THE MAGAZINE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL FILIPINO
15 AUG - 15 SEPT 2012
65
ISSUE
DHS10 • BD1 • OR1 • KDO.800 • QR.10
LOCAL FILIPINO ART SHOWCASE SCULPTOR EDUARDO CASTRILLO’S ARTISTIC LEGACY BREAKING INTO THE EMIRATES ART SCENE SPOTLIGHT ON INTERNATIONAL FILIPINO SINGERS K12 – A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION? ADOPTED: TEEN ACCLIMATIZATION IN THE UAE ART & FASHION: SKINWEAR MY PINOY LIFE IN CAYMAN ISLANDS THE BIG MOVE TO CANADA VIAJE DEL SOL’S SECRET ART GARDENS ONLI IN DA PILIPINS: BA FILIPINOLOGY
CREATE
EDITOR’S NOTE
Photo by Eros Goze
Tapping into Your Inner Crazy Imagination and creativity are responsible
and possibilities? Albert Einstein once
for man’s best inventions, most significant
said – “Imagination is more important
A lot of us Pinoys are guilty of looking
works of art, and greatest feats on earth
than knowledge. For knowledge is limited
at artists in a very biased way, especially
and beyond. It is how we went to the
to all we now know and understand, while
at the budding ones who are within our
moon, how we do air and space travel,
imagination embraces the entire world,
midst.
To us, they exist in a strange
how we can have the world’s tallest
and all there ever will be to know and
world all their own; they talk in what
building, why we have awe inspiring
understand.”
seems like alien language, sometimes
paintings on the fresco of the Sistine
gibberish; they are very absorbed, or even
Chapel, it is why we sing and dance in
So the next time you feel the urge of
tortured, with their ideas and concepts.
thousands of different languages and
dismissing an artist as strange just
Most of the time, we don’t understand or
music forms around the world today, and
because he doesn’t fit into a square peg,
don’t see the value in what they are doing;
why each country has a unique culture
think of what makes him special. Better
we find their ideas weird, unthinkable,
made rich by arts and crafts punctuated
yet, ‘get with the program’ and tap into
highfalutin, unbelievable – in a nutshell,
by ethnic colors, textures, sounds and
your own brand of crazy. Unleash your
we think of them as crazy.
images.
own imagination and innate creativity.
Well, that is until they become famous
Imagination is the stuff that keeps us
for creating something spectacular that
evolving,
will earn them some recognition. And
pushing the boundaries of our existence.
Who knows? You just might discover
then, we eventually nod our heads to
Without which, man would probably
your best contribution to the world yet.
feign understanding.
still be living in caves, surviving a life of
Admit it.
It’s just in there and it comes so naturally growing
intellectually
for Filipinos like us.
and
hunting and gathering, just because that’s
This issue is dedicated to all the Filipino
how it was always done.
artists out there.
freely, unfettered by the constraints
Contrary to what most of us think,
Taas Noo, Filipino!
of conventions, established limits, or
imagination comes first before know-
popular thinking, is an amazing ability
how, skill, passion and ambition. Because
that is the precursor to making great
what would be the use of the latter if we
things happen.
can’t even begin to consider potential
The fact is, these people are the most gifted in the world. To be able to think
LALAINE CHU-BENITEZ Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
CONTRIBUTORS Alfred “Krip” A. Yuson Renowned writer Krip Yuson has co-authored travel books (among these APA Insight Guide to the Philippines and Philippines: Islands of Enchantment). He has earned distinctions as a literary author of over 20 other books — from poetry, short stories, children’s stories, biographies, and translation. A Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature Hall-of-Famer, he has also received the SEAWrite (SouthEast Asia Writer’s) Award from Thai royalty and the UMPIL or Writers’Union of the Philippines’ Gawad Balagtas for lifetime achievement.
Bo Sanchez Bo Sanchez is a Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awardee, best-selling author, respected speaker and TV personality also known as the “Preacher in Blue Jeans.” Every month, he shares worthwhile words of wisdom with Illustrado readers in his column on Spirituality.
Ambassador Grace Relucio-Princesa Career diplomat, doting mother of five and servant leader, Ambassador Grace Princesa is the first female Philippine Ambassador to the UAE. Having spent over two decades in Philippine Foreign Services, she had previous postings in Chicago, Cairo, Geneva and Baghdad. Previously a Consul in the emirates’capital, she has come back to Abu Dhabi in 2009 after 13 years.
Aby Yap
Aby believes in the importance of spaghetti, travel, fat cats, and a fast internet connection. Or, if the last one isn’t possible, an extended deadline will almost always do. As a freelance writer, shecontinuallyhopesto deliver materialthat’sbothentertaining and thought-provoking. Her work often touches on stories celebrating the exciting uniqueness, the sheer honesty and humor, of Pinoy culture.
Ana Oposa
Anna Oposa is a freelance writer with a degree in English Studies from the University of the Philippines in Diliman. She is passionate about the environment, tourism, the Philippines, and most of all, learning. Anna is a health buff who runs, swims and does yoga. She says she is best at being an ambassador of good vibes. At 24, she has already defined herself as a writer by profession and environmental advocate by passion. She is the Co-Founder and Chief Mermaid of Save Philippine Seas.
Margarita Go Singco Holmes & Jeremy Baer Columnist couple Margarita Go Singco Holmes and Jeremy Baer are a force to reckon with, especially in the realm of relationships. Margarita is a best-selling author and TV personality. A clinical psychologist and professor at the Department of Psychology, UP Diliman, she has authored 17 books. Former banker Jeremy, on the other hand, is a psychotherapist-in-training and writes a column for OPINYON, a weekly newspaper, and co-hosts an OPINYON radio show with Dr. Holmes. He is also currently working on his first book.
Niña Terol-Zialcita
Niña writes to explore the connections between people, places, cultures, and ideas. Currently a lifestyle and travel journalist, as well as a communications consultant and Deputy Editor of the socio-political blog ProPinoy.net, Nina tackles the Philippines’ new K-12 educational program, and also presents the artistic vision and legacy of sculptor Eduardo Castrillo.
Eros Goze
Known for his dramatic photography style, Eros Goze captures this month’s art and fashion collaboration entitled “Skinwear”. Freelance photographer Eros is a multi-talented artist with a background in fashion designing with an undeniably striking visual flair evident in his images.
Quay Evano
Quay Evano was based in Dubai for almost ten years before migrating to Canada with his family last year. He was very active in the Filipino community in the UAE as he was part of five Filipino clubs, taught photography to several groups and played in several rock bands in Dubai. A multi-talented artist - a writer/journalist, poet, photographer, graphic designer, painter, dancer and musician - he is always trying to make a difference and shower the world with his creative spirit wherever he may be.
Didi Paterno-Magpali
After 3-years of being in a long distance relationship, Didi finally finds herself in the arms of her ex-boyfriend and now husband in the flamboyant lap of luxury of the Middle East, Dubai. She enjoys her time in the hot and surprisingly humid desert, not by jumping into the boat of cool extravagance, but by basking in the harmonious clash of cultures by eating then writing on her food blog, D is for Delicious (http://dfordelicious.com).
Mag-book ng taxi sa Metro Station sa dalawang simpleng hakbang. 1. Gamitin ang inyong Etisalat number upang magpadala ng SMS sa 4774. 2. Ipadala ang Metro Station number sa SMS. Halimbawa, kung kayo ay nasa Red line sa number 11 at sa labas ng A, ang inyong SMS ay dapat mabasa na ‘R11A’.
Kahit saan. Kahit kailan. Facebook: Roads and Transport Authority Dubai - Group YouTube: www.youtube.com/rtadubaigov
6 TALKING LOUD
Write to us at: editor@illustrado.net or join the discussion at IIlustrado Magazine’s Facebook page
Sikat na sikat po ang inyong magazine. Saludo po kami sa mga ginagampanan ninyo. Taas noo Filipino at hawak kamay po. Ating itayo ang bandila ng ating mahal na Pilipinas. Mabuhay po tayong lahat. Lubos na gumagalang at humahanga sa kakayahan ng Illustrado… Nagmamahal ng lubos, Emely dela Cruz
Much Ado about the Terno On the “NEO FILIPINO” Fashion Editorial On Technoprenuer Diosdado Banatao Thank you for publishing the article on Diosdado Banatao (Global Entrepreneurship: Putting the High in Tech – June 2012 Issue). It was truly inspiring! It makes me very proud to be a Filipino that, one of our kababayans is actually to be credited for some technological inventions that are important the world over. Mauro Haban Proud to be Mapuan! He was our guest speaker during our graduation in MIT. Come to think of it, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs will not be famous without his inventions. Alejandro Bernardo Trajano Diosdado Banatao is a great example that one person can do so much and affect a lot of people’s lives greatly – from his inventions to his charity works. One just has to have the passion, drive and not to mention the skills and sky is the limit. Cons Abelleda
Greetings from the heart Hello po sa lahat ng mga kababayan sa Illustrado Magazine! Kamusta po kayong lahat? Pag-palain po kayo ng Poong Maykapal. Hindi nyo po naitatanong, isa po ako sa mga menbers ng UNIFILS. Hawak po kami ni Ms. Leny Alzaga. Talagang ikinararangal ko po ang pagka-Filipino natin. Kahit saan po tayo ay Hinahangaan, higit sa lahat po dito sa UAE.
I honestly do not think I can stretch my imagination to even detect the faintest influence of the terno nor the barong in this short formal. Will somebody please point to me where I could detect the influence of the terno sleeves, the alampay, the tapis, the panuelo or any hint of our pride and joy, our national costume for many generations for or beautiful and gracious women? I have no intention of mocking the creator behind this number. But we must call a spade a spade. A nation’s national costume is as sacrosanct as the flag. This number is interesting. One could even classify it as a fashion statement, but being influenced by the terno or the barong, it definitely is not. This is of course just an opinion of a Filipino who has respect and love for anything that is Pinoy. Christian De Leon Espiritu I’m totally confused here! One day we’re preaching about being global, moving with the times and being innovative, but now we must stick with the old tradition to respect the sanctity of what is known to be “Filipiniana”? If we limit our acceptance of other people’s choices, isn’t that what we all despise and call as dictatorship? We don’t have the right to impose, as if the designer committed a mortal sin for sharing his own interpretations. We are all for growth, moving forward, but we’re still being dragged by so many restrictions when it comes to artistic expressions. I agree with respecting traditions, but we should draw the line when the act being done is with malice! Albert Gonzales Fontanilla
An artist’s interpretation is his own and like what my brother John said to me (the creator of this number), if other people seeing this ‘picture’ are drawn to intelligent conversations about it, then he has done his job. Paul Herrera
We definitely know the value of our sartorial heritage and that is why we initiate projects such as these to push the envelope. Inasmuch as we respect the purist or traditional view, so do we welcome the modern and sometimes even offthe-wall take on fashion. We believe that there is space and merit for both. We love our traditional clothing made famous by designers like Christian, but also welcome John Herrera’s piece that he professes was terno ‘inspired’, as well as past collections from Ezra Santos, and Bandoix Flores which were derived from Filipiniana, Valentino’s take on the barong, including the way Apl de Ap wears the barong with jeans, booths and his sparkly Pinoy flag belt. In the June/July 2012 fashion editorial, we also love that Jerome Lorico found new use of indigenous fabrics for very contemporary sporty men’s wear. Several years ago, we also featured a collection of Barge Ramos barongs worn in the most irreverent of ways – with slashed jeans, metal accessories, painted man nails, etc. To us in Illustrado, all these represent various shades of diverging from tradition, representing all sorts of ideas as tastefully as we can, as we believe that fashion is limitless and very personal. Finally, we also think that to preserve our heritage, we must evolve and translate what is considered old to something very relevant to today. How far we can evolve, is a question we pose to our brilliant designers. We also think that it would be very sad, if our terno and barong will be considered as things of the past and used solely as ceremonial garbs to be worn by politicians, or during weddings, ‘binyags’ and only special occasions. Editor
Publisher & Editor-in Chief Lalaine Chu-Benitez Associate Editor Ana Santos CONTRIBUTING WRITERS UAE, Philippines, USA Aby Yap Anna Lorraine Balita JR Bustamante Bernadette Reyes Jude Cartalaba Bo Sanchez Karen Galarpe Carlito Viriña KC Abalos David Poarch Krip Yuson Excel Dyquiangco Nikka Sathou Flordeliz Samonte Nina Terol- Zialcita Francisco Colayco Rache Hernandez Isabelo Samonte Rome Jorge Ivan Henares Toni Loyola Jack Catarata Sonny Guzman Jesse Edep Vic Lactaoen ART DIRECTORS Tom Bolivar Paula Lorenzo Ron Perez CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS UAE Eros Goze Mariyah Gaspacho Christina Linaza Illuminado Ong Donald Rosales CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS PHILIPPINES Enzo Mondejar Dr. Marlon Pecjo Alan Desiderio CONTRIBUTING STYLISTS & FASHION TEAM UAE Jessie Tabla Ginno Alducente Jojo Padua Frankie Melendez PUBLISHER - UAE Illustrado Communications FZ-LLC 2nd Floor, Building 2, P.O. Box 72280 Office 20C Dubai Media City, UAE Tel: +9714 365 4543, 365 4547 Fax:+9714 360 4771 E-mail: admin@illustrado.net, info@illustrado.net Web: www.illustrado.net, www.illustradolife.com PRINTERS PRINTWELL PRINTING LLC P.O. Box 18828 Dubai, UAE Copyright Illustrado Communications FZ-LLC 2006-2012. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Illustrado Communications FZ-LLC.
CONTENTS
56 JUNE 2012
Models Alex Callueng and Clarita de Quiroz sport some unusual Skinwear in this month’s art and fashion editorial.
FEATURES
K-12: A Step in the Right Direction? Adopted: Teen Acclimatization in the UAE Sculpting History: Eduardo Castrillo Breaking into the Emirates Art Scene Local Filipino Art Showcase All the World’s a Stage London Calling
12 16 22 24 28 34 38
REGULAR COLUMNS
Editor’s Note 1 Contributors 4 Letters 6 Illuminati: Our Art, Always on the Cutting Edge 10 Kabuhayan: Papemelroti 40 Kabuhayan: Buying Antiques and Collecting Art 42 It’s What I Do 44 Spirituality: My Kids are Not Going to School 46 Relationships: Errant Husband 48 Illustrado Scrapbook 52 Trippin’: 5 Things to Do 74 Minority Report 94 Bayanihan Corner 98 Community 98 Onli in Da Pilipins: BA Filipinology 100 Just Sayin’: But What do I Know? 102
ART & FASHION Skinwear 56
PLACES
My Pinoy Life in – Cayman Islands 76 Global Barrio: The Big Move to Canada 84 Trippin’: Viaje del Sol’s Secret Art Gardens 88
76 28
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12 ILLUMINATI
Ramon Orlina
OUR ART, EVER ON THE CUTTING EDGE By Krip Yuson
No doubt about it. Our art, our music, our creativity are our strongest suit as a people. Okay, officially we’re high up on the happiness index, too, and of course our hospitality has been legendary — from welcoming Magellan to plant a cross on a shore to hosting foreign troops on a turnpike basis. But I posit that our incidence of creativity is related to both of those other prime national characteristics, perchance spawned in fact by both. And the faster our planet tilts towards high-speed evolution, inclusive of technology that seems to be upgraded each morning, the more evidence Pinoys rack up: that we welcome change as much as we hog tradition and that with every development, we can never be a step behind. We just always have to be on the cutting edge. Maybe it has something to do with having learned early on to grasp the knife’s sharp blade in times of desperation.
Illustrado Magazine
Our country is already known as the texting capital of the world. Only recently it’s also been advanced that we could also well be the global meme capital. Nothing escapes our imagination and sense of fun, especially since we see most anything and everything as a source of fun. That is principally why our fresh tourism thrust about anything and everything being more fun in the Philippines caught on like anything, and everything it spawned was nothing short of a deluge of imagination, creativity, humor, and yes, total fun. The Senate impeachment proceedings
against a Chief Justice gave birth to so much fun and humor in the form of graphic memes. That recurring image of wheelchairs as an objective correlative of former power on evasion mode went on to grace not only Facebook Walls, but editorial cartoon space in foreign newspapers. (See the Sydney Morning Herald’s prizewinning cartoonist Edd Aragon’s take on serial artful dodgers, from Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to Renato Corona to Timothy Bradley.) Oh yes, Bradley’s questionable defeat of our Pambansang Kamao could only revive the visual satire brought about by fisticuffs at our international airport involving
ILLUMINATI 13 Ramon OrlinaHomage to Mondrian in glass
Ramon OrlinaRice Harvest in Banaue
journalist Ramon Tulfo and actress Claudine Barretto. In much the same way has the American Idol’s final choice, Phillip Phillips, who turned our Fil-Mex-Am Jessica Sanchez into an also-ran, become fodder for more memes, especially when an ill-advised clothing ad trumpeting genetic percentages was pounced upon by all the inspired and/or enraged slogancum-graphic designers — albeit amateur but certainly not amateurish were all these. It is this sense of fun, humor, satire from mild to acerbic, irreverence, and plain rugged-individualist ornery-ness that fuels our creative drive. Or is it the other way around? As I write this in mid-June, I am torn between the demands of work and the spate of invites from friends opening art exhibits. I can only gnash my molars that I could not show up at the unveiling of Ramon Orlina’s latest display of glass sculpture, billed as “Brilliance” — where six of our National Artists (the exhibitor’s fellow sculptors Billy Abueva and Abdulmari Imao, painters Arturo Luz and BenCab, and writers Frankie Sionil Jose and Bien Lumbera) were on hand to stamp their Good Housekeeping seal of approval. Camille dela Rosa, yet a young painter (the precocious daughter of an old buddy who passed away early, the distinguished painter Ibarra dela Rosa), opened her nth solo exhibit with an array of works covering her past 21 years of visual creativity, including her latest series of surrealist images glorifying the Filipina. A 20-something daughter of long-time artist-friends, Maxine Syjuco, also had
an exhibit opening I missed, even at the risk of incurring the tampo displeasure of the prodigious Flying-Wallendas-ofPhilippine-art family led by Jean Marie Syjuco and Cesare A.X. Syjuco, my kumare and kumpare. Here’s hoping the kindred candle of betrothal isn’t returned my way. In any case, I cite these three instances of art show openings — all occurring in less than a week’s span, all of which I became aware of because I received personal invites — as a measure of the wealth of art talent we have - in Metro Manila alone, in visual arts alone. If I can be invited by friends to three different art shows they’ve mounted on the same week, which is really quite a regular occurrence, imagine how many art exhibits are set up daily all over our islands. On my FB news page, I see that my friend and idol Nunelucio Alvarado is mounting his own nth solo show — “Inspirasyon ni Alvarado: Paintings & Drawings,” from July 13 to August 10 at Museo Iloilo. On the same page, I see how a new art collective has set up vertical art streamers relating to our recent Independence Day commemoration on the elegant grounds of the BenCab Museum in Baguio. I also see that my writer-friend Rica Bolipata Santos has been posting photos on the art activities at her home, featuring her kids. Of course she comes from a family of fine musicians and artists associated with the Casa San Miguel Center for the Arts run by the Bolipata family in Zambales. In Dumaguete, artists and writers and musicians are all abloom. Same joyous banana in Bacolod, Cebu, Davao, Puerto
Princesa, indeed, all over our cities, our islands, our creatively blessed environment. Theater, indie film, pop opera, jazz, dance, a world champion in ballet… You name it, we have it in spades. Healing art movements, poetry workshops, graffiti artists, hip-hop rap battles… You name it, and they’re all ever burgeoning, ever bursting at the seams with wild talent and disciplined genius.
