ILLUSTRADO Magazine Dec 2008

The Magazine for the International Filipino

15 December - 15 January 2009

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Paskong Pilipino

This Christmas A Very Pinoy Holiday Season Fashion Feature: Gloria Olazo & Olazo Philippines Tops 7 New Wonders of Nature Swept Away in Surigao The Annie B. Chronicles

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Tuloy ang Pasko…

There’s a palpable hint of panic and uncertainty in the air as 2008 draws to a close with what can only be described as monumental landmarks in our modern day history – the global economic meltdown, the crash of the old and once seemingly indestructible institutions like Wall Street and the major economies of the West. Even closer to our daily reality here at our adopted home, we have the flailing stock markets and the shakedown of the banking and the real estate sectors, which, as late as six months ago forecasted (or wanted to believe) blue skies up ahead. In the Philippines, the year was fraught with many difficulties – putting a major damper on 2007s smash economic performance, inevitably quashing the originally optimistic outlook for 2008. The only good thing (perhaps?) is that our people have been so used to living in hard times that there is nothing really new and unexpected with the constantly rising prices of commodities.

People are beyond ‘worried’ – a lot of them are scared. You can hear it in hushed tones in office corridors, see it in discussion threads online, and feel it yourself every time you run up your regular grocery shopping bill and it jolts you to biting reality.

Though some specific industries are hit harder than others – with layoffs, downsizing and mergers – whether rich, poor or in between, nobody is impervious to the prevailing sense of alarm, if only just to feel anxious about how one will be directly affected by all that is going on at this juncture.

So what are we to do at a moment like this? At this particular time of the year when we are supposed to spread goodwill, to open our hearts and allow our generosity to overflow to our families, friends, neighbors and community? Can we afford such ‘extravagance’ and selflessness at the face of these harrowing times? Can we give in to the traditional spirit of the season that dictates good cheer and warmth while we are shaken cold by the distressing prospects on the job, business, financial and home front? Can we still celebrate Christmas?

Now is the time when we need the salvation that the season of joy brings – more than ever. At such a dark hour of fear and confusion is when we really have to hold on to that vision of the light at the end of the tunnel (it’s there, just look closely).

As controversial as it may sound, giving our minds a chance to escape all the negative forces that tear us apart and allowing ourselves to focus on positive things, is what will help us to keep on going and ride the turbulence with strength and resolve to emerge intact through it all.

I remember reading from one of Bo Sanchez’s newsletters how his aunt, a real estate broker in California, is able to survive and see her business grow despite the plummeting US market where most brokers have lost their fortunes. She simply declared, “I don’t read the news.” On an even more extreme example, Donald Trump, in one of his popular books shared that during his bankruptcy period in the ‘80s when he owed billions (not thousands or millions) of dollars, what kept him going was pre-occupying his mind with all the beautiful developments he wanted to do. He worked and prepared for his projects as though he had no major crisis in his life.

Is it all new-age nonsense? Or could it be that our basic instinct of self-preservation is what could save us during these trying times?

Kailangan natin ang Pasko. We all need the generous, selfless, even spiritual distraction that Christmas offers us. We need the respite from the mental stress and could use the endorphin rush borne out of doing good deeds this season. We need the reassuring comfort provided by family and friends. And yes, we should be extravagant, not with money and material things, but with heaps of happiness by allowing ourselves to get infected with the feeling of warmth that naturally comes to us at this time of the year. We need Christmas, if only to redeem us and give us a great head start with a positive outlook moving into 2009.

This time around, hope is the one thing - we cannot do without.

Dear Illustrados – Tuloy pa rin ang Pasko...

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 flip through it, I realized that yours was a pretty cool mag. I bought it, brought it home and read it cover to cover. I am so impressed with your unexpected your fashion section – it’s very brave! It’s really a good magazine - I love your format and find it very refreshing.

Mark M Dubai ……………………..

Dear Editor, Kudos on another excellent issue! I found the interview with Gary Valenciano together with his two grown-up sons to be highly interesting, because I am really an avid fan of Gary V. In fact, I attended his previous concert in Dubai with Side A, so many years back.

Dear Laine, Really really thanks for having us in Illustrado’s November issue. It’s really nice and we like it a lot. From all of us - we bow to Illustrado and salute you for supporting Filipino talent. Thanks and more power!

Bulletcells Dubai ……………………..

Dear Illustrado, Thanks for my issue, the shirt and some goodies!

Illustrado was recommended to me by a trusted Dubai friend, and I also have met some of your contributors at a Halloween Party recently - the photos are somewhere in the Facebook universe.

Your magazine also caught my attention during the Philippine Independence day event in Dubai.

Anyway, it’s nice to see a locally-based magazine with a genuine Pinoy flavor – makes one less homesick after going through it Maybe I can share my story someday to inspire those who are at wits end here. Though I am sure you may have published quite a lot, but especially during these difficult times for the rest of the world, it helps to have more.

Best, Olay Rullan Dubai ……………………………………..

Dear Editor, I saw Illustrado peeking out at a local magazine stand and the name sounded so familiar so I picked it up and noticed the punk rock article.

Whew! It brought me back to my good old days in high school. Although I really consider myself ‘New Wave’, I had lots of punk friends back then – complete with the spiky hair, the buckled boots and safety pins galore! As I started to

It was so nice to know that Paolo and Gabriel are following the footsteps of their Dad. At least before Gary V retires there is someone who will continue what he had started. Anyway…I really wanted to thank you for featuring the story and of course for continuing to motivate your readers on how to improve their lives without forgetting that we are still Filipinos - in heart and mind.

Elvie Cabral, Sharjah

My husband and I are avid readers of Illustrado – particularly your Kabuhayan column which always features success stories on entrepreneurship. This section is very inspiring for us as we are planning to eventually set up our own small business in the Philippines someday soon. Your stories give us hope that we don’t have to be employees or OFWs forever – that we have other options to earn a decent living and provide for our family. Even more interesting is that we don’t have to have millions of dirhams to start-up a business back home – now that’s great!

To help us prepare, can you recommend if there’s anybody we can contact here in the emirates to give us some info and guidance on setting up a business back home. Any basic information can help.

Respectfully, Lory Atienza Abu Dhabi Dear Lory, Thank you for your kind words.

I suggest you get in touch with the local DTI (Philippine Trade and Investment Center) office in Dubai as they might be able to give you some basic information – tel: no.: 04-2236526. Even better, do …………………….. try to network with kababayans who might already have their own Philippine-based businesses as Dear Editor, First, let me compliment you on the consistently first hand experience is always a good reference. high quality of your publication. The caliber of If you don’t know anybody and need specific your work more than justifies that I’m not wrong recommendations – do write to us at: admin@ in subscribing to your magazine. I just wanted illustrado.net to pause and thank you for sending us excellent reading materials regarding a variety of topics. I Ed find your publications extremely well supported ………………………………… and clearly presented. Keep it up!

Ricasol Milan Dubai

Dear Illustrado,

……………………….

Sana isama niya ako sa Paris sa susunod…

Dear Editor, Your November 2008 issue is so far my favorite Illustrado. It’s totally off-the-wall and I didn’t expect that your magazine could look so extreme – but so cool at the same time. That’s why I tend to collect your issues because each one is different and interesting in it’s own way.

Thank you for taking us to the darkside ☺ Gonz Manuel Dubai ……………………………………

Dear Illustrado, Thank you for giving the Filipino community here a great magazine that has lots of educational, entertainment and aspirational value. We love what you’re doing, keep it up.

Sino ba talaga si Annie B? Annie B. Fan from Sharjah

CONTRIBUTORS

Vic Sollorano Business Mirror Editor and Illustrado Contributor Victor has lived in Thailand for over a year and in Europe for eight years where he did freelance writing, editing and photography for several local and international organizations. He has previously worked for Knight-Ridder Financial News and AP-Dow Jones News Service, as well as various Philippine dailies. He has held fine art photography exhibitions both here and in Thailand and was the Director’s Choice for the Ayala Museum ArtistSpace in 2007. In this issue, he shares the outlook this Christmas for us Filipinos.

Doc Marlon Pecjo Doc Marlon Pecjo is one of Manila’s hot photographers — regularly shooting fashion editorials and ad campaigns in between his travels around the globe. He finds uncommon meaning in common images and has earned a reputation for truly edgy photography. His medical training at the University of Santo Tomas gave him a keen eye and clinical sense in cutting right through the clutter to present images on his very unique take on life. This December, the good doctor shoots supermodel Charo Ronquillo for Illustrado’s fashion pages.

Vic Lactaoen Vic Albornoz Lactaoen is currently a travel writer for several local and international in-flight magazines and contributes regularly for Manila Bulletin’s Tourism section. He was formerly with the ASEAN Secretariat as head of Public Information which gave him the opportunity to travel extensively to major Southeast Asian cities and historical towns. He still travels extensively around the country and hopes to finish his first travel book on off-beat and interesting destinations in the Philippines soon

David Poarch Filipino-American David Poarch is a veritable legend in the Filipino blogosphere, with thousands following his adventures between the two countries via the internet. In 2006, he was featured in ABS-CBN’s ‘Nagmamahal Kapamilya’ when he decided to leave behind the American Dream to find his roots. His journey of rediscovery and choice to leave the simple life in his home country struck a chord in many a patriotic Filipino’s heart. Forced by circumstance to return to the States, David continues to chronicle his journey to Illustrado readers in his regular Coconuter column

Karen Galarpe Contributor Karen Galarpe is a CPA, and probably could have stayed one — if not for her utter hatred for accounting. Instead, she left her profession to become a magazine editor here in Manila when she was in her 20s as she pursued her first love: journalism. Now in her 40s, she plays the crucial role of mother to a gifted 12-year-old while continuing to live off of her pen — contributing articles on business, parenting, food and art. She shares a story on father-andson artists Romulo and Jonathan Olazo.

Olyvia MacArthur From Manhattan to Makati, Olyvia MacArthur celebrates the diversity of culture she represents as a Filipina-American. An avid traveler and observer, she can be found on deserted beaches, famous festivals, dusty roads and crowded concerts halls with her trusty Moleskine notebook in hand. She splits her time between NYC and the Philippines. This freelance writer recently tagged along with Pinoy hip-hop crew Beatmathics to the Asian Hip Hop Festival in Bangkok and gives us a first-hand account of the rockin’experience in this issue’s entertainment section.

Publisher & Editor-in Chief Lalaine Chu-Benitez Assistant Editor Mikkel Bolante Art Directors Paula Lorenzo Ron Perez Contributing Writers Philippines & U.S. Bernadette Reyes David Poarch Aby Yap Ivan Henares Gabbie dela Rama-Talan Chayie Maligalig Apple Lopez Karen Galarpe Vic Lactaoen Victor Sollorano Lorraine Balita KC Abalos JR Bustamante Excel Dyquianco Jude Cartalaba Isabelo Samonte Mike Martin United Arab Emirates Maripaz Febrero Sonny de Guzman Shar Matingka Sherry Tenorio Jonie Jose Contributing Photographers Philippines Marlon Pecjo Charles Lu United Arab Emirates Pot Ph Illuminado Ong Kris Lee Mariyah Gaspacho Contributing Stylist Zekundo Chu Janet dela Fuente Publisher Illustrado Communications FZ-LLC 2nd Floor, Building 2 P.O. Box 72280 Office 20C Dubai Media City, U.A.E. Tel: + 9714 365 4547 Fax: + 9714 360 4771 email: admin@illustrado.net Website: illustrado.net Printers Printwell Printing Press L.L.C. P.O. Box 18828 Dubai, U.A.E. Copyright Illustrado Communications 2008.

All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of Illustrado Communications FZ-LLC

December 08 CONTENTS Features This Christmas 10 A Very Pinoy Holiday Season 14 Down the Christmas Memory Lane 18 Save and Still Have a Merry Christmas 20 Recession Proof Gift-Ideas 46 Pinoy Stocking Stuffers 48

Columns Editor’s Note 1 Letters to the Editor 4 Contributors 6 Famous Filipinos 22 Kabuhayan: Christina’s Kitchen 24 Successful Pinoy: The Power in your Name 26 Illustrado Profile: Isabelita Warren: Of Food & Mother’s Love 30 Community 54 Coconuter: Thanksgiving 56 Usapang Kanto 72 Onli in da Pilipins 64 The Annie B. Chronicles 66

Fashion, Arts & Design Fashion Feature: Gloria 32 Olazo & Olazo 50 A Design Oasis called the Philippines 53

Places Philippines Tops 7 New Wonders of Nature 58 Bakasyon Grande: Swept Away in Surigao 60

Entertainment Top Junk 69 Flip Hop: Filipinos Keep it Real 73 Beatmathics Rock Bangkok 75 Hot Releases 77

32

Pinay Supermodel Charo Ronquillo plays ‘earth angel’ in this month’s divine fashion feature

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10 FEATURE

This Christmas

By Victor D. Sollorano

The Truce in armed conflicT remains a sTark example of chrisTmas’ power over The human race. iTs mosT celebraTed example remains The chrisTmas Truce of 1914, when briTish and German soldiers on The wesTern fronT of The firsT world-war ceased all hosTiliTies on chrisTmas eve and allowed Gunfire and shellfire To fade and Give way To holiday celebraTions and GesTures of Goodwill beTween enemies.

History, past and present, is replete of such cessation of hostilities.

In 2007, the Arroyo government declared a three-week unilateral ceasefire with Communist rebels that took effect on December 16.

That same year, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta e-mailed journalists covering the conflict that it “will observe a 24 hour ceasefire in the spirit of Christmas,” and promised not to attack oil facilities and kidnap foreigners.

The Christmas truce phenomenon may come once a year and its feasible outcome may not always render a positive note. What is important is the initiative that breeds an illusion of hope that peace would come about.

It may be difficult for us who live in the comfort zone of our existential reality — compared to those who live in the conflict areas of Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, or even in southern Mindanao — to imagine the relief of a day without gunfire and exploding shell, as we worry about personal debt, amortizations, monthly bills and taxes and investment exposure that turned sour, but for others it is a matter of life and death.

It is that time of year again—and the time is ripe for another round of the Christmas initiative.

Despite, the gloom-doom scenario that economists and financial analysts have painted about the impending global recession in the aftermath of the collapse of the world financial markets, governments around the world need to take this opportunity to really make a difference and instill a renewal of hope in the lives of people. Whether those people live in a conflict area or elsewhere is irrelevant.

All of us need hope: for peace, or simply a better life for ourselves, our loved ones and friends, and for the world for that matter.

Hope really is there, come to think of it.

The election of the first African-American president, Barack Obama, has come to symbolize hope for change and therefore a better tomorrow for most people, not only Americans, because the US and its economic and military might remains the super power that it is and globally affects the lives of people around the world.

After how the Republicans ran the White House and the affairs of the world under outgoing President Bush, Obama is indeed a welcome relief. Cultural minorities in the US, from Latin Americans, to Eastern Europeans to Asians and the Middle Easterners and North Africans, also greeted this change with open arms for they were challenged far too much under the Bush administration.

So far, the US and British economies and the economies of some nations in the European Union, and that of Japan are in recession.

Recession is an economic reality, part and parcel of an economic cycle.

A bust naturally follows a boom, a phenomenon best exemplified by the sensitivity of stock markets around the world.

The stock market crash of 1987 — popularly known as Black Monday because computer screens on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange went blank after the system failed to process the avalanche of sell orders — came in the aftermath of a boom market. A steep drop in share prices in stock markets around the world followed. It then went and Wall Street and markets around the world soon recovered.

FEATURE 11

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In 1997, the world woke up to the Asian financial crisis. That too came and went.

local fund managers were already stretched far too thin, especially in 2007.

The Internet bubble burst in 2000-2001 after years of unprecedented boom as the largess of venture capitalism flowed into the information and technology industry. Many startup companies in the field of computers and computing disappeared - and so did the bust. The industry recovered and basked in more than half a decade of growth and expansion.

There is, however, a law of nature that applies to all, the law of gravity — what goes up must come down — that has been proven in financial and economic terms time and again.

The year 2007 and the years prior to that were boom years for most of the world’s economies. Share prices in the US, China, South Korea and the Philippines soared to dizzying heights.

Banks and financial institutions came to develop new instruments and products that assured of good margins and a hefty profit by the volume.

This day and age is no exemption.

The Philippines is actually at the crossroads of recession and the path to sustaining modest growth in the face of falling economies - both ways are paved with good intentions in the form of illusions. Reality is simply what is and illusions are for sale, left and right. The currency of exchange is decision. The boom or bust illusion no longer applies because the cycle of bust has set in.

In the run up to 2008, the Philippine property market was booming and property companies and real estate agents made a killing.

That the 2009 recession would be deeper and more far-reaching than the infamous depression of 1929 is an illusion that is being shoved by analysts and economist down the throat of everybody these days. The illusion is as seductive as the Freudian death wish. Buy! Buy! Buy!

