Southern Living: 2015 April

April 2015 Volume 8 | Issue 20

OFF COMPASS

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CONT ENTS 28 COVER STORY The return to man’s primal self: setting up camp and reveling in nature

SOUTHERN living GROUP PUBLISHER BEA J. LEDESMA MANAGING EDITOR BEVERLY DALTON ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITOR DENISE DANIELLE ALCANTARA EDITORIAL ASSISTANT PRISTINE L. DE LEON CREATIVE DIRECTOR NIÑA MUALLAM GRAPHIC ARTIST DANICA CONDEZ

APRIL 2015 04 HEALTH Stepping into the light can get your body clock in the right time zone

08 FIXTURE Rediscovering the lost tradition of gold used for transcendence

05 BEAUTY The two-piece swimsuit is taking a backseat this summer

12 SPACE The Henry Hotel’s aesthetic proves that you don’t need to go far to escape the present

06 CRAFT Look back to your travels through a rustic display of photographs

22 FEATURE How one religious group regards Rizal as the Asian Christ Cover photo by Artu Nepomuceno

EDITOR’S NOTE The point of no return “Tourists went on holidays while travelers did something else. They traveled.” Writer Alex Garland puts that statement out there in his novel-turned-movie The Beach.

The team of Southern Living believes that the core of man’s spirit is new experiences. One of the joys of life comes from our encounters and adventures. If we won’t step out of the sterile comfort of our homes, then we’ll never find out how strong we are and what we are truly made of. We created this issue to inspire you to depart from

familiar territories, create new memories, discover lost traditions, and to explore the space outside your comfort zone.

Trekking the outdoors is a great way to start. And what a waste of space the outdoors would be if we didn’t take the time out to explore it. We recommend camping as delved deeply by outdoor enthusiast Meg Manzano in our cover story.

The freedom and beauty we find in the wild is just too good to pass up.

We hope you lose yourself and find what you’re looking for in this issue.

Talk to us on Facebook and you just might win a special prize from us.

Visit www.facebook.com/southernlivingmagazine now. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter at @slivingph. We’d love to hear from you.

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CONTRIBUTORS WRITERS CECILE BALTASAR, SAM LIM, INA AMOR MEJIA, MEG MANZANO, MARBBIE TAGABUCBA, YVETTE TAN, SAMANTHA RAMOS-ZARAGOZA ILLUSTRATORS LEE CACES, MAYSIE LECCIONES, SAINTE JAMES TAN STYLISTS EDLENE CABRAL, SAM LIM, INA AMOR MEJIA HAIR AND MAKEUP CHUCHIE LEDESMA, CAMILLE VILLARUEL EDDIE MAR CABILTES, BULLET REYES PHOTOGRAPHERS GABBY CANTERO, KAITY CHUA, TAMMY DAVID, SAM LIM, INA AMOR MEJIA, ARTU NEPOMUCENO, JILSON SECKLER TIU, DENNESE VICTORIA COPY EDITOR SEPTEMBER GRACE MAHINO PROOFREADER CESCA VIZCONDE EDITORIAL CONSULTANT RIA FRANCISCO-PRIETO CUSTOM ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITORS PAM BROOKE CASIN, ANGELA VELASCO EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS PAULINE MIRANDA, KRISTINE FULGENCIO, THERESE STA. MARIA ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES SHANNA MALING, INA MATEO, GENE PEREZ GRAPHIC ARTISTS ROI DE CASTRO, TEJ TAN, YAYIE MOTOS, JAYCELINE SORIANO, JANINE ALCANTARA PRODUCTION MANAGER NOEL CABIE PRODUCTION ASSISTANT MARICEL GAVINO FINAL ART SUPERVISOR DENNIS CRUZ FA ARTIST JR LAROSA BOARD CHAIRPERSON ALEXANDRA PRIETO-ROMUALDEZ FINANCE ADVISOR AND TREASURER J. FERDINAND DE LUZURIAGA LEGAL ADVISOR ATTY. RUDYARD ARBOLADO HR STRATEGY HEAD RAYMUND SOBERANO VP AND CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER IMELDA ALCANTARA SVP AND GROUP SALES HEAD, INQUIRER GROUP OF COMPANIES FELIPE R. OLARTE AVP FOR SALES MA. KATRINA MAE GARCIA-DALUSONG KEY ACCOUNTS SPECIALIST ANGELITA TAN-IBAÑEZ ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES ABEGAIL GINAGA, ANDIE ZUÑIGA, SARAH CABALATUNGAN, ALETHEIA ORDIALES SALES SUPPORT ASSISTANTS RECHELLE ENDOZO, MARA KAREN ALIASAS

This magazine was printed responsibly using recycled papers with biodegradable inks.

FEEDBACK

BREAKING NORMS Hi Southern Living!

@slivingph

Browsing through your magazine is always refreshing.

Kudos for not cluttering the pages with pointless quizzes unlike other magazines. Instead, you discuss eyecatching food, travel, and design. Looking forward to more great content. Keep up the good work!

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I like reading the Recipe section! I’ve never tried crocodile meat, and was quite surprised with this!! Tasted good, too!