Why, all over our archipelago, it seems everybody and his brother and sister is an artist. Well, except for most of our public officials, lawyers, priests, and tricycle drivers… But they’re probably getting the message, too: that art is not just our salvation, but our eternal sunrise enterprise.
Ramon OrlinaOptimism
14 FEATURE
K 12 to
A step in the right direction? The Philippines finally takes the first crucial steps toward education reform. But what will it entail — and will it work? Niña Terol-Zialcita takes the time to hit the books to find out. Illustrado Magazine
On June 2012, some 31 million students — a population larger than that of Malaysia — trooped back to school with a new curriculum that is said to put the Philippines firmly on the road to progress. Over two million of them are five-yearolds going to school for the first time, under a government-mandated “universal kindergarten” curriculum. Meanwhile, 14 million elementary students and almost six million high school students are filling up the country’s 45,000 public elementary and high schools. Another estimated three million children would have enrolled in
private elementary and high schools. All of them are part of an ongoing curriculum and educational system shift that will eventually entail six years of primary education, four years of junior high school, and two years of senior high school. This program is what is now known as “K to 12”.
K-what? According to a primer released by the Department of Education (DepEd) in www.gov.ph, the Official Gazette of the Office of the President, “The K to 12
FEATURE 15 Program covers kindergarten and 12 years of basic education (six years of primary education, four years of junior high school, and two years of senior high school [SHS]) to provide sufficient time for mastery of concepts and skills, develop lifelong learners, and prepare graduates for tertiary education, middle-level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship.” In short, the Philippine public education system will now entail an extra two years of high school, such that subjects usually taken up during the first two years of college would have been covered by the time a student finishes high school. Also, instead of graduating from high school at 16, students under the new curriculum will be finishing high school at 18 years old. According to the DepEd, “The additional two years (grades 11 and 12) or SHS will allow students to choose among academic, technical–vocational, or sports and arts tracks depending on their interest, the community needs, and the results of their skills assessment. In general, specializations will either be college preparatory, immediate work/career readiness, or a combination of both.” Furthermore, “Specializations will also be guided by local needs and conditions. For example, schools serving farming or fishing communities will offer agriculture or fishery-related specializations. Schools located in manufacturing zones will have technical courses relevant to the sector, and so will schools in the vicinity of the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry. Science high schools will continue to provide higher degrees of science competencies, as well as the arts.” This means that graduates who prefer to work or start their own businesses right after high school would have already had the necessary skills, competencies, intellectual maturity, and legal capacity to do so. College will no longer be a requirement for employment or business, but may be pursued by those who have the intellectual acumen and financial capacity
to do so. This is similar to the educational setup in other developed countries such as the United States, Australia, Singapore, and many others.
“Kulelat” no more In fact, global education statistics show that the Philippines is kulelat (a laggard) compared to most countries in the world. It is the only country in Asia — and only three in the whole world (the other two being in Africa) — to have only 10 years of basic education, while other countries have 11 or 12 years of basic education. An international agreement, the Bologna Accord, requires 12 years of education for university admission and practice of profession in European countries. Likewise, the Washington Accord, an international agreement that standardizes the accreditation of engineering degrees, requires 12 years of basic education for recognition and entry into the engineering profession. According to the DepEd, “Overseas Filipino workers are not automatically recognized as professionals in other countries that view the ten-year education program as insufficient.” To this, President Benigno S. Aquino III himself has said, “We need to add two years to our basic education. Those who can afford pay up to fourteen years of schooling before university. Thus, their children are getting into the best universities and the best jobs after graduation. I want at least twelve years for our public school children, to give them an even chance at succeeding.” And if test scores are the ultimate measure of performance in educational institutions, ours are dismal and downright embarrassing. A report published in Smart Parenting magazine cited that “National Achievement Test (NAT) results for grade 6 in school year 2009-2010 showed only a 69.21% passing rate while the NAT results for high school is at a low 46.38%. Moreover, international tests results in 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science study (TIMSS) show that the Philippines ranked 34th out of 38
K-12 101
What is K-12 in a nutshell? K-12 is an education reform program of the Aquino administration that offers “universal access” to kindergarten for five year-old students, 12 years of basic education for all elementary and high school students, and an improved and “decongested” curriculum that is said to improve the way students master the necessary skills to succeed in school and in life.
How many years will be added to the school curriculum? Two. Aside from “universal” kindergarten, students under K-12 will have two additional years of “senior high school.”
When will the changes take place? For Grade 1 and 1st year HS/Grade 7 students, the new curriculum is already being implemented this year. Grade 11 (5th year HS) will be introduced in SY 2016-2017, while Grade 12 (6th year HS) will be introduced in SY 2017-2018. The first batch of fully integrated K-to-12 students will graduate in March 2018. (Source: DepEd)
What are the benefits of K-12? According to the Department of Education, the K-12 program will make Filipino graduates more prepared for employment and/or entrepreneurship as early as after high school, will make them more globally competitive in a world where 12 years of education is the norm, and will allow for better absorption and understanding of lessons through a decongested and more responsive curriculum.
16 FEATURE countries in HS Math and 43rd out of 46 countries in HS II Science. Moreover, the Philippines ranked the lowest in 2008 even with only the science high schools joining the Advanced Mathematics category.” The DepEd expects figures like these to change under K-12. The revised curriculum also accounts for “decongesting” the curriculum so that students will no longer have to cram so much information in so many subjects in a span of just 10 years. “The decongested curriculum will allow mastery of competencies and enable students to better cope with the lessons,” the DepEd primer says.
Will K-12 work? On paper, K-12 looks like the magic pill that will transform the Philippine educational system from a limping laggard to a savvy superpower. It promises to change the way children are taught and the way they learn; change the way Filipino graduates are perceived by the international community; and, ultimately, change the lives of those who could not access certain opportunities because they could not go to college. It promises to level the playing field and give every Filipino a fairer shot at life. However, it will take more than a “new and improved” curriculum and additional years of schooling to make Philippine education worldclass. There are more classrooms and facilities to build, more books and materials to make available, more teachers to train. It will take massive resources and sincere efforts at public-private partnerships to move this sleeping giant. Though with K-12, it appears that the giant is finally awake and conscious. And it will be only a matter of time before it starts to get moving.
K-12 by the numbers
(Source: DepEd, Manila Bulletin) Estimated enrollment population in 2012: Almost 31 million Public kindergarten: 1.73 million Public elementary: 14 million Public high school: 5.76 Private kindergarten, elementary, and high school: Approximately 3 million Number of years to be added to the old curriculum: 2
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Percentage of public awareness of K-12 (as of an Social Weather Station survey published in June 2012): 49% Percentage of Filipinos who believe that K-12 will “give students sufficient knowledge and preparation to pursue higher education” (as of an Social Weather Station survey published in June 2012): 65% Percentage of Filipinos who “strongly believe” that students will benefit from the program (as of December 2011): 57% Percentage of increase in income per additional year of schooling: 7.5%
What does K-12 mean for private schools?
Private schools, which also fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Education (DepEd), will be also be implementing the 12-year basic education program. However, as some private schools already have two years of kindergarten and seven years of elementary education and four years of high school (in effect, at least 12 years of basic education), their implementation plan may differ. Parents are encouraged to discuss this with their school representatives. For the full briefer, visit http://www.gov.ph/k-12/
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ADOPTED The Faces of Teen
ADOPTEDin TEENS Acclimatization the UAE
Unlike their homeland-based counterparts, the children of Filipino expat families are exposed to many opportunities and challenges that come with living in a more multi-cultural environment. Didi Paterno-Magpali takes a look at teens in the UAE to see how they are adjusting, and not just settling in, but growing up in a land different from their own.
Living in the Filipino desert bubble Marianne Dominique Dinsay, 13 years old, has lived a life of a teenage Filipino nomad. Hopping from place to place because of her father’s government assignments, Marianne has lived and studied in Metro Manila, Davao City and, now, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Despite constantly
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being on the move, Dinsay is enjoying an almost normal Filipino life. She and her family live in the comfort of their own private home and she studies in the Philippine National School in Abu Dhabi together with fellow Filipino expat children.
choice to stick with the Filipino education community, “(First), my sister and I still wanted to be with Filipinos. And (the) second reason is we know that with our lifestyle we will always be going back to the Philippines, so we wanted a curriculum that is the same with the Philippines.”
Even if international schools are easily within reach for Filipino expat children like Marianne, she particularly chose to study in a Philippine school. Her parents actually gave her a freehand in choosing whether to study in an international school or a Philippine school. She explains her
Though she enjoys shorter class hours, which means more time spent with family and fellow Filipino teens from Catholic evangelical group, Youth For Christ (YFC), Dinsay is required to work extra hard to learn Arabic.
FEATURE 19 schooling five years ago at The Philippine School (TPS) Dubai, where he was amongst Filipino peers studying under a Philippine based curriculum. Regular gettogethers of the Damot brood with other Filipino families with young children also eased Carl into the life in the desert.
Has she been able to practice her Arabic with Arab peers? Not really, being surrounded by fellow Filipinos who communicate in Filipino or English. Dinsay admits not having any non-Filipino friends just yet. “I’ve always been open to the idea of having friends that are 100% (non) Filipino.” she said, “I can learn more through them like they’re lifestyle or how they see life. I’ve always wanted to see things through other people’s eyes...I have always been a shy girl. But if I really need to do something like walk up to the person and say ‘Hi’, then I’d do it.”
Dubai, UAE for almost five years now. Unlike Marianne, who lived in a private family home upon setting foot in the UAE, Carl and his parents used to share a villa (i.e. a large house) with other Filipino families, who were of no blood relations. It was huge difference from the intimate private home that their little family enjoyed. Though Carl claims to have fit in comfortably, despite the presence of strangers in the same house “Hindi naman po ako nahirapan mag adjust sa bahay kasi po parang pareho lang sa tinitirhan namin dati pero may iba lang kasama na Filipino
Recently, Damot transferred to The Winchester School, an international school with a British based curriculum, where he is happily adjusting to a multicultural environment with classmates who are of British, Indian, Arab and other Asian nationalities, “Mas madali kasi interactive, at mas madami akong natututunan dito sa Winchester. Meron kaming French, Arabic and UAE Social Studies classes. Merong Quran classes for Muslims and Moral Science for non-Muslims kung saan kami tinuturuan ng tama sa mali tulad ng kung ano gagawin sa cyber-bullying. (I think it is easier at Winchester because of the interactive way of teaching. At the same time, I think I do learn more. We have French, Arabic and UAE social studies classes. We have Quran classes for Muslims and Moral Science for non-Muslims - like myself - where we are taught the difference between right and wrong like what to do about cyberbullying.)” He actually was happy to let go of the heavy weight school books he used to have at TPS. “Mabigat at makapal yung mga libro sa TPS. Masakit po sa likod. (My schoolbooks from TPS were huge and thick. Carrying them around hurt my back.”) But the weight of the books was replaced by the weight of making friends with peers not of Filipino descent: “Sometimes when you’re socializing with others, it’s hard to understand what they are saying because of their accents. But eventually, you can get used to it and understand what they say.”
Coming out of the Filipino cocoon Carl Jason Valdez Damot, 12 years old, like Marianne, was transplanted from his homeland to the UAE because of his father’s work assignment. He has been in
(I didn’t have a hard time adjusting because I basically enjoy the same living conditions as I did before...except that I was living with other Filipinos.)” Damot didn’t have difficulty adjusting to the school life in Dubai. He started out
Carl just kept to heart some reminders shared during his student orientation: “Bawal magsalita ng sarili mong language kasi baka iniinsulto mo yung kaklase mo... dapat lahat ng sinasabi mo maintindihan ng lahat, mapa-teacher man o estudyante. (Speaking in your native language is prohibited in school because you might be using it to
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insult your classmates. Everything that you say must be understood by everyone, both teachers and students.)” Slowly, but surely Carl is starting to gain non-Filipino friends as well as gain perspective about other nationalities. “Wag mo sila iinsultuhin pwede din nilang insultuhin ang kulturang Pilipino. Wag mo silang insultuhin at mabait naman sila. (Don’t insult them because they can insult Filipino culture, too. Don’t insult them because they are kind people.)”
No need to say it loud to be proud “I’ve only lived in the Philippines for 8-months. I was born in Manila but I have lived in the UAE for 13-years,” M i c h a e l a “Mickey” Bernadette Santos, shares in her strong expat English twang. She was quite apologetic about her not being able to speak in straight Filipino. Santos grew up with English as her native language because she needed it
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for interaction with her schoolmates and friends, who are from a multitude of nationalities including Indian to British to Iranian to Palestinian and many more. She considers this to be one of the best things about growing up as a teenager in the UAE. “I was lucky enough to be sent to an international school. I asked my parents why they did it and they said that I would get to learn new things (outside of what I learn from my parents like French and Arabic) on my own. Now, I even get to teach my parents new things I learn!” But despite Mickey’s being away from the Philippines for almost her entire life, that did not stop her from being proud of being a Filipino. In her words, “(Yes) I am proud, (but) I don’t usually brag about it much... See what you see. I am Filipina. You don’t (really) have to brag you’re Filipino.” Why not brag about being Filipino? Though she blends in with ease with the local multi-cultural environment, she is not exempt to the regular taunts Filipinos receive from other nationalities. “The disadvantage (of being a Filipino in the UAE) is that arrogant people tend to tease me about how Filipinos are usually maids and workers. I don’t really enjoy
the attitude some of the people have here. It’s intolerable!” She expressed her utmost gratitude to her parents, who taught her how to stand up against discrimination of any kind, whether it be against gender or nationality. She recalls a time when a classmate picked on her for simply having the same nationality as her maid. “I told her off saying: Not all Filipinos are maids. They are (admirable) workers, who would pick and do any job just to provide for their families.” Thousands of these Filipino workers in the Middle East are very much like Mickey’s parents, who have been in the Middle East since the late 80’s. This is why she has great respect for fellow Filipinos toiling in the desert. However, she finds herself shaking her young, yet surprisingly mature and level-headed teenage head whenever she sees disconcerting behavior from her kababayans. Her advise to help uplift the image and morale of her countrymen, and perhaps save fellow teenagers like her from the torments of other nationalities: “More Filipinos should care a tiny bit about how other (nationalities) see us because their actions impact not just (themselves), but (how they view) our entire country.”