Delusions of grandeur — to borrow a term from psychoanalysis — swept the trading floor of stock markets in the US, Europe and Asia, that boom is as perennial as the grass. This went on, despite warnings in 2006 and 2007 that markets were overheating.

At this point in time, people can simply turn away from such an illusion and instead choose hope, peace and joy.

How to sustain the market was the clarion call of brokers and traders and others who would benefit from a sustained, never-ending gain in prices. The mission was to develop and expand the market and attract more investors, no matter how small, because the money of global and

This Christmas why not buy an illusion that may save a life and make yourself and others happy... Buy an illusion that may sustain modest growth instead of recession. At the end of the day, buy an illusion that says the world can be a better place than what it is now. It is all that we have.

14 FEATURE

A VeryPinoy

Holiday Season

By Mikkel Bolante

Christmas is right around the Corner and it really shows – espeCially in the philippines where the holiday season seems to start earlier than anywhere else in the world. amazingly, you hear Christmas Carols in malls as early as september. it’s one of our favourite holidays, of Course and there’s nothing quite like our pinoy traditions and the family bonding that Come around every deCember.

With celebrations starting as early as September, decorations are no exception.

It’s advisable, however, to wait until at least after Halloween, though, because the two holidays just don’t mix (unless you’re a fan of Tim Burton and would like to recreate the ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ in your living room). Aside from the standard Christmas lights and tree, we Pinoys have our staple decorations that always report for duty this time of the year.

The parol — a lantern reminiscent of the star of Bethlehem — is a timeless uniquely native décor that adorns Pinoy homes.

These come in different sizes, colors, and designs — each one with a unique personality of its own. The more traditional parols are humble creations made from bamboo sticks and papel de Japon designed to be hung in windows, while there are those wired to light up. Then again, nothing beats the amazing Pampanga parols replete with a kaleidoscope of colors and patterns. This year the people of San Fernando will be holding their annual Ligligan Parul or the Giant Lantern Festival on the 16th December at the SM San Fernando Ampitheater. It is a spectacle visited by Christmas fans from all over the country.

Another common décor is the belen. There are varying versions of this Pinoy Christmas decoration, some with sculptures, others made of lights, but all re-enacting the scene of the nativity. From the miniature scaled home display, the belen comes larger-thanlife particularly in Ayala Avenue in Makati where you will see this atop buildings and fronting establishments during this brightest time of the year.

An all-time favorite for many families was the annual COD Department Store Christmas show — a free-of-charge automation show originally intended to entice shoppers but eventually ended up a Christmas tradition.

For the throng of disappointed people who made this yearly trip to COD and learned in 2002 that — gasp! — they stopped doing the show, Christmas just wasn’t the same.

But hey, don’t feel so gloomy. Because last year, in what was supposed to be the 50th anniversary (technically, 50 years, yes — but they weren’t operational for a couple of years in the early 2000s) of the show, The Greenhills Shopping Center in San Juan convinced the COD owners to stage their show at the popular shopping site. Now the show is back in full regalia in what is its third location after the original Manila COD department store in Avenida and its second home, the Araneta Center in Cubao.

So while this tradition came particularly close to dying a natural death, it’s somehow still alive and kicking — so you’ve still got a chance to come see it again.

Once a Year, Holiday Cheer Once, the biggest things during the holiday season were the Christmas carnivals. Boom na Boom, a carnival in Roxas Boulevard that sets up once a year, was a popular place to go to for fun and laughter. There were all sorts of booths, games, performances, food and of course, rides. Depending on location, there were several other options that one could visit — there was the Payanig sa Pasig, the Big Bang sa Alabang and more recently, the Paskong Pasiklab located near the University of the Philippines Campus in Diliman.

Most of these have shut down but there’s still plenty to do around Christmas. If carnivals are really your thing, the year-round fair which swell with the holiday crowd at Star City in Pasay and Enchanted Kingdom in Laguna are still great places for a day of excitement with the family.

With people scrambling about to find holiday gifts, Christmas bazaars or tiangges are another ‘must-visit’ this time of year.

These can be found practically anywhere in the city when the holiday season begins.

There is a wide range of gift items waiting to be discovered at these places from clothes and perfumes to stuffed toys and novelty items, to home decorations and even food – all at better prices than in the usual retail stores. There are bazaars specifically for budget shoppers like the one in Divisoria, and then there are also those organized at swanky venues like the Manila Polo Club catering to a more sophisticated crowd.

Since Christmas is a time for giving, it’s also a great season for receiving. That must be top-of-mind for carollers who set out during the cold evenings to serenade neighbours and total strangers with Christmas songs.

Whether it’s the neighbourhood kids, a charity group, or your very own inaanaks (godchildren), Christmas carolling is an activity well-loved by Pinoys. Old favourite songs include Pasko na Sinta Ko, Pasko Na Naman, and Jingle Bells. Of course, “Tenk yu, tenk yu, ambabarat ninyo, tenk yu” remains the line of choice sung to stingy ‘Scrooges.’

FEATURE 15

Photography by Victor Solloran

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Photography by Victor Sollorano

Family Traditions The days leading up to Christmas are brimming with traditional Pinoy rituals from the Simbang Gabi to the Noche Buena.

The so-called Midnight Mass is a nine-day novena that begins on the 16th of December and last all the way to Christmas Eve. It’s a pre-dawn event — which many Pinoys manage to complete, never missing a single day. Lately, the Simbang Gabi or Misa de Gallo has also become more of a social event where friends meet for what looks more like early morning gimiks. Is it any wonder, with places like Greenbelt holding midnight Masses on their grounds?

Perhaps it’s also the Pinoy Christmas treats associated with the Simbang Gabi which make getting up before dawn very enticing. After all, very few dishes can be quite as comforting as bibingka and puto bumbong. The bibingka is a rice cake topped with cheese and salted egg, and the puto bumbong is a purple tube of rice with sugar — both served in banana leaves with a smattering of grated coconut and some butter. These midnight mass staples are served in some restaurants year-round, but somehow it’s so much more special when you’re savoring these before sunrise.

In these modern times, though, traditional food isn’t just the only after-Mass option. In

Photography by Ben Chan

recent years, McDonald’s ran an advertising campaign coaxing people to enjoy their postSimbang Gabi breakfasts. Needless to say, a nice, traditional bibingka and a Sausage McMuffin with Egg just don’t have quite the same taste and charm.

much change there is brought about by time — there’s still nothing like the way that’s very close to our hearts that’s uniquely Filipino.

Maligayang Pasko!

Everything all just leads to this, though — the Noche Buena. It’s the annual family dinner that beats all the others. The whole clan gets together on Christmas Eve for a night of mirth and merrymaking. Common food choices like quezo de bola, Christmas ham and piping hot tsokolate, paella make for a nice, wholesome evening that takes you to Christmas Day. It’s comforting, traditional, warm — everything one imagines Christmas to be like.

• Traditional Christmas on Display (COD), Night Market and Christmas Bangketa Fair - Greenhills shopping complex, San Juan • Christmas Jazz with Working Stiff and City High Breed -5th December, Greenbelt 3 Park, Makati • Christmas Concert “Bravo España” - 5th December, Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo - Cultural Center of the Philippines Roxas Blvd., Manila • The 7th World Bazaar Festival – 5th – 16th December, World Trade Center, Metro Manila • Christmas Broadway Opera Concerts - 6-7, 13-14, 20-21 and 27- 28th December Greenbelt 3 Park, Makati • Rockwell Urban Bazaar – 12th to 14th December, Powerplant Mall, Rockwell Makati City • The Oblation Run, Lantern Parade and Fireworks Display – 15th December, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City • Yuletide Souk – The Big Red Bazaar – 20th21st December, Rockwell Tent, Makati City • Christmas Carols by the Hiyas ng Maynila Choir and Christmas Eve Mass - Manila Cathedral – 24th December, Manila • Metro Manila Film Fest Opening – 25th December

There are actually no rules that say these are the items that must be eaten on Christmas Eve. My family once celebrated the holiday by feasting on a Noche Buena of ‘pritchon’ (pritong lechon served in Peking duck wrappers, with your choice of a variety of sauces) and a nice big Japanese sushi platter.

It was different, but we definitely still felt the Christmas magic that year.

Well, even if you take away the Christmas trees, candy canes and Santa Claus and his elves and reindeer — Christmas is still very much Christmas. Every culture has its own way of celebrating it. But no matter how

Must-Visit Christmas Events in the Metro this Year:

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Down the Christmas Memory Lane

By Excel V. Dyquiangco

For so many oF us Filipinos, Christmas would always be beyond santa Clause, the tree deCked with lights, the giFts and parties we attend season aFter season. despite today’s CommerCialism, it would always be the smell oF bibingka and puto bumbong, the robot your dad gave you when you were Five years old, the way you got Chased by the neighbor’s dogs when you went Caroling with Childhood Friends, and the Feel oF your lola’s wrinkled hand as you went “mano po”, that would make us Feel the true spirit oF the season as soon as that Familiar Cool holiday air Comes to town. it’s the stuFF Christmas memories are made oF. So, what do you remember most about Christmas?

A time to celebrate “I remember one Christmas eve we spent on the streets of San Fernando in Pampanga.

We watched a lantern parade. After the parade, we got stuck there because there were too many people so we decided to hang around. We played, ate street foods, walked. We were having so much fun that we lost track of time. We were with some friends and relatives. Even though our eyes got tired of all the lights we saw and our feet got sore because of all the walking, it was worth it. For the first time, we didn’t spend Christmas the traditional way — noche buena, gifts, etc. As long as I’m with the people whom I love, where and how we spend Christmas doesn’t matter — it’s the people that really count.”

- Alexis Manansala, La Union “Every year while growing up, I remember waking up early in the morning from the 16th until the morning of the 24th December to attend Mass with my siblings.

We really looked forward to sampling the Christmas treats that we used to buy outside the church after each Mass. Puto bumbong, latik, tupig, kalamay! The food is what makes the whole month of December and Pasko in Pinas so much fun and memorable. Come Christmas

Eve and Noche Buena, forget about the ham and cheese ball, I’d rather have lechon, pansit, buko fruit salad (sweetened with condensed milk!) and spaghetti with sliced hotdog sauce! With this kind of food on the table on Christmas Eve, celebrating Pasko in Pinas always will always be a totally different experience!”

- Jun Tacio, Melbourne “I remember the time when COD in Cubao usually had this Christmas show and we would always watch it while eating inihaw na pusit (dried squid). Every Christmas season, we would always go there as part of our Christmas celebration. Of course being with the whole family is always memorable but it was never the same since COD mall closed down.”

- Nomer Agapay, Bahrain.

“When we were kids, my cousins and I would wake up during Christmas day at 12am and

nagmamano kami sa mga nakakatanda sa amin. Until now, we still do it, but of course, iyong iba kasi got married already. My grandmother also cooked batirol for us — a chocolate delight.”

- Melai Angeles, Mandaluyong A time for good cheer “I was in grade two then when we went from house to house to sing Christmas songs. I remember that we raised PHP200 in one night — quite a good amount during that time. Pero I remember that when we sing songs, nagiiba iyong lyrics namin pero that’s okay kasi pareho pa rin naman iyong tono e. Kapag may aso ring tumatahol that time, di na

FEATURE 19 namin tinutuloy iyong pagkanta namin. We would just run away.”

- Yhan Casupanan, Rizal “We always have a big reunion during Christmas.

Once we decided to play a game — the longest line. I remember one cousin, a girl, actually stripped her clothes off, and she was the only one who did that. But unfortunately, natalo din sila sa game. Kami iyong nanalo.”

- Peach Natividad, Quezon City “Christmas is always a special day for our family because my Lola Naty celebrates her birthday too. When we were very young and makulit, usually right after her party, my cousins and I would go house to house asking for gifts from our neighbors - parang ‘Trick or Treat’ ba… Whatever they give us - even if it was just 10 centavos - used to make us so happy.

Life was very simple then and I always tell my son this story so that he would appreciate the real spirit of Christmas - that no matter how small the amount of the gift you received, its really the joy in your heart that counts.”

- Juliet Mensalvas, Almaty, Kazhakstan A time to share, a time to heal “Every Christmas, I remember family gatherings, staying up really late to sing videoke with my family and friends every night, drinking sessions, smoking sessions, lots of story-telling and catching up, and most especially, I just remember the cool breezy early mornings when we would attend Simbang Gabi. I will never forget that Christmas day when we had a small program at home where my cousins and I sang and danced to novelty songs and we looked

Photography by Victor Sollorano

like weirdos, but our family loved it so much that they gave us money for making complete fools of ourselves. It was fun. I remember how we all settled down for gift-giving when one member of our family would call out names and hand the gifts - it really became a ritual for everyone. This has become a tradition every year at our ancestral home. Since I was a kid, I can’t remember any happier time than Christmas, because for me, this really is ‘the most wonderful time of the year.’”

- Kathrina, Pasig City My fondest memories of the holidays growing up is setting the Christmas tree early and putting stuff in it as early as possible too. I like sharing things

with street people, especially on Christmas Eve. I remember one time, I bought a couple of lechon manoks and gave them to those moms carrying their child while begging on the street. It made me feel good knowing that I shared, even a little bit, with someone who needed it – especially on that day.

- Allan Montinola, Toronto “What I remember most about the holidays is that happy feeling that you get every time Christmas is around. I couldn’t explain the feeling that I have but whenever I feel the cool breeze that Christmas brings, it makes me feel happy and light. I don’t know what kind of magic this is but no matter where you are, you always have that special feeling of happiness and excitement for Christmas. Of course, gifts will always be there because that’s one thing you really couldn’t miss every year.”

Rosemae Leuterio, UAE “I am a single mother and even when my child was born, I felt that my parents weren’t ready to accept my situation. But there was this time during Christmas na binigyan nila ng regalo ang anak ko. Ang dami nilang gifts for my son. Alam ko na that’s their simple way of showing finally that they have learned to love him.”

- Mars Opulencia, Batangas We may have our own ways of remembering and celebrating Christmas. One thing common for all of us though, is that most of us cannot resist the spirit of the season.

Yes, “peace on earth and goodwill to all men” might sound cheesy in today’s world, but when it all boils down to it, it’s these warm and fuzzy feelings that will always make Christmas that special holiday to remember.

20 FEATURE

Save and Still Have a Merry Christmas

By Excel V. Dyquiangco

It’s that time of the year again when everyone seems to be knocking on your door — and in some cases, it’s more like knocking down your door. From the carolers outside wanting a piece of that 13th month pay that you have just received a few hours ago (they do know just when to show up, don’t they?) To your officemates saying something within earshot about, ahem, a gift. Oh yes, and never forget your inaanaks — those little kids who all have their palms out the moment they see you

If you’re really ‘lucky’, you even have to put up with those distant relatives whom you never knew existed, suddenly calling you up asking how you’ve been doing all these years.

Of course, don’t forget your parents and family members who are eagerly awaiting the gifts that you have (willingly?) promised them.

Oh yes, it IS that time of the year again when you feel every peso being stretched. And even moreso these days, with the global crisis and prices of commodities going up, you just might think that there is no way for you to have a merry Christmas this year. But take heed, there are lots of ways for you to enjoy this yuletide season without sacrificing your needs, and your budget. In the end, you would still be able to give presents to the carolers, your officemates, your inaanaks, your distant relatives and your beloved family members — and hopefully, have a little something left behind.

So what do you need to do during this time?

Independent financial planner Josefino Gomez talks about not only how to save but what and when to buy during the holiday season. He adds that you just need to follow the XMAS rule on saving.

Xplore. Explore ways to increase income and/or reduce expenses during the year,

even before the holiday season comes. From these savings, you would be able to apportion some of your Christmas spending.

To avoid overspending, only use cash which have been saved when making holiday purchases. No credit cards. No borrowings. A savings of PHP200 a week could translate into about PHP10,400 a year. Not using credit card could enable you to save on unnecessary interest payments and avoid your own credit crisis.

Match. For giving gifts and cards, always match items with the person you’re giving it to. Since you have an idea of each person and their preference, you should be able to give appropriate presents without a sweat.

Chocolates and candies are generally given to younger kids. Baked food product that you can make can be given to families and neighbors.

Allocate. Allocate your funds accordingly.

Do this as early as possible to avoid stress and pressure. You can allocate funds based on a budget. Allocate for presents, decors, food, travel, and others. Make sure that you stay within your budget. Assuming a total budget of PHP10,000 and you have allocated PHP4,000 for the presents. You then must make sure that the total gift expenses must not exceed PHP4,000.

Substance over form. Always remember that it’s not how much a gift costs. It’s how much people are remembered that counts.

The thing to remember is your objective.

If the objective is to remember someone, then giving a regular Christmas card rather

than a more expensive card (like one of those musical cards) would still get your message across at a lower cost. A personally made scrapbook could be generally more appreciated by grandparents than a branded bag. A simple phone call may be more appreciated than cards and gifts.

So what are the things that you should do this holiday season that would reduce your cost? Instead of going on that annual trip to Boracay, here are some practical ideas and tips that would cut down your Christmas costs.

