ILLUSTRADO Magazine Feb 2009

THE MAGAZINE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL FILIPINO

FEBRUARY 2009

DHS10 • SR10 • BD1 • OR1 • KDO. 800 • QR.10

Love

issue

27

Pinoy Courtship 101 Fashion: The Seventh Sin Food, Love and Life BBC World ’s Rico Hizon Illustrado Artwall Batanes, Paradise Up North Cebu ’s Sky Experience Adventure The Annie B. Chronicles Investing in a Time of Peril

EDITOR’S NOTE

The truth about selflessness Which one of these selfless people are you? Are you the self-sacrificing wife who runs a busy household, taking care of each and every single thing, picking up after your husband and kids as though you were the family maid, turning the other cheek every time your spouse pulls up the ‘machismo’ card? Are you the all-supportive ate or kuya who sends almost all of your money back home to provide for the needs of your family, send your siblings to school and cater to their request for ‘imported goods’, while you scrimp on yourself hardly able to afford your daily life out here? Are you the patient gal pal or ‘everybody’s buddy’ who acts like an ‘airbag’ to cushion your best friend(s) from problems, eternally playing the role of agony aunt, or takbuhan in times of trouble, oftentimes treated like an ATM machine whenever anybody is in need?

Are you the overworked, exhausted mom or dad, working more than twelve hours a day, only to go home to even more work, including your extra-income ‘racket’ during the weekends, pushing hard to give your family a better future? Are you a parent who spoils your children, giving them everything they want and more, tolerating their actions and demands thinking that it’s your role as a loving parent to do just that? Or are you the long-suffering girlfriend or boyfriend who will do and accept just about anything in order to please your partner and to keep him or her by your side? If you are one of these examples and think that you are giving the ultimate expression of devotion to your loved ones – think again.

Selflessness is often misunderstood and highly overrated.

There is a good kind of selflessness, the kind that we know of from Mother Theresa; that which motivates you into becoming something bigger than what you are and therefore able to empathize and help the needy – love for your neighbors. But the other type of ‘selflessness’ wherein you give all of yourself to somebody that gets you drained and feeling empty, that is not love, but a lack of love - a lack of love for yourself.

Every February, the concept of ‘LOVE’ is always at the top of our minds. And yet, most of us miss out on the real essence of this wonderful feeling. Loving somebody – your spouse, partner, your children, your family and friends, has a pre-requisite and it is: loving yourself first. Not last like most ‘selfless’ kababayans do, but first and foremost. It is the foundation of any kind of love. For how can you truly share goodness when you are empty inside? You will only ultimately radiate negativity to others when you do not have any regard for your own emotional, mental and physical wellbeing. It’s just like a car running on empty. How far do you think you can go?

When you have true self-love, you take care of yourself and value your dignity, your self-worth comes from the inside and doesn’t have to depend on the opinion of others. This makes you wholly healthy, equipped and truly able to give love generously. As people with meaningful relationships in our lives, it is our duty to take care and nurture our beings. So before you act upon that impulse to break your back in order to pull off a grand gesture for the person or people you love on the 14th, remember that there is only one ‘you.’

In this issue, we bring you various discussions on the topic du jour, from our features Love, Pinoy Courtship 101, Happily Ever After, through to our columns Illuminati, Famous Filipinos, Successful Pinoy, Illustrado Living, Onli in Da Pilipins and even the Annie B. Chronicles. This month, we also start a brand new section which takes a look at food from a different angle – Food, Love, Life, while our fashion feature goes to the extreme side of the spectrum and looks at excessive self-love – vanity in ‘The Seventh Sin.’ Then there’s the rest of the mix with informative pieces on Kabuhayan, the arts, travel and entertainment to pique your interest and expand your mind.

So enjoy the month of hearts, dear Illustrados! I wish you well and I wish you true love.

Taas Noo, Filipino!

LALAINE CHU-BENITEZ Publisher and Editor-in-Chief

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Send your letters to: editor@illustrado.net

I just got my first issue of ILLUSTRADO magazine.

My wife and I were watching TV last night while I was looking through it, and I started reading “The Annie B’s Chronicle.” After a minute or two and quite a few chuckles in between, Kathleen asked me what I was reading. Now, most times I’m a reasonably smart guy, so I should have known better. But it was late, and I was quite relaxed, so I told her. I like reading, especially out loud, and most especially out loud to her because she enjoys it. Almost towards the end of the story, she asked, “What magazine is that?” So I just held it up for her to see. She then remarked incredulously, “It is not a comedy magazine?”

It’s been a good choice to put some sort of a very Pinoy funny thing in your otherwise ‘serious’ magazine. We need this kind of entertainment especially at times like these – when everybody is stressed out with what is happening globally.

Just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying the regular collection of articles in your magazine. I first saw Illustrado at a local Filipino supermarket and got drawn in following everyone’s experiences.

Your articles which hit home are mostly the ones about starting a business in your Kabuhayan section.

I am approaching my fifties now, and am having a dilemma on what to do to leap to the next stage of my life. I am increasingly considering setting up a small business with my savings. Maybe it’s time that I do something on my own?

Keep up the articles on starting your own business.

Maybe it will convince me that I am not too old to start on a new horizon in my life. My dad died early, never realizing his dreams. I got a stress test recently, by the way, so I am fine for now. And I don’t want to be like my dad in that regard.

And I agree with your Editor’s Note as well that we all need to be optimistic during these tough times. It’s the right attitude we should acquire to keep us going strong.

So keep up the encouragement! I just may get off the By the way, life is never boring when you share it fence yet! with someone who makes you laugh.

Julio Lomotan, Dubai Francis Medina, Abu Dhabi …………………………………….. ……………………………………..

Hello. I just wanted to thank you all for your great I am not particularly fond of ‘tsismis’ but I ventured magazine. I just picked it up at a bookstore this to pick-up a Filipino gossip magazine from our month, not knowing what to expect. Wow! What an neighborhood supermarket just the other day. amazing magazine. Now I’m hooked. I love Annie B! Let me tell you that I wasn’t surprised that I got I know a lot of Filipinos really do want to go to the US disappointed – it made me love Illustrado a bit for so many reasons and Annie B has hit the Pinoy more. I appreciate your magazine’s authenticity sentiment right on the spot! It was so funny my face and the professionalism of your contributing hurt from laughing to much! writers.

There is really value in the pages of Illustrado for all of us Pinoys and I look forward to Thank you all again for your great magazine. I look forward to future issues. your every issue.

Taas Noo, Filipino!

Jasmine Gerona, Sharjah

Joyce Maceda, Dubai

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Your magazine is great for practical advice and information, and for speaking out about things that need to be said to us Filipinos out here. It is nice to read someone’s balanced and honest opinion and not what some sponsors want the public to hear.

Mabuhay ang Pinoy!

Thank you for publishing excellent articles, Illustrado. Your January 2009 issue truly made me proud. As usual the magazine is packed with useful information that gives the reader a sense of empowerment. Jesse Edep’s article Made in the Philippines, Isabelo Samonte’s “Philippine Fuel Innovation,” and Victor Sollorano’s “RP: Sailing resilent into 2009 economic headwinds”, are all great eye-openers. They show that the Philippines is in a better position, more than what people normally perceive, because all that’s covered about us is bad news.

We received our regular copy of the December 2008 issue and loved it! We had it with us when we visited my cousin’s family and they loved it also. Since that copy has a new home we need another! You should be very proud of every issue you produce, but this one is the absolute best issue! As always, it’s full of useful information and very well written. Of course, it was great to see Pinay Supermodel Charo Ronquillo who is our community’s pride and joy. Mabuhay and ganda ng Pinay!

Thank you, Illustrado, for giving us something to look forward to every month.

Elsie Agoncillo, Dubai

Keep up what you are doing - speaking out, and people will hopefully listen. I have had my eyes opened reading your magazine. In your January issue, it was good to find out about how the Philippine economy is doing during this worldwide crisis. It’s quite reassuring to know that our country is not doing so badly this year.

It’s one less worry and makes me feel a bit more optimistic.

Thanks, Illustrado.

Rogel Dy, Dubai

Noelita Joson, Abu Dhabi

CONTRIBUTORS Bernadette Reyes

Gerald Baldivia

Jeffrey Ximo Ramos

Bernadette Reyes

Bernadette never tires of chasing after the bad guys as a TV news reporter. But it isn’t all superhero work for our petite Illustrado contributor. A former business reporter for Today Independent News where she was tasked to cover the Philippine Stock Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission, Bernadette remains an active contributor in various publications, In the little free time she has left to herself, she indulges in her true loves — books and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf frappes. Bernadette introduces to the Illustrado readers BBC News Anchor Rico Hizon.

Gerald Baldivia

Gerald Baldivia has worked in a variety of financial institutions on asset management, multilateral finance, stockbroking, insurance, and banking. Gerald has enjoyed rich exposure, building upon his academic degrees (a BS from the University of the Philippines and an MBA from Columbia University) and having worked outside the Philippines, particularly in the U.S. and Thailand. He is especially passionate about working to broaden and democratize the financial sector in the Philippines, as doing this would not only promote wider prosperity, but also uncover and foster the country’s competitive advantages. He shares expert advice in this issue for Filipinos looking to invest their money.

Ivan Henares

We call him the ‘man with itchy feet,’ and he’s proving it. Ivan knows our country has 7,107 islands and he’s well on his way to exploring each and every one of them.

His candid journals about his travels are documented in his blog Ivan About Town and gives readers a glimpse of true Philippine

Ivan Henares

Aby Yap

Isabel Sabado-Warren

Mariyah Gaspacho

culture. Far from exemplifying the jet setting lifestyle of the rich and famous, Ivan is a passionate spokesperson for backpacking as the reasonable way to travel. Ivan is also a heritage activist, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Heritage Conservation Society and a feisty advocate for the preservation of architectural heritage.

Isabel Sabado-Warren

New Illustrado contributor Isabel SabadoWarren is a nurse by profession and a hardworking entrepreneur who has converted her passion for cooking by creating her own product line of healthy Filipino condiments and snacks – Nanay Tuneng. A tireless community supporter and philanthropist and most of all a doting mother enjoying life with her husband, children and grandchildren, Isabel joins us this month in our new bimonthly column ‘Food, Love, Life’ sharing with us wisdom earned from the kitchen through to life in general.

Jeffrey Ximo Ramos

With a formula for success based on the strong foundations of spirituality and nationalism, Jeffrey ‘Ximo’ Ramos strives to provide support to Filipinos on the long, hard road to success. In the process, he has unwittingly drawn comparisons to ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ author Jack Canfield. Ximo shares his many insights to anyone willing to lend an ear — or pick up his book ‘I Know What to Do – A Pinoy Success Handbook.’

In his popular Illustrado column ‘Successful Pinoy,’ a series of self-help articles, he shares with us the ingredients that lead to personal triumph.

Aby Yap

Aby Yap may have finished her stint in Dubai but she remains connected to the UAE as an active Illustrado contributor. Back in Manila,

Jessie Tabla

she pays the bills as an editor of automotiverelated content for an online company but her true profession is storytelling. She loves weaving tales for both the young and the not-so-young alike. Her hilarious stories make the Illustrado pages in our cheeky monthly column called ‘Onli in da Pilipins.’

This month, she shares with us stories from the pages of Pinoy romance novels.

Mariyah Gaspacho

Illustrado contributor Mariyah Gaspacho is known for her ‘moving’ photographs for the Annie B. Chronicles. This time, she shows us a different side with her couple shots for this issue’s main feature. This young busy lady is also is an instructor for basic digital photography with local group OPPPS (www. oppps.com), covers events for several UAE magazines, has been chosen ‘editor’s pick’ at www.betterphoto.com, and has also won 3rd place at the 2008 GPP photography competition – ‘Faces’. A self-confessed ‘foto adik’ and fashionista by heart, a nonpracticing interior designer and an obsessive compulsive neat freak, she dreams of having her own studio and photo exhibit someday.

Jessie Tabla

What do some Philippine fashion icons and celebrities, Bollywood and regional stars and international models have in common?

Their faces have been touched by the magic that is Jessie Tabla. One of the most famous make-up and hair stylists in the country, Jessie has not only had the privilege to train with world-renowned make-up companies but was also seasoned through work for prestigious fashion shows, fashion editorials for local and international magazines, as well as special corporate assignments.

Jessie demonstrates his virtuosity for beauty in this month’s Illustrado fashion feature.

Publisher & Editor-in Chief Lalaine Chu-Benitez Assistant Editor Mikkel Bolante CONTRIBUTING WRITERS UAE, Philippines, USA Aby Yap JR Bustamante Anna Lorraine Balita Jude Cartalaba Bernadette Reyes Karen Galarpe Chayie Maligalig KC Abalos David Poarch Krip Yuson Excel Dyquiangco Mike Martin Francisco Colayco Shar Matingka Isabel Warren Sherry Tinorio Isabelo Samonte Sonny Guzman Ivan Henares Vic Lactaoen Jeffrey ‘Ximo’ Ramos Victor Sollorano Jesse Edep Jonie Jose ART DIRECTORS Paula Lorenzo Ron Perez CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS UAE Eros Goze Illuminado Ong Melandro Sanggalang Pot Ph Mac Antonio Mariyah Gaspacho PHILIPPINES Dr. Marlon Pecjo Parc Cruz CONTRIBUTING STYLISTS & FASHION TEAM UAE Zekundo Chu Anna de Leon Basil Yunting Jessie Tabla PHILIPPINES Janet dela Fuente 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.illustrado.agilaglobal.net PHILIPPINE OFFICE ILLUSTRADO MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS INC. 1100 88 Corporate Exchange Center, Valero St., Salcedo Village, Makati City, PHILIPPINES Tel: +632 754 8016, 754 8017 Fax: +632 754 8000 PRINTERS PRINTWELL PRINTING LLC P.O. Box 18828 Dubai, UAE Copyright Illustrado Communications FZ-LLC 2006-2009. 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

Feb.09

FEATURES

Love 10 Pinoy Courtship 101 16 Happily Ever After 20

COLUMNS

Editor’s Note 1 Letters to the Editor 4 Contributors 6 Illuminati: Love Alone 14 Famous Filipinos Significant Others 18 Kabuhayan: Heavenly Chocolates 26 Kabuhayan: Organizing Your Finances 28 Kabuhayan: Investing in a Time of Peril 32 Successful Pinoy: Me, My Love, My Success 34 Illustrado Profile: Rico Hizon 36 Illustrado Living: Loving it in February 54 Food, Love, Life: The Legend of Adobo 56 Community 61 Onli in da Pilipins 68 The Annie B. Chronicles 70 Usapang Kanto 76

FASHION, ARTS & CULTURE Fashion: The Seventh Sin 38 Designers’ Profile: 52 Illustrado Artwall: OPPPS 58

PLACES

38

Illustrado features the divine Chaps Yuson in this issue’s fashion feature devoted to vanity.

62

Bakasyon Grande: Batanes, Paradise Up North 62 Trippin’: A Fishy Valentines Date 65 Trippin’: Cebu’s Sky Experience Adventure 66

ENTERTAINMENT

Throwing Away the Sheets: Johnny Alegre Affinity 74 Hot Releases 77

10

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10 FEATURE

Love

TEXT : VICTOR D. SOLLORANO PHOTOGRAPHY BY: MARIYAH GASPACHO

TIME does not exist, according to physicist Albert Einstein, recipient of the 1921 Nobel Prize for Physics. Humans invented the concept of a linear time frame to give form and structure to something that is as elusive as a thought that comes and goes in that vast and mysterious territory called the mind – if we are to believe what psychotherapist Wayne Dyer says in his CD audio collection that includes Transformation, The Awakened Life and Secrets of the Universe.

FEATURE 11 Yet, medical doctors, poets and clerics – almost everyone for that matter – believe time is the greatest healer in the universe that even love fades with its passing. Agree?

In a lifetime, a man and a woman can fall in love many times. The 11th Edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines love as a strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties, as well as attraction based on sexual desire.

Do you remember the first time you fell in love? I was about 10 when I did. Her name was Marissa. We were the same age, neighbors in Sampaloc, Manila, where we grew up. Somehow, it was the kind of love that was never meant to be. Friends and elders at that time said it wasn’t love but infatuation, a crush, and would fade away.

Marissa and I, together with our friends, played hide and seek or taguan including all sorts of games children played back then, like bahay-bahayan, tumbang preso and habulan. One of our friends, Edison – he and his family later migrated to Hawaii, USA, then moved on to Los Angeles, California, where he joined the US Navy – whispered to me while we were playing hide and seek, “Bagay kayong dalawa…” That was after he stumbled upon Marissa and I hiding behind a clump of San Francicoes in the yard of Our Lady of Perpetual Help church.

We had this connection, this affinity toward each other – Marissa and I – and we both understood and acknowledged in our young minds that it was us.

At that time, the world was still high on astronaut Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon, the Vietnam War was raging across the China Sea – the US naval base in Subic, Zambales, was very active – and Woodstock in Yasgur’s farm in New York was about to become the phenomenal youth culture event that reverberated across the world. The boys in our neighborhood were learning how to play Beatles’ songs on the guitar.

We went to party a lot in the neighborhood, the kind where you pay PHP5 for food and drinks and dance to the music of Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, Jimmy Hendrix, James Brown, Jackson 5, Diana Ross and the Supremes. We drank sodas and pink punch concocted out of canned pomelo juice and laced with Tanduay rum by the older boys in their late teens and ate cheese pimiento sandwiches, spaghetti and hotdog barbeque on a stick that you pluck out of a cabbage head. Then, before you know it, it was 2:30 a.m. We would walk through the empty streets and see the girls off to their gates.

We spent countless hours on the phone.

One time, I told Marissa that I was like a

horse and she was the grass.

We were high on each other – I especially because hers was beauty endowed by the gods to those fortunate few and her scent was like freshly picked strawberries that ooze through her delicate, almost transparent skin. A tingling sensation would rush through my guts and envelop my whole being when we were together. A chemical reaction was probably at work, as research had come to show that romance requires a certain chemistry to blossom.

Oxytoxins secreted by the brain and other hormones, according to research, are the chemical basis of falling in love. But romance fades with time or something that science could not explain other than by a comment that falling out of love as part and parcel of the totality of the idea belongs to the domain of magic. In other words, science found the hormonal basis for love but it couldn’t explain why romance fades.

In the case of my first love, Marissa and I went our separate ways in our late teens.

She went on to college and married after graduation. I dropped out and started hanging out with the shadiest of characters in our neighborhood in my quest for the

meaning of life.

(As I turn the page on that chapter of my life, I could hear a distant melody somewhere in space and time where memories reside within me, a swan song perhaps to serenade remembrances of beautiful things past. First love never dies…)

I have fallen in and out of love many times over after that and, in my quest, have come to discover that the survival of the species relies on the act of mating. That the fittest will survive is so true in terms of siring the offspring to carry your ancestral genes in generations to come.

Mating among humans comes in many forms, and Masters and Johnson’s research reveals how men and women behave in intimate moments within the confines of the bedroom.

William Masters was a gynecologist and Viginia Johnson a psychologist. Together they pioneered research on the nature of human sexuality. Their work helped define sexuality as a healthy human trait and the experience of great pleasure and intimacy during sex as socially acceptable goals, according to the Sinclair Institute. They coauthored the 1966 book, entitled Human

14 ILLUMINATI

Love Alone BY: KRIP YUSON

Love alone fuels the earth, ‘tis said. Perhaps more than metaphorically, it makes the world go ‘round.

Generations carry on because of that one spark for procreation, which is love — dare we say more than lust?

No matter. In our islands, one man’s surname has turned nearly generic when the visual arts are invoked. Premier among all our painters is Fernando Amorsolo, the champion of canvases sporting ethereal tropic light. Before he was posthumously declared our very first National Artist, Amorsolo was already a byword for painter and painting, or for artist - Filipino artist.

His name apparently befits his efforts at transforming the body of our country and history into a supple tapestry of distinctive art, one that has been emulated no end, and which still shines in the eyes of aesthetes, other artists, auctioneers and collectors.

Love alone must have fueled his creativity and imagination, honed the masterful hand that wielded pencil, pen and paintbrush to record all those captivating moments of our national romance.

Just as he painted landscapes — rice fields with farm workers, nipa huts and bamboo groves, all suffused with that transcendent quality of light — so did he celebrate the contours of the Filipina: bathing or washing in a stream, naked on a floor, on her knees as supplicant maiden or rising as mythical princess.

Love alone must have coursed from his throbbing, patriotic chest, and through his arms and veins when he embraced the images he was most familiar with.

Last year, a grand commemoration and celebration of “Mang Nanding” Amorsolo’s varied classical corpus took place, with seven distinguished museums lending their gallery spaces in a collaborative tribute to the grand old man of Philippine art. The simultaneous showcase bannered the slogan: “His Art, Our Heart.”

Starting on the last week of September, the UP Jorge R. Vargas Museum and Filipiniana Research Center, the Lopez Memorial Museum, the National Art Gallery of the National Museum of the Philippines, and the Metropolitan Museum of Manila opened exhibits that dwelled or revolved on myriad manifestations and facets of Amorsolo’s creativity.