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Spirit of EDSA 2
People Power monument
SCULPTING HISTORY:
The vision and artistic legacy of Eduardo Castrillo By Niña Terol-Zialcita • Photos courtesy of Eduardo Castrillo
According to sculptor Eduardo Castrillo, “Art will always contribute to the progress of any nation.” Niña Terol-Zialcita carves out a portrait of Eduardo Castrillo, a Filipino sculptor whose works have helped awaken in fellow Filipinos their sense of history as well as their love for country and freedom. With works that include the monuments of such national heroes as Andres Bonifacio, Rajah Sulayman, and Col. Juan Villamor; historical monuments depicting The Cry of Tondo and The Martyrdom of Dr. Jose P. Rizal; and perhaps his best-known works of all, the People Power Monument at EDSA and Spirit of EDSA 2 at RCBC Plaza, Eduardo “Ed” Castrillo has left an enduring legacy that no other sculptor of his generation has matched. As early as 1971, The Asia Magazine called Castrillo an “artist, sociologist, [and] political commentator.” The then29-year-old Castrillo was set to represent the Philippines at the 1971 Paris Biennale, but the tumult of his socio-political
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environment had been foremost on his mind. “As a social creature, I must respond to the problems facing us,” the magazine had quoted Castrillo as saying. “The artist must participate in the solution of problems, in filling the gap between rich and poor, in changing traditions that hamper the growth of society.” The Martial Law years sent many a young artist packing for more peaceful shores, but Castrillo went back to the Philippines after a successful series of shows abroad, to “heed an inner calling to bring hope and awareness back to his people.” His fervent love of country was evident in his historical
FEATURE 25 Bantayog ng mga Bayani
sculpture stepped into the contemporary technology, opening possibilities in outdoor monuments heretofore considered impossible in the country.” Meanwhile, Cid Reyes, one of the Philippine art world’s most loved art critics, wrote this about Castrillo and his work:
sculptures and heroes’ monuments. The early 70s saw the birth of works such as his Catharsis series, The Redemption at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina, and Pagbubungkos (“To Unite”) at the Heart Center in Quezon City, among others. In 1975, Castrillo campaigned for the opposition when then-First Lady Imelda Marcos ran for governor of Metro Manila. He was jailed and eventually placed under house arrest, forbidden to leave the country without a special permit. In The Asia Magazine in 1982, writer Roger Boschman called Castrillo a “rebel, a freedom fighter.” A rebel with a giant vision Indeed, a rebel and a freedom fighter he seemed to have been across all facets of his life. Aside from being a political activist, Castrillo is credited as having democratized the use of alternative media in sculpture, with the “courage and tenacity to explore new materials such as plastics, Plexiglas, and [work] with less pliable materials such as welded smithed metal.” Castrillo’s work over four decades has also included environmental art, abstract pieces, functional art pieces, art jewelry and body sculptures, as well as “liturgical arts [and] hammer-out bar relief murals with strong messages of social issues.” According to Yuchengco Museum curator Jeannie Javelosa, “The choice of medium and the impact of his works, opened a new dimension to sculptural works in the country. In his works, Philippine
“What distinguishes Castrillo from the rest is the energy of great ambition. Not in the ‘careeristic’ sense but in grandeur of vision — and result. Vision alone, without the requisite willpower, remains just that: a vague, amorphous yearning. But because it is in the character of Castrillo to attack a challenge headon, and, more importantly, on his own terms, he has achieved what no other Filipino sculptor has done.” In a recent email interview with the artist, Castrillo himself shared the meaning that he puts behind his art. “Every sculptural art expression is a struggle and a challenge of huge proportions — physically, and by way of heralding my beliefs.” He added, “I consider the People Power Monument my most important public art work for it reflects the totality of my human existence as an artist and responsible citizen.” Global force In 1995, Alfredo Roces wrote in the book, From Breaking Out: An Eduardo Castrillo Sculptural Tour: “… Castrillo has injected the notion of the sculptor with a mission which is to create graphic slices of a nation’s rich cultural heritage which stirs community consciousness and educate the populace in patriotism. To bolster pride in a nation’s history. To bolster pride in the nation’s identity… and he has taken his public sculpture to Guam, Singapore, [Hong
Kong], the United States and Europe, making him one of the few Filipino sculptors to gain an international market.” Indeed, from as far back as the 1960s, the rest of the world had already recognized Castrillo’s vision and mastery over various forms of materials. Aside from many parts of the Philippines, his works have been commissioned and shown in places such as Los Angeles, Florida, Washington, New York and Guam in the United States; Spain; Milan and Rome in Italy; international biennales in Paris and in Venice; Tokyo, Japan; Hong Kong. Institutional and private collectors from these countries have acquired his works as well: Switzerland, The Vatican, Saudi Arabia, Poland, Brunei Darussalam, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore. Of this, Castrillo had said, “My monuments stand in all Southeast Asian countries, the Mariana Islands, the United States, and the Middle East and parts of Eastern Europe. I see myself not just a Filipino artist. But this issue boils down to the true significance of an artist (of any country) of national stature, [who] cannot but help that his achievements be respected in the international milieu…” The world and its elements have been this maverick artist’s playground for over four decades now, but there is no stopping a man of grand vision and ambition. He reveals where he hopes to devote his energy for the next few years. “I have conceptualized/designed my magnum opus, and it is to create a signature art theme park where I will expand my entire artistic prowess in one area. Artistically composed and created to its finest details, I will be doing architecture, sculpture, mosaic, glass, liturgical art, jewelry, functional arts, graphics, and design — the landscape [will be] like an aerial painting using botanical colors.” “I hope that I still have the breath to do it,” he concluded. For this country that is constantly in search of icons and inspiration, Castrillo’s hope will resonate for many more years to come.
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Brush your way into
EMIRATES ART
Gone are the days when Filipinos would find it difficult to enter an art exhibition or even present a collection to a gallery owner here in the UAE. Without a doubt, the door is now open. Sherry Tenorio delves into how budding Pinoy artists can make a name in the burgeoning local art scene. Quietly flourishing is perhaps the best way to describe the art community in the UAE, especially in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Month after month, galleries open, artists put up exhibits, and events are launched. Only a few artists, however, get the privilege to go mainstream in the biggest events like Art Dubai and Abu Dhabi Art. Despite this, creative groups are slowly generating buzz in the emirates. Filipino creativity is no stranger to the art scene in the UAE. With the likes of Darwin “Japat” Guevarra, Tini Meyer and the lowbrow group Brownmonkeys, Pinoys have definitely made an exceptional mark in this multi-national community. These artists,
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together with many other photographers, graphic designers and multi-media creatives thriving in advertising and design agencies, have opened doors for aspiring Pinoy to showcase their innate talents. No artist can say that it is easy, but it is not impossible to break into the local art industry. In a chat with awardwinning Guevarra, the artist shared, “Being Filipinos, we are accustomed to joining fellow Pinoy community groups. But it is time for artists to explore other communities. I, myself, use many ways to reach out and be seen in the local art scene.”
According to Guevarra, Pinoys should dream bigger and aim to be recognized by international art groups. Yes, it is a privilege to be renowned in the Filipino circle, but it is also fitting to let the world see what kind of talents Pinoys have. He furthered, “Aside from joining competitions (which, in fact, led to his rise to international recognition), Dubai is filled with a number of groups and organizations an artist can openly join.” Not only does art thrive in Dubai, the country’s capital Abu Dhabi is also famous for its take on culture and art. As of now, Saadiyat Island Cultural District in Abu Dhabi is being developed to be the cultural
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Making a name for one’s self in the international art community in the UAE is no longer an elusive dream. It is a reality that talented Pinoys should aspire for and pursue. With talent and hard work, nothing is impossible. So, dream on, take charge and brush your way into the local art industry. hub which will house Zayed National Museum, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and the Louvre Abu Dhabi. The city’s Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) continues to support huge projects as well as annual art fairs and exhibitions. Indeed the community grows in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi. And it has become more accessible due to social media. According to Guevarra “Use Facebook or Twitter to follow the happenings of these groups, and do not be intimidated to approach them and show your work.” One of the reasons why Pinoys find it difficult to break into the local art industry is fear. Japat said that there are a lot of Filipinos who still fear that they might be denied because of their nationality. Japat
knows exactly how it feels to be rejected that way. But he explained, “That was before. It is different now. Galleries and event organizers are open to almost every one, and if they are not, they would specify if there are limitations. Artists should not feel that being Pinoy is a hindrance to their growth in the city’s art scene.” Rollan Rodriguez, a founding member of the renowned low-brow movement Pinoy group called Brownmonkeys, shared, “For aspiring artists, they need to stay updated about the art scene. If they want their works to be seen, they need to join group shows. There are a number of shows happening in the city, they just need to be aware of them.” Art galleries in Dubai and Abu Dhabi do
not directly approach budding artists. But once you’ve gained respect, it will not be long before you can take active part in the art world in the emirates. “Since members of Brownmonkeys each have their own full time jobs, we try to limit the activities we join as a group. When there are calls for individual projects, we support each other and we bring with our own names, the name of the Brownmonkeys as well,” Rodriguez concluded. Making a name for one’s self in the international art community in the UAE is no longer an elusive dream. It is a reality that talented Pinoys should aspire for and pursue. With talent and hard work, nothing is impossible. So, dream on, take charge and brush your way into the local art industry.
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Tips for Aspiring Artists Do you have talent and aspire to be recognized in the local art scene? Here are some practical tips for you to showcase your work.
Use social media to join groups Thanks to the internet, everything you need is at your fingertips – and that includes the local art groups. Find contacts and network with other artists, and subscribe to the updates of local groups you are interested in. Find and follow them on Facebook or Twitter. Do not be afraid to introduce yourself, if necessary, or join group workshops or exhibits. One must-join group is the Alserkal Avenue, a place in the industrial Al Quoz that houses 20 creatives within a oneblock radius. It holds exhibition openings, photography and business workshops, inspiring talks and events, with 10 art galleries, private art museum and even a coffee shop to lounge around in. Check them out on Facebook or visit their site at www.alserkalavenue.com. Serious about practicing your art? Join Tashkeel, a Dubai-based creative facility located at the Nad Al Sheba area dedicated to promoting design practice, cultural dialogue and creative exchange. Here, members are given access to studio facilities which are: painting, photography darkroom, printmaking, textile printing, MAC lab, jewelry and 3D practice. In addition to the studio resources, there is an up to date journals and reference library as well as a member’s room and a gallery open to the public. Tashkeel also provides non-members the opportunity to attend workshops facilitated by seasoned respected artists. Check out Tashkeel on http://www.tashkeel.org/ or their Facebook page Tashkeel Hub. Keep tabs on the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority on the web (http://www. dubaiculture.ae/en/) or on Facebook, as well. The government department’s mission is to actively support and drive
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Dubai’s development as a dynamic culture, heritage and arts centre by creating an environment that facilitates and inspires cultural activity. By linking with them on Facebook, you will be updated with the latest in the art scene as they bring together the artistic community, patrons, the facilitators and the public at large – in active dialogue. Similarly, you can join the Abu Dhabi Art Hub’s growing group on Facebook. Touted as the first artist’s community in the UAE, Abu Dhabi Art Hub serves artists especially beginners a place to live, create and showcase their works. Based in the Musaffah area of Abu Dhabi, it provides great facilities on affordable pricing for artists to benefit from. Make sure that you bookmark the Arts Abu Dhabi website (wwwartsabudhabi.ae) to keep you updated on the latest events and exhibits happening in the capital.
Attend exhibits and events How else would you know what is happening and who’s who in the industry if you do not attend events and exhibits related to art? There are annual events that are not-to-be-missed. One of which is Art Dubai, a leading contemporary art fair in the Middle East and South Asia, it has become the essential venue for collectors, artists and art professionals from across the region and beyond. Also, there is Design Days Dubai, which hosts the best of limited edition and collectible design with leading design galleries from around the world, seminars, workshops and guided tours in a prime location in Downtown Dubai. Another annual event that you have to keep in your radar is the Middle East Film & Comic Con, the region’s largest pop culture and entertainment festival which aims to encourage a new generation of artists, writers, directors and entrepreneurs within the entertainment and artistic field. Moreover, there are a number of art exhibits that open around the galleries in the city. Be in the know, check out their work, and present yourself. These exhibit
openings are great opportunities to meet people. On the Abu Dhabi front, any artist, budding or not, should be present at Abu Dhabi Art – an annual art fair that serves as a platform for bringing together internationally renowned galleries and exhibiting masterpieces, as well as works of emerging talents. This year’s event will be held on November 7-10 at the Saadiyat Cultural District in Saadiyat Island. Speaking of Saadiyat Island, keep an eye on Manarat Al Saadiyat, a 15,400 square meter arts and culture centre on the island, designed to bring the vision of the island to life through The Saadiyat Story. The venue also features four gallery spaces and houses TDIC exhibitions with international collections from around the world, including three major galleries, a central events gallery, sales centre, 250-seat theatre, and restaurant. Also something to look forward is the Louvre Abu Dhabi: Talking Art Series, which serves as a monthly series of lectures by prominent curators and academics who talk about art history. On the other hand, those who are interested in Abu Dhabi’s future cultural plans can visit the Emirates Palace where Saadiyat Cultural District Exhibition is open for visit from 10am to 10pm daily. For more information, you may call 02-6908207.
Join art competitions Conquer your fears, and submit your work to competitions such as this one of Dubai Ladies Club. You can also join public competitions such as the “Design The Dubai Mall Mega” that gives the chance for aspirants to be in the roster of 150 Dubai based artists whose works are exhibited at the “Project: MEGA | The Dubai Mall”, the largest designer toy exhibit and artistic collaboration in the Middle East featuring and 150 customized MEGAs. Lastly, there is also Emirates Airline’s Skywards Future Artists Competition and Art Dubai’s Abraaj Capital Art Prize.
30 LOCAL FILIPINO ART SHOWCASE
Bein Jesrain Oil on Canvas, 140 cm x 140 cm
TINI MEYER
Tini Meyer, has exhibited and received accolades for her works on canvas and public art not only in the UAE, but in Canada, Spain, the UK and even China. This citizen of the world who is of German, Filipino and Spanish heritage, was originally based in Vancouver and Madrid, but now splits her time between Abu Dhabi and Manila. In recent years, Tini has become deeply inspired to rediscover her Filipino roots and has since been involved in promoting Philippine arts and culture. How did you get started in art? Since high school, I loved painting during nights when I couldn’t sleep.
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How would you call your style? I specialize in contemporary abstracts. I do paintings, sculptures and installations. My preferred medium and subject is acrylic, working with textures. What or who is your current inspiration for your recent artworks? Her Excellency Ambassador Grace has been a huge inspiration in exploring my Filipino background. Her passion for our culture is contagious! I am very grateful for her support in promoting our heritage. I’m working on a new collection experimenting with indigenous materials from the Philippines. I’m very excited to see the outcome.
Tell us about your exhibitions, projects, collaborations—in the past, the present and the future. I’ve had shows in London through Newertown Art, a platform created by Juan Carlos Farah. My favorite exhibit was my first show in Shoreditch, entitled “External”, with artist friends such as Cyrus Mahboubian and Ruba Asfahani. This project was a collaboration with Jam Azucar on projects to promote Filipino art and culture. I curated a UAE art show earlier this year at Jumeirah at Etihad Towers, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Suroor bin Mohammed Al Nahyan. Why are you an artist? I simply couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I love what I do.
LOCAL FILIPINO ART SHOWCASE 31 City of Dreamers Mixed media art installation
DARWIN “JAPAT” GUEVARRA
From winning the Sheikha Manal New Signatures Young Artists Awards in 2007, bagging the silver prize at the Red Bull Art of Can Competition, to his first solo exhibition and his fruitful association with the renowned Tashkeel gallery, Darwin “Japat” Guevarra is arguably one of the first local Filipino artists to have paved the way for other aspiring creative kababayans in the emirates. Tell us about your specialization: How would you call your style?
My theme depends on my story. My creations are like a novel; with characters, symbols, and sentences. I use art forms that show mixed and multi-media works. I use images, paint and raw or existing materials delivered as painting. What is your current fixation or inspiration for your recent artworks? My current work is based on the place
where I’m living and is inspired by my old works, too. I am continuously inspired by people around me, as well. Tell us about your past exhibitions and projects. During the “Outdoor Art Project” organized by Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, my mixed and multi-media work entited, “City of the Dreamers” was exhibited. Here’s a list of my past exhibitions and projects: Outdoor Art Project (May 2012 Bay Avenue - Dubai Culture & Arts Authority), Fakie (Jan 2012 - Art Dexhibition by Fn at Tashkeel Gallery), As the Saying Goes (2011 – Tashkeel), Made in Tashkeel (2010), Bastakiya Art Fair 2010, MIND - Made in Dubai (2010, DUCTAC), Fakie Dexhibition 2010 (The Shelter Gallery), MEGA 2010 (DIFC), GSIS Art Competition (2010 GSIS Art Museum Philippines),
Time of Humanity (2009, Solo Show at Tashkeel), My Name is Robot 2009 (Jamjar), Art Oasis II 2009 (Wafi Mall), Sheikah Manal – New Signature Young Artist Award 2007 (Dubai Ladies Club). Future projects/exhibitions/ collaborations I’m currently planning for my second solo show. I’m creating more artworks and also as an active member, I also conduct workshops at Tashkeel Gallery. What is you art philosophy if anything? I’ve long wanted to have a philosophy behind what I do. I just know that my duty as an artist is to continue what I’ve started. Part of being an artist is to document things - yung mga nakikita ko, buhay ko at panahon habang ako’y buhay pa [those that I see, my life and times]. Why are you an artist? I’m an artist because this is what I choose, and this is what I can do. This is a gift I have received, and this is my lifestyle from now and to the very end. If you were not an artist today, what would you be? If I were not an artist today, I would be the leader of a band or an actor!
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Face the Reality- Silent Conversation, Oil on Canvas
EDUARDO YAP
If there’s one thing that definitively stands out from Eduardo Yap’s often surrealist art, it is his images of distorted human faces gnawing at random and yet meaningful objects. According to the artist, his trademark paintings depict angst, suppressed feelings, and sometimes, peoples’ addiction to material things. One such painting won him the 3rd prize at the Red Bull Art of Can competition in the UAE 2006, the latter just one of the many exhibitions Eduardo has been involved in since he started painting in high school. Formerly based in Dubai, the artist has moved back home recently, but not before leaving his indelible mark in the local art scene.
acrylic paints.
Tell us about your specialization: How would you call your style? Preferred medium/subject?
I was inspired to paint “Stranger”, after seeing a poor old woman in the city, trying to cope with a new environment.
I specialize in depicting issues and people in my art. I use a dry brush style and
Tell us about your past exhibitions.
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What about the current inspiration for your recent artworks, can you tell us a bit more about that? One of my paintings entitled, “Face the Reality” was inspired by watching my colleagues around my work area. Observing this real situation inspired me to do this kind of art work. Another painting entitled, “Voting Ballot” was inspired by the issues related to the Philippine government. I felt the urge to do this painting during the election season.
I’ve had a number of exhibitions here in the UAE, the last one being in 2010. That one was entitled, “Portrait of Generation” at the Tashkeel Studio. I had three exhibits in 2009: Art Oasis A Green Vision, “Eye of Horus” at the Wafi Mall, Silent Conversation in Tashkeel Studio and “My Name is Robot” at the Jamjar Gallery. What is your art philosophy, if anything? Art is a reflection of what a person is thinking. It is a small glimpse of what they hold inside. Every stroke has its own meaning. Why are you an artist? I didn’t choose to be this way. I guess art chose me. If you were not an artist today, what would you be? If I weren’t an artist today, I would be an engineer.
