Red may 05242015

www.inquirer.net/red MAY 2015

BERNA ROMULO-PUYAT Matters of Taste

EDITOR'S NOTE

@riaprieto: My type of healthy #RiaRecommends

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Inquirer RED Magazine-OFFICIAL

I had a hard time relating to this issue because in all honesty, I pretty much eat whatever I want. Not to say I haven’t tried eating organic, but I have been comfortable making excuses, and my go-to reason has been because I am a working mom.

But I’ve started slowly going organic with beauty products.

One product I can’t live without is argan oil, which I slather on my face when it’s feeling tight, and I leave on my hair overnight when it’s losing its shine.

In this issue, we meet people who are dedicated to the pursuit of the slow, organic, and healthy living: Boy Apacible had made his tile manufacturing company into an industry leader during his heyday, but now, he has found his second wind post-retirement in a wildlife sanctuary in the south that he himself developed.

In exploRED, we discover a farm in Milan that promotes seasonal, farm-to-table eating, supported by the fundraising and heritage-preserving efforts of its own community. Even art enjoys a slow burn, with prominent artist Jigger Cruz preferring to take his time in letting his creativity unfold instead of giving in to the demands of the paying art market. And through our conversation with cover subject Berna Romulo-Puyat, we get to learn of the richness of regional Philippine cuisine and the variety of delicious, organic, and indigenously Filipino produce that have world-renowned chefs going crazy.

I know that health is wealth. Today, the managing editor of Preen.ph, Cai Subijano, came in with a meal box from Better Health, a meal delivery service that uses the best ingredients, therefore offering healthier meals. As I watched her take her meal, which, by the way, looked really appetizing, she told me it tastes amazing, too. I told her I would try having one next week.

Come to think of it, I really should start now.

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Thirty-year-old Jigger Cruz is colorblind and cannot see violets and greens. “It runs in my family. All my three brothers are colorblind.”

ART

THE MODERNIST Despite the expensive clamor for his works, Jigger Cruz lets his artistry unfold and reveal itself in its unhurried time WORD S MA RA SA NTILLA N MIA NO P HOTOGRA P HY TA MMY DAVID

Does a painter grow pompous when his work sells millions?

“No, it makes your head hurt, trust me,” says Jigger Cruz, 30, with a laugh. “I don’t know how to protect myself [as an artist]. I am not versed in the business of art, and starting out, I didn’t know the kind of people I should’ve avoided. I learned eventually that there are do’s and don’ts. And that exhausted me.” Nowadays, Cruz is a recluse. He mostly tarries in his dual-purpose art/music studio, comfortably away from the city, where he paints

and plays drums for his rock band Tether.

“I’m focusing on music now,” he says as I look around his studio—clean and sparse, save for the dozen freshly painted frames leaning on the wall to dry. “Because you got frustrated with painting?”

I ask. He laughs again. “No, but I read that article you’re referring to—it made me sound like I take myself so seriously.”

Cruz still paints, but right now, just leisurely.

He just finished a series of shows and is on an enviable self-dictated vacation. “Painting as a job

takes out the fun sometimes, you know?” After a steady 2014 that raked in a turnover of almost nine million pesos, Cruz’s aura is relaxed. He offers me a beer and introduces me to his bandmates, all fellow artists. He leads me into a studio, and shows me his own prized collection of electric guitars. “[Music] is my frustration,” he says shyly.

Cruz lives and works on his own time, and has no official representative (though he was formerly represented by interior designer slash art consultant Miguel Rosales). “I’m stubborn,” he says with a

“I’M GETTING BORED WITH FIGURES. NOW I ENJOY THE FORM, THE MEDIUM. IT GROWS. WHEN YOU SMELL IT, TOUCH IT, IT’S LIKE THE OIL PAINTING IS ALIVE.”

shrug. “And I like being in control of my schedule.”

Now, he deals with clients and curators directly.

