Devotees from around the world would usually go to the magnanimously divine Shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag to ask for a holy intercession. I did not. After travelling more than 200 kilometers by land from Manila to Manaoag, Pangasinan and as soon as we settled on the seats of the church the only thought and prayer I did was to thank God and the miraculous Lady of Manaoag for the health, wealth and happiness of my family.
Our Lady of Manaoag
the candle i lit...
Imadyin? Pinapasok ang demonyito kong ito sa loob ng simbahan? Hahaha!
Abundantly lined-up are red plastic bags hanging on the branches of massive trees at the edge of a long stretch of highway in Tarlac contains a local fruit. My family on our way to Manaoag Pangasinan last Saturday noticed and initially wondered what those red plastic bags contains. Until one of us realized that it contains Camachile being sold by the local folks right under the shade of the trees.
I haven’t tasted Camachile so I told my siblings inside the vehicle that I wanted to buy and savor its taste. But when I told them this, we already passed Tarlac and no vendor is in sight. Nengkoy however explained that it is okay since Camachile is actually not a tasty fruit variant. She added that I will not actually like it. But on our way back to Manila the following day, I insisted on buying and hopefully enjoy the taste of the fruit for the first time which is considered rare for a city dweller like me.
My brother-in-law considerately stopped the vehicle when we were along the highway stretch of Moncada Tarlac to purchase two full plastic bags. Each bag cost twenty-five pesos. I gave Kuya Bogis (my brother seated at the front seat of the car) sixty pesos to hand over to the lady vendor for two bags of Camachile and told him to tell the vendor to keep the change. Nengkoy gave me her usual indescribable stare to express her disgust on why she was not given the chance to practice her price-haggling-skills. When we continued our journey back to Manila she told everyone inside the vehicle that price haggling is supposed to be done to lower down the price of the item being purchased and not to swell it higher which I, according to her, unacceptably just did. Nengkoy of course is just being her usual self! That was the moment that I told everyone that I won’t give them even a little piece in case I liked it.
When I excitedly opened one bag of Camachile, I was surprised to find that all of the fruit’s skin crusts were cracked open. In full shock I shouted and asked them that this may no longer be edible since the fruit’s edible meat has been exposed! Everyone laughed because of my stupidity and explained that the crusts are expected to be naturally open to signify that the meat is already ripe and could already be devoured.
With full gentleness, I picked one fruit and took off the seed beneath the white meat. I chose the one whose skin crust has turned red expecting it to be sweet. But when I placed it in my mouth and chewed it, the only words that came out of my mouth was, “Ay! Lasang papel!!!” (It tasted like paper!). Nengkoy and the rest of the pack broke a big laugh.
Nengkoy then told me “I told you so…” and practically started her usual litany by saying that sixty pesos could have purchased a kilo of sweet ripe mangoes in Villasis Pangasinan and that I was such a bull headed monster for not listening to her. With my insistence I again tried another Camachille expecting a sweeter version but to no avail. That was the moment I offered everyone inside the car to have Camachile as their snack while we headed back to Manila. Some took a little piece, tasted it and by no means asked for another one.
A lot of contemporary studies reveal that the cause of this generation’s obesity is due to modern technology. People nowadays has very limited physical activities for they spend considerable amounts of their time in front of a computer or a state-of-the-art gadget. Add to this are the sizeable amount of growth hormones injected on various foodstuff which the people of today consumes – noxious fried chickens, lard infested French fries, vein-blocking hamburgers and the likes.
But let me add another imposing reason why the citizens nowadays are plump, corpulent and overweight. This is because bunot is no longer available in the market. The ever reliable coconut husk commonly known as bunot used to polish our household floorings may it be made from cement, of natural stone or of fine timber virtually vanished and seems to have been wiped out in all our nearby stores.
No thanks to the invention of electric-run floor polishers, floor washing robots, wood polishing chemical formulas and lamella-layered veneer flooring tiles because we no longer exert the physically demanding effort of polishing manually our floors.
Polishing the floors then was such a calorie-burning episode! First, is to sweep the floor to get rid of dusts and small boulders that may be present on the floor. Then, manually wiping the floors with bars of floor wax using a cloth, then, setting it for a couple of minutes for the wax to dry up. Then, the severely demanding “pagbubunot” or pushing back and forth the coconut husk against the floor lodged at the palm of your foot and using the other foot to firmly step on the floor to maintain balance. To maintain the multiple polishing movements of the legs and feet, the arms and shoulders needs to be of the opposite swaying movement while the body’s torso needs to maintain a 90 degree angle against the horizontal floor. Polishing is done using your foot and your leg pushing the bunot back and forth until the desired gloss and shiny-ness of the floor has been achieved. Describing and writing how “pagbubunot” is done already makes me sweat!!!
