: Gubat at Dagat.” Pintakasi is its first full-length film, which is first a graphic novel published online. But the story of the movie is different from the comics, Marcos said.

Pintakasi took three years—two in shooting and re-shooting and one in postproduction—relatively longer than normal Filipino films. Marcos revealed the concept and story go further back.

“I had a story about the new Jose Rizal ages ago,” she related. “It has been a long, long fixation with me. What would Jose Rizal be if it (the film) were a children’s movie or show? The most difficult thing to do is to translate a story as complicated as the Philippine revolution to little children or to young people. Actually, ‘di nila ma-gegets ang mga pulitika at tsaka mga away-away, mga issues ng republicanism, pero ‘pag ginawa mong napaka-human na story na napakasimple katulad ng isang batang dayo na may sariling pangarap ay siguro maiintidihan nila. (Actually, they won’t get the politics, the arguments, the issues of republicanism, but if you make the story very human and simple such as a story about a new kid with a dream, maybe they will understand it.) So that was the story that’s been in my head for a long, long time.”

With the help of writers Judith Albano, JM Diego and Carljoe Javier, Marcos’s vision became a script. The Jose Rizal character became DJ, a young visionary from the province who loves to paint. He comes to Isla Pulo to live with his Aunt Witni when his parents died. Isla Pulo is literally an isle formed by garbage where a shantytown rises and thrives, the residents have forgotten to dream and a small-time gang leader, Tikboy, proclaims himself king of the community. There, DJ comes to teach people how to dream and hope, and meets many characters including Uncle Kernel, a traffic policeman; Apol, an intelligent cripple who moves on a makeshift skateboard, can rap brilliantly and dreams of going to school; Ella, a gang moll and Tikboy’s constant companion; Andoy, a fisherman who runs around with the Tikboy gang to augment his income; and Josie, the most beautiful girl on the island, the love interest of both DJ and Tikboy. DJ gains the respect and affection of the people as well as of Josie, enraging Tikboy who believes in dishonest means to get rich and powerful. When stealing and picking pockets prove to be not enough for Tikboy to gain more money and power, he decides to bring in drugs, but gets arrested because of DJ. Upon his release, Tikboy kills Apol, enraging DJ. The two boys finally get to face off, but their confrontation is curtailed when a fire breaks out, threatening to destroy the island and endangering Josie. As the fire and water cleanse the island through the night, the new day marks a new beginning, led by DJ, Josie and the people of the island.

Isla Pulo is a real place in Navotas, Marcos said, and incredulously a community lives there. A recent typhoon has reduced the isle to half the original size. It seems to be a “happy” place, she observed, where people gamble, drink, sing videoke and have sex all day. It is here the setting of story came to be after dismissing a rustic and rice-field-hemmed setting, a surreally Third-World one that foreigners would be interested to watch.

The music of Pintakasi is made not from conventional instruments but from everyday objects to complement the images of trash. “At naghahari sa lahat ang videoke (The videoke is king there),” Marcos laughed. “Siyempre, ‘yung talaga ang all over the squatters’ area. Anuman ang kahirapan, dapat may videoke, alam mo na.”

The film is actually suffused with music and dancing. Former child actor John Wayne Sace was picked as lead because he can dance, as well as two members of the Philippine All-Stars.

“My target audience is the youth. It’s a hip-hop movie,” Marcos declared. “We really made an effort na ang hip-hop na dati-rati puro foreigners, mga Amboy lang…talagang na-localize na siya, and it really became the language of the street and the music of the street. It's the poetry of the street now. I mean rapping, freestyling and beatbox-ing. It's very much the poetry of the Filipino streets right now. It seems like the obvious thing to do. Kung buhay ang mga Katipunero sa panahong ito, sa palagay ko ay rapper na rin sila kasi magaling silang sumulat at nakakapag-communicate sila. Sa utak ko rapper sila. Magagalit siguro ang mga historians pero para sa akin para sila makapag-communicate sa audience nila kung nangyari 'yan ngayon kailangan matutunan nila ang hip-hop para ma-gets sila ng bata. (If the Katipuneros are alive today, I think they would be rappers because they write well and they can communicate. In my mind, they're rappers. The historians might get mad, but for me for them to be able to communicate to their audience they need to learn hip-hop.)”

Another notable thing about Pintakasi is the use of animation, making it perhaps the first Filipino film to combine animation and live action. Aside from the film’s director Lee Meily, a notable cinematographer and wife of multi-awarded filmmaker Mark Meily, there is an animation director Nelson Caliguia, who is a veteran in Philippine animation, coming out from the animation boom of the 1980s, and is current the creative director of Artfarm and a teacher.

Marcos said they wanted to try new ways of executing flashbacks and dream sequences, and thought of animation. She estimated that 60 to 70 percent of the film is in animation.

Marcos is no stranger to animation. Before ECP, she was host of the children’s shows Kulit Bulilit and Kaluskos Musmos, and has worked with cartoonist Nonoy Marcelo on animation projects, including Tadhana, which tells about the history of the Philippines and is the first Filipino full-length animation.

“At the end of the day, whether it’s politics or filmmaking, it’s all about communicating with the audience, and the audience is by and large young. So whether it takes animation or any other media…kailangan talaga makuha natin,” Marcos said.

Pintakasi is also a contribution to Philippine animation, which is still at its infancy despite Filipino animators contributing to the world's great animated films.

“Thirty-plus years na tayo nag-aanimation,” Marcos said. “But we never made our own. Now, we have a few. We have Dayo. May RPG… There's a real dearth of original Pinoy materials.”

According to Marcos, one thing that hinders the blossoming of original Filipino content animation is the cost. “Animation can be so costly, and it’s so time-consuming,” she said. For Pintakasi, she estimated the whole film to be around P20 million.

Another reason has to do with the kind of stories.

“I think we are a little bit confused honestly about what is Pinoy and what is universal,” she said. “We have to think of the broader audience…It can't be so Pinoy na hindi na maintindihan ng ibang lahi (that it cannot be understood by other races). It has to be Pinoy perhaps in design or other aspects, but in the end the message must be universal that any human being can relate to. And in the end, that’s where we failed. I actually think that kayang-kaya ng ating mga artists. Walang problema sa animation. Ang problema ay sa storytelling sa animation. Writing for animation is another whole ballgame. We have a lot of great screenwriters pero wala pang training sa pagsusulat sa animation. So we have no expertise in writing the story. And as you know, the most successful animation studio in the world, Pixar, puts a premium on storytelling.”

CreaM is proud to have in its animation and art department Ronnie del Carmen, the Filipino head of story for Pixar’s Finding Nemo, Ratatouille and Up, as one of its three masters in residence.

“At the end of the day, for me, the hook of the film is really that it engages. ‘Yung naalala natin ‘yung may puso (What we remember is the one with heart),” Marcos said. “Kung minsan, kahit maraming problema, maraming depekto, napakatagal, kapag may puso ang pelikula, sa palagay ko, ay ‘yun ang maalala ng tao. Hindi naman ‘yung teknikal ang naalala natin because there will be always going to be a far more superior technical film. Effects are just getting better and better. Walang katapusan ‘yan. They just get better everyday (Sometimes, even there are many problems, many defects, if there is heart, I think that's what the people remember. It’s not the technical that we remember because there will be always going to be a far more superior technical film. Effects are just getting better and better. There's no end to it.)”

She added: “But the need for technology is there, if you want to reach the young audience. You go into their media, into their platform. If you’re stuck in the same old stuff, I don’t think they're gonna listen.”

“Hopefully, Pintakasi engages the audience that in time we will be able to move to other platform. So we are doing graphic novels. We moved to the platform of online. Hopefully, [we will be able to create] games, toys, merchandise. Let's see,” Marcos said.

Like its main character, the Pintakasi hopes to, in a way, rock the status quo, introduce new ways of seeing and revolutionizes and sparks changes for the better.

Pintakasi stars John Wayne Sace, Erich Gonzales, JM De Guzman, Boots Anson-Roa, William Martinez, Giselle Sanchez, Hazel Ann Mendoza, Alwyn Uytingco, Alchris Galura, Jeremiah Carandang, Winryll Banaag and Ces Quesada. Production designer is Buboy Tagayon. Music and sound are by JM Diego. Editor is Danny Anonuevo. Directors of photography are Lee Meily and Larry Manda.

Pintakasi shows on Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. (gala), Dec. 19 at 3 p.m., Dec. 20 at 9 p.m. and Dec. 21 at 11:30 a.m. at Robinson's Galleria Cinema 3.

A Different Taste of Christmas in Tagaytay: Restaurant Verbena Presents a Christmas Menu of Pumpkin, Cod, Black Truffles and Wagyu Beef

2011-12-12T04:53:00.000-08:00

The bright orange puree of pumpkin oozes out of pockets of pasta called agnolotti, sweet and rich. Then it is punctuated by something sweet, salty and aromatic—crumbs of amaretto cookies. On the other hand, the thick fillet of cod is like fleece on the tongue, countered by slices of tasty chorizo. The rice croquettes are heavenly, earthy with the black truffle flavour. Then something familiar touches the tongue—kesong puti, the local white cheese made from carabao’s milk.

Chef David Pardo de Ayala seems to have a penchant for tucking in surprises in his dishes. And in his Christmas menu for Restaurant Verbena of Discovery Country Suites, a seven-suite bed-and-breakfast place in Tagaytay City, there are a few of these. Pardo de Ayala maintains that the menu is made of “familiar ingredients prepared in a delicious way with just one or two surprises to keep the flow of the meal interesting.”

“Crushed amaretto cookies on your pasta, or a black truffle and rice croquette, a bit of kosher salt on the caramel cream sauce—all these provide an unexpected surprise that, we hope, further increases the diner’s enjoyment,” he explains the menu, which he hopes to engender “mostly comfort and satisfaction.”

The menu, which the boutique hotel yearly comes out with, does not contain the comfort foods Filipinos traditionally associate with Christmas, a season much anticipated and protracted in this part of the world. But it is something special, and special things are emphasized during Christmas, as well as creating memories. Its being different can be remembered maybe for years to come.

“Menus are always snapshots of a chef’s current inspirations,” Pardo de Ayala says. “My seasonal menus will likely feature similar ingredients that have a strong connection with a particular time of the year (pumpkin, chestnuts, eggnog, gingerbread, etc.), but they are always designed and executed on their own, according to what my chefs and I feel is the best we can offer at any given time.”

The Restaurant Verbena Christmas menu is Pardo de Ayala’s gastronomic interpretation of the season, something out-of-the-ordinary and distinctive.

“I wanted to feature dishes that have a strong holiday feel, as well as a sense of special occasion,” the acclaimed chef says. “Arugula with figs, brown butter sauce for pumpkin, Brussels sprouts, black truffles…all these ingredients speak to me of this special time of the year, while at the same time they are easy to approach, identify with and enjoy.”

We brave the traffic out of Metro Manila on a busy weekday and ascend to the cooler clime of Tagaytay City, 56 kilometers south of the capital, to lunch on the new offering. Restaurant Verbena, which serves “contemporary country cuisine” with a unique flair, is a dining destination, being listed in The Miele Guide among the best restaurants in Asia. The Singapore-published guide ranks the restaurant at number two among the top five Philippine restaurants in 2010 and 2011. This achievement is credited to Pardo de Ayala, who, since 2005, has been the corporate chef of the Discovery hotel group that includes Discovery Suites in Ortigas Center and Discovery Shores in Boracay Island. The restaurant of Discovery Suites, 22 Prime, is also in The Miele Guide.

The 38-year-old Colombian chef, who has been in the country since 1997, holds a special place for Discovery Country Suites and Tagaytay City in his heart.

“The charm of Tagaytay is very unique,” he shares. “We are often asked, why don’t we open Verbena in Makati or somewhere in Manila? Our answer to that is that our restaurant belongs in Tagaytay and in Tagaytay only because we can’t bring to the city the view of the volcano or the cool fresh breeze, or the December fog, or the ultra-fresh herbs, lettuces, tomatoes and peppers. Just getting to Tagaytay is part of its charm. That is why my team and I work so hard at making Verbena’s restaurant experience worth our diners’ special journey.”

Many people think Tagaytay is special, too. The city in Cavite is perched on a mountain ridge, 600 meters above sea level, with a spectacular view of the Taal lake and volcano. The weather here is pleasantly cool, which is very attractive to residents of the hot and humid Metro Manila. From December to January, it can get misty and nippy in the morning. Thus, Tagaytay is a favorite weekend and holiday getaway. Many resorts are lined along the main road, as well as several good restaurants, including Discovery Country Suites, which is formerly a vacation house of the Tiu family, owner of the hotel group as well as several magazine titles. The boutique hotel is said to have “the distinct country manor ambiance…reminiscent of the stately summer homes in Baguio City with oak and stone foundations blending gracefully with fine furniture and art pieces of the interiors.” The much cooler Baguio is another favorite getaway but is much father out in the north.

This time of the year, the homey bed-and-breakfast place in the barangay of San Jose is richly bedecked with glittery Christmas trimmings, as well as with Tagaytay harvest of big red and yellow capsicums and tomatoes, the colors of Western autumn. Watercolor paintings of Edgar Doctor, which are for sale, further add colors to the interiors. Restaurant Verbena occupies part of the lobby, the mezzanine and the former veranda that looks out to the picturesque countryside, lake and volcano. Pardo de Ayala has the tables in the veranda adorned with chestnuts and flowers in pots made out of red-painted squash for our lunch.

Starter is a simple one—organic arugula salad with fig chutney and Parmesan cheese—but a medley of flavors—the nuttiness of arugula, the fruity sweetness of the chutney and the pleasant tanginess of the cheese. This is paired with Beringer Founders’ Estate 2008 Riesling.

This is followed up with the roasted pumpkin and amaretto agnolotti with brown butter, mushrooms and sage. Agnolotti is a kind of ravioli and usually stuffed with meats. This one is light with pumpkin but heady in flavor. The little pouch-like pasta sits on slices of mushroom and topped with amaretto cookie crumbs and sage.

“Agnolotti is not a terribly common pasta shape in the Philippines,” Pardo de Ayala explains, “but quite normal in northern Italy. I am big fan of pumpkin, and I have been hoping to feature it in this menu in combination with amaretto and fresh local sage. In our Christmas menu, the pasta takes the place normally occupied by soup, and we hope this dish makes a lasting impression on diners. Many have commented that they find it delicious.”

For the entrée, the chorizo codfish fillet with white bean ragout and chives, which is best paired with Beringer Founders’ Estate 2009 pinot noir, presents three flavors on the plate. The stronger-flavored chorizo complements the fish.

“Seafood and chorizo is a traditional Portuguese/Spanish combination,” says the rubicund chef. “I love chorizo, with the savory punch it brings to everything it accompanies, and I especially like the flavor of Spanish pimenton, the primary seasoning in a good chorizo. Codfish is a fairly mild fish, which Filipinos are used to eating in its salted bacalao presentation. I chose to feature it because, while it is easy to recognize and enjoy, it is not a fish you often find in restaurant menus.”

Another entrée choice is the luxurious United States Wagyu bistro steak with black truffle rice croquettes, roasted carrot puree and Brussels sprouts. The Beringer Founders’ Estate 2009 cabernet sauvignon is recommended with this. The very tender slices of grilled steak has a very likable smoky taste, which is unusually light to contrast the rich carrot puree, generously spread at one side and decorated with a few leaves from the Brussels sprouts. The oval croquette of long-grain rice sits temptingly at the corner of the plate, waiting to surprise with a strong truffle flavor and hints of kesong puti. The chef presents a bonus: pan-seared Rougie French foie gras. The plate is now a giddy symphony of flavors.