• Drive around town to see Christmas lights.

• Visit homes and invite neighbors over for Christmas parties. You can do this ‘potluck’ style where everybody brings food to share.

• Have a caroling group formed by families.

You can do this to raise funds for charities.

• Decorate the Christmas tree as a family.

• Play board games and cards.

• Go to charities and share your talents and skills.

• Group together in a circle and share how God has blessed each one of you and how He has touched each of your lives.

Basically, most activities don’t cost anything.

The key thing here is to share the experience with family and loved ones. With these and so many other fun activities to do this holiday season, there really is a reason to celebrate.

Truly, this is one holiday that you should be joyous about, regardless of how things are going, without having to worry about rising costs. All you need to do on your part is just to plan your savings and let the holiday spirit take over.

22 FAMOUS FILIPINOS

Ishmael Bernal Film Director Film director Ishmael Bernal, already widely considered as one of the best directors in Filipino cinema history, just added another feather in his cap. His 1982 masterpiece ‘Himala’ (‘Miracle’) — which starred legendary actress Nora Aunor — was selected by CNN entertainment website visitors as the best movie of all time from the Asia-Pacific region.

The Pinoy film was able to beat classics such as Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Seven Samurai,’ Ang Lee’s Oscar-winning ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ and Wong Kar Wai’s ‘Chungking Express.’

The film had previously been lauded with the Bronze Hugo Award in the 1983 Chicago International Film Festival. It won several awards in the Metro Manila Film Festival in 1982 — including Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, multiple acting awards and honors in editing and production design. Bernal was also selected by a number of groups as the most outstanding director in the Philippines for the 1970s. The decision was announced during the Asia Pacific Screen Awards in an event held in Queensland, Australia last November.

Bernal was born in 1938 and was educated at the University of the Philippines (UP), the University of Aix-en-Provence in France and the Film Institute of India in Poona. He enjoyed a long career in film and television directing. He also taught film at UP and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. He died in 1996, but his legacy in film continues on after him — as proven by his most recent award.

Nora Aunor Superstar of Philippine Entertainment Nora Aunor is known as the ‘Superstar of Philippine Entertainment.’

She has starred in over 170 films. She has received several international acting nominations including one in the Berlin International Film Festival in 1983 for ‘Himala,’ named by CNN as the best movie of all time from the Asia-Pacific. She won three international acting awards — in the Cairo International Film Festival in 1995, the East Asia Film and Television Award in 1997 and the Brussels Festival of Independent Films in 2004.

The list of people she’s worked with reads like a who’s who in Philippine Cinema. She has collaborated with directors like Ishmael Bernal and Lino Brocka — two of the four National Artists that she worked with.

Her long line of leading men includes Tirso Cruz III, Edgar Mortiz, former President Joseph Estrada, former husband Christopher de Leon and ‘Miami Vice’ star Don Johnson. Her partnership with Cruz was one of the most successful team-ups in Philippine Cinema.

Aunor has spent much of the recent years in the US. There are two cities that celebrate ‘Nora Aunor Day’ there. The City and County of San Francisco celebrates it on May 21 — the actress’ birthday — as declared by Mayor Gavin Newsom. Killeen mayor Timothy Hancock declared September 23 as ‘Nora Aunor Day in the City of Killeen’ after Aunor held a concert in the Texas city.

FAMOUS FILIPINOS 23

Miguel Syjuco Filipino writer based in Canada Miguel Syjuco is Filipino writer based in Canada. He was born in Manila in 1976 but moved to Canada, where he spent much of his childhood.

He returned to the Philippines to attend university at the Ateneo de Manila before he pursued further studies at Columbia University in New York and University of Adelaide in Australia. He works as a Copy Editor at the Montreal-based publication ‘The Gazette.’

His first novel, Ilustrado, won the Best Novel in English award at the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards in Literature this year. In November, he was again lauded for his debut book as it helped him best four other Asian novelists in the Man Asian Literary Prize – an annual literary award that strives to encourage Asian authors writing in the English language. Syjuco was one of two Filipino authors on the shortlist and won the prize with his murder mystery tale that evolves into a family history saga laden with stories, interviews and poetry. The feat was celebrated in a ceremony at the Peninsula Hong Kong with all five shortlisted writers present

Alfred ‘Krip’ Yuson Accomplished Filipino writer Alfred Yuson is an accomplished Filipino writer with 19 books to his name. He has received many distinctions as a writer including a lifetime achievement honor at the Southeast Asia Writers Award and Hall of Fame status at the Palanca Awards — the most prestigious literary award in the Philippines. He currently teaches fiction and poetry at the Ateneo de Manila University and writes a column for the Philippine Star. He is also a scriptwriter and documentary filmmaker as well as a board member at the Movie and Television Ratings and Classification Board (MTRCB).

Yuson is the second of two Filipino authors on the shortlist of the 2008 Man Asian Literary Prize — the other being eventual winner Miguel Syjuco — for his novel ‘The Music Child.’

Dante Nico Garcia Film Director Dante Nico Garcia is the director of ‘Ploning,’ the Philippines official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 81st Academy Awards. The film is based on a small municipality — Garcia’s hometown of Cuyo — in Palawan and is based on a native Cuyonon song. The movie will try for an Oscar in the 2009 ceremony to be held in February of next year.

The film was also selected to enter the 6th Paris Cinema International Film Festival last July and the 1st Hong Kong Asian Independent Film Festival last November. The movie stars actress and co-producer Judy Ann Santos in the title role.

24 KABUHAYAN

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Money, Assets and Investing

Christina’s Kitchen

By Bernadette Reyes

After 23 yeArs of working for A government finAnciAl institution in the PhiliPPines, mAriA AliciA ibArrA finAlly decided it wAs time to retire And stArt doing whAt she loved most. “when i wAs young i thought to myself when i grow uP i would like my house to smell of cAkes And Pies. i hAve been interested in bAking ever since but i didn’t mAke A cAreer out of it until now becAuse i took uP economics in college,” she sAys. mAriles, As her friends cAll her stArted bAking homemAde cAkes Among other PAstries And sold them to friends And officemAtes in 2004. two yeArs lAter she AvAiled of the comPAny’s oPtionAl eArly retirement PlAn to Pursue A cAreer in bAking.

“I was already getting tired of corporate work. After retirement I thought of things to preoccupy me. I even thought of teaching but I have always have had this passion for baking.” Since then, her small kitchen has always been busy while the sweet aroma of baked goodies lingers in the air.

In Christmas of 2004, Mariles invested PHP50,000 as start-up capital and made PHP80,000 in gross income which she bankrolled to purchase new baking equipment including a refrigerator and a chiller.

The succeeding years proved even better as she raked in PHP120,000 in 2005 and PHP180,000 in 2006. “Last year I earned PHP220,000 just for the Christmas Season. It get’s better every year,” she says. On lean months, she joins food bazaars to keep the business going. She also supplies cakes to a restaurant which gives her steady income all year round. On the average, she grosses approximately PHP6,000

week-on-week while income peaks during special occasions such as Valentine’s Day. While a business such as hers generates income, she warns others who would like to try their hand on a similar endeavor.

“If you will just depend on a small business such as mine to support a household, it might not be enough since income will vary depending on the orders,” she says.

On certain occasions too, small time businesses such as Mariles’ could be discouraging. She remembers complaining to her husband about the sluggish business in 2007. “I was complaining to my husband that business was ‘matumal.’ At times I would join bazaars but the income that was coming in was just enough to pay for rent and other overhead costs,” she recalls. Then again there are times when orders are piling up and her small kitchen can barely put up. “Sometimes orders are coming in but you can’t accept them anymore because

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

KABUHAYAN 25

Money, Assets and Investing

business is full - but you also don’t want to disappoint customers,” she adds. She managed to survive by stretching her patience on those days when orders are scarce while she gets additional manpower whenever necessary.

Mariles named the business Christina’s Kitchen after her daughter’s name and registered it at the Department of Trade in Industry.

Since then, Christina’s Kitchen has had a steady following with her homemade carrot cake and bread pudding as bestsellers. The carrot cake is a recipe she read about in a magazine which she made into her own by adding and substituting some ingredients. The bread pudding on the other hand is a well-kept family secret recipe which was passed on to her. Aside from these, Mariles sees to it that she comes up with new recipes every year to give variety to her customers. Some of the sweet temptations she concocts are just a combination of a variety of recipes rolled into one. “I look up for recipes on books and the internet but I make it my own my putting own personal touch on each dessert I make,” she explains. Through the years her products have expanded to include apple pie, pistachio cake, Vienna Torte, pannacotta, choco fudge cake, frozen brazo de mercedes and brownies.

While Mariles knows she has good recipes that would sell, it is her knowledge about running a business that helps her survive. A BS Business Economics graduate at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, she took up basic business administration and accounting courses which she applies to her business. She then complemented her business knowledge with a course on baking. In 2006, Mariles took up a hands-on baking course at the Heny Sison School of Cake Decorating and Baking to further her skills. The culinary program was useful for Marites because it was here where she learned new techniques in baking. Even after she graduated from culinary school, she continues to enrich her knowledge in baking by reading culinary books. “My bedside reading is a cookbook. It is by reading that I get ideas which I apply to my recipes,” she says.

As a home-based business, Christina’s Kitchen may be small for now but Mariles plans to grow the business at her own pace. “We may be small but we are growing,” she says. In 2009, she plans to test the waters for possible expansion if she would be able to produce the necessary capital to put up her own cakeshop. “I have already invested in a heavyduty oven, mixers and pans but I would need a professional kitchen

if I plan to expand my business. A stainless table alone would cost millions of peso,” she explains. Besides, a home-based business such as hers has its advantages as well. “You don’t run the risk of losing a lot of money. Even if the business fails you won’t have a hard time bouncing back because you haven’t exhausted all your resources,” she adds.

It is Mariles’ second Christmas as a housewife. She misses her colleagues but she has no regrets about retiring early to pursue her home-based baking business. “My retirement came at the right time.

I was already burnt out from office work. It came to a point when I was so anxious to finish my work in the office early so I can go home and bake. Now, I bake everyday and it doesn’t feel like work at all,” she says.

With many established pastry and coffee shops and up-and-coming cakeshops in the city, Mariles admits competition can be difficult.

Inspite of this she envisions that day when Christina’s Kitchen will face head-to-head with big names in the industry. For now, Mariles take pride in the fact that she is able to bake homemade goodies that her customers keep coming back for. “The beauty of homemade cakes and pastries such as mine is that I manage to put some love into it when I bake them. I may not always know who gets to eat the cakes and pastries I bake but I know I make them happy. My psychological high is making people happy and that’s all that matters,” she says.

26

SUCCESFUL PINOY

Success Principles

The Power in Your Name

By Jeffrey ‘Ximo’ Ramos

Merry Christmas, sis and bro. Naisip mo na ba ang iyong ipang-reregalo?

Ilagay mo sa magandang balot at isulat ng malinaw ang iyong pangalan at ang ngalan ng iyong pagbibigyan. Make sure that you write it clearly and spell it correctly; that is very important. After all, you carry amazing power in your name.

What’s in your name? Have you ever wondered why you were named like that? Have you asked about the meaning of your name, Luzviminda? Is there something special about your name, Mang Boy?

Give meaning to your name

Your name is meant to be great

Ngayon, nakita mo na rin siguro ang ibig sabihin ng iyong pangalan o maaaring hindi pa. Kung wala ka talagang makitang ibig sabihin nito, don’t be alarmed. Remember, you are born great!

“In the different stages of the life of every nation, great men are born, not for their generation alone, but for all times, to serve as a guiding inspiration for future generations”.

Because you are in control of your life, ikaw lang rin ang puwedeng magbigay ng kahulugan sa iyong pangalan. Let’s take a look at some of our prominent kababayans who gave real meaning to their names.

- Arturo M. Tolentino

Arturo Tolentino, ‘The Constitutionalist’ You were given a name with a special meaning. Even before your were born, your parents already thought about how they should call you. Whatever your name - maganda o masaklap man – one thing is certain; your name has a meaning and a history. For example the name Aaron means ‘uncertain but enlightened.’ Makikita kasi ito sa kuwento sa Bibliya na kung saan si Aaron na may kakayahang maging tagapagsalita ni Moses ay ginawang assistant nito.

Amidst the great signs and miracles he saw, still his uncertainly took over. Naki-ayon pa rin siya sa mga tao na itayo ang isang rebulto para sambahin. Kaya ang kanyang naging pangalan ay binigyang kahulugan as ‘uncertain.’ For commonly used names such as John, Mathew, Mark, Peter and Simon, you can look these up in the same book. Pero kung Hudas ang iyong pangalan kamayan mo na lang ako ha…’wag mo na ako i-kiss.

Look at your name. I bet you can trace its meaning. (To look up the meaning of your name you can log on to www.successfulpinoyako. com and email us your name). Kung hindi ninyo mahanap ang inyong pangalan, ok lang. Tuloy mo ang pagbasa, kaibigan.

One of the acknowledged thinkers in the Philippines during the Marcos regime, whose skills in politics, especially pertaining to his understanding of the Constitution is undisputed. Siya ang naging sandigan ng administrasyon sa mga legal and constitutional issues. Ipinakita niya ang kanyang galing at husay sa pag pagpapaliwanag ng bawat kataga ng ating saligang batas. He served the public for 47 years as a writer, a congressman, a diplomat, Senate President, ambassador, and head of the Philippine delegation to the UN. Due to his mastery of the constitution he is called ‘The Constitutionalist.’

“The Living Legend” Robert Jaworski Sino ang hindi nakakakilala kay Big J? Well, sa kapanahunan ng daddy ko hanggang sa panahon ko noong 1990s, from Toyota-Crispa to Barangay Ginebra, walang batang hindi sumisigaw ng “Jaworski, three points!”

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SUCCESFUL PINOY

Success Principles Some of his contributions to basketball are his record number of MVP awards and championships, gaining eight three point shots in one game; but most of all he is known for his passion for the game and his ‘never-say-die’ attitude. He has marked his name in Philippine Sports as the “Living Legend” and even his opponents, laud not only his abilities as a player and coach, but also his sincerity as a true friend.

At dahil na rin sa kanyang popularidad at kakayahang mamuno nahalal rin siya bilang Senador ng bansa.

Ikaw rin ay may pangalan. Do you know what you will be called in five to 10 years from now? Do you want to be called ‘The Philantrophist’ or ‘The Teacher?’ Ang mga kadikit ng ating pangalan ang sasalamin sa mga bagay na ating nagawa, ginagawa at gagawin. This is what will reflect our contribution to the world, to our country and to people – which could either be good or bad.

Jaime Cardinal Sin The late Archbishop Cardinal Sin played an important role in the awakening of Filipinos during the EDSA Revolution. His boldness and faith in God and in the Filipino people made history happen. Pero isipin mo na lang kung hindi niya ginampanan ng buong puso at husay ang kanyang posisyon bilang Arsobispo - mayroon tayong Cardinal na ang pangalan ay ‘kasalanan?’ Buti na lang naging ehemplo si Cardinal Sin ng kabutihan tungo sa pagbabago hindi lamang ng mga kaluluwa ng Pilipino kundi na rin ang pagbabago sa bansa.

Think this over. How do you want to be remembered?

Recognize the power in your name Ako man ay natuwa nang malaman ko ang ibig sabihin ng aking pangalan. Jeffrey means ‘God’s gift — peace.’ Even my family name comes from the Spanish term meaning ‘branches.’ Kaya pala sanga-sanga ang naibigay na blessings sa akin lalo na sa talent (yabang ba?). But it is true that I have been gifted with the talent to plant ideas, to draw, to play sports, the ‘sharpness’ to see and understand things and the skill to read and debate. Though early in my life, I didn’t know what it all meant - hindi ko alam noon kung saan gagamitin and mga biyaya na iyon.

I also looked for a pseudonym to give my name an even deeper meaning. Naisip ko kagaya kako ng kay Jose Rizal — ‘Dimasalang’ o kaya ‘Taga-ilog.’ Inisip ko ito. How about ‘Novaliches?’ O kaya ‘Taga-Talipapa.’ Yun kasi ang pangalan ng lugar namin.

But I eventually decided to coin a name that meant something to me – to honor my auntie and lolo who took care of me while I was growing up. Si Ms. Remedios Ramos ang auntie ko na nagpalaki sa aming magkakapatid. She was the one who helped and ensured that the family was united while my parents worked abroad. Ang Lolo Imo (Maximo) ko naman ang nag-spoil sa akin sa pagmamahal at nagpakita sa kahalagahan ng ‘kalayaan.’

So, put their two names together - Remedios Maximos. That’s my pseudonym. I didn’t realize the importance until my mom told me the Spanish equivalent. Ang ibig sabihin pala ng Remedios ay ‘remedy’ at Maximos ay ‘maximum.’ Kaya nung aking pag-isipan,

tunay ngang naging maganda ang resulta: Jeffrey is Remedios Maximus – God’s gift as a Maximum Remedy Now I realized what my name is for. Gusto kong ituloy ang meaning nang nabuo kong pangalan. Ngayon, I know what to do!