Saw a copy of Southern Living in the salon. Looks amazing!! Great job! Congrats!! - Kate Torralba

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SPECIAL FEAT URE

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HEALT H

SLEEPLESS IN YOUR HOMETOWN Handle one of travel’s hazards head-on

TEXT CECILE BALTASAR ILLUSTRATION LEE CACES

Crossing multiple time zones may mean travel, adventure, and new experiences, but most of the time, it also means jet lag. This is a sleep disorder you temporarily get when your body’s internal clock gets thrown off by the different time zones you pass through: when everyone else is asleep, you’re raring to go. Your nocturnal habits have been reversed.

Nothing can be more exhausting and frustrating to a traveler.

Here’s what you can do to ease the effects of jet lag.

Before traveling Eat a balanced diet and exercise. It would be great if you don’t have to wait until you have to travel before doing this. Traveling across time zones and being in shifting altitudes for many hours are no small deal to your body. You need to be as fit as you can be to handle jet lag effectively.

On the plane Stay off alcohol. Both alcohol and cholesterol may make you feel sluggish, which is not a good approach to dealing with jet lag.

Adjust your watch to match your destination’s time.

Although this does nothing to help you physically, syncing your watch to the time zone you’re traveling to helps you to prepare mentally.

Make sleeping on the plane as comfortable as possible.

Use ear plugs or noise-canceling headphones. Bring a small, comfortable pillow. Don’t let a snorer or a lumpy airline-issued pillow disrupt your body clock.

At your destination Get some sun. Light exposure will make sense out of your muddled hormones. Going outside and basking under the morning sun will eventually set your body Start syncing your body clock with your destination’s time clock back on the right track. zone a few weeks before you leave. However, you would be better off not doing this if your trip is short and Hydrate. Jet lag could cause headaches, muscle pain, you’re not crossing over more than three time zones. If dizziness, and nausea. Drinking a lot of water can help this is the case, you can just stay on home time. ease these symptoms.

Begin your trip by being well-rested. Cut down on nights out a couple of days before your trip. Pack ahead so you don’t have to stay up the night before you fly, packing in a panic.

Take cat naps. If you’re groggy and can’t get a coherent sentence in at midday, don’t force the issue. Take a power nap instead. A 20-minute nap can give you that energy boost to get through the day.

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BEAUT Y

THE RETURN TO MODESTY

The comeback of the one-piece swimsuit is right on time TEXT BEVERLY DALTON ILLUSTRATION DANICA CONDEZ

Two-piece bathing suits, or what we well know as the bikini, may still dominate the island scene today, but with last year’s rise of the #hubadera trend, showing off skin may already have reached its saturation point.

When it comes to beauty and style, the return to modesty is beginning to look like a wise choice.

It seems quite appropriate that with this conservative resurgence, the one-piece swimsuit is making a slow comeback. But will it be a hit as it was during its heydays before the ’40s? During that time, women could only wear a one-piece; if they were going to wear two-piece suits, they would still look modest, exposing only their mid-section in the slightest way possible. The belly button was always

covered in those days. A century before that, women wore a kind of voluminous bathing attire and used this sort of transportation hut, which they called bath machines. Women would get inside the bath machine to change into their bathing attire, and this machine would transport women (by horse or by a group of people) to the shoreline. Women would just go straight into the water, and no man would ever see them in their bathing attire.

At this point, though, culture is still very far from coming into full circle with the past. But the return of the one-piece could be the start: when it comes to swimsuits, less is no longer looking to be more. A lot of younger girls may disagree, thinking of the one-piece as something only their grandmothers would approve of, but this kind of swimwear actually gives power back to the woman. The spotlight is no longer on the body and skin itself but on the image of the woman.

Truth be told, the one-piece could be a woman’s dignifying power suit at the beach—with only a sliver of decolletage showing. As this swimwear slowly goes back into the limelight, it also shows that when it comes to beauty and style, going back to what is modest and conservative could be more progressive than we think.

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CR AF T

WHILE WE WERE THERE

A distressed frame and clothespins make a cozy display of favorite photographs from everywhere TEXT, PHOTOGRAPHY, AND STYLING INA AMOR MEJIA

WOODEN FRAME DISPLAY

What you’ll need: Frame from an artist canvas Wooden clothespins 1-inch nails Hammer Scissors Jute string Old polaroids or standard photos of the same size Matte-finish wood varnish Paintbrush for varnish Sand paper Marking tool (pen or masking tape)

Directions: 1. Remove the canvas and any staples from the artist canvas. Sand the frame to remove splinters and to smoothen the wood. Wipe down with a damp cloth.

2. Varnish the wood using a paintbrush and let dry under the sun for a few hours.

3. Put the frame on a surface.

Arrange the photos inside it to get an idea on how to space the photos.

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4. Mark the spots where you want the nails, one opposite the other, where you need to tie the string.

Carefully hammer the nails in.

5. Cut the string to measure and tie on each pair of nails. Make the line taut.

6. Pin your photos on the line of string with the clothespins.

7. Hang the entire frame or let it rest on a table or shelf.

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FIXT URE

GRACE OF GOLD

The glint and appeal of immortality made material TEXT PRISTINE L. DE LEON ILLUSTRATION MAYSIE LECCIONES

Before the Spanish captured the native imagination with ideas of Christianity, our ancestors already held beliefs not so alien from Catholic dogma. There was something beyond the physical that both the religious and the heathens had sought, and while their notions of the sacred differed radically in detail, it was death, they both believed, that permitted passage to the other side.

Death has always been synonymous to departure.

