Balikbayan Magazine August 2009

By louie jon a. sanchez

Oldest School University of Santo Tomas: Unending Grace

Kobe Bryant’s ‘Unguarded’ Moment

www.balikbayanmagazine.com

AUGUST 2009

Volume I number 6

Leisure living on a whole new level US$ 5.00•PHP 150.00

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on our cover

Publisher & CEO | Roger L. Oriel President & Co-Publisher | Cora M. Oriel Editor-in-Chief | Lito Ocampo Cruz Associate Editor | Louie Jon Agustin Sanchez Contributing Editors | Malou Liwanag-Aguilar, Alma Anonas-Carpio, Jewel Castro, Cynthia De Castro, Gayle Gatchalian, Ruben Nepales, Janet Susan Nepales, Rhod V. Nuncio, Rochelle C. Pangilinan, Joseph Pimentel, Rachel Rañosa, D.M. Reyes, Althea Lauren Ricardo, Joel Salud, Aldus Santos, Ahmed Toledo, Walter Villa, Momar Visaya, Winton Lou Ynion Contributing Photographers | Joe Cobilla, Ted Madamba, Raphael John Oriel, Miko Santos, Andy Tecson Assistant Art Director | Le Grande Dee Pedroche Editorial Assistant | Marie Angeli S. Syjueco Production Manager | Kristine Tan Vice President for Advertising | Noel Godinez Vice President for Sales | Sharon Ann Z. Bathan Account Manager | Vince Samson Staff Writer | Billy dela Cruz Staff Photographer | Andrew Tadalan Staff Artists | Edward Dy, Napoleon Laurel, Jr., Valory Lim, Bienvenida Salazar, Vanessa Augustin Circulation Manager | Vince Samson Circulation Assistant | Arthur Sibulangcao Accountant | Ria Fabro balikbayan Magazine is published monthly by Asian Journal Publications, Inc. Distributed in the Philippines by East West All Media Services, Inc. 1100 88 Corporate Center, Valero St., corner Sedeño St., Salcedo Village, Makati City, 1226 Philippines.

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balikbayan | August 2009

The Balkbayan team went on a day trip to Hamilo Coast, an exciting property of the SM Group in Nasugbu, Batangas. Its showcase property, Pico de Loro, is now a rising complex of first class country condos and recreational facilities. Aside from sampling its cuisine and trekking its outdoors, the team also explored the whole 13 coves that compose the whole Hamilo property by speedboat.

Balikbayan staff photographer Andrew Tadalan took this breathtaking shot of the Pico de Loro Cove at the 180˚ View Deck of the property’s hiking trail. Like all the other coves, it is has a lore that lures. g

AUGUST 2009 7 KEEPING A JOURNAL Schools of Thought

BY ROGER LAGMAY ORIEL, PUBLISHER

8 A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Remember When?

BY LITO OCAMPO CRUZ, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

16 Hamilo Coast: This Side of Paradise 25 A Bird’s Eye View of Paradise 30 OLD SCHOOL The University of Santo Tomas: Unending Grace

BY LOUIE JON A. SANCHEZ

36 A Man for Others and the Moments from 150 years of the Ateneo Way

BY MARIE ANGELI SYJUECO

38 The Love of Magdalena Jalandoni: The Queen Writer of the South

BY WINTON LOU G. YNION

46 ESTATESIDE If You Build It, They Will Come Home

BY ROCHELLE C. PANGILINAN

51 THE RED CARPET Brillante by Jewel

BY JEWEL CASTRO

56 HERE ARE THEY NOW It’s Yesterday Once More (And It Looks Good)

BY RUBEN AND JANET NEPALES

68 INN FOCUS Leisure Takes a Quantum Leap

BY MARIO BANZON

71 A Journey of a Thousand Smiles

BY ROCHELLE C. PANGILINAN AND MARIE ANGELI SYJUECO

79 PAST FOOD Hopialand: The Circle in a Dice of Flakes

BY WINTON LOU G. YNION

88 PARTING SHOT Kobe Bryant’s ‘Unguarded’ Moment

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balikbayan | August 2009

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By louie jon a.sanchez

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August 2009 | balikbayan

The facade of UST Main Building in Manila.

balikbayan | August 2009

By roger lagmay oriel, publisher

Schools of Thought Aside from our hometowns, we always return to our old schools, our alma maters, and our old friends. Like Rome, the present was not built in a day. It all started with the old school.

In the few times I was in town, I drove around the bustling University Belt to visit our alma mater, the University of Santo Tomas. Come 2011, the venerable Pontifical and Royal University will be celebrating its quadricentennial, marking 400 years of history and heritage. So much has changed in the university, but the same old university spirit lingers. Thomasians here and elsewhere anticipate this important milestone in history, an event that will happen once in our lifetime.

In a recent audience with the university’s Rector Magnificus Fr. Rolando Dela Rosa, himself a noted writer and Dominican historian, we have heard that some alumni in the United States are celebrating their annual homecoming in 2011, not in American soil, but in Manila. According to Fr. Dela Rosa, since many alumni will return to Manila in 2011, the university is building an Alumni Center right where the University Gym stands, where homecomings could be held.

This is definitely great news, and we will keep every Thomasian reader posted. Meanwhile, let us enjoy here the nostalgia essay and profile written by Associate Editor Louie Jon Sanchez, a true, “golden” Thomasian himself. He talked with Fr. Dela Rosa and the very reverend rector is once again extending his invitation to all Thomasians for the upcoming celebrations.

Book author Fr. Jose Arcilla, Asian Journal Publisher Roger L. Oriel and Muse Books Publisher Ramoncito Ocampo Cruz at the Jesuit Residence, Ateneo de Manila University.

Meanwhile, we also drove down Katipunan in Quezon City, to celebrate the Ateneo de Manila University’s sesquicentenial.

While a bit younger than UST, the Ateneo at 150 also played a role of equal importance in the building of the nation. As a foremost educational institution, it was home to many notable leaders across disciplines, from the humanities to civil law and business. And like the UST, it also educated our national hero, Jose Rizal. Its pride is something we have been sharing in the pages of this magazine through 150: The Ateneo Way. The book has come out and through its crisp pages, we were able to look back at the most important events that helped shape the history of the Ateneo de Manila University.

From its institution when the Jesuits returned to Manila to contemporary times of growth and expansion—not to mention the countless fruitful University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) seasons—the 150: The Ateneo Way has endeared us greatly to the university.

The launching of 150: The Ateneo Way, published by our erstwhile partner Muse Books Inc., is one of the sterling highlights of the Ateneo sesquicentennial celebrations.

With publisher Ramoncito Ocampo Cruz, we sat down at the Jesuit Residence with the author, Fr. Jose Arcilla, and talked to him about the genesis of the book and the exhilarating event of its publication. We at Asian Journal Publications are happy to carry150: The Ateneo Way to America. Make sure you get a copy.

When we talk about homecomings, there are two schools of thought—going back to the old hometowns, or going back to the old schools. Our sojourns to the Ateneo de Manila University and the University of Santo Tomas, are just the first terminals of our balikbayan stopovers. Tell us about your old schools, and we shall revisit them. g August 2009 | balikbayan

The British novelist L.P. Hartley began his 1953 novel The Go-Between with his now famous first line, “the past is a foreign country. They do things differently there.” Harold Pinter immortalized it further when he adapted the book into his 1971 screenplay. The movie went on to win the Grand Prix of that year’s Cannes Film Festival (by the way, Jewel Castro does a nice piece here about Philippine cinema’s newest superstar, Brillante Mendoza, this year’s Best Director at the Cannes).

I remember clearly that I watched the movie at the old Rizal Theater where the Makati Shangri-La Hotel now stands. That was more than 40 years ago. I didn’t have to read between the lines then. The Go-Between, both the book and the film, was clearly an ode to nostalgia, which brings us to the issue at hand.

By now, you might have noticed that nostalgia has been enjoying quite a renaissance in the pages of our magazine.

Or perhaps, that is an understatement: nostalgia is back in style.

It is 2009 and we certainly do things differently now. The

balikbayan | August 2009

Internet has changed the way we live forever. The old phone booth is a thing of the past. The telegram is history. The classics like Hartley’s are now e-bound. Panavision is an endangered species. But some things never change. Like that old love letter behind a fireplace in Spain, lost and found again, adding a Hollywood ending to another true love story.

Although Walter Cronkite is gone, and the web is fast changing the way way we watch and read the news, we will always go back to the way it was. In this issue, the husbandand-wife team of Ruben and Janet Nepales takes you to one such story, “It’s Yesterday Once More (And It Looks Good)”.

They call it the most difficult but one of the most wonderful stories they have ever done. With the use technology, they have located stars, celebrities, models and famous faces that once graced the pages of our memories. Yes, they may be doing things differently now, but they look as stunning as ever.

After college, I joined a TV network and started out writing merchandising plugs for stars like Vilma Santos and Nora Aunor, and continuity scripts for noontime shows with stars like

By lito ocampo cruz, editor-in-chief

Mike Magpayo, Lito Ocampo Cruz, Salvii Casino, Ed Finlan and Lino Barte at the old Broadcast Plaza in Bohol Avenue, Quezon City.

Becca Godinez, Anthony Castelo and Jay Ilagan. In the 70s, I also wrote the jingle, with music by Salvii Casino, for the PT&T TV commercial which featured a promising 18-year old print and TV model named Connie Fructuoso. How I wish I kept a copy for today’s YouTube generation.

Whoever thought I would cross paths again in this issue with Vilma Santos? As governor of Batangas, she too does things differently now. Balikbayan Magazine Associate Editor Louie Jon Sanchez spent an afternoon with her at the Batangas Provincial Capitol in Batangas City and it was down memory lane once again.

Talking about Batangas, we spent a memorable day at the Hamilo Coast and Pico de Loro, the magnificent property being developed by the SM Group in Nasugbu. We explored the 13 coves and discovered that side of paradise. See for yourself.

What is more nostalgic than the hopia shrines of our Chinatown childhood? Award-winning fictionist and scholar Winton Lou Ynion gives us a taste of that “dice in circle

of flakes.” He also revisits his old hometown of Iloilo and introduces us to the amazing life and love of Magdalena Jalandoni, the “Queen Writer of the South”.

You can actually drive from Iloilo to Boracay where Toti Cariño holds court like a lifestyle guru at his Fairways and Bluewater kingdom. Take a trip with us.

And indeed, people in the real estate world are doing things differently now. Listen for instance to what Vista Land CEO Jing Serrano has to say. You’ll see that the industry has transcended the vision of just building homes, to having a real home in the country of your roots. Who has ever heard of patriotic investments before Vista Land? Our indefatigable Contributing Editor Rochelle Pangilinan talks to her about real estate from a new vista.

The past is a foreign country, and wherever it may be—in America, or in the corner of your vagabond heart—you can always open the pages of Balikbayan Magazine, and you’re home. g

August 2009 | balikbayan

| persona| VILMA SANTOS–RECTO

BY LOUIE JON A. SANCHEZ | PHOTOS BY ANDREW TADALAN | THE AJPRESS I ALWAYS HAD A STEADY TV DIET OF VILMA SANTOS, the star for all seasons, when I was young and rather helpless when it came to the remote control. My Aunt Lourdes, a quintessential “Vilmanian” always won over all of us kids on Fridays, because it was her time to watch her idol do the show. My mother was “Noranian”, a die-hard fan of the Superstar, Nora Aunor, and it is only now that I understand whatever implications these fandoms spoke of. Talk about ironies. I never resisted though, those nights when Aunt Lourdes seriously adored anything Ate Vi would do.

Soon, I was spellbound as well. That happened, I think when she sported that colorful skirt with long tassels, which her VIP dancers unfolded quite amusingly. In my mind’s eye, I remember how it all went: the tassels suddenly extended, and the many colors spread over the stage, leaving the sparkling Ate Vi flipping her hair in a spectacular penultimate pose. Then, a thundering round of applause from the audience at the then Metropolitan Theater.

Other Friday nights, she flew in the air, leaving Aunt Lourdes and I, simply breathless. She sang in that nasal but remarkable voice, and got to swing a variety of performances a night. She was, after all, the queen of production numbers, the gyrating dance goddess of Filipino television, aside from being an actress with various awards to her belt. All these were in the 1990s, when the star’s son Luis Philippe was still greeted

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towards the end of the show with, I love you, Lucky.

But she has long left the stage as performer and host, and films movies only almost every five years. Most recently, when she was offered by Star Cinema to do a film about a Filipina P.E. teacher in New York who happens to have a gay son (Luis is playing this role, with John Lloyd Cruz as the boyfriend), she went around Batangas to ask for permission from her constituents. As Governor of the Province of Batangas, her newest vocation as she aptly puts it, she believes she owes this to the people.

Papayagan ba ninyo ako, she asked, according to her aides. Of course, the people can’t take her away from show business, where they first fell in love with her. They obliged. Anyway, she was doing a wonderful job, gathering fresh investments for the province and making sure everything in the system worked. Her performance was well lauded in various sectors.

Her staff describes her as “strict and very exacting.” She remembers every bit of information given to her. Perhaps the movies are also to blame, but her keen sense of memory and great eye for detail make her, according to them, an effective and “very hands on governor.” “She’s so well loved here,” one of them said. “Ang mali ng mga kalaban niya, sinisiraan nila siya. Ang hindi nila alam, lahat ng Vilmanians kalaban nila.”

The Batangas Provincial Capitol has transformed then into the Rome of Vilmanians.

August 2009 | balikbayan 11

But make no mistake. Governor Vi, as she is now popularly called at the Capitol, goes around regularly, and not only when she is being offered a movie. “I make it a point to bring the kapitolyo to the people.

Gusto kong malaman nila na handa ang kapitolyo na magpunta sa kanila, kung hindi nila kayang pumunta rito,” she said, when we paid her a visit in her offices at the magnificent Capitol. The Capitol was sunny and warm, but very Victorian. We waited for her at a conference room adjoining her office. I must say I was a bit jittery, star struck and all, but I was soon comforted by the laughter I overheard in the other room. It was unmistakably hers.

Soon, the door opened and she came in to grant us the interview.

It was the longest ten seconds of my life. First, her mild but fragrant Issey Miyaki announced her presence. Then came that same cheery face that astounded me when I was young, made more radiant by her rugged black cardigan. The neoclassical and almost mannered feel I first gathered at the Capitol seemed to dissolve in Governor Vi’s laughter, as I told her I was a fan. She was very warm as she shook my hand. I need no conversion, I think. I am my own Vilmanian.

Vilmania at the Capitol One could say that the Corinthian columns at the Capitol are reminiscent of the days of the gods at Mount Olympus. But with Vilma Santos-Recto, the governor and the goddess of primetime dance, the high heavens seemed to have opened for gods to descend and walk amongst men. She has not lost her charm and star power, and I’m pretty sure she never will. And the busloads of people visiting her are living testaments to this. And mind you, they come in droves from Batangas and elsewhere. The day we saw her, guests from Leyte were waiting to take pictures with her.

The crowds she draws are the same everywhere. “Sometimes nga, tinanatong ko ang mga tao. Nagpunta ba kayo rito dahil ako si Vilma Santos na Star for All Seasons, o dahil ako si Vilma Santos na Governor ninyo?” she says. But she felt there’s really no difference: it’s all about people, sensing their pulse, knowing what they really need.

“I’m very serious with my job here. This is reality. Totoo ito, walang take two-take two. This is what I am called for, I think. This is real life,

12 balikbayan | August 2009

and ibang-iba ito sa mundo ng pelikula.”

Her results are pretty obvious. Under her administration, developments abound in each of the four districts of the province, and there’s a steady influx of investment in many of its economic zones. Its major port, the Port of Batangas City, is also an important economic and commercial point in the Strong Republic Nautical Highway, connecting Luzon to the rest of the country. “But I am just here to enhance what has been left to my charge,” she says, rather humbly.

She takes to heart her work as a public servant, and her previous experience as Mayor of Lipa City, a few kilometers away from the Capitol, has enriched her in this new chapter of her life. “In all honesty, maraming beses akong humindi nine years ago. Pero siguro may purpose talaga ang Diyos. And what’s fulfilling ay may nagagawa ako na kapaki-pakinabang sa lahat. Iyon ang wala sa pelikula. Kumikilos tayo kahit walang kamera.”