For dessert, a contemporary twist gives new life to an Escoffier classic—the pears “Belle Heléné.” A slice of poached pear is topped with homemade chocolate-macadamia ice cream and served with salted caramel crème sauce.

“Don’t be surprised if there is a burst of saltiness,” says Pardo de Ayala. “A good dessert should have an amount of seasoning by way of salt…Salt goes well with caramel. It makes it more ‘caramel-ly’.”

The inventor of the saltwater taffy must have thought likewise.

The intriguing lunch is ended with a Tagaytay herbal infusion tea, very comforting and very apt.

“Christmas while I was growing up was the time of the year for my grandmother to feature all her typical recipes—dozens, as in literally 12 or more desserts made from scratch, fried cheese puffs called buñuelos and our version of maja blanca called natilla,” recalls Pardo de Ayala. “Christmas still has a strong religious tone in Colombia, and while I was growing up we always looked forward to the Novenas de Aguinaldo, a nightly series of gatherings around at neighborhood homes, to pray beside the Belen, sing villancicos (Colombian Christmas carols) and just have a terrific time. I hope this tradition doesn’t get lost with time.”

These memories and his heritage are not infused into the Christmas menu though. “I always leave the Colombian cooking to my mother and grandmother,” he smiles.

Pardo de Ayala is creating new memories with new dishes, made in Tagaytay, with touches of Tagaytay. He says that the Tagaytay elements are “several but not as obvious as with other menus we often feature.”

“Our arugula, all fresh herbs and vegetables come from Tagaytay. Instead of offering the traditional hot tea at the end of the meal, we prepare a special Tagaytay herbal infusion that features several herbs and local dalandan. And the truffle rice croquettes, to many people’s surprise, have local kesong puti as one of its ingredients. So no matter what cuisine, special ocassion or time of the year, the harvest of Tagaytay is always present in our menus,” he says.

The lovely, diminutive Taal Volcano—and Tagaytay has the best view of it—seems to float. Now, it wears the lightest veil of mist, so pensive, so faraway. I take a sip of the tea and close my eyes, savoring the flavors of the herbs it helped fertilize and bringing the volcano closer.

The Restaurant Verbena Holiday menu is offered for the whole month of December, starting at P1,150+ per person, with several options according to budget or inclination. Diners have a choice of main course between fish and meat. One can also exclude the dessert. The taste menu, the highest option, includes all dishes. It offers a supplementary addition of pan-seared Rougie French foie gras, as well as wine pairings by the glass featuring the chef’s California varietals from Beringer wines.

Discovery Country Suites also offer special room packages for the month of December, inclusive of country breakfast for two persons, complimentary wine and Cheese buffet at sundown and special turndown amenities. Room rates start at P8,000++ for a deluxe suite on weekdays and P9,500++ on weekends.

For inquiries and reservations, call Discovery Country Suites at (02) 529-8172 or (046) 413-4567 or e-mail dcsrsvn@discovery.com.ph. Visit www.discoverycountrysuites.com.

In Apulit Island, Taytay, and Miniloc and Lagen Islands in El Nido: An Album

2011-09-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

In July, I brought Babe (Bob Jerezo) to one of my favorite places in the Philippines, El Nido. This my second time, another resort was thrown in, Apulit Island Resort, which was formerly Club Noah Isabelle, in Taytay.

The Attraction of Mother Mary and Cagayan

2011-08-22T01:56:00.000-07:00

After two storms that soaked Metro Manila and many parts of Central Luzon, Cagayan felt like another country with a heat that seemed eternal. But the fervor was definitely Filipino. Perhaps it added much to the temperature, the gathering of the people and their collective adoration and supplication. At high noon at the courtyard of the centuries-old Saint Peter’s Metropolitan Cathedral in Tuguegarao, Cagayan’s capital city, twelve images of the Virgin Mary, most of them resplendently dressed, were brought in and lined up near a stage. People thronged to each of them, mounted on trucks, many going to one image after another, praying and wiping any part of the image with their handkerchiefs or letting the images’ custodians do it to the inaccessible parts especially the face. The hankies were now blessed. A mannish and swarthy policewoman, with two female companions, was holding a tiny baby and going to as many images as possible. She gave him/her to a custodian, who seemed to offer him/her to the Virgin Mary and had the child touched by the image.

The twelve images, all coming from northern Luzon, are some of the most venerated and are said to be miraculous in the Philippines, a staunchly Catholic country that has a fondness for the infant Jesus and the Virgin Mary. They were gathered here for the so-called Marian Voyage of Peace and Love, one of the major events of the 428^thfounding anniversary of the province of Cagayan, about 480 kilometers northeast of Manila, called Aggao Nac Cagayan: Fiesta ta Bannag or Day of Cagayan: Feast at the River, which started on June 23 and culminated on June 29, the foundation day.

A plethora of events and activities were prepared for the week—a dog show, medical missions, cook-offs, a jobs fair, dance contests, quiz contests, sports competitions, an art exhibit, recognitions, a fireworks display, among others. Major events were the street dancing showdown, an agricultural and trade fair and a beauty pageant, all staples of a modern Philippine festival, participated in by the province’s 28 towns and one city.

The agricultural and trade fair was at the sprawling and dusty Cagayan Sports Complex, where the different towns set up their own booths, creatively designed to show off their identities, displaying their unique products and promoting their tourist attractions.

These events were meant to show the different aspects of Cagayan as well as the talents, character and skills of the Cagayanos, primarily made up of Ibanags and Itawes and later Ilocanos. The Marian event is said to make manifest the deep religiosity of the Cagayanos. Cagayan is primarily known as the home of Our Lady of Piat, the designated patroness of the Cagayan Valley Region (Region II), a sprawling area between the Cordillera and Sierra Madre mountain ranges and given life by the mighty Cagayan River, the largest in the country.

“We are very happy. As you know, we Cagayanos are very devoted to Our Lady. We can attest that she has always been protecting us from typhoons, from any calamities. She has been covering us with her blue mantle. So we are very happy that twelve Marian images are here right now in Tuguegarao City,” enthused Blessida Diwa, the petite regional director of the Department of Tourism (DoT), one of the organizers of the Marian Voyage together with the archdiocese of Cagayan and the Cagayan North Conventions and Visitors Bureau.

We were having lunch at her residence in the Alimanao Hills, near the Cagayan Provincial Capitol, a beautiful, airy house with a spectacular view. Diwa is Ilocano, born in Bantay, Ilocos Sur, and was educated as a nurse. But she said her heart is Cagayano, and she takes “tender, loving care” of the visitors and tourists, she quipped.

“What we are offering here in Cagayan Valley Region is adventure tourism, and of course, our very own pilgrimage tourism. Not only that, we also have food tourism and eco-tourism,” the tourism official in her talked.

Indeed, Cagayan Valley has them all. For eco-tourism, one can go to the seven-chambered Callao Cave in the nearby town of Penablanca. The Pinacanauan River that flows nearby leads one to more caves from which thousands of bats fly out during dusk, an amazing sight. The province of Quirino is gearing itself to become an adventure destination, and Santa Ana in northern Cagayan is a known game fishing destination.

The food should not be missed when one is in this region. During our lunch, Diwa served sinanta, a soup of glass and flat noodles and chicken made russet with annatto seeds and the accompanying pinacufu, a flat oval, fried rice cake with sugar crust, much like karioka. But my favorite is the pansit Cabagan from Isabela, which Tuguegarao has a fancier version called pansit batil-patung, and the pawa, steamed rice balls with peanut filling, from Piat, Cagayan.

Diwa also said that Cagayan is unique, being the home of the Ibanag people with its own intriguing language. She taught us a sentence: Mattaki y futu megafu nikau. It felt intense and passionate. It means “My heart is aching because of you.” It struck me and became the first Ibanag sentence that stayed with me.

The staying power of the language among young Ibanags may be diminishing. As we walked among the crowd, we kept hearing Filipino being spoken. I thought there were many visitors at that time. Tourism officer Fanibeth Domingo explained that people here prefer to speak in Filipino because of it is a cool thing to do. Mataki, indeed.

Above all else, Cagayan is primarily known as a pilgrimage site.

The region attracts nearly 700,000 visitors yearly for the last five years. Ninety-five percent of which are Filipinos and the rest are foreigners led by the Chinese, Americans and Koreans. Most of the visitors here are devotees, going to pay homage to Our Lady of Piat. Additionally, the region is studded with wonderful Spanish-era churches made of bricks. One can easily visit many of them, being strewn along the Maharlika Highway.

“Why go to Rome when you can go to Cagayan Valley and visit 18 Spanish-era churches. If you include Batanes, there are 22. Five of these are National Cultural Treasures,” Diwa beamed.

My first visit to Cagayan in 2007 was made up of lovely churches—constructed in bricks from clay sourced from the banks of the Cagayan River—of Iguig, Tuguegarao, Alcala, Gattaran, Camalaniugan, Buguey and Lal-lo.

The building of these churches began when the Spaniards arrived in the province. The occasion is recognized here as the foundation day of the province of Cagayan. It is said that Juan de Salcedo traced the northern coastline of Luzon and set foot on Massi, Tular and Aparri in June 29, 1583. Spanish friars soon followed, establishing mission posts. One of the missions is Nueva Segovia, now called Lal-lo, which became the capital of the Cagayan Valley, which was also called Nueva Segovia, and the Diocese of Nueva Segovia was created in August 14, 1595, by Pope Clement VIII, making the town its seat. Churches began being constructed all over the valley, blending Western and local sensibilities and displaying a design born out of unique circumstances. The material itself is not customary for such edifices, thus presenting a different and remarkable way of how churches look and creating other design idioms.

The Saint Peter Metropolitan Cathedral in Tuguegarao, where the Marian event was held, is the largest church in the region. It started out as makeshift shift when a mission pueblo was founded here by Fray Tomas Villa in May 9, 1604, with Saint Peter and Saint Paul as patron saints. Father Antonio Lobato, a scholarly priest who compiled the first Ibanag-Spanish dictionary and laid out and developed the streets of the town, spearheaded the building of the church in June 17, 1761, and finishing it in 1767. The progress of the town was hastened by the opening of the Cagayan-Manila road in 1738 by Fray Jose Martin. As the town prospered, the capital was moved from Lal-lo to Tuguegarao in 1839. In 1910, Tuguegarao was made the seat of the diocese. During World War II, the church was heavily damaged and was rebuilt by Bishop Constance Jurgens.

At the end of Rizal Street, in Bagumbayan, one can find the ruins of hornos, big brick kilns, used to fire bricks for the church.

In the book Philippine Church Facades, published in 2007, Father Pedro Galende describes the façade of the Saint Peter Metropolitan Cathedral: “The façade of Tuguegarao Church follows a touch of whimsy and playfulness. This is evidenced by its broken and crested pediment, bunches of high relief pilasters that come in threes in alternating display of smooth and solomonic forms, and arched windows that have finialed frames and a triangular pediment. A deeply recessed circular window is the pediment’s focal point.”

He continues: “The brick walls of the church and bell tower are set against the smoothly plastered forms of cornices and pilasters. Layers of bricks molded and laid by local masons and artisans are a symbol of the Christianization of the people of Tuguegarao, which survived the lashes of World War II. Clusters of engaged columns crisscrossed by double cornices define the length of the church’s pointed windows, spiral columns and niches.”

He describes the bell tower as “very tall, rising in five tapering tiers with the same motif of smooth and twisted pilasters and framed windows. The bell tower is quaintly capped by a canopied roof surmounted by a cross.”

But perhaps the most visited is the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Visitation or Our Lady of Piat. What makes this church notable is not its design but its being the home of Our Lady of Piat, a papier mache image that has remarkably survived for more than 400 years.

The image was fashioned in Macau and brought by the Dominicans to Manila and then to Cagayan in early 17th century. Circumstances surrounding the image’s journey from Macau to Cagayan remain mysterious. Once enshrined in Piat, devotion to the image started and spread from Piat to the outlying towns and other provinces. Now, Our Lady of Piat is one of the most popular Marian images that riddle the Philippines. Our Lady of Piat is held in high esteem by the Cagayanos to the point that affiliation with her is integral to their identity.

Since the beginning, Spanish priests were puzzled by the fact that the natives were immediately taken with her. Perhaps the image is “muy morena,” dark-complexioned, that Filipinos easily identified with her more than the blond, foreign-looking ones, especially the Ibanags, who are said to be very dark in complexion. Domingo said you can distinguish the Ibanags from the other people by the color of their skin, a kind of darkness that can be acquired through exposure to the intense Cagayan sun along the river. Ibanag means “river people.”

The Cagayanos’ soft spot for the Marian image is said to have a long history even before the coming of Our Lady. Among the saints and religious images brought in by the Spaniards, Mary is most preferred, a maternal figure of care and comfort, a symbol of benevolent power.

The ready acceptance of Mary among the Ibanags can be explained by the fact that in old Ibanag communities there were and still are women healers and spiritual figures, who are fondly called kako, “grandmother, the wise old woman or the Ancient One.”

“Among the Ibanags, women then and now perform the invaluable role as kavulun na entero tangaravvun-gan (companions of the whole Earth community),” wrote Rosario Battung, a Good Shepherd nun, in her essay “Kako and the Women Healers of Capatan,” included in the anthology Centennial Crossings: Readings on Babaylan Feminism in the Philippines , edited by Fe Mangahas and Jenny Llaguno and published in 2006.

She explained that Earth to them is part of the whole cosmic reality, whose part is connected by one breath or life.

“This contemplative dimension,” she said, “has made it possible for us to adapt Mary, the pregnant mother of Guadalupe, Mary Magdalene and specially Mary, Our Lady of Piat, the Brown Madonna, introduced in 1604. The three continue to be our ‘companions of the whole Earth community.’

“To us, Mary, as Brown Madonna, our compassionate mother, since 1604, is certainly a domesticated Mary. She has become our people’s beloved mother. As the one who answers with haste when the people pray her rosary, and she responds to the people’s version as taught by kako—pappakanayun na passervimi ta utun na davvun. Over the centuries she goes out into the highways and byways helping the most needy so we too may continue to serve the tangaravvungan, our Ibanag phrase which literally means one earth community, our cosmic community of all related beings, who share the same inango.”

A great attraction is the miracles. Since the early 17th century until now, numerous miracles attributed to Our Lady of Piat have been reported. Diwa herself experienced such a miracle. After our lunch in her home, she showed us a watercolor painting of Rino Hernandez dramatically interpreting Diwa’s thanksgiving for her miracle, an image later echoed by the policewoman with a baby.

Her son John Paul, then six-month-old, was diagnosed with leukaemia and was rushed to Manila from Cagayan for treatment. The situation was dire, but Diwa kept praying to Our Lady of Piat. There were daily blood transfusions, but the doctor could not promise anything positive. On the seventh day, a miracle happened. Earlier findings turned out negative. The doctors and technicians were puzzled, but the child’s doctor, Gene Purruganan, a devotee of Our Lady of Piat, was convinced it was a miracle. Diwa, her husband and son drove to Piat, and upon reaching the altar she knelt in gratitude.

Diwa has been a fervent devotee of Our Lady of Piat. In her house, there is a prayer room with a large image of Our Lady. Every year, she has been bringing a replica of Our Lady of Piat around Metro Manila. Her promotion of the devotion to Our Lady is also a promotion of tourism in Cagayan Valley. The Marian Voyage of Peace and Love, in which Our Lady of Piat is the star, is a show of devotion as well as a tourism attraction.

“We had meetings with the archbishop Diosdado Talamayan. He wants to promote Cagayan Valley. That’s why we have a good partnership,” said Diwa.

The Marian event has been held for three years now, and it is gaining a following.