If Western literature evoked imageries of a boatman ferrying souls across the underworld, here, one could say the experience was almost true to life. In Butuan, Agusan del Norte, bodies of the deceased were buried in a balangay, a six-planked boat that was brought to deliver the corpses to the spiritual beyond—that is, the middle of the sea, where they believed heaven and hell resided.

From the 10th until the 13th century, the natives’ fixation with the spiritual was coupled with a similarly crazed material fetish. Gold, to our ancestors, was associated with the gods. Treasured for its purity and desired for its indestructibility, the precious mineral had about it the quality of the divine.

Like all objects of fascination—mystical or material— gold was embedded into their everyday reality. At birth, the umbilical cord was placed in a bag with various golden pieces. During ceremonies of crisis, golden jewelry was worn on the body to signify power among the clans.

It was natural, then, that in death, gold would again escort the body in its ascent to the higher planes. In the Visayan region, the face of the deceased was covered with golden funerary masks. Because spiritual forces were believed to enter and leave the body through openings such as the eyes, nose, and mouth, the natives found it crucial to cover these with something as powerful as gold, either to keep malignant spirits from entering the body or to keep the soul from escaping it.

The areas touched by the golden sheets were either only the openings or the entirety of the face. The social status of the deceased could at once be determined by looking at how much gold he had brought with him in his death. Apart from supernatural protection, jewelry for the dead was made to preserve the social hierarchy that guided the living world. As they regarded the head as the locus of power, the native elite wore the most elaborate funerary masks and golden diadems.

Textiles and porcelain were also buried along with them—ensuring the cordial welcome they would receive in the life beyond. It was like buying entry to the next realm and retaining one’s superior status by brandishing one’s wealth, so even if the body succumbed to decay, the jewelry it wore gave it something that the flesh could never have: materiality surpassing degradation—almost like being immortal, in a sense.

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SOUT HERNER “No two edges are the same and this is why no two bags will ever be the same.”

RAW EDGE

Liana Navarro introduces the underrated luxury of having something no one else has TEXT MARBBIE TAGABUCBA PHOTOGRAPHY ARTU NEPOMUCENO

To compare Liana Navarro’s encounter with a metallic lambskin hide to Michaelangelo’s seeing an angel in a block of marble, to be set free by carving it out, may be a bit dramatic, but the former followed that process.

“I bought the hide for myself not knowing what to do with it. I was just attracted to its gradient and raw edges,” she recalls how she created her first sling bag, cutting and sewing it so the raw edges became the flap’s accent.

Navarro has been designing since 2001 under the Liana Rosa brand, starting with handcrafted jewelry then bags and shoes eventually.

Amid these changes, she always designed stackable and eclectic, “vintage bohemian” accessories, as she describes them, consigned at lifestyle boutique Firma and, recently, for a collaboration with men’s artisanal accessories brand Archipelago Trading Co. Navarro’s epiphany compelled her to relaunch

Liana Rosa to focus on premium leather goods.

Her loft at Rockwell is furnished only with the essentials. It is also her workspace. At 5 a.m. every day, she lays out the hide—locally tanned leather from Japan or Korea, sourced from Marikina’s wealth of textile resource—and cuts them based on the design she sees fit on each raw edge on her living room floor. She claims she works best in the morning. “It’s when my mind is at its freshest and most inspired.”

A table by the window is where she hand-stitches the hides until they are turned into sling bags—and now, bucket totes, eyewear, and iPhone 6 cases. The labels are stamped on

by Navarro herself, and each bag closes with the tying of a strap, so all designs are free of hardware—so far.

Navarro’s leather goods have a functionality that follows her philosophy of traveling light, bringing only what is needed at her destination, even if it’s just going to a

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weekend market with a friend.

Indeed, each bag is with character but keeping each design skin-light and free of heavy and distracting embellishment allows Navarro—as will every Liana Rosa owner—to focus on what matters.

Polish and perfection have their merits but what something raw and undone has is character and exclusivity. “Bag makers throw away the edge, but it’s what I look for. I find it nice to look at, and it is where I base each bag’s design,” she explains. “No two edges are the same and this is why no two bags will ever be the same.” This is also a disclaimer to those who’d like to buy the exact same designs found in these photos or on the product pictures at online fashion platform Vito Studio, where Liana Rosa bags are also sold. Perhaps a visit to concept store Craftsmith Living is a better option for those who want to get exactly what they see—and feel, in all its buttery leather goodness.

SOUT HERNER While Navarro’s pieces are currently free of hardware, she’s contemplating on embellishing a new design, but each raw edge, grain, or metallic finish will always be the focal point.

MAKEUP CAMILLE VILLARUEL. HAIR EDDIE MAR CABILTES.

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SPACE

SOMEWHERE IN TIME

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SPACE The Henry Hotel mixes old with the new, like this modern, light fixture found in one of the rooms.

The Henry Hotel takes you back in time with a good mix of the contemporary TEXT BEVERLY DALTON PHOTOGRAPHY KAITY CHUA

Travel is one of the best means of escapes in—and from—life. There’s something thrilling about hopping on an airplane (or a car for a road trip) to some farflung corner of the globe for a quick holiday. But sometimes, traveling out of town can be more stressful than what it’s worth, while staying in and kicking back at your home doesn’t sound too exciting.

It’s still quite unpopular to book a room in the city where you live and work, but The Henry Hotel is changing the concept of a staycation in Manila.