The exhibits ran for at least two months, billed respectively as: “Capturing Anxieties: Amorsolo, His Contemporaries and Pictures of the War”; “Tell-Tale: The Artist as Storyteller, Amorsolo as Co-Author” (still on show, till April 4); “Days of Drawing, Portraits of Passage”; and “bayANInanding:

The Motherland and the Harvest of Amorsolo.”

In October, “Mukhang Tsinoy: Portraits

by Fernando Amorsolo” opened at the Yuchengco Museum; “SALIW: Rituals in Amorsolo’s Art” at the GSIS Museum of Art; and “Amorsolo Women: Concealed and Revealed” at the Ayala Museum.

Such a cornucopia of oeuvres was involved in the multi-venue retrospective, underscoring anew the man’s pre-eminence in contemporary Philippine art. Multidimensional was his genius, finding varied forms: drawings, comic strips, formal portraits, nudes, landscapes, ritual and genre paintings.

A parent-child art appreciation workshop — ”Knowing Amorsolo” — was also conducted at Museo Pambata, running for eight weekends until early December.

Launching the seven-museums exhibition was the Fernando Amorsolo Gala Benefit dinner at the Rizal Ballroom of the ShangriLa Manila on September 19, with the creme de la creme of Philippine art and society in attendance, in exclusively Filipiniana attire.

ILLUMINATI 15

Ironically, Amorsolo’s name was legend also because he walked with ordinary folk even as he painted portraits of and for the elite.

Not too many Filipinos know it, but it was this man who illustrated the iconic brand design for the Ginebra San Miguel bottle: Archangel Michael vanquishing Satan.

This year, coming on the heels of those exhibits is another major one, this time as a fellow painters’ tribute. Opened in mid-January at the elegant new Manila Contemporary gallery was “Bayan ni Nanding Versus the Post Modern World: Contemporary Responses to the Life and Work of Fernando Amorsolo.”

Over a score of Filipino artists, most of them relatively young, contribute works that either simulate Nanding’s memorable images, but with fanciful, clever tweaks, such as rendering them on a guitar’s body or a crab’s carapace, or taking off irreverently under all sorts of mock guises.

One has a typical rice-planting scene where the black-and-white figures feature men humping the women from behind as the latter bend to sow seedlings in infinite paddies. Another cheekily asks in bold letters across a buxom nude lady

reclining languidly across an armchair, “AMORWHO?” — while the faux artist’s signature on the lower right-hand corner reads as “AMOURSOLD.” Inventive is a set of rice sacks with Amorsolo’s visage and the label FA RICE above it.

oil paintings — showing a village store, a family on a carabao cart, a peasant woman at work with a scythe, a group of men engaged in a tupada or cockfight. These sell for at least half a million pesos to well over a million.

There’s a quadruplicate take on the Ginebra San Miguel figures, with one showing them as skeletons. The rest of the works either pay homage or resist obeisance, but such is the influence of the man that his mug, his own torso, and his familiar works all lend themselves to post-modernist transfiguration, deconstruction, reinvention.

Those who revere his art but can’t afford such prices can simply acquire the coffeetable book that commemorates, per its title, the Fernando Amorsolo: Seven Museum Exhibition. On some of its pages are the glorious paeans to the female form, naked as a newborn, supine, seated on a boulder with back and derriere turned to the viewer

On an upper floor, a small room contains authentic vintage works of Philippine masters, from Fabian de la Rosa to Amorsolo, who is represented by several small framed

Indeed, his name was true to our hearts: Amorsolo equals “love alone” or “the only love.” And it is love alone that Fernando Amorsolo bequeaths to a loving, grateful nation.

16 FEATURE live in the islands, where the sand, the sound of the surf, and the exotic flora and fauna provide the perfect setting for whispered sweet nothings. Even in the West, lovers frequent island getaways. Imagine living in one the whole year round! That means love is literally all around.

The tropical heat does not help temper desires either. It is always hot in the Philippines, even during the coldest months of December to February. As quick for tempers to rise under the unrelenting sun, the same goes for passion. People do not put enough emphasis on how the climate affects the heart and the mind. The extreme weather conditions in the Philippines seem to mirror the Pinoy’s concept of falling in love. It’s either you love with all your being or you do not care. It’s all or nothing.

The Telltale Signs

Pinoy Courtship 101:

How to Court a Filipina the Traditional Way

But if you are a hapless male, how do you know that a Filipina likes you? No need to worry — there are signs. They may be confusing and mind-boggling but telltale hints are present. The Spaniards, the Americans, and the Japanese may have come and gone but through these periods, the intimations of a Pinay remain unchanged.

First of, and this will be difficult to discern for most of the males species, notice her outfit. Is it dressier than usual? She may be dressing for you. Women usually dress for other women, because it is the competition looking out whether her sandals match her purse. So if she knows you will meet and there’s “something different about her,” she may be making the extra effort for you. It would not only help your cause if you notice and compliment her. It would also help you decipher whether she cares enough to try to catch your attention.

BY: KC M. ABALOS

A long time ago, before cell phones and the internet, when trees were marked with hearts and initials as proof of secret trysts — definitely before speed dating — there was an age-old practice called ‘panliligaw’ (courtship).

There are many ways to define the ancient ritual of hooking up. In most cultures, the rules are easy enough to understand. Get her name, wine and dine her, swallow your pride because you’re always wrong, and voila! You have a significant other.

Still, there are some countries where the customs of winning a wife are more complicated — demanding a more delicate approach. Indians insist on a dowry. The Japanese conduct a thorough investigation

of the honor of the man’s entire clan. The Chinese consult the stars for an auspicious match. In the Philippines, the tradition of courtship is steeped in history, tracing its roots to tribal sensual urgency with a dash of Spanish whimsy.

Island Lovin’ There is no doubt that Filipinos are romantic by nature. Maybe it is because we

Take note of her demeanor. If you catch her eyes on you, she will casually glance away, her eyelids aflutter, maybe behind a fan. She will hit you with her purse or maybe even with her hands if you’re teasing her. So tease her a bit. If she likes you, she will enjoy it. Don’t mind the light beating since it is the closest you will get to physical contact, at least during the dating phase.

Family Affair How the laws of pangliligaw (courtship) came about, we can only suppose. But one thing is for sure, the Filipino suitor is fully aware that for him to make any kind of leeway in getting the girl of his dreams, he must court the entire family, maybe even the clan, before he can hold his beloved’ s hand.

FEATURE 17

In a country where the family is the foundation, their opinion matters. The suitor should bring gifts for the whole household whenever he visits. If he is lucky, he might even get a chance to talk to the girl he came for though it might come as the father would be cleaning and oiling his rifle nearby. The poor guy with his heart on his sleeve would be subjected to endless questions about career, his family, and his intentions. He would have to endure glares from brothers or secretive giggles from sisters. And if he is invited to dinner, he should be prepared to eat and appreciate all of the mother’s dishes — tasty or otherwise.

In the end, the suitor would be allowed to have chaperoned dates with his lady love, along with the girl’s spinster aunt, a couple of cousins, and maybe even the family dog.

Manual Labor Once he passes the introductory phase and is deemed worthy by her folks, they now would have him prove his intentions are honorable. How? By making the suitor’s life miserable.

Okay, maybe that is an exaggeration. But the lovesick dude has to serve the family of his beloved if he wants to be taken seriously — especially if he has competition. This service can come in many forms: chop

firewood, do the laundry, become the family driver, plow the fields, fix the family banca (boat), or maybe even accompany lola to church.

Actions Speak Louder than Words While he is doing all these tasks, he should not lose sight of whose heart it is he is trying to win. Apart from gifts which may include ripe mangoes, delicately embroidered fans and handkerchiefs, flowers (a classic), chocolates, jewelry — remember a love letter is always a must.

“O irog, walang gabi ang lumilipas na hindi ikaw ang laman ng aking mga panaginip...”

The Filipina needs a declaration of love.

Otherwise, no matter how much a guy does, she will feign ignorance of his intentions. She does not assume! Or rather, she wants more than the works. She will passive-aggressively demand the deeds that will prove his feelings for her but she also wants to hear the actual words.

Thus, a poem will help the suitor’s cause.

Take a page from National Hero Jose Rizal.

He may have barely reached 5 feet in height but it is said that he was a ladies’ man who left a trail of broken hearts all across Europe and, of course, at home. He was able to cajole and romance women with his gift for words.

Uso pa ba ang Harana?

But the ultimate romantic gesture has always been the harana. Under the full moon, the suitor will gather his barkada and, armed with the guitar or a banduria, he will sing his heart out to his lady love. Surrounded by curious neighbors and snickering family members, he will declare his devotion.

If his feelings are reciprocated, he will be awarded with a scented handkerchief thrown gracefully out of the capiz window.

This hanky symbolizes her acceptance of his promises. However, if the Filipina beauty does not feel the same way (or if her family is against the union), the contents of a chamberpot will be dumped on his head instead.

Alas, modern times have all but made these rituals obsolete though courtship still comes in forms that are more expedient but with no less sentiment. The long love letters have been transformed into text messages and the harana into a collection of senti songs encased in a mixed CD. But it does not matter, the true Filipina knows her worth and will settle for nothing less than being treated with the utmost respect and undying love. Tall order?

Well, difficult and even downright humiliating the process may be — but the Filipina is more than worth it.

18 FAMOUS FILIPINOS

Famous Filipinos Significant Others Nick Lachey Former 98 Degrees frontman Nick Lachey has released five albums — four with the boyband and one solo effort. He is currently working on his second. He rose to fame with the pop quartet (where his brother Drew was also a member) and ended up marrying fellow pop sensation Jessica Simpson. Their relationship was chronicled in the MTV reality TV show Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica for four seasons before it ended up rocky in 2006. He released his debut album shortly after that.

He is currently dating Vanessa Minnillo, a television personality whose mother is a Filipina. Minnillo was a former Miss Teen USA who had stints as an Entertainment Tonight correspondent and host of the MTV request show Total Request Live. She has recently started acting in movies — her first role was in the 2007 movie Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Lachey and Minnillo met when she starred in the music video of his first single, What’s Left of Me.

Zac Efron Efron catapulted into the limelight when he starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie-turned-worldwide sensation High School Musical. Dubbed “the poster boy of tweenyboppers” by Rolling Stone magazine, he has since had two High School Musical sequels, several entries on the Billboard charts, countless HSM-related promotional tours, TV appearances and merchandise, plus a major role in the 2007 film Hairspray where he starred alongside veterans John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer and Christopher Walken, to his name. In 2008, he was included in the annual Celebrity 100 list published by Forbes Magazine with the most powerful celebrities for the year.

The young star is dating his fellow High School Musical cast member, Filipina Vanessa Hudgens. Their song Breaking Free, from the soundtrack of the movie, peaked at #4 in the Billboard US charts. Efron and Hudgens also share a Teen’s Choice Award for Choice Chemistry from their roles in the movie. Aside from her credits from HSM, Hudgens also released two solo albums and endorses the brands Ecko, Sears and Neutrogena in the US.

Robin Williams The funnyman, who started on the road to fame via the TV series Mork and Mindy, is a multi-awarded film actor who has appeared in over 60 feature films including Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, the Disney animated film Aladdin, Mrs Doubtfire, Good Will Hunting, One Hour Photo and the recent Night at the Museum.

He won an Oscar Award in 1997 for his role in the critically acclaimed Good Will Hunting, which launched the careers of actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck (and also won them Academy Awards, albeit as writers and not actors). In 2005, Williams was lauded with the Cecil B. DeMille Award, the lifetime achievement in motion pictures award at the Golden Globes.

Williams’ second wife was Filipina Marsha Garces Williams, who was married to the actor-comedian in April of 1989. Garces Williams was once the nanny of the actor’s children with his first wife, before she ended up as his personal assistant and eventually, even produced one of his movies. Williams once joked in an interview that if “you marry a Philippine woman, they like you in the Philippines.”

Karl Malone The second-leading scorer in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA), Malone is a two-time Most Valuable Player and thirteen-time all-star in the world’s premier basketball league. In 1996, he was voted as one of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players of all time. He played in the NBA finals three times; twice as a member of the Utah Jazz, where he spent his first 18 seasons alongside fellow star John Stockton, and another in his final season, his lone one with the Los Angeles Lakers, before he retired in 2004.

Malone is married to 1988 Miss Idaho USA Kay Kinsey Malone, with whom he has four children. Kinsey Malone is of Filipino descent. The Pinoy connection of Kinsey Malone was further publicized when rumors circulated that ‘the Mailman,’ as Malone is known, was in negotiations to play for local Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team Red Bull Barako in 2008.

Mandy Moore The singer-actress started out as one of many young female pop stars in the same mold as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Jessica Simpson. She eventually ended up doing acting alongside her music career, appearing in feature films such as The Princess Diaries, A Walk to Remember, American Dreamz and License to Wed. She also appeared in guest roles in the television series Entourage, Scrubs and The Simpsons.

Moore once dated Filipino hip-hop artist (and former That’s Entertainment staple) Billy Crawford. She was also a product endorser for the Filipino clothing brand Penshoppe.

Lewis Hamilton The 2008 Formula One (F1) champion, Hamilton holds many distinctions in the racing world. He is the first driver of black heritage to compete in Formula One. Hamilton burst into the scene in 2007 by finishing on the podium, meaning in the top three places, in each of his first nine races in Formula One — shattering the previous record of two races. He holds the record for most number of wins in a debut season, most number of pole positions in a debut season and became the youngest F1 World Champion at the age of 23 years, 8 months and 26 days. He races for the McLaren Mercedes team.

Hamilton is currently dating Nicole Scherzinger, lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls. The Hawaiian-born Scherzinger is known for having a Filipino father and a part-Hawaiian, part-Russian mother, which explains her exotic looks.

In 2007, she released a solo album Her Name is Nicole although she rejoined the group for their second album and World Tour. Nicole is also a product endorser of the Filipino clothing brand Bench (specifically, their Bench Body underwear line). She was present at the McLaren pit lane when Hamilton won his historic world championship at the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix.

20 FEATURE

Happily Ever After ‘‘Kahit siguro ipagtabuyan mo ‘ko, hindi ako aalis dito sa tabi mo. Dito lang ako. You know why?

It’s because no one else will love you like I do.”

Pinoy Romance Novels offer Sweet Escape BY: ABY YAP

These aren’t lines from the latest John Lloyd movie. This is just one of the many theatrical lines found in Camilla’s ‘Ang Stalker ni Rafael.’ Camilla who? For those who haven’t had the chance to touch any of those Tagalog romance pocketbooks sitting proudly on the National Bookstore shelves or lying around the Recto secondhand shops, she might be a complete stranger. But for those who own libraries upon libraries of these Pinoy tales, Camilla is the undisputed queen of the lovelorn, swooning, daydreaming Pinays hooked on the promise of romance and happy endings.

Kook Book Known as one of the most prolific writers in her genre, for whom a number of forums

and web pages on the Internet have been specially created for, Camilla, real name Armine Rhea Mendoza, writes for the most popular Tagalog romance novel brand Precious Heart Romances (PRH), published by Precious Pages Corporation since 1992. This 30-year old single mom, who got her penname from a lady warrior in Iliad, has been writing Tagalog romance novels for nine years, and can produce 30 manuscripts a year!

Her interest in the genre was inspired by a great-aunt, who owned a staggering collection of Tagalog romance books. So, when she was encouraged to try writing, she started “stealing” books from Nanay Binya’s collection to study how they were written.

Armine wrote her first Tagalog romance novel in two days, but it was rejected.

She then spent a year editing at Malaya newspaper before deciding to write fulltime. That was when her chief manuscript — untouched for two years after its rejection — finally became a book. So was her “bunch of kooks,” as she refers to her heroines like Karen Kerengkeng, also born. Camilla has been elevated to celebrity status, receiving mail from various Filipino professionals at home and abroad, though she doesn’t sign autographs or attend book signings because she’s “painfully shy.”

However, Armine — a product of Ateneo undergraduate studies and De La Salle masterals — is also aware of the negative connotations that surround her “commercial literature.” She shares one personal experience: “When my best friend found out what I wrote for a living, she started teasing me about everything that had to do with Camilla — telling me my book titles are cheesy, copying the blurbs and sending them to me via SMS. Then she started telling our friends that my other name is Camilla. I could only retort by saying that jologs Camilla earns better than they do — combined!”

Cheese Biz Malou Medina, editor of My Sweet Valentine pocketbooks under Bookware Publishing Corporation (BPC), admits that 90% of their readers are females ranging from 13 to 50 years old and belonging to the C, D, and E markets. As such, their stories follow a strict romance formula, which requires a happy ending, because it guarantees huge sales.

She explains: “Tagalog romance novels are a form of escape. A theory says that majority of Filipinos are poor, they want to escape; so we project our hopes and dreams onto the pocketbooks we read. That’s why bidas are all good-looking, rich, and smart.

They can’t die as well. The endings are always happy and the stories always have a message of hope.”

But it doesn’t necessarily mean these stories all have the same damsel-in-distress characters and rags-to-riches plots typical of romance novels. “We have long moved on from these kinds of storylines because readers now want protagonists to be palaban in achieving what they want. It’s the conflict between these characters that makes up for that kilig factor, so we inject interesting scenes, characters, dialogues, or new angles to old plots. It’s also keeping up with modernization,” comments Malou.

FEATURE 21

She says that some of their readers also submit manuscripts to them and get paid PHP4,000 to 7,000 if accepted. Malou even recounts one male teenager from Mindanao who sent them his 50-page backto-back handwritten manuscript, obviously a labor of love.

Gender Issues Writer Apple Masallo, 26, was given an editorial assistant position at BPC after having three published novels. She reveals that her ideas usually sprout from watching Asian TV series and cartoons, but most of her story scenes come from her own reallife experiences or borrowed from other people.

Apple began reading Tagalog romance novels in high school, when she used to read about five pocketbooks a day. She says she learned a lot from these: good entertainment, wider vocabulary, and relationship perspective.

Since most readers are women, Apple believes the genre is unmistakably female.

“Writers write what their women readers would appreciate, what could boost their female egos. Thus, the storyline wherein the hero goes crazy over a woman — that’s what’s kilig for us,” she adds.

But many will be surprised to know that men also write Tagalog romance novels. Thirtytwo year-old Paul Sevilla has one published novel. What he really wanted was to write suspense, action and comedy, but the lack of market for these genres discouraged it.

Thus, he settled for romance, which was introduced to him by his sister when he was 18.

He agrees that few men enjoy reading romance novels, so publishers require male writers to use female pseudonyms.

He elaborates, “Female readers prefer female authors dahil mas komportable sila kung alam nilang babae rin ang nagsulat. Sino nga ba ang nakakakilala sa mga babae kundi mga kapwa babae rin nila?”

Paul believes in indulging the readers’ expectations. He rationalizes that most Tagalog romance books and telenovelas portray the female lead star as a loving wife willing to sacrifice because this amuses the audience. Thus, he’s convinced that Tagalog romance novels mirror the roles that women and men play in the society.

“Women are weaker and submissive; while men are more powerful, smarter, and stronger. That’s the reality of life — it’s a man’s world,” concludes Paul.

Sweet Truth Maria Teresa Cruz San Diego aka Maia Jose and Tisha Nicole is one writer who proudly proclaims the real identity behind these aliases. “I eventually realized the powerful potential of my medium,” she says.

Aside from authoring a hundred Tagalog romance novels for nearly two decades, the 46-year old family woman is also a mentor-trainer for Star Cinema’s Basic Film Scriptwriting and a freelance writereditor for local and international NGOs. She remembers how venturing into this genre started out as an experiment to expand her paycheck. She came up with her first manuscript in three weeks. It was immediately published by Books for Pleasure Inc., which owns Valentine Romances, and she wrote exclusively for the publication until it closed down in 2002. The period was marked by Maia Jose bestsellers, giving way to unthinkable plots like fantasy romance and crucial messages on political, ecological, and gender issues, among others. She even wrote a series that specifically tackled prostitution, mail-to-order bride syndicates, and white slavery, for a women’s NGO. Thereafter,

she penetrated the bangketa market — using the Tisha Nicole signature. Her latest book includes Bukal sa Dibdib, a romance pocketbook that encourages mothers to participate in the government’s breastfeeding program.

Tessa’s emphasis has always been respect for the readers. The challenge to the writer, she states, is to make the novels just as accessible, understandable, and enjoyable to a high school graduate as to a doctorate degree holder. She expounds: “Very few of our people read literary books. It’s a reality that there are more readers of Filipino romance novels. If all good writers stick to high literature, what’s left to the mass market readers but junk? We writers owe it to the readers to write for them and give them choices.”

Tessa sees the tradition of fairy-tale endings in Tagalog romance novels as a testament that it’s still possible to live happily ever after even in this day and age. So is cooking up romance literature peppered with the realities of love and life — it’s just as promising as long as writers willingly share their recipes to create a truly Pinoy-flavored tale.