Known to have an avid coterie of collectors that relentlessly bid at auctions, Cruz says his first and most loyal fan is art collector Norman Crisologo.

“Norman Crisologo has been a friend since the beginning, when I had flat-out nothing,” he says.

“I had no source of income. No one bought my paintings, except Norman. He would visit me in my old studio and look at my works. Back then, all I knew about him was hearsay: that he was a hardcore art collector, that his taste in art was sublime.” Cruz began painting seriously in 2007, but started getting buyers only in 2010, around the time he met Crisologo. “He is one of the very few people who tells me what they truly think of my work, especially when they think it’s bad.”

“It’s not that I don’t need an agent,” he explains further. “I just don’t like pissing people off when I’m being irresponsible.” In Cruz’s mind, like in his work, there are no rules. There is no time, no measure, no formula, and sometimes, it is absolute chaos.

He relishes in the painting process, savoring its physicality. The paint, squeezed out from multitudes of oil paint tubes, dries layer after layer, expanding what was a two-dimensional canvas into a corporeal swathe of color. Deadlines are a pain because of the production process: he profusely loads product onto the canvas then waits at least three months before he can hang the piece in a gallery, and at least a year for the paint to dry completely on the inside. He explains this to me as I stare intently at a landscape piece of his, the sun—a coil of oil paint applied via pastry bag—seemingly sliding down a few inches, a time-lapse captured ingeniously, and by accident.

His recent exhibitions are more controlled. He describes negative spaces now as a luxury he enjoys, a progression from his previous, more generously bedaubed works. He sees himself gradually

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growing from figurative art to full-on abstract expressionism, as displayed in his recent show, Deep down into the ecstasy of false modernism at the Primo Marella Gallery in Milan. “I’m getting bored with figures. Now I enjoy the form, the medium.

It grows. When you smell it, touch it, it’s like the oil painting is alive.” He concludes, “But honestly, most of the time, I have no idea what I’m doing.” •

It takes one year for a Jigger Cruz piece to dry, and he uses palette knives and pastry bags for heavier application. He paints over and defaces the painting’s canvas frame, “so it looks as if it survived a war.”

GONE ROGUE While leather has rendered itself incomparable, pair it with a red jumpsuit for added effect.

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ATTIRED

AU CINEMA Folklore finds its muse strolling down Hong Kong’s alleys P HOTOGRA P HY OLIVIER YOA N

Above: White long-sleeved sweater, Jaspal, Adora, Greenbelt 5; tweed skirt, Tory Burch, Greenbelt 5; black oxfords, Tod’s, Greenbelt 4.

Left: Blue sleeveless dress, Tory Burch, Greenbelt 5; Alma Vernis BB bag, Louis Vuitton, Greenbelt 4

Collared dress, Paul Smith, Greenbelt 5; blue dress, Harlan and Holden, Adora, Greenbelt 5

SUBTLE STARE The industry decrees that painted eyebrows are no longer applied.

Opt for groomed ones, never the almost tattooed.

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STYLING FLORENT THIEBAULT MODEL CORALYN OF STARZ PEOPLE

MINIMALIST EFFECT Balance a structured coat and collar with distressed jeans.

LIGHT LAYERS The art of draping a casual coat relies on what it is paired with: something easy and elegant, never over embellished to the extent of pre-meditation.

ADMIRED

WOMAN EATS WORLD Berna Romulo-Puyat lives to eat

WORD S SEP TEMBER GRA CE MA HINO

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Collared top, Kate Spade, Greenbelt 3; pink shirt with fringe, Paul Smith, Greenbelt 5

“Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?” If Mary lived in the Philippines, with its 7,107 islands her garden, and she were a particularly knowledgeable green thumb, she’d rattle off a grocery list of produce with items that will astound the average eater: heirloom rice, grains like adlay and silay, organic muscovado sugar, suwa, tabontabon, dayap, dalanghita, dalandan, grapes even. Aside from this Bahay Kubo-like run-down, she’d also cite the kinds of protein to be found in the country: Kitayama beef, lobster, curacha, sinarapan, organic lamb. Those are just the start; whenever the Philippines is described as a country rich in natural resources, it’s an accurate assessment.