I suppose bunot is basically one of the reasons why the generations in the past are sexier, leaner and are well in shape even if there were no expensive fitness centers in the past and liposuction procedures were yet to be invented. Possessing a plump belly and flabby humps were something that is rather rare among the populace in the past.
So, if every citizen on this planet wants to keep fit and wants to achieve a lean, slim and sexy body, I propose that “bunot” be reintroduced back in all our nearby retail stores. Besides, it’s earth-friendly, ecologically conservative, green and biodegradable.
Nengkoy wished that her 75th birthday be held and celebrated in the vast coconut plantation estate that was converted into a tourist destination located south of Metro Manila. True enough, her wish was made into a reality when Nengkoy, twenty seven crazy members of my family and I trooped to Villa Escudero Plantation & Resort on her birthday.
Every member of my family was treated with a 2-day glimpse of a typical life of rural Philippines. Upon arrival we were served with refreshing “gulaman” as a welcome drink. After which, the whole pack were led to the magnificent museum that houses the marvelous antique and unique collections of the Escuderos. There were all forms of Catholic statues and statuettes. We saw an overwhelming array of Filipino costumes, jars, vases, indigenous forest hunting gears, stuffed Pinoy-once-endemic fauna and other eclectic treasures made, found and discovered in the Philippines. I was particularly was astonished by the collection of authentic handwritten letters of Philippines’ National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal displayed in that marvelous museum.
facade of the museum
After feasting our eyes to the overwhelming collections found in the museum, we were then taken for a ride on a carabao-drawn cart for a tour around the vast resort. Seated at the end of the cart were two resort staffs in traditional Filipino clothes. One played the guitar while the other sang traditional Filipino songs while the cart was being drawn to lead us to checked-in at our respective nipa-like villas built right at the edge of a serene lake. The villas were reminiscent of a traditional Filipino house called “Bahay Kubo”.
my monster "pamangkins" on their carabao caravan ride
jumpshot!!!
We then immediately proceeded to one of the highlights of our stay. The scrumptious buffet lunch served and eaten al fresco style few meters away from the base of a waterfall. Still typical of a Filipino dining set-up, we ate on native bamboo-craft-woven plates with banana leaf as its lining and our soup bowls were coconut shells! Breakable chinaware was non-existent! Flowing water on the ground touching and lashing our feet add up to the delicious dining experience.
An hour after lunch, we then headed to one of the resort’s pavilions where a Filipino cultural dance display is being held. The show featured various ethnic and colonially influenced Filipino dances performed by the employees of the resort. The costumes, the music, the colors, the graceful dance moves were all but a rewarding add-on during our stay in Villa Escudero.
a piece of a young coconut palm leaf weaved to form like a fish handed to me by one of the dancers
After the show, we proceeded to our assigned villa for a short afternoon rest. The villa is not equipped with TV, sound system and not even an internet. All you got is the refreshingly beautiful scenery of what the old Philippines were plus the melodious sound of birds lurking around the area.
Later in the afternoon, majority of us lined up to get our respective paddles plus a life vest for we did a little of rowing at the pristine lake using an old-fashioned kayak in the form of a bamboo raft. While we do the rowing, other members of the family were busy trying to catch live fish from the lake or just busy lazing around. In the same afternoon, a number of employees of the resort serenaded Nengkoy at the villa singing a couple of Kundiman songs plus of course the classic birthday song in Tagalog version.
erika and the band!!!
Dinner buffet was served inside an elegant pavilion. This is the moment when Nengkoy was greeted by the singers performing during dinner time and was surprised when a birthday cake was brought to her table for her to make a wish and blow the candle. After which, the rest of the night was spent bonding and chitchatting before everybody hit the sack with smiles on our faces.
nengkoy about to blow her birthday cake candle
Our stay and adventure in Villa Escudero to celebrate Nengkoy’s 75th birthday is no doubt one of my family’s memorable experiences! I actually don’t know how to end this writing. But one thing is for sure Villa Escudero is one authentic representation of Filipino pride, culture and extravaganza.