22 ILLUSTRADO Q

The Design People Inc. Riding the financial roller-coaster

TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY : VICTOR D. SOLLORANO

Ten years after two online gamers in California started The Design People Inc., the Web design and marketing solutions company continues to grow amid the current global economic slump. The start up has evolved as the world was evolving out of the 1997 Asian financial crisis and survived the Internet bust in the early 2000s. the machines are connected to each other around the world.

Then in 2000 and 2001 the Internet bubble began to burst. One of The Design People’s proponents, CEO Tiger Bitanga watched dazed and helpless as the cycle of bust knocked The Design People off its trajectory as a rising star in the information technology industry.

Bitanga holds a Philippine passport and unabashedly declares—together with brother and company president Mike Bitanga—that he is proud to be a Filipino.

Brothers: Mike and Tiger Bitanga

In its early days, The Design People rode the trail of a world that just woke up from the nightmare of a boom-bust cycle and financial markets were picking up the pieces from the 1997 crisis. The awakening came with the realization that the world had indeed turned into a global village, a term coined by American author and social scientist Marshal Mclluhan in the early 1960s to describe how the electronic mass media—mainly radio and television at that time—helped deconstruct space and time barriers in the way people communicate with each other. Only in the late 1990s the Internet and the worldwide web took Mclluhan’s thinking a notch higher in evolutionary terms by encompassing computers and the way people who use

Fast forward to 2008. The Bitanga brothers, their partners and The Design People are still here, singing the songs of their generation, doing business in their own way and still enjoying the roller coaster ride, their heads perched on the ethical tenet of work hard, play hard. This time, it’s a ride through the collapse of financial markets where a monster called ‘recession’ is chomping up economies like overripe strawberries.

What makes them a breed apart is the power of their vision, coupled with a sense of kinship with the rest of humanity and the ability to read correctly the signs of the times and the needs of a market in relation to their core product—high end Websites on the edge of current thinking and technology in Cyberspace.

The company recently bagged the prized authority to resell Google Adwords, and made it to Inc. 5,000’s list of the fastest growing privately owned companies in the US as #538.

Illustrado interviewed the Bitanga brothers in their Philippine office to unravel their complex world as well as gain valuable insight and a unique perspective as to how it all began and where The Design people is headed for at this particular juncture in the history of man.

What was the motivation behind The Design People?

Tiger Bitanga Back in 1999, I was a wideeyed print designer who saw the Internet boom and realized the potential of design beyond print ads and publications. By day, I created marketing campaigns, graphical pieces and advertisements for Prudential California Realty. By night, I was a hard-core computer gamer.

I was amazed by Internet technology. I had no clue how to do it, just that I had to. One day, I had a chat with a guy I knew as well as one could possibly know someone online.

He went by the gamer handle ‘hardKnock’ in reference to the Jay-Z song. We had been competing on a first-person shooter game called Unreal Tournament every day for months. We had never met in person and rarely talked on the phone. But I knew he was a computer science major at the University of California in San Diego and I needed a technical person I could trust.

My concept was simple and foolhardy: build a site, quit my job and farm my network of real estate agent contacts over the years.

One day, hardKnock, [whose name is] Dave Chen, drove from 3 hours away and never looked back. We were two buddies playing

ILLUSTRADO Q 23

online games who met in person for the first time to form The Design People. This guy, who just showed up on our doorstep and set up camp on my couch, became my partner. He stayed for the next three weeks to the dismay and wonderment of my then fiancée who’s now my wife. We built our first product within days and sold 20 sites within weeks.

What prompted you to set it up and what were your influences?

Tiger Bitanga The media had set the tone and there was this incredible sense of excitement that we were entering a new era—and we were. It was a time when people still went to the Internet like it was some magical destination. The browser war was raging between NetScape and Microsoft.

Designers everywhere were pushing the envelope on what could be done online.

Business plans were being funded left and right that would not have seen the light of day in today’s investment circles.

What really intrigued us is that you could actually design entire user experiences using a combination of graphics, links, sound, animation and typography. A world of design possibilities opens up when you add these dimensions and make them accessible at any time from almost anywhere using a simple browser. More so, the communication was two-way—you could make these elements actually interact with site visitors from all over the world.

What would you say is an important formative experience for The Design People?

Tiger Bitanga The inevitable crash that lasted from 2000 to 2001. The Internet bubble had burst and Dave Chen went back to school and I was at a loss. The Design People would have closed shop there and then if not for two friends who came in and shared my dream of a high-end design studio.

Jon Krabbe entered the picture as chief financial officer with a $20,000 investment from his family and our former employer John Aaroe, founder of a prestigious realty firm John Aaroe & Associates, as well as Jon’s godfather.

About the same time, I ran into Luigi Amante, from my high school days and student council in Maria Montessori in Manila. He joined in as our third partner to become our chief operations officer while I became CEO. We were three chiefs with no tribe trudging through what was left of the modern day gold rush.

What was the experience like?

Tiger Bitanga We struggled for years as the industry reeled from the Internet bust.

We moved from the second bedroom of my apartment, to an Internet incubator office, to our beach office in Marina del Rey in months. To afford the space, one of our first designers and my brother, Mike literally lived in the back room with Luigi to help subsidize our rent. We brought on board many of our friends and put out the Craig’s List ads. Among that core group of early hires were Summer Nelson [now Jon Krabbe’s wife], Rolman Catalan, Jennifer Gunkel, Claire Quijano, Ace Hain and Vinny La Barbera.

It was in that office where we formed a lot of what we now know as the core culture of the company: work hard/play hard attitude, respect for each other and passion for design. We had many, many memorable moments of that extraordinary time. We survived through perseverance, teamwork and often blind, serendipitous luck.

You made it through…

Tiger Bitanga In 2005, Mike traveled to Manila to open and oversee our sister office.

We hired a team that went from working off of the cardboard boxes the computers came in with to a fully outfitted 120-person production office and contact center that it is now. We’re proud of the amazing team of developers and designers we put together.

The group is led by veterans Jonathan

Salialam, Joyce Cruz, Michelle Santos, Preck Bernabe, Apollo Angco and Aliza Conde.

Mike Bitanga Through it all—almost every year since 1999—we doubled in size and revenue. My goal with The Design People was originally to bring good design to a lot of patchwork sites that were being put up by kids in garages. It’s much more than today.

Now we’re a 160-people strong company with some of the best art directors, Web strategists, designers, developers and project managers in the business. Most recently, we became an authorized reseller of Google Adwords. We were also recognized in the Inc. 5,000 as #538 of the fastest growing privately owned companies in the US. What is you core ideology?

Tiger Bitanga Marketing by design. The Design People is a Web marketing company known for creating successful online brands and engaging Internet experiences. We provide marketing services to businesses and individuals offering measurable value through dramatic increases in productivity and changes in brand perception. We do this using a collaborative process of design that delivers effective, intuitive, usable, striking results.

How do you communicate that?

Mike Bitanga Our portfolio speaks for itself. Design is our middle name. We achieve success through our customers and take pride in our design solutions.

24 ILLUSTRADO Q How are you as a company doing in this day and age of falling markets and economies?

Tiger Bitanga We’ve all heard about the mortgage crisis. This has caused a shakeout in a critical market for us among the one million or so real estate agents in the US, with even the savviest realtors keeping a tight handle on how they spend their advertising dollars. The newer agents have simply dropped out. Combined with rising costs and inflation, many small businesses are simply fighting to survive.

Tiger Bitanga

Another more insidious factor is the impact of the weakening dollar versus the Philippine peso. Over the period of 2006 to 2007, we saw an increase of 23 percent in the cost of maintaining the Manila office on the currency exchange rate alone. It’s rebounding now but still something to watch in 2009.

Mike Bitanga

How do you survive?

We deliver the highest quality products throughout our relationship. All of our products are refreshingly easy to use, stunningly designed, robust in functionality and highly marketable. We continually evolve our business processes in order to continue delivering design and marketing solutions that are second to none.

Tiger Bitanga Part of our core value is integrity always in line with our dedication to giving honest service and upholding a high standard of ethical conduct. Our customers can be confident that they are working with people who are honest, straightforward and responsible. We strive to create long term, trusting relationship with all who deal with us.

How do your employees keep up with this level of sophistication and competition?

Mike Bitanga We train them through The Design People Academy. By providing an open atmosphere, growth through education and a company culture that nurtures innovative thinking, we encourage all employees to fully realize their potential.

We provide our employees the best possible opportunities to acquire the skills, knowledge and understanding to achieve their goals. We empower all of our people to become contributors within the company and be considered experts in their field through certification programs.

We consider people our greatest asset and Team is a word we use daily at The Design People. We place great importance on celebrating team accomplishments and individual achievements, as well as our overall successes as a company. Our energy, efficiency, creativity and success are

inseparably tied to our strong commitment to helping one another. We not only work towards giving customers the best experience possible, we also work towards creating a safe, creative and fun environment where each employee is valued.

We hire people who bring greater value to the team. Every new employee represents a new friendship made, a new aspect of our business to be explored, a new piece of knowledge to be shared.

How do you see the future?

Tiger Bitanga We will be known as the Web marketing agency for small businesses.

We will provide automated tools built on a software-as-a-service platform that is supported by a network of web strategists, marketing coaches and art directors.

We will enter each market and study what makes each vertical different. We want to identify and build easy-to-use websites that enable our customers to brand themselves, receive customer leads and convert them into clients—all from our system. These turnkey sites are their central control panels that make business and marketing easy. This enterprise-level interface allows us to easily deliver new modules and updates to our clients at the times when they need it most.

Twenty-five years from now, we will have customers worldwide and a system that has adapted to all countries and every business market. We will have extended our services beyond web marketing into print, video, mobile and other media, while maintaining a simple, single point of access for our customers.

Tiger Bitanga One thing we have going for us is a large, increasing client base and a lot of talented people on staff. We still grow at the rate of roughly 100 to 200 new customers every month. We may not see the same explosive 60-percent growth rate as we did in 2007, or doubling at the 100 percent plus rate we’ve done in years prior, but we will grow.

As a high-end design studio, we also have a significant percentage of larger customers who deal in ‘recession-proof’ luxury markets that remain relatively unaffected by recession or the mortgage mess.

Where is The Design People in terms of money, vision/mission headed for?

Tiger Bitanga We’re also in development of several new products that we believe will significantly impact real estate technology.

We’ll be launching video services for real estate agents in a few weeks. We’re also working on creating a private label version of our business so other companies can market our design services under their own brand without having to manage a creative team.

Production-wise, our goal is to have over 10,000 websites launched by the middle of 2009.

What would you say is the secret, if there is such a thing, to doing business and making it in your field of endeavor in this era of economic crunch?

Tiger Bitanga The secret for us is in our people. We invest a lot of time in the hiring process. Since we deal with intellectual property, there is no greater asset than having the right people in the right seats of the bus.

ILLUSTRADO MODEL SEARCH

ARE YOU THE NEXT FACE OF ILLUSTRADO MAGAZINE?

Illustrado is looking for models, both males and females of all ages.

Are you a photogenic Pinoy with a sparkling personality that shines through? Do you love being in front of the camera?

Send your close-up and full body picture, as well as your contact details to info@illustrado.net You just might have what it takes to be part of our next issue.

26 KABUHAYAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Heavenly Chocolates BY: BERNADETTE REYES

This month of February, trade the usual Cadbury and Ferrero Rocher for a box of exquisitely wrapped truffles, pralines and nama from Heavenly Chocolates. Husband and wife Phillip and Ellaine Sevilla, with resident chocolatier Benjamin Pedro promise these luscious treats are sure to win the love of your special someone not only this Valentine but all year round.

Only eight months after Heavenly Chocolates opened its shop at A. Roces Avenue in Quezon City, the establishment is already making headway in the business.

In fact, last December, when all of their products were sold out, business was far more than what the couple expected. “We placed bulk orders but we didn’t expect such demand. Our display racks and chillers were literally empty on Christmas Day yet orders kept on coming in,” says Ellaine.

One of the many reasons their customers keep on coming back is their unique menu of hot beverages not usually found anywhere else. “Once there was a couple who came over to try our hot drinks. They were surprised and delighted to know that there is more to the usual cup of hot chocolate they find in most shops,” Ellaine recalls. “Right now we offer five flavors of hot chocolate. Each differ from the other in terms of taste and texture depending on the country where the beans used to make them originated,” she explains.

Coined by its proprietors as the ‘Five Origins’, the beans used to make the delicious hot beverages at Heavenly Chocolates come from the five chocolateproducing regions of Ecuador, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Madagascar and Peru. Beans from Ecuador for instance, being the richest and darkest of all, give off an intense and full-bodied flavour ideal for chocoholics.

Children will love the smooth, mellow and uncomplicated taste of Ghana chocolates.

Ivory Coast chocolate has cereal and biscuit notes with a hint of coconut, while Madagascar chocolate is meant for people who like the taste of raisins with its rich, citric tang with dried fruit finishing off the flavors. Peru chocolate on the other hand is aromatic with a delicate and subtle chocolate taste blended with floral notes.

For cold drinks, the shop offers flavors such as Marula Malt, Chocolate Chiller, Malty Maniac, Iced Mocha Classic, Mexican Mocha, Irish Crème Cacao, and Cookies and Cream. “Other shops give you the same taste time and again but here you have a choice,” says Phillip.

One such unique alternative the store offers is the nama chocolate found on its displays. Originally from Japan, nama chocolates are best known for the meltin-your-mouth experience it offers. Here in the Philippines, this type of chocolate is rarely sold in specialty stores which give Heavenly Chocolates an edge.

However, offering this special variant has its disadvantages. Nama are more heat sensitive than most chocolates and require special refrigeration and insulated packaging. To meet the TLC it needs, the couple had to purchase a special chiller just to the products at the right temperature.

Altogether Phillip, Ellaine and Benjamin pooled together PHP1million in capital to put up the store. This amount does not include the cost of initial product inventory. While they are yet to recoup the cost of their investment, they are convinced it will only take no more than a year from now before they can break even. “Most food businesses take two years to get back their investment but given our turnover in the past

ENTREPRENEURSHIP KABUHAYAN 27

months we are confident we will break even in less than a year and a half,” says Phillip.

To prop up business this February, Heavenly Chocolates is expanding its menu to offer pralines and truffles wrapped in a black box with gold trimmings specially designed for Valentine’s Day. These are special offers to coincide with the month of love but depending on the demand, these sweet treats might just become a staple in the menu available any day of the year.

Another sweet temptation to look forward to is the hot chocolate made from the finest Venezuelan beans. According to Ellaine and Phillip, beans from Venezuela are seasonal and are the most expensive of all. They are fortunate that Benjamin can get hold of the beans and ship it to the Philippines to make hot cups of chocolates made from pure Venezuelan beans. “Venezuelan beans are very rare which make them very expensive but we will make sure we will offer them at the store at very reasonable prices,” says Ellaine. Benjamin is also in talks with bean suppliers from Guatemala and Mexico for the possibility of acquiring their beans to be sold at the store.

“In fact, we source our beans from the same supplier of the most expensive chocolate brand in the world like Amade and Valrhona. But we believe you don’t have to spend a fortune to be able to eat premium quality chocolates that’s why we try our best to keep our prices down,” they say.

Also in the pipeline are plans to open

new branches south of Manila and possibly enter franchise agreements with interested investors. “We are surprised that as early as now we are receiving offers to franchise our business. We are excited to open new stores of course but getting there should be a long term plan.

First we must complete our product line then we can eventually look into branching out,” Phillip explains. “We plan to offer new chocolate products every quarter until we can call ourselves a one-stop shop for chocolates,” Ellaine adds.

While the store is still in its infancy, the challenge for Heavenly Chocolates – just like in any other specialty stores – is to be able to attract new customers to try their products and then make them come back for more. Heavenly Chocolates does that by offering products not commonly found elsewhere such as the chocolate based-dish Montezuma Chocolate Pasta. Inspired by the Aztec King Montezuma who drank hot chocolate with spices, this dish is made up of penne pasta, cream, bacon bits, shallots and topped with bittersweet chocolate ganache. “It’s our version of champorado with tuyo. The sweet yet salty combination is sure to satisfy the palates of Filipinos,” says Ellaine.

The shop owners admit it can be quite challenging to entice new customers to give their menu a try. To break the ice, Heavenly Chocolates holds regular chocolate appreciation sessions every month. During each session, Benjamin discusses the history and process of how to make chocolates. To cap each session, customers get to taste all

of the Five origins and nama chocolates for free. “As a marketing initiative, these sessions impact our costs but we don’t mind. It’s our way of educating Filipinos about chocolate and hopefully by the end of the session they have come to appreciate chocolates more,” says Ellaine.

For Phillip, he hopes this venture will help bring back the old Filipino tradition of drinking hot chocolates. “During the Spanish era there is what you call ‘tsokolate eh, tsokolate ah.’ I want to bring back that tradition here in the Philippines. I believe it’s just a matter of introducing again the chocolate tradition to Filipinos,” he says.

As an up-and-coming chocolate store, Heavenly Chocolates depend on word-ofmouth advertising and a lot of help from regular customers who invite friends and family members to visit the shop. While Ellaine and Phillip admit they might not have the machinery of established businesses yet, they are confident they can make theirs grow given the strength of their products.

A customer once told the couple that the best restaurants in New York are nowhere to be found in the busy streets but are tucked away in the most inconspicuous alley just like Heavenly Chocolates. “To be likened to one of the best shops in New York is in itself an accomplishment. Our shop maybe located in one of the obscure streets of Quezon City but once the people hear we are selling premium chocolate products not found anywhere else, they will find our store no matter what,” Ellaine says.

28 KABUHAYAN MONEY

ORGANIZING FINANCES BY: FRANCISCO COLAYCO

As a reader of Illustrado, you are probably already working abroad. But you might still welcome a review of all the financial moves you did right and know what you could do to correct mistakes of the past. For readers who have not yet left the homeland, this is the chance for you to get started on the right footing towards financial independence when you eventually have to come back to our country for good.

It has been my advocacy over the past five years to concentrate on teaching financial literacy to income-earning Filipinos. Fortunately or unfortunately, as an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW), you are in the majority of Filipinos earning substantial regular income. I am quite blessed to have been and continue to be able to get to know many of your problems related to financial literacy up close. It gives me a real sense of accomplishment to be able to assist you in understanding the need to save and to grow your savings so that you may be financially independent when you come back to our country for good.

In the first place, the reason why most OFWs leave their families and go abroad is a combination of the following, though not necessarily in order:

1) Lack of appropriate jobs for you locally. You might have had job opportunities in the Philippines but with technical capabilities, you could get a better-paying job abroad. This sense of accomplishment is a very important part of your life. If you lose that feeling, it can be very depressing and the nagging thought that you could have done better will haunt you till you grow old.

2) Want for the experience and adventure abroad. There is nothing wrong if you are not really there for the sense of accomplishment but for the thrill of being alone abroad and living a different life. This is true especially for the young and single. Hopefully, you can combine work and pleasure.

3) Want for better pay. I can’t say much

more about this. Everybody wants better pay whether in the country or outside.

I hope you carefully analyzed your net pay. I hope you didn’t fall into the group who thought they were getting higher pay in another country but cost of living and other expenses related to moving away actually gave them a net pay lower than what they would be receiving in the Philippines.

Based on my and the Colayco Foundation for Education (CFE) Team’s experience in dealing with OFWs, it seems that at most, only 10-20% would know how to manage and grow their money. This same ratio probably applies as well to those who stay and work in the Philippines.

Personal money management, or applied wealth management is not really taught in schools. It’s only now that we are seeing

MONEY KABUHAYAN 29

our advocacy in promoting financial literacy (personal finance) being brought to schools. A group, which includes CFE is working on an institute to precisely educate teachers who teach finance and economics in investments and personal finance. One of the key and immediate objectives is to reverse the prevailing counter-productive mindset among the earning classes, i.e., the mindset of the “here and now” - the seeming drive to live their chosen lifestyle immediately at any expense up to and including borrowing beyond their means.

find out the safe methods of keeping your savings. If you feel confident about investing there over the long term with a reputable financial institution, you could do that.

Your whole end goal should be to come home “for good” with enough saved so that you can sustain a fairly comfortable financial life with your family. These goals have to be quantified over specific time periods.

You need to monitor your progress and thus should regularly update your personal financial plan.

Pre-Departure Fundamentals Before you leave the country, first and foremost, you should have a personal financial goal. You should know exactly: 1) How much you are worth today.

You need to make your Personal Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Personal Income & Expense Statements.

2) You should agree with your family left behind what their budget should be and be ready to send only that and no more. Your family should not be tempted to thinking that they can now spend as much as they want just because their OFW is earning in foreign currency.

You might become so homesick and start believing that you have enough saved and that you can easily find a job or business when you come home. You might start believing that what you have saved will tide you over until you find a job or business. Unfortunately, many times this might not be a realistic assumption - so be very careful.