It’s an opinion shared by Berna Romulo-Puyat, solidified by her work as the Department of Agriculture Undersecretary. In fact, the day before her shoot with RED, she was in Sagay, Negros Occidental, touring a dairy farm that raises organic lamb.

“It was beautiful,” she recalls. “The governor had the foresight to buy lamb from Australia, and now they’re growing them and the lamb meat tastes really good.”

Romulo-Puyat has been eating

P HOT OG RAP HY CYRU S PAN G AN I BAN

well—meaning avoiding food with preservatives—since her son Vito was diagnosed with ADHD. “I didn’t want him to take medication for his condition so instead, we watched what we ate.” However, when she was given the new responsibility to be the DA’s gender and development head in January of 2014, a world of extraordinary Filipino food opened up to her. “Almost every week, I go to a province to meet local farmers and know what they need,” she says. “In the process, I discover all of these food.”

Some of the best food she’s ever had, she shares, are dishes from Isabela.

“Longganisa, pancit kabagan...I haven’t had their lobster because I’m allergic but people swear by them. My friends are still raving about their kutsinta too.”

Her discoveries have given her the privilege of seeing how local produce and food could be elevated further, enriching local economy and raising appreciation for how much and how well the land could feed the populace.

In particular, she’s working on making the Philippine market for local organic produce more vigorous from both the sides of farmers and consumers, especially as Romulo-Puyat is also the

Tweed dress, Tory Burch, Greenbelt 5; heels, Christian Louboutin, Rustan’s Makati; wooden stool, Poliform, Nicanor Garcia St., Makati

“KNOWING WHERE MY FOOD COMES FROM AND HOW IT’S PRODUCED, I APPRECIATE EVERY SINGLE GRAIN, EVERY BITE. AND IT MAKES ME PROUD OF HOW RICH OUR CUISINE IS.”

Printed skirt and top, Kate Spade, Greenbelt 3

Mt. Kanlaon, trekking for more than an hour and crossing a river to get to the site. “We harvested for an hour—and I was so tired,” she recalls. “But the women there do that every single day!”

Romulo-Puyat sometimes also enlists local “rockstar” chefs to accompany her on these trips, such as Gaita Fores who had gone with her to Kalinga Apayao to plant rice with women farmers.

“Gaita is so well-traveled, yet after the experience, she was crying. She’s never experienced anything like it. She was telling me how she never knew how hard it is to plant and grow rice, how she’d take it for granted.”

In order to raise more awareness of what’s available locally among consumers, Romulo-Puyat promotes indigenous products to culinary influencers that could help her spread the word. “Today, I sent rose, black, brown, and white heirloom rice to (Mecha Uma chef ) Bruce Ricketts. Tonight, he’s gonna text me if they’re okay or not. But truly, our chefs would rather buy local. They’re proud to use local ingredients, so I source these for them, give them tips based on what I’ve discovered and tasted through my trips.” And with these influencers promoting unique, organic Philippine produce, she hopes the public would soon follow, becoming more aware of how rich local land and waters are, and support the local farmers that grow their food.

Romulo-Puyat has unabashed love for what she does. As stressful as it gets, she says it’s worth it: talking to farmers, sharing her discoveries, seeing appreciation for local food grow, and of course, tasting glorious, farm-totable food. Her experience of working beside women farmers have made eating a richer experience too. “Knowing where my food comes from and how it’s produced, I appreciate every single grain, every bite. And it makes me proud of how rich our cuisine is.”

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STYLING MEG MANZANO STYLIST ASSISTED BY ANGELA MANUEL GO AND ANGELA NATIVIDAD MAKEUP JEROME CHANG HAIR JAN EDROSOLAN

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chairperson of the DA’s Organic Board. “Did you know we have an Organic Agriculture Act that promotes and develops organic farming in the country?” she reveals. “It was passed in 2010.”