This year, the twelve images arrived on June 27 at the Cagayan Provincial Capitol and were welcomed with a Eucharistic celebration at the provincial gym, before proceeding to their host schools. Before, the images were hosted by the Tuguegarao’s many chapels and churches. This year, schools were designated as temporary homes for the images, where people can go to pay homage.

At Linao National High School, along Linao Highway, Our Lady of Badoc from Badoc, Ilocos Norte, stood regal. The resplendent image of Our Lady of Guibang from Gamu, Isabela, drew admirers at the Cagayan National High School, along Bagay Road. The Tuguegarao East Central School at the city center welcomed the golden Our Lady of Charity from Agoo, La Union. Our Lady of Namacpacan was carried from her home in Luna, La Union, to the University of Saint Louis Tuguegarao on Mabini Street. From Valenzuela City in Metro Manila came Our Lady of Fatima, simple in white and blue, and was stationed at the Medical Colleges of Northern Philippines on Caggay Highway.

The Nuestra Senora del Mar de Cautiva of Santo Tomas, La Union, was designated to Tuguegarao Northeast Central School, while the Nuestra Senora de Caridad (Our Lady of Charity) from Bantay, Ilocos Sur, to Tuguegarao West Central School on Luna Street. The famous Our Lady of Manaoag from Manaoag, Pangasinan, was given to the care of the Cagayan State University, and Our Lady of Immaculate Conception from Malolos, Bulacan, to the Tuguegarao North Central School.

Our Lady of La Naval from Santo Domingo, Quezon City, which stars in an annual grand procession in Manila, was at the St. Paul University Philippines on Mabini Street, while the Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage, another famous image, from Antipolo, Rizal, was at the University of Cagayan Valley. On the other hand, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary from Piat, beloved by the Cagayanos, was very special that it was housed at the city’s main church, the Saint Peter Metropolitan Cathedral.

The following day, devotees flocked to the schools and attended forums which included historical backgrounds on the images, testimonials, lectures on the role of Mary and special devotions. Confession sessions were also held.

On June 29, the images were brought to the cathedral where a concelebrated mass was held. At dusk, a grand procession of the images livened up the city’s main streets. It culminated with fireworks.

The following morning, the Marian images were set to be brought to home to their respective churches. Some of the images accompanied Our Lady of Piat as she was escorted home to Piat in time for the town’s Sambali Festival and her feast day on July 2. We joined the caravan, traversing an undulating landscape and crossing rivers, 33 kilometers northwest of Tuguegarao, passing by the town of Solana.

In Piat, there were groups of people waiting along the highway to welcome Our Lady. Some brought out small tables with religious images, lit candles and flowers. Some threw flowers on Our Lady’s path. As we near the town proper, school children lined both sides of the street, waving flags as the Marian images passed by. The images momentarily stopped by groups of dancers for the Sambali Festival, depicting the Christianization of the native Sambali people in dance dramas. At the church, the images were installed in front of the altar, near the original image of Our Lady of Piat, mounted on a small replica of a ship garlanded with flowers.

I went up to Our Lady, touched the hems of her scintillating blue gown and prayed for love, offering my heart like a sickened child. Before the homecoming mass began, we left for Tuguegarao to catch a flight back to Manila. As we sped along the highway, the radio played Madonna’s iconic song “Like a Virgin,” a puzzling thing, so apt yet so inappropriate. It was also about love anyway, and we sang along: “I made it through the wilderness/Somehow I made it through/Didn't know how lost I was/Until I found you....”

Energy to the Youth: EDC Lets Students Experience the Summer of Their Lives

2011-08-17T06:05:00.000-07:00

Peals of laughter and shouts bounced off the trees, echoing through the ravines and valleys of the upland sitio of Ticala in Caidiocan, Valencia, 21 kilometers west of Negros Oriental’s capital Dumaguete City. They did not disturb the moths, amazing in its variety, that thrive in the still forested and bucolic area in southeastern Negros Island, where Cuernos de Negros mountains dominate the horizon.
Clad in bright orange, 14- and 15-year-old students were cheerily competing in an Amazing Race-type race. Grouped into six teams with amusing names—Amazing Jaguars, Orange Stallions, Nightingales, etc.—48 teenagers had to make twelve pit stops where they had to tackle challenges, putting to test the survival training, such as orienteering and basic map reading, basic mountaineering, basic rope techniques and rappelling, they were taught the previous days. Almost everyone’s favorite was the Slide for Life, a zip line. The V bridge, made entirely of ropes with a single big one to walk on, made many quiver.
A few meters from the campsite, there is a view deck, which affords a panoramic view of the Southern Negros Geothermal Production Field (SNGPF) which constantly releases billows of steam like clouds that float among the jagged and verdant mountains then dissipate into the air. Somewhere, streams are gurgling through forests and villages. One stream has a high iron content that made the rocks and pebbles red in a barangay called Pulangbato.
The race was the culminating activity before graduation at the Energy Camp or E-Camp of the Energy Development Corporation (EDC), the Philippines’ leading geothermal energy company.
Melanie Vineles, 15, and Jeffrey Naceg, 14, of Balugo National High School had heard many good things about E-Camp and said they were happy being part of this year’s summer youth camp. Children of farmers in Valencia, they counted discipline and being independent as the important things they learned, and the Slide for Life zip line and wall climbing as their memorable activities.
From the other side of the island, Lara Felisa Concepcion, 14, from Ramon Torres Louisiana National High School in Bago City, Negros Occidental, was equally delighted to be part of the camp. Being the associate editor of Filipino of their school paper Pagbubukang-liwayway, she said she did not get homesick because she had been away before—for a school publication conference—but the first thing she said she will do upon getting home is to hug her parents, a utility man and a canteen worker at the school she is attending.
From the same province, Nadia T. Repoyla of Minoyan National High School in Murcia, echoed the sentiments of the batch in a testament she delivered at the graduation rite: “I and my fellow campers had truly experienced the enjoyment that we haven’t felt before. We enjoyed all the activities we’ve done. And all of these made a very big impact in ourselves. It developed our socialization [skills] as teenagers. [The camp] aided us on how to improve our skills with the many different activities such as dancing and the sports activities. I had also experienced being tired, and sometimes [there were] ‘lifeless’ moments due to lack of communication with my family and friends, but still the enjoyment and excitement were there.”
Every year, the EDC hold summer camps in its five geothermal project sites in Leyte, Negros, Albay-Sorsogon and North Cotabato for the scholars it is supporting in these communities and some of the employees’ children, all incoming fourth-year high school students. Before there were two separate camps for the Northern Negros Geothermal Production Field (NNGPF) in Negros Occidental and the SNGPF in Valencia, Negros Oriental. Of recent, there is only one camp for both sites.
This year, the E-Camp, which happened from April 12 to 18, has 48 scholars—24 scholars and eight children of EDC employees of SNGPF and sixteen NNGPF. The SNGPF participants came from Pulangbato National High School, Balugo National High School, Valencia National High School and San Pedro Academy Recoletos, all in Valencia, while the NNGPF participants were from Lopez Jaena National High School in Minoyan, Murcia; and Ramon Torres Louisiana National High School in Bago City.
The E-Camp is part of the corporate social responsibility programs of EDC, which has projects in three main areas—environment, education and livelihood—mostly for the benefit of the communities around its sites.
EDC’s projects in education include scholarships, a technical-vocation school in Leyte and the E-Camp, a brainchild and pet project of former EDC president and chief executive officer Paul A. Aquino.
“We envision a program where teenagers can learn as they all have fun. Campers are asked to do simple daily tasks such as fixing their own bed, preparing breakfast, even washing their own clothes and dishes—skills that they will find useful in life. All these we hope that they will pass on to others when they go back to their families and communities,” he explained.
The seven days of the camp are packed full of activities and lectures. There are outdoor activities such as hiking, rappelling, dancing, basic martial arts and survival training. They are taught personal hygiene, fine dining and table etiquette and personality development. They are also taught the importance and benefits of geothermal energy as well as enabled to do their share in conserving the environment through tree-planting activities and making compost pits. They also get the chance to learn livelihood skills such as making beaded accessories with the help of SNGPF’s Community Partnerships team.
They also learn to get along with different people. The group from the two provinces, each with its own languages—Hiligaynon in Occidental and Cebuano in Oriental—are made to intermingle and interact through the many activities. The participants had difficulty understanding each other and used Filipino to communicate, but they got along fine, forging friendships along the way.
Aquino said that the E-Camp was born because of the threat of the leftist rebel group New People’s Army (NPA), which is present in most of the EDC sites. The camp is aimed to lure kids away from being recruited or indoctrinated by the NPA.
Aquino related that the E-Camp started in 2004 in Valencia with children of employees to find out how to do a summer camp. The following year, it was conducted in other sites and with children from the communities.
“In the first three summer camps, I was very hands-on. I wanted to make sure there were no idle moments. There cannot be an idle moment. Masisira ang summer camp ‘pag may idle moment,” Aquino said. “Maraming lecture time just to make sure there were no idle moments. Then there were sports and physical activities.”
He further said: “The camps have metamorphosed into other things and have become one of our signature corporate social responsibility programs now…It has become a community thing for us already.”
He has gone to most of the camps and said that most of them were very successful. He remembered: “The most successful camp we have was the one in Bicol after typhoon Reming, participated in by students from the whole of Albay and Sorsogon. We gathered all the potential valedictorians and salutatorians. They spoke English well and were all cooperative.”
Reming devastated the Bicol Region in November 2006. The following year EDC decided to open the Bacon-Manito E-Camp to students in the whole of Albay and Sorsogon.
On the other hand, “the least successful are those with parents who forced their kids to attend the camp…Not all kids are into camps. One kid like that can destroy a camp,” Aquino said.
The E-Camp is managed by the company’s Emergency Response Team (ERT), composed of volunteers from different departments of the company. This year, an ERT member, Julius Teves, who works at the SNGPF’s human resources office, is the camp commander for Valencia. Though involved in other aspects of camp operations in previous years, it was his first time to be camp commander.
With the help of the local Barangay Emergency Response Team (BERT), the volunteers from the ERT set up some of the facilities of the camp and ready it for the campers. Before the camp, the present site was once a parking lot. Now, there is a bungalow with 48 beds and toilets for the campers. The ERT team also mans the facilities to be used by the campers.
Since the work for the camp is voluntary, Teves said that it is getting harder for them to get volunteers because their schedule won’t allow them to leave work for a week. They don’t receive extra pay. He was not able to go home in the duration of the camp because he felt responsible to the kids.
“I act as their mother and father at the same time,” he added. “Kasi wala silang choice eh. Ako lang nandito. They are not allowed to contact their parents. Their valuables and cell phones are confiscated before the camp.”
Despite the sacrifices, seeing the impact of the camp on the students was worth it.
“I think ang pinaka-goal ng camp is to be independent,” Teves said. “They are taught to wash their own clothes, to wake up early, to be independent, disciplined, and also they have fun with fellows. What’s nice about it is that during the first two days nagkakailangan ‘yan. Medyo kasi nahihiya…Eventually, especially when we are near closing, they feel close to each other.”
At graduation, many would be crying.
“The success of the camp is gauged by the amount of tears shed during graduation,” Aquino said, who have attended many camp graduations. Like a ninong, he would banter with the campers, play games and award money to those who correctly answered his quizzes. He would inquire about the students’ crushes.
Aquino has just retired on August 2010 and is now an advisor to the company. This year’s graduation was his last. He wants to enjoy his grandchildren, he said. He is already doing that. In a sense, the happy campers have become his grandchildren.

Art so Fair

2011-08-16T01:44:00.000-07:00

The local visual arts scene has recently garnered attention because of Mideo Cruz’s controversial works in the “Kulo” exhibit at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, sparking discussions and debates on the nature of art and the freedom of expression. This attention to art is a good thing in a country that can be negligent of its arts and culture. It is something hoped for by the organizers of ManilArt 2011: The Third Philippine International Art Fair, but this time more celebratory and perhaps unifying.

The National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Bonafide Art Galleries Organization (Bago) is presenting the third mounting of what is deemed the largest gathering of visual arts in the country from Aug. 25 to 27 at the NBC Tent, Bonifacio Global City, in Taguig City.

According to Imelda Loste, head of the NCCA’s National Committee on Art Galleries, ManilArt primarily aims to raise awareness on the country’s visual arts, to put it in the mainstream consciousness of the Filipino. Although it is also trade fair, the sale of art is only secondary to the intention of showcasing of Filipino artistic talent and making it known to a wider public.

NCCA executive director Malou Jacob affirmed that the country has a wealth of talent in the visual arts that we need to recognize and celebrate. She also said that the creative industry is something to be taken seriously and tapped for its economic potential.

According to the organizers, ManilArt has become a “vessel to open more possibilities for [the Filipino contemporary artists]. It has also served the public as another horizon that promotes art and encourages appreciation for the local art scene.”

The NCCA is the government’s agency for the arts and culture, primarily giving grants and funding assistance to projects and endeavors. It has been supporting ManilArt from the start, making it a collaboration between the government and the private sector.

Loste said when ManilArt started in 2009, it was conceptualized to be like the art fairs of Hong Kong and Singapore, a major event which people anticipate and attend. Thus, ManilArt not only features large gathering of artworks; it also includes other activities aimed to engage the public.

This year, ManilArt has 24 exhibitors, fewer than the previous years’. This is because of the smaller venue, said Jonathan Siy, Bago president.

The participating galleries include Art Circle, Art Informal, Art Verite, Artes Orientes, Blanc Art Space, Blue Line Gallery, Boston Gallery, Finale Art File, Galerie Francesca, Galerie Joaquin, Galerie Zimmermann Kratochwill, Galleria Duemila, Galleria Quattrocento, Gallery Big, Leon Gallery, Gallery Nine, Looking For Juan, Manila Contemporary, Pablo Gallery, Paseo Gallery, Renaissance Art Gallery, Silverlens, Village Art Gallery and West Gallery.

Despite the number, ManilArt 2011 is promised to be more interesting, a sign that organizers is taking more consideration on quality than quantity.

“We promise a more diverse and vibrant art exposition, and viewers shall witness a groundbreaking launch — the simultaneous opening of various art exhibitions during gala night,” said Delan Lopez Robillos, ManilArt 2011 project director. “Exhibitors will not simply be showcasing the works of artists they represent but each gallery shall be presenting a conceptualized art exhibit.”

Robillos singled out Elmer Borlongan’s digital works. They will be viewed though the iPad in an interactive booth.

There will also be a host of lectures and other activities, starting with the gala opening.

The by-invitation gala opening on Aug. 24 will show the organizers’ desire to link visual arts with other disciplines. Elmer Borlongan’s work Batang Edsa, which is the featured painting in ManilArt 2011’s poster, will be interpreted in modern dance by premier contemporary dance artist and Dance Forum founder Myra Beltran. It is interesting to note that Batang Edsa is inspired by another work, this time in music — Dong Abay’s song “God Bless Our Trip,”

The Filipiniana-themed opening will have writer, magazine editor and TV personality RJ Ledesma as host, and Banda Malaya and Fatima University Chorale performing.

After the opening, people will get the chance to see a program featuring visual artists and performers from the University of Santo Tomas, through The Varsitarian, the official student publication of UST, on Aug. 26. This is in participation in the celebration of the university’s 400^th anniversary.

The ManilArt lecture series this year includes “How we Turn Paintings into Bicycles: Lessons in Art, Law and the Internet,” by Gigo Alampay, the executive director of Canvas, a non-stock, non-profit organization that promotes Philippine art, culture and the environment and who teaches contemporary legal and policy issues in information and communications technology at the University of the Philippines’ College of Law; and “Semiotics in Visual Art” by Dr. Oscar V. Campomanes, a permanent panelist at the annual Jerry Elizalde Navarro Workshop on Arts Criticism in Baguio City and who teaches critical theory and cultural studies at the Ateneo de Manila University, and semiotics, media criticism, and culture theory at the UST Graduate School.