3) Remember that in making that family budget, you should follow the formula INCOME-SAVINGS= EXPENSES. It is important that you not only keep some money for your personal expenses abroad but also some savings for yourself

If you still need to work, you should be relatively sure you have that job before coming home. If you dream of getting into business, you should prepare for the business that you intend to get into. You should prepare together with your family in identifying what business you will get into, thoroughly study the identified business and have a complete plan in how to set it up and start operations.

Ideally, the business should already be running even before you give up your job abroad. You can start to prepare for this by working on plans each time you come back for vacation.

4) You should try your best to follow the 80-20 rule. You should live within 80% of what you earn and save 20% of your income for your future capital. If you can’t save 20% then you can start even with 1%. You just have to get started and feel that winning experience. This will hopefully get you to develop that saving habit.

One of the better ways to do this is to look into franchise businesses that fit your goal. In some cases, Franchisors can provide active management of the business in the start-up year. This way, you or a family member can be taught how to run the business on-the-job. There is no better way to prepare and train than going through this kind of hands-on training.

5) Learn what options you have for saving both here and abroad. You should not just send everything to your family and relatives. In fact, it is better that you make arrangements for direct placements of your investments with financial institutions. In your working country, on the other hand, you should

Typical Back-For-Good Situations When you are finally home in the Philippines, you could be one of those who say they cannot adjust to the new life.

Most of the time, it is because you realize that what you have saved is not enough.

This is so because it usually is taking you

longer to find a job or to think or put up a new business or maybe your lifestyle has just changed. In this case, your only choice really, is to cut down on expenses drastically until you are able to settle down.

Those who have lived in the Philippines all their lives know that setting up businesses can lead to a lot of frustration especially since the choice of business should be dependent on the passion of the person, interest, size of market and sufficient funding. To all the OFWs and those who want to be OFWs out there, always remember the saying that “The grass is always greener on the other side.”

Examine your options well whatever side you are in now before making important decisions to uproot yourselves and move overseas or to come back home.

Post Script With today’s global financial crisis, the challenges are even more pronounced.

Economies of practically every country are melting down. New investments are not happening and all are trying to conserve whatever cash and assets they have. Worse, credit is very tight such that even ongoing good businesses are hard put to maintain, much less expand their operations. What is the bottom line of all this? Be practical. Hold on to your jobs for as long as possible. Don’t rush into starting up new businesses. The rule today is to conserve your assets and avoid risks.

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INFORM > PROMOTE > SELL> EARN > SHOP

ADVERTORIAL 31

Western Union – PICPA CPA Review Program First Time CPA Review Program & Board Exam in UAE and KSA

“A CPA accreditation means professional growth, more career opportunities, and ultimately, higher income. On top of these is the sense of fulfillment and satisfaction one gets when his or her dream comes true.”

These were the words uttered by Edgar Bacason, president of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) Dubai and Northern Emirates Chapter, during the orientation for the CPA Review Program held last February 6 at the Emarat Atrium along Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai.

With the approval of the budget for the Special Board Examination in the Middle East, the CPA Board will be held both in the UAE and KSA in November. To help prepare accounting graduates, PICPA will conduct the CPA Review Program every weekend up to the 24th October. The review will include the seven subjects covered in the 2006 syllabus of the CPA Board Examination. Review schedule is from 9 am to 5:30/7 pm every Friday and 9 am to 12 noon every Saturday.

The CPA Board Examination in Dubai is a big opportunity for examinees because they do not need to go home to the Philippines.

Bacason disclosed that many of the applicants they interviewed said that they were not able to take their review and examination in the Philippines because they had to go overseas to earn and help their families. “With the CPA review and board exam in Dubai, they are just simply overjoyed to finally get the chance to realize their dream of becoming CPAs,” he added.

This program is in line with the organization’s objectives of promoting high professional standards and competence among its members. It is also part of PICPA’s outreach program and commitment to the Filipino Community.

On why Filipino accountants are sought after in the UAE, Bacason commented: “We are sought after because we are known to be

competent and professional in our work. We are updated with the latest IFRS and IAS pronouncements and we make sure that we are globally competitive. Proof to this is the increasing number of Filipino accountants occupying higher finance positions, from VP Finance to Finance Controllers and Managers across diverse industries.”

PICPA Dubai is a non-profit organisation under the auspices of the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai headed by Consul General Benito Valeriano. It is currently composed of 347 accounting and professional and was conceptualized by eight CPAs working in the emirate in late 1993 - Galicano Agustin (the organization’s first President), Paul Ersando, Emiliano Dungca, Diosdado Bancoro, Teresita Perez, Analyn Ambata, Fernando Cruz and Efren Atienza.

The rest of the founding members - Sammy Trinidad, Dante Guiang, Edgardo Picache, Eduard Gutierrez, Myrna Aldeguer, Virginia Quintos, Jose Veloso, Jun Tiu, M.C. Tiu, Edelyn de Lemos, Ricardo Ayuyao and Reynaldo Ayuyao - then joined the first group to meet the minimum requirement of 20 members to formally organize the chapter.

In 2002 the organization introduced many activities and projects such as the acceptance of accountants who are not CPAs as Associate Members and the holding of Accounting for Non-Accountants crash courses.

“Western Union has been very supportive for the past two years, especially for the education-related activities like the Seminars on Letter of Credit, Accounting for Non-Accountants, IFRS Updates, MS Office Software, Personality Development, and now this CPA Review Course,” Bacason further said.

For more information about the CPA Review Program and Board Examination, please contact Bacason at 050-3578097 or email dubai_picpa@yahoo.com. Visit also the website http://picpa-dubai.tripod.com

32 KABUHAYAN INVESTING

Investing in a time of peril… and other times besides BY: GERALD BALDIVIA

Here are a couple of FAQs that invariably land on my cocktail saucer at dinner parties nowadays: “When will this awful global recession end, and when can we get back into the market?” Good questions, those. My standard answer to the first question is “who knows?” and to the second I intone: “All the time, folks. All the time.”

People unwittingly like to ask the wrong questions. And although I give what I sincerely believe to be the relevant responses, most people trudge off with befuddlement or dissatisfaction, while others give me dirty looks normally reserved for used-car salesmen.

The problem is that I’m a believer in long-term investing as a solution to longterm needs such as retirement, building a house, putting your kids through college, etc., whereas these questions are asked by good folks who like to do their own, tactical, short-term investing.

Nothing wrong with doing things by yourself, but I’d rather concentrate on my family and my day job, and instead delegate the time-consuming function of investment selection and portfolio diversification to a professional fund manager. I figure: let him worry about how my savings will work for me. That’s why I’ve stopped buying and selling individual stocks or bonds and have kept to just

investing in mutual funds. I’ve been buying small amounts of mutual funds regularly, serenely doing so even throughout the brutality of the global capital markets in the past 20 or so months.

The dirty little secret in the asset management industry is that it doesn’t take a genius to run a fund. Even Joe the Plumber could manage his own money reasonably well. However, the catch is that Joe needs to quit his plumbing career in order to spend his day glued to a bank of Bloomberg terminals, watching every uptick or drop in the markets, with his trigger finger poised over the mouse of his computer. My wife’s brother-in-law does this for fun with his pot of retirement money, and he’s able to match, and often beat, other professional fund managers.

He can do this because he’s retired and has time on his hands.

But for the percentage of us who aren’t retired and have full-time careers to run, it makes far more sense to delegate

the investing decisions by buying asset management products such as mutual funds (or, if you’re more daring, hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds, etc). The advantages with mutual funds are that these are basic, plain-vanilla, well-regulated, and transparent instruments understandable by the ordinary investor. Half of all households in the US own mutual funds, and mutual funds in the Philippines are heavily patterned after the US model.

This means that a whole lot of Filipinos (whether living in the country or overseas) are missing out on a major bonanza.

Mutual funds are very affordable: you need only PHP5,000 (in most cases) to open a Philippine mutual fund account, and if you wish to add to this (at any time or in any frequency, since there are no requirements), it’ll take an even lower PHP1,000. To find out more about these instruments and the institutions who provide these, visit these two websites: www.icap.com.ph

INVESTING KABUHAYAN 33

The Investment Company Association of the Philippines (ICAP) is the industry association for the 40-odd local mutual funds; the second website is managed by the Trust Officers’ Association of the Philippines (TOAP), who manage 100plus unit investment trust funds (UITFs), which behave very much like mutual funds.

But before anything else, it must be asked: are you even in a position to invest? Investing is like working on the top floor of a four-storey building.

One can’t get up to the fourth floor without climbing up each of the lower floors first. At the ground floor is one’s personal debt situation, which should be zero if you wish to advance to the second floor. This means, before even thinking of investing, first get rid of all outstanding consumer and personal finance, such as credit card balances, car loans, housing mortgages, five-six, pawnshop loans, and borrowings from relatives, etc. Only once you are debtfree (and can maintain this condition going forward) can you honestly tell yourself that you’re living within your means - i.e. your active income, such as salary, is equal to or greater than expenses.

Realize that a massive disregard for personal financial sustainability was what sank the US economy. The only circumstances under which you should carry debt are if the monies are being used to support a profitable business venture of yours. Otherwise, if you have a mortgage for the home you occupy, then for your own safety and sanity you should first pre-pay this before embarking on any investment (even in a mutual fund at a measly PHP5,000). All your free cash (and this includes what you may be blowing on cigarettes, alcohol, frivolous text messages, grande cappucinos, etc.) should be devoted to brutally slashing your debts down to zero. Debt is like hip fat, which weighs you down and prevents you from climbing the stairs to level two.

The second floor is called “the insurance floor.” It’s essential for you to buy life, health and property coverage. This is not an investment. Insurance is a cost. It’s a form of protection from life’s uncertainties.

The trouble here is that many insurance companies may try to sell you investments bundled into the insurance product; these will come to you under the names of whole life insurance, or variable-life policies, or variable unit life, or capital-guaranteed products. It’s okay to buy these products, but do consider these options later, when you’re on the fourth floor. Don’t allow yourself to get browbeaten into buying these prematurely. Practice saying these words politely and firmly: “I would really like to buy just some term life insurance, please.”

The third floor entails building up a cash balance, in a bank savings or checking account, of 3- to 6-months’ worth of household expenses. This, too, is a form of insurance or protection which I like to call “self-insurance.” This money should be your emergency buffer, and can be taken out at any time. This buffer is meant

to be applied in the cases which don’t quite trigger any of your insurance policies but still require quick cash. If you should ever need to dip into this pool, replenish it quickly, suspending all investments until you have topped it off.

Only after you’ve taken care of the necessities on floors 1-3 should you consider yourself free to put money at risk via investment. If you find yourself investing today but realize you’ve left some unfinished business on the lower floors, it would be better to address those deficiencies before resuming your investment activity. A few last words: this market carnage, too, shall pass. But bear in mind that the status of the markets is irrelevant.

Invest regularly, and in small amounts.

Take the long view, and be not afraid.

34 SUCCESFUL PINOY SUCCESS PRINCIPLES

Me, My Love…

My Success BY: JEFFREY ‘XIMO’ RAMOS

Sis and bro are you in a relationship right now? How do you feel?

Happy? Unhappy? Half-haffy (sorry, happy)? However you feel today, bear in mind that this relationship could lead to the ultimate lifelong commitment - nakakatuwa at nakakatakot, di ba? Napakalawak nang subject na ito pero isa lang ang buod ng talakayan – ang matagumpay na relasyon which depends on how you would relate to your partner, and your partner to you. Read and learn, dahil ang isang successful Pinoy ay may katuwang sa lahat ng kaniyang tagumpay – someone with whom to share trials and triumphs. For him or her, the relationship itself is part of true success.

have one common belief — your love and respect for each other’s individuality.

Para sa akin ganito ang mag-asawa — magkaiba pero nagkakaisa sa hangarin sa buhay — they can get whatever they want as one. Kung hindi ninyo alam ang inyong paroroonan — puwedeng sabay kayong mapunta sa kahirapan, o mag-desisyon man kayo baka ang isa ay malaglag na sa kinatatayuan. But whatever happens, your individuality should be taken into consideration, while your ‘oneness’ is an eternal contract.

Marriage Maintenance “Sa 900 years na pinagsamahan nina Eba at Adan, naisip mo ba ang kanilang puwedeng pagtalunan? “Kinain mo kasi yung mansanas” sabi ni Eba. “Excuse me, ikaw ang nag-abot sa akin, at nakikagat ka pa.”

— Napag isip-isip lang — To successful Pinoys, marriage is given much importance like the other aspects of life. Your relationship to your better-half (or bitter-half) may lead to a very serious, if not tragic end, if not successfully nurtured.

This makes the topic harder to discuss but exciting to comprehend — I myself have a share of good and not so good experiences to tell. For those who want to choose this relationship called marriage, read and learn.

Marriage maintenance does not only involve matters of the heart – it involves issues on money handling, relationships to other members of your now extended family, personal choices, and etc. Here, the protagonist is still you versus someone who probably knows you more than you know yourself.

A marriage can be compared to a car, may mga dapat gawin upang tumagal ang serbisyo nito. But there is one setback to this comparison: there is no ‘break-in’ for a marital relationship. If you have ridden in this car, it is yours all your life.

One plus One is One “Success in marriage is more than finding the right person: it is being the right person.”

— Robert Browning —

“Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another your bread but eat not of the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, let each one of you be alone, even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.”

— Kahlil Gibran —

Ikaw at ang iyong mapapangasawa ay iisa.

Iisa ang tirahan, iisa ang lugar ng kakainan, iisa ang tutulugan. Pero ganito lang ba ang matagumpay na samahan? Isa ito sa mga katotohanan but as the years pass by, you will realize that your individuality is as important as your unity — you as one, and your partner as one, should realize this.

Napaka-stereotyped na kasi ng sinasabi na iisa na kayo matapos kayong ikasal. In fact, kapag tumagal na kayo ng ilang taon, you will realize that you are both different — you are not “one” in tastes, in your principles, in your likes or dislikes. But you should

Change oil/tune up: Every six months you have to change your oil and go for a tune-up.

Your first few months will be like heaven on earth. Your snoring is music to her ears, your breath smells like fresh sampaguita even upon waking; and your cooking is perfect a la chef special. But when the reality of routine kicks in, it’s time for an oil change. Those things you do that once swept her off her feet can get a negative response if done over and over again.

Kaya kapag tumagal na, ikaw mismo ang makakapansin sa kanyang pagbabago towards you and you seeing some changes

SUCCESS PRINCIPLES SUCCESFUL PINOY 35

in her should consider action right away.

So, kung kailangang mag-exercise, magpawis; kung dapat mag-ayos kahit nasa bahay, mag ayos. Akala mo lang na cute na hindi ka marunong mag pirito ng itlog — sa una lang iyon! Kahit na anong bagay na paulit-ulit ay nakakabato sa pakiramdam.

Know the likes and dislikes of your spouse but remember not to compromise your individuality. Pero kung kailangang mag pa-change oil at tune-up, gawin na.

Let the engine cool down: After starting your car, let the engine warm up before you go and before you wash your car, you let the engine cool down. Avoid arguments and solve them as soon as possible.

If you cannot work out an argument before you two sleep, then do not force to solve the issue! Ang sabi ‘huwag matutulog kung hindi pa kayo bati.’ Tama iyon, dapat ninyong ayusin agad ang hindi pagkakaunawaan. However, there are times when neither side will want to give in.

Malamang niyan, kung susundin ninyo ang policy na ito, gising kayo hanggang umaga.

In this case, it is better to tell each other to wait until tomorrow or any agreed time, and then sleep. More often than not, you’ll find it easier to talk about the problem if you just give yourselves the chance to cool down.

Always wash the car: Let it shine and

smell good. Lagi kang maligo, mag ayos, maging presentable sa iyong esposo. Para maganda at mabango ang naiiwan sa kanyang isipan tungkol sa iyo. Kadalasan kasi akala natin okay lang kahit nakikita tayo at our worst. It is always good to maintain some mystery when it comes to the things na hindi na niya dapat makita sa iyo. Like when you put on your makeup or when you dress up - “Ok ba honey itong bagong damit ko? Sexy ba?” Sexy nga. Kaso nakita naman pala niya kung paano mo iniipit ang bilbil mo sa malapad na girdle.

Check the brakes: Make sure when you want to stop, it stops, lest you get caught in a big accident. Sa mag-asawa wala na kasing reservations. Unlike when you first started to date – ni hindi ka makabasag pinggan.

Pero ngayon kapag nagalit ka, basag lahat ng pinggan! Learn how to brake. It doesn’t mean na huwag kang magalit lalo na kung nakakainis si mister dahil umuwi na ng madaling araw at ni hindi man lang nag text or tumawag sa bahay. You should only know when to stop.

Kapag ang mga anak mo ay nasa inyong paligid - stop! Kapag hindi healthy ang inyong pag-uusap at nakikita mo nang nasisira na ang inyong gamit - stop! Kung nagiging personal na ang inyong sinasabi at wala ng kinalaman sa issue at nahahalukay na naman ang nakaraan - stop! Lalo na kung nakikita mo na may nahihirapan na sa inyong huminga o apektado ang kalusugan – please, stop!

“Friends na lang tayo.”

“If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!”

Pero kung ikaw ay single pa hanggang ngayon, there is no need to rush things.

Your relationship is not limited to marriage.

Although ang sarap isipin to walk down the aisle of a church or a beautiful garden full of flowers — darating lang iyun kung sasagot ka sa tawag. Kung wala namang tawag, huwag piliting sumagot. Marriage is a serious commitment that requires much preparation before you finally get into it.

Sis and Bro, bago pumasok sa commitment, ngayong araw ng puso, isipin ang tamang paraan para makita mo sa iyong sarili at sa ang iyong minamahal — ang tunay na Tagumpay!

36 ILLUSTRADO PROFILE

Bringing news to 260m people worldwide

Rico Hizon BY: BERNADETTE REYES

“I have been working for BBC News for six years now and everyday I go to work it still feels like a dream,” Rico Hizon tells Illustrado. But while the present feels almost like a reverie, Rico says the road to BBC News was in no way dreamlike. Or are we being sanguine? to write, produce and deliver the news.

“He asked me to co-host Viewpoint by Dong Puno. Eventually, Dong Puno himself started to recognize my talent and asked me to become the business anchor for Business Today in 1990,” he says. It took another two and a half years before he was finally employed by GMA Network as business reporter. “It took sometime before I was able to break into news fulltime because of stiff competition. At that time they wanted only veteran reporters to cover major news beats,” he explains.

From production assistant to writer to producer before finally becoming an anchor, Rico rose from the ranks. “After college I auditioned as a DJ for 91.5 K1FM and got the part. After a brief while, I attempted to join GMA Network as a reporter but there was no opening back then so I joined the company first as a production assistant for Uncle Bob’s Lucky 7 Club,” he recalls.

Determined to pursue a career as a broadcastjournalist, he would stay long hours in the newsroom until the late Art Borjal who, back then hosted the public affairs program Issues & Answers took notice of his ability

Determined to move up the ladder, Rico auditioned as news anchor at CNBC Asia in Hong Kong in 1995 and got the job.

While it ushered his international career in broadcasting, he says moving out of the country to wager on a start-up broadcasting network was not an easy decision. “I had second thoughts about taking the job because while it could be the start of something big, I could [on the other hand] just try to further my local broadcasting career. Nevertheless, I took the leap of faith to see where it brought me. It soon paved the way for my job now,” he recalls.

He anchored news programs for CNBC Asia for six years until the opportunity to work for BBC World opened its doors in 2002.

Today, Rico is the news presenter for BBC’s

daily business and finance program, Asia Business Report, and concurrently anchors one edition of World Business Report from Singapore Monday to Friday. Fourteen years after he took the so-called leap of faith, he is touted as the first and only Filipino ever to anchor CNBC Asia and BBC World – two of the most prestigious news organizations in the world.

CNBC Asia and BBC News have given Rico the opportunity to come face-to-face with some of the most interesting personalities around the world most of whom we would only see on TV. Among his notable interviewees include former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Philippine Presidents Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Czech President Vaclav Klaus, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Virgin Group’s top honcho Sir Richard Branson and sports icons such as Andre Agassi, Grant Hill and David Robinson.

For Rico, these experiences are more than just personal achievement. Rather, he believes his job at BBC News lends pride to his countrymen. “Whenever I sit on my anchor’s chair ten times a day, five times a week and I broadcast news to 260 million people worldwide, I feel as if I’m raising the

ILLUSTRADO PROFILE 37

Philippine Flag, telling the world that I’m a Filipino and this is what Filipinos can do.

We are global and we have what it takes to compete with the talents from around the world,” he says.

Despite Rico’s busy schedule, he always finds time for his fellow Filipinos in Singapore from hosting various Filipino gatherings to moderating Filipino-sponsored auctions.

He also takes on lead roles in various Filipino organizations. A former president and now honorary president of the Philippine Cultural Society (Singapore), and presently the Chairman and board member of the Philippine-Singapore Bayanihan Society, Rico is committed to be of service to Filipinos in Singapore. He also founded www.goodnewspilipinas.com, a website dedicated to celebrate and promote the grandeur of the Philippines to the rest of the world. “I’m a very active member of the Filipino community in Singapore. I’m always there to help our kababayans from hosting events to assisting them in their activities.