The Henry opened its first branch in Cebu, and its quirky approach to aesthetics—from the colorful graffiti, a motley collection of chairs and tables, installation art, and clashing colors—makes the hotel experience an interesting one for guests. If art was the influence behind its Cebu doors, the newly-opened Manila branch on F.B. Harrison Street in Pasay City has its own notable eccentric style.

“The compound was owned by a [FilipinoChinese] family,” says associate architect Justin Basco. The compound was built in 1948, after the war, and as a hotel, it still very much looks like an old, well-maintained house—imperfect yet homey.

“There’s so much history, and the houses still reflect their original addresses. Even the stairs and windows

are still original,” Basco adds. In keeping with its Old Worldliness, grills patterned after the timeworn Scala Theater on Avenida Rizal gate the houses.

Interior designer Eric Paras of A11 also supplied 34 unique and mismatched aparadors in the rooms of each house. The original baldosa tiles still abound the floors, which come in a total of 20 floral and geometric patterns. Even the bathrooms have kept the retro feel of the house, using fixtures like claw foot tubs as well as subway tiles and hexagonal opaques. “A lot of old houses still use this kind of tile,” explains Basco. From the outside, houseplants and flowers line the driveway to the main house, the reception. A French-style fountain is used as the centerpiece of the rotonda. The pool area could easily be spotted from the driveway, and is reminiscent of the old Chateau Marmont’s backyard pool surrounded by lush vegetation, only smaller. “It’s a ’50s-styled lawn designed by the late architect L.P. Santos,” Basco says.

The Henry in Manila does feel like stepping inside an ancestral home and lets you forget the present.

After all, isn’t the present what people are trying to escape from? “It’s like staying at your grandmother’s,” Basco says. But this time, with room service.

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SPACE Neighboringstyle patios make way for friendly morning conversations with coffee from some rooms (extreme, left). The suite at the main house is built with a veranda that overlooks the pool area (below).

The Henry Hotel. 2680 F.B. Harrison St., Pasay City. 807-8888.

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FEAT URE

MOVING FORWARD

With Manu Sandejas at the helm of Travel Time, the show will go on TEXT MARBBIE TAGABUCBA PHOTOGRAPHY TAMMY DAVID

Manu Sandejas knew he had big shoes to fill. “‘Wag maging dayuhan sa sariling bayan,” he would say to his reflection on his bedroom mirror, echoing the words of the late Susan Calo-Medina who started the renowned, no-nonsense travel show Travel Time, of which he had been co-host since 2012.

Calo-Medina scouted Sandejas emceeing at a family event, both connected by Sandejas’ father who is cousins with Calo-Medina’s husband. Travel Time had other male co-hosts in the past, but none seemed to stay for more than a few episodes. Calo-Medina enjoyed Sandejas’ hosting so much that she invited him to join the show the next day.

When Calo-Medina passed away in January, Sandejas and the Travel Time team, all who had been with Calo-Medina almost right from the start, echoed his sentiments to keep the show going. Calo-Medina’s children Marc and Lui, however, were more uncertain.

“Every now and then, they said, ‘Enough with the show, the show dies with mom,’” Sandejas recalled.

But a contract with the Department of Tourism Promotions Board had yet to be consummated, obligating the team to produce and air episodes until it expires in August—perhaps enough time to see if it can hold up to Calo-Medina’s 29-year legacy.

As he tried her infamous tagline for himself, Sandejas shook his head, “Parang mali eh.” Changes had to be made in the show because of the change in host. “Travel Time is not about acting or dramatics.

There’s no way we could continue it in the way Tita Susan did because she had her signature way of hosting which was her personality,” he reasons. “Being true to [my] personality as the host, there will be more physical outdoor sports and adventures, but culture and food will be presented still. I will not claim to be a foodie like Tita Susan was. She was a brilliant cook and enjoyed eating. I can’t cook to save my life. I will wash the dishes.”

Sandejas is a true-blue biker. Aboard his multiterrain dual-sport motorcycle, he biked across the Bicol region, and recently, to Baguio and Sagada but on their rougher trails, among others. Sandejas is thrilled to have the work opportunity to embark on his dream trip: to explore different parts of Mindanao by his motorbike, taking the RORO to get across islands.

“Biking gives you the ability to go to places you wouldn’t be able to go to in a car or truck. You literally commune with nature,” he describes. Sandejas is definitely taking Travel Time’s viewers on a different kind of ride.

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FEAT URE

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STYLIING EDLENE CABRAL. GROOMING EDDIE MAR CABILTES. SHOT ON LOCATION THE CURATOR.

“Being true to [my] personality as the host, there will be more physical outdoor sports and adventures, but culture and food will be presented still.”

FEAT URE

THE SELF, ELSEWHERE Marivi Soliven explores what becomes of the individual amid the diaspora TEXT SAMANTHA RAMOS-ZARAGOZA ILLUSTRATION SAINTE JAMES TAN

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FEAT URE

“But I am home. Long, long ago, I learned the heart cannot live in two places. I had to choose. My heart is in America. Where is yours?”

With over two million Filipinos working overseas, it’s a question many have contemplated: whether we trudged on in an exodus or consider ourselves amid the jilted. It is a question among the culturally resonant statements lifted from The Mango Bride, an international novel that crosses the boundaries of fiction with its all-too-real resemblance to life.

The Palanca Award-winning book by Filipino author Marivi Soliven finely balances made-for-TV melodrama, disrupted with representational events that strike a chord within Filipino families spread across the globe. It’s a tribute to the Filipino diaspora packaged in a gripping tale of intertwined lives, owed to hopes, desperation, and disguises, and of finding identities, secrets, and revelations.