LOCAL FILIPINO ART SHOWCASE 33
Photo by Xanne Ramos
FLORDELIZA PESIGAN A well-known persona in the Dubai art scene who moves seamlessly between painting, sculpture and dance, Flordeliza Pesigan got bitten by the art bug early on having had the privilege to spend her childhood days at the National Museum in the Philippines where her parents worked. She turned full time artists three years ago, leaving her corporate existence behind, to follow her bliss. How would you characterize your style? My works span lifelike portraits in acrylic and brush; abstract paintings using acrylic and palette knife; sculptures in clay or anything else I can use; live art and dance performances. I currently do them all and sometimes mix them. My subjects have always
been anecdotes about my life and what I’m passionate about the time that the artworks are made. As my passions change and/or expand, my works also keep evolving. What the current inspiration for your recent work? My works currently have elements of dance and spirituality. It also touches on environmental issues. Tell us a bit about your past exhibitions and projects. In May this year, I exhibited my large scale painting at the Dubai Outdoor Art Project Last June, I was part of Project Mega, the Middle East’s largest designer toy
exhibition. I was among the 125 artists featured. That same month, I was part of the live art and Filipino dance presentation during the Philippine Independence Day, Dignitaries Night, just to name a few. What is you art philosophy? An artist’s work is an extension of himself, the need to express and make his art is more important than the desire for it to be liked by others. Why are you an artist? It’s just how I’m designed to be. I breathe art. If you were not an artist today, what would you be? Honestly, I don’t know…
34 LOCAL FILIPINO ART SHOWCASE
ELLA ORENCILLO
Illustrator, airbrush artist, muralist and decorative painter Ella Orencillo has certainly become “one of the boys” in the male dominated urban art scene in Dubai. Often gracing the hippest art events in the city, her cheeky and mostly pop-surrealist works speak of dreams, feminism, love and chaos and everything else in between. Specialization: How would you best characterize your art style? I started as an airbrush artist in 1999 in Air Art Asia, but I have been joining school competitions since my elementary days.
I can say my strong point is airbrushing, although I don’t do it as much as I used to. But, it’s like riding a bicycle, you never forget how to do it. I don’t really know how to “label” or what to call my style. I’d like to say it is semi-realism or pop surrealism. Acrylic is my medium of the moment, and I have been learning how
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to do watercolor, which I quite like since the result is faster. A portrait of a woman is my staple subject. What is your current fixation and how does it serve as an inspiration to your recent artworks? Not just current, but most probably, the fixation of my artworks is women. This is probably because women are capable of a lot of different emotions, and I like how a woman’s face can be so dead pan yet her eyes say a lot. I will forever be inspired by the people around me. Past Exhibitions/Projects/Collaborations Some of my past projects include Project:MEGA, Proyecto Baetulona (Barcelona, Spain), Worlds Together, 3 Keez of Illustration, SoleDxb’s Sneaker Summit, Ninh Nguyen Fashion Show (NY, USA), Spraygraphics: Fill in the Groove (Arizona, USA), Virgin Megastore’s 10th Anniversary, Sheikah Manal’s Young Artist Award 2011
Left photo: Missing Piece- Acrylic on canvas Top photo: Heroine- Acrylic on Canvas Board
(shortlisted), New Era Introducing 2011 (finalist), FAKIE2, Genius, and Chocol’art, Olympic Mural for the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi for The Domino. I just concluded Project: MEGA at The Dubai Mall last June 28, 2012. What is you art philosophy, if anything? Follow what makes your heart smile. Paint what your heart desires. Always be inspired and be an inspiration. Why are you an artist? I still have a hard time considering myself as an artist. I still have a long way to go. I just see myself as someone who tries to paint into a picture the images that my mind has weaved.
LOCAL FILIPINO ART SHOWCASE 35
SUSAN VILLANUEVA
When not teaching art to her students at the Sharjah Higher Colleges of Technology, or driving them to win in local and international competitions, Illustrado Woman of Substance Honoree Susan Villanueva turns to painting – her true first love. How did you get started in art? I’ve had 43 years in art. I started my career in the Philippines working on murals.
I started at a young age. I always sketched in the classroom. I would sketch my teachers and any part of the room that would inspire me. I would always say that lines were my way to remember lessons taught for the day. I guess from the day I was born, I wanted to be an artist. I used every opportunity to express my ideas, feeling and thoughts. I used to make art and then hide them because my parents wanted me to be a doctor. I was born into a family of doctors so [a career in] art was difficult for them to comprehend. They wanted me to hold a scalpel, rather that colors and brushes.
I wanted to paint, but I didn’t have brushes so I used my fingers to paint the subjects. It would take days to dry oil paint. I waited patiently and used to hide them in drawers - my clothes would smell of oil paint.
Unspoken Words
I mounted my first exhibition called TagTuyo (dry season) in 1981. In 1985, I had a group show at the PICC. In 2009, I had selected paintings exhibited in the Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi, during the Arts and Media Awards. What about your future projects/ exhibitions/collaborations? I am currently working up with an exhibition called “Movements”.
What do you consider your specialization?
What is you art philosophy, if anything?
I started as a surrealist. I admire the work of Salvador Dali. I am thrilled by the texture of Monet, and I am fascinated with the distortion of Picasso’s work. I am inspired by the madness of Van Gogh.
The world is my canvas. I get inspiration from what I see, feel and what I learn each day. Art is universal, it has no boundaries and limitations.
I work with no specifics, no rules — just expressions. As I grew older, my work changed to become more of a more impressionism style. I love strokes, movement of brushes and painting with no conditions. I love the large format. I don’t like limitations. How would you call your style? Impressionism beyond expression. Tell us about your past exhibitions, projects and collaborations
Why are you an artist? Later, I learned that my grandfather from my mother’s side was a painter. Perhaps God made me this way to allow me to express who I am, what I am, and what I can be with colors, lines, textures and thoughts. If you were not an artist today, what would you be? I would still be an artist. Maybe I will be more vocal with colors and aggressive with my work.
36 FEATURES
ALL THE
WORLD’S A STAGE: a spotlight on Filipino singers By Anna Oposa
Anna Oposa shines the spotlight on Filipino singers whose vocal prowess may be paving the way for the Philippines to have its own standing ovation.
In August 2010, TV host Ellen Degeneres tweeted, “There are two things about TV. It’s always easier with vodka and some of the best singers are from the Philippines.”
by no less than Oprah as “the most talented girl in the world.” All three singers were featured in Ellen’s TV show, catapulting them to worldwide fame.
This seems to be confirmed by the rising popularity of singers with Filipino heritage. YouTube has contributed to this phenomenon greatly by creating a free online platform for aspiring artists to show the world what they have. Some of the “success stories” of YouTube sensations with Filipino blood are Maria Aragon, who performed with Lady Gaga; Arnel Pineda, now the lead vocalist of the band Journey; and Charice Pempengco, who was dubbed
Philippine pride: Charice
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Charice twinkles a bit brighter than the other YouTube stars. Since her first appearance in Oprah’s show in 2008, the 20-year-old Filipina singer has performed with Celine Dion and David Foster; appeared in the animated movie Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel and the hit TV series Glee, sung in one of Manny Pacquiao’s matches; and finished her first solo Asian tour called Infinity, named
after the album. She has brought pride to the country and region by being the first winner of the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award in the new Favorite Asian Act category. In the Philippines, she serves as a mentorjudge to the Philippine version of the talent show X-Factor. Charice also hopes to have a US release of Infinity, which will showcase different material from the Asian one. In addition to music, she’s also dabbling in film. Towards the end of this year, her Hollywood movie Here Comes the Boom will be released.
FEATURES 37
Apl.de.ap was born in Angeles City, Pampanga, to a Filipino mother and an African American father. His father left the family shortly after he was born. While he was growing up, Apl.de.ap helped his single mom by farming different crops. At the age of 11, he was chosen as a beneficiary of the Pearl S. Buck Foundation, an organization that finds better living environments for young abandoned or orphaned American children. Apl.de.ap was matched with a sponsor named Joe Ben Hudgens through a dollar-a-day program. He then made his first trip to the US to treat an eye disease. Three years later, he was officially adopted by Hudgens and moved permanently to America.
Well-rooted: Apl.De.Ap Before Charice stepped into the international scene came Allan Pineda Lindo, better known as apl.de.ap, a member of the six-time Grammy awardwinning group Black Eyed Peas (BEP). He has infused Filipino culture and language into BEP tracks, with songs like “Bebot,” “Mare,” and “The APL Song” where he shares his story.
Apl.de.ap’s journey from Pampanga to BEP led him to start his own foundation and the “We Can Be Anything” campaign with the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation. The campaign aims to raise funds to build 60,000 public school classrooms and learning centers. Apl.de.ap knows the value of a good education — he’s a product of it. He wants his fellow Filipinos to have the same privilege. “We Can Be Anything” was launched in the BEP concert in the SM Mall of Asia concert grounds last October 2011, with the song of the same title. “You can be a hero/you can be a professor/if I can do it then you can do it,” declares the lyrics.
The Filipina-Latina American Idol: Jessica Sanchez The most recent singer of Filipino heritage who found her way in the spotlight is 16-year-old American Idol finalist Jessica Sanchez. Her mom is a Filipina from Bataan who married a Mexican-American who was then serving in the US Navy. Jessica made history by becoming the first contestant of Filipino and Latin descent reach the season finale of American Idol. Other singers with Filipino blood who had come before her didn’t quite make it as far: Camille Velasco (Top 9, Season 3), Jasmine Trias (Top 3, Season 3), Ramiele Malubay (Top 9, Season 7), and Thia Megia (Top 11, Season 10). Throughout Season 11, the FilipinoAmerican community rallied behind the petite diva who was born and raised in San Diego. Fans posted and reposted on social media networks, distributed fliers in churches, and held voting parties to increase Jessica’s chance of becoming the first Asian-Latino Idol. The powerful vocalist may have landed second to heartthrob Philip Philips, but she already has a growing fan base in the Philippines and abroad who call themselves “Fanchez.” During her courtesy
38 FEATURES Jim Paredes
instrumentalist Cynthia Alexander left the Philippines and migrated to Seattle, Washington, due to limited support in the motherland. She compared her life and career in the Philippines to being a “frog in a well.” Admirers and colleagues alike said that Cynthia’s decision was a major loss to the local music industry. The haunting, uncompromised sound of her music fused both Eastern and Western influences. In the ‘90s, she was recognized as the Best Bass Player in the 1989 World Band Explosion Finals in Tokyo, Japan.
call with President Noynoy Aquino in the US, Jessica said she was “excited” to visit the Philippines. But for now, the American Idol US tour comes first. Both Jessica and Apl.de.ap are part of the colorful mural at Unidad Park in LA called “Gintong Kasaysayan, Gintong Pamana” (Filipino Americans: A Glorious History, A Golden Legacy). They joined pop and historical Pinoy icons such as Jose Rizal, Manny Pacquiao, and Lea Salonga.
Defining the Filipino sound “Congratulations are in order. Magaling talaga ang Pilipino, and as a race, magaling talaga tayong kumanta,” said Jim Paredes, writer, producer, and musician best known for being 1/3 of the APO Hiking Society. However, the growing international fame of Filipino and partFilipino singers raises issues about what he calls “hardware” and “software”; the hardware being the artist and software being Filipino culture. Paredes pointed out that we Filipinos are not carrying our culture to the rest of the world. He explained, “Brazilians come in as Brazilians, and the Japanese come in as Japanese. Look at K-Pop (Korean Pop) and how the Korean government and Korean media are working together to make it big. We come in playing the culture of other
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people.”
According to Cynthia’s friend and former colleague Francis Brew, her departure made him think about the “hysteria” surrounding Sanchez. “Her lineage had us all waving the flag of Pinoy pride. We lionized her as ‘our own.’ [We] want Jessica to come ‘home’ so we can bask in her glory,” he wrote. “Meanwhile, homegrown geniuses like Cynthia Alexander are leaving home.”Does Cynthia need to go abroad and ‘make it’ before we wave the flag for her?”
He added, “We Filipinos are good, but not too many people know that we’re Filipinos.” He cited Freddie Aguilar as an example. “[Aguilar] came in as a Filipino singing Filipino The way forward songs and he succeeded.” For Garcia, the silver Deng Garcia, vocalist of all-girl grunge rock band Flying Ipis agreed: “Before, we had talents like Sampaguita, Juan de la Cruz Band, The Hotdogs, and Freddie Aguilar — musicians who really represented a certain kind of local sound and were recognized internationally.” She thinks that the music scene has evolved so much since their time, and that it’s harder to stand out now. “Today, when we have bands or individual musicians who use indigenous instruments, the music is called tribal or ethnic, which creates this boundary that it’s not pop and sellable.”
Filipino singers in the Philippines While there is a burgeoning support for Filipino and part-Filipino singers in the international arena, the situation seems to be different back home. In June 2012, singer, songwriter, and multi-
lining of the international attention on the likes of Jessica Sanchez and Apl.de.ap is that it arouses curiosity from the rest of the world about what else is [in the Philippines]. “But to be honest, I don’t think it has changed the scene a whole lot. For you to be ‘discovered’ and ‘make it big’ amidst millions of videos and people and bands, is still very hard. You usually have to be like a child prodigy of some sort,” she shared, referring to Maria Aragon and Charice. Nevertheless, Garcia remains optimistic. “But again, it’s good because it creates more hope. And hope is always good.” To improve the state of Original Pilipino Music (OPM), Paredes believes that there needs to be “an entire industry effort.” He thinks record companies, talents, radio, TV, media, and the audience should push for OPM for it to be developed, promoted, and propagated. “And maybe the world will stop to look and listen.”
40 FEATURE
LONDON CALLING By Barbara Marchadesch
Eleven young Filipino athletes will be at the London Olympic Games. They may be watching from the sidelines but Barbara Marchadesch tells it, they are well on their way to becoming Olympians themselves. Eleven athletes have been given a great opportunity to go to the Olympics, though not as competitors — at least, not this time. The athletes, all high school students in their mid-teens, will attend summer school in London for two weeks during the Games, courtesy of the British Council and the Philippine Sports Commission. The athletes have all been participants of Batang Pinoy Program or the Philippine Youth Games, a national competition program for children aged 15 and below, conducted by the Philippine Sports Commission in partnership with the Department of Education and the Department of Interior and Local Government. They were chosen among thousands of other students for their excellent performances and records.
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The young athletes will attend an intensive English course at St. Bede’s School near London. St. Bede’s offers a two-week, interactive, full-immersion summer school program for students from all over the world. As an extra treat, the school has also offered the athletes tickets to two Olympic matches — five tickets to one of the basketball matches and five tickets to one of the handball matches. “The multicultural setting is one of the selling points of UK education,” said Alec Ladanga of the British Council. “We hope that this experience in an international setting will help their confidence grow. Maganda yung exposure para sa kanila.” This is the first time that the Philippine office of the British Council has done this for athletes, and with such a big group. A previous summer school course offered by the Council had been a three-week
program for writers. But when St. Bede’s offered the placements and the Olympics tickets to Filipino students, the British Council decided to give some of the best young athletes in the country the chance to go and broaden their horizons in London.
Different strokes and sports The students each represent a different Olympic sport. Ariana Herranz, 15, is a swimmer from Laguna. She learned to swim at the age of 2 and has been competing in national and international games for three years. Joella Geva de Vera, 14, is Ariana’s schoolmate at Trace College. She has been playing badminton competitively for five years, and has been to Singapore, South Korea and Japan as part of a team and as an individual competitor. They both learned at the beginning of the
FEATURE 41
year that they had been chosen to go to London. “Excited and scared kami,” said de Vera of their current state of mind. Despite their previous experience abroad, this will be the longest they’ve been away from their families, and just like any young person their age, they’re nervous about the possibility of bullying and any “bad influence” they might encounter. The accounts of former summer school attendees, though, have assuaged their fears somewhat. They hope to be able to continue to train during their stay, and they’re looking forward to two weeks of greater independence. De Vera,who has tasted independence before, thinks it will be “super fun” to be able to meet new people, try new sports and activities, go shopping and sightseeing, and of course study English in England. “We want to socialize more with people from other cultures,” she said. “Sana ma-accomplish namin yun doon.” De Vera added, “We’re there to represent our country. We want to say thank you sa mga sponsors, sa British Council, sa British embassy, our parents and coaches.” Letran student Allen Santiago, 16, has been a competitive triathlete for five years, and both swam and ran track for
his school. This year he has been to Japan and Thailand. But, according to Santiago, “Hindi ko na-expect na makakarating ako sa London!” Fifteen-year-old Garry Santiago (no relation to Allen) is from UST High School in Bulacan and plays several throwing events, including shotput, discus and javelin. In his four years of competing, he has been all over Southeast Asia, but this is his first time to Europe. “Ayaw kong maniwala,” he said of learning of his selection. He’s looking forward to making new friends from other countries. Santiago is looking forward to studying English and learning how to communicate better, and to widen his circle of friends. Floyd Derek Rillera from Baguio is a 14-year-old judo expert who has been competing for five years. “Excited kami,” said Rillera. “Once in a lifetime lang ito.” When the announcement was made at his school that he was going to London, he says that people were happy for him. “Masarap sa pakiramdam na napili ka,” Rillera said. This will be his first time out of the country, and he believes that this opportunity will be a stepping stone to his dreams. “Suwerte ako na makakalabas ako sa bansa. Sports ang passion ko. Gusto ko
maging professional at makatapos ng pagaaral.” Roberto Miguel Jalnaiz, 14, is a boxer from Misamis Oriental. He’s a little nervous about the long plane ride, but he’s happy to have made his parents proud by being selected. Unlike the other kids, he has been away from his family before, living as he does in training quarters. At the time of our interview, still more than a month away from their flight to London, the kids have all gathered at the British Council office in Ortigas. After a lunch of pizza and fried chicken, they’re off to get their visas, and they’re all excited and enthusiastic. The kids’ goal is to qualify for the Youth Olympics in 2014, so they’re training for the qualifying rounds to be held next year. But further down the line? They’re aiming higher. Miguel thinks he might go professional, like his idol Donaire — “Kung may maibubuga ako,” he said. Like the other kids, he hopes this won’t be his only trip to the Olympics. Whether it will be or not, the British Council knows that they will make the most of this chance and make their country proud.
42 KABUHAYAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
PAPEMELROTI:
Making Big Things from the Small Stuff By Bernadette Reyes
What started as a hobby for housewife Corit Alejandro has become a popular Philippine handicraft store for hobbyists like her who want to make great things out of small stuff. Corit and her husband Benny also helped a neighbor sell imported furniture from the comforts of their own home. Later, Benny supervised furniture making as his interest was in woodworks. “He would make furniture for our home. Once he also made a playhouse from a wooden crate for our children,” Corit shared.