It’s my way of giving back to the country that has brought me pride,” he says.

Rico’s nationalism is so well entrenched that it manifests even in his love for Filipino arts. He and wife Melanie have been collecting paintings by Filipino artists although the couple admits there have been temptations to collect regional arts from China, Indonesia and Vietnam after years of living abroad. “We realize there are many talented Filipino artists yet some of them are still struggling to further their career that’s why we choose to patronize local arts,” he explains. The couple’s choice later proved worthwhile as many of the art pieces they have purchased over the years have appreciated in value. Painting of sought-after artists Ben Cab, Arturo Luz, Jose Elizalde Navarro, Jose Joya, Vicente Manansala, Ang Kiukok, Onib Olmedo, Anita Magsaysay-Ho and Mauro Malang Santos to art works by popular young contemporary artists Mark Justiniani, Jose Santos III, Elmer Borlongan, Joy Mallari, Marcel Antonio, Christian Tamondong, Romeo Forbes, Wilfredo Alicdan and Allan Jay Balisi hang in the walls of the Hizon residence.

Truly and proudly Pinoy, Rico and his wife bring up their four-year-old son, Migo, the Filipino way. “At his age he already knows how to mano and say po and opo. Even if we live outside the Philippines for the rest of our lives, I will always instill Filipino values on my child,” he says.

Asked if he has plans of going back to the Philippines, Rico answers without batting an eyelash. “Definitely I have plans of going home,” he says. But upon his return, Rico would want to serve the country in a different

way. “I want to be of service to the Filipino people. Not as a politician but perhaps as part of the diplomatic corps - someone who can really champion the cause of the Filipinos living overseas,” he explains. With the global knowledge Rico has earned after years of working outside the country, he believes he can associate with his fellowmen and respond better to the needs of OFWs. To prepare himself, Rico is poised to take up Masters in Public Policy this year.

Journalism and Community Service. Last year, Rico received the Pamana ng Pilipino Award from no less than President Arroyo.

“Whenever I receive an award, I feel the award is not mine alone. I share it with the rest of the eight million Filipinos overseas who are all working hard to remit money to our families back home,” he says. Inspite of all these recognition, Rico remains humble.

“I still make mistakes everyday but knowing how to mask it is what matters,” he says.

Meantime, Rico says he will still anchor for BBC News. Multinational companies have also tried to recruit Rico but he always turns down these offers no matter how attractive the compensation packages may be. “Some of these companies have even offered me thrice the salary I’m earning now but I have no regrets turning down these offers. It’s not really the money but the love for my job that I value more,” he says.

Eighteen years in the broadcast industry and still counting, Rico has never shown any signs of slowing down. “Whenever I enter the newsroom everyday, I’m always looking towards a brand new day. I’m never tired of doing what I’m doing now,” Rico says with a smile.

Rico’s dedication and talent as a broadcaster has earned him accolades through the years.

In 2004, he received the Most Outstanding Kapampangan Award in Mass Media and the youngest recipient of De La Salle University’s La Sallian Achiever in Mass Media Award. The following year, he was named the Most Outstanding Filipino in Singapore (MOFS). By 2006, Rico bagged the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) Award in the category of International

Recently, Rico was invited by former US President Bill Clinton to host the Clinton Global Initiative, an international event which talks about climate change in the US. This year, he is expecting more trips around the world but says he will always find time to come back to the Philippines.

“I have always been proud to be a Filipino. You can always lose it because you hang out with a lot of foreigners and learn to adopt their culture. I know a lot of Filipinos who have really lost it. But I will never turn my back on the country that has made me proud,” Rico says.

Photography : Eros Goze Couture : Eros Goze for Farfalla Haute Couture, Dubai Rocky Gathercole Accessories : Warren Vender Model : Chaps Yuson Model Coordinator : Andre Penano Hair & Make-Up Jessie Tabla Special thanks to John Jolbe and Dennis Cunanan

The Seventh Sin How do I love ‘me’?

Let me count the ways …

In glorious flounces of silk, and unending layers of lace.

Drowned in the dazzling sparkle of flirtatious crystals, Caressed by the sensuous flutter of rare feathers.

How do I love ‘me’? In so many ways, so many ways …

FASHION 39

Delicate top with flounces upon flounces of pure silk with convertible stretch jersey catsuit by Eros Goze; crystal neckpiece and earrings – designer’s own.

40 FASHION

Plum top with black blazer by Odelon Simpao; grey jeans from 8 and a Half

FASHION 41

Silver lame button down top by Rajo!; black ruched skirt

by Randy Ortiz; silver ankle boots by Ilaya

42 FASHION

Goddess dress in stretch jersey with plaited sash by Eros Goze; crystal chandelier earrings and headpiece – designer’s own

FASHION 43

Black garter dress by Estien Quijano

44 FASHION

FASHION 45

46 FASHION

Gown with fully beaded corset and feather accent, with velvet featherembellished skirt by Rocky Gathercole; fur trimmed cuff – designer’s own.

FASHION 47

48 FASHION

High drama opera coat with endless layers of lace matched with a Victorian corset by Eros Goze; Venetian mask headpiece, golden butterfly pins and other accessories by Warren Vender.

FASHION 49

50 FASHION

How do I love ‘me ’?

In so many ways, so many ways …

FASHION 51

52 DESIGNER PROFILE

Eros Goze Eros Goze is quite the Renaissance Man. The artist is not only an exceptional fashion designer, he is also a photographer, a painter, a comedic performer and previously a volunteer social worker who served actively in a reproductive health project supported by the Global Fund among other worthwhile social causes back home.

Eros’ foray into designing started during his high school years when he became a fabric designer at Narda’s – the award winning Philippine company which has brought the native Ikat weave to New York, Tokyo, Europe and Canada. From there he has moved into fashion designing in the Philippines, then to Qatar, and now in Dubai as a designer for Farfalla Haute Couture.

The artist defines his designs as flamboyant and eclectic and says that his creations are made for women who can carry a wide spectrum of styles from the very casual, up to the dramatic and even theatrical. Just as he approaches his other art forms, Eros begins his design process from the perspective of a blank canvass where he lovingly layers elements of his inspiration du jour in a playful collage. His proclivity for high drama is very evident in this issue’s fashion editorial featuring his couture creations and signature photography style, which employs chiaroscuro or the play of light and dark to great effect. “I like things a bit mysterious and edgy. And my designs are all about bringing out the person inside.”

Perhaps it is his roots in Baguio – the idyllic city called ‘home’ by many an acclaimed artist in the Philippines, which has brought out many of Eros’ talents. Perhaps it is his natural curiosity and his instinctive sense of beauty which allows him to glide seamlessly from one art form to the next, not to mention his passion and genuine concern for specific social issues which keep him grounded and amazingly patient.

But whatever it is that makes the artist what he is today, definitely puts him in a unique position among his peers in the local fashion business.

Rocky Gathercole ‘Bombshell’ is the first word that comes to mind when one is confronted by a Rocky Gathercole creation. Not for the shy and retiring, Rocky’s signature couture demand bravado from the women who wear them. The ebullient designer, who is known for consistently pushing the envelope, takes design all the way – whether it is through his ultra extravagant embellishments in crystals, stones, beads, feathers, furs and etc., or though unusual cut work and transparently tantalizing risqué materials, and unexpected shapes.

Rocky explains, “I see things that never were and say why not! Some designers see things as they are and ask ‘why?’” Never one to be bound by conventions, the artists has a very quirky out-of-the-box perspective. His colorful past is nothing less than astounding. Rocky enthusiastically shares that he was an out-of-school youth in the Philippines who virtually lived on the streets of Manila, particularly in Lawton and Mehan Garden where the Metropolitan Theater is located. “But I’m a dreamer and I’ve never lost hope that I’ll be somebody someday, so I tried very hard to find a decent job and somehow ended up in fashion,” he recounts. “I had no proper training, but when I found out that I can really design dresses, I decided to go to Saudi, and the rest is history.” And a great history it is because with perseverance and hardwork the former kid-on-the-street has evolved into a well known figure in the local haute couture industry making his mark on bridal shows and exhibitions in the country.

The designer is proudly celebrating his 20th year in fashion this 2009 and remains eternally grateful to the divine power whom he says made everything possible. “I live on a day-to-day basis and thank Him for my beautiful life.”

MARKET ROUND-UP 53 Modern yet simple, sporty yet soft, Splash’s Spring Collection 2009 is an absolute melting pot of stylishly crafted ensembles to suit every taste. A classic line up of international themes featuring both soft hues and bold looks; it strikes perfection to reiterate the seasonal sentiment.

Ring in Spring with Splash

Splash unveils the season’s key looks designed for the chic, contemporary, bold and romantic with themes including Techno-Ethnic with inspirations drawn from global influences from African tribes to Native Americans, True Romance featuring light and pretty concoction in soft floral prints and ruffles, Retro Safari a reincarnation of vintage couture, 70’s revival a retro line with vibrant colors in gorgeous georgettes or trendy denims and Boudoir Dressing, stylishly embellished sober ensembles for women who like to dress elegantly for day-outs.

Adventure is the catchphrase for the men’s line with Derby an exotic sporty leisure collection to suit a very English taste, Plutocrats an original style statement to accentuate the sense of being and Ocean Spirit for a clean leisure look with an emphasis on individuality.

With reinventions and a return to classics, a hint of romance and classy line-up, the Splash Spring 2009 Collection makes the best fashion moves to liven up your wardrobe for spring.

Dolce & Gabbana’s New 2009 Sun Collection

Al Jaber Trading presents unique models from Dolce & Gabbana’s new 2009 Sun Collection. Blending sophistication with a highly contemporary style, these models for both women and men exude a fashionable spirit that’s sure to make them the musthave accessory of the season.

Dolce & Gabbana was founded in 1985 and has two lines: Dolce&Gabbana which is more formal and timeless and specializes in luxury items, while D & G is the more casual trendsetting line. This famous Italian brand’s fan battery is studded with star celebrities such as Giselle Bundchen, Christina Aguilera and Monica Belluci.

The new collection features a Women’s Sun line with several designs including DG 4047 with square shaped lenses reminiscent of the 70’s trend, DG 4033 with a more curved wide front and DG 2058 an aviator style model. Men’s Sun on the other hand has DG 2064 – wide front with drop-shaped lenses, DG 2061 defined by a sharp line on its brow, the trendy DG 2063Q which utilizes leather details, as well as DG 2056, metal front lenses with a unique acetate decoration. All eyewear come with the distinctive D&G logo at the temples.

Dolce & Gabbana’s new Sun Collection 2009 is now available at all Al Jaber Optical stores in Dubai.

54 ILLUSTRADO LIVING

Loving it in

February The month of love is a great time to indulge in so many different ways. Whether you’re in a relationship or not, there’s always something you can do to make yourself warm and tingly inside.

February is a great month to -

Engage in couple rituals START A NEW TRADITION – Veer away from the clichéd celebration of Valentines Day and start a new tradition between you and your loved one. Dinner dates, the odd bunch of flowers and chocolates are too ordinary and tend to be done without so much as a thought. Why not try something different that you would enjoy as a couple – just for yourselves (in case you have children). For example, instead of going to a restaurant, you can create a special fine dining experience for two at home capped off with a couple massage session. Things become more special when both of you put effort into it. If ‘alone time’ is a rarity for you, why not schedule a getaway for two. You don’t have to go out of the country or to a fancy hotel. Try the outdoors which is great at this time of the year.

Take a day trip to the desert or the wadis of Hatta, or simply pitch a tent on any of the emirates’ white sandy beaches, complete with your basket of good eats and drinks. And for something that’s truly special, how about a walk down memory lane? Revisit your old haunts and hang-outs as a couple. Spend the day touring the places you used to frequent in your earlier days – the street where you met, the coffee shop where he proposed, your old flat, and that spot at the Corniche where you spent many a cold winter’s nights. It’s an alternative Valentine celebration that will truly be memorable for the two of you.

MAKE A LOVE RESOLUTION FOR THE YEAR – There are so many ways you can show your partner in life that you love him or her, and it doesn’t always have to involve grand gestures. Even more importantly is that you show consistency in the way you care every single day. A great idea would be to start a ‘love resolution’ detailing the little things you commit to do or observe for your partner. It can be a list of small but heartfelt things like – make it a point to remember correct dates for anniversaries, prepare a special dinner for your partner every weekend, don’t sweat out the small stuff and count to 10 before saying anything negative, have a weekly ‘alone’ time, etc. Resolutions may be deemed ‘cheesy’ by some, but they do make a big difference when you are committed to making it happen.

Have a special cook and dine experience for two right at home

ILLUSTRADO LIVING 55

Great health benefits from your favorite treats

Treat yourself to sinful foods CHOCOLATE – Health-conscious individuals automatically assume that chocolate is bad for you, simply for the fact that it is one of the most tempting treats available. In fact, cocoa, the base ingredient of chocolate, which is actually a fruit, is one of the best sources of antioxidants called flavanols which is known to be good for the heart, reducing risks of strokes, heart attacks and blood clots. Cocoa is known to have anti-aging and anti-inflammatory properties and is also a good source of the minerals magnesium, sulphur, calcium, iron, zinc, copper, potassium, and manganese; plus some of the B Vitamins. Feel good after having your favorite chocolate? That’s because chocolates also contain tryptophan which makes the neurotransmitter known as serotonin, which gives you that good feeling. It also contains dopamine, phenylethylamine (PEA), anandamide and MAO inhibitors – which promote mental alertness and the ability to concentrate which make this treat good for the brain as well. To take advantage of chocolate’s health benefits, choose products with at least 35% cocoa. Your best bet is dark chocolate.

EGGS – Another underrated healthy natural food which has been classified under the ‘bad for you’ label are eggs. Aside from supplying more than 10% of the recommended daily allowance for protein which is essential for the body, eggs also contain choline which is particularly important for brain function, cellular processes and overall physical health. It is essential in protection from brain diseases like Parkinson’s and also reduces inflammation reducing vulnerability to heart disease, osteoporosis, cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s, and type 2 diabetes. Eggs are also found to be very good source of selenium, iodine, and vitamin B2, molybdenum, phosphorus, vitamin B5, vitamin B12 and vitamin D. Egg yolks have a substance called lutein which protects the eyes and prevents agerelated macular degeneration. So next the time you have a hearty breakfast, instead of losing the eggs, skip the sausage and full fat cheese.

Celebrate friendships Who says that Valentines Day is only for those with sweethearts?

This year, why not commemorate the occasion with the other loves of your life – your best friends. This is not a time for sulking just because you haven’t got a date. Celebrate your singlehood with your girlfriends or your best buddies. You have many options - plan a group dinner date, a party or even a weekend getaway. Do girly things like a slumber party or day group make-over. And for the boys, there’s always fishing, go karting, even paintball shooting.

The important thing is that you spend a great and memorable time with the special people who make life more fun and loneliness away from home more bearable for you.

Have a date with your best friends or buddies during the month of love

COFFEE – Did you ever think that what most people give up, second only to cigarettes, when they go on the healthy eating and drinking trail is actually good for you? Coffee is rich in antioxidants which give resistance to the body to fight various diseases. Studies have shown that as little as two cups a day lowers the risk from diabetes and protects from Parkinson’s disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. The caffeine in coffee has a positive effect on concentration, alertness, body endurance and male fertility, as well. This is because it enhances energy uptake through its effects on the brain receptors. For good health, limit your coffee intake to a maximum of three eight ounce cups everyday to avoid the ill effects of having too much of a good thing. To make sure your sleep doesn’t get affected by coffee, do not drink any more coffee during the late afternoon as caffeine’s half-life is up to six hours.

56 FOOD, LOVE, LIFE

The Legend of

Adobo

TEXT BY : ISABEL WARREN PHOTOGRAPHY BY: MAC ANTONIO

Adobo is one Filipino dish that goes straight to the heart. It is our most favorite dish at home; the one that my children would always request when they come for a visit or when they go away for a long time - adobo would always be waiting on the table for their arrival. Through the years, I have served a lot of adobo as cooking has been one of my passions; one of the ways that I show my love for my family and friends.

But adobo, also occupies a special place in our family’s history. It reminds us of peace and love, and the time that a simple dish saved our When I was growing up I never had a chance to cook, it was always our mother Nanay Tuneng who would prepare the sumptuous food at our dinner table all the time. Ever since I could remember, my mother always cooked adobo in a very special way. Believe me, if you could only smell the aroma of the dish wafting in our kitchen in those days, you would knock on the door and ask if you can eat in our house. The smell and taste is so different, with the perfect combination of tangy, sweetness and salty taste that melted in your mouth.

During the Huk Balahap (NPA today) days, we would always have frequent ‘guests’ in our home. The heavily armed renegades were mean and killed people for no reason due to frustration and lack of real knowledge as to what they were fighting for. Every evening, Nanay Tuneng would hide my brothers and father in a hidden cave behind our home, covered with coconut husks and wood for cooking. We feared for their safety as men were the usual targets of the group.

One evening the Huk Balahap came and stormed our house as my father and two brothers were just getting ready to go to their hide-out. Luckily there were all in the kitchen, as my mother was cooking her adobo, and had the chance to hide under the sink in the cabinet where we kept clay

pots and firewood, as the renegades forced their way through our door.

The Huk Balahap were angry and agitated for some reason and my mother thought that it was the end of her and my sister’s lives. Then suddenly the chief Huk (kapitan), smelled the adobo, and asked, “What is in your pot?”

My mother answered, “It’s chicken adobo.”

The Kapitan wanted to know why there was a lot of food cooking if it was just my mother and my sister home – those days it was well known that the men went into hiding in the mountains to stay safe. Nanay Tuneng lied and said she cooked it for the renegades, anticipating that they were probably tired and hungry from their long walk. She said that she cooked her special adobo for the Huk Balahap.

She then hurriedly prepared. Placed all the adobo and rice on the table and the hungry renegades started to eat. Nanay Tuneng said that was the beginning of their heaven in life.

The Kapitan became very nice to her and he actually told her to get her husband and children back and assured that the family will not be bothered by the renegades anymore.

From then on, the the group would sometimes visit, but they became nice to my family. Up to this day, we still see the same

Kapitan, who eventually became my uncle when he married my mother’s sister. My mother would always remark jokingly that they have changed their attitude because she put ‘gayuma’ (aphrodisiac) in the adobo.

Of course later on, we have learned that the Huk Balahap changed their attitude because they were touched when my mother said she cooked for them. The kapitan said that my mother showed kindness and concern despite all the bad things they have been known to do. This has superimposed our family’s belief that people are people and they have feelings. Show them kindness and they will change no matter what they are.

And so it went that my Nanay Tuneng, would always say that “adobo is a special dish that brings peace and love to all.”

Hence carrying on the tradition, when I first met my husband Glen, adobo was the first dish I cooked for him. The same thing when I first met his family in America. From then on, each time I would have guests in the house, foreigners especially, I would always include adobo in my menu and believe me, you will never go wrong with this dish.

It’s interesting with its combination of spices which makes it very versatile, and it taste even better when made with love and kindness.

FOOD, LOVE, LIFE 57

Let me now share with you my healthy version of adobo.

INGREDIENTS 3 lbs skinless chicken thigh or fat trimmed boneless pork, ¾ cup rice vinegar, ¼ cup low salt or light soy sauce, ½ tsp peppercorns (crushed or ground), ¾ cup red wine, 10 cloves of garlic (crushed), 2 bay leaves, 2 medium onions (chopped), small ginger (thinly sliced) or according to your taste, 2 tbsp canola oil, ¾ cup water, 1tsp ground garlic PREPARATION Put the chopped onions, sliced ginger at the bottom of the pot. Then put your choice of meat (chicken or pork) on top.

• Ginger takes a little longer to cook than garlic and these two natural spices can withstand the heat of longer cooking without reducing their potency. If you cook these ahead of time, the aroma of the dish becomes really appetizing.

Add crushed garlic on top of the meat and around it as well.

• Garlic is most effective health-wise when it is not over cooked. If you put it on top of the dish, it will only get cooked by steam protecting it’s beneficial substances.

Follow with soy sauce, rice vinegar, water, canola oil, ground pepper and ground garlic.

Leave ¼ cup water for later depending on the taste after cooking. If too salty, add water to balance the taste.

• Always leave a buffer for any omission or addition for better taste.

Put the lid on and marinate for one hour.

Put the dish in the fridge to avoid spoilage especially if you are using chicken.

• Marinating is one of the most important steps in cooking because if you marinate the meat well with all the ingredients, it absorbs the spices in a natural way making it more tasty, healthy and moist when you cook the dish.

After an hour, put the pot over the pre-heated medium heat stove. Cook for 30 mins. Add the red wine and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes.

• To avoid a ‘clash’ in the acidic taste of the vinegar and the red wine, it is best to cook them one after the other Taste before serving. Balance flavor with water if needed. Let your tongue decide for the best result of the dish.