Everything, she says, is a learning process for her. When she first ran for office and won, her husband, former Senator and now National Economic Development Authority Chief Ralph Recto, enrolled her in a five-module course on public administration and governance at the University of the Philippines. “Ang pinag-aralan ko na noon, Lipa na,” she recalled. “Lahat inaral ko mula fiscal management hanggang basic needs. Talagang nagsikap ako dahil alam naman nating lahat na ibang-iba ang mundo na ito sa pinanggalingan ko.”

But the real test of Governor Vi’s mettle is taking the Capitol.

“Madrama. Magulo, and I really had to make sure na plantsado na ang gusot, kahit sa pamilya.” It would be remembered that aside from partisan squabbles, she almost ran against her own brother-in-law, then Batangas Vice Gov. Ricky Recto. “Siguro, nakita na rin ng mga tao iyong visibility ko, ang mga advocacies ko. Kinausap din ako ng mga taga-Simbahan. They all wanted change.” Before she said yes to running for governor, she asked the primal question. “Kaya ko ba ito?

But Ralph and a lot of people had been supportive.”

In between her busy schedules at work, she squeezes in time to see the crowds that line up to greet her during Tuesdays, at “People’s Day”. And she really makes time, hearing the plight of her constituency, and yes still, posing for amused fans. Her aides are even surprised that people seem to have an inkling whenever she’s already around. They just start getting thicker, as in a usual mob surrounding any star of her stature.

Without them knowing, it seems a fans day had been miraculously placed in her busy week. But she’s used to it, all that glitter and glamour. “Nami-miss ko nga minsan iyong Vilma Santos na glamorosa.

Dito, kailangang magmukhang respectable at authoritative.” She may not be aware of it, but she still holds those traits in her persona. She is in character, on and off camera. And she is still teeming with the same élan and elegance.

Talking about busy week schedule, her aides told us that she usually arrives at 9 am, and even earlier on Mondays. I asked her to describe her usual day, and to my surprise, she opened to me her whole week.

“It’s not easy,” she says. “I wake up at 4 am and do my morning rituals. Ganoon kaaga dahil bibiyahe pa ako from Alabang. Mondays, I lead the flag ceremony here at the Kapitolyo. Tapos, People’s Day pa tuwing Tuesdays. Palipat-lipat ako ng office at conference room, meeting people. Lahat ng klase ng tao, kailangan kong i-entertain.

Kaya kapag nagde-day off ako, talagang pagod na pagod ako. Pero okay lang.”

One time, an aide recalled, a dying woman in a Batangas City hospital expressed to him a last wish: to see Governor Vi. She kindly obliged and the following afternoon after receiving the call, she went to visit the lady. “The lady got well,” the aide said, smiling. A tired Governor Vi moved mountains and meetings just to grant the wish.

She was that gracious. “And it’s not an extra effort. I really wanted to do it,” she says talking about those small acts of generosity.

August 2009 | balikbayan 13

One could just imagine her load of doing the regular consultations and meetings with provincial officials, as well as department heads involved in the daily operations of the Capitol. Another aide told us that sometimes, Governor Vi’s day as Mother of Batangas end at close to midnight, especially when she’s immersed in major decision-making. “But I’m very trusting of my staff, and I know they’re very efficient. Talagang tinutulungan nila ako sa mga bagay dito.” There’s a lot of humility with the work of Governor Vi at the Capitol, where she reaches out to everyone, and is “very motherly” as one aide says. But she proves to be the real deal, and she really walks her talk. “Pagka-upo ko, inasikaso kaagad ang mga ospital. I wanted them to be first class, pero affordable pa rin. Importante iyon e.”

The success she is reaping right now as governor could all be credited to her hard work and perseverance. In Barako Country, where she was the first-ever woman mayor and governor in history, all eyes were on her.

But she has endured, like all the heroines in her movies.

“Noong una, mahirap. Siyempre wala pa iyong pagtanggap. Kasi nga babae ako at artista pa. But the doubts eventually died down, I guess.

Marami kasing kailangang patunayan, lalo noong una. Alam naman ng mga tao, even sa show business, iba akong kausap. Lalaki akong kausap.

Kinalakihan ko iyon, word of honor. Iyon naman ang ipinagmamalaki ko.

Iyon siguro ang nagpaiba sa kanilang palagay sa akin dito sa Batangas.”

Vilma in Person Thanks to my Aunt Lourdes, the fan in me asked the lighter, but more humane questions. And since the start of the interview, I had wondered about her bag and what’s in it, knowing that it reflects the personality of an individual. I was very much surprised to hear what she had to say.

“I’m not so fond of bringing bags!” she told me, lighting up even more.

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“Kapag nagba-bag ako, nawawala ko lang. Siguro, dahil noon, nasanay ako na may mga alalay akong nagdadala ng bag ko. Pero talagang wala.” But of course, she keeps a daily bag like any other woman, and she dictated the contents from memory. “Definitely, I have my cheque book there, credit cards, some make up and powder when I need to retouch, cologne, some pieces of paper and a pen, cash, my rosary, some medicines.”

Initially, when I asked her what’s the one thing she could not live without, she gave me the most predictable answer: “My cellphone,” she said, only to realize the real one thing she never leaves home without.

“Ay, oo nga, my panyo!” Her infectious laughter once again filled the room because of that seemingly inspired realization. “Obvious ba? Ang dami kong panyo sa sasakyan. Itineterno ko ang mga iyon sa suot ko.

Makalimutan ko man, mayroon pa rin ako.”

She also didn’t fail to add her other passions. “Babae pa rin ako,” she quips, “kaya pinagkakagastusan ko ang damit at sapatos. But I’m very practical. I only buy at least three pairs in two months. Mas gusto ko ang lokal na shoes, metikuloso din kasi ako sa disenyo.”

“Importante rin sa akin glasses and shades,” she added. “I always buy those things. Sa colognes naman, I prefer the bagong paligo scents. I’m not a lover of strong perfumes. Madali akong mahilo.”

At 55, Governor Vi has remained remarkably fresh and young looking.

In a recent broadsheet interview, she was asked if she had already undergone any treatments or facelifts. She said never, and she wasn’t ready. I was more interested in what keeps her fit and I asked her what she does, especially in her “me-time”, away from Gubernatorial and showbiz work. “I do tae-bo. If time doesn’t permit it, I run in the thread mill. I also dance if I can. Hindi ako sanay ng walang exercise. I’m usually sluggish kung hindi ako gumagalaw-galaw.” She also eats in moderation.

She also loves to travel, especially with her family. “I see to it that once a year may trip kami. Gustung-gusto ko iyong bumibiyahe na parang ordinaryong tao, dala-dala namin ang mga maleta namin, nagta-taxi kami. Iyon ang time namin na magkakasama. That’s the time we get to bond.”

Governor Vi also remains passionate when she talks about show business, which she says she misses a lot. And now that she’s making a movie with his son Luis, she admits that she’s always catching herself from coaching her son on the set. “ Kapag pinapagalitan si Luis, minsan gusto ko ring magpayo ng, anak, huwag masyadong ganito, ganyan. Kaya lang siyempre, ayoko namang maging stage mother. Kaya I leave it to the director. Ang bilin ko lang sa kaniya, iba ang hosting sa acting.”

She also finds Luis’ real life girl friend, young actress Angel Locsin, “a very fine girl.” “ Gusto ko iyong pagka-boyish niya e, parang ako noong bata ako. My roles in films when I was younger were basically like hers. Parang palaban at hindi tatahi-tahimik at tameme. Saka talagang maganda ang family background.

Nakakatuwa siya.”

Among the characters she has portrayed, she says she resonates with the strongest, Lea Bustamante, from the film Bata, Bata, Paano Ka Ginawa? “Ako kasi iyon in real life. I have two kids of different fathers. Iyong character na iyon, talagang akong-ako dahil liberated din ako e. Pero I know my limitations, of course, pero when it comes to prinsipyo, I’m very much a Lea Bustamante.”

And how about her balikbayan roles, in Anak and in the movie she’s now shooting?

“Mas nagagamit ko ngayon ang alam ko sa realidad. The good thing is, nang ginagawa ko ang Anak, Mayor na ako e. Marami na akong ideya tungkol sa balikbayan. Totoong-totoong experience ang napaghugutan ko. Totoo talagang maraming nasisira ang buhay dahil sa pag-iibang bansa ng mga magulang. Kaya ako, noong panahon na iyon, I also consulted with the concerned groups in Lipa. Umaksyon din ako.”

But everything, as they say, ends in the home. Being a family woman, Governor Vi values her family and always makes time for them. “I am still a mother of three, with Lucky as the eldest, and Ryan after him. The youngest, at ang pinakamatigas ang ulo, si Ralph. All in all, I have three boys, in that other.” She keeps her Sundays for them and makes sure she bonds with them well.

“Sunday’s are very sacred. Sundays are for my family. Iyon lang kasi ang araw na wala kaming trabaho lahat.”

At this point, Governor Vi believes that she has nothing more to ask for in life. She is happily married, she has two equally talented kids, and she enjoys the best of the entertainment and political world. “As it is, I am very, very comfortable. I can’t really ask for more. I am thankful that I am blessed. Ang dami ko na ring natutuhan sa loob ng showbiz, at dito sa labas, sa Batangas. Mas namulat ako sa paligid ko, mas naging bukas ang loob ko sa lahat.

Kung mayroon man akong ipinagdarasal ngayon, iyon ay guidance.”

And it seems she really is seriously praying for guidance, especially now that political observers are speculating that she might run for higher office. I just had to ask the million-dollar question: Vilma Santos, tatakbo ba, o lilipad? The room once again rolled in laughter. “I’m just praying for guidance. But honestly, I want to finish my work here in Batangas. Ayokong iwanan sa ere ang mga kababayan kong nagtiwala sa akin.” She has also confirmed that some members of the administration have approached her to consider running for the vice presidency, as early as January. “ Nakaka-flatter siyempre, pero kailangang pag-isipan, ipagdasal nang mabuti.”

The country will surely wait for Darna’s next flight. And Aunt Lourdes, even if she’s already in Australia, will definitely watch out for it, as she did with those Friday shows. g

August 2009 | balikbayan 15

Leisure living on a whole new level PHOTOS BY ANDREW TADALAN | THE AJPRESS

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THE PHILIPPINES IS KNOWN FOR ITS MANY BEACH and nature destinations. It would surely be an unforgettable experience to go on tour around the country as often as one may wish, but the realities of life—busy work schedules and a hectic lifestyle—make this difficult. The occasional vacation is the most reasonable option given the inaccessibility of these leisure spots in relation to the city. Relaxation is a rarity, rather than a way of living.

Recently, SM Land has identified this need of families and individuals for a perfect, accessible destination. No need to book flights, nor plot vacations in advance. If you’re living within the metro, the unspoiled environment of Hamilo Coast, located along the coastlines of Nasugbu, Batangas readily offers a refreshing experience for the weary mind and soul.

Hamilo Coast embraces almost 5,800 hectares of mountainous terrain and 25 kilometers of coastline. It is set to be a phased development of exclusive leisure communities, each with unique recreational and living experiences.

At present, travel to Hamilo Coast is less than three hours via the Tagaytay-Nasugbu route. By next year, a ferry ride will be opened from the Mall of Asia Complex and will dock at Papaya Cove, one of Hamilo Coast’s 13 coves. This will cut travel time by an hour and a half.

Pico de Loro Cove, a sprawling 37.5 hectares with a 1.5 km-long beach with fine sand, will be home to the first of masterplanned communities in Hamilo Coast. It is named after the mountain evident from its horizon— Mt. Pico de Loro, which locals say resembles a parrot’s beak. The cove’s scenery is nothing less than lush. It is surrounded by abundant forests and tree canopies, limestone cliffs, natural rock formations and dive spots.

The Cove is likewise a marine protected area—a sanctuary for endemic marine life which includes among others sea turtles and giant clams.

Amidst this magnificent setting, are developments that are meant to have low impact on its natural surrounding. Scheduled to be fully operational by 2011 are nine midrise residential condominiums overlooking a manmade lagoon, a 150-room hotel and the Pico de Loro Beach and Country Club.

Through these developments, Pico de Loro Cove’s rising community is set to experience “leisure living” on a whole new level.

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Refreshing cocktails and signature drinks are served at the open-air Brisa Bar. “Brisa” is coined after the northeastern winds that bring in the cool monsoon rains.

The Sun Coral Café is the signature dining facility of the Beach Club. It is named after the Sun Coral, more commonly known as the Orange Cup coral, which is among the brightest-colored corals found in the Pacific Ocean and also endemic in Hamilo Coast.

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Photo by Anton Lorenzo

A tropical contemporary design characterizes the Pico de Loro Beach Club.

The Beach Club’s pool has breathtaking views extending to the South China Sea.

Photo by Terrence Uy

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Courteous staff welcomes members of the exclusive Pico de Loro Beach Club.

Convenient condo leisure lifestyle While the economic recession has put the real estate industry in decline in the US, SM Land is confident that the real estate industry here in the Philippines will ride out the downturn successfully. In fact, the initial residential condominium clusters launched, Myna and Jacana, are already more than 90 percent sold. This definitely bids well for future developments of the other coves in the area, as the leisure lifestyle seems to be the way of the future for those with “disposable” income but are sensible enough to invest and spend it on something more long-term and worthwhile.

Pico de Loro Cove brings the convenience of condominium living to the seaside. It’s a “lock up and go” lifestyle that appeals to a lot of families today. The residential condo units provide amazing vistas--of the central lagoon, of surrounding mountains, and of the beachfront. Of course, convenience means a unit with durable finishes that do not require extensive maintenance while not in use. Security, grounds maintenance, and utilities are also under the care of estate management.

With Myna and Jacana set for progressive turnover starting September of this year, those who missed the opportunity to be part of Pico de Loro’s first community can still make it through the Carola and Miranda residential clusters. Launched in November 2008, Carola and Miranda also offers a variety of dwelling spaces through its one-bedroom suites, two-bedroom suites, and three-bedroom suites ranging from four million to 17 million each.

A weekend getaway like no other A weekend getaway like no other is what awaits future residents of Pico de Loro Cove. Unit owners just have to activate their club membership to enjoy the facilities and amenities of the exclusive Pico de Loro Beach & Country Club. For those who are not looking into buying a unit but would like to have a quick but eventful getaway from the city, they can enjoy tremendous benefits as members of the club, which is now offering individual and corporate club shares priced at P500,000 and P850,000 respectively.

Pico de Loro Beach & Country Club is the centerpiece amenity of the cove. The Beach Club which soft-launched last February, is now open from 8 am to 5 pm on weekdays and from 8 am to 6 pm on weekends. Upon entry to the club, one cannot help but notice the eye-

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Photo by Anton Lorenzo

catching interiors which were designed by well-known local designer Manny Samson. The club’s ambiance reflects a laidback atmosphere-made possible not only by its amenities but also by its striking Tropical Contemporary architecture. At the Lobby Lounge, one can revel in the gorgeous sea view or take a dip at the pool area. Unique to the beach club are designated locker rooms for adults and a customized locker room built especially for kids. After swimming, members can relish a delicious meal at Sun Coral Café, or take pleasure in a cocktail or two at the Brisa Bar. Another amenity everyone is most definitely looking forward to is the relaxation area which will include five massage huts where one can savor a terrific spa and massage and say good riddance to city stress.

The Country Club, on the other hand, which is set for completion by the end of the year, will highlight an active sports area which will include a pool complex, courts for ball and racquet sports, bowling and billiards hall, rock climbing and a gym. Families looking into a great bonding time will likewise immensely enjoy themselves in the family area which will have a kiddie room, library, a family restaurant with al fresco dining area, juice and snack bars and a sundry shop. For member’s larger social events and gatherings, function rooms will also be made available at the Country Club.

