[Christendom]

April 15, 2009
BACOLOD: Tower monument to Pope being built

(pic by thesugarfairy of ssc-bacolod)

If you are wondering what that derrick is doing at the sea front gate of SM Mega Mall, you will be in for a surprise. By May it will boast a seven-storey tower – a monument to the 1981 visit of the late Pope John Paul II.

This monumental project is a donation by Bacolod Real Estate Development Corp., headed lawyer Simplicio (Sammy Palanca) to the San Sebastian Cathedral. It aims to provide the Bacolod Diocese a steady source of income for the upkeep of the Cathedral.

It will cost some P6-million to finish, Palanca admitted. He had to buy back the 900 square meter lot on which the tower is to be constructed.

Already in his early eighties, Palanca is focused on the project. His recent bout with a gastro-intestinal ailment has not diminished his enthusiasm for the shrine project.

“The February 20, 1981 visit the Pope John Paul II to Bacolod was not just historic, it also represented a blessing for the New Bacolod City rising from the sea,” was how he put it during a recent talk with this author.

For him, it is important that Bacolod folk and Negrenses should remember that event where some 700,000 people from all walks of life swarmed into the seaside altar to witness the Pope celebrate the mass and also to listen to him deliver his message to the people of Negros Occidental.

Bishop Antonio Y. Fortich led the group of the Negros clergy who were at the altar.

The seven storey monument will boast a tower with a parapet from which visitors will enjoy a panoramic view of Bacolod City and the Guimaras Strait.

Able-bodied visitors can trudge up the stairway to the tower. But there is also an external elevator, glass encased. This will be for the disabled and the aging seniors. The elevator had already been ordered from Korea, according to one of the coordinators of the project.

The elevator will accommodate four to five persons.

The ground portion will have spaces for a maximum of eight vehicles in four separate parking areas.

The Church is expected to ask for entrance fee to the shrine. Or it could be in the form of donations to the shrine.

Palanca said he intends to collect and print outsized photos of that visit along the walls of the various floors of the seven storey structure. It will also include religious artifacts. All are designed to uplift the spirit of visitors and stress the importance of religion in their lives, was how Palanca put it.

Fr. Felix Pasquin, the rector of the San Sebastian Cathedral, was the one who negotiated the donation of the project. And Palanca said this will be turned over to the Bacolod Diocese in May when the project shall have been completed.

Pope John II traveled by Pope Mobile to the seaside sprawling platform on February 20, 1981, from the 1982 Bishop’s residence along Rizal Street. By that time, the road was already cemented.

By that time thousands had already congregated in the area. Thousands more followed the Pope who was accompanied by bishop Fortich and members of the local clergy.

Actually, it was in 1961 when a group of forward-looking Bacolod residents, joined Palanca in putting up BREDCO to reclaim some 250 hectares of Bacolod’s foreshore area into a docking place for inter island vessels and international boats. Work was initially slow-paced, by 1975, it picked up with the entry into the scene of Marsteel Corporation and Marsteel Consolidated, Inc. headed by Antonio Martel. The Development Bank of the Philippines also provided financing for the project.

By the time of the Pope’s visit, BREDCO had already reclaimed 100 of the 250 hectares it had envisioned to carve out of the Bacolod foreshore area.

Today, the once sea-covered area has become a bustling commercial center with promises of becoming an industrial beehive following the approval by the Philippine Export Processing zone of its initial offer to put up an economic zone.

The 1981 visit, therefore, served as a blessing for the city from the sea. Another reason why Palanca gazes with joy at the donation of a shrine that will serve to immortalize that historic chapter in Bacolod’s progress as a city.*

 

[Christendom]

FAMILIA LIZARES MANSION IN NEGROS OCCIDENTAL

LIZARES MANSION - BACOLOD CITY
​

LIZARES MANSION - TALISAY CITY​

(Photos courtesy from Rogue Magazine)​

 

[bacolodchamp]

Dr. Cecilia Locsin-Nava: Nurturing the ‘Inaton’ Literature

By Gil Alfredo B. Severino

I love the way Dr. Cecilia Nava would integrate laughter into her method of teaching. In my several visits to her lovely home, she would unselfishly show her books and never fail to mentor using her good command of the English language. She can communicate in Spanish as this is very useful in her chosen discipline but long to study it intently.

She is not just an educator but walked the main streets of Bacolod to raise funds for cancer patients. She practised Tai-Chi and is conversant in any topic that pops up. She had even dreamt of becoming a suicide bomber to end corruption. Most of all, Dr. Nava is the “mother” of the scholarly approach in studying the Hiligaynon literature here in Negros Island. I have good reasons to believe no one can surpass the seriousness of her studies.

She mentioned about the “annales” school of interpreting history as the theoretical framework for her doctoral dissertation in the Philippine Studies Program of the University of the Philippines. Reading her “History and Society in the Novels of Ramon Muzones,” one can see the Lucien Febvre’s approach to social and economic history using a wide range of sources like maps, folklores, songs and literature at the same time examining her Muzones-protagonist against the geography, social, cultural and political features of the early 20th century Iloilo or Panay for that matter.

She has no pretensions of being a prolific writer of books but her knowledge of the Hiligaynon literature is a legacy which will make things easy for the next generation. I saw two books laid in our conference and brought to my TV program “Check and Balance” last week.

The other book she wrote is “Corrido” published and exclusively sold by the National Historical Commission. Here, Dr. Nava taught us the historical affinity of the Philippines and Mexico using a musical medium “Corrido” but could have been more Hiligaynon had she used the letter “K” for “Korrido” instead of “C”.