Just like any housewife, Corit Alejandro does the usual household chores – cleaning the house, cooking meals and washing the dishes. But unlike any regular housewife, she makes the most out of her free time making handicrafts. Corit sews dresses for her daughters and makes stuffed toys from cloth scraps. “When I got married, I had not been working at all. I wanted an income to I started making small things like dresses for dolls,” said Corit.
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On November 1968, Corit and Benny decided to open Korben Gifts, a small gift shop in Quezon City. Corit made her usual stuffed toys and dresses for dolls while Benny sold furniture. Soon their children started making their own art pieces. Their daughters made paper dolls and decorated box dollhouses while their son drew and painted egg heads. It was then natural for their children to help out in the family business. “The painted figurines and hammered wooden plaques while my youngest daughter back then helped wrapping gifts,” says Corit.
In 1976, the family opened a new shop in Cubao called Papemelroti named after their five children. Patsy, Peggy, Meldy, Robert and Tina. The first syllables of their names make up the brand name, Papemelroti. Today Papemelroti is a popular specialty shop for people looking for trinkets and keepsakes and its stores also carry bigger ticket items such as wall décor and furniture. Decades later, all family members are still involved in the business in varying degrees and capacities. “I started working [in the business] when I was 11,” said Patsy. Corit never forced them to be part of the business but their natural skill for making artwork ushered them into the business. “At first they didn’t really want to go in the business because they wanted to pursue their own careers. I never force them to work [for the business]. All my kids are artistic. That’s why the business fit them,” she said.
KABUHAYAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP 43
As Corit and Benny age with the passing of time, new hopes for the store arise. They would like their grandchildren to succeed in running the business so that their family tradition lives on. Grandchildren Elys Pilapil and Joshua Paterno, said Corit, would make ideal business successors. Joshua has been designing logos for their school t-shirt and has contributed some designs for Papemelroti. Elys has also made a number of designs since she was 14. Now 21, she recently finished a degree in Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines. To a certain extent, she has accepted that she will be involved in the family business not long after graduation. “I push some ideas. Like I have been pushing to expand the home section. We could do bigger business with them,” Elys said.
From its pioneer store in Ali Mall, Cubao, Papemelroti now has 15 branches. The secret to its success and longevity says Corit is a combination of craftsmanship, passion and divine providence. “For some of the things that
happen in the business, you just have to rely on God.” Aside from being religious, all family members are also industrious and passionate about making art. Said Corit, “We always have new things so our products don’t stay the same. My husband, even though he is 85, still likes working on new things.”
“I hope one of my grandchildren will take over. If there is no one, I might sell it. But there must be someone even if he is not a relative. As long as he is honest,” said Corit. Daughter Patsy hopes Joshua will develop a knack for the business, but, “I leave it up to him to decide. He should find his own niche.” When secretly asked if she would grant her grandmother’s wish, Elys said, “We’ll see. Talk to me in five years.” The answer may be read in between the lines.
44 KABUHAYAN MONEY
BUYING ANTIQUES AND COLLECTING ART By Francisco J Colayco
My wife and I went through a personal experience in our life on the matter of art and antiques when we were still newly married with three young daughters.
We had two basic goals in buying antiques and “collectibles”. By “collectible”, we meant items that are sought after by collectors. If the items are soughtafter, then it should be reasonable to conclude that these could improve in value through the years. Illustrado Magazine
Our two goals were to: 1) Decorate our home 2) Interest our children in items related to various cities in the world. Let me talk first about our purchase of antiques. People buy antiques because these are assets that can increase in value over the years. Antiques are works of art that have considerable value because of age. Usually, these are furniture, paintings, jars, statues and the like. We thought it would be a good way to increase our assets while beautifying our home. Our first step was completely wrong. We did not educate ourselves. To even consider buying antiques, you need to read and study the various types of antiques available. Some important criteria are - the
maker, the age, and of course the beauty of the item. It is not easy because even after understanding the criteria, you need to be able to examine the actual item and make a good decision on whether it is indeed a good antique and the price you are paying is fair value. We allowed others whom we trusted to tell us what was supposedly good antique. We believe that they did not fool us, but we also made our second big mistake. We did not get the right documents to prove the authenticity of the items we bought. We just relied on our need for specific items like furniture and other decorative items. We probably paid more than necessary for the items because these were presented as antiques. Surely, we could have bought the same items, albeit not antique, for a lower
KABUHAYAN MONEY 45
price. Happily, the items seemed to be genuine antiques and we still have them. Unhappily, even if we wanted to sell them as antiques today, we are unable to because we have no documents of proof. Therefore, we have items that we like, but cannot truly consider as valuable except to us. It is difficult to find buyers who like the same items too. And many imitations are available to those who are not really eager to pay more for the items. My wife and I also bought paintings of up and coming Filipino artists. We made the right decision here. At that time, the paintings of the better-known artists were already relatively more expensive but today, we would surely be able to sell them at a good price. Paintings speak for themselves. The real art buyers can tell. Of course, some artists do not become as famous as you think they will be, so there is a risk. But if you really like the painting, who cares if the artist is famous or not? Looking at the painting is enjoyment enough.
The most important criterion is to really like the antique or painting you are buying for itself. That it looks good and beautifies your home is a plus. Condition your mind to think that it does not matter if it goes up in value or not. That way, you will want to keep it and not feel that bad if you cannot sell it for a good profit. When I was young, I traveled a lot in relation to my job. It was normal for me to want to give our children a pasalubong every time I came home. Because of the frequency of travel, we decided that if I bought gifts I might end up buying items that could spoil them (like more toys) or items that they would not even care for. I usually did not have leisure time to look
for the right gifts. So we thought of giving them miniature items from different cities. One daughter got a spoon, the second got bells and the third got shoes. It made their space more interesting as the collection got bigger. We all thought that as they grew older, the completed “collection” could be an asset. It was not so. The items just tarnished and as the years went by, more and nicer spoons, bells and shoes became available. Eventually, our daughters just got rid of their “collection.”
There are unbelievable items that become valuable like stamps and comic books. Chances are you will not know what will become important. Meanwhile, you have to keep these items organized in storage and keep them in good condition. Otherwise, they will not bring in the right value anyway. In summary, antiques and collectibles are really more for those who take great pains to educate themselves and have the patience to keep the items in the best storage available over many years. There are better options to increase your asset value.
46 IT’S WHAT I DO
IT’S WHAT I DO Pinoy diversity and progress at the work front
I work as a Guest Service Agent. My duties include event management, floor coordination as well as carrying out any other duties as directed by Management. It is my duty to provide a high level of customer service at all times, while promoting a good image and positive impression for the group with all the people we work with.
‘Discipline, strong responsibility and commitment are secrets to success. I think people should learn how to value their character other than material things because these count the most. Love your parents and always appreciate things along the way. First and foremost, never forget to put God in every decision that you make; everything will be fine.
During my free time, I also do modelling. I love to pose in front of the camera and enjoy nurturing this other side of my personality. Modelling has also allowed me to participate in charity works which I enjoy. I like the fact that even in this simple way, I can help others. My typical working day starts as early at 5 AM. I get to work at 7:30 AM and end at 5:30 PM. Being in the corporate world, I love being active, meeting interesting people and CEO’s from different parts of the world. I’m unfortunate to have wonderful people and leaders around me who have faith in me and believe that I can perform the job well. I’m more than happy to say that I’m living out my dream.
Anna Liza Llagas Guest Service Agent Corporate Real Estate Services (MAF DALKIA) Standard Chartered Bank Illustrado Magazine
I prefer to work for love, not for money. That principle gives me strong determination to keep on going and exploring my career. At the young age of 19, my dream was to get a regular job right after I graduated from college in 2003. My main objective was to stand as a breadwinner for my one sister and one brother. I spent five years of working successfully in Brunei Darussalam before I landed in Dubai and my dream has come true. While I was working in hospitality and corporate companies, I got a chance to develop my skills to interact efficiently with people. I guess you can say that I have gained maturity from work experiences.
Manuel Almario Community Journalist Gulf News
I have been working in Gulf News as a community journalist for more than a decade now. I am very proud and grateful to be part of a leading daily English language newspaper in the UAE. It has been a rewarding and enriching experience for me as a journalist. Since I am managing the complaints section, I have to screen all the complaints of our readers if they are worth pursuing. Prior to publication of complaints against any company offering public service
IT’S WHAT I DO 47 such as banks, telecoms, airlines, and so on, I have to investigate the issue, and if required, get the comments from the management of the concerned company to present both sides of the story. I am happy to note that, in a way, I am able to help the general public resolve their issues. It is very fulfilling and heartwarming whenever I receive a token of appreciation; a simple thank you note from our readers for resolving their issues makes my day. Evidently, I am happy with what I do and this is why my loyalty is with Gulf News! Facebook eats up my life. Let’s face it, Facebook is addictive! Although it’s a social networking site, it’s still part of my daily routine at work; I have to look for other sources of information, interesting unique stories, news to report, and so on. It is very fascinating to learn of varying issues from personal account to group activities; they help me to stay abreast with the current news stories. Aside from the above duties, as a journalist, I also have the privilege of meeting different interesting people and writing about their stories. There are a lot of fascinating stories that has happened to me working here for over a decade. What comes to mind is when I covered the performance of my favorite singing pop sensations Charice Pempengco and Billy Crawford at the Dubai Tennis Stadium. It was simply amazing! My motto is to live life to the fullest, as life is so short. I urge Filipinos do the same to enjoy life, but always follow your heart and do the right things to be able to inspire others. And be proud of being Pinoy!
Crisna De Guzman
Sales and Marketing Executive Kalimat Group I have been in sales and marketing ever since I stepped in the corporate world. When I moved to Dubai four years ago, I really wanted to work in print media,
preferably for a magazine. Thank God, I got what I wanted. I am the Sales & Marketing Executive for Kalimat Group, mainly responsible for selling advertisement space in our monthly travel, car and yacht magazines. There are some editorial parts of my job, too. I give recommendations on what subjects to feature and I handle the shopping and fashion pages. My work revolves mostly around networking and meeting with who’s who in the travel, motoring and high street fashion industry in the UAE and overseas. My work requires me to always be on the move, I’m out of my office most of the time for sales meeting, attending press conferences, exhibitions and product launches. Where there are media and social happenings, you will find me there. A typical working day in my life either starts with me going directly to meet a client or going to my office at the Dubai Media City. My day usually has a lot of phone calls, emails and moving around. I am on the road 70% of the day for negotiation meetings and to close important deals. On some days, I could also be busy with my VIP invites to fashion shows, concerts, product launches and media parties. These events usually stretch my working hours until late night. But that’s the fun part of my job, I must say. I guess you can’t be in this industry without being a social butterfly.
I’ve had the chance to travel because of my job. I have been to London, Berlin, Vienna, Basel, Lucerne, Doha and Beirut to name a few. Most of the time, in a room where I am the only Filipino, I feel like I’m not just representing our media outfit, but our country as well. It makes me feel proud especially when people take notice. I have met a lot of very interesting and successful people because of my job - from government officials from different countries, to CEO’s and heads of big corporations, as well as celebrities like Roberto Cavalli, Kim Kardashian, Giovanna Ferragamo, and Elisa Sednaoui. My worth ethic is “work hard, play harder”. We are not just here to work and enslave ourselves with the complexities of our everyday lives. Let loose and learn how to enjoy life. See the world if you have the chance. Take advantage of how multicultural it is here. Make a lot of friends, learn about others’ culture, equip yourself with great memories that you will treasure forever and share with your grandchildren when you grow old. Lastly, be flexible with your environment. Learn how to adapt and deal with different types of people and value people that you meet along the way. Good relationships are more important than any sales or business dealings.
48 SPIRITUALITY
MY KIDS ARE NOT GOING TO SCHOOL
By Bo Sanchez
Not the kind with classrooms and lots of students… It’s back-to-school season! Parents and kids are scampering to school. Not us. Let me share something shocking with you: our eldest son, Bene, stayed at home during his elementary years. Up until he was in Grade 6, Bene did not go to a regular classroom. He’s a deprived kid! Check out this list: • He never rode a school bus. • He never lined up for a flag ceremony. • He’s never eaten lunch in a school canteen. • He’s never had to raise his hand for recitation. • He’s never had to do assignments at night. • He’s never had to go to the principal’s office. • He’s never played basketball with his classmates.
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Because, technically, he’s never had a classmate! Poor kid. Some of the experiences above are really good stuff. But life is a choice. We chose that he experience other things by homeschooling him. And my son loves homeschooling. He would not trade it for the world. Here’s why: • He’s able to spend more time with his Daddy and Mommy each day. His relationship with us is tight — and
for this alone — I thank God for homeschooling. • He loves his younger brother - who is also homeschooling - and cares for him a lot. • Bene can read any book he chooses and reads five books a day. • This 12-year-old speaks fantastic English. • He’s able to follow his passions with more freedom. He attends a gym class. He also joined a painting course — and has produced 12 lovely paintings
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so far. (So yes, he does have classmates after all.) • Together with other homeschooled kids, he’s rappelled from a 30-foot hanging bridge and swam in an underground river! With them, he’s also visited zoos, parks, and factories. • He has lots of other friends. He meets his playmates at the Feast, the Sunday prayer gathering I lead at the Philippine International Convention Center. They play the whole day! In the middle of the week, he gets to play during our Care Group meetings. And believe me, his friends are the coolest bunch of kids on the planet. • When he was five years old, he started a business selling bangus and earned enough money to buy his own toys. • He plays the guitar and composes his own songs. • He hosts a kids’ TV show each week. He’s having so much fun. (Catch him on MustardTV, every 7 AM, Saturdays, on TV5.) • He also writes for a kids’ magazine, Mustard. • Because he’s not tied down to school, he travels with me a lot on my mission trips. He’s been to ten countries so far. Again, it’s not so much the places we go to, but the fact that we’re together that is the incredible gift. • He’s great with computers and the Internet. • He’s writing his own book now. • He has another project he’s busy with: creating his own “godly” videogame that will teach values to kids. I’m excited to see that one. • He loves God. He wants to follow Jesus. Hey, I’m not putting down regular schools. There are great schools out there!
But what I’m doing, perhaps for the first time, is making parents consider homeschooling as a valid alternative. That it can be a great option for your kids. Because for the longest time, homeschooling was not even in the radar of most parents’ thinking. It was unthinkable. “Leave the education of your kids to the experts,” we were told.
By the way, during his elementary years, Bene’s teacher was my wife, Marowe. I just pitched in — ahem - whenever they needed me to handle the difficult topics.
I repeat: There are great schools out there. So do your research.
I am excited to have this daily class with my son. I am sure he will learn a lot, ahem, from me. But what I really love is that I will learn a lot about my son.
With your research, why not study this option: teach your kids at home.
Now, Bene will start high school, and I will be his main teacher. Oh, we’ll also let Marowe in whenever we have topics I can’t handle.
May your dreams come true. I’m not going to kid you. It’s not easy. The sacrifices are huge. But I think it’s a wonderful option to consider.
To find out more, check articles that will help you decide if homeschooling is for you or not. Or call Rita at Tel. (632) 5336097 (9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Mondays to Fridays).
50 RELATIONSHIPS
ERRANT HUSBAND
I have been married to my husband for 12 years and we, like most couples, are sometimes happy, sometimes sad. My husband is no saint. I know that when he goes out with his barkada, they go out to girlie bars and meet girls there. I told him that was okay, as long as he does not have a deep relationship with another woman. He reassured me that he never would. Imagine my disappointment when he came home two years ago with a three month old baby boy. He said he and the woman (the mother of the boy) were no longer lovers. He persuaded her to go to the province and leave
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the baby with him. We have three children, but they are all girls, so I can understand why my husband wanted to keep the baby. At first, I refused to take care of the baby, but my husband begged me and explained that he was unfaithful only because he was hoping for a boy to carry his name. He promised me that he would never look at another girl, never go out with his barkada whenever they went to night clubs and girlie bars, as long as I agreed to raise this baby as our own. He cried and my girls loved having this baby, so I said ok.
Last month, my husband brought home another baby, also his. She is now six months old. He says it was all a mistake and he wants me to also accept this child as our own. I was so hurt and wanted to separate from him, but he says he will never leave me. He loves me and doesn’t want to be married to anybody else. I am the only one he has ever wanted to marry. Whenever I think of what he has done, I want to leave him and start anew, but I remember his tears and I cannot do it. We were married in Church and I do not want to be the one to leave. I cannot be the one to break up our marriage. Please help me‌ RUBY
RELATIONSHIPS 51 Dear Ruby: My answer to your request for help is: as you have reaped, so have you sown, so why should you now complain? In summary, you have been married for 12 years, known for ages that your husband is no saint, effectively told him that he could fool around provided the relationship was not ‘deep,’ accepted his illegitimate son by another woman and now you are faced with an illegitimate daughter by yet another (?) woman. What have you been doing these past twelve years? You have been enabling his behavior by accepting all this. What possible motive could he have to stop? You allowed him to have affairs, you accepted him back when he had a child by another woman; you even took that child into your family. Now he has done it again and you can hardly blame him if he presumes that you will accept his shenanigans once more. Why should you not accept this time? What is different? Perhaps you could argue that the first time you accepted the child because it was a boy and he always wanted a boy. Perhaps that would possibly make sense if your husband belonged to a great dynastic family and keeping the family name alive were enormously important. However, in 99.9% of cases, there are no such considerations and in this case you have not mentioned anything along these lines, so let’s forget that idea.