Gusto kong maging halimbawa ang buhay ko at maipamahagi ang mensahe na kahit sinong tao lalo na ang Pinoy ay may pag asang maging matagumpay. Maging isang Successful Pinoy!

I always pray that I am able to make a difference in this world and what a wonderful answer He gave me. Kaya sis and bro, ang pangalan mo ay alagaan mo. Wake up the WINOY (Winner Pinoy) in you and face life and success that is true. Maligayang Pasko at Matagumpay na bagong taon!

32 FASHION

Gloria Gloria

… and heaven came to bestow a divine kiss on the parched earth – bringing light, translucence and sheer whispers of hope. Summoning the celestial forces on high; exalting immortal love and joy in the realms of glory.

Photography : Dr. Marlon Pecjo and Roy Macam Model : Charo Ronquillo and Marianna Isabella Styling :Rey Santos Make-up: Diane de Castro Hair: Ali Benson

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Couture by: Ramon Esteban

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Couture by: Shanon Pamaong

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Couture by: Jerome Ang

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Couture by: Frederick Peralta

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Couture by: Jontie Martinez

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Couture by: Shanon Pamaong, accessories from CRU Accessories

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Couture by: Jontie Martinez

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Couture by: Shanon Pamaong

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Couture by: Ramon Esteban

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Couture by: Frederick Peralta

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Couture by: Frederick Peralta

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Couture by: Ramon Esteban

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Couture by: Frederick Peralta

46 FEATURE

Recession-Proof Gifts Ideas

By Mikkel Bolante

With the global financial crisis affecting everyone – regardless of the size of one’s Wallet - We’re all pressed to either penny-pinch or, at the very least, make sure that We make smart choices in spending. this christmas holidays are no exception. instead of splurging on lavish, expensive, but superficial presents — maybe it’s about time We start looking at gift alternatives that are not only unique and meaningful but also give us more value than the money spent. interested? here are some timely suggestions: Handmade Gifts It’s the thought that counts, they always say. But we don’t always heed this simple piece of advice. Too often we give ‘generic’ gifts like branded clothes or perfume — things that could just as easily have been given to any other recipient. Something handmade and personalized, though, can be even more special without having to be expensive. A scrapbook of memories, for example, would have you and your receiver reminiscing over the good times you’ve had together — definitely worth more than just another pack or soaps or perfumed candle.

timeless value jewellery from liali

Shopping Vouchers

Depreciation-safe Items

If you’re looking for value for your money, then definitely gift cheques are a ‘can’t-go-wrong’ gift. Worried about buying a gift that ends up wasted — buried in the back of a closet somewhere (think of all those dollars/ dirhams/pesos down the drain)?

Vouchers will keep you within your set budget so overspending is not an issue. Plus whoever gets the gift is 100% sure to like what they got - it gives them an excuse to go and pick something in the mall with your compliments. Be prepared to hear: “it’s exactly what I wanted this year.” Hey, they picked it out themselves, didn’t they? It’s a safe choice that gets you your money’s worth.

Charity Pledge

Some gifts are valuable one year but worth very little the next. Yep, the latest gadget is only as good until the next version or season comes along. If you want to maintain the value of your gifts, then it’s worth investing in items like jewelry that will surely keep its value long after the year you gave it as a gift. Talk about a long-term investment. Your present will surely be one that they’d appreciate for years to come. It will be a little pricey, but no doubt, a great pick for a gift that lasts.

Investments In the midst of a financial crisis, who couldn’t use a gift that earns us more money? If you‘re one of those people for whom money is not an object but are conscious that you spend wisely, why not get a savings plan or small business you can give to your loved ones?

Whether it’s a vehicle for kabuhayan, a small but sound franchise, or start-up capital for a smart venture – it’s one gift that gives you a clear benefit every single day, and not just during the holidays.

It might not be flashy or emotional, but it’s an incredibly practical and timely present that anyone can appreciate during hard times.

It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

Instead of thinking what else to get a person who seemingly has everything, how about giving the gift to someone who really needs it? Place a charity pledge under your gift recipient’s name - it’s a guaranteed feel-good present. Both of you will feel warm inside in knowing you were able to help some less fortunate people out, and without having to deal with the awkwardness of getting something the other person won’t like. Definitely a good and noble way to spend your money — everybody wins!

There’s no reason why the recession should spoil the holidays.

There are plenty of things out there that your loved ones would surely appreciate — without having today’s nasty recession getting in the way.

48 FEATURE

Pinoy Stocking Stuffers Who says that imported candy canes, chocolates, toys made in china and expensive gadgets are the only good stuff to put in your christmas stockings? this christmas, Whether you’re preparing small gifts for kids or for adults Who act like kids, be creative for a change. take yourself back to simpler times When you didn’t need expensive things to make you happy. dig into your memories, your pinoy funny bone and think fun, childish fun.

Polvoron The milk-based treat is a snack that everyone loves. Its powdery base makes it hard to swallow, but the sweet taste more than makes up for any difficulty encountered. It’s also tough to talk with it in the mouth and more difficult still to whistle — a common game played by funloving folk. It’s a simple little food item that produces fun in more ways than one. Go on, try to whistle!

Sundot Kulangot It might not be the most appealing-sounding of names — but this Baguio delicacy definitely does not taste like its literal namesake. The sticky treat may remind you of something that isn’t quite as delicious but you’ll be forgetting any negative connotation once you taste the rice-based Pinoy treat — a perfect fit in your stocking. Good for eating, good for laughs.

Trumpo and Jack Stones The ‘trumpo’ or wooden top is a favorite among Filipino boys - the wood used in its crafting gives the toy a native Pinoy look. On the other hand, many Filipina girls grew up playing jack stones – a game of speed and dexterity. Both the trumpo and jack stones are enjoyable when played alone or in a group - providing long hours of fun and their size is ideal for the traditional Christmas stocking. Make a kid happy, or make an adult feel like a kid again.

Replica Jeepney or Tricycle Show your appreciation for the Pinoy by giving the usual toy car a local twist by picking one up in the image of our favorite Filipino means of transportation. The unique flavor that the jeepney and tricycle bring makes these items stand out — especially the wild colors that grace the one-of-a-kind design of the Pinoy ingenuity-bred vehicles.

Bag of Jolens Pinoy children love marbles. Bound only by the creativity of the ones playing with these remarkably simple toys, marbles are a great gift item that are both aesthetically beautiful — with the different colors inside the little spheres — and remarkably practical, what with the variety of games that you can play with them.

Pastillas de Leche Nobody can resist the distinct creamy taste of pastillas de leche which come in sugar-coated forms or in the chewy version with a variety of mouth-watering flavors like ube, langka, pandan and carrot.

Whether it’s the traditional ones made from carabao’s milk or the more commercially made variety, without a doubt, each pastillas leaves a smile on the lips and the heart warming taste of home. Kiss your calorie-counting goodbye.

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50 ARTS & DESIGN

The Olazo father and son

THE OLAZOS

Romulo Olazo and son Jonathan make their mark on the art scene

By Karen Galarpe

The elder Olazo, now 74, didn’t start out anything like this. Back in his hometown in Balayan, Batangas in grade school, he would draw Christmas scenes on the classroom blackboard, and they were neither abstract nor blue-themed. They were figurative nativity scenes. “Kilalang kilala ako pag Christmas eh. Daming nag-iimbita sa akin, nagpapa-drawing sa blackboard sa iba ibang klase,” he says.

His father passed away when he was about 13, so his mother was the only parent around when he started taking a real interest in art. He studied Fine Arts at the University of Santo Tomas and had the great masters Diosdado Lorenzo and Victorio Edades,

You’d think it’s all about the blues. in Romulo olazo’s Recent exhibit at the aYala museum entitled azool, canvas upon canvas of tRanspaRent-like abstRact foRms in shades of blue (with some Reds, Yellows and gReens) gReet the vieweR. it’s anotheR take on olazo’s diaphanous theme. but Romulo’s son Jonathan, also an aRtist, is quick to point out that azool is Just an anagRam of olazo. peRsonallY, though, i think theY also Just like the coloR blue.

among others for his teachers. “Ay magaling siya, si Lorenzo,” Romulo, or ‘Ola’ as he is known to friends, says. When asked about the secret to a good drawing that he learned from his teachers, he replies, “Kailangan mag-drawing ka nang mag-drawing.

Yun ang secret doon. The only thing you have to do kung gusto mong matutong mag-drawing, eh mag-drawing ka.”

And so Ola drew and drew, from landscapes to nudes. He looks up to Fernando Zobel, Arturo Luz, and Picasso as the artists who influenced his art. Asked what he likes about abstract art, he says, “Hindi ko alam eh.

Basta ‘yun yung gusto ko.” Then on further thought, he says it might be because

there were too many artists already doing figurative art that he wanted to be different.

“Sa abstract kasi sa Pilipinas, kokonti pa.”

Ola started out as a printmaker but became better known in the art world for his Diaphanous series — paintings of abstract forms that seem to float and look transparent and gauze-like. He says he did a print back in the 70s. Then, the effect came out like silkscreened transparent objects. So he did a painting and made it big. Since then, he has done a lot of paintings on this theme, and sold his work in the Philippines and in other countries.

ART & DESIGN 51

Romulo Olazo, Dhiaphanous 593

Romulo Olazo, Dhiaphanous 601

physical because they are large works. They are all hand painted sans brush — contrary to belief that they are silkscreen works.

Although Jonathan says he won’t reveal how his dad does it, he agrees that that is his dad’s contribution to the arts — a modernist method of painting. And the wealth of forms his dad comes up with in the series puzzles him. Jonathan says, “Parang may invisible world si dad. When he’s there, he sees different forms. It’s natural for him to do forms. I tried that too. I can make forms, but not in the same manner and delivery.

He’s like a shaman, an ‘espiritista.’ But practically, that’s how his psyche is.”

Romulo Olazo

Permutation is another painting series he is famous for. It is similar to Diaphanous in that objects overlap but they are more linear and are in black and white. “Permutation is very linear, a true test as draftsman,” says Jonathan.

Jonathan says the process of doing the Diaphanous series is very rigorous and

his parents right in their home. Artists like Chabet, Illeana Lee, Fernando Modesto, and theater director Nonon Padilla would be there making prints, and he would, too, as a young boy. Jonathan would also tag along with his dad at art exhibit openings and outings of the Saturday Group, to which his dad belonged with fellow artists Malang and Cesar Legaspi. There was always some sort of pressure, he says, as fellow artists would ask Ola if Jonathan will also be an artist like him.

The younger but deeper Olazo

At first he didn’t want to be in the visual arts.

He preferred the music of Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran — this was back in the 80s — and studied bass guitar. His dad reveals that Jonathan also preferred to attend carpentry classes more than printmaking classes, which Ola taught at Jose Abad Santos Memorial School (JASMS). But later on, Jonathan did attend, and participated in his class’s exhibit at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). A curator, Judy Sibayan, saw his work, and asked him to do a solo exhibit the following year, his senior year in high school.

Jonathan grew up in an art-filled home and remembers being the salingpusa at 101 Workshop, a printmaking studio run by

The path became clear, and Jonathan decided to pursue art. He studied Fine Arts and majored in painting at the University of

Ola says although he started the series around 30 years ago, he has not tired of it yet. It’s still fresh and new to him. “Parang di pa tapos eh,” he reveals. Aside from exploring the theme more, he also wants to venture into sculpture. It’s possible that we might see some of that in his retrospective exhibit next year — one that will celebrate his 40 years in the arts scene.

52 ART & DESIGN

Jonathan Olazo, St. Long Wait, oil on canvas, 6x 4 ft

Jonathan Olazo, The Comaback King Don Juan, oil on canvas, 6x 4 ft

Unlike his dad, who preferred clean stark forms, Jonathan gives full rein to his emotions when doing his art. “In my prints, my dad saw that my works were very intuitive as compared to his which are very analytical and focused on form. My works seem to have no form; they seem very graphic and gestural. He encouraged that, to pursue something different from what he’s doing,” says Jonathan. “Even in color, we have different preferences. Dad’s colors are very elegant. Mine, most of the time, seem dirty.”

Jonathan Olazo, with his dad Romulo Olazo

the Philippines (UP). Even as a student, he was prolific, and would take part in group shows and mount solo exhibits. In 1994, he won the Thirteen Artists Award from the CCP, the same award his dad won in 1972.

Both father and son have reaped numerous other art awards.

Well, not really. He does works in pastel colors too. Jonathan adds, “Sometimes I am very sentimental. My dad is very objective in his works. In my work sometimes, it seems that I follow a narrative.” The underlying theme in his work is the relationship between man and his Creator, he says, the lack of or longing for it.

On the topic of his son, Jonathan — who is now an instructor at UP at age 38 — Ola says “tingin ko mas magaling sa akin. Masipag, buti na lang, kung di, papaluin ko siya.” He laughs. “Mas magaling yun eh, sa akin. Mas malalim

mag-isip. Marunong. Malayo ang mararating niya.”

And that says a lot, considering how far the elder Olazo has come. He adds about his son: “Mabait na bata yan. He’s a very good boy. Masunurin. At tsaka magaling na artist.” It looks like despite the fact that both Olazo and Olazo are very accomplished artists, the two will always be father and son.

Father and son talk Romulo Olazo: Si Jonathan, progressive ang kanyang gawa. Parang mas advanced sa gawa ko eh dahil marunong siya eh, magaling siya. Mas alam niya yung mga what’s going on.

Jonathan Olazo: My dad’s influence on me is more on the attitude, the sense of responsibility as an artist. We’d usually have these man-to-man talks at breakfast time before I would go to school. That was our bonding time. I was in high school then.

DESIGN 53

A Design Oasis called the Philippines

Philippine companies step into the Middle East design market THE BURGEONING MIDDLE EAST INTERIORS AND CONSTRUCTION SECTOR PRESENTS TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITIES TO PHILIPPINE FURNITURE EXPORTERS, ACCORDING TO THE CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE EXPOSITIONS AND MISSIONS (CITEM), AN EXPORT PROMOTION AGENCY OF THE PHILIPPINE DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY.

The burgeoning Middle East interiors and construction sector presents tremendous opportunities to Philippine furniture exporters, according to the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), an export promotion agency of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry.

East, there will be two platforms of participation from the Philippines in INDEX 2008. One is led by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), an attached agency of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry and the other is led by European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP).

To capitalize on this fast growing market, the Philippines, home to remarkable design pieces highly appealing to boutiques and specialty stores worldwide like Armani, Pottery Barn, Ralph Lauren, Harrods, and Jonathan Adler to name a few, is once again marking their foray into the Middle East market through the Philippine participation in Index 2008. INDEX, a large industry event in the Middle East for furniture, home accessories, textile, and interior design services, opens up a wellspring of opportunities for Philippine manufacturers whose good design trademark continues to define them from the rest. The INDEX show visitors will be treated to a showcase of exceptional designs that bring distinctiveness in Philippine-made products

The Philippine participation is composed of Bon Ace Fashion Tools, Design Menu/Imaginative Designs, Inc. (furniture, home décor); Cebu Intertrade Export (houseware, home decor); Stoneworld Impex (furniture, house ware); Venus Crafts (furniture, home furnishings); SKM Art Corporation (house ware, home décor); Asia Embroidery, Inc. (arts, crafts); Craft Mill (home furnishings, gifts, holiday décor); and Designer’s Décor (home furnishings).

Seventeen Philippine furniture companies will be in the United Arab Emirates to participate in the INDEX 2008 to be held this December 3 - 7, 2008 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Dubai.

According to Commercial Attache Paisal Abdullah, Philippine Trade Representative for the Middle

Under the ECCP, the Philippine exhibitors are TDE Classic Ensembles, Finali Furniture and Home Accessories, Lawrence Furniture, Cielito Mfg. Co., Not Too Shabby, Pacific Traders MFg. Corp. and Aerostone/AHI Roofing.

With its rich seascapes and diverse natural wonders combined with the country’s colorful colonial history, it is easy to see why Filipinos are artisans by nature, handcrafting unique furniture and home accessories for the world market.

This creative sensibility continues to inspire local manufacturers to come up with cutting-edge

design ideas using the country’s own vast natural resources and indigenous materials.

One Filipino company that reflects the Filipino flair for good design is Bon-Ace Fashion Tools, a manufacturer of planters, vases, mirrors, home décor pieces and fashion complements made of iridescent shell pieces in colorful designs.

“In our line of business, designing and creativity is very evident. Our company finds joy in developing never-before-seen products with definite function.

We love to create daring pieces in line with current trends and lifestyles,” said Engineer Ramir Bonghanoy, President and General Manager of Bon-Ace. “Our raw materials are sourced locally thus minimizing our actual costs in producing beautiful pieces and also making us more competitive in the global market.” Founded in 1983 and initially a manufacturer and exporter of buttons, Bon-Ace has evolved into a major player in the production of sophisticated, high-end home décor and furniture. His company’s trade secrets continue to differentiate Bon-Ace from the rest, citing the way they put premium on ‘quality, ontime delivery, design, and price.’