Soliven delivers her story with a precision that does not digress to speciousness. Each character, setting, and situation rests on a realm she clearly has navigated herself. Growing up in an upper middle-class buena familia, Soliven is well-acquainted with the upbringing and social standing of Amparo, the novel’s main character who had to forgo the conveniences of living in Manila to avoid tarnishing a family’s reputation, which is a vital currency. “Many of the novel’s main characters are based on people who raised me. Doña Lupita, Señora Concha, and Carina Madrigal are composites of my mother’s Ilongga family and closest friends,” she muses.

Soliven taught creative writing in the University of the Philippines, Ayala Museum, and the University of California. Eventually, she moved to the United States in 1995 and now works as an interpreter-a job she shares with Amparo. The experience of interpreting for Filipinos in the U.S. provides Soliven a view of our kababayans’ realities while living in what many presume is the land of milk and honey. The immigrants’ stories that have touched her the most are “the ones that demonstrate how difficult it is to transition into another culture, in which one must constantly explain oneself, why you do what you do.

And the domestic violence stories. Cinderella meets Bluebeard—I hear those stories all the time in the work that I do.”

This is where Soliven’s flair for concretizing abstractions flourishes. She incorporates such accounts with research that molds another leading character in the novel; Beverly, the hopeful but naïve orphan whose dream is to turn her luck around. This results in Beverly’s entanglement with poor choices, a situation she thought she could escape from as she finds her destiny in the U.S. One character left to save the family face, the other fled to change her fate, both wanting to start anew. “People migrate to America only when they have nothing to lose,” reads a passage in the book. It’s the very reason why many Filipinos jump the gun and leave the country.

The consequence of displacement is something Soliven writes about in her collection of essays Suddenly Stateside. The collection helped establish certain scenes in The Mango Bride. Aside from lifestyle changes and cultural acclimation, Soliven says, “A big adjustment made when I moved to the United States was suddenly turning into a ‘minority.’ Up until that point, I’d spent all my life in Manila as a ‘majority’ in terms of ethnicity and religion. Migrating to the U.S. transformed me into a minority writer and all the attendant challenges that comes with this designation.” And although technology or globalization have provided some solace to those distant, “being away is still being away. Raising a child via Skype or Viber is not the same as raising a child in person,” she relates.

But just as Amparo finds an unlikely friend in Manong Del, or just as Uncle Aldo gets to shed any remnants and repercussions of his past, leaving a comfort zone has its merits, too: if not the upraised status, then the chance to redo oneself. Resilience has always been a Filipino’s asset. “It is a survival strategy: blend in so as not to be slaughtered,” says Soliven.

The Mango Bride ends on a bittersweet note and with the promise of reconciliation. Although it does leave behind some questions to its readers. Manong Del asks Amparo where her heart is; the answers are as varied as the many lives Filipinos live all over the world. For Soliven, “Home is where the heart is. I try to live in the moment, which happens to be California for now. My heart is in Manila; my intellect is in Berkeley, California.”

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FEAT URE

“A few minutes later, she was dragging her stroller toward the grocery’s fruit section, drawn to a mound of golden fruit.”

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FEAT URE

A HERO’S TRIBUTE

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FEAT URE Followers from neighboring communities travel to Sitio Rongot every Sunday for their weekly worship.

Religious groups herald our national hero as divine TEXT DENISE DANIELLE ALCANTARA PHOTOGRAPHY DENNESE VICTORIA

Dubbed as the pride of the Filipino race and the symbol of heroism in our motherland, Jose Rizal was recognized to be our national hero slash poster boy in 1901 by the colonial Americans. His stature as the premier hero of the Philippines has brought about controversy and criticism from the academe. He has proven to express his exemplary love and loyalty to the nation from birth to death. Because of this admirable and flawless manifestation of nationalism and martyrdom, some groups in the Philippines strongly believe that Pepe is someone of the divine— ang Kristong Kayumanggi.

The Rizalista religious movement transpired in the 1930s. Since then, there were different factions created whose beliefs on the hero varied. Most of the Rizalist groups are found in Rizal’s birth town, Calamba, Laguna, and Mt. Banahaw. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines has lost track of the number of the Rizalist groups as they can already be found in three main islands of the Philippines and abroad. Some consider Jose Rizal as god, prophet, savior, reincarnation, and some extremists believe that he still lives among us. Yet some groups such as the Watawat ng Lahi believe only in Rizal’s teachings but not necessarily venerating him as a divine being.

Many have compared and have found apparent parallelism on the lives of Jesus Christ and Jose Rizal. According to an article written by A.B. Valeriano, one obvious similarity is both are healers.

They are both victims of trial by mockery. The two were persecuted and succinctly executed for their advocacies on equality and peace. Some connected that they were both Asians and originated from countries which are under colonial oppression.

Considered as Folk Catholicism, the Rizalist groups synthesized some Christian beliefs and rituals with traditional Filipino practices.

Living on the coastline of Calamba, Laguna, there is one group who believes that Jesus Christ, Jose Rizal, and a Filipino named Apo Ignacio are one.

They are called Sagrada Familia. Travel through a long rough road in between rice fields, one will reach a small community by Laguna de Bay, Sitio Rongot.

And at the end of the road is where their church can be found. Upon researching, the origin of the group is the most unique.