On the farmers’ side, the DA has been teaching them methods of organic farming—something small-time farmers, comprised of women and members of indigenous groups, are practically doing already— and providing them with proper post-harvest facilities “We also let them know more people are buying organic so that’s what they should grow more. In fact, organic produce at provincial trading posts get sold fast, proof that more people are looking for them and their nutritional benefits.“ Once production of organic fruits and vegetables rises, then the prices will lower.

Romulo-Puyat’s trips to local farms all over the country don’t have a one-way effect.

The undersecretary says that aside from getting to taste all that the country’s land and waters have to offer, she has acquired an even deeper appreciation of what it takes to feed a country. Usually accompanied by a very small group from DA, RomuloPuyat has engaged in planting rice and cocoa seedlings and harvesting coffee berries right beside the farmers, almost all of whom are local women.

“It always amazes me what women will do in order to feed their family and provide for their children’s future,” she reflects. “The men still do the hard labor but they’re also occupied with looking for higher-paying jobs so the women—wives, daughters, grandmothers even—take up the work.” She cites a particular coffee harvesting activity she joined in at

DESIRED

FLUID MOVEMENT Sweeping styles with a confident restraint WORDS ANGELA MANUEL GO

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Le Flâneur Sportif d’Hermès Carbon Bicycle; Karlotta Sandals in white calfskin; Kloche women’s tweed hat; Leopards printed beach towel; Arceau steel watch; Grain d’H MM lined pad

True to the design house’s aesthetic, the Hermès Spring/Summer 2015 accessories exude elemental grace, and delicate charm. Equally at home in the lush French countryside or by the Aegean Sea is a leitmotif of subdued embellishments and clean-cut shapes. Restraint and exquisite workmanship are the hallmark of this oh-so-wearable and versatile selection: languid, light, and exquisitely easy interpretations of the design house’s renowned

leather goods, footwear, jewelry, and scarves.

Reminiscent of Christophe Lemaire’s readyto-wear runway show of the same season, the collection pays homage to Hermès’ trademark as the pinnacle of understated luxury. Chic, neutral hues and classic silhouettes with minimal design and embellishment give the pieces their key nonchalance—but don’t be deceived by the idea of downplayed design. There are emboldening hints

of vivid color and blooming prints on ethereal silks and supple leather that give the collection the sumptuousness one would anticipate with such luxury.

In the world of music, there is Sotto Voce, or what is known as the intentional and dramatic lowering of one’s voice for emphasis. With its sound distinctly soft and subdued, it is a tune that Hermès knows how to articulate best.

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While red wine has famously populated most alcoholic’s justifications for vino’s health benefits, any alcohol may raise the amount of good cholesterol in the body—considering it isn’t consumed in crazy amounts.

Wine glasses and cherries, AC+632, Greenbelt 5; stone slab, A11, F.B. Harrison, Pasay City

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Though health buffs declare nuts as unhealthy as junk food (perhaps also as addicting whenever one encounters a bowl filled to the brim), these little seeds contain protein and fiber, among other nutty nutrients.

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Ceramic pitcher, AC+632, Greenbelt 5; plate with foliage design and marble cheese board, A11, F.B. Harrison, Pasay City; wooden cheese platter, W17, La Fuerza Compound, Makati City

DEVOURED

TABLE STUDIES RED confronts the myths that plague healthy eating P HOTOGRA P HY PATRICK SEGOVIA STY LING MEG MA NZ A NO STY LING A S SISTA NTS A NGELA MA NUEL GO A ND K A IMER TUBIO

20 Top: Olive oil may have more good fat than bad fat, and while it is still decidedly healthier than any of its contemporaries on the market, its bottles still contain fat that could lead to a higher risk of artery-clogging. Don’t let that completely discourage you, though. A curated selection of bottles still provide many a health and heart benefit as long as olive oil is consumed in moderation.