National Hero Jose Rizal’s 150th birth anniversary will also be celebrated with a talk by poet and performance artist Vim Nadera titled “Visuals on Rizal Today.”

Artists in Residence (AIR) founders Jojo Ballo, Cathy Lasam and Jill Arwen Posadas will also give a lecture on basic sketching and drawing for kids.

There will also be storytelling sessions for children. RepubLikha executive director and former preschool teacher Carisse Escueta will read the book The Rocking Horse which features paintings by Elmer Borlongan. VJ Chino Lui Pio of Myx and Ramon Bautista have also been invited to read Message in the Sand, with artworks by Roel Obemio, and Sol: A Legend about the Sun, with images by Farley Del Rosario, respectively.

From the start, ManilArt has live sketching sessions, serving as one of the highlights of the art fair. The event not only aims to foster fellowship among the artists, but gives the audience the chance to witness how they are able to render the same subject through different styles from scratch. The live sketching session also serve as an interactive experience between the artists, the subjects, and the spectators, allowing art enthusiasts a glimpse at how artworks are brought to life.

This year, the live sketching sessions serve as preliminary activity for ManilArt 2011. It started on July 9 and is held every Saturday after that at Mercato Centrale at Bonifacio Global City.

Every year, ManilArt chooses one artwork to be the face of the fair. In 2009, Onib Olmedo’s iconic jeepney painting served as the image of the first ManilArt while Andres Barrioquinto’s Crystal Gazer was the face of last year’s art fair. This year, ManilArt has Elmer Borlongan’s Batang Edsa, which shows a boy selling cigarettes and candies and a girl selling leis of jasmine.

Art is not just an issue that we talk about from time to time. With ManilArt, it is hoped that people will see art as part of everyday.

ManilArt 2011 is co-presented by Allied Bank and Contemporary Art Philippines with the support of Bellarocca Island Resort and Spa, The BusinessMirror, BusinessWorld, Colleen and Derwent Art Supplies, Crown Fine Arts, La Creperie, Las Casas Filipinas de Azucar Heritage Resort, The Manila Bulletin, Mercato Centrale, Midas Hotel, Oakwood Premiere Suites, Pebeo Art Supplies, Ronac Art Center, Secret Fresh, Sustain Pro Complex, Uno magazine and Uratex Premium.

ManilArt 2011 is open to the public from Aug. 25 to 27. For lecture series registration, call 531-6231 or 0917-8511333 or e-mail info@manilart.com. Visit www.manilart.com.

Travel with Self-Styled Pair of Havaianas

2011-05-10T05:19:00.000-07:00

This year, the Make Your Own Havaianas (MYOH) event is touted to be the best and biggest ever in its six-year history in the Philippines. For a first-time attendee like me, it was a heady, colorful and fun event. The event takes place from May 12 to 16 at the Rockwell Tent, beside the Power Plant Mall at the Rockwell Center in Makati City, but there was a special edition for the media and special guests on May 10.

As if Havaianas, which made the lowly tsinelas a popular and chic thing to wear to almost everywhere, didn't already have a wide and exciting array of designs to choose from, the annual MYOH event enables consumers to customize their own pairs of rubber geta-inspired footwear of the Brazilian flip-flop brand by mixing and matching straps and soles, and decorating a pair with pins.

Being a Havaianas wearer, it was exciting and fun to create a pair to reflect your personality, style and preferences, even if it is limited to choosing the color of the soles and straps and the pins.

One is given a “passport” in which you indicate your size and can tick the colors and styles you want. Then the passport is given to any of the assemblers to make according to your specifications. The May 10 event was like a party with a jazz band performing and guests busy creating their own pairs. A moveable display of available soles and straps enabled guests to see what matches they had in mind. Chef Margarita Fores served food inspired by this year’s theme such as Scotch quail eggs and aioli from the United Kingdom; bouche ala Reine, mushroom tris and water spinach passato from Paris; ebi try, tartare sauce and cabbage sarada from Japan; open-faced Reuben sandwich, pastrami and cheese from New York; flank steak churascu from Brazil; Shepherd’s pie from Australia; and adobo rice and flakes from the Philippines.

This year’s theme of travel and personalized style—very apt as a pair of Havaianas is a favorite among travel buffs—are emphasized by the offering of new and limited-edition travel-inspired soles, sporting passport stamps design. The pins also speaks of travel—Kangaroo crossing sign, Eiffel Tower, apple-shaped I Love NY, London guard, Chinese stamp with “double happiness” in Chinese characters, Rio de Janeiro beach scene, Harajuku doll, Roman coliseum and Manila bag tag. There are also the yin and yang symbol, I love PH, robot, cassette tape, race flags, anchor, kalesa and limited edition pins. By the way, for a pair purchased with a Harajuku doll pin P100 will be donated to the earthquake survivors of Japan through the Philippine Red Cross. For the girls, charms are also available.

After a pair is finished, the customer can pay for it in the cashier area that imitates airport’s immigration lane.

With the MYOH event, Havaianas presents its current crop of ambassadors, who are called Citizens of Summer—“fun, stylish people who truly live out the summer spirit of Havaianas wherever they go” and “people live in a summer state of mind and inspire others to join them in doing so.”

The individuals “who make summer their own all year round” and will promote the spirit of summer are TV personality Alvey Alfonso; entrepreneur, model and host Amanda Griffin-Jacob; writer and business owner Cecile Van Straten; fashion designer and wannabe farmer Hindy Weber-Tantoco; professional surfer and surf school owner Luke Landrigan; chef Margarita Forés; capoeira teacher Professor Fantasma; fashion designer Rosanna Ocampo; fashion designer and travel buff Sassa Jimenez; marketing manager of Philux Furniture Stephanie Kienle; and food columnist and travel enthusiast Stephanie Zubiri.

“Summer is hanging at the beach and teaching people the joys of surfing,” says Landrigan.

On the other hand, Zubiri says, “Summer is lifting the weight off your shoulders, letting go of all shackles, and surrendering yourself to life.”

“Summer is a time to experiment with your personal style and even explore places that you’ve never been to before. Summer to me is basically about freedom, self-discovery and, of course, fun!” Jimenez exclaims.

The Havaianas Citizens of Summer embodies the spirit and thoughts that the brand wants to impart such as the delights of going someplace new and imbibing different cultures and experiences; that traveling provides inspiration to hone their personal passions as well as fashion styles; and comfort and personal style are two essentials that any jetsetter should have for every travel.

Make Your Own Havaianas, presented by Power Plant Mall, happens from May 12 to 16, beginning 10 a.m., at the Rockwell Tent, Makati City. Visit www.makeyourownhavaianas.com.ph for more details.

NB
The pair I made was actually for mah babe, Bob Jerezo, who left his flip-flops when he went home to Iloilo. This actually is partly inspired by my passion and him, reflecting myself and him. It is determinedly travel-inspired, bespeaking the desire of more travels and discoveries and learnings, either each his own or together. The pins I chose are the I love PH (well, of course), the anchor (because he is a would-be seafarer), yin and yang (for harmony) and Chinese double happiness (of course).

Dumaguete, Manjuyod and Valencia in Negros Oriental (April 17 to 19, 2011): A Gallery

2011-04-22T05:08:00.000-07:00

From April 17 to 19, 2011, we went to Negros Oriental to cover the Energy Youth Camp of the Energy Development Corporation. I tagged Babe along and he stayed for a day, which was full of side trips. On Sunday, when we arrived at the airport in Sibulan we went straight to Manjuyod for some dolphin watching and swimming at the Manjuyod White Sandbar, where four cottages were erected. We did not catch the dolphin watching. We just joined friends and companions who arrived the previous day at the cottage and had lunch and went for a swim. Afterwards we went to the Tierra Alta, a new subdivision being developed in Palinpinon, Valencia, for the zipline. The Z Rush Zipline based their operations inside the subdivision. After the zipline, we went to Chiccos of Why Not, along Rizal Boulevard, for dinner and somewhere for drinks and videoke. Babe flew back the following day and we proceeded to Ticala in Valencia for the youth camp. Here are some photos:

My Babe in La Union: A Gallery

2011-02-14T10:45:00.000-08:00

In October 2010, I and Babe went to La Union, staying in Thunderbird Resort Poro Point, surfing in San Juan and going around San Fernando. Here are pictures of him:

Dayaw 2010: Indigenous Peoples in a Changing Environment

2010-12-13T00:29:00.000-08:00

“Climate change equals culture change,” declares anthropologist Enrique G. Oracion, president of the Ugnayang Pang-AghamTao (UGAT) or the Anthropological Association of the Philippines.

Among other things, we are shaped and affected by the environment we live in, including the natural environment. This is also true for indigenous peoples (IP), and the impacts of the environment and its changes in their lives and culture are more profound. UGAT tackled these issues as well as perennial concerns like IP rights, mainstreaming and marginalization, preservation of culture, poverty, etc., in the celebration of the Indigenous Peoples’ Month by the country’s national organization of anthropologists and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

Every October, the NCCA spearheads Indigenous Peoples’ Month, one of the national arts and culture agency’s major celebrations. Of recent, the celebration is in the form of grand festivals focusing on each Philippines’ major island cluster. In 2007, Kalimudan: Panaghi-usa sa Mindanao (Mindanao Indigenous Peoples’ Gathering) held in Davao City in November, featured Mindanao’s ethnic groups. The following year, Timpuyog: Indigenous People Month Celebration in Luzon was held in Santiago City, Isabela, focusing on Luzon ethnic groups and featuring performances, arts and crafts workshops, cultural awareness lectures, forums, tours, and a theme-park exhibition featuring the traditional houses, cultural resources, practices/rituals, chants, music, songs and dances, stories, traditional arts and crafts, indigenous games. Last year, the Indigenous Peoples’ Festival was held in the Visayas, particularly in Roxas City, Capiz, called Dungog, with similar activities and aims.

Via activities such as performances, exhibitions, forums, lecture-demonstrations and workshops, the festival aims to “provide venue for indigenous peoples (IP) to celebrate the richness of their cultures; allow cultural exchanges that will foster deeper cultural understanding to sustain a culture of peace; provide opportunity to discuss IP rights; give students and other people a chance to deepen their awareness and appreciation of indigenous cultures; recognize the expertise and contributions of indigenous communities; and advocate for the preservation as well as integration of traditional culture into the national cultural mainstream.”

This year, the celebration was held in the National Capital Region, named Dayaw: Indigenous Peoples Festival 2010, with three major components: dance and performance or Palabas, exhibit or Sulyap, and conference or Suri. The celebration opened on the first day of October with a showcase of indigenous performances and a press conference headlined by NCCA (led by its chairman Dr. Vilma Labrador) and UGAT officials, and Maria Venus Raj, the controversial beauty queen who became fourth runner-up in the Miss Universe pageant and Dayaw’s endorser.

“This year’s Buwan ng Katutubong Filipino draws inspiration from the word dayaw, which means, in old Tigaonon of Surigao del Sur, ‘to show off, parade or display’ and ‘to present with pride what is distinctly and essentially inherent in oneself”; in old Catandunganon, ‘to show one’s best with pride and dignity coupled with excitement’; and in Ilokano, ‘honor.’ It also draws inspiration from the word kadayawan, which means, for Dabawenos, ‘a celebration of life, a thanksgiving for the gifts of nature, the wealth of culture, and the bounties of harvest and the serenity of living,” stated Dr. Eufracio C. Abaya, this year’s festival director. “Accordingly, Dayaw: Buwan ng Katutubong Filipino not only celebrates the wisdom of social and environment peace and harmony enshrined in IP cultural practices, but also the continuing reflexive and pragmatic engagement among IPs, the government and the public at large to uphold the IP’s strategic importance and rights.”

Assisting Abaya in the steering committee were deputy festival directors Domingo Bakilan, head of the NCCA’s Subcommission on Cultural Communities and Traditional Arts, for the Luzon group; Alphonsus Tesoro, head of the Committee on Central Cultural Communities, for the Visayas group; and Cheryl Cellona, head of the Committee on Southern Cultural Communities, for the Mindanao group.

Aside from the showcasing of indigenous cultures, Dayaw highlighted the serious aspect of environmental concerns. Each festival component carried a title with the word kalikhasan. Abaya coined the term, a combination of the Filipino words likha, meaning “creation,” and kalikasan, meaning “nature” or “natural environment,” to underscore the “inseparability of creative practice in the natural environment as well as the natural environment in creative practice.”

The celebration put into spotlight the importance of the environment in the shaping and viability of indigenous cultures as well as the effect of climate change, specifically in the conference titled “Kalikhasan in Flux: Cultural Creativity in a Changing Environment,” which was also the 32^nd UGAT Annual Conference.

Held at the Tambunting Hall of the Museum of the Filipino People, National Museum, from October 20 to 23, 2010, the conference aimed to gathered IP representatives, artists, cultural workers, academics and representatives from government and non-government organizations.

“This year’s theme is particularly timely because indigenous peoples, due to their marginalized position and unique relationship with the environment, are seen as one of the most vulnerable segments of the population to the impacts of environmental crisis. And yet, they are also some of the most active participants in environmental movements, who, together with support groups, challenge dominant ideologies and practices towards the environment,” said Rosa Cordillera A. Castillo, the conference chair.

“But I do not want to sound as an environmental determinist because the ways people live likewise impact or alter the environment; it could also be culture change equals climate change, and the degree of change varies across time and space,” explained Oracion. “In general, the changes in the conditions of the natural environment have corresponding cost to the lives and culture of indigenous peoples particularly the Philippines. And this is not only seriously affecting their food supply and nutritional requirements but also other facets of their lives such as traditional knowledge, rituals, medicines and health practices, music, art and other aesthetic production which have made them culturally distinct.”

On the other hand, Abaya said: “Main issues touched on the theme of the conference, which is the interaction between nature and cultural creativity. So given that current situation in which climate change and extractive industries and the way land is used, patterned or defined, these have really affected the way of life of the indigenous peoples. And when I speak of their way of life, we’re talking about things that they do in their everyday life. For instance, their agricultural practices have been affected. Practices such as these along with rituals, the way they usually organize their lives have been affected by changes in nature. Concretely, we talk about displacement as a result of the mining industry, ancestral domains, land conversion.

He further said that they heard these kinds of comments and stories “from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.”

The conference gathered academics, anthropologists and cultural workers such as Owen Lynch, Vellorimo Suminguit, Philip Largo Anghag, Mynabel Pomarin, Victoria Diaz, Reuben Andrew Muni, Maileenita Penalba, Emerson Sanchez, Michael Armand Canilao, Nicole Revel, Edwin Gariguez, Timuay Alim Bandara, Alicia Magos, Robert Panaguiton, Erlinda Burton, May Shiu-Buslig, Randy Nobleza, Earl Francis Pasilan, Norli Colili, Bernadeth Wampa, Bernadeth Ofong, Gideon Binobo, Maria Victoria Espaldon, Van Leigh Alibo, Rico Ancog, Arnold Salvacion, Ramon Docto, Lyer Galulo, Nicomedes Briones, Paolo Vicerra, Jem Javier, Kathleen Tantuico, Ros Costelo, Ramon Felipe Sarmiento, Ponciano Bennagen, Maria Mangahas, Arlene Sampang, Cynthia Zayas, Lilian dela Pena, Zona Hildegrade Saniel Amper, Maria Teresa Dominguez, Artiso Mandawa, Matyline Camfili, Julius Dagitan, Benjamin Nebres III, Bonindo Revidad, Jr., Harrish Serrano, Cyndi Mae Paje, Christian John Morales, Paul Vincent Silo, AT Roxas, NL Bracamonte, SL Ponce and LN Marapao.