In 2006, Philippine furniture and furnishing exports to the UAE amounted to USD2.62 million. This increased to USD3.84 million in 2007. During the first six months of 2008, Philippine furniture exports to the UAE have already reached USD4.07 million.

54 COMMUNITY

FGS

Annual Christmas Tournament The Filipino Golf Society (FGS) will be holding their Annual Christmas Tournament on the 12th December at the Tower Links Golf Club, in Ras Al Khaimah. The event will accommodate both members and non members of the group, and is open to all nationalities. The competition format will be - 18 holes Stableford with full handicap with different divisions Class A (handicap 0 -18), Class B (handicap 19 -28) and the Ladies and Guest division. Awards will also be handed out on special prizes such as – the nearest the pin, the longest drive, best dress and hole in one.

The event will be graced by His Excellency Libran Cabactulan, Phillippine Ambassador to the U.A.E. and Consul Butch Bandillo of Dubai. The FGS event is sponsored by Salt and Pepper restaurant.

NAMA-UAE

Bowling Tournament The National Association of Mapua Alumni (NAMA-UAE) recently held a Mini Bowling Tournament at the Dubai Bowling Center in Al Quoz. The event organized by ad hoc officers - Juanito Tupas (President), Gary Louie de Leon (1st Vice Pres.), Ruel Batillo (2nd Vice Pres.), Joyce Ann Uy (Secretary), Charisse Gem Ortiz (Asst. Sec.), Albert Quesada (Treasurer) and Steve Evangelista (Auditor) – was held to foster camaraderie among the members of the group.

NAMA-UAE strives to provide a social platform for linking Mapuans working in the UAE, while assisting members in their professional upliftment and providing ready resource for assistance in times of need. Apart from organizing social functions and get-togethers, the group also aims to serve as a center for scientific, technological and economic research and investigation and to publish technical publications and books. Ultimately, the group’s goal is to promote the welfare and interest of its members and foster love of country and their Alma Mater.

FIGME

Chairman’s Cup Ramon Navea, FIGME chairman thanked all the participants for attending the event and for supporting the cause. He remarked, “This tournament is not meant only to be attended by Filipino Golfers, it is also open to all nationalities who love the game and supports the objective of FIGME. This is evident with the participation of our golfer friends from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Germany & U.K.” Winners for each division are as follows: Platinum Oliver Set (36), Randy Lanza (36), Romeo Panopio (34); Gold – Eric Matabang (36), Chito Albay (36), Ramon Navea (32); Silver – Rogel Rabino (30) Ray Tabi (28), Ali Aspar (27), Nils Rothbarth (26), Bronze – Liezl parry (33), Linden Williamson (26), Josie Tracey (24); Special Prizes – Nearest Pin – Josie Tracey and Oliver Set, Most Accurate Drive – Marlyn Radford and Jack Angeles, Longest Drive – Liezl Parry; Longest Drive and Overall Champion – Richard Mylrea.

Filipino Golfers in the Middle East (FIGME) kicked off their season opener with the Chairman’s Cup on 24th Oct. 2008 at the Tower Links Golf Club, Ras Al Khaimah. Forty three golfers battled out and enjoyed the game whilst keeping in mind support to the medical charity mission of Bantay Bata Philippines. The event, graced by Hon. Consul Adelio Cruz, also featured a fund raising drive where players donated AED5 per hole for every gross par or better achieved by each golfer. The concept was well received and proved successful in raising money for the beneficiary.

United Arab Emirates Please call us on mob: 050 640 6715, 050 482 4122 or email: fgs.uae2006@gmail.com

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56 COCONUTER Virtual nomad David Poarch journeys through life from the Philippines and back to the US

Thanksgiving

By David Poarch

WITH THE GLOOMY SKY, THE TREES BARE OF LEAVES, AND MY BREATH CONDENSING IN THE CHILLY AIR, IT WAS CLEAR THAT THE FALL SEASON WAS COMING TO AN END AND WINTER WAS BEGINNING TO MAKE ITS PRESENCE FELT. SKIN DRY AND A PASTY COLOR WITH LIPS CRACKING AND LETHARGIC, MELANCHOLY FEELINGS SETTING IN, MY APPEARANCE AND MOOD WERE BLENDING RIGHT IN WITH THE HARSH AND DREARY LANDSCAPE. ‘drunkenness.’ My more mature palate influenced me to get a little taste of everything: soft homebaked biscuits with tangy cranberry sauce, succulent turkey with slightly crunchy browned skin, moist green bean casserole sprinkled with sea salt, whipped mashed potatoes blanketed with gravy, and rich pumpkin pie garnished with pecans. Taking my time, I savored and actually chewed every morsel. Instead of stuffing my mouth like there’s no tomorrow, I relaxed and paused from time to time, joining in on the family conversations — both the Tagalog and English one.

These winter doldrums had me wishing that I could hibernate with the bears and dream of tropical Philippine beaches until the heat returns in the spring - but I was instead sitting on my aching behind in a cramped car on a six hour drive to the Smoky Mountains — this year’s family vacation spot. It was Thanksgiving, after all.

Our arrival to the Smokies was literally a dark one.

Although only five o’clock, night had already set in due to the shorter winter days. But at least we were greeted with a feast typical of American-style Thanksgivings, which our relatives kindly prepared.

Following a sluggish unloading of baggage, we dragged our tired bodies to the dinner table in hopes of piquing not only our appetites but also our spirits.

Growing up, the meal was always the highlight of the holiday. I took immense pleasure in gobbling up a piled plate of whatever was on the table — turkey and everything else. Usually, I bit off more than I could chew, resulting in an instant energy ‘high’ and quickly followed by a sudden drop that knocked this takaw mata into an immediate slumber. Since those days, however, experience has taught me to avoid the bloated feeling and insulin fluctuations characteristic of holiday food

The next day, the family and I spent mostly roaming the area and visiting tourist sites, culminating with an early evening shindig concert. Despite being half American, my physical features and embedded ugali causes me to better associate with Filipinos rather than Caucasians or other Americanized ethnicities for that matter, and so I was not expecting a very interesting, much less enjoyable, experience in watching a band of rednecks singing with a slang Southern accent and dancing hillbilly-style. But when a group of young women took the stage, I was blown away, to say the least. Dressed in glittery and sexy yet classy gowns, their golden blonde hair in perfect duet with their milky-white complexion, and with voices as clear and mesmerizing as their aura, I immediately retracted my stereotypical prejudgment. That evening, they not only sang songs of vocal quality that would have impressed even the singing aficionados and divas of Filipino showbiz, but they also incorporated stories of American culture, one of which was quite befitting — Thanksgiving.

Perhaps, force-fed to me several years ago in grade school, I relearned that the holiday was traditionally a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general, borne from the communal relationship between Pilgrims and Native American Indians.

The next morning, I was able to get a better glimpse of the Great Smoky Mountains, despite the distinctive fog that shrouds parts of their grandeur.

Driving home along their steep cliffs, where the powdering of snow, the patches of hanging icicle spikes, and the heavenly creeks were only second to the breathtaking mountain views that made up the bigger picture, I was able to think more about what Thanksgiving really means. I realized that neither was it a festival of fall colors, a beginning for winter depression, a dinner to stuff our bellies with turkey, a meaningless day meant to boost consumer spending, nor just another day off from work. These only describe the time but fail to describe the holiday’s essence, which may be best summed up in its name — Thanksgiving.

The message it attempts to convey is often overlooked by Americans, often pondered about by foreigners, and is often neglected by Filipinos.

Thanksgiving is an occasion for appreciating what you have and showing your thanks by sharing your blessings and giving unto others.

58 FEATURE

Philippines dominates list of

7 new wonders of nature 1st spot

By Joel Adriano • Photography by: George Tapan, courtesy of D.O.T.

After incredible support these pAst months, the philippines now hAs A leAding four nominees in the top 10, three of thAt in the top five, in the globAl seArch for the new seven wonders of nAture.

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park at 1st spot

stalagmites and several large chambers before flowing directly into the South China Sea. The Tubbataha Reefs in Palawan is one of the most biologically diverse coral reef systems in the world. It is already included in UNESCOs World Heritage Site, the only purely marine heritage site in Southeast Asia. Its amazing groupings of fish and corals are the main attraction for divers around the world and are considered as among the top 10 dive sites worldwide.

Voting is until December 31, 2008 afterwards only one nominee per country will be eligible to proceed to 2009. The process will continue through July where a panel of experts will review the results and choose 21 finalists that will go forward to the next stage of voting that would last for another year. Sometime midyear of 2010, the New 7 Wonders of Nature will be officially declared.

As of November 30, four Philippine sites are in strong contention, namely, the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park at 1st, the Tubbataha Reefs National Marine Park at 4rd spot, Chocolate Hills at 5th, and Mt. Mayon at 10th place. Only the top 21 will be eligible for the voting for the final 7 winners.

Bohol’s Chocolate Hills has long been a favorite among foreign and local tourists for its 1,268 perfectly cone-shaped hills nearly of the same sizes. The hills are covered in green grass that turns brown during the summer hence the name. It is also home to the endemic Tarsier, an odd-looking creature and one of the smallest primates in the world.

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park also in Palawan used to rank outside the top 200 at the start of the year. But votes surged over the last two months when the campaign got tremendous media mileage.

The 8.2-kilometer navigable underground river is reputed to be the world’s longest. It includes major formations of stalactites and

Mt. Mayon in Albay province is the country’s most active volcano. It is famous for its near perfect cone shape.

Asian landmarks are dominating the global campaign for the new seven wonders of nature. All top seven nominees are from Asia. At second place is Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay which is also a world heritage site. At one point nominees from Vietnam held the top three spots. Current third placer is Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, which has one of the world’s longest natural sandy beaches. It held the top spot in January but dropped to as low as fourth last May. At seventh place is the sacred Ganges River, which flows through the plains of India into Bangladesh. The world’s tallest mountain, Mt. Everest in Nepal, comes in at 11th place.

Selections for the seven wonders of nature are based on SMS, online and phone voting. Votes can be cast by going to the new7wonders. com website and choosing the top seven sites.

Among the highest non-Asian candidates are the Red Sea Reef in Africa at 13th, representing eight different countries like Sudan, Egypt, Israel and even Asian countries

FEATURE 59

4th spot

Top: Tubbataha Reefs National Marine Park at 4rd spot, Right: Chocolate Hills at 5th and Mt. Mayon at 10th place.

like Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The largest river in the world by volume, the Amazon River in South America is at 16th spot.

5th spot

Currently there are 37 landmarks from Asia that made it to the shortlist of 77 candidates.

Indonesia, which has the largest population among Asean countries, also saw all its entries surging. Komodo National Park went as high as 12th place from 35th but has settled at 23rd while Lake Toba, the largest volcanic lake in the world, climbed more than 20 places and is currently at 25th. Another entry from Indonesia, the volcanic island of Krakatau, is at 28th spot.

Incredibly, Africa, which is known for some of the most stunning natural wonders, have no entry in the top 10. In fact, the Philippines has as much entries in the top 10 than the entire African continent in the top 77. There also seems to be very little interest in Europe.

Of course, many attractions will get a better chance once the nominees are cut down to one per country. The current top 10 consists only of three countries — the Philippines, Vietnam and Bangladesh.

The New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign is being organized by the non-profit New7Wonders Foundation which is based in Switzerland. The Foundation was established in 2001 by Swiss-born Canadian filmmaker and author Bernard Weber. The Foundation is the same organization which came up with the campaign for the new list of 7 Wonders of the World which had its grand ceremony in Portugal on the very historic date 07-0707 (July 7, 2007). More than 100 million votes were tallied for the first campaign. The ceremony announcing the winners was a star studded event as it was hosted by actress

10th spot Hillary Swank and actor Ben Kingsley, with performances from Jennifer Lopez. The seven finalists include some of the world’s most famous landmark including the Great Wall of China, the Statue of Christ the Redeemer, Taj Mahal and the Colosseum which represented the Roman civilization. The Pyramids of Giza was also honored during the event as the only remaining of the Ancient Wonders of the World.

Angelique Songco, park manager at the Tubbataha Management Office said Rodel Bulan, an instructor of Informatics Philippines at Bicutan nominated 10 sites from the Philippines but only the four made it to the 77 shortlists.

The campaign is being supported by many governments and non-government organizations. Songco emphasized that Filipinos should wholeheartedly support the campaign because of the prestige that comes with it, the tremendous potential promotion for tourism and the educational value, an appreciation for the beauty of nature and the understanding of the diversity of life especially since majority of voters are children and young people.

Even President Gloria Arroyo made an appeal last April for Filipinos to vote for the sites.

“We really need all the Filipinos who are working here and abroad to vote for them.”

60 BAKASYON GRANDE

Swept Away: A Surigao Adventure Text and Photographs by Vic Albornoz Lactaoen

I needed to cleanse myself of metro manIla and all the sordId thIngs It hosts — the ceaseless yakkIty-yak of polItIcs, the corruptIon and the daIly bombardment of Images on televIsIon of stern-lookIng bespectacled mIlItary–lIke crooks masqueradIng as publIc servants, among other weIrd offerIngs on broadcast medIa.

Friends have long told me of this paradiselike group of islands in the northeastern tip of Mindanao called Surigao. And in my previous visits, I’ve never tired of coming back to Surigao — since I get the feeling that there’s always something new to look forward to. After tossing some t-shirts and shorts into my travel bag, I took off for the wild blue yonder.

Taking advantage of a long weekend, I boarded my morning flight to Surigao City.

The flight from Manila to Surigao on board a nifty-looking PAL 80-seater aircraft was fast and smooth. We landed in Surigao City with the sun shining even brighter than it did in Manila.

When the creator made the world, he must have had visions of how he wanted it to be — and it probably looked a lot like Surigao. It’s a place of untouched natural splendor. From its pristine white sandy beaches to its lush tropical forests, from its hilly enclaves and lagoons with warm and shallow surroundings to its coral reefs and lakes; Surigao is truly an island paradise and perhaps the most beautiful in the Caraga administrative region.

The unspoiled teardrop shaped island is the Shangri-La of adventure and nature lovers.

Located 800 kilometers southeast of Manila, the province is also the surfing capital of the Philippines.

Surigao City is the capital of the province of Surigao del Norte, the entry point to northern Mindanao. It is a crowded, busy and developing city, with nearby beaches on the ‘island baranggays’ well-worth a beach enthusiast’s visit — at least a couple of days to experience Surigaonon hospitality at its finest.

There is a group of islands one easy daytour away from Surigao City. One can start off at Basul Island close to the Maharlika National Road, merely a brief boat ride from the Maharlika Pier. Or you can go to Hikdop Island, 45 minutes away by a public pumpboat that leaves every morning. The island has good beaches and from here one can connect to Nonoc Island and start on a trek on the longest wooden bridge in the Philippines. This extraordinary 391 meter footbridge called the Cantiasay-San Pedro Footbridge, connects with Sibale Island. Conceived to ease movements and communications between two barangays, the bridge has transformed itself into a resting and promenade area, giving one the exhilarating experience and thrill of crossing two islands on foot.

But what made our visit to this island province a memorable one was our trip to nearby Zaragoza and the distant Pansukian Island. This is perhaps one of the few

remaining destinations in the country where hospitality is unquestionably at its prime.

Homestays are the penultimate mode of accommodations with Bahay Turista or Tourist Home. Where else can you find complimentary natural drinks of fresh coconut juice served in its natural shell upon arrival? Sometimes, if the locals are having fun, they have ‘drink all you can’ coconut — compliments, of course, of the islanders.

I had heard of both Siargao and Pansukian several years ago, though the way it was described then didn’t sound all that appealing to me. I was made to understand that the place was haven for surfers — but I don’t exactly fall under that category. I was pleased to find out, however, that though the international surfing community discovered world-class surfing in Siargao, there’s so much more to this island than just surfing.

The island’s proximity to the Philippine Deep — coupled with the huge swells of the Pacific — is what gives Siargao its world class waves, attracting surfers from all over the world. In fact, one enamored surfer from Australia has begun building a resort in one popular surf spot called Cloud 9 in General Luna, not far from Pansukian. But as I’ve found out through the years, a visit to Siargao at nearly any time yields the same kind of exhalation.

BAKASYON GRANDE 61

Tourism has seeped its way into the area, thanks mostly to surfing (or no thanks — depending on your perspective) but from the looks of it, modish restaurants, and spas are still a long way coming. The developments on the island have mostly been of the small-town variety and have not made a dent on Siargao’s homey charm.

While making a name through surfing, it offers so much more, like charming islets, mangrove swamps, caves and some of the country’s best white sand beaches. What is truly wondrous about this place, as I always enjoy discovering, is that it has some of the very best of God’s gifts to nature: coral reefs, powdery white sand beaches, lagoons with water colored an aquamarine hue so striking it seems to jump at your face, mangrove rivers, rice fields, rainforests, abundant marine resources, exotic flora and fauna.