Great food, great view Celebrating special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries and other family gatherings have changed over time. Pico de Loro Beach and Country Club should offer a unique set-up to mark such family celebrations. The Sun Coral Café is the signature dining facility of the Beach Club, which offers Filipino favorites and a mix of Californian and Asian cuisine. The Sun Coral Café can accommodate up to 200 guests including al fresco dining. On weekends, they offer a buffet with signature dishes highlighting international cuisine.

A Californian-Mediterranean cuisine will soon be in the works for those who prefer a casual dining experience. The flexible Arribada Lounge can accommodate 100 to 120 persons for a theater set-up, 80 persons for a banquet set-up and 60 persons for a classroom set-up. Aside from social gatherings and family events, the Arribada Lounge is also open for meetings and conferences. The Brisa Bar, on the other hand, can accommodate up to 200 persons for a cocktail setup. It is certainly the place to party the night away, with breathtaking 180-degree views of the entire Pico de Loro Cove.

Mouthwatering and sumptuous cuisine and drinks at the Sun Coral Café (from top left to bottom right): Mango Shrimp Salad in Caesar’s Dressing, Grilled Mahi Fillet in Tomato Coulis, Pico’s Chocolate Savory, Penne Pesto Carbonara, Shirley Temple and Tequila Sunset, Carrot-Pumpkin Soup and Barbecued Back Ribs.

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Nature lovers unite!

There is no doubt that the Pico de Loro Cove caters to city dwellers who want a quick escape every weekend from the hustle and bustle of the city. More than the traditional sight seeing activities, there are plenty of opportunities to interact with nature at Pico de Loro Cove.

For lovers of the sea, Pico de Loro offers a wide array of water-based activities. These include wind-surfing, kayaking, snorkeling and diving.

Land-based nature activities are also available. Go on mountain trekking and indulge in the cove’s scenery at designated view decks. Go on recreational biking within a 6.5-km trail, and revel in spectacular views of mangroves, bamboo, rice fields and lush growths of trees. Soon, the cove is also set to have eco trails, bird watching, and zip lines to and from view decks. All these activities are all activities are supervised by professional and well-trained staff to ensure the safety of its residents, members, and guests. The cove is thus the perfect home and hang-out of nature lovers and adventure seekers.

Needless to say, at Pico de Loro Cove, you will get the best of both worlds—you will have a chance to be a part of something precious, something big, and for sure it will stay with you forever.

To know more about Hamilo Coast and Pico de Loro Cove, call +632-858-0333, +1866-978-8020 and +1866-978-7650 or visit www. hamilocoast.com. g August 2009 | balikbayan

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A view of Pico de Loro Cove’s shoreline from its 180 degrees mountain trek view deck.

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Rarely is such a private development laden with awe-inspiring history and interesting facts as this 5,800 hectare leisure residential project in Nasugbu, Batangas called Hamilo Coast—SM Land’s first foray into the booming leisure market.

Hamilo Coast encompasses verdant mountain ranges and 25 kilometers of coastline, which is envisioned to be home to a network of leisure communities—with a variety of residential experiences from condominiums to villas and residential lots—to be developed in its longterm master plan. The initial development within this project is Pico de Loro Cove, a dynamic leisure community that offers a convenient vacation lifestyle with its midrise condo units and exclusive, membersonly Pico de Loro Beach & Country Club. It is a coastal paradise located less than three hours (114 kms) from Manila, where unit owners and club members are guaranteed to enjoy whole-year round, resort club-style living and unlimited leisure activities.

However, what could be considered the greatest charm of Hamilo Coast especially to first-time visitors is its expansive natural wonder, which includes, among others, 13 majestic coves situated along its coastline. Pico de Loro is but one of these thirteen breathtaking coves that form the interesting folklore and word-of-mouth about this magical place.

Each cove possesses a unique character of its own, with many nooks

and crannies to explore. After all, the term “Hamilo” means “to see many things” and that is what future residents should expect within this charming leisure destination.

Facts and folklore A mix of myth and history add flavor to the natural bounties of Hamilo Coast. The prime property was said to be formerly part of a hacienda and a seaside fishing community. Each of the 13 coves offers other pursuits for travelers willing to go sight-seeing around the seas, such as snorkeling, diving, or watersports activities.

The topographical features of the 13 coves share similar traits, being linked within 25 kilometers of fine sand coastline and propped against towering mountain ranges. From each cove, the amazing view of the South China Sea beckons – its unpredictable waters constantly lapping at the shores and creating peculiar rock and coast formations through the years that now make up the 13 coves.

Today, flora and fauna also abound greatly thanks to efforts in partnership with the global conservation organization World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF-Philippines). Among the coves also lie some of the best beaches in the province that remain undeveloped and undisturbed, unlike other municipalities that have become busy areas tainted by commercialism.

photos by andrew tadalan | the ajpress August 2009 | balikbayan 25

Santelmo Cove is known for its pristine white sand beach and as a nesting ground for endangered sea turtles or pawikans.

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As an all-weather cove, Hamilo Coast is likewise safe from the fury of storms. The natural formation of the coves protects the inland from the strong winds and waves which is why boats usually dock there during a storm.

What’s in a name The first phase of Hamilo Coast’s development, Pico de Loro Cove, was formerly known to the locals as “Cutad.” It has been renamed taking after the well-known Mt. Pico de Lorovisible in the distance, which has gained repute among professional hikers and adventure junkies. Today, the mountain’s striking shape of a “parrot’s beak” juts out from the cove’s shores—providing a picturesque backdrop to the whole area.

Its next door neighbor, Papaya Cove, remains home to a local fishing community. A protected deep cove with calm waters all-year round, Papaya also boasts of a mangrove area planted in partnership by the community and the developer. Patches of fine sand beach dot the coastline of Papaya, while the waters host a variety of fish species and other marine life. The cove gets its name from its shape which resembles the said fruit when viewed from the skies.

Santelmo Cove meanwhile got its name from “St. Elmo’s Fire” or the ball of fire which locals attest is often seen within the area. An old-time resident, Aling Raymunda, swears on witnessing such phenomenon when she was 17 years old – a ball of fire spewed from the mouth of a giant snake, she averred. Another resident, Nelly dela Cruz also insists on the phenomenon of the ball of fire. “I saw it rolling around the beach and then it disappeared into the void,” she said.

While having its own folklore, Santelmo is also revered for its pristine beauty. Located just five minutes from Pico de Loro Cove via speedboat, Santelmo has the best white sand beachfront in Hamilo Coast

surrounded with shallow crystal clear turquoise waters.

Olive Ridley and Green Sea Turtles or “pawikan” also visit the place occasionally to lay their eggs on the shore. Giant clams or “taklobos” along with a diverse variety of sea creatures likewise make Santelmo an ideal spot for snorkeling and diving. With its rich marine life, Santelmo is being declared by the local government as a marine protected area, along with Pico de Loro Cove.

Patungan Cove meanwhile was a favorite hideaway of a former president, who frequented the secluded place during his regime. Along the beach, he would walk barefoot by his lonesome and in peace. He loved the place so much that he almost built another palace by the sea, residents said.

Nearby, Neela Cove was said to be the site of a sunken Japanese war ship. “Neela” is a Sanskrit term that means “blue” referring to the clear blue waters at the feet of the shoreline. Similar to Neela Cove, Limbones Cove is also said to be the site of sunken Spanish galleons and warships.

Bucanita on the other hand means “small opening” or “bukana” in the vernacular. A small tunnel is the main highlight of the said cove. One can kayak his/her way through the small opening to enjoy views from the other side of the tunnel. On the hills of the cove, the same president was said to have conducted searches for gold ores.

Etayo’s name was borrowed from the Sanskrit term meaning “of the two”, referring to its formation of having two smaller coves with one large coast. Long ago, Etayo was said to be a popular berthing place of ships and pirate vessels because of its thick foliage. Etayo Cove is also a marine protected area—where a multitude of marine species serve as feast for the eyes of diving enthusiasts.

Subli was named after a favorite local dance performed in the month of May during fiestas. Dorado, meanwhile was named for the fish caught off the shores of this cove.

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Lush mountains, an unending view of the sea, and various rock formations dot the entire Hamilo Coast. (Above) A glimpse of Dorado Cove. (Below) An island formation in between Etayo and Baybay Coves.

Baybay means “coast” in Filipino while Baybayin is the historical term used for the Alibata or Philippine alphabet. This name was used to describe the rock formations in the cove that somehow mimic the form of some Alibata letters, for those with active imaginations Balibago meanwhile was named after the Sanskrit word for “small semicircle” that characterizes the topography of the cove.

Finally, Arkaya Cove derived its name from two Sanskrit words— “arka” and “vayu” which means “essence of the wind.” It is an emotive description for the ambiance of the place.

Prime leisure development As SM Land continuously develops Hamilo Coast, residents can expect a whole gamut of seaside experiences that will be unique to this side of the country. Careful planning is being implemented in the master

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plan, to ensure that the man-made additions will not harm but rather complement nature’s design. In fact, out of the 5,800 hectare property, less than 1,800 hectares will be developed, thus ensuring preservation of Hamilo Coast’s natural topography.

With the long-term vision of Hamilo Coast well on its way with the Pico de Loro Cove community, the beauty and splendor of its 13 jewels – the 13 coves – will shine with splendor only even more, as only Mother Nature can conjure. Having a leisure home of one’s own in this place is perhaps the closest to owning a piece of paradise.

SM Land is the new brand under which SM Investments Corp. is building its portfolio of property offerings, from primary homes and residences to leisure developments and integrated business districts. To know more about Hamilo Coast and Pico de Loro Cove, call +632-858-0333, +1866-9788020 and +1866-978-7650 or visit www.hamilocoast.com. g

| old school | By louie jon a. sancheZ | photos by andrew tadalan | the ajpress

The University of Santo Tomas

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Unending Grace Everything here is history. In my student days at the University of Santo Tomas, it has been an important ritual for Thomasians, as we are called, to pass through the Arch of the Centuries, which welcomes students and visitors alike in that great boulevard of España in Manila.

The arch in itself carries a lot of history: parts of its structure came from the original entrance of the UST when it was still inside the walled city of Intramuros. Thomasian alumni like Jose Rizal are believed to have passed through the arch as they went to school, and the ritual, especially for the freshmen who go through it, not only remember the great men that came before them but also ceremoniously restate their holy desire to immerse themselves in the great heritage of this university; to be part of the fold being shepherded in the tradition of St. Thomas Aquinas, the angelic doctor of light, whose icon is the sun–the main image of the university’s seal.

When I recently went back to UST, so much has changed, with the Arch of the Centuries still standing witness to the university’s unending grace. The campus was alive as the sun began to set. The trees at the wide garden walkway in front of the UST Main Building swayed with the breeze.

I remembered my own afternoon walks after class in the sun-kissed garden, my hands touching each of the adobe slabs that line the walkway.

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The Arch of the Centuries with the markers of Jose Rizal and Manuel L. Quezon two Thomasian alumni.

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Touching the slabs is touching history itself; they are known to be remnants of the Galleon Trade. When the galleons were emptied, these slabs took the cargo’s place as they returned to their point of origin. At the far end of the walk stands the statue of Miguel de Benavidez, O.P., the first archbishop of Manila and the founder of the university in 1611, his right arm outstretched, his finger pointing to the heavens. He holds a book in his left, probably the bible or the breviary, symbolizing both scholasticism and spirituality.

Benavidez, through time embodies these academic values not surprising for a university even older than some of the Ivy League member schools.

In 2011, UST will mark its quadricentennial, turning another glorious chapter in its on going story. And though it has embraced the changes and challenges of the new millennium, the university still espouses the same values that its forebears have bestowed upon it.

The tria haec or the three figures atop the UST Main Building teach these values in silence, by personifying Fides, Semper and Caritas—the oneness of faith, hope and charity, as taught in the Pauline epistles.

The great minds of the disciplines—doctors and theologians St. Augustine, St. Raymond de Peñafort, O.P., Vincent de Beauvais, O.P.; the three great tragedians, Calderon de la Barca, Sophocles, and Shakespeare; the thinkers Aristotle, St. Albert the Great and Plato; and the playwrights, Lope de Vega, Aristophanes and Moliere, surround the tria haec, signalling the continued pursuit of knowledge, next to spiritual enlightenment.

While ruminating on these symbols at the Main Building and trying to identify the figures, I walked with the university’s current rector magnificus, Fr. Rolando dela Rosa, O.P., who showed me around our alma mater, and shared his thoughts on the quadricentannial preparations, and about UST, past, present and future. At the terrace directly below the tria haec, Fr. Dela Rosa helped me recall the meanings of these symbols, and how they make rich the upcoming celebrations.

“So much has changed,” he told me, while we both looked at the university complex in that vantage point. The terrace is right behind his desk at the Rector’s Office at the UST Main Building, that solid and massive structure of rugged and unwashed stonewalls and intricately designed capitals at the heart of the university, designed by the Domincan engineer Roque Ruaño.

It had become very windy that time at the terrace, and university life was winding down. At the far right is the expanse of the UST Football Field and the Beato Angelico Building of the university’s College of Fine Arts and Design, and at the left, the new commercial structures with fast food chains and coffee shops where students usually flock, flanking the Education High School, the College of Education and the College of Engineering.

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The Tetraglobal by Ramon Orlina, will soon rise at the UST Quadricentennial Square.

As we went back to his office, Fr. Dela Rosa started talking about the quadricentennial preparations. As the oldest university of the country, the festivities are expected to be nothing but grand. No less than the Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, has been invited to grace the occasion in 2011. “We are being helped by the bishops in extending this invitation, and even by former Ambassador to the Vatican Henrietta de Villa. She is very close to the pope.” UST, as a Pontifical and Catholic university, is an entity that enjoys papal patronage. Two popes had visited it in three occasions—Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II. Committees, too, Fr. Dela Rosa said, have been put in place to see to it that the core projects will be executed, one of them, the current improvements in the facilities of the university. Aside from the

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construction of new buildings, some of which had been possible due to endowment, other institutional structures like the UST Quadricentennial Square behind the UST Main Building have now changed the landscape of the university.

Another notable project of the university, in time for the quadricentennial, is the publication of 400 books by the institution’s very own UST Publishing House. The publishing house, an offshoot of the original UST Press, founded in 1593, is one of the world’s oldest publishing houses. The campaign started in 2000, when the university launched its countdown to the quadricentennial. The university press has published some of its best alumni writers and other noted authors. The Manila Critics Circle lauded UST Publishing House twice with the Publisher of the Year award.

The academic programs meanwhile continue to benchmark. Just recently, eight of the top 10 placers in the national Pharmacy board exams were all Thomasians. “We continue to excel in many of our offerings.

We lead in the Engineering and the Architecture boards, and our doctors and nurses are sought after. In the media, it’s not even surprising that the major players are from our Arts and Letters program. I really feel that the programs really equip the students. The results are crystal clear,” Fr. Dela Rosa reiterated. “Our alumni excel in their different fields, and I guess that proves the resiliency of our offerings. We still offer relevant education in these changing times.”

When alumni from everywhere return to the university in 2011, there will also be an Alumni Center erected for them at the old UST Gymnasium. According to Fr. Dela Rosa, the structure could house the homecomings all the batches would organize. “Some of the physical changes here and the other developments are brought about because of the support of alumni from all parts of the world,” Fr. Dela Rosa said.

“A lot of them pull their resources and gather up whatever support they could give to their alma mater. In return, we at the university try to provide an endowment equal to what is being given us.” This is also a way of giving back to the alumni who are now mobilizing their co-alumni in the different countries.

Memories need to be kept, and the university is also bent in memorializing the event. UST at 400, a quadricentennial coffeetable, is underway with notable Thomasian writers, editors and artists working on it. The university’s writer-in-residence, the poet Ophelia AlcantaraDimalanta, leads the roster of the award winning Thomasian wordsmiths preparing the book—Inquirer editor Lito B. Zulueta, poets Lourd Ernest De Veyra and Carlomar Daoana, the playwright and historian Jose Victor Torres, cultural critic Florentino Hornedo, and Tempo entertainment editor Nestor Cuartero, among others.