They presented their studies which dealt with the impact of changing land use patterns on indigenous cultures; the relevance and efficacy of national, regional and global instruments addressing environmental crisis, specifically those affecting IPs; the relation between ritual life and environmental crisis; the relation between art practices and weaving and environmental crisis; the relation and challenges among indigenous peoples, biodiversity conservation and climate change; environmentally-linked knowledge and practices; the relation between changing marine environments and fishing traditions and creativity; and extractive practices affecting IPs’ ancestral domain and their ramifications on cultural creativity.

A session paneled by the NCCA dealt with topics such as microfinance scheme for IPs, IP rights including intellectual property rights and the Dungog Declaration, a document drafted and signed by IP leaders who participated in the Dungog celebration, detailing the issues and concerns of the IPs and recommendations and solutions.

The microfinance scheme was presented by Center for Agriculture and Rural Development Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI), which offers financial and non-financial services such as loans with very low interest and no collateral especially to indigenous peoples, so they would not be victims of loan sharks.

Noted anthropologist Dr. Jesus Peralta talked on indigenous peoples’ rights, particularly intellectual property rights. He is currently helping draft a bill to protect the traditional intellectual property rights of indigenous peoples. He pointed out that the present copyright law, which mostly deals with individual works, is insufficient or no apt in protecting indigenous intellectual properties. He said that the law states that any work, after fifty years of creation, becomes public domain. He said that traditional expressions such as crafts, performances and others are “older than fifty years and are therefore considered public domain and subject to exploitation by anyone.”

Dr. Peralta mentions two ways in protecting these: by amending the copyright law and by signing of a new bill that particularly protects indigenous intellectual properties. He believes that that it is possible to legislate traditional cultural properties of all the ethno-linguistic groups that “shall not lapse into public domain after 50 years and shall continue indefinitely to be exclusive property of these ethno-linguistic groups that communally own them.”

“Traditional tangible and intangible properties are to be held in perpetuity in ethnic memory and considered valid as ethnic intellectual property,” he states.

To be able to “copyright” a traditional expression, it must be distinctive to a group, which can claim solely as its own.

“There are cultural properties that are distinctive, characteristic of and or derived from the particular ethnic traditional culture, to the exclusion of other ethnic cultures. For instance the hagabi of the Ifugao is theirs only exclusively and not found in culture of other groups. All other cultures have properties that are exclusively their own,” Peralta said.

This as well as others may “be established in a communal ownership of sort, and to be registered under the group’s name for protection within the copyright law.”

All we have to do is to pinpoint these distinctive items.

Aside from intellectual ownership, there are several issues confronting the indigenous peoples. One deals with perception and classification. To explain, Abaya looked at history.

“When the colonist arrived in the country, nakita natin kung paano nila klinasfy ang mga lipunan sa ating bansa. Merong Christian and non-Christian. Nagkaroon ng minority/majority. Mayroon ding cultural minorities… hill tribes. And meron ding commission sa ating gobiyerno na patuloy ang ganitong classification. Ang implication nito ay ang paningin ng so-called majority sa minority. Mas superior sila, mga ganyan. At silang mga minority ay kawawa,” he said. “In fact, ang nangyari pa sa mga labels na ito na-stigmatize nga ang pagiging katutubo. Na-associate sila sa mga primitive. And yet, ang irony din ay nakikitaan natin sila ng source ng mga materials para ma-define natin ang national identity. So, ang nangyayari, humuhugot-hugot sila ng mga symbols, mga sining ng katutubong Filipino, at sinasabi nila ito ang ating sining. Parang may irony doon.” (“When the colonist arrived in the country, we saw how they classified societies in our country. There is the Christian and then the non-Christian, minority and majority. We also have cultural minorities… hill tribes. And we have a commission in the government that continues this kind of classification. The implication of this is the perception of so-called majority of the minority. They’re superior, like that. And the minority is pitiful. In fact, these labels stigmatize being indigenous. They are associated with being primitive. And yet, the irony is that we see them as a source of materials for us to define our national identity. So, what happens is that they draw out symbols, the arts of the indigenous Filipinos, and say that these are our arts. There is irony in that.”

He further related: “On the one hand, nakikita natin, ah, napaka-colorful ng buhay nila, napaka-creative nila. Pero at the same time, kapag titingnan mo ‘yung regard ng karamihan, parang mas mababa silang kategorya. Kahapon, may nagsabi, tinanong ng isang researcher ang isang kabataan sa Cordillera, Igorot ka ba? Ay ako, hindi na. ‘Yung parents ko lang ang Igorot. I think may pagbabago na sa kanilang pananaw kung ano ang identity nila. Siguro tingnan din natin ang papel ng media rito. Nire-reproduce lamang din kadalasan ng media ang mga pananaw ng dominant sector ng ating lipunan. Kung minsan, kinakikitaan natin sila ng source ng spectacle… So makikita natin, mga festivals, for example, doon lang natin hina-highlight. Maganda naman talaga ang kanilang sayaw, tapos, nagke-cater kunwari sa turismo. So marami tayong dapat pagnilaynilayan kaugnay siyempre ng kanilang lugar sa pangkalahatang lipunan natin sa Pilipinas.” (On the one hand, we see, ah, their lives are colorful; they’re very creative. But at the same time, if you see how they regard them, it’s like they’re in a lower category. Yesterday, a researcher asked a young man from the Cordillera are you Igorot. He answered not anymore. Only my parents are Igorot. I think there has been a change in how they perceive their identity. Maybe let’s look at the role of media. It often reproduces the perception of the dominant sector of our society. Sometimes, we see them as a source of spectacle. So we see them in festivals, where they are highlighted. Well, their dances are really beautiful. They cater to tourism. So, there are many things that we have to ponder on especially about their place in the overall society of the Philippines.”)

Abaya also touched on the issue of nationality: “Until such time na hindi natin ma-solve ‘yung idea ng nationality versus ethnicity kung saan ang isang Maranao ay magsasabi na ako’y isang Maranao at isang Filipino, ako’y isang Ilocano at ako’y isang Filipino, Mandaya, ganyan, kailangan pa rin nating tingnan ng mas malalim ang interaksyon ng etnisidad at ng pagiging citizen of the Philippines. Itong kategoryang IP ay mahalaga lalo na kapag nag-iisip tayo ng mga programa. Without a category such as this, how programs are developed and implemented, mahihirapan kung wala talagang kategorya ang isang grupo. Hindi naihihiwalay ito sa mga kategorya tulad ng mga magsasaka, mga manggagawa, mga kababaihan. Importante iyon sa pag-identify talaga ng mga grupo sa Pilipinas. It just so happened na we know that historically, ang mga indigenous peoples ay special sector na talagang marginalized culturally, socially, politically, economically. So multiple ang kanilang marginalization. Kung nagre-react man sila na na huwag ninyo kaming tawaging indigenous peoples ay nakikita ko sa isang anggulo, mas mabuti siguro na tayong mga Filipino. Siguro kung isang makakasolusyon sa problema. Pero depende talaga sa konstekto ng usapan. Ganoon naman talaga ang lengguwahe ay nasa konteksto ng paggamit. Maraming nuances ang paggamit ng lengguwahe. Ang nakikita kong posibleng solusyon doon ay mag-isip tayo na tayo ay Pilipino pero kailangan nating i-recognize na tayo ay nanggagaling sa iba’t-ibang pangkat etniko.” (“Until such time we don’t address the issue of nationality versus ethnicity, in which a Maranao can say I am Maranao and a Filipino, I’m Ilocano and a Filipino, like that, we still need to look more deeply into interplay of ethnicity and being citizen of the Philippines. This IP category is important if we’re developing programs. Without a category such as this, how programs are developed and implemented, it is difficult if a group has no category. This is not different from other categories such as farmers, fisher folks, women. It is important in identifying groups in the Philippines. It just so happened that we know that historically, indigenous peoples is a special sector that is really marginalized, culturally, socially, politically, economically. So, their marginalization is multiple. If they are reacting, don’t call us indigenous peoples, it may be better if we just call ourselves Filipino. That may be one solution. But it also depends on the context. Language is really about contexts. There are nuances. One solution I see is that we think that we are all Filipino but we also recognize that we come from different ethnic groups.”)

Showcasing Ethnicity

Dance is important and even integral to the cultures of indigenous peoples, serving many purposes such as entertainment and ritual. Selected ethnic groups and performers were invited to showcase their dances and music for the performance aspect of Dayaw, titled “Indayog ng Kalikhasan,” under the artistic direction of Shirley Halili-Cruz, head of the NCCA’s Committee on Dance.

“Indayog ng Kalikhasan” was held simultaneous with the conference, opening at the Rizal Park Open-Air Auditorium on October 20 preceded by a short parade and going to several venues such as government branches (House of Representatives), television stations (NBN 4 and ABS-CBN 2), malls (SM City San Lazaro and Star Malls Las Pinas, Alabang and EDSA Mandaluyong), nearby cities (Malolos, Bulacan) and schools (Miriam College; St. Scholastica’s College in Pampanga; Pedro Poveda College; Manila Business College in Sta. Cruz, Manila; and Rizal Technological University in Mandaluyong.)

Featured groups were the T’boli of Lake Sebu, South Cotobato; Mangguagan of Davao del Norte; Teduray of Maguindanao; Kamayo of Agusan del Sur; Bagobo of Davao City; Manobo of Bukidnon; Subanen of Zamboanga del Sur; B’laan of Balut Island, Saranggani; Sangir of Balut Island; Tausug of Jolo; Kaagan of Davao Oriental; Mamanwa of Surigao del Norte; Hiligaynon of Capiz; Palaw’an of Palawan; Jama Mapun of Palawan; Bukidnon of Negros Occidental, Iloilo and Capiz; Ati of Iloilo, Guimaras and Capiz; Waray of Samar and Leyte; Mangyan of Midoro; Dumagat of Quezon; Ifugao of Kiangan, Ifugao; Kalinga; Bugkalot of Nueva Vizcaya; Gaddang; Ayta Magbukon of Bataan; Ibaloi of Benguet; and Malaueg.

They presented traditional dances and rituals and music such as the shelayan by the Subanen, pattong by the Kalinga, binanog by the Panay Bukidnon, dagungguan by the Jama Mapun, damsu by the T’boli, pangalay by the Tausug, kasamungan by the Kaagan, and ini-ini by the Ati of Iloilo.

“Indayog” closed on October 23 also at the Rizal Park Open-Air Auditorium, with a series of performances capped by a “unity dance,” comprising selected steps from different ethnic dances, by all the participants.

Visual Glimpse

Under the artistic direction of Edgar Talusan Fernandez, head of the NCCA’s Committee on Visual Arts, “Sa Tinubuang Kalikhasan” presented ethnographic photographs and artifacts at the NCCA Gallery for the whole month of October. It also featured reproduction of works by Federico “Boy” Dominguez, a Mindanaoan artist with Manobo and Mandaya roots, on indigenous peoples. Additionally, interactive exhibit on traditional arts and crafts, such as mat weaving, handloom weaving, pottery and the making of accessories was put up at the National Museum during the conference.

Related activities

Aside from the three major components, smaller events were held. The Australian Embassy showed a series of Australian indigenous films at the NCCA.

Several NCCA-supported events and projects celebrating indigenous cultures were included in the overall celebration of the Indigenous Peoples’ Month. From September 29 to October 1, 2010, the Tagakpan Women’s Tribal Organization held the Tipo Tipo Festival, a three-day celebration of the Bagobo Clata highlighting their cultural traditions in rituals, traditional songs, dances and indigenous games, in Tagakpan, Davao City. The Ibaloi community of Taloy Sur, Tuba, Benguet, held the Tuba Pansakatan Tan Kagam-es Festival, from October 5 to 6, 2010. The Kaliga Ta Talakag Festival highlighted the culture of the Higaonon community of Talakag, Bukidnon, from October 20 to 23, 2010. In Loo, Buguias, Benguet, the IP organization Buguias Ancestral Domain Alternative for the Natives’ Governance (BADANG) commemorated its founding with a four-day gathering of the Kankana-ey cultural community called Alibay di Badang, from October 27 to 30, 2010. Alibay is an indigenous rite of thanksgiving and supplication for good health, bountiful harvest and continuous peace and harmony.