Gloria Bibat, Sagrada Familia’s leader, recounts the story that started their group. It all began with an apparition seen by his brother, Kuya Daning.

He was on assignment as a U.S. Navy officer when

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FEAT URE Sitio Rongot is engulfed by water whenever a storm hits the area (right).

Gloria Bibat writes the songs for their Sunday service (extreme right). The Kadluan ng Puso, said to be a poem written

by Rizal, is their version of the Our Father (below). The first church of Sagrada Familia is turned into a daycare center (below, right).

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FEAT URE

Japanese soldiers bombed the boat that carried their troop. Floating in the open sea, he started praying when an image of a man dressed in white with a long beard appeared out of nowhere. Right after the weird occurrence, a boat came to rescue him and his fellow soldiers. Back in his hometown in Pangasinan, he suddenly decided to move to Quezon City with hopes to start anew. One day, a lady knocked on his door asking for a person named Daning Bibat.

He affirmed and the lady told him that an old man named Apo Asiong is looking for him. “Come with me to his house in Calamba,” the lady said. Without any second thoughts, he dressed up and fled to the old man’s house.

Kuya Daning instantly recognized the old man and remembered him as the old man he saw after his ship sank. He asked, “How did you find me?”

Apo Asiong or Apo Ignacio gets a group photo of the Filipino heroes and answered with a question: “Who do you think am I in this photo?” Daning pointed to the person sitting in the middle, Jose Rizal. Apo Asiong smiled and Daning assumed that the old man he was talking to was Rizal. His heart was filled with glee to find his savior and went back to Manila. He, then, asked his entire family to visit Apo Asiong.

Eventually, Gloria Bibat stayed to serve the old man.

She claims to have seen the image of Christ in Apo Asiong and again assumed that Apo Asiong and Christ the King are one and the same.

In 1958, their entire family sold all their properties and belongings and transferred to Laguna. Apo Asiong told them to live by the bay because it is said to be holy. They created a church and continued to worship Asiong. The old man is now deceased but is said to be in constant communication with him through Gloria Bibat. The Sagrada Familia does not believe in the bible. They are guided through the Bibliyang Buhay, teachings from their personal experiences and lessons that are said to be intervened by Apo Asiong, who is also Rizal and Jesus. Every Sunday, the followers come together to join in worship through songs of praise and grace. They convene in the church facing the bay wearing long skirts and white blouses.

There are many beliefs that most of us disagree with; some are outright strange that many of us would not be able to rationalize. Religion has been an issue of dispute throughout history. But, in our generation, diversity prevails. In fact, Sagrada Familia coexists peacefully with the Catholics, Iglesias, and other religious in Sitio Rongot.

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M ARKET

HERE COMES THE SUN

Escape the concrete heat in striped essentials and coiled accessories

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TEXT DENISE DANIELLE ALCANTARA

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PHOTOGRAPHY JILSON SECKLER TIU

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1. Hat, P895, Aldo, Alabang Town Center.

2. Postcards (set of 6), P230, WTN: Where To Next, Restock.

3. Necklace, P795, Aldo, Alabang Town Center.

4. Espadrilles, P3,695, Kaanas, Common Thread, Greenbelt 5.

5. Sunglasses, P7,595, TOMS, SWIM, Power Plant Mall.

6. Bikini top, P1,195, Nothing But H2O, SWIM, Power Plant Mall.

7. Diana camera, P4,300, Team Manila, Power Plant Mall.

8. Purse (set of 3), P2,695, Aldo, Alabang Town Center.

9. Travel planner, P280 each, WTN: Where To Next, www.wheretonext.ph.

10. Rope belt, P1,195, Zara, Greenbelt 5.

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COV ER STORY

CALL OF THE WILD

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COV ER STORY

A mountain for beginners, Mt. Talamitam in Nasugbu, Batangas takes just about an hour and a half to two to climb.

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COV ER STORY

Beyond thread counts, high-speed Internet, and the unending allure of breakfast in bed TEXT MEG MANZANO PHOTOGRAPHY ARTU NEPOMUCENO

In a little city so governed by a tyranny of towers, a frantic flight to escape the urban setting has never been more imperative.

Extinguish all notions that one needs to be an outdoorsman to heed that clichéd call of the wild.

There exists a primitive being in all of us—no matter the number of selfies in one’s digital album or perhaps the rows of flat lays so carefully curated in one’s Instagram account.

While today’s online landscape is littered with authored adventure stories abroad and template articles that reveal X number of reasons to book a trip somewhere far and exotic (Maldives! Myanmar!

Morocco!), revel instead in the simple fact that ours is a country teeming with strange terrains and sinister seas. Address those chronic spells of boredom and find a poetic yet unnerving respite several hundred feet above ground. If one still declares himself unhealed or uninspired, then at the very least there is a gorgeous view ready for the taking. If, however, the natured dance of discovery intoxicates an unsuspecting camper, there is the promise of existential discourse and an earned sense of happiness (after all, the hike does challenge all that was left of one’s semblance of stamina).

Consciously exercise a monthly or perhaps a weekly refusal to be confined within an urban labyrinth. In a setting that sees streets so unceremoniously deprived of afternoon sunshine and pavements bathed in highrise-casted shadows, there are several expeditions

only three or four toll booths past that offer glorious, uninterrupted sun.