For Fr. Dela Rosa, much work still needs to be done, and the excitement is just building up. For this Dominican who had held this office thrice, the challenges are always different. “My first term as rector was challenging because I was young and new. The second one had its own sets of challenges because the university was entering the new millennium. The process is on going for us in my third term. We are continuously embracing the changes happening all over the world.”

Behind Fr. Dela Rosa during our talk was the replica of what they call at UST as the “Tetraglobal”. The massive, nine-foot glass structure designed by Thomasian sculptor Ramon Orlina features four human figures holding a globe made of green glass, the artist’s trademark material.

The figures represent a male and a female student, a Dominican priest, and an academician, probably symbolizing the main figures of Thomasian university life. The figures are semi-nude and are believed to call out the values of honesty, transparency and purity. This sculpture, come 2011, will add another meaningful facet to the university’s metaphorical figures.

To read it while it’s yet to be erected, we may say that it sums up what the quadricentennial is all about. It is about beauty. It’s about truth. It is goodness. It is about unending grace, and it is about a university, alive and well in the twenty first century. g

“Our alumni excel in their different fields, and I guess that proves the resiliency of our offerings. We still offer relevant education in these changing times.”

– Fr. Rolando dela Rosa, O.P. August 2009 | balikbayan 35

A man for others and the moments from

150 years of The Ateneo Way

BY MARIE ANGELI SYJUECO | THE AJPRESS

THE AFTERNOON WAS CRISP AND PEACEFUL as we drove around Katipunan. And the streets in the vast greens of the Ateneo de Manila University was already bustling with students on their way home.

Others played soccer on the green fields while some walked under the tall trees along the path that lead from one building to another.

Somewhere in the campus stands the Jesuit Residence, the humble abode of the Jesuits. It was a simple old structure of stone and wood. It was home to many Filipino sons of Ignatius de Loyola, who had made a mark in their respective disciplines and missions. In its halls, we were received by Fr. Jose Arcilla, S.J., the noted Jesuit historian, the mind behind the recently released book, 150: The Ateneo Way. Our group, led by Muse Books Publisher Ramoncito Ocampo Cruz and Asian Journal Publisher Roger Lagmay Oriel, was brought to a spartan room, typical of the Jesuit bare necessities.

“This is an astounding moment,” said Oriel, whose group of

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publications carry the coffee table book in the United States. And indeed it was. We sat down with Fr. Arcilla to talk about this book, which in itself, a personal milestone in his Jesuit life.

“Fr. Arcilla inspired me to do it. You need to know him to be able to do it. I have my respects for him as a man,” Cruz said. Fr. Arcilla is indeed a man to look up to. He is proud of the Jesuits’ way of teaching--of becoming not just a teacher but a real father to the students.

A Premio Zobel awardee, the Jesuit said that the secret to his youthful energy is a “clear conscience”. He has taught for many years and he remembered with a joyful heart the days he spent with his students.

It started with the dream and the old pictures. Then came this book that tells the history of Ateneo in all its color, sepia or otherwise, and splendor. For Fr. Arcilla, something had to be done to honor the memories. And it is in the book, 150: The Ateneo Way, the old times are remembered.

Fr. Jose S. Arcilla, S.J. and Ramoncito Ocampo Cruz.

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Ateneo de Manila, Intramuros. An Ateneo grade school class in Physical Education.

The book is the first of its kind in the hundred years of Atenean history and Fr. Arcilla, as the author, knew that it was the right time to take the lead in making this vision come true. “It’s a good idea that I went ahead telling nobody,” he said.

With the photos speaking for themselves and Fr. Arcilla’s circumspect commentary, the book is a remembrance of the Atenean academic tradition and the works of the Society of Jesuits in the Philippines from way back 1859 when ten Jesuits arrived in Manila after their massive expulsion by the Catholic Church.

It was honored in the Ateneo Sequicentennial festivities last June 14, and was put in a time capsule. Wonderfully written by Fr. Arcilla and edited by writers Alya Honasan and Krip Yuson, 150: The Ateneo Way gives this classic feel that appeals to the hearts of its readers.

Truly, it was with great pride that Fr. Arcilla wrote the book. But for him, writing is not just to publicize oneself. “When you read somebody who tries to show off himself, you lose interest. You don’t read anymore,” he said. Humble for such an achievement, he gives credit to people who contributed in putting the book together.

Cruz and the Book Cruz often visited Fr. Arcilla’s office for they have been collaborating since 1993 for magazine articles. Then, in time for the Ateneo Sequicentennial, they decided to build the Atenean history together. “We happen to have so many pictures. We chose among them, and he cleaned them all. Now, they look like contemporary pictures. This is how we produced the book,” Fr. Arcilla said. With the old photos and a brilliant idea for a narrative nonfiction, things fell into place.

“I found a shoe box full of old pictures. And I thought of what I will do with these,” Cruz said. With that shoe box, they found treasures from the past. It is the first time that these pictures from the archives would be published, and this is what make them significant. After restoring the old photographs for a couple of years and writing for a few months, putting the book together was not a struggle at all.

They surprised the Atenean community, and they have been receiving

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positive remarks from the people. And even the Ateneans from the States heard of the book. With the help of Oriel in bringing these old memories closers to the Ateneans in the US, 150: The Ateneo Way was able to remind them of their proud alma mater.

Fr. Arcilla believes in doing “what you can, as much as you can because what you can do, nobody else is able to do.” And this is what he did in pursuing the dream, which is, writing 150: The Ateneo Way. “It is really flattering, not for me, but for him to put this together,” he said talking about Cruz. Thankful for the contributions of each other, Cruz said, “Nobody would’ve made it without the other.”

For Fr. Arcilla, they did the book for the people—for the students. To give an inspiration to the Ateneans, 150: The Ateneo Way is a way to look back and remember how it is to become a man for others. Fr. Arcilla quoted in our talk what St. Ignatius once wrote for his benefactors, “Thank you for allowing me to serve God and you as much as I can.” It was an expression of gratitude not only for the things he received but for the chance he was given to serve others.

In the book, Fr. Arcilla also quoted the Ignatian Prayer for Generosity: “teach me to be generous, teach me to serve You as I should, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labour and ask not for reward”. This tells what the book and what Ateneo stands for. And for an Atenean, these are the words to live by for “being an Atenean is living the life of a Jesuit even without taking the vows,” Fr. Arcilla said.

It has been 150 years of Atenean education that teach a life of generosity and service. Fr. Arcilla wrote the book out of his own generosity for Ateneans and for others. “This is a book of the heart—let it inspire your heart,” he wrote in my copy of 150: The Ateneo Way. One could tell time by looking at this book. This is history and it is still only the beginning of the journey. g 150: The Ateneo Way by Fr. Jose S. Arcilla is distributed in the United States of America by the Asian Journal Publications, Inc. For information, call at (213) 250-9797 or Media Wise Communications, Inc. at (632) 9227583 / (632) 435-5725 or The Ateneo Sesquicentennial Secretariat at (632) 426-6001 loc. 4083.

(0917) 811-0377

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BY WINTON LOU G. YNION | PHOTOS BY TED MADAMBA

She remains the reina of Hiligaynon literature. No one knows if she once had dreamt of herself as a reina for the feast of Candelaria, or if she ever imagined of Jose Rizal escorting her down the plaza.

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The belfry of Jaro Church in Iloilo.

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MAGDALENA JALANDONI WAS FIVE YEARS OLD IN 1896 when her first love was sentenced to death by firing squad by the Spanish authorities. The man, who was known as José Rizal, was an ophthalmologist who, in his times of passion, wrote reformist novels that provided an indelible momentum for the Philippine Revolution in 1898.

His life had been accentuated by women of different languages. He left Leonor Rivera, his childhood love, when his family sent him to Europe for further medical studies, only to fall in love with a German dame in the person of Josephine Bracken. When he visited Japan in 1888, he wrote a woman named O-Sei-San about the equation of her beauty and that of the blooming sakura. There were other women; some of them were kept in secrecy along with José’s indecent encounters while sojourning with other ilustrados who established relationships with women of European lineage. His looks were ordinary; Filipinos, in fact, felt deceived when he once came home and packaged himself as a doktor Aleman. But he was gentle and, perhaps, romantic that Magdalena, heiress to the incredible fortune of Francisca Gonzaga and Gregorio Jalandoni, fell in love with him.

Magdalena’s father died when she was two. Her brother Luis was only three-months old and her mother was only twenty-three. After Gregorio’s death, the Gonzagas supported the Jalandonis, sending Magdalena to Colegio de San Jose. At night, she would hear stories from her mother. At one instance, she asked if the happenings and situations in the narrative were true. Having told that the storyteller imagined the story, Magdalena resolved to make one. And the household was amazed that she narrated a story that she originally owns. At ten, she wrote her first corrido, Padre Juan kag Beata Maria (Father Juan and Mother Maria). At 13, she has four of the same genre, manuscripts of these were submitted by her mother to La Editorial in Iloilo City, which published them in 6”x8” softcover newsprint edition.

When Magdalena was sixteen, almost ten years after her first love’s death, she wrote her first novel, Mga Tunoc sang Isa ca Bulac (Thorns of a Flower). It was becoming evident then that she would be a wellknown writer like her José. But writing was a male-dominated sphere, so Magdalena was prohibited by her mother from producing more literatures.

She would write at night and keep her notebooks under her clothes in her trunk. When she was 18, her mother wanted her to get married. The bothered Francisca had chosen a prospective husband for her daughter.

Magdalena, out of obedience, agreed to marry the man of honorary stature; but she had one unjust precondition, that he should write a novel within the year. So, Magdalena remained single, and wrote 37 novels, 5 autobiographies, 8 narrative poems, 6 corridos, 10 plays, 213 lyric poems, 132 short stories, 9 essays, and 10 melodramas. Not almost over José, she transformed into painting all that was imagined by him in his novels. Along with her dioramas of Filipino life, society, culture and history are striking canvasses of scenes from Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.

From her room, Magdalena could view the quarters of the Spanish priests ruling the Archdiocese of Jaro. So religious that she ornamented her inherited house with wood statues that she personally carved. In present Iloilo, the house, located at No. 84 Commission Civil Street in Jaro, no longer bears the sophistication of Magdalena’s isolated world.

Perhaps, even the local government lacked the funds to preserve the grandeur of the history of Jaro. The Jalandoni house was among the balay na bato styled after European architecture, and was among the mansions that decorated the vicinity of the bell tower and the Cathedral of St. Elizabeth of Hungary where the statue Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria can be found. On the streets of Jaro, formerly known as Salog, rumbled the carruajes driven by cocheros.

The feast of the Señora or the Lady of Candle has been celebrated ostentatiously with a reina, a festival queen chosen from among the daughters of the richest and the famous of Ilonggo families. She is often considered as binukot (literally means “isolated”) or family treasure for her affiliation with powerful, usually through marriage, could bring more affluence. Contemporary Ilonggos continue to observe the spirituality

Magdalena remained single, and wrote 37 novels, 5 autobiographies, 8 narrative poems, 6 corridos, 10 plays, 213 lyric poems, 132 short stories, 9 essays, and 10 melodramas. Not almost over José, she transformed into painting all that was imagined by him in his novels. Along with her dioramas of Filipino life, society, culture and history are striking canvasses of scenes from Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. and essence of the Virgin who is believed to have been discovered by a fisherman in the banks of Iloilo River. It was only a foot high then but was dreadfully heavy until folks decided to bring it to Jaro. Since then, she had the habit of disappearing in the early mornings. Stories say that a beautiful lady with long hair had been seen bathing her child at the artesian well at the plaza.

The Candelaria, as colloquially known, called for an extravagant procession of Jaro’s material assets, a practice that Ilonggos were not able to protract along the onset of inequities in a colonial society. Unwritten, it must be celebrated every 2nd of February to commemorate the presentation of Jesus at the Temple and the purification of the Blessed Virgin. Once, perhaps was just imagined, when the wealthy families were broke and cancelled the feast, Great Flood came. The lineage, wealth, and opulent lifestyle, and prominence of affluent personages of Jaro largely contributed to the glory of Iloilo as the “Queen City of the South.” In its streets figure the gem-bathe mansions of the Lopezes, Montinolas, Ledesmas, and, of course, the Jalandonis. But the heirs could only imitate the arrogance of colonial models that Jaro lost from the track of development and progress.

When she was 75, Magdalena wrote about this leitmotif of losses and finds in Juanita Cruz, her most mature novel according to scholar Lucila Hosillos. Conscious of the depreciating affluence of Jaro, she wrote about Juanita who is a binukot of her family, a treasure kept by her father to the highest bidder who offers the greatest wealth and power. But she fell in love with a poor choirmaster Elias. Disinherited, she disguised as Celia de Asis, went to Manila, found a surrogate family, and became heiress of her foster parents. Juanita was reunited with Elias in the end only to discover that he is involved in the revolutionary movement against Spain. He was killed in a victorious battle and now, Juanita, or the old woman who tells the story, or Magdalena, confronts Elias’s monument at the plaza.

On the 70th anniversary of her first love’s death, Magdalena wrote about an undying love – whether filial, agape, nor eros, it was a passion toward a country finding golden meanings out of its centuries of feasts.

From her glass windows, Magdalena might have had internalized, more than ever, her life role of a binukot, isolated and untouched.

In 1978, 80 years after the realization of José’s dream, Magdalena died at the age of 87. She remains the reina of Hiligaynon literature. No one knows if she once had dreamt of herself as a reina for the feast of Candelaria, or if she ever imagined of Jose Rizal escorting her down the plaza. g

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Good journalism doesn’t just come from out of the blue

it takes a few good words, and one magnificent photograph like this

| estateside | By rochelle c. pangilinan | photos by andrew tadalan | the ajpress

if you build it, they will come home CEO Jing Serrano talks about Vista Land and rooms with a viewpoint Ever since the feminist movement emerged, people could not help but talk about women being as equally good—if not better—as men in the workplace. It became a “norm” when accomplished and hardworking women competed with men for the higher positions at the office, and when they succeed—and they often do—it was always considered as a triumph for women everywhere.

Feminism would be a perfect guiding principle for Jing Serrano, President and CEO of Vista Land and Lifescapes, Inc., the largest homebuilder in the country… except that it isn’t. At a recent chat with Balikbayan magazine, Jing reveals that throughout the years she has been with the Vista Land company, she was oblivious to the idea of being a poster child for “Woman in Power.”

“It was never about that,” Jing says, who is distinguished and self-assured but unassuming in person. “It never crossed my mind to think in those terms.”

What Jing was committed to was contributing to Vista Land, to the best of her skills and abilities. And this she did quite impressively.

Originally taken in at the company in 1991 to be a part of the Business Development group who would help out in the acquisition of land and finalizing joint ventures for the development of the properties, it was farthest from Jing’s mind that she was going to do

marketing. She initially was gearing up to be a finance person, after all, taking up a finance course for her college studies at the University of the Philippines (UP) and a master’s degree in Economics at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) afterwards. Jing discloses that she had marketing subjects then which she meticulously paid attention to like the others, but it was only out of “compliance.” The company’s higher-ups obviously saw a potential in her to do good in marketing, and she was not one to disappoint. She became even more determined to do well in the new role entrusted to her.

A showcase home at Venezia, a development project of Vista Land’s Crowne Asia in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

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August 2009 | balikbayan 47

“That is what’s good about the culture in Vista Land,” she says. “You see people from different exposures before or different experiences doing things that they did not imagine they can do. So that’s the effect in Vista Land. One’s other talents are able to come out. We have engineers, who are adept in technical aspects, and then they are put in the marketing group because it has been discovered that they have marketing skills. You see accountants na puwede palang mag-admin or mag-marketing. You learn the ropes as you go along, and you become good at it.”

Being head of marketing for Camella Homes, one of the brands of Vista Land, Inc., was Jing’s first venture. At the time, Vista Land, was quickly becoming a force to reckon with in the real estate industry as it pioneered low-cost housing for the middle income market. Jing recalls that Vista Land founder, Sen. Manuel Villar, used to joke that the houses developed under the Camella brand were the “romantic models.”