Serve with steamed rice and vegetables – preferably plain. Since adobo is already very tasty and full of spices, plain vegetables is the best accompaniment to this dish.

TIPS FOR A HEALTHY ADOBO: • Use lots of onions, garlic, add red wine and avoid pre-frying.

• Use canola oil if available. If not, use sunflower oil.

• Lots of onions not only make the dish taste and smell good, but they also have

remarkable health benefits.

According to studies, onion inhibits the growth of cancerous cells, helps combat heart disease and the occurrence of strokes. They also help to lower blood pressure, cholesterol and stimulates the immune system. That’s why chicken soup with plenty of onions is the most recommended remedy for colds.

• Ginger is effective in stimulating blood circulation and helps to relax the muscles around the blood vessels. Its warming effect also makes it a natural decongestant.

• Red wine which is from red grapes produces a substance call Resveratol (both red and white wines produce the same substance but the former is the better choice due to it’s longer fermentation time giving more potency) which protects from heart attacks, raises good cholesterol (HDL) and prevents artery damage caused by bad cholesterol (LDL).

• Soy sauce promotes digestion and has an antimicrobial activity. It is also known to improve blood circulation. The only bad effect of soy sauce is the salt content which, if excessive, leads to high blood pressure. So always choose low salt or light soy sauce – available in most Asian stores or in the Asian section of hypermarkets.

• Black pepper is great for healthy digestion and is also a natural diuretic which helps remove salt from the body through sweating or urination.

58 ARTWALL

OPPPS Celebrates its 6th Anniversary Non-profit Filipino organization OPPPS (Overseas Pinoy Professional Photographers Society) marked its sixth anniversary on the 29th January 2009 with a celebration held at the Arabian Courtyard Hotel & Resort Spa, Bur Dubai. The event also marked the graduation of 100 trainees from its current year Basic Digital Photography and Basic Digital Imaging Photography Workshop. The training programs are offered by association volunteers three times a year for Filipino enthusiast in the emirates and boast over 1,500 graduates since the group started.

The event also witnessed the announcement of its new major new sponsor - Sony (Sony Alpha) which will be supporting the group and its 2009 projects. The company was represented by Daisuke Morii, while a team from Jumbo Electronics, Sony’s official distributor in the emirates, was also in attendance.

The proceedings were graced by special guests Lalaine Chu-Benitez of Illustrado magazine, Mon Benitez from Leo Burnett, Paulo Vecina from The

National and Enrique Jose Soriano of Khaleej Times apart from the group’s founders and active members.

The evening’s highlight was the much awaited award ceremony for the Digital Imaging and Digital Photography competitions which saw a huge amount of excellent image entries from the graduating students. The awards were accorded by guest judges, Mon Benitez and Paolo Vecina and OPPPS Trainers Ruben Mirabel and Cesar Parocco. Winners for the Basic Digital Imaging Competition were Marthy Toribo, Arwinita Cavero and Eduardo Austria, while for the Basic Digital Photography Competition the winners were Bredfred Paul Carillo, Roel Bustonera and Mark Anthony Gallego. The champions received special gifts from support sponsors - Hyundai Karaoke, The Big Bus Company and Gulf Color Film Labs.

OPPPS is currently conducting the training for the new batch of students for January-March 2009. For further information, please log onto www.oppps. com

ARTWALL 59

1st 3rd

2nd

Winners of the Basic Digital Imaging Competition - Marthy Toribo, Arwinita Cavero and Eduardo Austria, awarded by guest judge Mon Benitez of Leo Burnett and OPPPS Trainer Ruben Mirabel.

60 ARTWALL

1st 3rd

2nd

Winners of the Basic Digital Photography - Brenfred Carillo, Roel Bustonera and Mark Anthony Gallego, awarded by guest judge Paolo Vecina from The National and OPPPS Trainer, Cesar Parocco.

COMMUNITY 61

Maranao Community Dancers Perform at the Global Village The MARCOM Dance Troupe, from the Maranao Community organization in the UAE has once again proved their talents when they performed their first set of dances on Friday the 16th January 2009, to launch their month-long presentations at the Philippine Pavilion managed by the Philippine Business Council at the Global Village, Dubai, in line with the activities of the Dubai Shopping Festival.

The presentations will run from the 16th January to the 13th February 2009, every Thursday and Friday from 6:30pm to 11:30pm in the evening, with four-sets of dances including singkil, the world renowned Maranao dance popularized by the Bayanihan Dance Troupe.

The young Maranaos of MARCOM displayed much enthusiasm and energy in showcasing their own cultural heritage to the multi-cultural guests of the popular Global Village. Everybody is invited to watch this uniquely colorful presentation.

Computer Literacy Training for Pinoys in Dubai & Northern Emirates The Filipino Computer Club launched its 2009 1st Computer Literacy Training series which will run for ten Fridays at Rewaq Educational Center and Abu Bakr Assiddiq Islamic Center in Dubai.

“These short-courses are intended for OFWs who want to equip themselves with the current software applications using Windows-based programs, to learn how to develop and maintain websites, and to be able to configure/assemble personal computers and understand the basics of Network Administration,” FCC president Cherry Pye Torres said in a statement.

The training includes - Introduction to I.T. computer fundamentals, MS Windows, Internet & Email), MS Word 2007, MS Excel 2007, MS Power Point 2007, Advanced Excel, MS Access 2007, HTML Coding, Flash Animation, and Adobe Photoshop for the web. According to Torres, the program “is designed to provide beginners or new computer users basics of computer operations and to provides advanced users more knowledge in other applications.”

The technical part of the courses includes PC Hardware Configuration and Assembly and Network Administration. Participants will be made to familiarize themselves with computer hardware assembly, software set-up, configuration and troubleshooting.

An MS Excel class during the first lecture of the Filipino Computer Club’s tuition-free computer training held at Rewaq Educational center, in Al Twar, Dubai.

Facilitating the hands-on training are FCC’s volunteer lecturers headed by Microsoft-certified Authorized Instructor Engineer Cherry Pye Torres for MS Office, Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) Danny Eramiz for Network Administration and Eng Milo Torres for Web Development, database and programming, HTML Coding and Photoshop for the Web. Other trainers include Cesar Villarta for PC Hardware Configuration & Assembly, Romel Tala for Flash Animation, Gilbert Maloloy-on for MS Access, Grace Eramiz for Introduction to I.T., Alex Tivi for MS Word 2007, Rey Marquez for Advanced Excel, Anniver Hernandez for MS Excel 2007,

Sonny Ancheta for PowerPoint 2007, Danny Eramiz for Network Administration Infrastructure, and Maximo Doce for Network Administration Essentials.

Those who are interested to participate in the next batch commencing on the 24th April 2009 may now register online at www.ofwzone.com.

Formed in June 1996, the FCC, a non-profit organization under the auspices of the Philippine Consulate General, has also been organizing Speech Craft workshops and other skills enhancement program for OFWs in line with the Philippine government’s re-integration program.

62 BAKASYON GRANDE

Batanes, Paradise Up North

By: IVAN HENARES

The province of Batanes is one of the very few that seem to be untouched by time. The islands give a sense of detachment from the rest of the country, possibly because it is literally separated from the Philippines.

The Batanes islands are located on the northernmost tip of the Philippine archipelago. It is part of the Luzon Strait, alongside the Babuyan Islands. It is comprised of 10 islands, although only three — Batan, Sabtang and Itbayat — are inhabited.

Interestingly enough, the Ivatan natives of the islands share their roots with the natives of Formosa, which is now commonly known as Taiwan. This explains some of the more unusual traits of the province, like the architecture that is unique from most parts of the country. The northern part of the islands was invaded by Dutch settlers but eventually found independence behind who was to become the King of Taiwan. The southern part, which includes Batanes, fell under Spanish rule and was eventually joined with the Spanish government based in Manila.

Today, Batanes remains uncharted territory to many. But the remote province can provide the most romantic of backdrops for any vacation. As the SEAIR 32-seater Dornier plane we were on broke through the clouds as we made our descent, the islands of Batanes greeted us in warm welcome.

It was unusually sunny after several days of rain, and Mt Iraya was clearly visible when we touched down at the airport. We booked our hotel in advance to make sure we would be picked up at the airport. As soon as we settled down, we arranged tours of the provincial capital, Basco, and the rest of Batan Island at the hotel counter. Renting a van for your group is allowed, but we opted to share the expense with other hotel guests who wanted the same tour.

It saves you a lot since there’s a lot of room in the van.

The itinerary for the morning was a tour of Basco which took us to attractions like Rolling Hills, the Naidi Hill Lighthouse, the town proper and Valugan Beach. Rolling Hills was picturesque and the winds were strong and refreshing. You’d see cows grazing along the steep slopes, which is an iconic image of Batanes.

Many people actually think that the lighthouse in Naidi Hills and several others are from the colonial period. But they are actually of recent construction, part of a project of former Batanes congressman Butch Abad. From the top of the lighthouse, we were afforded a bird’s-eye view of Basco and the fishing activities down at the coast.

BAKASYON GRANDE 63

In Basco town, we got to visit the cathedral and the colonial period provincial capitol building. Batanes churches actually have a distinct look which reminds me of colonial mission churches in the Americas. We made one last stop at Valugan Beach, which is actually composed of large boulders and not sand, but with a breathtaking view nonetheless. Lunch was at the hotel before we proceeded to visit more of Batan Island.

Ask your guide to stopover Mahatao Church which is a National Cultural Treasure. According to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the Mahatao was a 19th century church that housed the beaterio, a local institution that aided the work of the church. The churchyard also contained many stone monuments that were used as guiding lights for fisherboats.

A staple of these island tours of Batan is Rakuh a Payaman commonly known as Marlboro Country. It’s one of the best views in Batanes, with cows and carabaos grazing, rolling hills, with a view of another quaint lighthouse built in the signature Batanes style. I could imagine how charming and romantic it would be to organize a picnic here. One could stay here the whole day just thinking about nothing, savoring the scenery and passing the time away.

There are more stopovers in Uyugan town, with views of waves crashing on the jagged Batanes cliffs in Dekey a Kanayan, of old stone houses in Baranggay Itbud and the poblacion of Uyugan. The next town, Ivana, is home to the very popular Honesty Café where people pay for drinks and snacks they consume on an honesty system since the store is unmanned. Another popular stop in the town is the

House of Dakay, said to be the oldest stone house in the town. You’ll get to meet its lone inhabitant, Lola Florestida Estrella who warmly welcomes visitors into her humble home.

We were lucky to meet former Education Secretary Butch Abad on the plane to Basco and he had extended to us an invitation to visit his late sister’s studio, Fundacion Pacita, which had been converted into a wonderful bed and breakfast inn. No doubt, the classiest and most charming accommodation in Batanes.

At PHP7500 a night for a regular room, you’ll never go wrong with its breathtaking views worth dying for especially when you wake up in the mornings. They even have a honeymoon suite for lovebirds looking for a romantic vacation in picturesque Batanes. But be sure to book early since I was told they were fully-booked for March weekends as early as November!

We had dinner and called it a night since we had to wake up the next day for our trip to Sabtang. You’ve never been

64 BAKASYON GRANDE

to Batanes if you don’t make the trip to Sabtang Island.

If you suffer from motion sickness, you’ll have to prepare for a rough ride outside the summer months. But it’s most definitely worth it.

In Sabtang, you get to visit the traditional villages of Savidug and Chavayan. These baranggays remain mostly untouched and take you back in time when life was so simple. In fact, they are candidates for inscription in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

It was fun exploring the narrow streets lined by centuriesold stone houses with walls a meter thick and cogon roofs.

In Chavayan, one could purchase the traditional vakul head-gear worn by Ivatan women to shield them from the elements. There’s also a quaint chapel at the edge of the village built amidst the backdrop of grand mountains.

In San Vicente Port, they serve visitors a sumptuous lunch composed of lobster, and if you’re lucky, coconut crabs, a local delicacy.

For our last day, we decided to rent bicycles to explore Basco and its environs on our own. Don’t miss out on Casa Napoli pizza or traditional Ivatan fare at Therese Coffee Shop.

Batanes is simply paradise undiscovered — and definitely a perfect destination for a romantic vacation to remember.

TRIPPIN’ 65

A Fishy Valentines Date BY: MICHAEL MARTIN

It’s that time when everyone with anyone goes nut-freaking-bags nutso (yes they do!) and those who do not, try to get plain despondent and keep a smile on their faces. Like all other Judeo-Christian-Roman spun festivities this one has also been commercially exploited until you just want to gag and hang yourself from the nearest beam, love-life or no. Then again there is no escaping it, and the red shirts, tons of flowers and contraband chocolates that go with the day’s celebration.

I went to three establishments for this article, hoping to get a feel of what I was to write while people-watching. But then I realized that I was alone, and that the tables were mostly empty.

Where were the starry eyed couples? The flirty singles with their penchant for dares and going out on a limb? Where were those innumerable women with careers that statistics tell us about?

I found them in bits and pieces along the story and even in this time when we seem to be so connected, it’s evident that we’ve never been more alone. Sitting in front of your computer chatting and surfing a social site for prospective dates is no life.

What is it with us being social creatures? The solitary life is nice, having no one to attend to or worry about. But rarely is that a real choice as a lot of those I met who practice that have either been badly mangled or have shunned contact. There is a lot of bitterness in that choice I believe and it is forced on you. So why that need for someone, even just for companionship?

Maybe it’s the need for a witness; for someone to say, “You made my life matter” and it makes us feel like we have done something worthwhile with ours. That’s what it all boils down to really, after you’ve realized that there’s something more to life when you wake up under the sheets the morning after.

I almost forgot about the review. Now what do you do at a time like this, when everybody’s pinching pennies, reeling from the ripples of the economic Armageddon that they love to talk about on TV?

No matter how ‘cheap’ you feel at the moment chum (and I know you’re tempted!), please be sure to ABSOLUTELY NOT take your date into one of the fast food joints during this time of the year. Never mind them bedecked in red and white and candle lights. If they have a mascot that dances during a children’s party, then it is a definite NO. Don’t be a loser buddy. If you’re low on cash but don’t want to kill your romantic chances – there are other decent options. This is one of the places where you can bring that woman you clubbed over the head.

Fish & Co. Level 4 Trinoma, EDSA, Quezon City Since part of the deal would be to wince just a little in the pockets while you ponder the thought of eternal love and toothless-ness, this restaurant is a definite yes. It would officially be considered as casual dining, however considering our wallets at the moment, think best foot forward and go literal.

First of all, seating choices are varied, as you can choose the air-conditioned area within the establishment itself which has a wide screen TV for the lounging couple, or the smoking area outside. For kicks, the are tables on the manicured gardens near those sparkling pools for that unforgettable twist on the fist date. Seats and tables are sturdy teakwood and the customary checkered red and white tablecloths are present, which appeals to that sense of hominess that we inherently have. You get enough space to talk,

the ambiance is relaxed, and the staff makes your day while almost being unobtrusive, which is a rare treat. It makes your date quite good too.

This joint is one cool gig and has the chops to go along with it, with their no frills motif of white lights, sedate wall color, controlled menu and semi-prohibitive pricing.

The menu is mainly as the name suggests, yet is fairly extensive, while portions are well, big, and come either in a huge frying pan or large white china. Dishes and cocktails use an amusing and ingenious nomenclature, like the deadly blue cocktail called “Fishy Maria”. There is only one chicken dish and pork dish as a concession. I’d personally recommend the NY Fish and Chips and that Oyster ‘thingie’ on a bed of ice. The recipes are heavenly as we tried three different dishes and man we weren’t disappointed by the taste or presentation.

It’s more than fair bang for your buck all told, which is a grand and a half each including cocktails (a conservative number of them) for each person.

A healthy plate and great food while you keep your calorie and fat intakes low and while getting slammed at the same time ! Isn’t it a treat?

Four Stars.

So dear ones, forget about the economic doom and gloom and celebrate. At least, for that which you can still be thankful for - the chance to love and live for yet another day. Have a safe Valentines Day.

66 TRIPPIN’

Cebu’s

Unique Sky Experience Adventure TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY: VIC LACTAOEN

The small brown mayas lost in the sky hovering above bustling downtown Cebu must have thought I was neither dinner nor danger, as I could hardly muster to look in front of me while winging myself like a scared bird around the tower of the Crown Regency Hotel along Fuente Osmena boulevard. It was one of those work-cum-vacation trips for me which happened to turn into some sort of an extreme excursion as I tried the world’s first and only amusement ride of its kind – the edge coaster.

Known as the Sky Experience Adventure or S.E.A., VIPs and other guests from all over the world come to this place to have a taste of the unique adrenaline-pumping experience. According to owner Richard King, Chairman and CEO of J. King & Sons Company Inc., the Sky Experience Adventure is meant to let tourists, visitors, and adventure seekers explore this new adventure that only Cebu could offer.

In its bid to become the newest tourist attraction of the country, this new ride experience highlights the diversity, quality and unparalleled range of unique entertainment program in the country topped off with a wide range of tourist destinations in the Cebu province. The main attraction known as the Edge Coaster, is the very first and only amusement ride of its kind in the world that is attached to a building and would take riders along the contours of the Crown Regency’s Tower.

The Crown Regency Hotel and Tower is currently the tallest hotel tower in the

Queen City and gives adventure enthusiasts a first hand, experience of a breathtaking “bird’s eye view” with downtown and metro Cebu as the backdrop. On a clear day, it can also offer unsurpassed view of the Central Visayan province as far as neighboring Bohol Island.

Aside from the Edge Coaster ride, one shouldn’t miss out on the Sky Walk Extreme were visitors can walk around the edge of the tower while tied to a safety harness.

The Sky Walk Extreme will take you to a leisure trip at the top of the city starting on the 37th mezzanine floor.

Across the Sky Walk Extreme, one can have the best view of the city with coin operated binoculars and telescope at the Sky Observatory. Why go all the way to the Empire State Building in New York, when you can have the same experience right here in Cebu? At the Sky Observatory, star gazing takes on a new form. After the SEA experience, I went for the 4D movie

adventure were you not just view the movie, but feel it as well complete with the 3D glasses and a bit of water giving you a “wet” experience while watching the 10 minute movie on life deep underwater. At night, from the ground, one can’t help but notice the lighting effects throughout the building. The light play had varying hues of interesting candy colors that change through a computer generated program.

From a distance, it’s definitely a sight you couldn’t miss to notice.

The Crown Regency Hotel & Towers’ new sprawling facility offers not just the first and only edge coaster ride in the country but also a myriad of new lifestyle options from restaurants to sheer entertainment with new hotspots that are slated to hit the Queen City soon. With several fine dining and bar outlets to choose from, featuring world-class cuisine and cocktail selections, these establishments are sure to please discriminating palates.

TRIPPIN’ 67

An adrenaline packed adventure in Cebu

68 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.

The ‘L’ Word BY: ABY YAP

Welcome to the ‘love-full’ month (a.k.a. ‘love-fool’ month for the loveless) — when birds suddenly appear every time your dearest is near, when stars fall out of the sky every time he/she passes by. Yup, my friends, it’s that time once again! You could now flaunt your French lingo flair after months of practicing that nasal (ngongo) accent to whisper, or unabashedly declare the sweetest three little words to your cherie amour.

But, wait, if you want to know if your strategy really works — that is, if your Pinoy/Pinay crushie feels the same loving feeling that you do — you’d have to learn to watch out for the signs. Not the tell-tale pimple(s) on the nose, but the very telling (though often inconspicuous) actions of the Filipino when in love. Because in a culture where everything is subtly done, words are hard to come by. So you need to keep all your senses alert to determine when you’ve finally stolen your pangga’s heart.

When He Falls in Love You know it could possibly be ‘forever’ when he starts turning up in the most unexpected of places. Say… the market, only to be with you (pray he’s not some psycho-stalker, though). And surprise of all surprises, he looks as if he’s going to Tim Yap’s birthday bash, wearing a complete brand-new outfit with gel-styled hair and smelling as if he just walked out of an Axe cologne ad. Of course, he’s flashing his Close-up smile, showing all that sparkling white teeth and Aga Muhlach dimples (even if he hasn’t got one).

If he’s the tyope type, a mere glance at you would already make his day. He’d stand on one spot, literally not making a move, fearing that he’d be Major Klutz because of his shaking knees. The most he’d likely attempt to do is to give you a super friendly “Hi!” in his baritone voice, then bid you goodbye when his palms begin feeling cold and clammy, sweat beads forming on his forehead even on a 20 degree Celsius day. But prepare to check your cell phone the minute he’s gone and you’d probably find a message from him: “If I could be any letter in the alphabet, I’d choose ‘V,’ so I can be next to ‘U.’ If you could be any note, I wish you’re “RE,” so you’re always beside “ME”!” Or, if he’s creatively inspired (by his Muse, that is, you), you might actually receive a bunch of cauliflowers from the vegetable vendor with a note saying that it’s from your secret admirer. Ain’t that cute or what?