Decanter, Olive oil bottles, Oliviers & Co., Greenbelt 5

Right: Despite the chatter about celery as a negative calorie snack, the number of calories consumed when eating the vegetable is actually higher than how much is burned in the act of chewing it. Despite this disparity, its stalks are still a healthier snacking alternative to many.

Teal plate, A11, F.B. Harrison, Pasay City; cloth napkin, W17, La Fuerza Compound, Makati City

Coffee cats have nothing to worry about now that the link between coffee and cancer has been shattered. A good cup of joe, given that it is organic and is high in antioxidants, may reduce the risk of cancer.

Board placemats, coffee cup, A11, F.B. Harrison, Pasay City

From top: “These tables are actually made of repurposed wood, my mom was about to throw them away.” says Syjuco. “The painting on the right is a piece I made for Oarhouse but I ran out of space for it.”;“That’s a handsome camera you have,” Syjuco observes of the photographer’s piece after the artist admits to being intoxicated with the art yet not wanting to riddle herself with the many technicalities that plague many a DSLR.; “I’m not a coffee person, it’s Coke I’m in love with but guests prefer coffee so it’s a corner for them.”

SQUARED

DOCTRINE OF DESIGN Maxine Syjuco's constant flux W ORD S MEG MA NZ A NO P HOTOGRA P HY A RTU NEP OMUCENO

Confronted with a need to flesh out elements from her memory through her art, visual artist and poet Maxine Syjuco recalls mid-sentence when exactly she decided to renovate her studio. “A month ago,” she issues hesitantly. “Yes, about a month or so—I was working on the Oarhouse show!”

Cradled in the sanctuary of art that is the Syjuco family’s Art Lab, the wide-eyed storyteller stands in the middle of her workspace after obliging us to a brief tour. “These walls actually have little rollers

at the bottom,” she offers, while knocking on the panels to illustrate the walls’ lack of formidability.

The wooden panels allow for easy shifting to and fro, and affording Syjuco the chance to constantly remodel her avenue of art. “When I’m not painting and I’ve decided to work on a sculpture, I just have to install a wooden board atop a metal fixture (which currently houses miniature wooden bed frames and sketch pads) and I’ve a table!”

A creature of experimentation, the visual

author’s constant craving for movement seems incredibly telling of her art’s anthem—a space and craft devoid of any constructs. “I suppose that’s also what I love about teaching children.”

The artist reiterates from a previous feature from a few years back, on how children’s eyes still haven’t encountered any obvious limitations or clear definitions of art. “They still don’t prescribe to a certain school of thought artistically, and that’s what I gravitate towards.”

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“SHOWING AT OARHOUSE [A PLACE NOT AT ALL LIKE A TYPICAL GALLERY] FRIGHTENS AND EXCITES ME—YOU'RE NOT LIMITED TO A BLANK SPACE. YOU HAVE TO WORK AROUND THE BAR'S CORNERS AND CREVICES” Asked what the photographs are of, the artist comments, “Works and just images I keep for my moodboard mostly.”

25 EXPLORED

VILLA VIDI VICI Milan’s own grassroots movement involves a charming farmhouse W ORD S MEG MA NZ A NO

Open air: Cascina offers community tables that allow for strangers to sit beside another with the possibility of discourse.

As the Italian economic crisis slowly unraveled, with it came the apparent demise of Cascina Cuccagna—a farmhouse nestled in the center of Milan. In a society that constantly relies on divisions of space and the allotment of corners or grounds based on one’s imagined class, Cascina Cuccagna had struggled to set an agora that destroys all construct of demarcation, though its now open space suggests visitors to sit on the grass, if not relax on the provided deckchairs declared “the deckchairs of all.”