“Romantic kasi dahil sa maliit ‘yun bahay nyo, palagi kayong magkasama na mag-asawa,” Jing says. (“Romantic since your house was

small in size, you are together all the time.”)

The company was initially dissuaded from developing small-sized houses by industry experts, citing that these will never be able to attract buyers since potential homeowners never look into owning small-sized houses. It turned out that size didn’t matter at all.

Camella Homes’ small-sized houses sold a good amount of units and in fact its sales exceeded expectations and motivated the company to aim for something even bigger and out of the ordinary. Jing credits this way of thinking to Sen. Villar.

“Because of the success of the Camella Homes brand, it really became our culture to always question the norm,” Jing says. “You always want to do something that has never been done before. Iyon iyong sinasabi naming “Culture of Firsts.” That’s what Sen. Villar taught us. So he started out that culture questioning why houses will have to be big di ba? He started doing the “romantic models,” the small homes and true enough, there were a lot of lowcost housing developments which followed. That was also what we did when we started out Crown Asia.”

Crown Asia was established in 1995 to cater to the middle-income segment of the real estate market. Jing and her team worked hard for ways to distinguish the design and function of houses developed under the Crown Asia brand to those developed under the Camella Homes brand.

“When we create brands, we think of them as people,” she reveals.

“So for Camella, if she was a person, she would be down-to-earth, very

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practical in life, she is concerned not much on the design but more on the function. What she aims for is something that will answer the needs, not too expensive, but she will still achieve it. For Crown, she is more into the finer things in life as she may be already a supervisor or in middle management. She goes for a more lavish design, something she could show off, and she will always aim to achieve something more.”

With Jing at the helm, Crown Asia pioneered the “theme development,” the construction and layout of houses based on a specific style and location, starting off with development in San Pedro, Laguna inspired by San Francisco homes. This was followed by a Mediterranean theme, which became a hit with housebuyers and eventually kicked off a slew of Italian homes-inspired developments. Jing says it was really no surprise that Filipinos would clamor for homes which evoke an Italian style as Italians have a lot in common with Filipinos in terms of their lifestyle—their love of good food, their love of family and their love of warm and pleasant colors. Italian-inspired homes have spacious dining rooms and kitchens and very inviting facades.

Realizing that theme development houses drew in a large portion of the housebuying market, Vista Land established Britanny Corporation, which targeted the upper segment of the market.

Houses under Britanny Corporation were usually 644 sq m in size built on a 800-sq m lot and cost P15M up to P45M, and the Portofino line has been the biggest seller so far. Vista Land has also gone full force in developing condominiums in key cities in the country.

All three brands have been performing well in the real estate market, and due in large part to the purchase from overseas Filipinos, Vista Land does not only continue to be the largest homebuilder in the Philippines, it has come to be in a league of its own when it comes to providing homes for Filipinos, here and abroad.

“We are very strong with the Filipinos living in America,” she says. “We’re not just selling homes and lots, we’re also selling condominiums. So we’re very proud that we can cater to the needs of this market. We’re very proud that we cater to the needs of these modern-day heroes. Even though the profile of these OFWs have changed over time and even the migrant Filipinos in the US were already looking at investing back in the Philippines, but what we’re proud about is from the very start, nakatutok na kami sa kanila. First buyer was a seaman, so sa simula’t simula, iyon talaga na ang market.”

Although the economic recession somehow affected the business, Jing says there has been a pickup since and the growth will become even stronger.

“For any crisis situation, we try to see it as an opportunity,” Jing says.

“We still had to make sure that we shine even during the crisis.”

The economic situation prompted the marketing team to work double time to exemplary results. Recently they launched a very effective ad campaign for the Camella Homes brand, the Bulilit ad campaign, which really made an impact to prospective buyers. Jing says that the campaign was the first of its kind in the real estate, proving once more they are truly committed to their mission to be a “Culture of Firsts.”

Always taking a cue from the hard work and dedication of Sen. Villar (“Sipag at Tiyaga” wasn’t a phrase coined from thin air, after all, it is truly the cornerstone of the operations of Vista Land), Jing emphasizes that the company will not cease in its goal to expand its operations even more.

“Basta kung saan ang maraming Filipinos, naroon kami,” she says. g

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| the red carpet| PHOTOS BY ANDREW TADALAN | THE AJPRESS

In this Balikbayan exclusive, screenwriter Jewel Castro sits down with highly acclaimed Filipino film maker Brillante Mendoza and talks with him about his first forays in cinema, his films’ success and what’s next for this year’s Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival.

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It was a sunny Sunday morning when I came to visit him at the Centerstage Productions studio compound in Mandaluyong. Upon entering the big red gate, I was surprised to see a little paradise inside. At the center of the compound was a garden that looked well-maintained yet retaining a certain freedom—a tame wilderness of bamboo trees, ferns, fortune trees, baby palms, hanging vines and other plants. It was not at all what I had naively imagined.

I waited for him in a receiving room filled with all his trophies, plaques, and certificates from all over the world, from San Fernando to Cannes. A couple of glass display cases, about five feet tall and two feet thick, stood in one corner of the room. They both looked new—new trophies need new cases.

Brillante Mendoza arrived, clean-shaven and sharply dressed in a longsleeved shirt with black and white stripes and jeans. He apologized for keeping me waiting. He was busy with a shoot the previous day.

“A new film?” I asked. I was surprised at how, immediately after Cannes, he is already working on a new project. I mean, can’t he take a break, if only to bask in the glory of winning Best Director for his film Kinatay (The Execution of P) at one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world? What does the award mean to him, anyway?

“It’s a bonus,” he told me, “because making films is not about awards.

Filmmaking is about your passion and what you want to say. That, to me, is the most important. (To be able to) somehow touch some of your audience, not even all your audiences, ‘di ba? If I could touch someone with my film, even if it’s just a few people, that’s the award for me.”

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Gesturing towards his display case of awards, he added, “These trophies, they’re just bonuses. Like when you’re working for a company and they give you your 13th month pay.”

Beginnings of Brilliance The first thing that had interested me was his name, Brillante. Seeing the word “Brillante” on a movie poster sets expectations of brilliance, of clarity, of exceptional quality. Before our interview, I even wondered if it really was his given name or if it was merely a screen name. As it turned out, it was his given name. “So why is your name Brillante?” I asked him.

“Ewan ko,” he chuckled, “That was the name given to me by my father. In fact, I don’t use it often. (My name in) my elementary diploma was not Brillante. It’s Dante. I only started using [Brillante] when I was in high school. It’s too long and it’s not a familiar name, so yun.”

“Have you ever asked your father about it?” I asked.

“Actually I never asked him why. But you know the oldies in the province, they’d say, ‘Ah, because you’re the suwerte.’ Parang ganun.

Because I’m the youngest. And I was ano, what do you call that? When my mother can’t have babies anymore?”

“Ah, menopausal?”

“Menopausal, yeah. I was a menopausal baby. So yun.”

They say menopausal babies usually turn out to be either oddballs or geniuses. “Do you think that has anything to do with your being an artist?” I asked.

The first thing that had interested me was his name, Brillante.

Seeing the word “Brillante” on a movie poster sets expectations of brilliance, of clarity, of exceptional quality. Before our interview, I even wondered if it really was his given name or if it was an invented screen name. As it turned out, it was his given name. “So why is your name Brillante?” I asked him.

“Ha?” He laughed. “I don’t know. Probably.”

A proud Kapampangan, Brillante Ma. Mendoza was born and raised in San Fernando, Pampanga. According to him, he had a normal and happy childhood—nothing as dark and disturbing as people say his films are. He tells me that his father was a farmer, and that he studied in a public school in San Fernando before he transferred to a Catholic school.

“It was a very ordinary childhood,” he recounted, “You know, from the school to the house… and I played a lot. Ganun, very normal. I was not an extraordinary student. Wala lang, it’s very normal. I had some fights with my playmates… the usual stuff.”

When he was still a child, directing a film was the farthest thing from his mind. “At that time,” he said, “I wanted to be a doctor. And when I was in high school, because I studied in a Catholic school, I wanted to be a priest. When I graduated (from) high school, I wanted to be a psychologist.”

He did not know it then, but he had all the inclinations of an artist: to become healer of the body, guide to the spirit, master of the mind. It was not until after finishing his degree in Fine Arts at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) and pursuing a career in graphic design that he realized he wanted to become a filmmaker.

At first, his parents did not approve of him taking up Fine Arts because they felt it was a course more suited for rich people. “Pang-mayaman ‘yan,” his father told him, “Why don’t you take a normal course, so you can work in an office?”

In the end, fortunately, they let him decide, and he took up Fine Arts and majored in Advertising, which he really enjoyed. “I didn’t realize it was so wow,” he gushed, “I was really having fun. It was like I wasn’t studying.

Everyday, I looked forward to going to school. We go out a lot, we paint outside, we do drawing outside, we have photography, lahat. And I was able to make use of everything I learned when I worked in advertising.”

In college, it became apparent that he wanted to become an artist, but he still could not decide which field to pursue. “I wanted to be a photographer,” he said, “I wanted to be a textile designer. I wanted to be a display artist.” Not a director. Not yet.

After studying, he landed a post at a small graphic design agency, after a difficult job hunt. He enrolled in a masteral course in Advertising at UST, and in one of his subjects, he was given a market research assignment that became a turning point in his career.

“I had to interview people,” he recalled, “I had to film (them) and gather all the data. I enjoyed it, talking to people—(which was) also the reason why I wanted to take up Psychology before. When I talk to somebody, it’s like I instantly know what he’s thinking, his background, his personality, and everything.”

First Forays Into Filmmaking With an ignited interest in cinema, Brillante seized an opportunity to take up a short course in filmmaking at Ateneo, which opened many doors for him, despite the fact that their class was not able to finish it.

He explained, “We were not able to finish that scholarship because most of my professors were practicing filmmakers. They worked in the mainstream industry, so they hired us. When Peque Gallaga hired me to be an art director for Virgin Forest, it was as if I had easily graduated.”

To continue improving their craft, eight of the students in the program, including Brillante, went on to pursue learning on their own, outside the classroom setup. “The eight of us would go to our professors. We’d bring our own food, have dinner or lunch. Or we’d talk outside, we’d watch films, and then we discuss like them. That happens every Saturday. Sometimes (we would study) scriptwriting, production design, editing, directing.”

Seeing, perhaps, the drive and talent from these young filmmakers, their mentors shared their knowledge and experience free of charge.

At this point, Brillante had quit his full-time job at the graphic design agency, and he had started to do part-time jobs to sustain his informal education. “I also started to work in TV, in theater. I started working as a production designer. Or part-time actor. Lahat, I tried everything.”

Brillante admits that when he started, he was more into the crowdpleasing type of films, instead of the gritty slice-of-life films that he has become known for. In fact, when his first film, Kaleldo (Summer Heat), was first offered to him, he had some misgivings about its story.

“I was more into the Hollywood at the time. The glossy blockbusters, the dramatic stories. Even when I did my first feature, when it was offered to me by my friend, sabi niya, ‘Hoy, let’s make a movie, straight from video.’ I asked, ‘Who’s the director?’ ‘You’ll be the director,’ said my friend. ‘A! Sige!’ I said. I got excited. Then they gave me the synopsis of the story. Sabi ko, ‘Uh, I think I’ve seen this before…’”

“That was my initial reaction,” he continued. “’Can I make some changes?’ I asked. He told me, yes, by all means! But the important thing was we had to finish the film in P1 million. ‘Bahala ka,’ sabi niyang ganun, ‘Basta I want it to have a little sex, then don’t change the title...’ Then I said, okay, sure!”

Then, Brillante and his team began to do research. In developing the story with the writers, he strove always to stay faithful to his research, and this is clearly seen in his richly textured films. It is through this process that he turns a seemingly simple concept into something new and complex. He tells me about his experience in developing Masahista (The Masseur) as an example: “Okay this is our concept: it’s about a masseur who works at a massage parlor. Too simple, right? So we did our research. We went into massage parlors, interviewed the managers, went to the masseurs’ families, until finally, we had all these data. I doubt if I can talk about something I am not well-informed about.”

Brillante’s process has resulted in films that are like documentaries in their depiction of everyday social realities. I wanted to know, though, if his films are, in some way, about him on a personal level, as well.

“Yeah, of course,” he told me, “You can see me in my films. Not my whole self, but a part of me—my beliefs, my values. But I can’t insist (my values) upon the film, because it’s a collaborative work among artists.”

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Speaking of collaborative work, Brillante is the kind of director who is very hands-on in every aspect of his projects, but at the same time, he gives his team the space to exercise their own creativity. When he directs his actors, for instance, he encourages them to give their own inputs on the execution of scenes. “Sometimes,” he said, “my instinct would say, that’s not what I want to see. I’ve seen it in other films: you know the actors are just acting. You know it’s not real. In real life, you don’t say things that way. In real life, you buckle. So I ask the actor, if you’re in this situation, how would you do it? In this way, the actor becomes involved.

The actor becomes an artist.”

Indiscretions in Indie At present, the term “indie” which stands for “independent cinema” has also come to mean “bold,” especially to sellers of pirated DVDs. What does the new poster boy of indie cinema have to say about this?

“Well, now it’s true,” he admitted. “Sad to say, there are a lot of filmmakers or commercial producers who are now using the “indie movement” to earn. To commercialize it. They’re taking advantage of the freedom of the indie movement. We have art houses that can show (sensitive work). We have at least two in fact, U.P., and some schools. So this is used as a venue to exploit. It’s sad to say, but that’s the reality.

“I, for one, know a producer who is doing it deliberately. His target audience is the gay community. (He says) ‘Show this and that, and they’ll stampede to UP.’ Not to see the film but to see somebody showing frontal nudity.”

Because of this trend in indie cinema, Brillante himself has been accused of exploiting his actors like a pornographer does. I asked him how he responded to such criticism.

“To be honest with you, I didn’t get affected. Because you only get affected if you’re guilty. I’m not guilty. And the thing is, my actors kasi talagang they do it willingly. They know what they’re doing, and they know who I am. ... I could have commercialized my films, you know. But I really did not use them to earn money.

“With Serbis, for instance, I didn’t release the DVD, but it’s all over. I’m having second thoughts of releasing it here, and I’m thinking of cutting the [sensitive scenes] because I know that’s the only thing most people want to see. But what about the very few who are after more than just those?”

The Artist and the Audience Gaining attention through his winning streak at major film festivals, Brillante has been accused of making films only for foreigners and not for the Filipino audience. In previous interviews, the biggest question is usually, why he makes films that he knows his own people will not watch or appreciate. So I asked him, “Who is your audience?”

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“Eventually,” he replied, “I know my film will find its audience. As a filmmaker, I don’t want to think, I’m doing this for the Europeans. I’m doing this for the festival. I’m doing this for the Americans. Or I’m doing this for the Filipinos. Or for the students. When I do a film, first and foremost, I think about my vision and I develop it in such a way that when I face you and talk about my film, I won’t be ashamed of it. I don’t want to compromise my work just to please and gather an audience.

“I feel that the audience will somehow look for my film. Probably now, probably not in this generation, I don’t know, di ba? Of course, I’m also a producer and I’m also a desperate filmmaker who wants to somehow share my cinema. But I finally realize that my films are not for the mainstream audience. Not now, and not here, in the Philippines.”

“So what I’m doing now is showing my film in schools. Why? Because I think that’s where I should start in order to be seen and understood. I can’t just show a film at the basketball court and say Free movie! Free movie! People will watch but they won’t understand. Why would they want to see themselves in the film?”

“If you go to a school and you show your film, you are given a chance to talk about your film. Why students? Because they will make an effort. Plus, the teacher can tell them, ‘Watch it, otherwise, you’ll get a failing grade!’ So di ba, in other words, they are forced to watch. But once they’re there and you are given the chance to talk about your film, somehow… If there are like, 20-30 students, and five of them get your point then you have five people who fully understand you.

“When you make a film,” he quipped, “you do it right, according to your values and your conscience. Who knows where the middle ground is? I mean, the film really finds its audience. I’m saying that not everybody can be Slumdog Millionaire—parang one-in-a-million yan, e. Something like that stands out once in a while. You see some truth about your culture, about your people, but at the same time it’s a crowd pleaser because it’s emotional and all. I don’t know the formula, but I don’t even want to find out.