Now, if he’s from the torpedo breed, meaning his style of courtship is fast and direct without the help of a “bridge,” he’d be coming to your rescue as soon as he sees you in distress, like maybe when you’re burdened by a sachet of salt (for

FILIPINISMS 69 extra pogi points). If you try to refuse his help, be ready for the cheesiest script of the century — something along the lines of “Your knight in shining armor is ever at your service, my princess.” And he’d keep you company for the rest of your marketshopping, acting as your grocery cart/ bodyguard/clown, reminding you every minute that he’s yours at your disposal.

Then as a finale to his charity work, he’d drive you home in his newly washed car, oblivious to your wet plastic bags reeking of bagoong and galunggong.

But how do you know when Cupid has hit him awfully bad? When your Pinoy suitor comes to your house every night bringing (1) his friends to serenade you

with “Be My Lady” (even if they’re all hiphoppers), (2) gifts for everyone at home from your grandma to your maid (even your neighbors), (3) bouquets of roses and boxes of chocolates for you (despite noticing your bulging love handles), and (4) an engagement ring (doesn’t matter if it’s silver from Ibay’s or a diamond from Tiffany’s), professing that you’re the woman he’d happily marry in any church while getting misty-eyed, then he probably really means forever.

She Loves Him Ye, Ye, Ye No, you won’t see her tearing the petals of a santan, chanting “He loves me… he loves me not.” At least she wouldn’t let

you see her do that, neither her complex mathematical computations on FLAMES (Friends/Love/Anger/Marriage/ Engaged/Sweethearts) nor HOPE (Hinde/ Oo/Pwede/Ewan). She wouldn’t talk to you; much less notice your existence. And, of course, she would get furious and walk out when people tease you two together.

But when she turns her back and nobody is in sight, she’d be blushing beet red and smiling all throughout because you’ve just made her so kilig. Yihee!

Now, this one calls for a true test of patience. Don’t worry, though, believing that patience is a virtue would pay off — eventually. Hehehe... Sorry, but courting a Pinay, especially the ultra-conservative Maria Clara-reincarnate, could take years; courting her family, maybe decades. Yep, you need to befriend every member of the clan. Drive her younger siblings to school (and give them extra allowance). Have an SMB with her dad (but never get drunk).

Volunteer to do her mom’s grocery (and maybe do the laundry, too). Listen to her grandparents’ tales (without yawning).

Invite yourself to her family reunions (and bring your own potluck).

If you sincerely care enough for her and her family, she’d know. It’s a woman’s plus a Pinay’s instincts combined, so it’s rarely wrong. And before you know it, you’d notice an epic change in the way she treats you. She’d take off your invisibility cloak and tell you stories in a soft, melodious voice. She’d laugh at all your jokes, even if they already belong to Chiquito’s era. She’d sing David Pomeranz’ songs whenever you’re around. If you tease her, she’d award you with the lightest but tiniest pinch. If people tease you about being a couple, she’d just smile and clip her hair behind the ears. If you mention another girl’s name, she’d pout and raise her eyebrows. If you fail to visit her, she’d sulk and refuse to talk to you for days. If you ask her “Tayo na?,” she’d answer “Ewan.”

© Avava | Dreamstime.com

But when she: (1) stops eating the chocolates you bring her because she’s on a constant diet, (2) learns to prepare your favorite dishes even if she doesn’t even know how to cook rice, (3) peels shrimps and crabs for you with her Frenchtip manicure, (4) texts and calls you every time to ask if you’ve already eaten/bathed/ slept/combed/breathed, and (5) starts going out with you without a chaperone, then it’s time to thank Cupid for a wellaimed shot.

70 FILIPINISMS

The Annie B (Batobalani) Chronicles The adventures and misadventures of a ‘not so average’ Pinay trying to make it in the cosmopolitan city of Dubai.

Chronicle

27

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARIYAH GASPACHO

Maalaala mo pa kaya Magpakailanman?

Hey mga avid readers! Since sa loob ng twoand-a-half years eh twenty-six times nyo nang nababasa ang puro ako na lang lagi, for a change let us give way to another masugid na tagasubaybay of my column – this time sya naman ang kamuhihan at pagtawanan nyo – chareng! Nang maiba naman ang ihip ng hangin ngayon buwan ng mga puso. Mga kabayan, kilalanin natin si……Shawie.

maituturing kong empty at malumbay ang aking buhay, Ate Annie. You see, isa ako sa mga libo-libong kababaihan na kung tawagin nila ay “No Boyfriend since Birth”. Tumpak ka dyan – Never Been Kissed, Never Been Touched ang beauty ko – kaya ako lumiham sa iyo – para sana naman, dala ng iyong tulong at mga tips, ay makahanap na ako ng aking Prince Charming. Yun na!

Dear Ate Annie…..

Ewan ko ba, lahat naman ng pelikula, tv shows, magazines at books ay sinunod ko na.

Pero talagang mailap si Kupido when it comes to granting me my very own Papa. But don’t get me wrong, Ate Annie – I’ve never had a boyfriend pero madami nang boylets ang dumaan sa aking mga palad. I’ve met and have been with several na but not one single guy had been what you can call true love – or totoong naging boyfriend ko.

talaga akooooo. In my head, I started hearing this Close Up Jingle, “Hey where’s the look in your eyes…”habang he was wiping the blood from my mouth. “Hey it’s you pala…siguro you got so thirsty from your game noh?” I told him.

After he apologized, he asked for my number.

Oh-My-Gaaaawwwwd!!!

Take the case of Yñaki, my first-would beboyfriend sana during my college days. He’s so coño and tisoy - dreamboat talaga ng buong campus ang number 1 crush ng bayan.

Akala ko noon, um-effect na ang kaka-Angel’s Breath cologne ko, kasi he always looks at me whenever I pass by.

Pag-uwi ko ng dorm I made suhol to all the girls there by treating them to ice cream so that no one will use the phone muna before me. Then around 3:30am he finally called! Super kilig!!!

He asked me to go out with him, basta isama ko daw ang friends ko para hindi naman dyahe.

So the next day I brought along Mika, Paola and Ronna Mae – my prettiest classmates – to my date with Yñaki. He brought din five of his team mates – we all had fun at Shakey’s! I was so kilig and ecstatic kaya I volunteered to pay for the bill na – syempre milestone in my teenage life yun kaya I wanted it to be perfect.

The guys all exchanged numbers with the girls then we went home na. I was expecting Yñaki to call that night pero almost 5am na the phone didn’t ring naman kaya I decided to sleep na lang. Baka sobrang nabusog sya with all the pizza and the mojos that he ate kaya baka maaga sya nakatulog.

Then one Friday afternoon, after watching his basketball game, I was about to take a sip from the water fountain when all of a sudden someone pushed me – napasungalngal tuloy ako sa faucet! Grabe, kakahiya talaga – everyone laughed – kasi there was blood coming out of my gilagid na – gosh! Then when I was about to confront na the salarin, I Well, sa kabila ng lahat ng achievements ko, turned back – it was Yñaki pala! Ay, nag-blush

After that weekend I saw him sa campus, I approached him and made kumusta. Sabi nya nadyahe daw sya after our first date.

Hihihihi!!! Kaka-kilig talaga. I told him there’s no problem. Then he asked if I had merienda na (how thoughtful!) so I offered to treat him sa Digman’s Halo-halo. There, he opened up his heart to me. He said over the weekend he couldn’t stop thinking of this girl daw. He’s

Hello po! Muzta na po u, Ate Annie? Sana po ay nasa mabuti kayong kondisyon pagtanggap ninyo ng sulat kong ito. Simula pa lang ay nais ko na kayong pasalamatan sa pagtangkilik ninyo ng aking liham. Itago nyo na lang po ako sa pangalang Shawie. Tulad nyo, isa ring probinsyana - tubong Liliw , Laguna – di rin gaanong kagandahan ngunit balingkinitan naman ang pangangatawan kaya’t panalo ako lalo na kapag suot ko ay Mango at Zara – ayan, pareho din nga pala tayong fashionista. Half Chinese ang father ko kaya nabiyayaan ako ng makinis at maputing balat…yun nga lang medyo may pagka-kinky ang buhok ko ngunit salamat sa Sheila Staightening Cream, Mane N’ Tail Shampoo at Hanabishi Flat iron (my best friend, I swear!) ay paminsan-minsan ko rin naa-achieve ang Gretchen Barreto hairstyle ko.

Simula elementary hanggang high school ay honor student ako – oo, may pagka-nerd din at nahirapang mag-fit in sa mga kaklase ko noon.

Dahil masipag akong mag-aral, Accountancy ang tinapos ko at top 5 sa board exam ng batch namin. Impressive ba?

FILIPINISMS 71

had a crush na daw on this girl since last sem pa and he’s glad he’s met her na finally. OMG!!! I was starting to sweat like a pig… could he be describing meeee???!!! But he’s torpe eh. He looked at the clock and had to eat and run lang kasi he had basketball practise pa daw. Anyway, I didn’t get to sleep that night. I played all of my Julia Fordham CDs and that made me feel more in love.

The next day, I waited for him sa may locker area but he had basketball practise na naman – so I waited pa rin until it finished at 7:30pm.

After their practise, I surprised him by ordering two barrels of KFC – kasi I know na gutom na sya. He shared the food with his team mates and they made us kantyaw pa. Uuyyyy… kilig to the max na naman!!! Kaya lang he was so tired na kaya he went home after eating na. It’s ok – I understand naman eh. It’s hard to have a jock for a boyfriend – he has to divide his time and attention between me, his studies and his game. Imagine? Dapat masanay na lang siguro ako. The next day he left a note with the tindera in our canteen. It said he wanted to meet me after class daw – very important – and that he took six hamburgers na rin, abonohan ko na lang daw muna kasi he didn’t have barya that morning.

dedma muna konting pakipot noh? Then he covered my eyes with and asked, “Guess who?”

Aaaayyyyy…..kilig to the bones talaga, Ate Annie!!! Then he said, “Shawie, I know you’re such a nice girl and that you won’t let me down.

I’ve got this one huge favor to ask sana eh…”

Ako naman, “Reallyyyyy???” Nakanganga lang ako waiting for him to say the right words… ”Can you...” He said, nahihiya pa. “Whaaaat baaaa???” (Dali, inip na inip na ako!)

“Can you give these flowers and chocolates to your friend Mika for me?”

“Yessss!!!” bigla akong napasigaw! Pero haaa??? Teka, parang mali yata yung narinig ko. Huwaaaatttt???!!!

“I wanted to ask you if you can give these to Mika, she’s my crush eh,” sabi ng damuho.

Isa si Robbie sa iilan lang na may hitsura at may porma sa department namin. Matangkad sya, makinis ang balat at talaga namang japorms kung mag-outfit. Syempre, madaming girlash ang ume-emote sa kanya - super friendly sya kaya’t close sya sa lahat ng kababaihan sa office.

In one of our company outings, nagkasabay kami sa pagsha-shopping noon sa SM. I was busy looking for a swimsuit nang magkasalubong kami papuntang dressing room. He was trying on 5 different kinds of Speedos – talagang fashionable sya – imagine tatlo ang baon nyang swimming trunks sa outing naming eh overnight lang naman yon? Sya ang pumili ng swimsuit na binili ko – syempre para maging close kami kailangan tanggapin ko ang mga advice nya. After paying for our swimwear, kinaladkad nya ako sa Rustan’s para mamili naman ng lotion – sya daw ang bahala sa akin.

Pumili sya ng walong iba’t ibang klaseng lotion – may SPF 20, bronzer, after sun, moisturizer with Vitamin E at kung anu ano pang halaman – tinuruan nya akong ng proper skin care – para daw hindi ako tumanda – grabe, na-feel ko talaga ang concern nya sa akin – mayamaya hindi na balat ko ang pinakialaman nya, sinamahan nya ako sa Propaganda Salon para ipa-style ang aking buhok – hindi raw kasi bagay sa shape ng face ko ang hairdo ko – oh di ba? Na-conscious ako bigla kasi wala akong kamuwang muwang pinagdidiskitahan na pala nya ang aking fez! Eh ako naman, sige lang – discover me…..control me…..I’m yours!!!

Nagdilim ang paningin ko Ate Annie, umikot ang paligid at gumuho ang mundo ko. Lintek na Yñaki yan, matapos kong ilibre eh gagawin lang pala akong bridge para ligawan ang classmate kong si Mika!!! Nag-walk out ako, Ate Annie. Hindi ko matanggap na gagamitin lang pala ako ni Yñaki. Buong akala ko eh ako na ang napupusuan nya ayun pala yung kaklase kong tadtad naman ng anan sa mukha?!!!

So yun na – the moment that I’ve been waiting Lecheeeee!!! At duon nagwawakas ang for. Siguro he’s finally going to propose to me. kabanata ng lovelife ko with Yñaki. Ni wala So I skipped my last period and nagpa-fresh man lang holding hands, grabe! ako sa ladies CR for one hour. I waited for about two hours sa labas ng gym pero ok lang. Nang maka-graduate ako, nagtrabaho ako Then he came – with matching one dozen sa isang multinational Accountancy firm red roses and a box of Choco Mallows in his – kokonti ang gwapo sa office kasi puro mga After ng outing namin, mas naging close pa hands. Kunwari hindi ko sya nakita – syempre nerd at geeks sa Math ang karamihan sa kanila. kami. Sabay kami nagla-lunch and that’s when

72 FILIPINISMS

he introduced me to the art of fine dining – puro kasi sa fastfood ko lagi sya inaaya eh he’s so health conscious pa naman. He taught me how to appreciate gourmet food – pati tamang pronounciation ng French cuisine natutunan ko becoz of him. Sosyal di ba? At take note ha? Madalas sya pa ang nanlilibre sa akin. Kaya obviously wala syang balak perahan lang ako.

He helped me bloom into a pretty swan – hindi na ako mukhang librarian kung manamit mula noon – naging fashionista na ako! Thanks to him kasi every weekend pinapahiram nya ako ng mga collections nya ng mga magazines like Vogue, Vanity Fair at Cosmopolitan. Pati mga favorite DVDs nya shine-share nya sa akin like My Best Friend’s Wedding, The Devil Wears Prada and Brokeback Mountain. Bukod sa pagiging stylish at gourmet eater sya, super sensitive din sya at very thoughtful. Tuwing lalabas kami, he always gives me 5 sheets of Gatsby’s Oil Control Paper Powder – para daw hindi ako oily. O di ba?

At puro cute gaya ni Robbie. Most of them are flight stewards, advertising executives and interior designers. Nakakatuwa sila kasi all they talk about is food, fashion, travel and showbiz – hindi tulad ng sa ibang parties ng mga boys na puro kotse, gadgets at babae na lang ang laging pinagbibidahan. Here, everyone is so cultured and sophisticated. Sa totoo lang, ang dami kong topics na hindi naman naintindihan – pero oo lang ako ng oo para kunwari hindi ako bobita. Napansin ko na ako lang pala ang only girl na guest and Robbie kept on calling me ‘girlfriend’ in front of everyone with matching snap ng fingers – kaya halos matunaw ako sa kilig. Naghintay lang ako for the right moment when all of a sudden I noticed some of the guests – boys ha? Cuddling each other... nashock ako, Ate Annie. Weird sa paningin ko yun. I walked out dun sa eksena and looked for Robbie. Wala siya sa living room so I went to his bedroom. When I opened the door, nagdilim ang paningin ko, umikot ang paligid at gumuho ang mundo ko, Ate Annie! Nahuli When his birthday came, I was so flattered ko si Robbie may kayakap na mhin! O-M-G!!!! kasi I was the only one from the office that “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now” ni Celine he invited. He’ll introduce me daw to his Dion ang tumugtog sa isip ko. friends – it’s time na daw. Aaaawww!!! Eto na yun…he will finally expose me to his friends Kaya pala, mahilig sa sya sa culture at arts – pati – malamang to get their approval. Knowing na sa beauty and fitness eh isa syang Dyosa!!! how fashionista he is, I maxed out my credit Akala ko pa man din nagagandahan sya sa akin card and got a Prada dress – the one he’s been kaya panay ang offer nya ng make over at tips convinving me to buy dati pa – all for the love – kasi type nya ako … ayun pala ginawa lang of my Robbie. nya akong isang manyikang pilit na binibihisan at inaayusan!!! When he introduced me to his Na-late ako noon sa party nya, nagpa-parlor pa friends as his “girlfriend” eh amiga pala at hindi kasi ako para siguradong super ganda ako when syota ang ibig nyanag sabihin……walanghiya – I meet his friends. When I came, puno na ang natanso ako, Ate Annie!!! Nagdugo na naman condo nya with all of his guests – puro boys! ang puso ko – muli akong umasa sa wala.

Matagal ko ring ipinahinga ang puso ko.

Everytime kasi may makikilala ako naging defensive na ako baka masaktan lang ulit ako at um-effort tapos sa wala rin naman mauuwi.

Hanggang sa napadpad nga ako dito sa Dubai – to seek greener pastures – and more diversity when it comes to men. Since madaming foreigners dito, the more chances of winning - ika nga ng promo ng Hope & Winston.

Hanggang sa makilala ko si Ahmed, Ate Annie.

Nag-aabang ako noon ng carlift sa labas ng St. Mary’s pagkatapos ng misa – naliligo na ako sa sarili kong pawis sa sobrang init sa labas nang biglang may humintong Ford Focus sa harapan ko. Bumukas ang bintana at bigla akong napahesusmaryahusep sa sobrang kagwapuhan ng driver nito – si Ahmed nga. Blue eyed at blonde sya – grabe sa kakisigan. He offered me a ride – miski gusto ko nang tumalon papasok sa bintana eh nagpakipot ako – ayoko nga, akalain pa nya easy to get ako noh? “No, thank you…I’m fine, “pa-girl akong tumanggi.

“Are you sure, habibi? Coz there is blood coming from your nose already,” pangungulit nya. Aba, nang tignan ko sa bintana ng kotse nya eh nagdudugo nga ang ilong ko!!! Ang init init kasi eh. Since wala namang dumadaang ibang sasakyan eh pinagbigyan ko na rin sya.

Mukha namang mabait kaya siguradong safe naman ako sa kanya. After nya ako ihatid sa flat namin, we exchanged numbers. Since then, lagi kaming lumalabas – nanonood ng sine at nagsha-shopping tuwing weekend. In a span of two weeks, naging super close kami – pero hindi naman nya ako nililigawan. Inisip ko baka since foreigner sya, hindi na uso ang

FILIPINISMS 73

ligawan sa kanila. Basta ako, sakay lang, enjoy Kaya heto ako ngayon, Ate Annie – sugatan the moment – ang sarap ng feeling kapag na naman ang puso at bugbog na bugbog na magkasama kami eh. ang damdamin. Bakit ba nagyayari ang mga ito sa akin? Mabait naman ako at masunuring After one month of knowing each other, anak, mapagbigay sa kapwa ko at laging he invited me to his flat. Wala raw kasi yung nananalig sa Maykapal – pero bakit parang flatmate nya nagbakasyon so wala syang sinasadya ng tadhana na paglaruan ako tuwing kasama at nalulungkot sya. Excited at kilig mapapasabak sa romansa ang puso kong ito? akong pumayag, Ate Annie. Pagdating ko sa flat Bakit ako pa, what’s wrong with me?!!! Help nya, nagulat ako dahil naka boxer shorts lang naman, Ate Annie. Alam kong ikaw lang ang sya. Medyo kinilig ako pero teka, hindi pa nga tanging makakatulong sa akin - given your kami magsyota eh presko na siya? Nang umupo extensive experience and world-renowned kami sa sofa eh bigla nya akong hinalikan. expertise when it comes to matters of the Aba, nataranta ako!!! “Wait!!! Shuhada, what heart. Bigyan mo naman ako ng advice on how is this?” tanong ko sa kanya. “What do you to catch the perfect guy and avoid the mistakes think habibi? Sabay kindat at tingin niya sa I did before. Puhleazzzeeeeeee??? kin ng super-lagkit. Napagtanto-tanto ko ang ibig niyang sabihin, so medyo panic ako. “Oh Lovingly yours, noooo no! I’m not even your girlfriend yet!” Shawie Biglang tawa ni Ahmed, “hahahahahahahaha”, para siyang si Ruel Vernal. “Habibi, you Dear Shawie, cannot be my girlfriend, not even my wife. You Sa palagay mo mauuto mo ako porque are Filipina.” Sabe ba naman? “So why do you pinuri mo ako? Kung ako nga walang go out with me if you’re not going to make me jowa eh sa palagay mo ikaw pa uunahin your girlfriend?” pangungulit ko pa. “Habibi, ko? Ako muna noh?!!! May pa-perfect guy we have fun only … no strings attached. No ka pa dyang hinahanap, baket, perfect girl commitment, no problem!” tigas mukha nyang ka ba? Wala bang sungki ang mga ngipin pinagdiinan sa akin. Ang kapal ng mukha nya, mo? Wala ka bang blackheads sa noo at Ate Annie! Again, nagdilim ang paningin ko, warts sa leeg mo? Maputi ba ang batok umikot ang paligid at gumuho ang mundo ko. mo at siko? Wala ka bang split ends? Hindi “How dare you, I’m a Dalagang Filipina - Maria ka ba bad breath kapag bagong gising ka?