It made me want to dance the Tinikling as sang by the 50’s circa Pinay diva, Sylvia La Torre…
If the Filipino advertising agency is to adopt the successful “Share a Coke” campaign done in Australia in 2011, one thing is certain, my name won’t be included. The campaign removed the iconic Coca-cola logo from the bottles’ label and instead replaced it with about 100 different common first names in their country. It was reported that there was about 32% increase in the sales of Coke in the first two weeks when the campaign was launched.
My name Neil won’t be included because here in the Philippines, its inhabitants has the habit of giving nicknames that simply duplicates the same syllable like Nene, Toto, Makmak, Leklek, Tintin, Jojo, Junjun, Lotlot, Maymay, Katkat, Bangbang, Kangkang, Tonton, Em-em, Jay-jay, Bibi, Gigi, Ar-ar, Tata. Believe me. I can go on and on and on.
Not only in terms of nicknaming people but there are other instances that we do it. Here’s a few:
“tiktik” – a name of a sleazy tabloid or it means to investigate
“kiskis” – meaning to polish
“siksik” – which means compacted
“sapsap” – a name of a slipmouth fish
“paspas” – meaning to speed-up
“bolabola” – the name we call a hawker’s fishballs
“labolabo” – meaning chaos or confusion
“major major” – part of the controversial answer of Ms. Philippines in 2010 Ms. Universe pageant which the rest of the world poked fun of
I am not a linguistic anthropologist who could explain this factual phenomenon. But there must be something in the water that makes us do this agglutinative style. We even name the vagina and penis in this manner…
I just had one of the most extraordinary experiences of my life. No I did not go to any posh place or meet interesting people in person or tasted the best cuisine in this planet. I simply just finished watching the most extraordinary series of documentary videos available on YouTube.
The 11-part documentary is about the astonishing occurrences in the life of Emma De Guzman, an Overseas Filipino Worker who was chosen to be the army of God. The videos were posted in August 2010 yet only seem a few has seen it. Popular videos would ordinarily hit millions of views but these video series hardly hit the 5,000 views mark.
The video is about the personal encounters of Ms. Emma De Guzman with the Blessed Virgin Mary, with Lord Jesus Christ, with the Holy Saints and Angels. Her divine encounters and the extraordinary physical manifestations – having facial glitters or escarchas, precious stones emerging out of her face, pieces of the Crown of Thorns popping out of her forehead, fresh stemmed roses emerging out of her chest, the stigmata she had, her writings of the scriptures written in the popular Greek language during the time of Jesus, angel’s feathers, etc. – gave me the largest goose bumps that my body can afford.
I was at a total awe when she recounted how the Blessed Virgin Mary taught her how to properly pray the Rosary, how she saw Jesus in a small chapel and how she gleefully described the Saints that she met. I completely admire her for not questioning the Devine on the tasks given to her.
But what moved me most is how simple, ordinary and remained down to earth Ma’am Emma is as a person even after she has been chosen as an instrument of God as well as the uncomplicated principles and messages she relayed to those who would have the rare opportunity to watch and listen to her in the video. I confess that I cried so hard while watching these 11-part videos.
I know that I am blessed to have accidentally bumped into this documentary. I am so astonished that I have to write and share these… Watch it in YouTube and have your heart be open as well. Simply type and search for “Emma de Guzman Documentary: The Apparition of The Blessed Virgin Mary”
I am not a professional photographer and I may not shoot the best photo in the world but today’s beautiful weather in the Philippines just egged me on to take a shot of today’s magnificent sunset.
manila bay sunset (jan 21, 2012)
manila sunset (a shot from my unit)
The afternoon today is so orange and the rays of light that touched my skin made me look so radiant. The sun today is superbly amber it made me feel light and happy. How I wish this beautiful weather is the same weather we have at all times. I also wish that a magnificent sunset – may it be 50% or 98% amber – can at all times invoke a person’s light and positive feeling. Too bad a good feeling is just like the colors of the sunset. It fades in the night. It is not like a photograph that you can keep in a box.
Watching the full recorded YouTube video of Day 2 of the impeachment trial of Supreme Court’s Chief Justice Renato Corona made me fully awake until the video ended. Battle of the brains and the not so brainy practitioners of the law raged on.
One thing is definite after watching the video I was made and transformed to become a fan and admirer of the chief lawyer for the defense, former Associate Supreme Court Justice Serafin Cuevas. I was in awe on how mentally sharp 83-year-old Cuevas delivered his stand. He was articulate, extemporaneous and was in full control of his thoughts and reasoning based on logic, provisions of the Constitution and the prevailing laws on due process.