“Don’t you find that sad?” I thought aloud, “That you cannot be truthful and at the same time widely accepted?”

“Yeah, but it’s a reality. Kasi first and foremost, I’m doing this for myself, so if I’m happy with what I’m doing, then I don’t care if the government or my countrymen do not acknowledge me. Because I know that somehow in the future something will happen. I won’t stop creating just because I am not accepted.”

In the end, for Brillante, the Filipino is a survivor. “Sobra!” he exclaimed, “No matter what difficulties you give the Filipino, he can somehow handle it. No matter where life takes him, he will live. For that, I’m really proud.” g

| here are they now| BY RUBEN AND JANET NEPALES

IT’S YESTERDAY ONCE MORE (And it looks good!)

“THE GOOD OLD DAYS…” To many of us, those “good old days” were our growing up years in the Philippines. As a tribute to those times that inspire nostalgic memories, we put together this article on where some of our favorite Filipino pop culture icons are now. Thanks to social networking sites like Facebook, the magic of the Internet, good oldfashioned phone calls and face-to-face interaction with friends, we were able to come up with an update on some of our beloved Filipino icons who make us think of “the good old days.”

So where are they now? Where are the pop culture figures that we grew up with back home in the Philippines?

These personalities from the movies, television, theater, music, fashion and beauty pageants defined the respective eras that we lived in.

Depending on your, um, age, there are figures from your growing up years in Pinas that are still imprinted in your consciousness to this day.

For many, just hearing the name of Sylvia La Torre or Oscar Obligacion takes them back to the early evenings of their childhood spent watching Oras ng Ligaya.

Or is it the famous head throw of the long-haired Aldeguer sisters in their bell-bottom jumpsuits, with matching open mouths and precise high kicks that you remember up to now, the thought of which causes a pang of nostalgia for your days in high school or college? Or is it the remembrance of Miles Obra and her sultry looks and moves as part of the WEA Dancers that take you back to your “Annie Batungbakal” days at the Where Else or Stargazer discos? Still from that era, who grew up and experienced “Pers Lab” and wished “O Lumapit Ka” and does not hear Ella del Rosario’s vocals with the Hotdog band?

To take you back many years, a lot still remember the soothing, sophisticated voice of Leila Benitez on radio and TV. For them, Leila was very much a fabric of their lives. For others, it’s the antics of Bernardo Bernardo on stage, TV sitcoms and films that give them a sudden rush of homesickness or make them long to go watch a play at CCP or Fort Santiago.

The Philippines being a country obsessed with beauty pageants and fashion, most still vividly remember the coronation nights of Eva Reyes as Miss RP or of Bong Dimayacyac as Miss Asia Pacific Quest.

Long before sister celebrities became a fad in the US celebrity scene, the beautiful Artadi sisters – Becca, Coco, Ces and Terry (aka Babot) – earned our admiration, and most importantly, our respect for their glamour, professionalism and panache on Manila’s fashion ramps, not to mention countless spreads in newspapers and magazines.

And who reads such names as Bessie Badilla and Bambi Arambulo and not recall those glamorous years in Manila?

If you, like us, have sometimes wondered where some of these personalities from our past and not-so-recent past are, we attempted to track where some of these figures are today. With the Filipino Diaspora, defined by the Philippine Daily Inquirer as “the voluntary

Lola and apo: Teen diva Anna Marie Perez de Tagle and the Sylvia La Torre.

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and involuntary dispersion and immigration of Filipinos worldwide,” we limited our casual search to those who made their mark in the fields mentioned earlier who are now living in the US of A. This is by no means a comprehensive update of Pinoy talents who fit that description.

Consider it a very informal and incomplete attempt to fill you in on the whereabouts of some personalities who are based in the States.

We thank our friends and many of the talents mentioned here who went out of their way to share information on who-is-where now.

We got our update on Sylvia La Torre, the first lady of Philippine television, from no less than her granddaughter, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, who is herself making a name in American television with such shows as Hannah Montana and Camp Rock. Now poised to become a Hollywood film actress as well with her starring role in the screen version of Fame, Anna Maria filled us in on her lola, whom we all love. For many fans, Sylvia will forever be “Ibyang,” her character in the radio comedy Edong Mapangarap.

One of the first classically-trained sopranos to cross over to pop culture in the Philippine entertainment scene, Sylvia made waves in 1960 with her DZRH program, Tuloy ang Ligaya with Oscar Obligacion and Lita Gutierrez. With Oscar, she also hosted the successful TV show, Oras ng Ligaya. That show and her black and white films make up sentimental memories for a lot of Pinoys.

Shirley Gorospe.

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Laly and Terri Aldeguer.

Nora Aunor.

Also known as the Queen of Kundiman, Sylvia recorded 400 singles and was a scholar at the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music. Today, the icon, who turned 76 years old last June 4, lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband, dentist Celso Perez de Tagle. Their children grew up in showbiz – Artie (father of Anna Maria and a former actor and singer himself), Bernie and Che-Che (also a former child star).

When we asked how her legendary grandmother influenced her, Anna replied, “She’s a very big influence in my life, even while I was just growing up. I watched her on stage and sometimes she would take me from the audience and I’d sing and perform with her at her concerts.”

She added, “We would do our vocal lessons over the phone sometimes because she lived in LA and I used to live in San Jose. It was hard at the time but once I moved to LA, I got to spend more time with her and now she’s always saying, ‘I’m so proud of you.’ She would tell everyone about me and at the same time, I’m proud that she’s my grandmother. I did musical theater because I liked being onstage with my grandmother. She is my inspiration.” Anna rued that many of Sylvia’s TV shows and films have not been preserved for posterity.

Sylvia, aside from babysitting Anna Maria when she was young, played the piano for her. Anna recalled, “When she came to visit, she would play the piano for me and then she would ask me to sing this or that note. She would also tell me stories of her days in show business back then.” She pointed out that the first song that Sylvia taught her was “Bahay Kubo.”

She said with fondness, “I still have it on cassette tape. I knew every word then, but now I don’t.”

Anna declared that she will always remember her grandmother for her trademark piece, “Sa Kabukiran.” She said, “I sang that song with her onstage. I was only nine or 10 years old. I will always treasure that moment.”

As for her Tito Oscar Obligacion, he used to live in the LA area too but we were told that he’s now back home living in the Philippines with his wife, Myrna and eldest son Neville and his family.

Also based in Southern California are those precise-dancing sisters of our youth, Laly and Terri Aldeguer. The head back throwing siblings, who helped popularize modern jazz and Polynesian dancing in the 70s and 80s in the Philippines, established The Aldeguer Sisters Performing Arts

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Louie Reyes.

Center in West Covina, California 10 years ago. They encourage and develop young artists by providing technical and artistic knowledge and exposing them to the different cultural and arts programs.

The Philippine entertainment scene misses Bernardo Bernardo (BB) but in the US, he’s very much around. The self-proclaimed “Ageless Lowlah,” noting the great number of Filipino immigrants working as nurses, CNAs, LVNs and directors of nursing in America, pointed out that Filipinos are underrepresented in the mainstream hospital/medical TV dramas. In an effort to “heal the healers,” the all-around entertainer does a stress-relieving musical comedy act for Pinoy medical workers titled “Utang na Loob!?!”

Ever the frustrated “maestra,” Bernardo revealed that he is finally a “straight A student” and three courses away from another Master’s Degree – this time, in Education (MAED, Curriculum and Instruction, ESL) from the University of Phoenix Online. He still does his one-man shows all over the US. This August, he directs and performs “Unang Putok,” a fundraising project for Mt. Pinatubo victims at the Hollywood Celebrity Centre with Florante, Patricia Javier, Malou Toler and Miguel Vera (that’s an update right there).

BB is also the new business developer/client manager of Filipinoowned Good Shepherd Ambulance that provides basic life support transportation services to Los Angeles, Glendale, Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley. He quipped, “I am not an ambulance chaser. I am an ambulance pusher!”

Also trying his luck in the same field is actor Michael de Mesa, who is now based in Anaheim, California with his parents, Eddie Mesa and Rosemarie Gil. “I have been a green card holder since 1998,” Michael told us. “I have been traveling back and forth to the Philippines. Now, I’ve decided to stay in the U.S. for good. I am working with Lynch Ambulance, the number one ambulance provider in Orange County. I am in sales and marketing and I also teach CPR and First Aid. I am enjoying my new life immensely as I get to meet so many people in the healthcare industry.

This is so new to me but it has given me the chance to grow more as an individual. I have plans of trying it out in Hollywood but I know I need a day job to sustain that dream. My two sons are still in Manila, busy with their showbiz careers. My youngest son is in school in Las Vegas.”

The Gil family. Seated: Eddie Mesa, Rosemarie Gil and Cherie Gil. Standing: Mark Gil and wife Maricar Jacinto, Julie Christine Reyes with fiancee Michael de Mesa.

Romeo Vasquez.

Eva Reyes.

Pinoy music aficionados, especially jazz fans, have the highest respect for the incomparable Louie Reyes but over time, some people’s memory, especially of names, fail them. They know her as the great singer but as Louie herself said, “Some people mistakenly call me Louie Ocampo!”

The former member of the original New Minstrels show band went on to a successful solo career that took her all over the world, performing with renowned jazz greats. She played the role of Lady Thiang in the year-long Australian tour of “The King and I” and won the Best Female Artist in a Supporting Role award in Australia’s version of the Tony Awards.

Still actively performing, Louie also teaches voice classes at three studios in Southern California. Louie’s marriage to fellow “orig” New Minstrels member Cesar de la Fuente is one of most durable unions in Pinoy showbiz.

The following are more updates of our beloved Filipino personalities and icons who remind us of “the good old days”: Actor and former heartthrob, Romeo Vasquez, who is based in Glendale, California, is into investments. Still looking debonair, Romeo has a lot of land properties back home, according to designer David Tupaz.

Comedian Joseph Gelito, who is also an Angeleno, is a regular entertainer in Filipino awards and community shows. When not tickling his kababayan’s funny bones onstage, Joseph works at the Buena Park Nursing Center as an activity director. The livewire Joseph said, “I provide plans and activities for hospital-bound residents and senior citizens. My mom stays in our facility and she is really enjoying all the benefits and activities, including the outings.”

Shirley Gorospe, who lives in the City of Angels, divides her time between the US and the Philippines. Still looking poised and elegant, Shirley stood out in a Lou Razon gown at Fil-Am hair and make-up guru Monet Lu’s recent birthday bash for Ruffa Gutierrez at the CBS Studios lot.

Of course, Ms. Superstar herself, Nora Aunor, is in El Lay too. She still sings at concerts. Actor Roel Vergel de Dios, who is married to former Binibining Pilipinas Jaye Murphy, is also based in SoCal. Other actors who are based in Southern California are Hilda Koronel, Lilia Dizon, Pinky de Leon, Leandro and Carlo Muñoz, Raymond Bagatsing, Djoanna Garcia, Raoul Aragon, Giselle Toengi Walters, Divina

Josephine Estrada.

Valencia, Stella Suarez, Mila del Sol, Bert Leroy, Jr., Aurora Salve and Winnie Santos.

Another former beauty queen and actress, Josephine Estrada (aka Josephine Brown Brillantes), lives with her family in Virginia. Married to Ambassador Brillantes and with two adopted children, Josephine is a business woman who finds time to volunteer at the Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC).

In Northern California, you will find Lolita Rodriguez, Rosemarie Sonora, Leila Hermosa, Marlene Dauden, Maila Gumila, Louella Albornoz, Dandin Ranillo, Suzette Ranillo, Rosemary Sonora and Lucita Soriano.

Kontrabida actress par excellence Bella Flores is in Las Vegas while actresses Lorli Villanueva, Lily Gamboa O’Boyle and Marie-France Arcilla are in New York. Seen in Texas are actors Ernie Garcia and Allan Valenzuela.

Former Sampaguita actress Elizabeth Bankhead (now there’s a name that really takes us back to our innocent times) is in Arkansas.

Becca Godinez, who is an actress, singer, composer, producer and director, has been living and working in the Los Angeles area since 1986. She continues to perform in galas and concerts. Recently, Becca returned to her thespian roots via successful character portrayals in theatrical readings. “I’m slowly getting back to acting,” she said. She read the lead character for author Mona Simpson’s original novel, “Coins,” at WordTheatre, working alongside actors Dermot Mulroney and Chris Payne. She originated the character of Frances in a theatrical reading of Vanessa Tamayo’s original play, “Novenas,” and received raves for her reading of Eve Ensler’s “Fur is Back.”

Becca is working on her sophomore Christian CD. In her recent concert, “Stir It Up!” (the title from a song in her “Road to Humble” CD), she performed uplifting and life-affirming Christian music. “It is an awesome and humbling experience to be able to give back to God a small fraction of what He gives me graciously each day,” she said.

Mae Cendaña, former Ambivalent Crowd and Balahibo Rock Band member and Blackgold/Vicor recording artist, is based in Oakland, California. Mae lived up to the female empowerment lyrics of her OPM hit, “Hoy Lalake,” which was co-produced by Spanky Rigor (who is also based in Northern California).

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Mae Cendaña.

Mon David.

Jet Montelibano.

Eva Caparas.

She works for the UCOP (University of California Office of the President) MESA (Math, Engineering and Science Achievement) at UC Berkeley as program coordinator. The former pop/rocker has two children—Yves Roi (Jae), her son who is entering UC Berkeley this fall and Tallulah (Dae), her daughter who graduated from UC Berkeley. Mae is the first Filipino-American to be elected to public office in Contra Costa County. She also became the chair of the board of Ambrose Recreation and Park District. She is engaged to former senator and now assembly member Tom Torlakson.

Just the names of Music & Magic and those of other singers take us back to our coming-of-age nights spent at Manila’s then hot watering holes like The Alibi Bar, El Camarote, Calesa Bar and Cusco Lounge.

Three members of Music & Magic, Jet Montelibano, Eva Caparas and Fe de los Reyes, are based in California. They have staged minireunion concerts and are now planning a major 30th anniversary (has it really been that long ago?) reunion concert with other former members, including Angeli Pangilinan and hopefully, Kuh Ledesma, later this year.

Eva is an accomplished solo act with her characteristic brand of soulpop-R&B. The proud mother of four children lived in Dubai for 10 years before finally settling down in the US. She performed in a pioneering Tagalog musical production, “Karim at Jasmin,” and in such shows as “Dolphy@80,” and “Amerikana – The Musical.”

Jet Montelibano, who is based in LA, was just awarded “Man of the Year” by Celebrity Chronicle. The lone male vocalist of “Music & Magic” is a successful events producer/director via Creative Concepts

International, the company he and his wife, Edith, own and run together as partners since its inception in 1992. Jet and Edith immigrated to the US in 1990 and have lived in West Los Angeles with their two sons since then.

Jet also conducts stage performance workshops and performs occasionally in special shows such as the recent mini-reunion of the Music & Magic that Creative Concepts International produced. The Montelibanos’ company provides consulting services to select corporate clients in various industries, including entertainment, talent management, healthcare and financial services. Jet is also the current vice president of the LA-based Philippine Press Club International (PPCI) and is an independent TV news correspondent. One of his upcoming projects includes a theater workshop for the youth.

Fe de los Reyes is also enjoying a solo career in the US. She does a number of singing and comedy acts which includes her popular presentation, “Amerikana – The Musical.”

Singer Lirio Vital, a mother of two boys aged 16 and 19, is based in Katy, Texas, her husband Bob Arredondo’s hometown. Lirio revealed that after living in San Diego, “we moved to Honolulu for four years and then to Yokosuka Naval Station in Japan. We lived there for four years. Then my husband retired from the US Navy in 2004.” Lirio works in real estate and sings part time. She has not been home since 2001 and is already getting homesick. But performing in Filipino shows in Houston eases her longing for the Philippines.