Primarily a gorgeous garden offering farm-totable goods, Cascina creates an avenue for a wine enthusiast to meet the farmer responsible for his plated salad, or perhaps a chef to encounter the resident who’s grown the produce intended for

FARM FIGURES

1695

The year Cascina Cuccagna was built— making the farmhouse roughly 320 years old.

20

Number of years it took a group of citizens to rent Cascina from the government, restore the farmhouse, and convert it into a cultural center.

€3.5M

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Estimated amount required for the farmhouse to be converted into a multifunctional center dedicated to culture, the environment, and food.

the chef ’s designed entrée. The Italian villa’s Un Posto A Milano (literally, “A space in Milan”) imagines itself a hub for culture shared through dining, sunbathing, or pure buying and selling— reminiscent of the market’s old principle of bartering. The space allows for no strangers as it relies on the shortest of supply chains with the raw materials often sold by the producers themselves.

In perhaps a clever outfit to address the ongoing economic crisis, the citizens continue to declare Cascina Cuccagna as their own—partnering up with associations and groups to finally topple the looming threat of the farmhouse’s decay. Just this April, the farmhouse hosted Goodesign, an event

2008

The year citizens were able to collect almost half the sum needed to transform Cascina Cuccagna, affording it the chance to proceed with restorations.

Roam around Cascina’s Porta Romana area while munching on strawberry mustard matched with Fassona beef hamburger or indulge in fresh vegetables coupled with chocolate salami.

dedicated to sustainable manners of production and eco-friendly design. Entirely lacking in government investment, Cascina is currently being rented by its curious inhabitants in an effort to preserve the farmhouse and continue its legacy as one of Milan’s most sought-after eco-friendly bistros and events ground around, while unconsciously celebrating good food and even better company.

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4000

Total area of Cascina in square meters, which houses educational gardens, greenhouses, shops, and dining areas.

INSPIRED

OPEN DESIGN The first generation furniture manufacturer gets personal with their ancestral living room W O R D S D E N I S E AL C ANTARA PH OT OG RAPH Y G AB BY CA NTERO

From top: “Communication for us is very important, so the design of our dining table gets us to talk with each other,” Evelyn Selma explains (left). A painting

by Ivan Acuna and Vito Selma’s Geo table (below). A small table that serves as a breakfast nook and the children’s table (extreme below).

Tucked in a village in the Queen City of the south, there lies the ancestral house of the Selmas—a house they’ve owned for over 25 years already.

Upon stepping inside their living room, one would notice the stark white walls, minimal ornaments, big windows, and the vast space. Its simplicity is

straightforward and effortless.

The living room is the domain of matriarch and furniture manufacturer Evelyn Selma, who strongly believes that the home should speak of the homeowner’s taste. “I’ve decorated our home with paintings, antiques, designer creations, and other various finds from my different travels,” she points out. “What could be more personal than one’s own home?”

With a family filled with creative prowess—Vito Selma, her son, is a successful global furniture designer— her children’s influence keeps her design style contemporary and not outdated. “I used to be more at home with a classical theme, but that has slowly changed through the years,” she admits.

“Our house used to have many partitions.” Walls used to separate the living room and the dining room, but a major renovation took place years ago, after her grandchildren were born.

She shares that it was Vito who had convinced the family to break down the walls, literally and figuratively. “Aside from telling ourselves to break down our old design mindsets, we also had to destroy the bar that we used to have.

These were all done to make the living room spacious for the grandchildren to play around,” she explains.

Renovating was easy until Selma needed to select what décor to use—preferably both beautiful and kid-friendly. With the help of his son, she was able to arrive at a design style that combines the antiques she treasures and her son’s modern furniture. The eclectic combination works as it translates the transcending evolution of the family members’ respective design signatures.

Among Selma’s treasures on display in the living room is an antique Chinese cabinet that also doubles as their music cabinet, a San Vicente Statue that dates back to the 1800s, the Bali divider, and a magazine rack from India. She used to have more art pieces and antiques displayed but they have now remained in their storage areas.