Cease all contentment that comes with being referred to as a pedestrian and essay instead to deserve the titled adventurer or backpacker—designations autonomous from the constitution of stoplights and unforgiving traffic. While one is at it, embrace the opportunity to see oneself as something other than a consumer or a particular brand’s target market. The wild, after all, exists for no one man’s singular enjoyment.

Finally dare to author a narrative that sees new heights and takes upon more significant weights whether it is brought about by an encounter with a little wide-eyed girl residing in the mountain province or perhaps a fisherman impassive to the sea’s terrors.

Riddle oneself with the lives outside of the urban walls and storied skyscrapers, and adopt an anthem that pushes one to wander elsewhere and see places outside of friends’ online photo albums and feeds.

However, in the midst of traveling and finding sacred solace in curious valleys and peaks, readily ensure that the terrain of choice remains dutifully undisturbed. In an effort to escape the city’s fragmented offerings of nature, one must be conscious not to inflict the wild with the same sickness.

In a solitary mountaintop or vast valley so governed by a democracy of constellations and populated by changing clouds, the need to preserve the surroundings one is cradled in has never been more imperative.

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COV ER STORY

Set your foot on unpaved paths in Mt. Batulao, Batangas-a symbolic walk that reminds you that sometimes nothing goes as planned in life.

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COV ER STORY

When it comes to exploring Fortune Island in Nasugbu, Batangas, you can’t just dip your toes in the water. You simply have to jump and not look back.

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COV ER STORY

Traversing Mt. Batulao’s path is not that easy.

Your mind plays tricks on you during the long, windy trek. You have to remind yourself of what’s to come: the view when you’re on top.

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COV ER STORY

“Address those chronic spells of boredom and find a poetic yet unnerving respite several hundred feet above ground.�

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ST YLE

LOST IN THE LIGHT Where lost girls find refuge in remembering, where every exile finds hope of a return

STYLING EDLENE CABRAL PHOTOGRAPHY GABBY CANTERO

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Long knit dress, P2,990, H&M, SM City Makati.

ST YLE Knit pullover, P2,990, H&M, SM City Makati. Suede skirt, P2,195, Bershka, Glorietta 2.

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ST YLE

Shirt dress, P2,290, H&M, SM City Makati. Buttondown shirt, P1,999, Sfera, SM City Makati. Skirt, P755, Forever 21, SM Aura Premier.

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ST YLE

SHOT ON LOCATION PINTORESCO. MAKEUP CHUCHIE LEDESMA. HAIR BULLET REYES. MODELS KAT AND CRYSTALLE OF ELITE MANILA.

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ST YLE

Button-down shirt, Alexander Wang, Univers d’homme et femme, One Rockwell.

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EATS Taza serves their slow-cooked meats with garden-fresh herbs and vegetables that go with sauces made from scratch.

GARDENING CUISINE

Global flavors are rendered fresh in Tagaytay’s new garden-to-table restaurant TEXT PRISTINE L. DE LEON PHOTOGRAPHY ARTU NEPOMUCENO

The pride of a typical start-up restaurant rests on how well it upholds the culinary tradition that came before it. If faithful mimicry of the classics is the sole measure for renown, then emerging resto concept Taza falls short of its potential. Instead of importing ingredients from abroad to achieve that mark of authenticity, this restaurant at Taal Vista Hotel recreates global flavors with produce sourced from nearby areas.

If, however, we scrap all that talk about how cuisines can be authentic only by importing ingredients from the source, then just a taste of Taza’s fare can testify to its promise. Mediterranean, Italian, French, and other flavors from across the globe dynamically converge in this fresh table concept.

From the interior embellishments down to the carefully prepared meals, Taza conveys freshness with calculated subtlety. Its minimalism betrays its own extravagance, with white walls lending an appearance of vastness to its already-huge space. The clear glass partitions—permitting a glimpse of the kitchen and a superb view of Taal—conjure continuity, implying how the food comes fresh from the garden to the cooks in the kitchen and straight to the table of the guests.

“It’s a classic way of cooking, but [with] using what

we have,” remarks chef Jayme Natividad as he explains how global culinary traditions inform the resto’s menu.

For instance, there’s the Mediterranean flair evident in their starters. The varying flavors of the mezzes provide a playful prelude to the course. There’s the subtle saltiness of the brandade, which can almost be mistaken for creamy cheese, the tangential sourness of baba ganoush juxtaposed with the sharp vinegary taste of the boquerones, and the dark flavor of the liver, amping up one’s anticipation for the next provisions to be served.

The pastas they serve are similarly brimming with meat, waving the Italian flag with the finest local produce. The Pork Cheeks Ravioli can barely hide the braised organic pork and the parmesan cheese spilling from underneath. The Duck and Mushroom Lasagna, meanwhile, boasts a singular ingredient. “I tried the duck here in Laguna, and I said this is what I’m looking for,” shares Natividad.

Expect, however, that the resto’s menu would constantly change. “We try to offer various things, depending on what’s abundant in the market.” What they would retain, they assure, is always that bounty of fresh fare, a playful variety topped off with worldclass flavor.

Taza Fresh Table, Taal Vista Hotel, Kilometer 60, Aguinaldo Highway, Tagaytay City. 917-8225.

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EATS Dishes made from Fidelidad Polistico’s heirloom recipes bring back the charm of Liliw, Laguna, long before fast food chains and commercial spaces took over the old town.