Mon David, who won the 2006 London International Jazz Competition for vocalists, is based in LA, too. He is set to launch his

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Kuh Ledesma and Dr. Frieda Brookshire aka Frieda Fonda.

debut CD in the US, ‘’Coming True,” at the Catalina Jazz Club on October 4. David has shared the stage with jazz luminaries such as David Benoit, Diane Schuur, Eric Marienthal, Tots Tolentino, Michael Paulo and Bobby Enriquez. David was once hailed by music critic Don Heckman of International Review as “the Filipino singer who is that rarity; a male jazz vocal artist with a style of his own…a remarkable voice able to leap octaves in a single bound with a world class scat singing style.’’

The talented Lani Misalucha performs regularly with musician Earl Turner in the “Voices” show at the Las Vegas Hilton.They have been doing the show for several months now. She is also doing another CD for the Philippines and is working on another tour early next year with Arnel Pineda of Journey.

Former new generation members of the New Minstrels, Mark and Valerie De Leon, are in San Francisco. They are the owners of Intramuros Restaurant. Pendong of Asin and his wife, singer Chat, are in the Bay Area. Pendong revived his own group, Ang Grupong Pendong, in San Francisco.

Sugar Hiccup front woman Melody del Mundo formed a band called Stella’s Notch in the LA area. The band plays at venues in Long Beach, Sunset strip and Hollywood and showcases songs written by Melody from their album, Beyond Wonderland. To this day, fans have not forgotten the accomplished singer/songwriter’s ethereal vocals with the popular mid-90s dream pop group, Sugar Hiccup, which recorded two albums under BMG Philippines. Melody won accolades from Philippine music award-giving bodies such as The Awit Awards, Katha Awards and the NU 107 Rock Awards.

Tenor Leodigario “Gary” del Rosario, lives in Seattle while tenor Sal Malaki, formerly with the Philippine Madrigal Singers, is in LA and doing very well as a member of the acclaimed Los Angeles Master Chorale.

Former child prodigy Cecile Licad, a successful concert pianist, is based in the East Coast. Coloratura soprano Cristina “Kit” ViguillaNavarro, formerly of the UP Madrigal Singers, is another City of Angels resident. She took graduate studies and concertized in Switzerland.

Others based in SoCal are Paco Arespacochaga, Tootsie Guevara, Marilen Martinez, Antoinette Taus, Ed and Annie Nepomuceno, Claire de la Fuente, Jessica Casas Cabasal, Miguel Vera, Ella Saison, Carina Afable, Norma Ledesma, Jojit Paredes, Imelda Papin, Anthony Castelo, Annette Belen Montilla, Jun Politico, Joselito Pascual, Binky Lampano, Perf de Castro, Wolf Gemora (of Wolfgang) and Dave Aguirre (of Razorback).

Those who are living in Northern California include Dingdong Avanzado, Jessa Zaragoza, Lerma de la Cruz Cailles, JoAnne Lorenzana, Miriam Pantig and Ella del Rosario.

Singers Jonathan Potenciano, Dessa and Jo Awayan are in Las Vegas while Paul Enriquez and Jennifer Ramos are in Texas. Florence Aguilar is in Tennessee while Carol Banawa, who is married to a military man, is in Arizona. Tillie Moreno is in Florida while Rhodora Silva, who is married to a US Navy officer, is in Maryland.

Geneva Cruz Miller splits her time between Seattle and Manila. We all know what happened to former Olongapo and Manila rocker Arnel Pineda…

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Becca Artadi, now known as Rebecca Guevarra.

Bessie Badilla.

Now and then: Tina Santos-Wahl, at a rehearsal and next, with husband Gary Wahl, doing The Nutcracker.

Former TV and print model Connie Fructuoso Henry, is now in LA. “My attempts at pursuing a career again in production and entertainment are in the works,” she revealed. Connie is still as lovely and charming as when she appeared in numerous TV commercials (PT&T and Colgate) and graced the covers of several Philippine magazines. She was one of the favorite models of top Philippine designers.

Many will remember Tina Santos-Wahl as the one who managed to be both a famous Karilagan model and a prima ballerina. Tina, who lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is now a ballet teacher. Her daughter, Nikka, is breaking into Broadway too. She said, “My daughter is obsessed with Lea Salonga and wants to be like her.” Tina used to model for the Philippines’ great couturiers, Ben Farrales, Aureo Alonzo and Pitoy Moreno. Tina was based in San Francisco when she and her husband Gary Wahl were acclaimed principal dancers for the San Francisco Ballet.

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Tina also appeared on Philippine television and in musical theater.

She is a founding member of the Dance Theatre Philippines and was its youngest principal dancer in the 60s. In 1970, she joined the Harkness Ballet of New York as a member of the corps and was promoted to soloist six months later.

Another Karilagan model, former Miss RP Eva Reyes, who is in LA, is the proud mother of two sons, Michael and Christopher Aragon who both finished college at UC Santa Barbara. Eva, who owns an executive search firm that specializes in the fashion/apparel industry, places candidates in design, middle and upper level management. She said, “I am also a part of the world’s largest direct telecommunications company called CAN. I am an executive team leader and my goal for participating with them is to help others be financially independent.” Eva hopes to open a school in her hometown, Lipa City, “to leave a legacy in education.”

70s favorite cover girl and model Connie Fructuoso.

The former model and TV star Bessie Badilla, who lives in New York with her daughters Blanca and Ines, is enjoying motherhood. She revealed, “Ines just graduated with honors and will be attending the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Greenwich, Connecticut for high school. Blanca graduated from College of the Holy Cross, cum laude, and just finished her master’s degree on top of her class and will finish with distinction at the Christie’s Art Institute in London.”

Aside from being a proud mom, Bessie is also a film producer, an artist, a carnival queen in Brazil and a model once again. She disclosed, “After a long ‘courtship’ by David Bossman, I finally signed up with Boss Models Agency in New York and I am modeling again at age 50!” Bessie is the first Filipina to reign as queen at the Sao Paulo Carnaval in 2008 and again in Rio de Janeiro in 2009.

As a film producer, she co-produced her first indie film with Albert Almendralejo titled Bakal Boys with Ralston Jover as director. She revealed, “Ralston is the famous screenwriter of Kubrador, Foster Child and Tirador.” Bakal… just had its world premiere at the Cinemalaya in CCP. The movie is competing in several international film fests this year.

Bessie also co-produced the documentary Magdarame and co-produced an anime film, Fly Aswang, with Imee Marcos of Creative Media and Film Society of the Philippines.

Former Binibini, model, actress and singer Bambi Arambulo Torres, who lives in the Bay Area, has been happily married to chef extraordinaire Dodi Torres for the past two decades. Bambi decided to come back to the entertainment world not as an actress or model but as a business entrepreneur, having joined Barry Picazo, Mark and Valerie de Leon as partners of Intramuros Restaurant. The restaurant, located in South San Francisco, is rapidly gaining popularity as one of the hottest and elegant places in the Bay Area. Bambi, remembered by beauty pageant enthusiasts for her piercing brown eyes and long silky hair, also sings at Intramuros.

Bambi shared that Binibining Pilipinas-Universe 1974 Guada Sanchez now lives in China and is now Mrs. Malcolm McLauchlan. Model Anna

Francisco is in Sweden while former beauty queen Joy Bustamante is in Malaysia. Perhaps in another issue, we’ll write about other personalities living in countries other than the US. 1983 Mutya ng Pilipinas and Miss Asia Pacific Quest, former actress and model Bong Dimayacyac Nuguid is happily married to Victor Nuguid, who is in property management. They have three boys – Timothy, 20, Matthew, 19 and Peter, 15. She recalled, “I left Manila in 1988 and lived in Frisco; then in 1989, I moved to LA, got married and have been living in LA ever since. I stayed home for a while to raise my boys until they were old enough to go to school.” Bong, who worked in real estate for two years, switched careers and is now with a financial services company.

Former model Becca Artadi, aka Rebecca Guevarra, has been residing in LA since 1990. She said, “I work full time, administratively supporting the director of the Hepatobiliary Surgery Service/ Comprehensive Transplant Center at Cedars-Sinai.” She is a mother of four (two daughters, ages 28 and 25, and two boys, ages 22 and 13) with three grandchildren. She added, “I am a stage three breast cancer survivor. I was diagnosed in 2006.”

Ces Artadi, now Mrs. Christopher Briggs, lives in Wellington, South Florida. The former model said, “In the 80s, I was shuttling between Europe (with an agency in Munich, Germany) and Asia (with an agency in Hong Kong) for my modeling work, and in the 90s, between Toronto, Canada and Florida.” Married in 2006, Ces revealed that her husband travels extensively around the US and works as a public speaker for a financial education company.

As for herself, Ces revealed, “I continue to model professionally for various women clothing stores in the Palm Beach County area. The fashion season here is only between November and April so it’s a parttime job. In between, I am very actively involved in Bible studies and volunteer work with the non-denominational Christian church I have been a part of for the past 18 years. I always look forward to visiting my two sisters, Terry and Becca, and their families in Los Angeles and the rest of my family in the Philippines whenever I can.”

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Former model Terry Artadi Villavicencio has been working at the Canadian Consulate General in Los Angeles for 20 years. She disclosed, “My current position is personnel services officer.” She has two sons, ages 35 and 34, and one daughter, age 28. She also has a grandson, age 3½, and a granddaughter, age 2. Terry said, “My goal in life has been fulfilled with all my children graduating from college and are now blessed with very good jobs.”

Miss Philippines and Miss World runner-up Pinky Amabuyok Santos, who lives in Beverly Hills, helps her husband Caesar manage a food supply business. They relocated to the US to raise three daughters, now all grown up and married. Pinky also designs houses with space planning as her specialty.

Melanie Bernardez Mavros, a former Karilagan model and international Bayanihan singkil princess, lives in Irvine, California.

With her husband, she manages their hotel management company.

They have two children.

Zen Lopez, another Karilagan model and international Bayanihan dancer (a veteran of two world tours), is deeply involved in the arts. She is the first Filipino-American to be appointed arts and culture commissioner in the history of the city of Glendale. Zen, a Philippine Women’s University alumna, recently curated the exhibit of Filipino artists at the Los Angeles City Hall Bridge Gallery on the occasion of the 111th anniversary of Philippine independence.

Zen said she will always treasure her performances as an international Bayanihan dancer before dignitaries in Malacañang Palace like the late former president Ronald Reagan, pianist Van Cliburn, and grand dame Margot Fonteyn.

Nilda Fortaleza Fernandez, also a Karilagan mannequin, lives in Orange County, California. Nilda, a systems analyst, has two children. Another Karilagan beauty, Louanna Delfino, lives in Glendale where she teaches dance and Pilates. Louanna did some modeling and dancing for Conching Sunico in the 70s. Former models Ping Valencia and Ana Maria Arambulo live in San Diego.

Arambulo is in the hotel business.

Zen Lopez.

Beth de Mesa and Bambi Arambulo-Torres.

Bong Dimayacyac-Nuguid.

Beauty queens and models galore. Top row: Ana del Rosario and Beth de Mesa. Second row: Tetch Julian-Liboro and Connie Liboro-Ugarte. Bottom: Marilen Ojeda, Diane Benisano-Bautista and Bambi Arambulo-Torres.

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Minnie Cagatao Jentes and Pinky Amabuyok Santos.

Living in Southern California are more former models and beauty queens: Anda Carmona and her sister Zen Carmona, Anjanette Abayari, Jennifer Cortez, Maribel LastimosaSteinmann, Lia Barretto-Castanas, Preciousa Tongko-Frank, Cathy de Leon, Rosemarie de Vera, Simonette de los Reyes and Millicent Bautista.

Northern California has its share of beautiful faces from our past: former Miss Maja Philippines Pacita “Bubut” Guevara, former Binibini and Hyatt model Marilen Ojeda, Diane BenisanoBautista, Nina Romualdez, Gina Ocampo-Haas, Beth de Mesa and Anna del Rosario.

Anna Bayle, dubbed as the first Asian supermodel, lives with her son in New York. Alta Tan, a much sought ramp and commercial model in the 80s and 90s, is in Chicago working in a management position in a “retired people facility.”

Minnie Cagatao Jentes, former Miss Philippines-World and former Hyatt model who married Hyatt general manager Peter Jentes, is currently in Erie, Pennsylvania. Ex Binibini Dorothy SueBradley is in Las Vegas while Ana Menendez is in New Jersey.

Another Binibini, singer-actress Toni Daya-Luetger, is in Atlanta. Aurora Patricio, former Miss Caltex, is in Dallas, Texas while Jane Brummitt Doucetter, is in Houston, Texas. Those based in the Big Apple include Emma Ruth Yulo, Thea Robles, Erlyn Bernardez, Emma Yuhico and beauty queen-singer Rachel Anne Wolfe.

Joel Navarro, former music director and conductor of the award-winning Ateneo de Manila University Glee Club, is now an associate professor of music at Calvin College in Grand Rapids,

Michigan. He teaches conducting and directs the Capella, the Oratorio Society and the Campus Choir. He earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Conducting at Michigan State University in 2005.

Lorrie Ilustre, musical director-arranger-keyboardist, has been living in Las Vegas for almost four years now. He said, “I decided to stay here when Martin Nievera made his move to Vegas as his base. My wife and kids are still in the Philippines so I am alone here. I’m one of the so-called OFWs but I call myself OPM or Overseas Pinoy Musician.” Lorrie is Martin and Lani’s musical director-arranger in the US. He added, “I directed the Lani Misalucha-Arnel Pineda and the Regine Velasquez-Lani Misalucha shows.” Lorrie, who also played keyboards for the Sharon Cuneta 2009 tour and the Divas 4 Divas shows, disclosed that he is currently doing music workshops for kids who want to experience being recording and performing talents.

Lorrie worked with most of the top artists and singers in the Philippines and performed with Patti Austin, Christopher Cross, Kenny Rankin, Angela Bofill, David Pomeranz and Stephen Bishop.

Composers and musicians based in So Cal include saxophonist Ner de Leon, pianists Tateng and Boy Katindig, composer-singers Odette Quesada and Bodgie Dasig and musical director Archie Castillo. Living in Northern California are Cecile AzarconInocentes and VST & Co. singer and composer Snafu Rigor.

Elsewhere, Jeannette Casuga Trevias lives in Hawaii while jazz artist Bong Peñera (just seeing that name makes us pine for those nights out at the Calesa Bar) resides in Chicago.

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Lirio Vital.

Becca Godinez and Bernardo Bernardo.

Lisa Manibog.

Lorrie Illustre, Arnel Pineda and Lani Misalucha.

Jo Awayan.

Miles Obra Borin.

Paul Enriquez and a friend

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Dancer Mike Monserrat, who lives in Northern California, is active with the “Penthouse 7” reunion tours. According to Bambi Arambulo, Mike still looks the same with his full head of wavy hair. She said, “We get together with Mike (and another Penthouse dancer and our close family friend, Pipo Liboro) a few times a year when he and his wife can make the trip to the Peninsula. He lives about an hour away. Our parties tend to last until the morning.”

Former WEA dancer Miles Obra Borin, who has been in LA since 1985, is a consistent top producer in sales for the multinational company, DHL Global Forwarding. For the sheer love of dancing, Miles continues to boogie away in her spare time.

Frieda Fonda, former “Miss Body Language,” is known in the LA Fil-Am community as Dr. Frieda Brookshire, a successful cosmetic, reconstructive and implant dentist. Former Vicor dancer Trina Llanes is another LA resident. Making waves on LA TV news is Cher Calvin, daughter of actor Roger Calvin, who is also based in the US. Maluh de la Fuente and Eddie Imperial both live in San Francisco while former Student Canteen host Leila Benitez lives in New York. Also living in the Big Apple is Tetch Julian-Liboro. g

Leisure takes a Quantum leap “Hotels need to be detailed and be one step ahead of each and every customer,” says Joey Bernardino, Quatum Hotels and Resorts’ vice-president for operations, “especially when dealing with businessmen.” Of course since a single hitch could possibly mean missed flights, delayed schedules or worse, a ruined vacation.