My stay at Travelers’ Beach Resort at Tacbu, General Luna impressed me with the resort’s clean bed sheets and pillows comfortable enough to hug and sleep on. There are some spartan amenities that accompany your single-size homemade wooden furniture bed.

With all-natural interior materials like nipa, sawali and coco lumber as the base, there’s no doubt that this is truly an environmentalfriendly place.

64 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.

Pinoy Gift-Giving

By Aby Yap

GIFTS! JUST THE MERE MENTION OF IT COULD TURN A MONSTER CHILD INTO A SWEET PUPPY, OR TRANSFORM THE SCROOGE IN US INTO SANTA CLAUS. BECAUSE IT’S CHRISTMAS, THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY, GRABBING AND GIVING GIFTS FOR EVERYONE, DESPITE SWOLLEN FEET, THROBBING HEADACHES (OUCH!) AND EMPTY POCKETS OR MAXED-OUT CREDIT CARDS (DOUBLE OUCH!). BUT IF YOU’RE A PINOY CAUGHT IN THIS CRAZY DECEMBER FRENZY, YOU MUST BE TAKING IT ALL IN STRIDE — THAT AWWW-SO-ADORABLE “COOL LANG” ATTITUDE. AFTER ALL, YOU’VE GOT A MASTERS, IF NOT A DOCTORATE, IN THE MYSTICAL ARTS OF GIFTSHOPPING AND GIFT-GIVING. AND NO, PROMIL HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. IT’S JUST THAT WE FILIPINOS HAVE BEEN SO BLESSED TO BE BORN WITH IT. trail everywhere you go — from super malls and exclusive bazaars to tiangges and ukay-ukays — as early as September.

Shop for Joy Gary V. sings about it. Nike says, “Just do it.” It isn’t really about shopping for a girlfriend named Joy or buying Joy tissue, but it’s all about shopping for the mere experience of personally getting the perfect presents for your loved ones. That includes painstakingly drawing a list of lucky gift recipients either on MS Excel or used tissue paper. And braving the sweat-drenched, fishy-smelling maddening multitudes of gift-hunters that seem to follow your traffic-laden

Okay, you’ve just made the rounds in all the bazaars across town, but your list seems to be getting longer. So you set off for SM, holding on to the promise that they’ve got it all for you. You might get lost in the giant store that’s MOA, or lose your shopping companions in the jam-packed Megamall. But still, you continue searching for the most affordable, cutest shirt available in ten different colors for your ten closest colleagues.

Never mind if they’d look as if they’re starting the war of the clones in the office. Then you proceed to Robinsons Galleria, Rustan’s, or Trinoma for unique but pricey items that you could give to the big bosses because you’re such a saccharine soul (a.k.a. sipsip!). Or you opt for Glorietta and Greenbelt instead, to feast your eyes on the lights adorning the busy Ayala Avenue as you rest your aching muscles at the park after shopping. But if you’d rather marvel at the biggest Christmas tree in Pinas and still do your binge buying, then Cubao is it. Gateway, Araneta Center, and Ali Mall might just have what you’re looking for.

However, a trip to department stores for Christmas shopping is only for the ‘heavy-pocket but weak-hearted’, cry the tattered-pocket thrill-seekers — to the nods of pickpockets. If you’re in for the total gift-hunting escapade, tales of which would echo beyond your grave, trek to the tiangges. For the best deals on orig branded clothing

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(or its most orig-looking fake version) with that sosi atmosphere and a chance to literally rub elbows with local celebrities, you’d go gaga over Greenhills. You’d even have the chance to watch the Christmas mannequin show at the ground complex, the one you had always anticipated watching with your family at COD during the 80s (aminin!). Bad news, though, you’re still not in. Well, haven’t you heard that DV is the place to be? Even former first lady Imelda Marcos was spotted in DiVisoria (with bodyguards, of course)! So be bold and take the tiangges most travelled: DV Mall, 168, and Tutuban. Shop for your gifts the wholesale style — buying six or more pieces of the same item, e.g. watches, belts, pens for your barkadas —and save your 13th month! Just remember to put on some shabby clothes, keep your money somewhere safe (probably inside your socks or underwear), prepare for hardcore elbowing, and, most importantly, haggle with all your might.

But if you’re the archaeologist type who enjoys digging up some diamonds in the rough, (truth is, you’re really low-low-low on cashthese days), then try UK. Don’t board the plane yet — that is, if you’d manage to rob a bank. Simply go to the nearest ukay-ukay store and start rummaging through second-hand original branded items. You just might find for your sweetheart a PHP50-priced Louis Vuitton bag with a USD100 bill tucked inside, waiting to be discovered.

Gift = Love on Christmas Day With this Michael Jackson Christmas classic, you couldn’t help but feel thoughtful, maybe a little teary-eyed, whenever you hear it on the radio. You’d suddenly want to wear that stuffy red Santa outfit and give all those hungry street children and lonely abandoned elders beautifully wrapped presents. And yes, you’d take time to throw out your grumpy attitude to be kind to one and all — even if it’s only until the feast of the Three Kings.

So you’d gamely join in your officemates’ Monito-Monita or Kris Kringle, much to their surprise. Though you’d normally scoff at the weekly “something hairy/noisy/yucky/scary” assignment, and even imagine offering your baby’s whole-body shot in a photo frame as a present, it would be different this time. As the good daddy/mommy

that you’ve become, you’d settle for a shrieking stuffed gorilla, because you know your baby would find it awww-so-cute. Come Christmas party, instead of distributing fruitcakes to everyone at work (while singing “There’s a fruitcake for everybody…” to rebel against the anti-fruitcake rally), you’d give your colleagues personalized mugs. And the sh*t at Blue Magic (a non-stinky desk décor shaped like Hershey’s Kisses chocolate) that’s labelled “For the Person who has Everything,” which you deemed to be just the right gift for your boss at one point would have to be something else. Because aside from sensibility, you’d eventually figure out that Bosing could very well come up with the same thing that Blue Magic offers, even a much bigger sh*t, all by himself — so it wouldn’t be much of use. You’d hang out at Starbucks instead, asking customers if you could use their purchases to complete your stamp card for a planner that your boss might need. Who knows, he might be very pleased with it and give you an extra noche buena gift basket compliments of the company.

On Christmas Eve, you’d gather all your family members under the Christmas tree, playing Master Showman as you call out the name written on every gift. And though you’re usually The Rock the whole year through, everyone would kiss and squeeze you to death since you just fulfilled what’s on their wish list. Your friends would stop calling you names — bato, kurips, barat — once you present your kumpare with the durian-flavored lambanog he’s been craving for, and your kumare, an autographed picture of his Papa Piolo. And unlike the rest of your inaanaks’ sandosenang ninongs at ninangs who’ve gone MIA, you’d warmly receive all your godchildren in your festive home on Christmas Day. You’d feed them sweets you made yourself and hand everyone a bag of goodies with a crisp PHP100 inside, without forcing them to do a ‘talent portion.’ And for the “namamasko po” visitors, strangers who knock on your door to take a chance at sharing your Christmas spirit — there’d be no “patawad” or door slamming on their faces; only take-away food and some used but definitely usable stuff.

Although you’d call it baduy when beauty pageant contestants wish for goodwill to all mankind, you’re actually wishing you could be more to everyone you care about than the present you bought from the store — even just this Christmas.

66 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.

Photography by Mariyah Gaspacho

Pasko Paksiw Noong bata pa ako, iisa lang lagi ang wish ko tuwing Pasko: ang makatanggap ng regalo sa ilalim ng aming mumunting Krismas Tree sa mismong araw ng Pasko. At taon-taon, lagi kong hinihiling na sana ang laman ng regalong yon ay Barbie doll. Taon taon din akong nadi-disappoint……kasi tuwing bubuksan ko ang regalo ko eh yung manyikang pink (naalala nyo ba ito nuong early 80s? Yung plastic na manyika na nabibili sa palengke….na any moment ay mababasag, mayuyupi o mababalian ng braso o ulo sa sobrang kacheapan?

Hahaha!) ang natatanggap ko. Yes, for three straight years lagi akong hoping na sana ay may magregalo sa akin ng manikang imported na pwedeng suklayin ang buhok, bihisan at ayusan ng kung anu-ano….pero sorry for me – manyikang pink pa rin ang bumubulaga sa akin tuwing bubuksan ko ang regalo ko. Siguro talagang wala lang taste ang mga ninong at ninang ko or hindi umaabot ang supplies ng Mattel Corporation sa probinsya namin.

Pwede ring economic factor ang dahilan…di hamak na mas mahal ang isang imported na Barbie doll kesa sa pipitsuging manyika na naging official toy na yata ng bawat batang babae na nag-aaral sa public iskul all over the Pilipins noon.

Tagal ko din naghintay noon - nang isang Pasko ay bigla na lang ako nagulat dahil nang buksan ko ang aking regalo ay isang Hawaiian Barbie doll ang naghello sa akin! Hindi ako makapiniwala…makailang beses kong ininspeksyon ang kahon nito ay inamuy-amoy ang manika. Totoo nga!!! Matapos ang apat na taon na pagtitiis…may Barbie na ako - sa wakaaaaaasss!!!

Ngayong Pasko, muli ako na-disappoint nang matapos kong mai-plano ang mga iuuwi kong outfits sa Pilipinas ay nabalitaan kong hindi na-approve ang aking vacation leave application. Madami daw kasi kaming trabaho na dapat umabot bago mag-DSF (Dubai Shopping Festival) na gaganapin sa Enero…

Kaya wala ni isa sa amin sa office ang pinayagang magwala sa buong buwan ng Disyembre. Pasaway!!!

Sayang, pagkakataon ko pa naman iparada sa Simbang Gabi ang mga designer outfits na naharbat ko mula sa aking Paris trip. Kaya sorry na lang kayo mga taga-Bagumbayan, Orion, Bataan: hindi ninyo ma-e-experience ang aking apparition wearing Comme Des Garcons, Marc Jacobs, Nicholas Ghesquiere at Yohji Yamamoto this holiday season. O…kaya mo ba i-pronounce yung mga yun?

Kunsabagay wala rin naman akong karapatan mag-reklamo. I’ve been very blessed this year. Ni minsan ay hindi sumagi sa aking pagiisip na mararating ko ang Paris nang libre na, bonggang bongga pa! Salamat talaga sa virus na sumapi sa katawan ni Ivanka – kundi dahil sa bulutong nya ay hindi ko makikita ang Eiffel Towers. Salamat din at nakamit ko ang aking dream job ngayong taon.

Isa isa nang natutupad ang aking mga panagarap – dala na rin ng hard work, social networking at prayers ay panay ang buhos sa akin ng blessings – lalo na in times of trouble – ngayong taon na ito. Di bale nang magsakripisyo nang kaunti ngayong Pasko. Eh anu ba naman kung hindi ko makasama ang pamilya ko na miss na miss ko na – si Nanay, si Tatay, si Lola, si Ate Bibing, Ate Precy, Kuya Bitoy, Kuya Jekjek, si Arn-Arn at mga pamangkin kong sina KlengKleng, Unyor, Rodi Boy, Bononok, Marigold, Honeypie, Bokbok, Gwyneth at Baby Ghel……. oks lang yun! Kaya kong tiisin na hindi matikman ang mga luto ni lola at ni inay na arroz Valenciana, sinigang na ulo ng isda sa miso, kalderetang kambing, pininyahang manok, relyenong bangus at suman latik…hindi naman masarap yung mga yun eh. Eh ano kung may lima sana akong makaka-date na mga nakilala ko sa Facebook at Friendster? Tsaka kebs ko ba kung hindi ako makaattend ng 15th Highschool Homecoming Reunion naming… para dalawang taon lang naman naming nai-plano yun eh atsaka may magpro-proxy naman para sa akin sa award na tatanggapin ko mula sa Alumni Association naming eh. Okay lang yun. Yakang- yaka…

FILIPINISMS 67

O, baket walang pumipigil sa akin sa pagtalon sa bintana ng office nameeen???

Aaaarrrrrggggghhhhhh!!!!

Well, ganyan talaga. When God closes a door, he opens a gate. Tama ba?

Naisip ko na lang na baka may dahilan kung bakit hindi ako makakauwi ngayong Pasko sa atin. Anyway, iwas gastos na rin yun. Sa panahon ngayon mas mainam ang magtipid at mag-ipon for the reigning days. May next year naman. Pramis June pa lang magpapa-pirma na ako ng Vacation Leave ko.

Ayan, nai-save ko na sa Tasks sa Celfone ko yan.

Paguwi ko sa flat, mistulang Biyernes Santo at hindi Pasko ang nadatnan kong eksena. Malumbay ang paligid – bukas ang mga bintana kaya’t kay lamig lamig ng pakiramdam sa buong kapaligiran…..ibang klaseng Pasko ito – The Nightmare Before Christmas yata. Pagpasok ko sa kwarto, ni walang bumati sa akin… Deadma to the max ang mga flatmates ko – hindi man lang ako naramdaman. There must be something going wrong? Hmmmmm… mayamaya pa ay nagsimula nang humagulgol si Nerie, sumunod si Ruby at dali-dali naman silang sinalo ni Daisy na habang nakikiramay sa kanila ay bigla na ring napahikbi sa lungkot. Ano ito? ! Audition ng Crying Ladies?!!!

Nang malaman ko ang dahilan ng pagkalumbay nila ay bigla rin akong naemote. Nuong hapon lamang na iyon ay parehong natsugi sa trabaho sina Nerie at Ruby. Si Nerie ay nagtratrabaho sa isang Real Estate company habang si Ruby naman ay bagong empleyado lang sa isang Financial Corporation – na pawing mga naging biktima ng sikat na sikat ngayong Global Economic Crunch. Akala ko nga dati eh bagong flavor ng ice ceam yun – ayun pala isa syang crisis na nagaganap ngayon sa buong mundo. Fashionable kumbaga dahil usong-uso.

Labis akong naawa at naka-relate sa malaking dagok na tumama sa mga flatmates ko. Sina Nerie at Ruby ay parehong may mga anak, kapatid at magulang na umaasa sa kanila. Paano na sila ngayong walang hanapbuhay ang mga inaasahan nila? Paano ang kanilang pag-aaral, pagkain, pang-araw-

araw? Naku kung ako siguro ang nagkaganito eh hindi ko carry. Imagine ang laking problema ng aking pamilya kung ako ang mawawalan ng trabaho. Wala nang pang-toma si Tatay, pang mahjong si Nanay, pam-bingo si Lola at Ate Bibing, pang-tong-its nina Kuya at load na pang-text ng mga pamangkin ko…. kawawa naman sila. Kawawa naman ako. Kaya sa panahon ngayon ay dapat maging matatag tayo. Matutong magsimplify at huwag na masyadong maging choosy – tigilan ang pag-iinarte at pagmamaganda. Payo ko kina Nerie at Ruby ay humanap na muna miski pang-sideline habang nag-aapply sa nararapat nilang trabaho upang hindi mapilayan ang kanilang buhay. Tutal mahaba naman ang visa na ibinigay sa kanila ng kanilang mga ex-employer, basta ba’t magtyaga sila eh for sure may mahahanap din silang mga bagong trabaho.

Hindi mapigil sa pag-emote ang mga flatmates ko. Miski anong saya ng Christmas songs na patugtugin ko eh wala pa rin pagbabago sa mga mukha nila. Wala rin silang ganang magsikain. Aba, may balak pa yatang magpapayat para sa Pasko ang mga ito. Miski pakitaan ko ng mga pictures nina Dingdong Dantes at Sam Milby – mga crush nila – eh wala pa ring mga reaction. If only I can do something to make them happy…

Naisip ko, since masuwerte ako at hindi ako ang minalas na mapunta sa kinatatayuan nila ay dapat ako ang mismo tumulong sa kanila. Paano kung sa akin naman nagyari yon? Aaayyy..hindi ko kayang tanggapin!!! Hindi kailanman, April Bhoy. Kaya’t bilang pasasalamat ko sa aking blessings ay dapat kong ibahagi and aking swerte at tagumpay. Pang-Famas Best Actress na itu!!!!

Kaya nuong gabi ding iyon, hinayaan naming ngumalngal at may I-Cry Me A River sina Nerie at Ruby. Oo, masakit, mapait at masalimuot ang kapalarang sinapit nila kaya may karapatan silang magpaka-Zombie. Crayola ang mga lola mo habang nakatingin ng malayo sa bintana – as if naman may natatanaw silang view eh firewall lang naman ang katapat ng kwarto namin. Sige, magsi-iyak kayoooo! Ipagluksa ninyo ang inyong problema nang buong magdamaaaag…

68 FILIPINISMS

iyak paaaa!!! Pero hanggang ngayong gabi lang yan. Bukas, luluhod ang mga tala… ay, mali. Kasi naman nake-carried away na ako eh. Again, again, again… bukas, may bagong araw, bagong pag-asa. Simula bukas ay muli ninyong haharapin ang inyong kapalaran. At tanging kayo lamang ang makapagsasabi kung saan kayo mapapadpad sa kinabukasan. Bukas haharapin ninyo ang panibagong pangarap. Titigil kayo sa pag-iyak, mag-a-update ng mga CV nyo at mag-hahanap ng job openings sa Classified Ads. Kung hindi kayo magsisikilos ay walang mangyayari sa inyo. Bukas, may bagong umaga!!!