What is different this time? It is a girl but surely you are not suggesting that you should reject the child this time on the grounds of sex. Perhaps it is infidelity fatigue. There comes a time when the behavior is simply too much to bear and perhaps for you that time is now. Well, you certainly have ample grounds, as we have seen, for ending this relationship. Yet after all your complaints, you have the gall to say you don’t want to be the one to leave ‘because I remember his tears’ and
‘because we were married in Church’. Ok, if you find these things persuasive, stay married. He will never leave and why should he? He can do whatever he likes and you will always leave the door open for him to return. Just remember that although women are no longer fertile after menopause, men enjoy no such restriction so you can look forward to many more years of your husband returning with bastard children for you to look after. The day may yet dawn when he has children younger than his grandchildren. As for your comments about Church, this column is not about religion but I would suggest that your religious beliefs appear to be somewhat archaic. Your Church may not countenance divorce but it no longer has a problem with separation. Talk to your local priest if you need religious advice. Turning to your comment that ‘I cannot be the one to break up our marriage’, in the final analysis, it depends what marriage means to you. If it means ‘until death us do part’ regardless of the circumstances, then you must stay married. If it means leaving the door open to your husband whatever his behavior, then again you must stay married. If however it means each of you adhering to your marital vows, then he has already broken up your marriage. He just
hasn’t left home physically but as we have seen, you have given him absolutely no reason to do so. Finally, perhaps you should give some thought to your children. They are learning about life, marriage, and relationships principally through the examples set by their parents. What conclusions are they likely to draw from the story of your marriage? You can tell them about the ideals of love, the religious significance of a church wedding and the rest of the utopian view you have of life, and they will hear you. But what forms their views are what they experience around them and what a sorry cast they have to learn from: horny hubby, martyr Mummy, a series of bastard half-siblings and who knows what else the future may hold? Is this the lesson you want to teach your children? Your family contains two adults and five children. You cannot do your duty towards your children and indulge your husband, who is an adult chronologically but is still behaving like an impulsive teenager, forever. You must choose, in the knowledge that your husband can also then choose to change. All the best, JAF Baer
52 RELATIONSHIPS
EXAMPLE: Two years ago, you were willing to accept your husband’s philandering as long as he “didn’t have a deep relationship with another woman.” You maintained homeostasis despite his disrupting it when he brought home his first illegitimate child by convincing yourself he still valued your marriage since he was unfaithful only because he wanted a boy. Now he has once more threatened the homeostasis in your home by bringing another illegitimate child home. You can no longer use the same excuse to maintain the former equanimity in your home since he no longer needs an heir. You will either have to come up with another excuse for his infidelity or maintain your own equilibrium by leaving him.
The way things stand, the only way you can remain married is if you continue to be the taga salo of his shenanigans, a chore too onerous for anyone, save a martyr with no life of her own. Dear Ruby: Mr. Baer has covered all the bases, so allow me to merely expound on his last statement: when you make a choice regarding what you want to do with the rest of your life, your entire family gets affected. While it may sound cold, you don’t have to worry too much about how the others change because your husband will reap what he sows and I daresay any change your kids experience as a function of your finally listening to yourself and taking responsibility for your own life –
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instead of using the Church, your religion, your husband’s tears, your kids’ feelings about the baby — will be an eye opener for your kids and a healthy eye opener at that. We are sure your entire family will change when you move from victim to victor because any close knit group strives to maintain homeostasis — the same situation (that is, the same level of stress, level of companionship, intensity of loyalties) that it has always had. When one person changes, the others automatically change to maintain said homeostasis.
Should you decide to stay, it is best you seek the advice of Opus Dei since supplying lace handkerchiefs for your tears, a hair shirt or whip for mortification of your flesh to balance the mental anguish you are already suffering and reassuring you of a place in heaven, is not in our remit. However, should you want encouragement and/or guidelines when leaving him, please write us again, as we definitely feel we are in a position to help. Ingat at salamat, MG Holmes
54 ILLUSTRADO SCRAPBOOK A platform for budding Filipino creative talent
Bernadette Rodriguez Bernadette takes great pleasure in capturing the kind of images that remind us that life is beautiful. She appreciates good composition, authenticity, and finding the mundane.
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Her expertise in producing amazing images may have rubbed on to her tongue, that she sounds poetic describing her idea of a good shot: “An effective photograph is an image that moves the viewer, touching his soul. Even without a word to describe it, a great photograph is clear in its message Âpoetry without the words, music without lyrics. A great photograph is lyrical in its form.
Bernadette connects the experience. Her great loves are ancient structure, historical places, people (small ones especially), words, photographs, food and art. She is an experienced graphic designer, a dreamer and a lover of friends. She enjoys joyful collaboration with artists, visionaries, and people who hope.
A platform for budding Filipino creative talent
Ramon Francisco Graduate of Bachelor of Science in Criminology Ramon Francisco, a.k.a Ramon F to his friends, just recently
took the plunge to go full time into freelance photography. The former Abu Dhabi Airport Storekeeper, who says his appreciation of arts has deepened through his craft, does mostly corporate and events-related projects for his
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clients. A proud Bicolano from Naga, and member of the Uragon Photography club, Ramon F says that he is drawn to portraiture and fashion photography and is inspired by the works of Bryan Adams.
58 ART FEATURE & FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY: EROS GOZE POST PROCESSING: TOM BOLIVAR HAIR, MAKE-UP AND GROOMING: GINNO ALDUCENTE MODELS: CLARITA DE QUIROZ AND ALEX CALLUENG CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS: DAWN ALMARIO, ELLA ORENCILLO, FLORDELIZA PESIGAN, GINNO ALDUCENTE, TOM BOLIVAR AND TINI MEYER
Skinw Dare to wear art on the body’s biggest canvas. Wear your skin. Wear your imagination.
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ART & FASHION FEATURE 59
Linear Minimalism By Tini Meyer
wear Illustrado Magazine
60 ART FEATURE & FASHION
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ART & FASHION FEATURE 61
Composite Mutation
By Ginno Alducente Illustrado Magazine
62 62 ART FEATURE & FASHION
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ART & FASHION FEATURE 63 63
Powdered Oriental
By Tom Bolivar Illustrado Magazine
64 ART FEATURE & FASHION
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ART & FASHION FEATURE 65
Dentelle Deceit
By Dawn Almario Illustrado Magazine
66 ART FEATURE & FASHION
Body Graffiti By Ella Orencillo
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ART & FASHION FEATURE 67
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68 ART FEATURE & FASHION
Animated Assemblage By Ginno Alducente
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ART & FASHION FEATURE 69
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70 ART FEATURE & FASHION
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ART & FASHION FEATURE 71
Strange Heads By Flordeliza Pesigan
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72 ART FEATURE & FASHION
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ART & FASHION FEATURE 73
Statement Skin
By Dawn Almario
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74 74 ART FEATURE & FASHION
Black Divergence By Flordeliza Pesigan
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ART & FASHION FEATURE 75 75
Face-Paint Can
By Tom Bolivar
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5Month 76 5 THINGS TO DO
1
things To Do This Revisit the Dubai Museum
While tourists flock to the old Dubai area in Bur Dubai, residents of the city would often overlook visiting the Dubai Museum. A palace, garrison and prison in the past, the Dubai Museum has certain characters that captivates its visitors. Housed in Al Fahidi Fort, and built in 1799, the museum is thought to be the city’s oldest building. The fort was both the residence of Dubai’s rulers and the seat of government until it was converted into a museum in 1970. The addition of galleries was completed in 1995. Museum-goers are welcomed by traditional Bedouin tents, providing a picturesque view of the olden city dwellers. Inside, visitors are taken to a series of showcases depicting the old Dubai
Check out where royals lived Want to know how a real royal home looks like? The public has been provided the privilege to take a peek at one of the most significant houses in Dubai’s history, the Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House. Ruler of Dubai from 1912 to 1958, Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum is the grandfather of the current Ruler of Dubai and Vice President of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The house of Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum is now considered as the crown jewel of the restored Shindagha Heritage area. Built in 1896, under Sheikh Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum, the house was home to the ruling family until Sheikh Saeed’s death in 1958. It was also used to observe shipping
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Keeping in line with the celebration of the Holy Month of Ramadan, this August we take you through cultural and religious activities that you must do while in Dubai. Whether for simple sightseeing or for a deeper understanding of the heritage and customs of the city, these activities will allow you to witness the other side of this bustling metropolis. So, read on, and pencil in your August calendar these must-dos, and must-visits in Dubai. from the Creek, featuring traditional Arab houses, mosques, the souk, date gardens, desert and marine life. Some of the most interesting exhibits are dedicated to pearl-diving, including sets of pearl merchants’ weights, scales and sieves. There are also colorful and evocative dioramas complete with life-size figures, sound and lighting effects that vividly depict everyday life in the pre-oil days. The museum also displays a fine collection of ancient artifacts, including items in copper, alabaster and pottery found in graves. Fees to the museum cost AED 3 per adult and AED 1 per child. For more information, call 04-3531862.
activity from the balconies. The ambitious restoration project, which began in 1986, won a coveted award from the Arab Cities Organization for the conservation of heritage buildings. Now the Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House provides a glimpse of the UAE’s early days through it’s significant collection of objet d’arts, paintings, and other mementos, as well as the restored architectural elements including carved teak doors and windows, wooden lattice screens, and balustrades. It is also now home to the Museum of Historical Photographs and Documents of the Emirate of Dubai with many historical photographs of Dubai from the period 1948 to 1953. Other rooms feature coins, stamps and documents dating back as far as 1791, as well as an interesting display on pearl diving.
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Step back in time at the Heritage Village
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Nestled in between the beautiful Dubai Creek and the famous Shindagha Tunnel, Dubai’s well-known Heritage Village is another must-visit cultural place in the city. The Heritage Village was modeled after quaint settlements in the rocky Hatta Mountains and offers visitors a peek at typical village life in the UAE in the past, during the simple time of palm leaves, wind-towers, maritime, pearl diving traditions and old architecture. Find out about authentic Arabic coffee tastes, take home some traditional handicrafts or just snap some nostalgic photos of the UAE of a hundreds of years back. This traditional adventure is sure to be a great one for all the family.
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Wander around Bastakiya
Indeed a very engaging site in Dubai, the Bastakiya quarter is an amazing place to walk through. Taking its name from the Iranian town of Bastak, from where many of Dubai’s first trading immigrants hailed, Bastakiya was established by well-to-do textile and pearl traders from Bastak at the end of the 19th century. Stepping into it is like walking through a labyrinth of surprises where one aisle will lead you to another equally fascinating discovery. Lined with restored merchant’s houses, art galleries, cafés, and boutique hotels, Bastakiya is a picturesque manifestation of the city’s glorious heritage. While in Bastakiya, visit the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding which is housed in one of the area’s most elegant buildings, with a beautiful
courtyard, pretty decorative grilles, hanging oil lamps, and wooden lattice on the second floor. Go upstairs to the rooftops and view the city as well as the iconic wind towers. Also, do not leave the area without stopping by the XVA Gallery, a contemporary Middle Eastern art gallery as well as the Majlis Gallery, Dubai’s oldest commercial art gallery, established in the 70s. Situated in another beautiful house, Majlis specializes in more mainstream art such as Asian oils and watercolors of desert landscapes, along with calligraphy and sculpture. Find a souvenir among the beautiful ceramics, handicrafts, and jewelry. And last but not least, wind down at the famous quaint Basta Art Café for a splendid and refreshing Arabic drink, much deserved after hours of wandering.
Pay a visit to Jumeirah Mosque Learning the culture and heritage of the city is one way of opening minds to something new. Here in Dubai, one of the most elegant and famous structures of the Islamic faith is to be found at the Jumeirah Beach Road – the Jumeirah Mosque. Also known as the Grand Mosque in Dubai, this memorable landmark was built in the medieval Fatimid tradition, now paying tribute to modern Islamic architecture. For the past years, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding (SMCCU) organizes visits to the Jumeirah Mosque for non-Muslims, aimed at promoting cultural understanding by providing a first-hand look at Islamic traditions. Tour participants are expected to respect basic clothing requirements as well as religious customs upon entering the mosque. The one and a half hour tour provides an interesting and educational expereince for non-Muslims, and helps open minds and hopefully brings down cultural barriers. For more information, contact the SMCCU at 04-3536666.
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78 GLOBAL BARRIO
My Pinoy Life in
GRANDCAYMAN
CAYMAN ISLANDS
AVEL T. GALLARDO
When and why did you move there? I moved to Grand Cayman in 2005 to assume a job offer which was originally given to my wife. At that time, she was employed in the Philippines and the priority was for her to stay with the
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children. Luckily, the company agreed to transfer the offer to me instead. Leaving my family behind for work was difficult since my family and I were not used to being apart. On the other hand, the financial rewards that will bring comfort to my family is something that cannot be
ignored. As a father, I would always want the best for my family, thus, I had to forgo personal interests and bravely accepted the job offer. Currently, I work for a food company in charge of inventory management.
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Tell us something about your place. Cayman Island as a British Overseas Territory located in the western Caribbean about 150 miles south of Cuba, 460 miles south of Miami, Florida, and 167 miles northwest of Jamaica. Christopher Columbus sighted the Cayman Islands on May 10, 1503 and named them Las Tortugas after the numerous sea turtles seen swimming in the surrounding waters. Columbus had found the two small islands (Cayman Brac and Little Cayman) and it was these two islands that he named “Las Tortugas”. George Town, the capital, is on the western shore of Grand Cayman. The island is divided into three - Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman and regarded as one of the world’s best scuba diving destinations because
of its crystal-clear waters and accessible wall dives. Little Cayman is frequently chosen as a favorite dive destination. The popular Stingray City, in Grand Cayman, gives snorkelers a thrill by allowing them to swim with and feed relatively docile Southern Stingrays. George Town is the capital and the heart of the Cayman Islands. The town is the largest (by population) in all of the British Overseas Territories. The Cayman Islands was once centered on the turtling trade. However, this industry began to disappear in the twentieth century and tourism and financial services (off-shore banking) became the economic mainstays during the 1970s until today.
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The Island has a lot of tourists ranging from Americans to Europeans who enjoy the beaches and especially those who seek much higher waves for surfing. The winter months are particularly active for tourism. From November through to April, many part-time residents and holidaymakers arrive. The Christmas season is a highlight, with many parties, celebrations and special activities.
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Tell us about your life there? I came to Cayman Islands armed only with practical knowledge gained from friends who have been working in the island. In fact, I was not aware where Cayman is at first. Cayman Islands offers various employment opportunities and financial
security but despite the financial rewards many of Filipino expats will agree with me if I say the biggest challenge for most of people working abroad is being “homesick,� most especially if spouses and children are left behind in the homeland. Every day is a challenge. I work 8-12 hours a day, 6 days a week. During time-offs we normally go to the
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beach but most of our free time is spent chatting with my family via FB or Skype. One of the privileges that one gets to enjoy while in the Cayman Island is that all things are tax-free, thus a lot of our kababayans here send balikbayan boxes twice to thrice a year. Life in the island is all about going to work every day and going home exhausted. Eating is sometimes a trade-off for a much needed sleep. Di pwedeng pa-easy–easy ka lang pagdating sa trabaho – you always have to be accountable for your actions.
Is there a Filipino community out there? Yes, we do have a Filipino community here. During special occasions like Christmas we come together and celebrate it as one big family. We prepare food and delicacies popular in the Philippines such as pinakbet, dinuguan, bulalo and to some extent, we even do lechon. Sometimes, we have sports fests where we play basketball, volleyball and etc. In the Island, there is a major festival happening once a year - Pirates Week, which is held for five to seven days. During this celebration, the Island takes a trip back in time to when pirates pillaged and plundered, and swashbuckling was a way of life. Parties and happenings abound are everywhere the Island and most of the Filipinos here join the celebration.
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What cultural practices/behaviors have you acquired from your host country? Life in the Cayman Islands is a blend of the old and the new, traditional and modern, with both British and American influences. Caymanians have a tradition of hardiness and independence of spirit, which sustained them through many difficult years when their home was sometimes referred to as “the islands time forgot.� Since Cayman has been a favorite tourist destination by many, the way of living of most of the locals here has been adjusted to accommodate the changes tourism has brought.
My Message to fellow Filipinos across the world We take the leap to work in a foreign land because of the financial advancement. Thus, pagsikapan natin ang ginagawa natin and show to the world na ang Pilipino ay laging angat sa iba because of the talent that we have and the traits that we possess. Sikapin nating wag gumawa ng mga bagay-bagay na nakakagawa ng masama sa atin at sa ating pamilya because our reason for working abroad is our family.
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ADVERTORIAL 83
XPRESS MONEY’s COMMITMENT TO OVERSEAS FILIPINOS Today, more than 10 million Filipinos are living across the world, away from their families and loved ones. Research suggests that re-locating is the second most stressful experience that a human being can go through, the first being the death of a loved one. Can you imagine how each of these 10 million Overseas Filipino (OFs) must feel when they leave everything they are familiar with, to go and work in a country or environment that they know nothing about? The authorities in Philippines are continuously educating and preparing future OFs for the impending change, so that their stress levels can be eased out. One brand has been working hand in hand with them to ensure that OFs make a smooth transition into their new lives. Xpress Money – the fastest growing money transfer brand in the Philippines – has been closely engaged with the Filipino community over the last few years and recently unveiled its first OF Training Center in Manila to support the initiatives taken by Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA). Spread across 2,000 sqm, the center is equipped with the latest state-of-the-art training technology and can accommodate around 50 OFs at a time. The Center also houses a number of educational books and reference materials to equip OFs with knowledge they would need as soon as they step out of the country.
“Each OF is a hero in their own way; living away from loved ones in a foreign country is not an easy task. For more than a decade, Xpress Money has striven to provide OFs with an affordable, accessible and alternative instant money transfer service that has become globally recognized because of its dependability. Along with that, Xpress Money is also committed to the financial literacy and education of OFs, especially practical ways of saving money, and finding definite opportunities as to when and where to invest; we believe that this will help create a better life for them and their families. We hope the Xpress Money OF Center will be helpful to thousands of Filipinos going abroad, and will ensure the welfare of the Filipino community across the globe.” explained Joel Candy, Xpress Money Head of Business Development for Asia-Pacific. According to Candy, the center was built as a response to the government’s mandatory Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) for all Filipinos who have already obtained a valid work visa in a foreign country and have been officially registered with the POEA. In line with this initiative, the company has, in the past, introduced its own Xpress Money Handbook that served as a ‘primer’ for Filipinos set to work abroad. “We are confident that the OF center will be a success and you will see more Xpress Money OF Centers coming up in the near future,” said Candy.