“As much as possible you minimize these things,” he adds, making sure that everything is Joey Bernardino, VP for Operations of perfectly in order from the most Quantum Hotels and Resorts. important—comfortable beds, running water, Wifi connection, cable TV–down to the minute details— amenities in the room or pens and papers. Above all, Bernardino stresses out, when one goes into a hotel one expects efficiency.

Bernardino should know. The young vice-president has been in the business for almost 18 years. In fact, even before he found himself working in the housekeeping department of the first-ever hotel that he worked in, he used to hangout in the hotel lobby of his sister who was also in the same industry.

Bernardino knows the business very intimately.

But what is perhaps even tougher is running a property where guests demand the efficiency of a hotel and the comforts of a residence, which what exactly Bernardino and his team at Quantum Hotels and Resorts are doing.

“The difference between us and the hotels is that we are very straightforward,” he says.

“Our specialty is managing multifaceted properties with a sort of condotel concept.”

The job can be a handful but, Bernardino quickly quips, it’s not a problem as long as you are in your game. And for the last couple of years, Quantum Hotels & Resorts has been upping the ante, making the company one of the fastest rising hotel management in the country.

Quantum leap The company started in 2000 with regional brokerage services for the sale of hotel and serviced residences assets. Business was good then but the big leap, as it were, happened in 2006 when from three hotels they began adding new ones.

Currently Quantum Hotels & Resorts has three properties in Makati–BSA Tower, BSA Suites, and Perla Mansion. They also have one in Ortigas, The Malayan Plaza, one in Quezon City, the Torre Venezia.

In Boracay, they maintain The Residences at Fairways & Bluewater in Boracay. They have also expanded overseas with the recently opened LUXX XL Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand.

But unlike a regular hotel room, a typical Quantum suite comes fully furnished with living, dining and kitchen facilities. “The rooms are also bigger,” Bernardino points out: “We start up from about 42 square meters while a standard hotel room is at 30 to 36 square meters.

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It is an actual home where you can cool on your own and get services like a hotel,” says Bernardino. “And on top of that, our properties are all well located, mainly very close to the commercial centers so proximity wise it is the perfect location to stay at.”

The same applies with their property in Boracay, The Residences at Fairways and Bluewater, which boasts of a championship golf course where a Johnny Walker Cup was once held. More recently, it hosted the Goma Cup of actor Richard Gomez. “It’s the biggest resort in Boracay,” says Bernardino.

The property also has private beach coves where guests can swim and sunbath privately without going to the crowded main beach. He also cites horseback riding and on the dot shuttle service to take the guests in and out of the exclusive property as some of the main attractions.

But what could possibly top all of these in the very near future is the completion of one of their pools, which is touted to be the biggest one in the island. Business in Boracay has been doing so good that they are actually planning to open two new properties by the end of the year.

“If you look at Boracay, they have one of the strongest or the best

The Superior Room at Villa Maria in Fairways Boracay .

improvement in terms of arrivals,” he says. “I believe Boracay reported a 10% increase in terms of arrivals to the island.”

These two new ones will be beach front properties, which may just give other establishments a run for their money. In fact, Bernardino just came back from Boracay where he was more than pleased with the progress of their new villas. “I was so happy and I thought to myself that we could definitely compete with major brands given the state-of-the-art room types that we have.”

But given the company’s steady growth, one would assume that they have found a fool-proof formula against the ever volatile market. But the vice president remains pragmatic, attributing their stellar rise to the good service that they provide. “We take pride not just of our rooms, villas, suites and fully-furnished serviced residences but of our people as well,” he says. “One will find the similar warmth of welcome, courtesy and desire to be of service at all our Quantum Hotels & Resorts properties,” he ends. g

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A journey of a thousand smiles Toti Cariño talks about Boracay and Philippine Tourism by rochelle c. pangilinan & marie angeli syjueco | the ajpress

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The Private Beach in Fairways Boracay.

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There is a lot at stake in Philippine tourism. That’s why it is truly of great importance that the people involved in the tourism business strongly believe in what they do. One such person with a steadfast conviction that Philippine tourism is flourishing more than ever is Noel “Toti” Cariño.

As the co-founder of Fil-Estate Realty Corporation and now chairman of the board of Fairways and Bluewater Resort Golf Country Club in Boracay, Toti has always been a torchbearer for tourism.

“Tourism to me is bringing out the best of what a country or a place could offer,” he says. “It can be in terms of culture, in terms of the warmth of the people, or in terms of the social dimensions that you bring to the people. The pursuit of leisure can be a lot of things to so many people. It can be physical in nature, or it could be philosophical in nature as well. But the important thing is how do we perceive to receive it as it is, as the way it should be.”

Toti is no stranger to cultivating the many offerings of the country. In Baguio, he and his team developed Camp John Hay, which embodies the country’s legacy, history and culture. He and his team is also behind Southwoods in Carmona and has continuous development projects in Iloilo, Bicol and Cagayan de Oro. Still he is not one to rest on his laurels.

“We’ve done our share but right now, my thoughts would be to finish up and make these projects quality projects so that the younger generation could emulate. There’s just so much energy and talent in the

young now, eh dami naman nating assets. Ang daming resources and ang hope diyan is the young. They will take the catches and also start doing this,” he says.

There are a lot of resources in display at Fairways and Bluewater, which covers a tenth of Boracay’s total land area. Thus, it is quickly becoming one of the favorite spots in Boracay, with its distinctive allure of white sand and pristine beach and its 18-hole par 72 championship golf course. Within its boundaries are three private coves of crystal clear waters, definitely every nature lovers’ paradise.

Toti developed Fairways and Bluewater with the intent of giving foreigners and Filipinos alike to get a taste of a total and complete resort complete with its own beach, sports activities and other resort facilities to look forward to. As part of the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) masterplan of putting a golf course in the island, Toti established a golf course in Fairways and Bluewater. The idea was first met with skepticism but in the end, Toti was right in his decision after all.

Toti also champions the cause for the preservation and conservation of the environment. Thus, he and his team made sure that developments in Fairways and Bluewater are more environmentally and ecologically sensitive. Thus, Fairways and Bluewater partnered with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to be stewards of the sites which are within the boundaries of the property.

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“Tourism can not only be given to a certain group as far as responsibility in tourism is concerned. It means the all-out effort of everybody—from the cab driver in the airport to the final immigration guide that checks you out when you leave the country.”

– Toti Cariño “We intend to preserve the natural rock formation, promote the species of birds in Boracay and plant a lot of trees that attract this birds.

You can take pictures but you can’t take anything from it. All you can do is bring home good memories,” Toti said.

Indeed, they are firm in achieving their mission to preserve the natural beauty of Fairways and Bluewater and maintain the distinction of being the green side of Boracay, “the way it used to be, barely five years ago,” he said.

While Toti is confident that Fairways and Bluewater will contribute to Philippine tourism, he says that tourism in the country will prevail even more if people work together.

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“Tourism can not only be given to a certain group as far as responsibility in tourism is concerned. It means the all-out effort of everybody—from the cab driver in the airport to the final immigration guide that checks you out when you leave the country,” he stresses.

Toti also believes that the success of tourism in the country rides on Filipino hospitality, which he says makes the country easily stand out from the rest of its Asian neighbors.

“Filipinos are always known for smiling,” he says. “If we can institutionalize the smile of the Filipino, then we will be the smiling people of Asia.” g

| past food | by winton lou g. ynion photos by andrew tadalan | the ajpress

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The Circle in a Dice of Flakes The shape of what we eat defines our history.

It is a secret, subdued in the crevices of a past printed on parchment. It may have all started in a dragon dance that the Chinese Filipino community has been showcasing in proportionate grandeur with the wishes that come with Kung Hei Fat Choy. Of Han origin, the dance depicts the amphibious dragon – its ability to exist and move in different spheres. In ancient China, the animal is a totem of farming communities and an emblem of imperial authority. The stretch of its symbolism starts with the agricultural themes of cultivation and fertility to the hegemonic strands of power and wisdom. To one’s amazement, the spectacle is a cultural “re/treat” to Filipino spectators – for in their underworld, submerged in the cracked consciousness, lives the bakunawa – the sea serpent in Visayan folklore who hunts for the moon. In this story of consumption comes a circle of hybridity issues that confronts

the modern hua qiao (translated literally as “overseas Chinese”). The climax of cultural interaction is an eclipse that seductively connects the redness to the moon that is devoured by the bakunawa.

The Filipino feast is a display of Chineseness. Pancit, for example, has never been absent. That it has been appropriated according to an ethnic taste (like Malabon) or to an ingredient-experiment (like palabok) is not a sufficient excuse for its omnipresence. The postmodern Filipino suffers from contrastive life spans – so one needs to eat something long. Using a dramatic eye, the pancit (which actually pertains to the noodle) is capable of stretching, twisting and zigzagging – like a dragon. And then, there is a red shirt with circular sequences to post luck and prosperity. Perhaps, we are just preoccupied by the moon-landings that we have missed the meeting of the bakunawa and the loong (Chinese dragon).

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An old Chinese lady buys her hopia at Ho-land.

In January 26 of this year, my family celebrated my grandmother’s 23rd death anniversary. I was in Binondo that day witnessing the dragon dance as the entire Filipino Chinese community celebrated their New Year.

Along with tikoy, I had a bunch of hopia. My mother, a believer of myths, instructed me to prepare a hopia-filled plate. Offer it to the gods, she said.

Ambivalent, I instead placed the plate at my apartment’s doorstep and lit some candles.

Your grandma shall visit, my mother reminded. I am no psychic, and so the lone image of Lola’s soul-trip lies in my memory of her munching a bowl of hopia. I knew that she would love my offering. It was after all Eng Bee Tin, and not the usual home-made half-moon-shaped hopia sold in Iloilo’s small-time panaderias. In today’s equation, Eng Bee Tin has become synonymous to the hopia industry introduced by Fujianese immigrants in the 1880s.

I texted Mother, “sosyal si Lola ha, Eng Bee Tin talaga.” And I almost fell from my seat with her reply, “Ba’t Eng Bee Tin? Salazar ang paborito niya.”

Off guard, I gazed at the offering. The hopia formed smaller and smaller circles. I blushed and I turned purple.

There is an exciting trope that awaits romanticism. The Philippine tropical soil has been a good host for root crops like ube (purple yam).

That it grows along with the beat of the earth is an intricate mytheme embellished in its artistic covering. When peeled off, the covering elicits sticky syrup that causes its pigmentation. The inherent color of ube provides feminine signification – that production of redness, that ecology of procreation, that color of feminism. So when Gerry Chua spotted a bottle of halayang ube in a grocery store, he experienced epiphany. It was as if the muses and mythical beings had found a gastro-curator in the 21-year-old

Chua, who took over the dwindling hopia family business. Chua went to Pampanga to learn the secret toward perfection of the ube recipes. And everything, as they say, was history. When Cory Quirino visited Binondo to feature the Chinese Temple and the members of a volunteer firefighters group for her CityLine program, Chua was there to help. In return, a promise was made by Quirino – that she would feature Eng Bee Tin. Today, Chinatown may be incomplete without Eng Bee Tin. Along the streets of Ongpin, the Binondo Church is sequenced by purple fire trucks donated

by Chua. Enveloping the vicinity are purple establishments – Mr. Ube (a snacks house), Café Mezanine (a restaurant), and, of course, Eng Bee Tin. In this ribboning of Binondo with purple tales of Chua’s rise, 15,000 packs of hopia are produced every day to suffice the demand of the national and international market. Whether purple signifies production, femininity, or mere ube, only Chua knows. But if one were to take the clue of the brand’s translation (“ever beautiful and precious”), Eng Bee Tin has a romantic past.

Food cultural historian Doreen Fernandez once commented on the indigenization of Chinese food in the Philippines – that similar to other reversals engineered by ambivalent resistance from foreign cultures, Filipinos have owned the hopia. The act of owning (pag-aari) comes in handy kitchenomics. The Filipino tendency to create something new, despite its the politics of copycat, is very much applicable to what has now become a hopia culture. The Filipino culinary techniques involve pagbabagong-lasa and pagbabagong-hugis. Pagbabagong-lasa is an instinct of Filipinos. It is the appropriation of flavor to the taste buds of the consuming public. This explains why despite the traditional hopia mongo and hopia baboy, Eng Bee Tin has introduced ube and other flavors for this flaky delicacy.

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The age old Binondo Church, where the first Filipino Saint, Lorenzo Ruiz, a parian habitue was baptized.

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Pagbabagong-hugis shows the Filipino tendency to repackage a product – either in physical form or in advertising artifact. The renowned hopia is circular in shape, but smalltime panaderias have produced halfmoon-shaped hopia; a variant looks like two-layered half-moons. A Hok Hok brand produces diced hopia. Baker’s Fair, which has a branch in Virra Mall and in Farmer’s Market, has become renowned for the hopia that could be mistaken as a dice for games of chance and luck. And then, there are hopia that avoided the usual packaging that goes with large, embossed Chinese characters, and even larger, (Hopia Moon Cake Big) with floral designs, or small but plump (Hopia Macao). Baker’s Fair uses microwavable containers. The prices of these re-shaped hopia are cheaper compared to the circular ones. The Eng Bee Tin costs P38 while Hok Hok costs P20. Small producers sell hopia for P2 per piece. In all these reflavorings and re-shapings, the Filipino has truly owned the hopia.

My grandmother had lots of Chinese friends. For innumerable times, I turned purple on occasions when neighbors would ask about why we lit large Chinese candles with embossed dragons in front of Lola’s grave, instead of, for example, Filipino esperma or any commercialized

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and stylized candles. My weak memory could only supply two visits of the children of her Chinese friend whose family name is Ho. When I migrated to Manila, there were moments when I thought Ho-land must have been owned by her friend’s family. Funny, Ho-land’s rival is Polland which is owned by a Chinese whose family name is Po. Strategically speaking, the branches of these two brands are within the stretch Benavidez and Nueva streets. Their packaging are almost the same.

When I was younger, I thought that these were exports of the countries that their brands have become homophones of.

My mother shared to me that Lola’s most loved Chinese word is ho chia – “delicious” in Fookien. This leads me to a conclusion that she must have had fallen in love with Chinese food. In Fookien, ho pia is “good biscuit.”

Mother, a reteller of Lola’s stories, once shared a vivid childhood. She was nine years old when she first witnessed lunar eclipse. Frightened, she ran toward Lola who, as her memory recounted, was munching a bowl of hopia that was a present of Mr. Ho. And Lola talked about the bakunawa.

The flaky Filipino-Chinese concoction must have been really delicious that, when mother looked at the bowl, the hopia were like bitten moons.

In 2008, my birthday fell on the date of Kung Hei Fat Choy. And mother was alert to remind me of what I must eat. Something long. Something round. Avoid squares, she strictly imposed. I sent her a text, “You are what you eat.”

She did not reply. The night had just begun; but, up there, the moon was so round. The equidistant edges of light from the center looked magnanimous. And I remember the tale of the sea serpent. The moon has always been there. It always rises from the underworld when the Sun lords over the earth.

If the gods and muses have been playing a game of dice, the bakunawa must have lost countless times.

On my way home that night, I could hardly find a taxi. I decided to commute. I rode in a jeepney that traced the road home in a dragon-like driving. I thought I would faint; but I was wrong. The driver must have had played a tape of some revivals hit songs. Rocksteddy and Mayonnaise entertained me. It was a good treat for someone who was not yet born during the tumultuous yet defining stage of Philippine history.

When I reached Katipunan road, there was euphoria. I remembered a good friend’s gift to me two years ago – it was a disc edition of The Best of Manila Sound: Hopia, Mani, Popcorn. g

| parting shot |

Kobe Bryant’s ‘Unguarded’ Moment

Balikbayan’s Andrew Tadalan “stalked” basketball star Kobe Bryant during the kick-off of an Asian Tour promoting a new shoe line at Taguig City’s Bonifacio High Street. The superstar of the current NBA champion team Los Angeles Lakers was in Manila recently and was greeted by his Filipino fans, which he said endeared the country to him. In an interview with the Associated Press, he quipped, “I love it here,” and, “I am welcomed (here) with open arms. They treat me like family.” He was set to visit other Asian cities like Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Chengdu.

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