In Grand Symphony: CCP holds first National Orchestra Festival

2010-09-14T14:43:00.000-07:00

Seeing and listening to an orchestra performance, a rare treat, can be overwhelming. Seeing and listening to seven for several nights can be a stupefying thought. But the country’s premiere cultural institution, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), is making it happen, the rarest of treats. Magnitude 7 on the Orchestra Scale: The First National Orchestra Festival gathers together seven of the country’s finest orchestras for five days of concerts and performances from Sept. 21 to 25.
Participating are FILharmoniKA with conductor Gerard Salonga, the Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO) with conductor Arturo Molina, the University of the Philippines (UP) Orchestra with conductor Edna “Michi” Marcil Martinez, the Angono Chamber Orchestra with conductor Agripino Diestro, the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Symphony Orchestra with conductor Herminigildo Ranera, the PREDIS Chamber Orchestra with conductor Jeffrey Solares and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) with music director Olivier Ochanine.
Raul Sunico, vice president and artistic director of the CPP and himself an accomplished musician, came up with the idea of the festival, thinking there is a need to democratize the arts, specifically orchestra music. Although the PPO is the official orchestra of the country, he said that “there are several orchestras in the Philippines that need our support and promotion.”
This will be the first that time that the country’s orchestras will come together in a grand event. The difficulty of transporting large contingents with instruments, scheduling, funding and logistics prevented this from happening sooner. Fortunately, most of the orchestras are based around and near Metro Manila. The Peace Philharmonic Orchestra from Cebu has been invited but was not able to participate because of transportation difficulty and insufficiency of funds.
As with the case with other fields of the arts, endeavors like this are not highly profitable and funding is a problem. Sunico admitted that the musicians are not compensated as they should have been. Martinez of the UP Orchestra, the only woman conductor in the country, said that performing inside the CCP, which is held in esteem, is enough compensation for many members.
Additionally, the younger musicians get to interact with and learn from senior, professional and established players, especially during their participation in the Festival Orchestra, which is something to look forward to.
“The highlight of the event is the performance of the Festival Orchestra composed of selected members of the participating orchestras which shall be performing with the country’s eminent conductors,” Melissa Mantaring, head of the CCP Music Division, said.
The Festival Orchestra will open the festival on the Sept. 21, playing Symphony No. 5, Op. 64 in E Minor by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and will perform during the grand finale on Sept. 25 in which the conductors will take turns in leading the orchestra. In between, the other orchestras will have their own performances. According to Mantaring, overall the event will showcase an exciting and varied program of immensely enjoyable and appealing pieces written for the orchestra.
Also opening the festival is the PPO, the country’s leading and professional orchestra. It was formally inaugurated on May 15, 1973, as the CCP Philharmonic Orchestra, initially intended to assist artists performing at the CCP Theater. It was reorganized in 1979 with a vision to be among the best in the world. The PPO has performed with many world renowned conductors, toured and performed in many countries, participated in many festivals, and premiered Filipino compositions and works by foreign composers not yet performed in the Philippines. For the festival, the PPO will perform Colas Breugnon Overture by Dmitri Kabalevsky; Pastorale d’été, H. 31 by Arthur Honneger; and Symphony No. 40 in G Minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
The following day, Sept. 22, the PREDIS Chamber Orchestra and the Manila Symphony Orchestra will take the stage.
The PREDIS Orchestra is composed of young musicians under the direct supervision and guidance of members of the MSO and are based at the Saint Scholastica’s College School of Music. Founded in 1985 by Basilio Manalo, and Sister Mary Placid Abejo, OSB, the Philippine Research for Developing Instrumental Soloists (PREDIS) was envisioned to develop young musicians for a professional music career. In 1995, advanced PREDIS members became the core group of the Manila Youth Symphony Orchestra, which later became the founding members of the reorganized Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSOII). PREDIS still continues to provide scholarships to talented youth.
On the other hand, the MSO, currently composed of 60 musicians, is considered one of Asia’s oldest symphony orchestras. It was founded by Dr. Alexander Lippay in 1926. In 1931, the Manila Symphony Society was formed to support the MSO’s regular season concerts. During the 1940s until the 1960s the orchestra was under Dr. Herbert Zipper who led the orchestra to perform major symphonic works, ballets and opera productions. In 2001, it was resurrected by its long time concertmaster, Basilio Manalo, by elevating into professional status the Manila Youth Symphony Orchestra, mostly composed of members trained under PREDIS.
The PREDIS Chamber Orchestra will perform Mozart’s Divertimiento in D Major, K 136; Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto Grosso in A Minor; Johann Sebastian Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor; Edvard Grieg’s Suite from Holberg’s Time; and Bela Bartok’s Rumanian Dances. The MSO will play Angel Peña’s Philippine Festival Overture; Tchaikovsky’s Tempest; and Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite.
On Sept. 23, the UST Symphony Orchestra and FILharmoniKa will perform.
Composed of 70 UST music students, the UST Symphony Orchestra is a resident performing group of the CCP. It was founded in 1927 by its conductor Dr. Manuel Casas of the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery. After four public performances from 1929 to 1931, the group apparently disbanded and was reorganized in 1961 by National Artist for music Antonino Buenaventura. For the festival, the orchestra will play the Rienzi Overture by Richard Wagner; Piano Concerto No. 6 in B Flat Major K 238 by Mozart with Najib Ismail on the piano; and Finlandia by Jean Sibelius.
FILharmoniKA was formed in 2005 as the in-house recording ensemble of Carmel House Studios, a music and audio post-production facility in Manila, then known as the Global Studio Orchestra. In 2008, it took a new direction and a new name, FILharmoniKA. For the festival, it will perform “Terry’s Theme” from Limelight by Charlie Chaplin, arranged by Gerard Salonga; Night on a Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky; Yerma by Francisco Feliciano: and “Symphonic Dances” from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein.
The UP Orchestra and the Angono Chamber Orchestra will perform on Sept. 24.
The UP Orchestra has a sporadic existence. In 2003, it was revitalized by merging two existing orchestra classes, and now mainly serves as the laboratory class for the instrument majors of both the Strings and Chamber Music Department and the Winds and Percussion Department enrolled in orchestra class as well as one of the performing groups of the university.
Under the management of the Angono Philharmonic Society, the Angono Chamber Orchestra was founded conductor/composer Diestro, gathering talented children with ages ranging from 12 to 22 years old who come mostly from Angono and other towns in Rizal. Its main purpose is to bring classical music to the people of Angono and its neighboring towns. All members are taking lessons from noted Filipino instrumentalists under the U P Extension Program.
The UP Orchestra will perform Overture to the Impressario by Mozart; Serenade for Strings by Tchaikovsky; and “Mindanao Sketches” by Antonino Buenaventura. The Angono Chamber Orchestra will perform Francisco Buencamino’s Pizzicato Caprice; Vivaldi’s Violin Concerto in A Minor, KV356, Op. 3, No. 6, with violinist Mikhail Ivan Ramos; and Lucio San Pedro’s “Katutubong Awitin” and “Jubilate,” arranged by Diestro.
The Festival Orchestra will close the festival on Sept. 25 with the performance of Leonard Bernstein’s “Three Dance Episodes” from On the Town; Richard Wagner’s “Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral” from Lohengrin; Johannes Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture; Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet Overture”; Ralph Vaughan William’s Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis; and selected movements from Gayane Ballet Suite by Aram Khachaturian.

Concerts will be held at the CCP Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (Main Theater) at 8 p.m. For the opening and closing concerts of the festival, tickets are priced at P1,000 for orchestra center, P800 for orchestra sides, P600 for Balcony I and P200 for Balcony II. Tickets for the daily concerts are priced at P700 for orchestra center, P500 for orchestra sides, P300 for Balcony I and 200 for Balcony II. Festival passes, which provide access to all concerts, are priced at P3,400 for orchestra center, P2,600 for orchestra sides and P1,800 for Balcony I. Discounts are available for seniors at 20 percent and students at 50 percent off. For more information, call the CCP Box Office at telephone number 832-1125 local 1409 and direct line 832-3704.

Budding Then, Ubod Now: A Crop of New Authors

2010-09-13T09:10:00.000-07:00

The ultimate dream and realization of being a writer is the publication of his/her own book—a legacy to pass on from one generation to another, a vessel of one’s thoughts and emotions, an achievement of patiently tended maturity and creativity, an instrument to touch other lives, a document of the world as well as an instrument for its change, a contribution to the cultural wealth of the country. A book is all these and much more, even for a mere reader.

As a child, the great American fictionist Eudora Welty thought that a book is a thing of wonder, sprouting magically like trees. But books are written by men, her painful realization later.

There is a process to that fruition, entailing growth, patience, evergreen faith, perseverance and passion. One nurtures the dream with books, smelling their leaves aromatic with age or newness but defiant of time, marveling how words blossom into images and stir emotions, and desiring to capture and create. One attempts at composing maudlin poems and self-conscious essays. One studies the rudiments of writing, learning the necessities slowly and often painfully like life itself—finding a voice of his/her own, fermenting thoughts, wielding well the implements and devices, etc. One finds his/her way to workshops and the need for kinship of spirit. One comes out in periodicals and proves oneself worthy. Sometimes, one wins awards. Although important, they are not requisite. Then one publishes a book.

But sometimes, even though one completes the process and/or is good enough to publish a book, one is not able to. There may be economic interventions. In a developing country like the Philippines, publishing is not a lucrative endeavor. There is a dearth readership to spur publishing. And if there are publishers, creative works may not be given importance. It is harder for those writing in languages not widely used. Furthermore, still aspiring authors are seldom given a chance. Publishers bank on the proven and the popular usually. The manuscript lies inside the drawer or is stashed at the innermost cranny of the heart, waiting for the light of day and eternity. It can be a loss—both for the writer and also for the reader.

Although a product of passion, patience and pain, a book is also a product of opportunity. Even though the process of making a book seems disappointingly mundane, the aspiring writer will eventually find it magical, something akin to giving birth, the common allusion—bloody but miraculous. It is something the fourteen writers felt when their first books were launched under the Ubod New Authors Series, a project that gives selected writers who have not published a book yet the chance to have their first books published.

“It’s like giving birth to your first child,” Francisco Arias Monteseña, 44-year-old finance officer from Majayjay, Laguna, echoed the proverbial sentiment.

“It’s a dream come true!” exclaimed Leonilo Dalit Lopido, a 32-year-old employee of the Philippine Information Agency Region 8 from Eastern Samar. “I thought this is impossible.”

He further said: “About two years ago, a friend of mine (Voltaire Oyzon) once wrote a note for me on his first poetry book, An Maupay ha mga Waray ug iba pa nga mga Siday, which said ‘Huhulton ko an im libro’ (I’ll wait for your book). I just laughed at it. Now, I realized that having my first book published is gonna be fulfilling especially that I love siday (Waray poems).”

Mar Anthony Simon dela Cruz, a 28-year-old college instructor at the University of the Philippines in Los Banos who hails from Santiago City, Isabela, related: “Siyempre, talon ako nang talon sa tuwa….Akalain mo, may mga naka-appreciate sa mga kuwento ko. (Of course, I was jumping for joy….Who would have imagined someone appreciated my stories?)”

Likewise, 29-year-old Phil Harold L. Mercurio, also a college instructor from Calbayog City, was exultant: “Just like any writer who has just had a book debut, it feels like heaven. I am now convinced that I am indeed a writer and that my voice in the world of poetry does exist.”

Noel P. Tuazon, a 38-year-old college instructor from Bingag, Dauis, Bohol, tried to be wry: “Hindi ko alam; hindi ako sanay sa kaligahayan. (I don’t know; I am not used to happiness)”

Although 32-year-old freelance writer and editor Sherma Benosa, who hails from Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya, thought that having a book published is a realization of a dream, she felt overwhelmed (or underwhelmed) by how soon it was achieved. She explained: “I can’t help thinking that it’s a bit too soon for me to publish a book. I had initially given myself five years to write materials from which I’d choose several to include in a possible anthology. I had envisioned myself knocking on university presses’ doors for some editors to please take a look at my works. I had expected to be turned down a few times before someone would say, ‘Okay, let me see what you have.’ But just two years into the timeline and already there was Ubod. I thought I’d lose nothing if I submitted my work so I did. Little did I expect them to be chosen. I think I was just lucky.”

Benosa thinks that she has to go through the process more, holding that romantic image of the suffering writer, and experiencing more hardships to bear sweeter fruits.

On the other hand, the much younger (at 23 years old) Christoffer Mitch C. Cerda, a part-time lecturer at the Ateneo de Manila University and a son of San Pablo City, Laguna, was a tad impatient for the outing of his book. He said more than anything else he felt relieved “kasi sa pagkatalagal-tagal na nagsusulat ako, ngayon ko lang talaga naramdaman na may pinatutunguhan ang ginagawa ko. Sa ganito, may kongkreto akong maipapakita sa ibang tao. Gayundin, relieved kasi, tulad ng sinabi sa akin minsan ni Egay Samar tungkol sa pagkaranasan ng makalathala ng libro, parang na-exorcise na ako. Puwede na akong mag-move on. Kasi ang ‘ako’ na nagsulat ng mga kuwentong ito ay hindi na ang ‘ako’ ngayon. Ngayong libro na ang bahaging ito ng buhay ko, puwede na akong magtungo sa ibang bagay. (because for the long time I am writing, it is only now that I felt my writing is going somewhere. With this, I have something concrete to show to other people. Relieved because, like what Egay Samar said to me once about the experience of having a book published, I felt like I was exorcised. I can move one. Because the ‘I’ who wrote these stories is not the ‘I’ I am now. Now that this part of my life is a book, I can move on to other things.)”

But generally, the feeling was of euphoria, but this is later laden with consciousness of responsibility and maybe of pressure. Writing is a kind of power. Being published is a realization of that power.

“Having been published actually ushers in more challenges to refine my craft as a poet and broaden my themes further,” said Mercurio.

“I am overwhelmed but challenged to continuously hone the craft of writing,” agreed 24-year-old Jerome Mendoza Hipolito, a teacher of Central Bicol State University of Agriculture from Calabanga, Camarines Sur.

Monteseña, Lopido, Dela Cruz, Mercurio, Tuazon, Cerda, Hipolito and Benosa join Marlon Hacla, Jay Gallera Malaga, J.V.D. Perez, Adrian V. Remodo, Janis Claire B. Salvacion and Aida Campos Tiama in the celebration of the printed word made possible by the Ubod project.

The Ubod New Author series was started in 2002 by the National Committee on Literary Arts (NCLA), headed by poet and professor Ricardo De Ungria, of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the Philippine government arm that administers to the country’s arts and culture and give grants to its projects. Aiming to find emerging talents and encourage them by publishing their first books, a chapbook of about fifty pages (about twenty to forty poems or five to ten short stories, etc.), Ubod took three years to select and publish its first roster of new authors from all over the country, writing in different genres and in English and different Philippine languages. Ubod is the Tagalog and Cebuano word for “heart of palm or bamboo,” meaning that the selected writers are thought to be the best of the crop. Having a book published is such a sacred honor meant for the deserving.

Out of 140 entries, the editorial board of distinguished writers led by poet and literary scholar Gemino Abad chose forty writers: Sid Hildawa, Naya Valdellon, Gabriela Lee, Raul Moldez, Rosendo Makabali and Ralph Semino Galan for poetry in English; Joseph Salazar, Edgar Calabia Samar, Richard Gappi, Joselito de los Reyes, Joselyn Floresca, Enrico Torralba, Marieta Culibao and Jema Pamintuan for poetry in Filipino; Santiago Villafania for poetry in Pangasinan; Estellito Baylon Jacob for poetry in Bikol; Anna Felicia Sanchez, Peter Mayshle, Ian Casocot, Mildred Malaki and Arifa Jamil for fiction in English; Alwyn Aguirre, Vlademeir Gonzales, Alvin Yapan, Maricris Calilung and Ernesto Carandang, Jr. for fiction in Filipino; Julio Belmes for fiction in Iluko; Januar Enero Yap for fiction in Cebuano; Genvieve Asenjo for fiction in Kinaray-a; John Barrios for fiction in Aklanon; Georgina Verdolaga and Maryanne Moll for creative nonfiction in English; Debbie Ann Tan, Christopher Gozum, and Liza Magtoto for drama in English; and Bay-viz Canleon, Edward Perez, Dennis Marasigan and Chris Martinez for drama in Filipino.

With about 800 copies published for each title, the books were launched on December 6, 2005, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Heartened by the bountiful harvest, the NCLA launched a second edition in 2009, partnering with the Ateneo Institute of Literary Arts and Practices (AILAP), headed by children’s writer and literary critic Christine Bellen, of the Ateneo de Manila University.

The second Ubod garnered about 25 entries from which 14 were selected by a prestigious pool of readers, editors, translators and writers including Cles Rambaud, Eli Rueda Guieb III, Michael M. Coroza, Kristian S. Cordero, Timothy R. Montes, John Iremil Teodoro and Merlie M. Alunan, each of them specializing in a language. Literary critic Soledad Reyes served as the general editor of the collection.

Launched on August 12, 2010, at the Ateneo were Benosa’s short stories in Iluko, Dagiti Babassit nga Alipugpog (Little Whirlwinds), edited and with selected translation by Rambaud; Cerda’s short stories in Tagalog, Paglalayag Habang Naggagala ang Hilaga at Iba Pang Kuwento (Venturing While the North is Wandering and Other Stories), edited and with selected translation by Guieb; Dela Cruz’s short stories in Tagalog, Pasakalye (Introduction), edited and with selected translation by Guieb; Hacla’s poetry in Tagalog, May Mga Dumadaang Anghel sa Parang (There are Angels Passing Through the Meadow), edited and with selected translation by Coroza; Hipolito’s poetry in Bikol, Oda sa Tadik asin iba pang Bersong Bikol, edited and with selected translation by Cordero; Lopido’s poetry in Waray, Ha Salog ug iba pa nga mga Siday (In the River and Other Poems), edited and with selected translation by Alunan; Malaga’s poetry in Hiligaynon, Duha Ka Tingog (Two Voices), edited and with selected translation by Genevieve Asenjo; Mercurio’s poetry in Waray, Ayaw Pagpudla an Tuog Ug Iba pa nga mga Siday (Don’t Cut the Tuog and Other Poems), edited by Montes and with selected translation by Alunan, Salvacion and Mercurio; Monteseña’s poetry in Tagalog, Pagluluno at Iba Pang Tula (Shedding of Feathers and Other Poems), edited and with selected translation by Edgar Samar; Perez’s short stories in Hiligaynon, Ang Mga Anak Sang Montogawe (The Children of Montogawe and Other Stories), edited and with selected translation to Filipino by Teodoro; Remodo’s poetry in Bikol, Ini an Sakuyang Hawak Asin Iba Pang Bersong Bikol (This is My Body and Other Verses in Bikol), edited and with selected translation by Cordero; Salvacion’s poetry in Waray, Siso Sakradang Ug Iba pa nga mga Siday Han Tagoangkan (Seesaw Up and Down and Other Poems From the Womb), edited and with selected translation by Alunan; Tiama’s poetry in Iluko, Pinagbiahe (Journey), edited and with selected translation by Rambaud; and Tuazon’s poetry in Cebuano, Tanang Namilit sa Hangin (Everything Wind-borne), edited and with selected translation by Alunan.