Xpress Money also remains committed to securing the future of the next generation of Filipinos and recently sponsored this year’s Unang Hakbang Sa Kinabukasan (UHSK) program in association with GMA Kapuso Foundation. The company committed 1 million pesos worth of school supplies for underprivileged children from various elementary schools of Nueva Ecija, Mountain Province, Abra and Tawi-Tawi provinces of Philippines. Over 4,000 grade one pupils from underserved public elementary schools benefitted from this program and received school supplies such as school backpacks, notebooks and pencils, at a ceremony held in Cabanatuan last May. “As a brand we are very committed towards building a brighter future for the various communities that we work with across the world. The Filipino community is very close to our hearts and this is our way of giving back to this community,” said Vinesh Nair – Head, Global Marketing & Communications for Xpress Money. Xpress Money’s support for this school program is an offshoot of its larger ‘Backto-School’ project initiated in United Arab Emirates (UAE) markets targeting OFs with beneficiaries in the Philippines.
84 GLOBAL BARRIO
The Big Move to
CANADA
After close to a decade of living in hot, sandy but flashy Dubai, Quay Evano and his family packed their bags for cold Calgary, Canada. Here, he shares the whys and hows of eventually moving from the City of Gold, to the land of hockey, maple syrup and snow.
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GLOBAL BARRIO 85 A former Dubai Filipino expat in Canada “You’re from Dubai? Wow, why are you here in Canada?” That is the question I hear most of the time from people I meet in Canada when they hear that my family and I lived in Dubai for close to ten years. Dubai, I guess, has become as famous as other great cities of the world like New York and London, so much so that when you say “Dubai”, people instantly imagine the grandiosity and beauty of the city and the lifestyle that comes with it.
Migrating for their future My wife, two kids and I moved to Canada in August 2011, after about four years from our initial on-line application to receiving our permanent resident visas. Before finalizing our plans to migrate, we thoroughly researched about life and the job market in North America. We considered all the pros and cons between staying in Dubai versus migrating. We even thought about going back to our beloved motherland, the Philippines. Eventually, the decision was to migrate and the reason for choosing to, were many.
AED11,000 per child for a school year at the most affordable schools. The rate would be double, even quadruple in the US, UK, Australia or Canada-affiliated educational institutions. Health was another reason. With the stifling heat most of the year in the emirates, not to mention the shuffling between the mind-boggling temperature outdoors to the 24/7 air-conditioning indoors, as well sandstorms which are common, my kids and I experienced respiratory problems often. My wife and I wanted our kids to live in a place where the air is fresh - where we won’t need air-conditioning. And Canada has one of the cleanest air and best water quality in the world. So, it was goodbye to the heat, but hello to the super cold snow. We left a city where the temperature would rise up to 50 degrees Celsius, then settled in a place (Calgary, Alberta) where the temperature would drop to minus 40 degrees. Talk about extreme opposites! Also, when it comes to traveling around the world, Canadian citizens like Americans, Australians, and the British get visas upon arrival in almost all countries. There is also a dual citizenship option, so becoming Canadian citizens would be beneficial to us in many ways.
Another question I am often asked pertains to my citizenship, whenever I mention that “I’m a Filipino who used to work and live in Dubai for almost ten years, but am not a citizen.”
Just like most of my friends from Dubai who migrated to Canada, perhaps the most important reason for us to migrate is to secure a better future for our children, especially in terms of education.
These two questions alone leave me with a lot of explaining to do. Though, the ultimate query has always been - why leave a comfortable life we’ve grown accustomed to in the City of Gold to settle in Canada.
Like most parents who want only the best for their children, we want our children to have first-world education so that they will have more opportunities in the future. Education in Canada is free from Kindergarten up to Senior High School so that’s a big help to our family’s finances. In Dubai, parents have to pay around
My wife and I always say that if only the UAE could give citizenship, we would have loved to stay there forever, but unfortunately, that is not the case. Even if you live and work there for 40 years or more, you will still need to leave the country at some point in your life. We love and miss Dubai, because it is where we met, got married and where our children were born. However, in considering our priorities in life, we have come to the conclusion that a better future lies ahead for us and our children in our new home.
So we’re finally here for the long haul.
86 GLOBAL BARRIO
Going through the motions Unlike some immigrants from the Middle East, we didn’t use the services of an immigration agency. Instead, we began the immigration process by applying online through the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website. (www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.asp.) By asking friends and relatives, we learned that hiring an immigration agency doesn’t make any difference to one’s application as agencies do not have any authority or power to expedite applications. Going on-line also saves one from having to pay other service fees. Here’s a timeline of our application and migration process:
May 2007
Application forms filled and sent with fees to the address given in the website (for Middle East applicants, one has to send it to London, UK).
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July 2007
The Canadian Immigration Office acknowledges, by mail, that they have received the application and that they will start processing the papers.
October 2007
Another letter is received informing us of our option to withdraw our application and get a complete refund until a certain deadline or, proceed with the application, which we have done.
2009
The Canadian Immigration Office sends us a checklist of required documents which included - police clearances from the Philippines and the UAE, certificates of employment, birth certificates, marriage certificate, educational transcript of records, financial or bank statements, etc.
September 2010
We received instructions to undergo a medical check-up at a Canadaimmigration affiliated clinic.
April 2011
The Canadian Immigration office requested for our passports in view to issue Permanent Resident visas.
May 2011
All passports submitted to the Canadian Immigration office in London. We then waited for a month a half for the passports to be returned, with visas stamped on them. All approved applicants are given a time frame to enter Canada; usually it is one year after the medical check-up, so that left us with only a few months in Dubai. After this, it was pretty much a series of saying goodbyes to family and friends in Dubai, resigning from our jobs, selling many of our things and packing our other stuff for the big move to our new home.
ADVERTORIAL 87
Cleanse Your Way to Quick and Sustainable Weight Loss The Farm at San Benito is offering a 7-Day Rain Cleanse Organic Weight Loss Retreat. The program is aimed at cleansing the body, initiating sustainable weight loss, improving nutrition and rejuvenating complexion through a mix of cleansing, healthy and holistic treatments and activities. The name “Rain Cleanse” stems from the belief that the rain cleanses the earth of toxins. It is thought that the body is more receptive to cleansing during the rainy season when the earth is purified, and everything is green and fresh. The Farm’s natural detoxification therapies
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cleanse out toxins and boost immunity. Their detox techniques also enhance mental clarity that result in improved lifestyle habits and can also have a positive effect on relationships. The 7 Day Organic Weight Loss Retreat, like all of The Farm’s signature programs, offers certified professional guidance to help guests reach and maintain optimal health, emotional well-being and spiritual growth. Guests can enjoy The Farm’s awardwinning ALIVE! cuisine and detox meals, two-course transition diet meals and juice fasting throughout their seven day stay. Each meal has been carefully assessed and revised to reduce fat and calories, while taking the
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glycemic index into consideration. Physical fitness would not be complete without movement and exercise. The 7-Day Organic Weight Loss Retreat encourages movement by incorporating physical activities such as yoga, power walking and core movement. Guests can also try out the new cardio equipment at The Farm’s Jungle Gym. Visitors can avail of the entire of 7-Day cleansing and weight loss program at a 30 percent discount Until September 30, 2012.
If you’d like to know more about the entire range of Carefree products, please visit us at carefree.me.
88 TRIPPIN’
Viaje del Sol’s
Secret Art Gardens Blogger, writer and photojournalist Kara Santos takes us on a journey where the path to secret gardens are lit up by the sun. Casa San Pablo in Laguna and Ugu Bigyan’s Pottery Garden in Quezon are just two of the stops in the popular “Viaje del Sol” tour or “the way of the sun” tour. This is not a fixed itinerary, but rather a map, showing suggested destinations focusing on arts and culture in the neighboring provinces of Laguna, Batangas and Quezon. “Take it as a simple suggestion, a witty road map, a guide to a cultural loop, a lure to adventure, or just a reason to run away.” Though each destination - art workshops, cozy inns, eclectic restaurants, and distinctive resorts – have their own charm, these two in particular give a dose of inspiration by showcasing exceptional artistry within a lush garden setting.
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As an added bonus, both places serve excellent home-cooked native dishes that are planned according to the freshest ingredients available from the local markets.
Casa San Pablo Casa San Pablo in Laguna is the preferred take-off point to the other charming destinations along the Viaje del Sol route. Casa San Pablo is a country inn that showcases contemporary and eclectic junk-turned-art and literary collections. Nestled amidst Baguio-like pine trees and sprawling lawns, this charming inn offers a refreshing respite from city life.
TRIPPIN’ 89 The inn is owned by avid art collector and hobby enthusiast Boots Alcantara and his wife An Mercado-Alcantara, a writer and magazine editor, and the place has gained fame among artistic circles for its eclectic and folk art collection. Everything about the place - from the wooden hammocks in the sprawling gardens, the colorful cottage doorways, and the whimsical art pieces in every corner – is homey, laid-back and inviting. Each room in Casa San Pablo is artfully decorated in a certain theme, so staying the night is always a surprise. The rooms display various collections of the owners – from paintings by specific artists, to an odd assortment of matchbox cars, birdcages or museum posters. Casa San Pablo is a feast for the eyes and the stomach. Most of the dishes are recipes of Inay, the grandmother of owner and proprietor Boots Alcantara. To make sure that the dishes served would complement each other, Inay would contrast salty with sweet or spicy with subtle dishes to spin different flavor themes. One of the most popular (not to mention delicious!) dishes is the rich lechon, served with the smoky and sour eggplant, mild soup, crunchy lumpia, capped with delicate ube. Casa San Pablo also offers native culinary classes called “Kulinarya San Pablo” where guests try to recreate traditional Laguna recipes. The first class offerings include dishes cooked in gata (coconut milk), including their bestseller kulawo, a dish of grilled eggplant cooked in toasted coconut. Casa San Pablo, Barrio San Roque, San Pablo, Laguna, Philippines +63 -917-8126687 · Fax +63 -724-7023 info@casasanpablo.com/casasanpablo. boots@gmail.com. www.casasanpablo.com
Ugu Bigyan Potter’s Garden Tucked away in a residential village in the quiet town of Tiaong, Quezon is a delightful house and garden featuring beautiful nature-inspired pottery pieces.
Ugu Bigyan Potter’s Garden belongs to gifted ceramics artist Augusto or more popularly “Ugu” Bigyan. Though no longer the elusive secret it once was except to discerning travelers and art enthusiasts, the place still remains “off the beaten track,” requiring a 4-5 hour drive from Manila. Built by Ugu himself sometime back in the 1990s, the residence, a distinctive red clay house surrounded by a lush garden, doubles as a venue to showcase his unique clay products including garden pottery, dinnerware sets, decorative tiles, and accent pieces for walls and flooring. In 2000, he opened up his home as an art gallery, showroom, and reservations-only restaurant.
The artist’s workshop is a cluster of huts, connected by a brick and pebbled pathway amidst a lush garden. The walkways leading up to koi ponds and different huts around the garden are lined with concrete stepping stones resembling large leaves. Terracota pots adorned with wooden details and tiny leaves shaped from clay can be found throughout the space. In one area of the garden, one
can see the artist’s potter’s wheel and instruments of his craft, with freshly made products left to dry. Meanwhile, the other side of the garden is devoted to a souvenir shop, where an array of unique clay products is on display and for sale. Each ceramic dish, bowl, drinking glass, tea pot, wind chime, pot and vase sold here have a distinctive look that has come to be known as Ugu Bigyan’s signature style. These distinctive clay creations have gained fame in artistic circles, and are prominently displayed in numerous luxury hotels and upscale resorts. Ugu’s detailed
90 TRIPPIN’
craftsmanship has also garnered him local and international acclaim, as well as pride for his hometown of Tiaong.
artwork for 50% off. Pottery classes and lessons are also offered, so those wishing to learn the craft can opt to stay longer.
heartwarming dishes are presented very creatively right on Ugu’s ceramic plates and bowls.
Many of the products retain their natural terracotta look or are painted in earth tones. Each piece bears delicate and intricate patterns inspired by nature. The use of natural materials and wood accents and the repeating patterns of leaves and flowers, fishes and birds can be seen in all of Ugu’s artwork.
If proper arrangements are made, visitors can enjoy home-cooked native meals, right in this enchanting garden. Meals are served al fresco in one of the many huts aroud the garden. Popular dishes include kulawo (pickled banana heart), pan-fried lapulapu with mango salsa, sautéed shrimp, calamares and for dessert, suman, sweet guinataang halo-halo, and their refreshing blend of sago gulaman. Reservations are required for those who want to dine at the garden, as the owners buy the ingredients fresh from the market. The simple and
Ugu Bigyan’s Potter Garden. 490 Alvarez Village, Brgy. Lusacan, 4325 Tiaong, Philippines. Reservations for lunch must be made with a minimum of five persons. Telefax (042) 5459144. Mobile (0917) 560 5708
Visitors can roam around freely in the airy garden to marvel at the artist’s clayware pieces. The garden offers a surprise in every nook and cranny. Tiles of fish are set into the brick walkways leading to little huts and cozy benches. Even the bathroom is a work of art with a huge clay bowl for a sink, bamboo spout for a faucet and wooden trash baskets and potted plants decorating the place. Interestingly, the artist offers discounts on his pottery products every year on his birthday based on his age. Come August 12, he will be offering his one of a kind ceramic potteries and nature inspired
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A road trip to these two artsy secret getaways not too far from the metro, will surely be a refreshing experience for the soul. For more information, visit http:// viajedelsol.org
92 FEATURE
MINORITY
REPORT By Anna Oposa
The word indigenous means, “originating or occurring naturally in a particular place.” The indigenous peoples of the Philippines, therefore, are the original inhabitants of our tropical paradise. And yet, the rise of globalization and the inescapable influence of the modern world have made the indigenous peoples distant and lesser known to most of us. They have become the minority, the marginalized. This month, Anna Oposa tells the stories of partnerships among social enterprises, NGOs, and individuals all working to empower indigenous peoples.
Goodness Grace-ious
“Entrepreneurship stimulates the economy, generates jobs, and has the capacity to scale,” declares Love Gregorie Perez, Executive Director of Gifts and Graces (G&G). “Social entrepreneurship can transform society.” This societal transformation is the main mission-vision of G&G. It champions disadvantaged communities in their quest to overcome marginalization and poverty through livelihood. G&G provides three key business solutions to livelihood programs: product development, market access, and capability building. Perez expounds: “We look at the existing skills and products and we help them improve the designs. We recommend products using the same skills to make items to match what the market wants.” She continues, “For market access, we help groups access opportunities that by themselves they won’t be able to access because of lack of capacity (for large volume orders), lack the financial resources, or the contacts. For capacity building, we try to connect our groups with expertise to help
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improve their enterprises.” Some of G&G’s partners include former street children, the urban poor, former prison inmates, and indigenous groups. “For the indigenous groups, we work most closely with the T’bolis of Lake Sebu who make tinalak (cloth from abaca), brass bells, and some fantastic beaded accessories like belts,” says Perez. “The products of the indigenous peoples are very beautiful, but also very traditional. We try to find ways to inject some modernity into it, but still use it in its original form. One way [to make the products marketable] is by integrating them with other materials. We’ve done this with our retaso (cloth scraps) bears, and to greater success, with the retaso travel pillows which had strips of cloth from Abra mixed and matched with other materials,” describes Perez. G&G has made door charms out of the T’boli brass bells by combining them with beaded strings by individuals with special needs. Travel sets are made out of Mangyan cloth and Tinalak.
“The groups we work with are underserved,” Perez believes. “Poverty is debilitating and defining. That our partners have taken the initiative to break the cycle of poverty and change their lives through their livelihood enterprises is an inspiration.”
An ANTold story
Ants can lift 20 times their own body weight. This kind of strength makes the tiny insect an apt representation of ANTHILL (Alternative Nest and Trading/ Training Hub for Ingenious/Indigenous Little Livelihood Seekers), a creative social enterprise and lifestyle store celebrating a communal spirit among Filipino artisans. In this hill based in Cebu City, fashion, culture, advocacy, and art are brought together and home to different markets: supporters comprised of fashion designers, fabric collectors, socio-civic organizations; livelihood seekers who are from the rural, urban and indigenous communities and the colony members who are small and young entrepreneurs who want to grow and expand their business reach. ANTHILL is the brainchild of motherdaughter tandem Annie and Anya Lim,
FEATURE 93 also known as Queen and Princess Ant, respectively. It was inspired by Anya’s first visit to an Igorot Village. ”My heart skipped a beat and I heard a voice inside me say, ‘This is my people.’ Parang movie,” the younger Lim shares, laughing. ANTHILL’s primary goal is to revive living traditions, particularly weaving. It also hopes to bring cultural awareness among indigenous communities and the market through multiplying creative and cultural community enterprises. The 3-year-old ANTHILL has partners in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. “The women in our rural weaving village in Abra, Cordillera Region, handloom cotton fabrics made out of scrap thread,” explains Lim. “Our urban community in Tisa, Cebu City, makes hand-sewn rag dolls from old clothes and scrap fabrics. The Daraguyan Community of the Bukidnon Tribe produces handwoven fabric using abaca fiber and natural dyes.” ANTHILL provides market access and introduces design and innovation to their partners. To encourage the youth to get involved, ANTHILL exposes them to new colors, patterns, designs, and the transformative use of the raw materials they make. “They discover things they have never imagined would be possible. It is suddenly sexy and cool when they see the fabrics turned into beautiful clothes, shoes, and bags,” says the Princess Ant. But more than that, the youth also witnesses how weaving fosters a communal spirit among the women. “They themselves realize the value of what was passed on to them when their mothers and the elders are practicing tradition.” Ants also have two stomachs: one for them and one to feed others—another fitting analogy for the game-changing social enterprise. To attain sustainability, ANTHILL puts an emphasis on partnership. “Since it is a business, we stress that without their efforts, ANTHILL cannot work with and for them,” says Lim. “It is set and clear that the goal is for them to become an independent enterprise someday. This partnership does
ANTHILL’s primary goal is to revive living traditions, particularly weaving. It also hopes to bring cultural awareness among indigenous communities and the market through multiplying creative and cultural community enterprises. not only empower the communities, but more importantly gives them a sense of ownership.”