Dizzizit!!!

Kinabukasan, naglinis kami at nag-ayos ng flat. Sa ganitong paraan para na rin kami nag-cleansing – nagtapon ng masamang nakaraan. Tsupi bad luck… goodbye negative things!!! Hello to a brand new day!!! Sabay nag-kabit na rin kami ng Krismas Tree at kung anu-anong Krismas decorations. Ang ganda sa paningin. Ang saya sa damdamin! Laking tulong upang makalimutan ang lumbay at hinagpis. At upang makumpleto ang Krismas spirit of the season, nagbunutan kami para sa aming exchange gift giving. Nagkabit din kami ng mga stockings for a Secret Santa contest. Para muling datnan ng sigla at ligaya sina Nerie at Ruby. Masarap kasi yung para kang nanunumbalik sa kabataan mo – mas magaan ang lahat, mas simple, mas masaya! Makulay ang mundo…kumukutikutitap!

Araw-araw, excited akong nag-aabang sa laman ng aking Christmas Stockings – ewan ko ba kung nawalan na ng taste ang Secret Santa ko….ang wi-weird ng mga gifts na nakukuha ko. May mouse (something hard?), may Instant Mami (something long), kahapon mga de lata (something round)…. kanina naman isang pirasong Fried Chicken??? Mabuti na lang at sobrang guTom Jones na ako kaya’t nagkasilbi rin ang manok na yun. Well, okay na rin kasi alam ko naman na isa sa dalawang flatmates ko na nawalan ng trabaho ang Secret Santa ko eh. Masaya na ako at nagpaparticipate sila at unti-unti nang nakakalimutan ang sinapit nila. Sabi nga sa pelikulang “My

Best Friend’s Wedding” kay Julia Roberts, “This two shall fast…” Ibig sabihin, mabilis na panahon lang magiging parang dalawang bula na maglalaho ang lahat ng problema nila. Yan din ang lagi ko iniisip kapag may kalbaryo akong pinapasan. That’s why honesty is the best policy. Gets n’yo?

Nang sumapit ang araw ng Pasko, muli nang tumatawa at nagdadadaldal sina Nerie at Ruby. Back to normal na ang projection ng mga bruha. Nag-grocery ako at sila naman ang mga matiyagang nagluto at naghanda ng pang-Noche Buena. We invited our freshly moved neighbors – mga Ilonggong bagong salta dito sa Dubai. Mistulang naging JS Prom tuloy ang Christmas Party namin – kanya kanya pa-cute ang mga loka at mga mokong! Matapos ang kainan, nag-change outfit ako into something special: as a big Krismas gift!!! Yes, narito ako upang magbigay ligaya at maghatid ng saya sa mga kababayan nating nangangailangan ng aliw at inspirasyon. Relaks, may bukas pa…bagong pag-asa, bagong umaga! Mga kabayan, huwag kayong mawawalan ng pagasa. Malay nyo, may ibang mas magandang nakalaan para sa inyo sa susunod na pagkakataon. Walang mangyayari kung buong magdamag lang tayong magmumokmok at magngangawa sa isang sulok. Gawin ninyong challenge ang kung anu mang problema at harapin nyo. Madalas, doon lumalabas ang naitatagong galing natin – kapag sinusubukan. Huwag kayog mag-alala, nandyan naman si Lord – laging nakahandang tumulong sa atin – basta ba huwag lang tayong makakalimot sa kanya. Naks!

Kaya hayaan ninyo akong batiin kayong lahat dito sa Illustrado. Sabi nga ni Melanie Marquez sa kanyang acceptance speech nang manalo syang Best Actress noong 1988 Metro Manila Film Festival para sa pelikulang “The Untold Story Of Melanie Marquez”……”Ito na ho yata ang pinakamaligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon sa Inyong Lahat….”

Mabuhay ang lahing Pilipino! Taas noo Pinoy!!!

ENTERTAINMENT 69

TOP JUNK

high caliber music that inspires the youth and the not so young to live in the here and now and beyond

By Victor Sollorano

Love, inspiration, sex, Living aLone, cyberspace, sociaL networking, partying, breaking up, making up, friendship — these are the things disco punk band top Junk sings about amidst the ongoing financiaL crisis rocking today’s worLd. In a Top Junk gig, the audience forgets their troubles for a bit as they stay glued to the voice of Tuesday Vargas as she sings original lyrics that she and partner Coy Placido have written in the course of their young lives — speaking of the realities of living in this day and age. Vargas is an actress and comedienne in the stable of GMA-7 artists. She prides herself most, though, on her position as the band’s ‘Mama Junkie.’

Her voice glides through the concise but hyper playing of Placido, the group’s bassist who keeps tempo in a kind of surreal approach in the way he dishes out the bass riffs over 24 frets and his very personal way of plucking his four-string guitar.

All the while, drummer Dennis Leung holds

the band together in the course of a song.

The main pedal of his bass drum thumps out the multifaceted cadences of Cyber S — one of Top Junk’s most popular songs — and his snare and cymbals and tom-tom capture each and every note of that song, grip them in a kind of energy that borders on something akin to magic.

In the midst of it all, guitarist Tim Panganiban plays in this self-contained world on a stage as he leads into the depths of his notes beyond rhythm, beyond tempo but always in sync with the totality of music that that thrive on simplicity, the cadence of energy, the surreal bass riffs that follow his PiedPiper resonance into a realm only musicians of his caliber — the Top Junk standard — dare to tread.

It is obvious their individuality on stage come together to create a spark akin to a big bang which audiences simply love to experience and hear.

What sets Top Junk apart from other bands when it comes to audience participation is the group’s ability to establish a connection that dissolves the dividing line between band and audience. The moment this happens, band and audience become one in the rhythm of sound. This sort of integration — wholeness is the more appropriate term — explodes into a magical realm, a self-contained realm of sound and music. Enthralled — that’s the word that sums up an audience lost in a Top Junk gig.

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Outside the Top Junk scene the band members live in their own individual spaces.

While Mama Junkie is off to fulfill her acting contracts with GMA-7, Placido plays the guitar for Session Road — a seasoned group in the Philippine band circuit. Leung goes to his nine-to-five gig as product manager for online gaming company PhilWeb. At the same time, Panganiban shucks his rock star aura so that his employer, Summit Media, get its money’s worth in terms of his daily stints at the special publications department.

Illustrado has followed the latest of the band’s three-year existence and talked to Vargas, Placido, Leung and Panganiban.

Where is Top Junk headed?

Vargas: I’d like to think that as the years go by we are turning into better artists and better people for that matter. Unlike many of the bands in the live circuit that are not even of legal drinking age, we are old farts trying to make a mark in the industry. And this is not purely desire for financial compensation.

We are here for the music. Every time we hit that stage, it feels like we are unleashing a part of ourselves. To hell with what others say, because this is what we love doing PLAIN AND SIMPLE. Thinking about what the future holds for the band seems futile.

We just take things as they come.

Placido: Top junk is headed where everything leads to: change. We change fundamentally as people for better or worse. So we look forward to growing as good friends because in the end, it doesn’t hurt much to be bound in a soulful and mutual trust between music and the arts, playing as artist. We’d love to be contributors of such positive forces.

Panganiban: Our initial intention was to go where no band has ever gone before — individually or otherwise — in our group’s 3-year existence; I think we were there way before our mark.

Do you have the sense that you, as a band, are about to break through from being typically underground within the Philippine rock band scene to mainstream recognition? How is it from the head?

From the gut?

Vargas: I’ve always approached things head on. I wouldn’t classify us as belonging to the underground scene alone since we’ve done a couple of mainstream gigs already. Still there’s so much integrity in the underground scene. When you play, you know you’re not going to get paid and you also know that most of the time you won’t get appreciated, but you do it — all out and everything.

Placido: There are no expectations from me.

Really. That would lead to disappointment.

There are many facets of commercialism you could wish to succeed upon, after all. We’d love to get the music across, but there’s no point boxing yourself in an expectation that always turns up different when it happens.

What would you say is the most difficult thing you’ve so far encountered as you wend your way through the maze and hurdles of the Manila rock band scene?

Vargas: The most difficult thing is having them listen to the music. Most of these kids are preoccupied with silly stage antics, catchy senseless lyrics and amateur guitar riffs.

That’s fine. I have no objections regarding that so long as it makes them happy.

It’s like, ‘Uy si Tuesday yun diba? Comedy band yan. Or, Tuesday patawa ka naman.’

Which is great also, we have a precedent. I am fronting the band so I can’t escape the fact that people associate me with my alter ego that is Tuesday Vargas. But when it’s time to sing and get serious, then it gets in the way. I try my utter best to find the middle ground and use that to my advantage. I make them laugh with the spiels and I rock them out with the songs. Everybody wins. (Note: Vargas the actress/comedienne also goes by the name Marizel Sarangelo.)

ENTERTAINMENT 71

Placido: Establishing a culture around your music. Musicians would always tend to think radical and be counter-culture. In this day and age, every band can sell itself through the Internet — it’s the war for information.

It’s harder to matter in a world where everything is fabricated in an assembly line.

We’d love to standout if only for the sheer sincerity of it all.

What makes you go on as individuals and as a group?

Placido: As individuals, we go on with living: chores, digestion, alcohol, sex, bills, gas and political mongering. We go on as people by day. Surprise! Define life and it’s really bipolar. Here’s to making it interesting because, as a group, we do the weirdest stuff on earth. The kind you wouldn’t want to know. It’s a secret.

Panganiban: The amusement of seeing those looks in people’s faces almost everywhere we play makes this whole exercise all the more interesting.

Leung: The company of my friends. We don’t consider ourselves bandmates kasi. We’re more of barkada in a band. So malamang the appropriate term for us is ‘barkmates.’ My barkmates help me go on as an individual and as part of the group.

Name three of the most influential personalities or groups — local and

foreign — which have influenced you as a musician?

Vargas: The first time I heard The Pixies that catapulted me into starting this whole Junk thing. They have this raw human feel that only they can make, so unpolished and unafraid.

I also love Blondie (she’s still around and sizzling hot even at 60.)

Sonic Youth also spits in the principle of the music we want to make. We are a soundbased band. We are making an original moment loosely based on the tracks we’ve heard growing up, meshing all these nasty ingredients into our own style. Much like how Thurston Moore grew up listening to the Beatles when the wall of sound Sonic Youth makes is worlds apart from the Brit pop Beatlesque sound.

Panganiban: Pink Floyd, Hendrix, Led Zeppelin.

Leung: The Police, Beatles, Eraserheads and the best of them all — Top Junk! I really, really love that up-and-coming-band. (laughs) Placido: Goodness. I listen to as much artists that I can and it’s absolutely a never-ending process. The greats are different when you were young, and they’re different now that you’re jaded. If I were to name three it would be The Beatles, poetry and sex. The Buddha — as a symbol of enlightenment for me IS

The Beatles. So, there, I got to name four.

Where do you get your music and lyrics from? Do you have a muse? Describe your muse?

Vargas: Coy and I write the songs here at home. Looking at him as my muse makes me want to chuckle. He sometimes wears my dresses on stage and asks me to put make up on him because he rolls like that. One of the great things I love about this partnership is that we are not afraid to be who we are with each other. We say what we feel, and we mean it. So the songs are basically about our lives, what we see around us — most of them observations on past triumphs and tribulations. It’s best to write about what you know.

How would you describe the magic and mystery of music?

Placido: Music is encouraging and helpful.

Like I said, it’s a positive force. There’s no mystery in it, it echoes the truth from the beginnings. It’s everything and nothing. It’s a part of who we are. Friedrich Nietzsche rocks so hard because he said it best: Without music, life would be a mistake.

Vargas: There is no great mystery. Just open your eyes and it will all be revealed.

We romanticize the world so much that sometimes we fail to see what’s real. Music is the magic pill. We all crave it at some level.

We cannot live without it because it makes us human.

72 The view from your regular Juan dela Cruz

Usapang Kanto

What’s your legacy?

Compiled by Jonie Jose

The main foundation of life is based on fact and the truth we live in. Life these days is full of uncertainty and distortion. A God-centered life would make you a man worthy to follow God’s command and obey them.

Thus this leads to a life of principle, discipline, trustworthiness, family orientation and so on…

This is my simple and yet honest legacy, which I want to hand down to my children.

ALFREDO AGUILAR

I’ve always been very consistent about who I am. I am a God-fearing person who dedicates my time in serving the Lord. I’m a man who loves my family passionately and loves to serve others as well. I truly believe that this will be my legacy to the world; how people I’ve known will remember me.

SIEGFRIED DAYRIT I want to be remembered as a strong woman.

One who loves deeply, brings joy to everyone and a person who enjoys life to the fullest but still values her priorities in life.

JENNIFER MORALES

I would like to be remembered as a good follower of God. I would like to maintain a good reputation and make a difference to the life of everyone with whom I have built a relationship with.

RONALDO ABISAMIS

I’m a one of a kind person and all my friends and relatives will agree to this.

I’m friendly, fun, loving, adventurous and energetic. Wherever I am, I always make a difference because even when I’m serious, I can still manage to be funny.

LINDSEY PANCER

In the 27 years of my life, I’ve met different people whom I can say I became friends with and became part of my life. I want them to remember me with these simple thoughts - a person who smiles a lot and laughs even at the simplest of things; who is emotional when it comes to my family, and who believes that God always guides and protects.

JONNA DINE AMBRAD

I would like to be remembered as a man of good temperament and judgement, as most people around me know that and my ‘exceptional zeal’ (love and devotion) when it comes to my wife and two lovely daughters.

CHITO NAVARRO

I’m an artist and a father of 3 year old girl (Kate). At such a young age, she loves to play colors create defined drawings in Photoshop. I can see that she’s got the talent in her too. I know even if I want her to have a different profession someday, nothing can stop her in continuing my Legacy.

MELANDRO SANGALANG

I’d like to be known and remembered by the people I have dealt with not only for being hiphop, but a good spiritual person, as well. I may not look religious by the way I dress, but in my heart, I’m a God-fearing individual.

MARK CHARVET

ENTERTAINMENT 73

Flip Hop :

Filipinos Keep it Real

By Mikkel Bolante • Photos by Marcus Maguigad

CritiCs Call it sexist – what with the usual musiC video featuring sCantily-Clad provoCatively danCing women as the hip-hop template on mtv. they say it enCourages violenCe. the death of prominent rappers tupaC shakur and the notorious Big are stark reminders of the genre’s uneasy ConneCtion with gang violenCe.

It really isn’t hard to form a negative image of hip-hop culture. But hip-hop isn’t about that — in fact, this dimension of the culture is more the exception rather than the rule.

In fact, on its onset, it was credited for its social impact on violence-ridden inner-city African-American communities. Hip-hop gave the youth a different avenue to express their differences. In the stead of violence, they resorted to breakdance or graffiti battles. The culture helped bring teens out of the vicious cycle of gang life.

Filipinos have been quick to embrace the genre — both at home and overseas. Some people have criticized Pinoys for wearing things associated with African-American culture, (or ‘posing’ as the term goes), but what people don’t understand is how natural it comes to us.

At its very core, hip-hop isn’t limited to a singular message. Basic elements of the culture include breakdancing (also called b-boying — a dangerous-looking form of dancing), graffiti, MC-ing (or rapping) and DJ-ing (the use of a mixer or ‘turntable’ as a musical instrument). Each of these elements maintains their respective underground cultures despite slowly being assimilated into mainstream media. Graffiti has been embraced by the art community, and has found itself the focus of more than a few art exhibits. Breakdancing is increasingly being showcased prominently in pop culture.

The World Hip-Hop Championships, a nationality-based international dance competition, has only been around for six years and the Philippine All-Stars — a Pinoy group composed of some of the best dancers in the country — have already won the competition twice. The Pinoy representatives have been blowing the rest of the world away with their jaw-dropping moves. Since 2006, they have not failed to place in the competition, finishing champions twice and second runner-up once. Fans and insiders all over the world openly consider Filipinos to be among the world’s best.

In the short time that Filipino hip-hop has been around, it has gained considerable momentum in the world scene. Consider this:

MTV has also launched a reality TV competition called ‘America’s Best Dance Crew,’ that features dance groups from all over the USA. On its first season, two teams with strong Filipino roots stood out. The Jabbawockeez — a talented crew

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that performs with surreal white masks and gloves as part of their regular costumes — had three Pinoys in their team of six. Kaba Modern, the other team, was a spin off from the Filipino cultural organization of the University of California, Irvine. The name Kaba, incidentally, is short for the word kababayan.