The new authors, whose ages range from 23 to 44, come from a variety of professions, as it is not possible in the country to make a living on creative writing alone. Most are teachers as with most of the writers in the country are. Teaching most likely is the profession that is most compatible with writing.

It is noticeable that ten of new set of Ubod books are poetry, considered the most “refined” of the literary arts but the most “unprofitable.” While publication of poetry in popular avenues like magazines and even in book form declines, Ubod provides an opportunity for it. But the most notable aspect of the Ubod project is that it allows publication in the different vernacular languages of the country, which have no or limited venue. Ubod has the potential to renew or energize writing in the vernaculars.

“Sa labing-apat na kalipunan, apat lamang ang naisulat sa Filipino; walo sa iba’t ibang bernakular. At ilan sa mga akdang ito ay isinalin sa Filipino at sa Ingles upang mabasa ng higit na malaking publiko. Napakaluwang na pintuan ang binuksan ng seryeng Ubod sa paglutang ng panitikan mula sa iba’t ibang rehiyon. Patunay lamang ito na sa sistemang waring pinaghaharian ng panitikang Tagalog, buong lakas na maigigiit at maisusulong ang iba pang uri ng teksto sa ibang mga wika. Kailangan ito tungo sa sistematiko at masinsinang paghabi ng panitikan ng Pilipinas—pagpupuno sa guwang at espasyo ng ating kasaysayan (In the collection of 14, only four are written in Filipino; eight in the different vernaculars. Several of these works were translated into Filipino and English in able to be read by a wider audience. The Ubod series opened a big door for the surfacing of literature from the different regions. This is proof that in the system in which Tagalog literature seems to reign other kinds of texts in different languages can emerge and progress with might. This is needed towards a systematic and earnest weaving of Philippine literature—filling in the gaps and spaces of our history),” wrote Reyes in her foreword to the Ubod collection.

To many new authors, the ability to write and get published in the vernacular languages is Ubod’s attraction as well as its most powerful aspect, which gives an added specialness to the already special feeling of having a first book published.

“The Ubod project gives writers a shot at having their works published in book form,” Benosa, a linguistic graduate and a member of Gumil, an organization of writers in Iluko, explained. “It is especially helpful for writers in the vernaculars whose chances of having their books published is much slimmer compared to their Tagalog and English counterparts as university presses, especially those in Manila, favor works written in languages for wider communication, that is, Tagalog and English. In order for vernacular works to be published, they generally need to be translated to either Tagalog or English first. Ubod not only publishes works in their original languages, it also allows some works in a collection to be translated.”

She added: “I hope the Ubod project will give the vernacular literatures the respect that they deserve.”

“I hope my book will inspire young Bikolano writers to publish their own. My book is one of the proofs that Bikol literature is continuously flourishing,” Hipolito said. “The chapbook is very special to me because this is my contribution to Bikol literature.”

“For me who came from an upstream barangay, a far-flung barangay in Dolores, Eastern Samar, this (his book) is really a big accomplishment considering that this is published through a national grant, which accepted our works to be published,” related Lopido. “The stories of (my) poems were based on experiences in the place where I grew up, including the culture, beliefs and the setting. This book is a manifestation that Waray literature is still alive. Thanks to the creative writing programs in Eastern Visayas, particularly the UP (University of the Philippines) Creative Writing Workshop and Lamiraw in Northwest Samar State University as well as the Iligan National Writers’ Workshop, which were part of the realization of this book.”

For Tuazon, his book is “my simple contribution to Binisaya-Sinugboanon literature. Sa wakas, may mailagay nang aklat na isinulat sa naturang lengguwahe sa estante ng aming library. (At last, there is now a book written in that language, which can be placed on the shelves of our library)”

He hopes that his work as well as other works in the series are read by the whole country so that they will know “na buhay na buhay at humihinga ang regional literature na inakalang lumisan na at ang Philippine literature ay pinaghaharian lamang ng mga nasa sentro. (regional literature is alive and kicking, which many thought dead and that Philippine literature is ruled by those in the center.)”

For Mercurio, who is responsible for putting up the writing workshop Lamiraw in his hometown, finds more self-fulfilment in promoting regional literature.

“I was able to write this collection out of the need to help revive Waray literature. It is not really meant just to showcase my literary works and creative techniques but more of telling the world out there that Waray literature is alive and kicking, that it is not dead. Perhaps, it just hibernated for awhile but now it has awakened from its deep slumber, and it is back on its track to reclaim its forgotten glory,” he declared. “I hope that my book will serve as an inspiration to young Waray writers to embrace tradition and, at the same time, absorb modern techniques in writing. I am optimistic that this publication will encourage writers in the regional languages to search for their unique voice in the world of creative writing. I am looking forward to having more Waray poems and short stories published in the coming years.”

While others who write in their own languages struggled to find a venue for their writings, Benosa struggled to find her way back to her mother tongue.

“I wasn’t really very good at writing in Ilocano. Though I have been reading Ilocano materials since I was a kid, I never wrote in the vernacular. And since it wasn’t used and taught in school, I did not know its grammar and orthography well enough to write in the language. So at first, it was very difficult for me to write in Ilocano,” she related. “The very first Ilocano short story I wrote (‘Pasuksok’) was originally in English. It took me weeks to translate it into Ilocano. It was in 2007 when I made the decision to write in my mother tongue that I forced myself to write directly in Ilocano. It was very difficult. I had lots of blanks, as well as Tagalog and English words scattered all over the drafts. Editing took a long time. I had to consult the dictionary many times and ask people about the Ilocano translation of lots of terms. But I persevered, writing nothing except Ilocano sentences. After three months of constant practice, in December 2007, I wrote my very first short story directly in Ilocano. To me, it was a great achievement.”

With Ubod, Benosa found new encouragement to pursue writing in Iluko and even in other languages: “I have several plans, but I am still deciding which to pursue first. I am thinking of trying my hand at Tagalog writing, or going back to writing in English. Or perhaps writing a novel in Ilocano. Definitely I’ll continue writing for children and eventually put up a publishing company.”

It is precious also the encouragement and the affirmation the Ubod project gives to emerging writers. Many in the first harvest have continued writing and are now known writers. In this second batch, one notices the fire, now stoked for grander things.

Dela Cruz, who dreams of becoming a National Artist for literature, said: “Naiinggit ako sa mga kaibigan, kaklase at kakilala na may publication na at nanalo na sa Palanca at sa iba pang literary competition. Eh, sabi ko, bakit ako wala pa ring achievement sa pagsusulat? Iba siyempre ‘yong mga napanalunan kong essay writing contest noong elementary at high school. Eh, ngayong bahagi na ako ng Ubod, may yabang factor talaga. Importante ito dahil kahit paano may nagsasabing may talent din pala ako sa pagsusulat. Siyempre, nakaka-boost ng self-esteem. Ngayon, mas lalo akong ginanahang magsulat. (I envied my friends, classmates and acquaintances who have been published and who have won in the Palanca and other literary competitions. I thought why I haven’t achieved anything in writing? The essay writing contests I won during elementary and high school, those are different. Now, I am part of Ubod. This is important because someone is saying that I also have a talent in writing. Of course, it boosts your self-esteem. Now, I am more inspired to write)”

For Mercurio, who dreams of writing a novel in Waray, his book “is important in the sense that it serves as a milestone of my writing career…It inspires me to write more poems or even branch out to other genres, like the short story. Moreover, it promises and signals the coming of other works written by young writers in the Waray language, especially by Lamiraw writers at the Northwest Samar State University (NwSSU) in Calbayog City.”

With renewed vigor, he is “looking forward to organizing more writers’ guilds in Samar in order to boost the revival of Waray literature. Well, Lamiraw is already an established writers’ organization in NwSSU. CALAO (Calbayog Literary Arts Organization) is already there in the city consisting of traditional and modern writers. Likewise, ALAG (Abaknon Literary Arts Guild) is already in place in Capul, Northern Samar. But we feel that we still need to encourage more writers in the region to write in their mother tongue. We, the contemporary Waray writers in Region 8 like Voltaire Oyzon, Neil Lopido, Janis Salvacion, Jhonil Bajado, Nemesio ‘Totoy’ Baldesco and Dante Rosales, are actually aiming to create a tsunami of publications written in our mother language.”

The Ubod project means many things and may start many things. Ubod and the first publication of a book are all these and much more—blossoming, fruiting, ramification, defiance of death of any kind. A book is man’s bid to immortality.

“Life is short and art is long. Isang simpleng paraan kung paano maging imortal tulad ng hangin (a simple way to being immortal like the wind),” Tuazon said of having a book.

Milestones and Making Connections: Tanghalang Pilipino Stages Korean-American Family Drama

2010-09-08T06:12:00.000-07:00

We may say we have a glut of things Korean—Korean telenovelas, Korean pop groups, Korean tourists—but how much do we know about them? Despite their prevalence, do we really understand them? Is there a need? As our encounters with them become more frequent as well as closer, yes, there is. At the same time, by understanding them we will see our connectedness. In the process, we also understand ourselves more. Art and culture facilitate the way for understanding and appreciation. Though Korean pop culture is accessible to us, art and traditional culture, which provide deeper insight and make us celebrate uniqueness and see universality, are rare occurrence, if not none at all.
Tanghalang Pilipino’s (TP) upcoming play is to be anticipated. Although it is not totally Korean, Lloyd Suh’s American Hwangap offers us a glimpse of their culture as well as experiences that all of us can relate to.
According to Chris Millado, who directs the Korean-American play, it is basically about a family who decide to live in another place and is coming to terms with separation and distance. This is experienced by lots of families of any nationality, especially Filipinos. Thus American Hwangap is universal.
The play follows Min Suk Chun, who is turning 60 and returning to West Texas after leaving his family almost 15 years ago. While celebrating his hwangap, a 60th birthday ritual celebrating the completion of the Eastern zodiac, he faces the many questions and pains of his ex-wife Mary and three adult children Esther, David and Ralph as well as his past, dreams and choices.
Incidentally, the staging of play coincides with the 60th anniversary of Korean-Philippine diplomatic relation, but TP, the resident theater company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), has been working with the Lark Play Development Center to bring American Hwangap to the Philippines.
The play was first staged in New York in May 2009 by the Play Company and the Ma-Yi Theater Company, which concentrates on Asian-American works. The relationship with Ma-Yi enables TP to bring these works to Filipino audience. Eventually, Ma-Yi will be introducing Filipino works to the United States. It has its world premiere on March 2009 in San Francisco.
Currently Artistic Director for Second Generation and co-director of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab, the largest resident company of Asian American playwrights ever assembled, the playwright, Suh, author of many plays including The Children of Vonderly, Masha No, The Garden Variety, Great Wall Story, and Happy End of the World, and recipient of several grants and awards, developed American Hwangap at the Ojai Playwrights Conference, and it was produced as part of the Lark Play Development Center’s Launching New Plays into the Repertoire Initiative and was originally presented by the New York Stage and Film Company and The Powerhouse Theater at Vassar on July 2007.
TP’s production serves as the Asian premiere of the play, which will be presented in original English and Filipino translation by prominent poet and playwright Joi Barrios-LeBlanc, who is currently based in the West Coast.
TP’s American Hwangap features a formidable cast of veteran and respectable actors. The lead role will be played by Bembol Roco in the English version and renowned director Mario O’Hara in the Filpino, both respected actors. Stage and music veteran Celeste Legaspi returns to the stage after a long absence as Min Suk’s wife Mary in the English version. For the Filipino version, she will be played by Gina Pareno, a veteran actress who experienced a respectable revival career via independent films. American Hwangap will be Pareno’s debut to theatre.
Pareno was hesitant in tackling stage until Millado and film director Jeffrey Jeturian finally convinced her to take the project. Like any film and television actors and celebrities stepping into the stage for the first time, she was amazed and delighted with the display of passion for the art by her co-workers as well as with the new learning. She is joined by Liesl Batucan, Jeremy Domingo and Nicco Manalo, all dedicated theatre artists.

American Hwangap shows at the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (Little Theater) of the Cultural Center of the Philippines on Sept. 10 to 12, 17 to 19 and 24 to 26, and Oct. 1 to 3 at 8 p.m. (for performances every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday) and 3 p.m. (for performances every Friday, Saturday and Sunday). Tickets are at P600 (regular), P300 (student) and P480 (senior citizens). For inquiries, contact Tanghalang Pilipino at 832-3661 or 832-1125 locals 1620 or 1621; the CCP Box Office at 832-3704; or TicketWorld at 891-9999.

The fast and the frothy: San Miguel Beer launches beer drinking contest

2010-08-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

The liquid was golden, a stream of coldness pouring down my throat. I myself was cold. People were watching. The clock was ticking though I tried not to think about it, focusing instead on not spilling a drop. I strove to feel nothing about unabashed beer drinking and beer drinking contests.

I am leery about drinking sessions for the purpose of drinking alone, unless it is purposeful, meaning it facilitates meaningful discussion and sparks ideas, and in very good company. And beer drinking contest? An empty show of bravado, not an achievement really. But it is fun, at least in the way San Miguel Brewery (SMB) conducts it, so I found myself in my first beer drinking contest. The contest was about how fast you could down a bottle of beer and not how much, and I was comfortable with that. Plus, friends from SMB had invited, and I knew my babe Bob Jerezo, robust beer drinker, would like the event.

SMB was launching the 11th edition of the National Beer Drinking Competition (NBDC) with a version for the media people and reporters at the Cruise Bar and Restaurant at the San Miguel by the Bay, at SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City. SMB decided to invite reporters from the lifestyle section, mixing them with reporters from the sports section, for this second edition of the beer drinking contest for the media.

SMB made the night a good avenue for drinking beer with ample food, live band and good friends and acquaintances. Members of the famous San Miguel basketball team and other personalities from the Philippine Basketball Association graced the occasion.

We were grouped into more than 10 teams of five members each. It was to be a relay game: members lined up, each taking turns drinking the beer as fast as he/she could and all ending with shouting an SMB slogan. Bob and I found ourselves grouped with Glaiza Lee of The Manila Bulletin and Nickie Wang and a friend from The Manila Standard Today. We did not talk about strategy. Could there be any? No spilling was the rule. I worried and hoped I would not gag. After all, SMB was giving away P100,000 worth of cash and San Miguel items to the winners.

Last year, the team composed of Beermen Jonas Villanueva and Chris Calaguio, The Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Teddyvic Melendres and Marc Reyes, and The Philippine Star’s Abac Cordero clocked one minute and 33 seconds, winning the contest. It was a tough act to follow.

The second team in the line, we plunged ahead and I was drinking in front of three judges—PBA icons Alvin Patrimonio, Hector Calma and Peter Martin—and other people. The beer was thankfully cold, thus the bitterness was hardly discernible. Everything seemed to happen so fast but in reality, we were slow, clocking more than two minutes. Most the teams clocked less than that. My heart sank, but there was no chance for grieving. We had plentiful food and company to laugh and share stories with. And there was beer, so much going around, to foster a general sense of good feeling.