The daily grind
Mark Brazil has dedicated the last 12 years of his life to uplifting communities in Mindanao through agricultural development. His passion was first ignited by the Jesuit Volunteers Program of Ateneo, and kept burning by the Cartwheel Foundation, a nonprofit that seeks to give indigenous youth and communities the chance to enjoy their right to quality and culturally relevant education. The Cartwheel Foundation tasked him to coordinate and assist the titling of the ancestral domain of the Talaandig peoples in Bukidnon. In the process, Brazil helped enhance the livelihood capacities of their partners, which involved coffee production. The Miarayon region, 80% of which are Talaandigs, was known to produce one of the best Arabica coffees in the world. “But sometime in the ‘80s, the price of coffee beans went down, so the farmers cut the coffee trees and started to engage in high-value crops production. Until now, we are campaigning to revive the farmers’ interest in coffee production,” shares Brazil. Now Brazil is the community development facilitator of the Matigasalug Development Project (MDP), a collaboration between the University of Salamanca of Spain
and the Research Institute on Mindanao Culture of Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro. MDP is a partnership with a local indigenous peoples organization called SOLED KI (Solidarity of Matigsalug People for Development of the Ancestral Domain). One priority of the MDP is the San Fernando River Basin Development and Protection Initiative. With funds awarded by the government, MDP is establishing community nurseries in strategic areas, which will be home to giant bamboos, endemic species, abaca, and coffee. “It is a breakthrough for the local indigenous peoples organization to be actively engaged in the affairs of the local government unit,” Brazil says proudly. With support from Starbucks’s corporatesocial responsibility initiative, they are also getting the young Talaandigs involved and providing technical input to achieve competitive standards for the community’s Arabica coffee. They aim to make coffee production a significant source of income for the farmers and their families. “The indigenous peoples may be marginalized, but I see that they are empowered in their cultural setting. I see great significance in their indigenous knowledge, systems, and practices that will help us understand our world better.”
ADVERTORIAL 95
G.I.F.T. - Giordano’s Initiative for Talent In partnership with Mawaheb As part of Giordano’s Corporate Social Responsibility program, they have recently launched GIFT – Giordano’s Initiative for Talent, their first project is in partnership with Mawaheb, an art studio for young adults with special needs. Students from Mawaheb’s were asked to interpret the theme “World Without Strangers” and the result was an eclectic mix of artworks. Amidst the many interpretations of the theme that were created, ten works of
the students were shortlisted. Judges will take on the task of shortlisting the entries to six, which will be launched in the first phase of the project. At the retail level, for every purchase of a limited edition Giordano t-shirt, AED 20 will be given to Mawaheb for their development projects. The Mawaheb t-shirts will be available in 15 Giordano stores across the UAE from July 18th 2012 until stocks last. A total of 3,000 t-shirts were produced for the project. For UAE residents, the Mawaheb T-shirts will also be available online at the brand’s newly-launched shopping portal, www. giordano-me.com
new vertical layout where the mannequins catwalk from the ceiling, thus creating additional store space that allows for a very youthful and dynamic sequence of different worlds laid open to discover.
ICONIC opens doors to its Dubai Marina Mall store Love fashion with a twist? Head to Dubai Marina Mall as Iconic spreads its wings further and opens its third store in the UAE.
Back to School with Splash As children gear up for the academic year, Splash is back with its latest Smiley inspired Back-to-School collection. Featuring funky new designs from Smiley World, the vibrant neon colors are style statements that bring the collection to life. Packed with all sorts of must-haves like school bags and trolley bags to the must-wants like
First in the line of expansion across the UAE, the fashion lifestyle destination was inaugurated by Raza Beig, Chief Executive Officer of Splash and Iconic, along with Nisha Jagtiani, Business Head of Iconic. ICONIC is the quintessential place to shop for the latest fashion apparel, footwear, accessories and gifts for women, men and kids. The boutique format store features a
cutesy key chains, there is something for everyone from Smiley World. The collection takes inspiration from music and sports and beautifully combines Smiley World and fashion, ensuring every child has a fashionable edge, even at school. For a colorful school year, grab neon highlighters and neon post-its that take inspiration from the sun-kissed summer in the region. So, if you’re looking for value for money, go to your nearest Splash store and ensure your child goes back to school in style.
Speaking on the new store opening, Raza Beig said, “Packed with amazing, on-trend buys for incredible prices, the Dubai Marina Mall store opening is the first of the four new store openings scheduled for this year in the UAE. Dubai Marina Mall is a strategic location and the store’s setting provides customers with the opportunity to shop with increased ease in the heart of new Dubai.” The brand is all set to expand with a store in Dubai Mall in August. This will be followed by first time expansion to the cities of Sharjah and Abu Dhabi with stores in Sahara Centre and Al Wahda Mall. So all you fashion-savvy people, get ready to flaunt your own unique style as Iconic comes closer to you.
96 BAYANIHAN CORNER
Sharing the Four Filipino F’s By Ambassador Grace Relucio-Princesa
A blessed advanced Eid al Fitr to our Muslim brothers and sisters who will celebrate the end of the Holy Month of Ramadan! Welcome back to school, Pinoy students, especially those who went back to the Philippines for their summer holidays. I hope with your parents, you have seen the positive changes in the Philippines under the administration of President Aquino. This new school year (2012-2013) will witness the start of the implementation of the 12 year college preparatory curriculum. We await instructions or guidelines on how the Philippine accredited schools here in the United Arab Emirates can start implementing the same. We look forward to this new program that is slated
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to improve the quality of our education and to better prepare our youth for higher studies. In the meantime, I am excited to continue sharing with you more knowledge about the Four Filipino F’s (Fun, Fiber, Fine Arts and Food) which we have discussed in this column previously. The concept of which was launched at the Sheraton Hotel Abu Dhabi during the 114th Anniversary of the Philippine Independence Day – on the 12th June 2012. The first F is Fun, which focuses on the tourism attractions that our beautiful country has to offer. The Department of Tourism has encapsulated the message through its slogan,” It’s More Fun in the Philippines.”
The second F is Fiber – for abaca or Manila Hemp. Coming from the banana family, abaca is the strongest natural fiber in the world and 85 percent of the world’s requirement is sourced from the Philippines. A reinforcing material that is used in Mercedes Benz cars, it can also be found in Philippine and Japanese paper bills, is made into furniture and tea bags, and even worn as dresses and hats by royalty. Abaca could be made into cordage used in oil rigs here in the United Arab Emirates. To me, abaca represents the Filipinos – strong, resilient and exceptional. Or in Tagalog, “MMK”malakas, matibay, kakaiba. Filipinos have creativity in our soul as shown in our arts, musicality, culture and designs. So the third F is Fine Arts. During
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our National Day celebration, we have featured Filipina dancing painter, Flordeliza Pesigan. She wowed the diplomatic crowd and the Filipino community with her rendering of the Sarimanok, a mythical bird in southern Philippines, on canvass while performing a portion of the Singkil, our famous Muslim dance.
- Aldwin Ornopia, Tim Tejares, Manny Cajoles, Ruben Santos, Rommel Tumulak, Joel Villanueva, Chai Raagas and Nelson Buhain, as well as the paintings from artists Darwin “Japat”’ Guevarra, Flordeliza Pesigan, Eduardo Yap, and Tini Meyer, which were admired by our diplomatic guests at the Sheraton.
After the National Day Reception, during the screening of the patriotic Filipino Indie film “Watawat” (the history of the making of the Philippine flag) at the Maharlika House for Filipino leaders, I was pleasantly surprised to have met another Filipino artist. He was Tom Alvarado, a Filipino who paints while singing.
The last of the Four F’s is Food. Food is very important in Filipino culture, all important events, whether sad or happy, will always be marked with food to be shared between family members and friends. With the saying, “the way to people’s hearts is through their stomachs” in mind, we, at the Philippine Embassy and the Bayanihan Council, brought in Celebrity Chef Sharwin Tee and Mama Sita Chefs Andro Faderanga and Rachel Lapus. The chefs helped us worm our way, not just into the hearts of Filipinos, but also the diplomatic corps and other
My heart swells with pride every time I see our kababayans who uplift us as “Taas Noo Filipinos.” This was the same feeling I had when I viewed the wonderful gowns designed by our amazing Filipino designers
friends who came to our Gala Night where the best of Filipino cuisine was served. We even had Pinoy sorbetes (ice cream) and give-away gifts of pili nuts, a nutritious nut that is only found in the Philippines. All in all, the launch of the Four Filipino F’s at the recent Philippine Independence Day celebrations was a successful one which we hope has created awareness on the Philippines’ gifts to the world, among our kababayans and our multicultural friends here in the UAE. I hope to share more about the Philippines and the Filipinos with all of you in the next issues. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! Mabuhay tayong lahat!
98 COMMUNITY
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100 FILIPINISMS
Onli In Da Pilipins - 1. n. a phrase used to define anything or anyone that only exists anywhere in the 7,107 islands of the Philippines || 2. adj. a phrase used to describe a Pinas episode or a Pinoy persona so rare one would never find anywhere else in the WWW (whole, wide world). It merits a documentation of some sort.
BA Filipinology By Aby Yap
WARNING: This program isn’t for the unadventurous and/or the humorless. Many have started out zealously - as if audience to Bro. Mike’s “siksik-liglig-umaapaw” moment - then gradually ended up disillusioned and more embittered than ampalaya that they often go on a tirade about the 7,107 reasons why the Philippines and Filipinos suck. Others excel at it naturally and pass with flying colors, and make the world the way it is today. Running like normal. Good. Then there’s the rest of us who give it our best shot, have a few misses, bounce back again, and still come across the dreaded Singko, try hard as we might to master everything. Yet we don’t drop out of the course. And we won’t ever. Because it’s fun learning about being Pinoy and living as one. Plus, there’s no such thing as Maximum Residency Rule. It’s all unli. Are you bold enough to major in BA Filipinology? See what it takes to earn a lifetime degree.
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F101: Family Few NOT – Required, 10 Units Understanding that the family isn’t just the basic unit of society; it is the society— at least for the Filipino family. A typical household consists of yourself and your parents, siblings, grandparents, and yaya who’s probably a distant kin, too. In your neighborhood/barangay reside your uncles, aunts, cousins, and relatives-in-law up to the fifth degree. F102: The Godfather (and the Godmother) – Elective, 2 Units Discovering child-rearing assistance. Since many Filipino parents believe that the more, the many-er and the money-er, you
luckily have a dozen of reluctant ninongs and ninangs. So what if the priest got angry during your baptism? You’ll always be guaranteed at least two dozen aguinaldos every Christmas. F103: What’s in a Name – Elective, 2 Units Identifying yourself. In ‘Pinas, most babies are called Baby and most little boys are nicknamed Boy. A brown dog is Brownie while a black one is — guess what? Blackie! Others use repeated names, e.g. Noy-noy. Some insert the mahiwagang “h,” e.g. Rhoy. As to why they do that, ah, there lies the mystery.
FILIPINISMS 101 F111: That’s Entertainment – Required, 10 Units Expanding your interests. There’s no dull moment in the Philippines. Visit your neighbors as soon as you wake up for the hottest news. Come home by lunchtime for your favorite variety show. Do the telenovela marathon from afternoon ‘til night. For your pampatulog, drop some PHP5 coins into the community videoke machine and sing a la diva. F112: Do the Haggle – Elective, 5 Units
F104: Actions Speak Louder than Words – Required, 5 Units Reading into the Filipino’s non-verbal language. You can point direction with your lips, either greet or provoke someone by raising an eyebrow, smile to show you’re happy/embarrassed/shy/clueless/deadma, or not have any facial reaction at all when you’re tampo. More forms - of facial reactions, that is - to be discussed. F105: Happy Holidays – Required, 10 Units Listing down the many reasons to be happy and to party. Fiestas every month, Christmas as early as September, summer vacation, no-class days come the rainy season — we have so much to celebrate! The key is filing your VL the soonest time possible. F106: The Road – Required, 5 Units Exploring the streets of Manila. Be ready to do it at a snail’s pace during rush hour. Want it or not, the city’s roads could be downright horrifying when traffic is real messy and the jeepney you’re riding is a mobile disco. Off the road, you can take the LRT/MRT but expect heavy body bumpin’ and sweat sharing. F107: Our Daily Bread – Required, 5 Units Debunking this claim because it’s rice that we need to survive. That is, sinangag for
breakfast, steamed rice for lunch, lugaw for merienda, arroz valenciana for dinner, and suman for midnight snack. It’s always all you kanin! F108: Yummy! – Prerequisite: F106, 5 Units Digesting the idea of what’s yummy to the Filipino. Jollibee Chicken Joy brings us gastronomical joys. Lechon and chicharon warm (and kill) our hearts. We love what most people would find yucky: duck embryo, chicken head/neck/butt/ feet/intestines, pig ears/blood/intestines, crickets, frogs, dogs… are you hungry yet? F109: The Latest – Required, 5 Units Recognizing Filipino Time. Because we’re staunch believers of the saying that “It’s better late than never,” Filipino Time means arriving 30 minutes to 3 hours late. It depends on the traffic/weather/mood or whatever reason we could think of. To help your on-time friends cope, text them “Patience is a virtue.” F110: Speech Power – Elective, 5 Units Leveling up your communication skills. It pays to be multilingual. To enter showbiz, talk like Kris Aquino. To pursue a call center career, exaggerate the American accent. To run for public office, declaim in straight Tagalog. To bond with our happy and gay kababayans, speak in Bekimon. To turn your stalker off, text him/her in Jejemon. Jejeje.
Managing your finances. Remember this: every self-respecting Pinoy can smell the nearest tyangge/ukay-ukay and he/she calls it a done deal only if a tawad has been made — even if it’s just a PHP5 discount. We head off to the mall only when there’s a mega sale, we need AC, or Coco Martin is having a mall tour. F113: Reel Beauty – Required, 10 Units Prettifying the Filipina. Is it Miss Universe, Vicky Belo, or Snow White? Whoever’s fault it is, we can no longer stop buying papaya soaps and flat ironing our hair, aargh! And now someone else is saying that you’ve got to have foreign blood to be beautiful and world-class. Please, does anyone know where to get it? F114: Career Orientation – Required, 10 Units Climbing the ladder of success. The trick is to do it slowly, strategically, and surely. Here are the options: (1) Join PBB Teens then co-star with JLC in RomCom films. (2) Hire a voice coach and upload your videos on YouTube. (3) Train hard to be a boxer and join international competitions. Once Tito Boy has interviewed you, you can launch a political career. F114: Practice Makes Perfect – Required, 50 Units As it’s been said many times, you learn by experience. So, enjoy your practicum and good luck!
102 JUST SAYIN
BUT WHAT DO I KNOW?
Carlito Virina takes a jab at the structures and scupltures that make up the art in the city. The Philippines has many sculptures and monuments that celebrate heroes and events from our history, and others to celebrate religious icons that people could pray to and venerate. Some of them inspire awe and admiration, like Guillermo E. Tolentino’s Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan, the Rizal Monument in front of the Rizal provincial Capitol and the UP Oblation; Tolentino mentee and Oblation model Anastacio Tanchauco Caedo’s Bonifacio Monument in Balintawak and the MacArthur Landing in Palo, Leyte. There is also Filipino architect Federico Illustre’s Quezon Memorial in Quezon City; Julie Lluch’s bronze statue of Manila Mayor Arsenio Lacson on Roxas Boulevard; and Swiss Sculptor Dr. Richard Kisling’s Rizal Monument at the Luneta. I don’t know much about Art (or sculptures) but I do know what I don’t like. I don’t like that first Ninoy Aquino monument that was erected at the corner of Paseo de Roxas and Ayala. The one with the senator being escorted down a flight of stairs by an alleged (and now paroled) AVSECOM (Aviation Security Command) hit squad. The hero senator looked liked he had one too many and he was being helped
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down the stairs by bouncers of Airforce 1. I read somewhere that it was transferred to the Luisita Mall in Tarlac. I think they should just melt down that monstrosity and make something more entertaining, like... a statue of PNoy noynoying. Anyway, they replaced it with another statue of Ninoy. This time he’s not being helped down the stairs. He is being propped up by just two members of his escorts, again, like he had one too many. A bad improvement on the first one. But what do I know? I also don’t like The Shrine of Mary, Queen of Peace, Our Lady of EDSA, or more popularly known as the EDSA Shrine. While nobody really knows what the Virgin Mary really looked like (we’re still waiting for an Instagram upload), she can’t be this homely. I’ve had yayas who look so much prettier than this lady. She has a mother’s face that only her children could love. When I saw the imposing figure for the first time, welcoming the faithful to Robinson’s Galleria, I almost exclaimed, “Holy Mother of God!!!” With so many attractive Filipinas, couldn’t they get someone’s face for this? But again, what do I know?
And what’s the deal with having another MacArthur Landing monument, in Manila?!? Right beside the MacArthur Bridge on Plaza Lawton. I don’t remember reading about the American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army landing on the banks of the Pasig River with his posse that included the great Carlos P. Romulo. What’s up with that? They’ve also erected a giant statue of LapuLapu at the Luneta. Isn’t he from Mactan? I think they should replace that with Lakandula, the last ruler of pre-colonial Manila. But what do I know? I also don’t like the People Power Monument at the corner of EDSA and White Plains Avenue. Every time I see it, I shake my head in disgust. And when they stick those little Philippine flags all over it every flag-waving holiday, I cross and pray, “God have mercy on whoever made this.” Like the event that celebrates it, this prosaic sculpture was a wasted opportunity to create a lasting and inspiring legacy. This is just monumentally uninspired, I think. I was in EDSA in 1986. I was part of that multitudinous throng of people ready to sacrifice life and limb for democracy and this just fails to capture the drama of that tumultuous moment in our history. If this were a song, it would probably sound like a People Power song if they had commissioned folk singer Florante to write and sing it. Or like how Albert Speer would design a monument on the fall of Nazism. Ok, that was cruel of me. But what do I know?
FEATURE 103
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