In terms of DJ-ing, one of the prominent DJs in the scene is San Francisco-based DJ QBert. He is part of the Invisibl Skratch Piklz — QBert, Mixmaster Mike and DJ Apollo, all Filipinos — a group that has won the DMC World DJ Championship.

QBert represented the mxing community in mainstream culture when he appeared in an Apple advertising campaign promoting the use of Mac products in turntabling.

On a more domestic front, you’ve got the Beatmathics, a group of MCs and DJs who represented the country in the recently-held Asian Hip-hop Festival. The group received the best reception — louder than any of our Asian neighbors, or even the headlining US artists Nas and Kelis.

Even in the mainstream media, Filipinos are etching their names into international consciousness. Apl.de.Ap of the Black Eyed Peas and Pussycat Dolls lead girl Nicole Scherzinger both have Filipino roots. We have plenty of countrymen in the unique position of being leaders in their respective hip-hop fields. And like mentioned earlier, this gives them the opportunity to communicate something to their young audiences. What they say in their messages, though, may be the most valuable element in the mix.

Gangsters that spread violence, drugs and sexism through their music can use hiphop as their medium. But in this case, the medium isn’t the message. They can send negative messages just as easily as positive ones. And what Pinoy hip-hop artists usually express is their strong nationalism.

Apl.de.Ap and his group have released two songs in Filipino. ‘The Apl Song’ samples the old Asin tune Balita with some English rapping added telling the story of Apl’s early life. ‘Bebot’ is a catchy hit that features a part where the word ‘Filipino’ is repeated over and over. This song was used by the All-Stars during their maiden World Championship run — and had the primarily international crowd screaming along: ‘Filipino! Filipino!

Filipino!’ The Beatmathics — at the Asian festival — had the audience captivated with a number about boxing legend Manny Pacaquiao in a language few of them even understood.

Outside of music, these artists also show their nationalism through fashion. Pinoy hiphop pioneer Francis M has his own clothing line under the brand ‘Lokalidad,’ boasting of some nationalistic-themed designs. He features elements of the Philippine flag — what he called ‘the three stars and the sun’ in one of his old songs. The All-Stars sport their trademark shirts that feature similar elements. The Beatmathics went to Bangkok clad in Pinoy-themed clothing from rapper Pikaso’s line ‘Turf,’ also available under Lokalidad.

The Filipino hip-hop community is visibly strong in national pride. They have made it the ‘in’ thing to be proud to be Pinoy — especially among the youth. And for those who think that Pinoys dressing up in baggy clothes and caps are ‘posing,’ nothing could be further from the truth. Though hip-hop culture originated from a different ethnic group, we’ve assimilated it in our own community — without losing our identities as Filipinos. This is who we are — and we won’t let anyone forget it.

So what is it with hip-hop culture that made Pinoys embrace it so? What makes it attractive? The language must speak out to us, in the same way it did to our AfricanAmerican brothers. If you go back — there are some similarities between our histories.

They’ve had to go through an era of slavery, followed by decades more of racism, oppression — and more recently, bouts with poverty. Many remain in situations that have them helpless. Filipinos have been through similar experiences — treated as secondclass citizens in our own country, oppressed by our colonizers, shackled by poverty. In our history, as in theirs, we both know what it’s like to be helpless.

Hip-hop is a way of transcending that; a way to strive for something better. Hip-hop is a means of expression — giving a voice to those that have been silenced. It’s a tool, really. It can be used for negative purposes, but just as easily for good ones. But in its essence — it is neither good nor bad. It’s up to us how we use it. Filipinos, so far, have been doing real good.

ENTERTAINMENT 75

5 Mics + 2 Turntables + 1 Hot City = Beatmathics Rock Bangkok

By Olyvia MacArthur • Photos by Marcus Maguigad

The BeaTmaThics, a Pinoy hiPhoP grouP, have Been inviTed To Perform aT The asian hiPhoP fesTival headlined By nas. one of The challenges of inTernaTional music fesTivals is how To aPPeal To fans Beyond your own Borders, a challenge The BeaTmaThics have Taken on wiTh flying colors.

Dusit Thani It’s three in the afternoon. The boys of Beatmathics have all gathered in Artstrong’s room for a sound check and a brief rehearsal. All the equipment, five mikes, three computers, two turntables and six of the biggest talents in Pinoy Hip Hop crowd the room and cook up an excitement as palpable as the humidity. Even the small group of onlookers gets caught in the thrilling anticipation. It’s not quiet in this five-star hotel room. If Dusit Thani had not sponsored this event, they might have been complaining.

The boys chant, rap and sing; breaking for conversation or to move out of each other’s

way as they begin to feel the effects of their efforts and move excitedly with the rhythm.

Voices chime in and out at intervals and respond to the calls of the others. At that magic point in the song all the noise becomes music, harmonies and rhythms that rise and sink on the treble clef of the back beats.

designed by band member Pikaso. The label strikes a balance of Pikaso’s pride as a Filipino, a Californian and an artist of the streets.

Backstage

Veteran of beats, Red-i’s placid poise conceals a storm of passion for his craft.

His tranquil manner never varies whether in a small room of a few friends or in a packed auditorium of international hip-hop connoisseurs. He remains focused on what

The show is held at IMPACT Arena, able to hold 12,000. It is at capacity, filled with citizens from all over the Asian continent.

The Beatmathics are set to go on at 9 pm.

The Beatmathics are joined by fellow Pinoy performers Jocelyn and Veronica of the Kitty Girls, easily the loveliest ladies this side of the VIP line.

Maybe that’s why Khan of Thaitanium, the hottest group in Thailand and the host of the event stops by to introduce himself personally to the Beatmathics. Thaitanium is billed to follow the Beatmathics before the headliner, Nas. Before Nas performs, Red-i manages to get his collection of albums signed by the man himself. The exquisite Kelis contemplates the possibility of a shopping trip to Manila.

The whole Beatmathics crew sports either a shirt or a hat from The Underground Runs Forever or TURF “Mafia” Collection

…And the Show Begins

76 ENTERTAINMENT

he does best, mixing harmonies, rhythms and beats to set the stage for the Beatmathics.

He starts the set with his own blend of mashups.

Artstrong, one of the founders of the neosoul movement in Pinoy music and an original B-Boy, is the first on stage. As he steps into the light, he gets a firm grip on the mike. “Are you ready, Bangkok?” He bellows into the night.

Dash, full of mischievous energy and upbeat vibes, springs out and lives up to his name, running laps around the huge stage. The audience begins to wake up. D-coy, a blend of the warrior and the poet to whom he pays tribute in two sleeve tattoos on his forearms, steps out followed by Nathan-J. Pikaso struts on; TURF proud on his chest. Dash completes his circuit and snaps up behind Artstrong. The boys launch into the first song.

In the beginning, only the small group of Pinoys plus new friends amongst fellow performers cheers them on. Then the Beatmathics go to work. The entire crowd responds to a sound as Pinoy in flavor as it is international in appeal. By some sort of alchemy, the vitality of the small hotel room rehearsal has been recreated and multiplied so the entire venue feels the pulse of the performance. At once the show has become grander without leaving the audience behind.

There is a surge to the front as Bangkok gets schooled on the sound of Beatmathics.

resonates so strongly in a multinational concert.

The Beatmathics look at their performance as a courtship of the audience, as ligaw. And nobody understands the concept of ligaw like a Pilipino. Says Red-i. “When we play, we’re making cariño to the crowd, we have to get into their heads, make them want to go where we’re taking them.” This is what the Beatmathics do with their set. Opting to leave out slow RnB numbers that kill the intensity, the tightly crafted set buzzes with fast paced numbers that keep the energy rising to a fever pitch from the first notes to the last shout-out. This is true ligaw at its finest.

Hip hop developed out of the idea of audience participation in which the performer is merely the leader of a shared experience. Coming from a country where everybody gets their hands on a mike at any given opportunity, Pinoys know that music cannot belong just to one person; everyone has to get into the act. That is why Filipinos are the best at delivering on Hip-hop’s promise of a good time. It is the science of synergy. To combine the elements of the performer and the audience and create a set that is bigger than just a song.

Nathan-J, the gentle giant and a commanding presence, has a bass octave that carries to the corners of the venue, leaving no ear unrocked. In the middle of their prime number “Suntok ni Pacquiao”, he decides that Bangkok needs a close up and dives off stage to energize the crowd with his presence.

Even when on the same level, he stands high above the others, directing them with the confidence of a conductor.

A sea of fists pummels the air in unison on Nathan-J’s command. The noise is deafening.

It’s amazing that this song, about the Filipino champion boxer sung entirely in Tagalog,

Anything done by the Filipino is done with a true passion. It’s the secret to the Philippine’s reputation for gifted performance. The Beatmathics, comprised of individual stars who have come together to create something bigger than the sum of their parts. The cool intensity of Red-i’s music; the innovative yet true-to-roots Pikaso; the playful, positive energy of Dash; the friendly yet fearless presence of Nathan-J; D-Coy, the proud warrior of the world that is humble before God; the fusion of many traditions into a new idea that is Artstrong. Each of these boys captures a facet of the spirit of the Philippines to bring to the mix. This is the magic of the Beatmathics, the magic of the Philippines at the Asian Hip-Hop Festival.

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

HOT RELEASES 77

By Gabbie dela Rama-Talan

Themesongs Ang Bandang Shirley Indie Pop The greatest thing about Ang Bandang Shirley is that they seem to be the sort of musicians who don’t take ‘being musical’ too seriously. In other words, they come off as a bunch of average people who just really enjoy making music and don’t really care — one way or another — whether you come up to them all drool-y fangirl or fanboy like, shoving their LP in their faces for them to scrawl one of those generic yummy smellingPilot marker messages — actual proof that you are indeed a bona fide Shirley fan. In fact, I suspect they — Owel Alvero, Selena Salang, Ean Aguila, Joe Fontanilla, Jing Gaddi, Heidi Pascual, Zig Rabara and man-ager Kathy Gener — would find it kind of awkward though I doubt they would actually turn your autograph request down. And no, this isn’t true for all indie musicians as there are a few — both locally and worldwide — eager to be part of the whole fame and glory shebang, early on in the ballgame as it may be.

Eastern Skies Johnny Alegre Affinity Jazz It needs to be said that this review was written by somebody who is no jazz expert, and the opinions here are based solely on how the music ap-pealed to an ‘average’ music fan. I tread with caution as the album’s mu-sicians and collaborators are some of the most respected in the industry, the likes of pianist — who plays the role of arranger in this album—Ria Villena-Osorio, saxophonist Tots Tolentino, drummer Koko Bermejo, conductor Gerard Salonga and his gifted Global Studio Orchestra, bass player Colby dela Calzada, and of course, the guitar virtuoso, Johnny Alegre himself.

This is a serious album. The music isn’t to be trifled with. I cannot imag-ine hosting a party filled with raucous, inebriated individuals, stumbling about drinking cheap beer to this kind of music. However, I can imagine having a nice little gathering filled with intelligent guests roaring drunk on vintage wine or really expensive bourbon. The music is beautiful, classy, at times soothing, at times lively, but I must admit that there is a something a little crazy about it and thus, the inebriation comparison.

The one thing I really like about jazz is that it makes me feel a bit crazy.

I have come to conclusion that you cannot put together a bunch of ge-niuses and expect to come out with something mediocre and not without traces of the eccentricity that usually goes hand-in-hand with talent.

My favorite is “The Stranger,” which is a contemplative, simple yet finely wrought piece. I also like it because it reminds me of a man who has lost his job but is none too depressed about it — kind of prophetic as he is on the way to unwittingly meet the dame of his dreams at a dive he is intending to drown his sorrows in. Indeed, if there is something I really like about this album — and instrumental jazz in general —is that each song calls for a different scenario that you get to play out in your head.

It inspires really creative daydreaming, which is a fun, fine way to while away alone time.

All in all, this is an ambitious piece of work that succeeds at what it has aimed to do, one of which is to stupefy non-jazz enthusiasts such as myself into actually buying the album after reviewing it.

Ang Bandang Shirley’s debut album Themesongs (Terno Recordings) is actually where I based the above assumption on. All 11 songs are the epitome of harmless, humorous and unadulterated pop music. And the album cover by graphic artist and kiddy-book illustrator Pepper Roxas, which depicts a cheeky wooden girl toy, is perfect. The album doesn’t try to come off as intellectual; even the arrangements are simple enough without being unimaginative. For somebody who isn’t a big pop fan, this album was a surprisingly pleasant listen, possessing none of the whini-ness I associate with local pop. It’s one of those that have the power to put you in a relatively good mood. And although you won’t derive any meaningful life lessons from it — who says life lessons are what every-body is looking for in music?

All 11 of the songs posses that un-intimidating, unassuming quality but it has to be said that my favorite is one (I’ll leave the rest for you to discover) called “Ang Pag-Ibig Alinsunod Sa Karanasan Ng Isang Pang-karaniwang Jeepney Driver A.K.A. Tsuper Duper,” which is basically selfexplanatory based on the title, the chorus: “Basta driver, sweet lover” ringing in your ears. Its catchy, its bouncy, its pretty darn funny, and it doesn’t care if you like it. Now if only other OPM pop acts would follow suit.

78 HOT RELEASES By Gabrielle de la Rama-Talan

Dream Jungle Jessica Hagedorn Of Filipino descent, Jessica Hagedorn is a renowned author in international circles. Her two previous novels The Gangster of Love and Dogeaters were received with much acclaim, the latter earning her a National Book Award nomination in 1991 and an American Book Award in 1990. Hagedorn is also a poet and a playwright.

In her most recent novel, Dream Jungle, Hagedorn weaves an intricate tapestry combining two events, which have their place in the annals of Philippine history: the filming of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now on Philippine shores in 1979, and the hitherto unknown existence of a tribe in Mindanao called the Tasaday (later on proclaimed a hoax).

Though based on real life events and people, Dream Jungle still has a firm toehold in the fiction genre. Set in the Philippines of the 70s, an era rife with political unrest and economic disparity, Hagedorn’s version of Apocalypse Now is referred to as Napalm Sunset with Tony Pierce serving as the Ford-Coppola of the story;

and the Tasaday the Taobo. One of the main protagonists, in this case pseudo-baddie Zamora Lopez de Legazpi (how much more conquistador can you get), was also inspired by a real person—Manuel Elizalde Jr., from one of the Philippines’ most affluent clans and formerly head of PANAMIN, a now defunct non-profit organization that aimed to protect cultural minorities.

The story begins with Zamora’s so-called discovery of the Taobo, and whirls around his dealings with the tribe and his relationship with Rizalina, the spirited daughter of his cook Candelaria. It then takes a turn, delving into the world created by Napalm Sunset’s filming, and the emergence of another strong-willed female protagonist, Paz Marlowe, a journalist hell bent on revealing the core of both stories: the tribe and the larger-than-life film. The story unfolds revealing the sociological, political, and cultural climate of the Philippines in the 70s, which proves to be as startling as the book’s denouement, especially for those who weren’t “aware” during the said era.

Eating Fire and Drinking Water Arlene J. Chai Born in the Philippines, Sydney-based Arlene J. Chai is the author of four novels, including the notable The Last Time I Saw Mother. Her writing is known to encompass the complex and myriad relationships that exist within family. Eating Fire and Drinking Water is her second novel, and considered by many to be her most riveting, and which the New York Times described as, “An often lyrical and always tough-minded debut… provides rare insights into three cultures—Spanish, Chinese, and Filipino — which coexist in the Philippines.”

Set in the Philippines, the story revolves around Clara Perez, parentless and raised by nuns, she becomes a reporter for a news daily in her adulthood. Ambitious and eager to make her bones, Clara turns tragedy into opportunity when she braves danger to cover a raging fire (that engulfs a small street) and a pitiless murder.

This unexpectedly leads her into making discoveries that change the face of her world as she knows it. She

becomes embroiled in the students’ quest for political reform, which deepens into a quest for her own origins.

Chai has meticulously created a world of characters, events, and, places that draw the reader in, blurring the lines between reality and fiction. She does not hold back whether the images she paints with her words are shockingly gruesome or achingly beautiful. Though some critics have considered this unnecessary in the portrayal of the book’s flawed political system, being a Filipino made me appreciate this even more.

A powerful, personal, and stirring piece of work.

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

Experience the good taste of

Thai food

R E S TA U R A N T

Enjoy a free meal, just purchase your groceries from

CM SUPERMARKET Where you can find all Filipino and Thai products Across Al Attar Shopping Mall, Karama Dubai CM Supermarket: 04 3978758 / 9 Baitong Restaurant: 04 3977701 / 2

AP SEA CARGO SERVICE COMPANY (L.L.C.)

Ang kaibigang Maaasahan • GUARANTEED FAST AND SAFE DELIVERY • NO WEIGHT LIMIT • FREE PICK UP AND DELIVERY OF BOXES Shop no.02S, Mohammad Ahmad Atiq Al Muhairi Bldg.

Karama, Dubai. Tel. No. +9714 3978694 Fax No. +9714 3978695 P.O. Box No. 121923