Bob got to sing a couple of songs with the band. He had something to celebrate: he had won in the best individual beer-drinking time category, a new category added to mark the entry of another decade for the contest, with 10 seconds or so. Although I wished his achievement would also include finishing a book or something like that, I was proud. I also felt a sense of achievement myself—I was brave enough to try this activity, which I never imagined I would do. To me there must be some pupose to it. For while others will do it for bragging rights or free beer, I’d do it again for the money, for experience, for writing and for love. Cliche and shameless, the last one is, I know. Actually, the first one should be. Maybe I am not that different from the others who enter beer drinking contests. But for whatever the reasons, there will always be the spirit of fun. Good, good fun, it is hoped.

The beer drinking contest’s media edition was also staged in Iloilo City on Aug. 9 and Cebu City on Aug. 10. It will be staged in Davao City on Aug. 27 and in Cagayan de Oro City on Aug. 28. After that, a version will be staged for employees of SMB nationwide. The NBDC, which draws at least 300,000 beer drinkers annually, will culminate with the consumer edition late this year. San Miguel Brewery remains the market leader in the brewing industry with 120 years of history.

Try-outs are now ongoing until Oct. 31. For more details, call 632-2337 (BEER); send SMS to 0922-6322337; or visit to www.smbtakesyouto thephilippines.com.ph.

Me and the team. Babe is beside me.

The winning team in the second media edition of the SMB National Beer Drinking Contest

PBA legends Alvin Patrimonio, Hector Calma and Peter Martin

Bob Jerezo attempts to beat the fastest individual time record, and he won as the fastest that night and wins

Into the Full Light of Modern Day: Tanghalang Pilipino Turns 1906 Novel Into a Rock Musical

2010-08-19T08:10:00.000-07:00

Fernando Josef, artistic director of Tanghalang Pilipino (TP), is worried how the new production, the opener of its 24th theater season, of Cultural Center of the Philippines' (CCP) resident theater company would fare against the much-anticipated and much-talked-about Cats. The Broadway musical, mounted by an Australian company, has extended for a week or so at CCP's main theater, Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo, coinciding with the opening week of Banaag at Sikat, Isang Rock Musical (Glimmer and Ray of Light, A Rock Musical).
Even without Cats, Josef is constantly concerned how to attract people into going to see plays in the country as much as how to find resources in mounting one. Despite dreary situations, desire and ambition do not cease, and artists found ways to come out with substantial projects, such as the musical version of Banaag at Sikat, an important Tagalog novel of Lope K. Santos published in 1906.
The concept of the play was discussed as early as 2005 by Josef and literary critic and poet Bienvenido Lumbera, National Artist for literature. Lumbera began writing the libretto, planning to finish it to be mounted in time for the novel's centenary in 2006. The project proved to be challenging, and the libretto took more time to write than previously thought. Eventually, Lumbera spent about a month in Davao City to write and finished it in 2008.
The next step was to find funding to mount the musical. TP's initial funds were not sufficient for the envisioned scale of the musical. When Lumbera was named National Artist in 2007, entitling him to an annual grant from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) for his projects, the problem was solved. National Artist for theater and design, Salvador Bernal, came on board as production designer and gave part of his grant to the project.
Banaag at Sikat becomes a major and exciting production now with the involvement of two National Artists, opening TP's season that focuses on the works of National Artists. This is in addition to the fact that the novel, the basis, is a significant work in Philippine literature. The most important of writer Santos's works, Banaag at Sikat is one of earliest novels written in Tagalog. Featuring clashes between the rich and cruel business owners and poor laborers, and a love story between a poor socialist activist and a daughter of a rich man, the novel speaks of socialism and anarchism.
"Pinagtaganan ang awtor bilang tagahubog ng wikang Tagalog at tagapagpalaganap ng kaisipang makabayan at maka-manggagawa (The author is respected as moulder of the Tagalog language and promulgator of nationalism and labor rights.)," Lumbera said.
Though it is a work that every Filipino should know about, selling Banaag at Sikat is a problem. Lumbera admits that the younger generation are reading less and less thus they are not familiar with the novel, which is in "old" Tagalog.
"Sa kasalukuyang panahon , nagbago na ang wikang Tagalog at ang pagbabasa ay inagawan ng sine, telebisyon at kompyuter ng mga kabataan na dati noo'y libro ang pinaglilibangan. Kung tatanungin mo ang mga estudyante kung nabasa nila ang Banaag at Sikat, titignan ka na wari baga'y isa ka ng nilalang na galing sa ibang planeta at may dalang balitang hindi nila mawari (Today, the Tagalog langauge has changed, and movies, television and the computer has snatched reading of its audience of young people, who spent their time on books before. If you were to ask students if they have read Banaag at Sikat, you would be looked at as if you are a creature from another planet bearing a message they can't comprehend.)," he said.
Lumbera added: "Upang ipakilala ang nobela, naisip kong isadula ito nang kahit papaano magkaroon ng pagkaintindi sila kung bakit dapat igalang si Lope K. Santos bilang manunulat at palaisip. Ang naging problema ko sa pagsasa-entablado ng nobela ni Lope K. Santos ay ang polemikal na karakter ng Banaag at Sikat. Ang maraming bahagi ng nobela ay binubuo ng paglalahad kung 'di man pagtatalo tungkol sa mga kaisipang sosyalista. Magugunita na ang pakay ng nobela ay ipakilala sa mga manggagawa ang mga kaisipang nagtataguyod sa kapakanan ng taong lumilikha sa pamamagitan ng kanilang pagpapawis ng yamang sinasarili ng kapitalista (To make the novel known to many, I thought of making it into a play so that people may understand why they should respect Lope K. Santos as a writer and thinker. The polemical character of Banaag at Sikat became my problem during the process. Many parts of the novel consist of explanations, if not arguments, on socialist ideas. Remember that the intention of the novel is to introduce to laborers ideas that uphold the rights of workers who sweat for riches the capitalists acquire for themselves)."
For the play, Lumbera put into action the struggles and thoughts of the characters. Moreover, the production is made more attractive, especially to young people, by transforming it into a musical using indie rock music. The music is written by Lucien Letaba, who has written music for many productions including Hibik at Himagsik nina Victoria Lactaw (2002) for Dulaang UP, written Lumbera. Directing the musical fell into the hands of critically acclaimed director Jose Estrella.
The characters of Banaag at Sikat will be brought to life of a formidable cast of actors including Al Gatmaitan, Ayen Laurel, John Arcilla, Roeder Camañag, Angeli Bayani, Banaue Miclat, Clottie Lucero, Emlyn Santos, Greg De Leon, Raymond Roldan, Bong Cabrera, Martha Comia, Tara Cabaero, Franco Laurel, Jonathan Tadioan and Riki Benedicto.
"There is creative tension between the old and the new mindset linking hands and soul moving forward. A collaboration of the brilliant minds of our National Artists and the fresh young voices of Tanghalang Pilipino artists, Banaag at Sikat is truly a work where tradition and new genres are bridged through the ties of brilliant artists moving in synch," exclaimed Raul Sunico, artistic director of the CCP.

Banaag at Sikat, Isang Rock Musical shows at the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater) from Aug. 18 to 22 and 25 to 29, at 8 p.m. (for performances every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday) and 3 p.m. (for performances every Friday, Saturday and Sunday). Special performances are available upon reservation. Ticket prices are at P600 (regular), P300 (student) and P480 (senior citizens). For inquiries, contact Tanghalang Pilipino at 832-3661 or 832-1125 locals 1620 or 1621; the CCP Box Office at 832-3704; or TicketWorld at 891-9999.

Strumming Interest: UST Holds First International Guitar Festival

2010-08-13T21:18:00.001-07:00

The guitar is most likely the most popular musical instrument in the country, if not the whole world, attested Raul Sunico, artistic director of the country's premier artistic institution the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). Its popularity he attributed to its "being portable, inexpensive, and quite easy to learn as far as basics are concerned."

"Most of us don’t know that the guitar is actually capable of more complex and interesting sounds than we are used to hearing," said the renowned pianist, who is also dean of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Conservatory of Music, the largest conservatory in the country in terms of enrolment.

In the aim of showing the world the guitar as a classical instrument and as contribution to the quadricentennial celebration of the university in 2011, the Guitar Department, the third largest department in the conservatory, in cooperation with the Foundation for the Musical Filipino, mounts the Guitarra 2010: The First University of Santo Tomas International Guitar Festival, from Aug. 23 to 27.

The five-day festival features lectures, master classes and concerts of local guitarists and guitar teachers and international guests. Master guitarist from abroad include Agustin Castilla-Avila from Spain, Ruey Yen from Taiwan and Meng Feng Su also from Taiwan.

Born in Jerez de la Frontera, Avila obtained his music degree in guitar from the Conservatorio Superior de Sevilla under the tutelage of Josefina Calero. In 1998, he became the first guitarist to be awarded a scholarship by the Fundacion La Caixa and the British Council to study for a master’s degree at the London College of Music under Carlos Bonell. He later moved to the Guildhall School of Music where he earned a postgraduate diploma and a master's degree with guitarists Robert Brightmore, David Miller and composer Matthew King. He won the Portallion Solo Guitar Prize at this school. He also did guitar studies with Isabel Siewers at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria and with Frank Koonce at Arizona State University where he served as a teaching assistant. He has taught guitar at the Conservatorio de Musica de Ceuta and at the Conservatorio de Musica de Lucena, both in southern Spain. As a guitarist, he has played as a soloist, chamber musician and as a concerto soloist with orchestras in Spain, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Finland and the United States. As a composer, he has participated numerous music festivals and written for different music groups, solos, chamber music, orchestral, theater plays, choreographies and a chamber opera.

Since 2009, Avila is the artistic advisor of the Microtonal Music Society in Austria and is currently writing a chamber opera called Don Quijote’s Dulcinea for the Passau Festspiele 2010 in Germany, among others.

Taiwanese Ruey Yen earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Arizona State University and also holds a science degree in physics from the National Cheng Kung University. He has taken master classes with Manuel Barrueco, David Russell and Roberto Aussel. Yen was the director of 2004 Taiwan International Guitar Competition and Festival and has served as the executive board member of the Taiwan Guitar Society which he co-founded in 2000. Currently teaching in Open University of Kaohsiung, he has developed a series of online musicology courses which earned him national acclaim as a musicologist. His debut album entitled Guitarra Exotica with flautist Shelly O’Donin and tenor Joel M. Rinsema is a result of his interest in world music culture.

On the other hand, Meng Feng Su, who graduated from L’Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris in 2005 under maestro Alberto Ponce with a Superior Diploma of Execution and was also accepted with honors at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris under maestro Roland Dyens, is one of the most prominent guitarists in Taiwan today. He has been awarded many prizes in Taiwan and other countries. His debut two-CD album Contatos¸ which explores a wide range of classical guitar works including 19th century guitar music as well as that of South America, was released in 2008 and became a bestseller in Taiwan and has garnered good reviews. Meng Feng Su’s repertoire ranges from solos and concertos to chamber music and works for vocalist and guitar, and covers the Renaissance era to the present.

They join Filipino guitarists Ruben Reyes, Angelito Agcaoili, Joseph Mirandilla and Manuel Cabrera II, mostly from the faculty of UST Conservatory of Music and all UST alumni.

Reyes serves as the festival director of Guitarra 2010. He has performed in many events and projects, and has written and performed music for plays of Tanghalang Ateneo. With master’s degree in music, summa cum laude, from UST, he currently teaches classical guitar and is concurrently coordinator for the Guitar Department at the UST Conservatory of Music. Also, Reyes is the music director of both the UST Guitar Ensemble and UST Guitar Quartet, and a member of the Clarion Chamber Ensemble and the Majam jazz group.

Agcaoili studied guitar under Mario Rodriguez at the UST; Jose Luis Rodrigo at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Musica in Madrid, Spain; Elliot Frank at East Carolina University; and Frank Koonce at Arizona State University. He has also participated as a performer in the workshops and master classes conducted by world-renowned guitarists such as Leo Brouwer, Jose Tomas, John Williams and David Russell. He has also garnered several prizes in guitar competitions in the country. He has taught at the University of Santo Tomas, Santa Isabel College and St. Scholastica's College, and served as a teaching assistant at East Carolina University and at Arizona State University. He currently teaches at Arcadia Music Academy in Phoenix, Arizona.

His work and research on the guitar music of the Philippines has been steadily gaining recognition. He has premiered the guitar works of Filipino composers such as Bayani de Leon, Lucrecia Kasilag, Antonio Pahang, Jose Valdez and Angel Peña.

Classical guitarist Mirandilla received his first training of the guitar and bachelor’s degree in music at UST under Ruben Reyes. In 2005, he went to Hiroshima, Japan to pursue his post-graduate studies at the Elisabeth University of Music. He won honors and awards in several international guitar competitions. He currently works as a foreign expert instructor of guitar at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in Chengdu, China, and is an active recitalist and concert artist with performances in Japan, China and the Philippines.

Cabrera started playing the guitar at the age of 18, obtained his bachelor of music in guitar performance at UST, later studied with acclaimed Japanese guitarist Norioh Sato and received his master of music in guitar under a scholarship grant from the Elisabeth University of Music in Hiroshima, Japan. He has won major competitions in the Philippines and Japan, and has performed in numerous events. He has taught at the UST Conservatory of Music from 2000 to 2007, and recently moved to Singapore to further pursue a career in performing and teaching.

They gather together in celebration of the guitar. The Guitarra 2010 lectures are held in the morning and master classes in the afternoon at the recital halls of the UST Conservatory of Music at the fifth floor of the Albertus Magnus Building of UST on Espana Street, Manila. Lectures include "World Music and the Guitar" by Yen; "Philippine Guitar Music" by Agcaoili; "Microtonal Music for the Guitar" and "Composing for the Guitar" By Avila; and "Teaching Beginning Guitar."

In the evenings, concerts are held at the Philamlife Auditorium on United Nations Avenue, Ermita, Manila. Agcaoili and Avila perform on Aug. 24, Yen and Mirandilla on Aug. 25, and Su and Cabrera on Aug. 26. On Aug. 27, the festival culminates with simultaneous master classes by the guitarist-teachers and concert in the evening. They are joined by the UST Guitar Ensemble and the Festival Guitar Orchestra.

The UST Guitar Ensemble is one of the large ensembles with member coming from the guitar faculty, students and alumni of the conservatory. It began as the UST Guitar Quartet until it into ensemble. It was originally conceived as an avenue for guitar students to learn ensemble playing, but evolved as one of the finest concert ensembles in the country. The ensemble is unique with its use of three guitar sizes, the alto, prime and bass guitars, which are tuned a fifth higher, standard and fourth lower respectively, giving the ensemble a much wider range than a regular guitar ensemble. The alto and bass guitars were made by luthier Adolfo Timuat. The group's repertoire consists of music from the Renaissance to the present, and in different combinations from duets to trios, quartets, quintets and more.

All lectures, master classes and concerts are open to the public. For reservations and inquiries, contact the UST Conservatory of Music at 731-4022 or 406-1611 local 8246; the UST Guitar hotline at 0927-2224297; or e-mail ustguitarfest@yahoo.com.

Babe: Another Gallery

2010-08-12T21:29:00.000-07:00

Wala na sang mga tinaga agod mahingadlan ko ang akon nabatyagan para sa imo kundi ari lamang ang mga pitik lamang sang akon kasingkasing.Pagapuksion ko ini agod ihalad sa imong mga palad agodto mabatyagan mo ang pagporma sang bagyo sa akon pagkatawo, pareho sang mga kalibutan nga ginabun-ag, pareho sang mga kilat nga ginadihon pa lamang, pareho sang sentro sang kalibutan kon sa diin ginagaling ang nagabaga-baga nga lao kag mga bato, pareho sang bulak nga manugbuskag, pareho sang mga bitoon nga manuglupok.

The Lightning That Pierces My Heart: A Gallery

2010-07-17T12:35:00.001-07:00