The Geo table, one of Vito’s most iconic furniture pieces, sits in the middle of the room, serving as the focal point.

“Call me old-fashioned, but the main rule in the family is ‘No phones during meals,’” emphasizes Selma. With a growing family, she keeps the bond alive through weekly family gatherings. And with walls knocked down, the grown-ups get to eat, drink, and catch up at the 12-seater dining table while the grandchildren play around the spacious living room.

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29 Apacible’s home is designed with a modern aesthetic, courtesy of his son, and a quasiMediterranean charm.

EMPOWERED

IN GREENER PASTURES On days Boy Apacible flees the city, you’ll find him in his natural sanctuary WORD S CHRY S SA CELESTINO P HOTOGRA P HY GA BBY CA NTERO

Boy Apacible is a builder of houses—something to be expected from a former CEO of an Austrian tile manufacturing company. What came as a surprise, though, is the transition from life in the concrete city to one in a serene jungle down south.

At Samarie Farms, a wildlife refuge he personally developed, Apacible basks in the silence of his rustic abode, the calls of his pet cockatoos the only intrusion. His days here consist of tending to the flora and fauna, developing spaces,

and, if time allows it, concocting his own vinegars.

Despite taking endless turns on the road to reach his newfound home, talking to him reveals an epiphany: that living with nature doesn’t mean living backwards.

Before Boy the CEO and Boy the farmer, who were you?

“A very dull guy: I can’t watch TV, I don’t make barkada. I’d go to parties only for my sister, but

when I left for the United States at 22, there wasn’t much of that. I took a Masters degree in Business Administration and worked in New York, the usual 9-5. That’s where I met my wife Charo. We came back to the Philippines in the ’70s when my wife had to do business here.”

How did you get into the tile manufacturing business?

“The Austrian who owned Allgemie Bau-Chemie

made me president even when I started from zero; I was 33 years old then. We started from sharing an office space with some other enterprise. We had just one desk, and we had to drive our own FX Tamaraws to deliver things. It was a nice start.

It’s great to look back at our humble beginnings. I was president for 25 years. Now, the company’s a pioneer in modern tiling technology.”

You like houses a lot.

“Yes. I built this house by myself. Patrick, my son, did the plans—reluctantly. I just like to build. The decorating part is easy: you just have to stock up on things. And I have too many things, so we’re building another place. It’ll have a creek in the back and nice falls—maliit lang naman. It’s always flowing with water from the springs.”

Apacible’s affinity towards ceramic décor and printed pots stem from his previous hobby: pottery.

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“WHEN WE WERE LIVING IN NEW YORK CITY, WE WOULD GO TO FLEA MARKETS IN CONNECTICUT, ALL FOR THE LOVE OF A HOUSE.”

You really have an eye for spaces just by looking at your antique collection.

“It just comes naturally, I guess. My wife is also fond of collecting. When we were living in New York City, we would go to flea markets in Connecticut, all for the love of a house. It’s far, but in Connecticut, they have fantastic old houses. After the owners had died, the descendants put them on sale. And these are mansions, with maid’s quarters and all!”

How do you maintain this farm?

“At my age, I can’t do much, but I don’t make utosutos; I do things myself—at least the light things. I like that because I always get to create something new. I like to grow plants so once they’ve grown, I bring them to my helpers.

“I observe and copy what my wife does; she’s the green thumb. Now, I’m the landscaper of the nearby church. Wala akong alam, pero sila mas walang alam.

But after doing a bit of work, you would know how plants grow and where to put them.”

For those who haven’t tried this life and are scared to get out of the city, what can you tell them?

“To each his own. It depends on what you plan to do after you retire, but you should know what you enjoy doing. For me, I can do this until I kick the bucket. What’s nice about being around nature is you feel closer to God. I feel His presence on a cool day when there’s a cool breeze—like the breath of angels.

Some people say after they get past our gate, they get a different feeling: all of a sudden, everything’s calm.

That’s what I felt the first time I came here.”

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