Clara all the way!!!” pagmamalaki ko. Binigyan Kaya mo bang sabihin ito ng paulit-ulit: ko sya ng mag-asawang sampal sabay walk “Peter Piper picked a pack of pickled out. Simula noon, hindi ko na sinagot lahat pepper….???” May multiple entry US visa ng phonecalls, text at Facebook messages nya. ka ba? Pwes, kung hindeh eh wala kang Ano palagay nya sa akin, kalapating mababa karapatan mag-ilusyon ng perfect guy ang lipad? Excuse me!!!

kase ikaw mismo hindi ka naman perfect girl. Gets mo?

Pasensya ka na kung medyo harsh itong sasabihin ko. Tatanga-tanga ka kasi eh.

Sus, sa simula pa lang hindi mo na nakita ang signs? Campus heartrob papatol sa yo eh inamin mo na ngang hindi ka naman kagandahan – eh ano ngayon kung balingkinitan ang pangangatawan mo – si Zorayda Sanchez din naman maganda ang katawan ah? May kilala ka bang tunay na lalaki na nangongolekta ng bawat issue ng Cosmopolitan at Vogue? Yang mga foreigner akala mo ba uubra dyan ang pagpapakipot at pag-iinarte mo? Next time gamitin mo yang kukote mo ha, hija?

Sabi mo matalino ka, CPA ka – sana next time read above the lines – if it’s two goods to be truth, magpakatotoo ka, sister!

Tigilan mo na ang kakapanood ng mga telenovela na yan – hindi ka naman kasing ganda ni Marian Rivera para mag-expect na may Dingdong Dantes na naghihintay sa yo noh? Harapin mo ang katotohanan – huwag nang mag-ambisyon ng hindi mo naman kayang abutin. Pag may nanligaw sa yo na mabait at masipag, miski maitim ang gilagid at high waisted eh patulan mo na. Huwag nang choosy, tigilan na ang Dairy Crème. Dapat sa yo mag-Fita – Fight To Win!!!O sya, take care b’coz I care.

Lubos na nagmamahal, Ate Annie ;-)

74 ENTERTAINMENT

Throwing Away the Sheets: Johnny Alegre AFFINITY TEXT BY: MIKKEL BOLANTE

PHOTOS BY: NAP JAMIR

Sometimes success is the result of the best-laid plans. There are blueprints, building blocks, and formulas that are, as they say, ‘tried and tested.’ But for those with true talent, the people who see problems as they go along, and somehow make the best of whatever the situation, the ones who just ‘wing it’ — these people don’t need the greatest sheets of music. The right notes, they just happen to find within. The music is inside their very being.

Such is the case with the talented Mr Johnny Alegre.

Johnny Alegre is one of the biggest names in the Philippine jazz scene. His group, Johnny Alegre AFFINITY, was known as Manila’s jazz super group. The band had been showcased in a big way in several music festivals like the Fete de la Musique and the Korg Music Festival. They have a pair of albums under the UK-based jazz label Candid Records. The band’s debut performance was included in a documentary that chronicles the history of Philippine Jazz.

They’ve performed in several jazz clubs, including the PizzaExpress Jazz Club in London, England. Their latest CD release, Eastern Skies, features arrangements and collaborations with classical music orchestra personalities Gerald Salonga and Ria Osorio. These achievements are but some among the many they have earned in

the few years since their inception.

What’s interesting is that the band, much like Alegre’s musical beginnings, was mostly unplanned. Though he later studied with teachers like Joseph Howard, a professor at his university whom Alegre admits he owes a lot to, much of his musical knowledge was self-taught. When Alegre was younger, he grew up listening to music of various genres.

“There was a large collection of hand-medowns at my house,” Alegre says. “But I also used to go to the library and they had a lot of jazz records and all you needed was a library card and you could take them home.” He listened to everything — Presley, Sinatra, Dylan, Santana, the Beatles — but he expanded his education as he discovered the sounds of the likes of John Coltrane and Miles Davis.

Alegre’s composing and guitar talents simply could not be held back. His listening evolved into emulation which eventually led to his growth as an artist. Every new experience, every new performance that blew him away, was something that added to his ever-growing music repertoire. He learned something from every experience with music and this molded him into the musical artist that he is today.

He calls his playing ‘improvised guitar.’ Not surprising considering how he learned to play in the first place. “I wanted to play and the only instrument at home was a guitar. I didn’t know how to play the guitar. I didn’t even know how to tune it,” he says. “So I had to invent my own way of playing. I had to create my own chords in order to make some sense out of it. I was trying to copy the sounds I was hearing on the record.”

He says he even wrote his own songs mainly

ENTERTAINMENT 75

because he couldn’t exactly copy the songs he listened to on his record player. “That’s the beginning of my life as a composer,” he says. “I had to make up my own songs.”

Today, he continues to break out of the ordinary and just lets the music take- over.

He values every fresh note that he plays — the ones he gets wrong gives him new lessons, new learning; and the ones he gets right, ‘the inspired ones,’ takes him to places undiscovered. It’s a thing of beauty, really, how something so spontaneous, so unplanned, so risky — can be so right.

But that’s how talent works — how genius works.

The formation of his band mirrors the informality of Alegre’s musical beginnings.

When Alegre was asked to contribute a composition to a jazz compilation album called Adobo Jazz Vol. 1, he selected some musician he knew to help him record it.

“At the end of the session, we felt what we created in the studio had so many possibilities,” he says. “So we decided to continue on and complete enough material to comprise an album.”

Again, it’s a testament to talent how something unplanned could turn out so successful. And this is not all Alegre.

He was surrounded by some of the best at what they do. Make no mistake; each member of AFFINITY is a virtuoso in his own right. “The people who I worked with in AFFINITY were all luminaries,” he

says. Bassist Colby dela Calzada, drummer Koko Bermejo, pianist Elhmir Saison, and saxophonist Tots Tolentino — each one had earned reputations as credible musicians in the field of jazz. Needless to say, they got many a jazz fans excited for their first performance. That came at the launch of the anthology album, and they continued to be a collective after that — although the first year featured a revolving door of musicians, albeit mostly of the ‘who’s who’ in Philippine jazz category.

The original group that recorded the track, Stones of Intramuros, hit the studios together once more and created the masterpiece that is the debut album of Johnny Alegre AFFINITY. While most of AFFINITY’s original members have moved on, the collective has continued to thrive as a trio. Drummer Mar Dizon joins original members Alegre and dela Calzada in the latest incarnation. With Alegre at the helm, though — composing and playing — they’re still on the whirlwind journey of success the group has embarked on all those years ago.

One of the most interesting qualities of jazz is the improvisational aspect of the genre — which is often viewed as an essential aspect of the music. Performers have always been a lot more liberal with the compositions as compared to musicians of other genres. Jazz music can trace its roots back to a combination of African tribal beats and European classical among them.

But one of its strongest influences was the

early blues music, which greatly featured improvisation as one of its techniques. This African-American tradition commonly had a ‘call-and-response’ element to it, which was also later incorporated in jazz music.

“Jazz has a certain sense of danger and exploration,” Alegre says. “And that for me is very exciting. It’s a spontaneous, reflexive art form.” So it’s actually little surprise that Alegre and his mates spontaneously just keep creating their own path to success.

You can throw away the sheets of music, the fancy blueprints and the perfect formula — these guys already know all the right notes; and the ones they don’t, they can just make those up along the way.

76 USAPANG KANTO Illustrado talks to Filipinos from different walks of life and asks

Do soul mates really exist?

I believe in soul mates. I think it’s when you meet someone, with whom, even if you lost touch for a long time and then meet again, there will always be this unexplainable feeling of connection.

Francis Ang

COMPILED BY JONIE JOSE

People are individuals. We are different from each other in thought, color, age, race and upbringing; the list is endless. But the funny thing is, no matter how eccentric we are, at a certain time in our lives we always find that one person who will forever leave ‘footprints’ in our lives.

How else can you explain when someone who is so different from you, understands you, listens to you, laughs with you, finishes your sentences for you, unravels you with but a look?

A soul mate doesn’t have to be a lover, a husband or a boyfriend. It can be a friend whom we went to school with, whom we spent countless hours on the phone with, talking about the same thing over and over again and never exhausting the topic.

A friend who left and went on their merry way.

But who would always come back in phone calls, emails and letters that arrived in the exact time in your life when you most needed it. Who, after meeting up after many many years, things never changed. People call and know soulmates by different names - buddies, groupies, cliques, BFFs and sometimes you might not even recognize it.

Whether you believe in the concept of soul mate, is not really what matters. What really matters is if you have had that someone leave a footprint in your life.

Judith Rose Camero

I really can’t tell if soul mates exist, not until I find mine! I am not keen to live my life searching and waiting for a soul mate. I must admit, I do have some wishful thinking - that I have one and that I’ll find my soul mate soon. Someone who’ll spare me from heartaches and pain! But in this world, to see and feel is to believe…

Elcy Buenavides Soul mates really exist, and they comes in different packages .You wouldn’t notice it unless you feel it. Sometimes it would be your friend, wife, or girlfriend. Sometimes it comes at the right time and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s not that easy to find a soul mate. It’s a long process before you know that the person is indeed your soul mate.

So if you think you found yours, hold on and don’t let her/him go.

Dennis Perez

I don’t believe that a soul mate is the ideal or the only one in someone’s life, but I do believe in soul mates. In my definition, soul mates are people who both have the same views and thinking when it comes to relationships. Their relationship feels like a natural fit, and although they need to work on it, it is not a hard thing to do. When soul mates first meet, there is an immediate sense of being at ease and connected.

Sheryl Munar

In my own point of view, soul mates do not exist. It’s natural for people to have same thoughts and feelings with each other. We cannot simply claim that a person is our soul mate just because he/ she thinks and feels exactly what we think or feel. It maybe just a coincidence.

Lei

I don’t think so, because there’s no such person who is the only right one for you, just a good person who is willing to accept and love you for who you are. Life is not perfect; you’ll never know what will happen in the future for both of you and the whole concept of «soul mates» is worldly romantic baloney packaged as spiritually connected predestination.

Ann Sario

Yes I believe in soul mates. I believe that even before birth, God has already planned our lives and who we’re going to be with. But God has given us free will as well and sometimes as human beings, we commit mistakes and end up to be with someone with whom God has not planned for us. This world is very deceiving, it offers a lot, we just have to be careful and be patient.

Ernesto Ramos

All books and CDs available at Fully Booked, Philippines, visit www.fullybookedonline.com

HOT RELEASES 77 ment and laidback populace provide the perfect backdrop to productive creativity sessions with Rastafarian leanings. One such example is the group Cooliedread and the Microphone Commanders composed of eight members, three of whom are responsible for the vocals (thus the name Microphone Commanders).

Not satisfied with treading traditional ground, the group’s debut album Water For Your Soul is a courageous foray into reggae’s more recent sub genres. The 12-track album kicks off with “The Journey Begins,” a short track that is heavily tinged by drum and bass, with a dub-like texture. Dancehall reggae is also given just representation with tracks like “Sound Come Again,” which is heavily influenced by vocal effects employed by pop music’s current embodiment.

Baby Steps Baby Steps Nujazz quartet Yosha’s debut album Baby Steps is a formidable first for a band that has relied solely on itself for album production and market-ing. Yosha surfaced in 2002, making the usual rounds in the local indie scene. It didn’t take too long for a public, bored with the typical roundup of pop rock acts, to sit up and take notice of a band that is truly gratifying to catch live. In fact, you could say that this 10-track album is just the tip of the iceberg of the Yosha experience, and that’s saying a lot given that this well-produced piece of work contains some truly exceptional musical arrangements such as the wistful “Words Can’t Say” and the commanding “Sabi Sabi.”

What does deserve special mention though is bassist and offspring of Gringo, Karel Honasan’s playing, which is nothing short of pure genius.

The Berkley graduate was taught by the likes of Victor Wooten (Bela Fleck and the Fleck Tones) and Oteil Burbridge (The Allman Brothers), and it is plainly evident in his “wizardry,” setting off Yosha’s velvety voice to great effect. It’s no wonder that this young indie act was reportedly chosen to front for world-renowned jazzmasters Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Christian McBride, Kenny Garret, and Brian Blade this February 13.

Make no mistake. This album is worth it but catching them live is even better.

Another plus is the wealth of collaborative effort on the album, featuring such notables as DJ CA of Junior Kilat and international artists Ras Da-vid of Earth Force Music and Rankin Ruff of Dragon Eye Music, among others.

A real find — whether you’re a reggae fan or not, listen to Cooliedread and the Microphone Commanders and you will “dance to the riddim!”

Lovers’ Quarrel

By Mike’s Apartment The first thing you will notice about this album is its trippy albeit awk-ward packaging (awkward because it won’t fit on your CD rack). It’s a little larger than a conventional CD case, resembling a 7-inch 45 rpm record. Adding to the old school appeal is the vintage-looking photo of a hot yet somehow intelligent-looking chick dressed in a tiny striped tank top and even tinier hot pants (for some male music fans this is good enough reason to buy the album) sprawled on a healthy looking field of grass, just waiting for you to stumble upon her errrr… unawares.

The second thing you will not notice but should know is that Lovers’ Quarrel is a concept album. Its 13 tracks tell a story — a dysfunctional love story to be exact. This pretty much fits in with the whole “romansa espesyal” brand of music that Mike’s Apartment is notorious for, per-fectly suited to the sultry Pinoy Soul genre its been squeezed into, riding the wake of acts like Sinosikat, Chilitees, and Julianne; except that the group is fronted by a male — named Mike Constantino — and not some tiny female with a powerful set of pipes.

Water For Your Soul

By Cooliedread and the Microphone Commanders When will people realize that Reggae is not just about Bob Marley, the Wailers, or his son Ziggy? In fact, when will most Filipinos desist from putting “No Woman, No Cry” on repeat, insisting that “this is reggae” and instead come to the realization that the Philippines is an ideal breed-ing ground for the genre, specifically Cebu, where a tropical environ--

The third thing you will definitely notice is that the music — despite being played by a bunch of guys and Pinoys at that (no Marvin Gaye or Isaac Hayes types here) — is that it’s damn sexy, capable of sending the most prudish over the edge or to the confession booth for thinking im-pure thoughts. Must listens are “Thin Gray,” “Bad Mouth,” and “Alai.”

This album is perfect for getting an unwilling date in the mood or, if you’re not that lucky to have someone, play at being a shrink, and de-construct the whole messy story song by song.

76 HOT RELEASES BY: GABRIELLE DE LA RAMA-TALAN

Martial Law Babies

By Anold Arre Arnold Arre has garnered several awards for his work.

His self-published Trip to Tagaytay and Mythology Class have both won National Book Awards. It must be said that he is probably one of the reasons the graphic novel is now considered a legitimate form of literature here in the Philippines, proving that visual art and literature can mix without compromising substance.

His latest work Martial Law Babies is perhaps the most powerful of all his novels in the sense that its ability to stir up emotion creeps upon the reader — the complete surprise it takes the reader adds to the actual impact, which possesses all the force of a ton of bricks.

in Philippine history, up until the new millennium.

Anybody who was even remotely aware during the earlier part of these eras — back when cellular phones and the Internet didn’t exist — will feel pang after pang of nostalgia. And even those who were too young to relate, will get a feeling of the age in question.

Coupled with Arre’s intentionally stark imagery, Martial Law Babies is an inspired reminder of our own individual pasts and even more so, the past of our nation, which is instrumental in the shape of the present and the future.

Allan and his friends grew up on a steady diet of government-controlled media during Martial Law — old enough to remember but too young to know why.

As each character’s tale unfolds so too do key events

A Tropical Winter’s Tale and Other Stories

By Charlson Ong Charlson Ong is currently senior lecturer of the Creative Writing program in UP Diliman. His writing has earned him numerous awards, including an Asiaweek prize, the National Book Award, and one for the coveted Centennial Literary Contest. A FilipinoChinese, or tsinoy, Ong’s writing focuses on his ancestry — his Chinese ancestry as it has entwined itself with that of Filipino culture to create an entirely different societal component, one that has existed in the Philippines since time immemorial.

A Tropical Winter’s Tale and Other Stories is a slim collection gathered from three of Ong’s most recognized short story compilations: Woman of Am-kaw and Other Stories, Conversion and Other Fictions, and Men of the East and Other Stories.

a man abandoning his wife in mainland China because he was convinced of her infidelity, finds that his past mistakes have come back to haunt him (and more his son) in the form of the daughter he gave up years ago. What begins as a fairly sedate, archetypical tsinoy denouement with its hints of tradition and familial piety, soon climaxes into a frighteningly grotesque tale that will leave a sour yet impressive imprint on the reader’s mind.

Other standouts were the title story and “Woman of Am-kaw.” Though Ong may be accused of writing for a niche, you must applaud his focus, skill, and passion with which he does it.

Of the 10 in this anthology, from a personal standpoint, “Owl” clearly stood out. Based on a simple premise of

I know What To Do Pinoy Success Handbook

by Jeffrey ‘Ximo’ Ramos So you want to be successful – but do you know what to do? Author Jeffrey Ximo Ramos unlocks the secrets to achievement in his substantial motivational tome ‘I Know What To Do’. Lifted from his personal learnings from the challenges and triumphs of living in the United Arad Emirates, the book is packed with useful tips and fundamental truths that can help you accomplish your dreams. It is divided into three main sections – How to be successful, how to maintain success and how not to get corrupted by success. With its words of wisdom, not to mention the writers’ interestingly casual style and wit, the book promises to be a veritable ‘success handbook’ one would eagerly be reaching for, from time to time.

Available in the UAE through Illustrado.

Please call 04-365 4543 to reserve your copy or e-mail info@illustrado.net

HOT RELEASES 79

Available in bookstores around the Philippines

Wealth Within Your Reach: Pera Mo, Palaguin Mo!

Making Your Money Work: Pera Mo, Palaguin Mo 2!

By: Francisco J. Colayco Winner, 2004 National Book Awards, Business and Economics Category

By: Francisco J. Colayco Nominated, 2004 National Book Awards, Business and Economics Category

A fun-to-read, easy-to-understand, simple presentation of the fundamentals of saving and investing in both English and Tagalog. This book awakens its readers to the fact that everyone can reach financial independence at any income level. It details the financial life stages while citing the experiences of real people for easier understanding. It also explains the obstacles and allies in one’s financial journey and gives the Ten Commandments of building wealth together with sufficient examples and explanations.

Through the discussions in this book, one will realize that a lot of wealth is within our reach just waiting to be discovered.

The first book teaches readers how to handle their personal finance even without any accounting background since it simplifies financial principles. This second book, in turn, gives the basics on how to properly start growing their savings and investments, again in both English and Tagalog. The stories in this book share the experiences of other people, in starting a savings plan, assessing personal expenditures, handling credit cards and availing of loans. It also teaches one the power of passive entrepreneurship and provides an easy guide on how and where to invest savings to make one’s money work.

Money for Kids. Pera Mo, Palaguin Mo!!

Pera Palaguin Workbook

A Parent/Teacher’s Guide to Financial Literacy for Kids By: Francisco J. Colayco and Nina Lim-Yuson, Ph.D. This is the first book of its kind in the market.

It contains ten stories of children ages 4 to 12 years related to some of the Eight Money Guidelines for Kids. Each can be read to younger children and read together with the older ones. After each story is a short guide to support the lessons being taught and suggested activities. Surveys show that children who are taught about financial matters at an early age become more self-confident and successful in the management of their personal wealth throughout their lives.

By: Francisco J. Colayco and Helen S. Valderrama, Ph.D. This workbook is for one who wants to put into practice the concepts learned from the two major books. To help create a personal financial plan and to better manage money, a few basic finance principles are all one needs to make wiser decisions about money. This workbook again in both English and Tagalog, gives easyto-understand explanations of the principles and formulas, and tests one’s understanding by giving problems and exercises with solutions.

The reader learns how to prepare a Personal Statement of Assets and Liabilities (SAL) and Personal Income and Expense Statement (PIES) towards making a Personal Financial Plan.

Pisobilities DVC Series PISOBILITIES 1: Bak Por Gud Starring: Francisco J. Colayco and Soliman Cruz This first-of-a-kind Pisobilities DVD Series utilizes experiential education combined with entertainment to teach financial education. Surveys show that people understand financial concepts and principles if these are associated with experiences that they can relate to, especially if they are entertained.

Pisobilities is one’s ability to earn and manage his one peso and the possibilities of making that same one peso work for him. The first of the PISOBILITIES series is entitled “Bak Por Gud» chronicles the financial story of Bayani “Bay” Babalato, a contract worker who abruptly lost his job after years of working in Dubai. Now back home, he is forced to come to terms with his dwindling savings and the urgency of seeking employment to sustain the lifestyle his family has grown accustomed to.

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