Judging from the video and listening to Cuevas, I saw glimpse of how the Senator-Judges (especially Senator Lito Lapid) has gone amazed and astonished with the way Cuevas delivered his quick-witted manifestations. I myself was nuts about how Cuevas aired out and stressed his keen points and antithesis. Watching Serafin Cuevas perform him duty was an eye-opening experience, that when a person reached old age one should keep the pizzazz and sparkle in everything that he or she does.
I pray to God that I would be blessed with the same acumen when I reach that age. Two things though, Atty. Cuevas badly needs a good stylist and a more decent haircut.
Every working day, travelling from my 350 divided by 10 square meters condo unit to my office, I would instruct, demand and insist the taxi driver to traverse the streets of Leveriza, San Andres and J. Bocobo so as to reach my office located just across the Remedios Circle in Malate, Manila. These highly populated streets are the shortest and speediest way for me to reach my office on a regular basis.
However, according to local news these streets and locations are the very sites where Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton and the other stars of Bourne Legacy will shoot the film on January 18 and 19. Now this posts a problem because for sure these narrow labyrinthine roads will either be closed for or filled with traffic.
repairing the Remedios Circle lamp posts
Just yesterday, I noticed that the rickety and long-overdue-needing-repair lamp posts around Remedios Circle were being restored and refurbished. Moreover, the rundown parking slots in the corner of Remedios Circle and J. Bocobo street is being constructed with high-rise scaffolding which I suppose where the high-tech cameras will be installed and operated on the days of the shoot.
Despite all these, I will still pass by these roads on January 18 and 19 but will not take a cab anymore. Instead, I will ride the ever reliable manually-operated padyak (foot-pedaled tricycle) while sporting my posh designer office clothes. I also plan to bring along with me my prehistoric digital camera to take photos of these celebrities as remembrance.
However, I am still contemplating whether to bring me a pen and paper where the movie stars can sign their autographs since getting their elusive autographs seemed too farfetched. Instead, in keeping with the circa 70’s and 80’s tradition of a true Filipino fan (ala Germspecial or GMA Super Show – famous but now defunct Filipino Sunday noontime shows hosted by German Moreno), I will bring lots of Sampaguita leis to hang and drape around their respective necks. The amount of these flower garlands that I will put around their neck would be so plenty, only the foreheads of these Hollywood stars would be visible. Here in the Philippines during the 70’s and 80’s the higher the leis that hang on a celebrity’s neck the more sikat (popular and admired) he or she is.
No way will I instruct the padyak driver to take a different route since I expect to experience rare Hollywood star sightings, the Malate version.
Yihee, may rason na akong hwag umabsent sa mga araw nayan…
Since the Philippines has started to guilelessly emphasize its tourist destinations to be “more” fun as compared to other destinations in the planet, the tourism bureau, ministries and departments of other countries will definitely contemplate and strategize on challenging the slogan recently unveiled by the country’s Department of Tourism.
If you are to put yourself into the shoes of tourism executives of other countries, would you just sit down and buy this blunt claim and proclamation of the Philippines? Definitely not. Having more than five or ten times the budget of the Philippine tourism department, you being a tourism executive of your country will never allow such claim and will definitely carry out ways and strategies to prove the Philippines wrong. A case in point, the United States of America, without spending a dime released a travel advisory discouraging its citizens to travel to the southern part of the Philippines two days after the controversial slogan was unveiled.
If you are a proud and loyal inhabitant of another country, would you allow the citizens of the Philippines to claim that they’re having more fun in their place than yours? Definitely not. You would not even think or plan of going there (in the Philippines) so that tourist arrival would not improve and prove that such claim is wrong. Or worst, you would travel to the Philippines – have yourself easily be subjected to holda-fun, kidna-fun or carna-fun – and with a breeze can announce that the slogan is a wrong claim and say that your home country is more fun.
If you are a Filipino travelling outside the Philippines, you would definitely meet the locals. In such meeting circumstance, you would tell them that you are a tourist from the Philippines. At some point you would try to encourage the locals – in support for the Philippine tourism – to visit the Philippines. But when you would be asked why should they go here, would you say “It’s more fun in the Philippines”? Definitely not. This will only show that you are somewhat not enjoying your travel in their country and would rather be in the Philippines. Thus, two possible things will happen to you. You would be either brought by these locals to their worst and most boring places because of your arrogance or you would be taken to their most exciting venues and events for you to have the best time of your life to prove to you that the Philippine tourism department’s slogan is wrong.
Don’t get me wrong, Philippines is fun. But I guess I need more convincing to be swayed by this new slogan…
Nengkoy 