A RETURN TO THE ROOTS

In the middle of the urban rush, a reminder of a savory and more languid rural life TEXT PRISTINE L. DE LEON PHOTOGRAPHY JILSON SECKLER TIU

Rural Kitchen of Liliw Laguna peeks from one corner of a building in Makati. Surrounded by the usual din of the district, the place’s subtle elegance looks starkly out of context, but the mismatch, of course, is central to its appeal. With Laguna’s bucolic feel, the old province figures as much a refuge from as it is a reversal of the busiest city in the metropolis. For chef Justin Sarabia, though, the restaurant stands for something else altogether: being in it simply means that he is home.

Entering Rural Kitchen feels like going into an old provincial abode. Mirrors and paintings dress the white walls and brown solihiya chairs, resembling those of old Spanish houses, greet the guests with a homey, Old World air. A painting by Sarabia’s cousin, Jun Domingo, serves as the restaurant’s main artwork. “[The painting’s hues shift from] warm to green,” explains Sarabia.

“It means that if you’re coming [from] outside, from Makati, it’s as if you’re going back to the province.”

According to him, the design mimics his grandfather’s residence back in Liliw. The entire restaurant, in fact, establishes the story of their clan. Revealing a further narrative behind the resto’s clear-cut name, Sarabia explains, “We named it Rural Kitchen [because] my lolo used to have several rural banks in Liliw.”

If the name and the interiors owe themselves to the

patriarch’s prime bequests, it is the lola’s craft that has nurtured the soul of the dining place. “My grandmother [cooked] a lot for big batches of people,” explains Sarabia.

“Ninety percent of the menu here [comes] from my lola’s recipes.” Unlike him who had his formal culinary training in New York, Sarabia’s grandmother did all of her cooking explorations in the kitchen, where dining preparations were regularly done for a family of 10.

Included in the list of his lola’s must-try’s is the pako salad, a lush vegetable delicacy dressed in calamansi and topped with kesong puti. Just as the palate has been cleansed in time for the succeeding fare, taste their plate of crispy squid, salty and laced with just a fraction of sweetness. Their beef mechado’s exceedingly soft meat is in itself a great enticement; the sweet flavor that erupts as soon as the flesh yields ultimately justifies its being one of the restaurant’s bestsellers.

Rural Kitchen of Liliw Laguna re-introduces the taste of authentic Filipino fare, the way it was done before excessive experimental fusions have spoiled the flavor of the traditional. Rather than following a formula, Sarabia stays faithful to taste, and when asked about a single cooking philosophy, his answer is simple: “It has to stay exactly the same as how my lola did it.”

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P R E E N

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EATS The restaurant’s Dishes made space small but fromisFidelidad not cramped: Polistico’s just the perfect heirloom recipes venue bringfor back the having charmintimate of Liliw, reunions.

Laguna, long “My friends,” before fast food comments chains and Sarabia, “would commercial come and say spacesintook ‘[We] feelold like over the [we’re] your town’s in streets. house; the only difference is that [we] have to pay for the food.’”

Rural Kitchen of Liliw, Laguna. 104 Rada St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. 779-8073.

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RECIPE

IN SMALL PORTIONS

Begin your meals with a traditional Filipino appetizer infused with crunchy sesame seeds TEXT, PHOTOGRAPHY, AND STYLING SAM LIM

SESAME-INFUSED ATSARA INGREDIENTS

6 cups white vinegar 4 tbsp. sesame oil 2 tsp. roasted sesame seeds 1 medium-sized green papaya, grated 1 medium-sized carrot, cut into thin strips 30g dried raisins 1 small red onion, thinly sliced 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 small ginger, grated 1 cup sugar Salt and pepper PREPARATION

1. In a casserole, combine white vinegar, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Bring to a boil without stirring then simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Add carrots, raisins, onion, garlic, and ginger then continue simmering until the carrots become tender.

3. Add the grated papaya and continue simmering for another 15 to 20 minutes.

4. Add the sugar, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Remove excess vinegar.

5. Let the atsara cool down then place inside air-tight containers and refrigerate for at least 1 day before using.

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T HE GET

TABLE NARRATIVES

History that comes from the dinner table TEXT BEVERLY DALTON

Like any hand-me-down, vintage kubyertos usually have an untold story that can pique a diner’s curiosity.

Someone is invited for dinner at another one’s home. The host will then prepare a special table setting with a set of utensils used only when guests are around. With food on the table and grace already said, the guest, noticing the lovely set of kubyertos, would ask, “Where are they from?”—a usual inquiry about anything vintage. And the conversation ensues from there.

Now what of dropped utensils? An old superstitious belief suggests that dropped kubyertos indicate an arriving visitor: if a kutsara fell, it would be a woman. If it was a tinidor, it would be a man. Beliefs like this, whether proven true or not, make a gathering among family and friends ever so interesting.

Designer and chief visual storyteller of Kish Store, Ito Kish, retells his own encounter with a particular set of kubyertos: “I travel all around [the world] to find interesting items for Kish,” he says, and he chanced upon these vintage silverware sets in New York City during a recent participation at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair. And as with all the other things that abound in his store, it was love at first sight for him.

Kish’s story of this chance meeting doesn’t discount love; the same goes for the superstition that lies behind dropped utensils. The diner could only hope, especially if there is no significant other already involved, of a love story that’s worth telling to be borne out of a fallen kutsara or tinidor. Listen: someone might just be knocking on your door.

Kish. 233 N. Garcia St., Bel-air Village, Makati City. 0917-5311681. info@kish.ph.

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