I have not yet read Dr. Nava’s “Corrido” book but the transfer of the Spanish culture through the Mexican filtration is yet to be realized. Dr. Nava is never tired of pounding this and for the Philippine educational system to realized that Spanish rule was through the Viceroy of Mexico.

I asked Dr. Nava why in many of her studies and two books, “Panay” appeared to be the standout dwarfing Negros in almost all materials she used for study.

It is unfortunate, she said, that Negros society has not institutionalized nor valued historiography. Negros still look up to Panay for serious study of it history and society besides being but a settlement of commerce through Nicholas Looney.

Negros is still a young society but with an umbilical cord attached to its mother Panay, a reality which every Negrense has to reckon with.

This piece cannot contain Dr. Nava’s stories and how she tells them is a memorial kept in the heart.*

www.ndb-online.com

 

[bacolodchamp]

Silay City

I went with mom and dad to drop my sister off at the airport and we decided to go around Silay afterwards..pictures of old houses as well as "official" ancestral houses, ruins and landmarks. Hope you like 'em.

​

^^

 

[bacolodchamp]

Picture of an iron dinosaur in front of LCC HRM building beside the bookstore

another view

this iron dinasaur is one of the main attaction of the province

^^

 

[Christendom]

Talisay Ruins on list
of 12 most fascinating
BY CARLA GOMEZ

source
The Ruins in Talisay City, Negros Occidental, is among “12 of the World's Most Fascinating Ruins” featured under places on Oddee.

Oddee at www.oddee.com is a blog with over 2.5 million visitors worldwide a month that “features the odd, strange and bizarre things of our world, Be amazed!”, its home page says.
Ruins
The Ruins in Talisay City*

The Ruins in Talisay is ranked in 12th place and is described as “a mansion built by a sugar magnate at the turn of the last century that not once, but twice, was destroyed in the Second World War in order to prevent Japanese forces from using it. Once on their way out of the Philippines, the USAAFE bombed and strafed the home, and Philippines rebels burned it down to keep it from falling into Japanese hands.”

The Ruins, built in the early 1990s by sugar planter Mariano Ledesma Lacson (1865-1948), is now a tourists attraction ran by his great grandson Raymund Javellana, who runs the place.

Javellana told the DAILY STAR yesterday he does not know how The Ruins got included in Oddee or who runs the blog but he is grateful for the publicity it is giving the place.

“I just hope that this can spur tourist arrivals to Negros,” he said.

During the early part of the war, Filipino guerrillas from the United States Armed Forces in the Far East set fire to the mansion to prevent the Japanese forces from utilizing it as their headquarters, he said.

But he denied that the USAAFE also bombed and strafed the home as stated on Oddee.

Topping the Oddee list of fascinating ruins at http://www.oddee.com/item_96671.aspx is the most famous of all the Inca ruins built in the mid 15th century, Machu Picchu, which appears to be suspended between two mountains and is often enshrouded in mist.

In second place is Babylon in Iraq, followed by Palenque in Mexico, the ruins of Ayutthaya in Thailand, the Colosseum in Italy, the Tikal Ruins in Guatemala, Chichén Itzá Ruin in Mexico, the Parthenon in Greece, Jesuitical Ruins of Trinidad in Paraguay, the Copan Ruins in Honduras, and the Palmyra Ruins in Syria.*CPG

http://visayandailystar.com/2009/June/08/topstory6.htm

 

[overtureph]

Thanks for sharing the photos of Silay postergirl.

 

[amitaliri619]

April 15, 2009
BACOLOD: Tower monument to Pope being built

(pic by thesugarfairy of ssc-bacolod)

If you are wondering what that derrick is doing at the sea front gate of SM Mega Mall, you will be in for a surprise. By May it will boast a seven-storey tower – a monument to the 1981 visit of the late Pope John Paul II.

This monumental project is a donation by Bacolod Real Estate Development Corp., headed lawyer Simplicio (Sammy Palanca) to the San Sebastian Cathedral. It aims to provide the Bacolod Diocese a steady source of income for the upkeep of the Cathedral.

It will cost some P6-million to finish, Palanca admitted. He had to buy back the 900 square meter lot on which the tower is to be constructed.

Already in his early eighties, Palanca is focused on the project. His recent bout with a gastro-intestinal ailment has not diminished his enthusiasm for the shrine project.

“The February 20, 1981 visit the Pope John Paul II to Bacolod was not just historic, it also represented a blessing for the New Bacolod City rising from the sea,” was how he put it during a recent talk with this author.

For him, it is important that Bacolod folk and Negrenses should remember that event where some 700,000 people from all walks of life swarmed into the seaside altar to witness the Pope celebrate the mass and also to listen to him deliver his message to the people of Negros Occidental.

Bishop Antonio Y. Fortich led the group of the Negros clergy who were at the altar.

The seven storey monument will boast a tower with a parapet from which visitors will enjoy a panoramic view of Bacolod City and the Guimaras Strait.

Able-bodied visitors can trudge up the stairway to the tower. But there is also an external elevator, glass encased. This will be for the disabled and the aging seniors. The elevator had already been ordered from Korea, according to one of the coordinators of the project.

The elevator will accommodate four to five persons.

The ground portion will have spaces for a maximum of eight vehicles in four separate parking areas.

The Church is expected to ask for entrance fee to the shrine. Or it could be in the form of donations to the shrine.

Palanca said he intends to collect and print outsized photos of that visit along the walls of the various floors of the seven storey structure. It will also include religious artifacts. All are designed to uplift the spirit of visitors and stress the importance of religion in their lives, was how Palanca put it.

Fr. Felix Pasquin, the rector of the San Sebastian Cathedral, was the one who negotiated the donation of the project. And Palanca said this will be turned over to the Bacolod Diocese in May when the project shall have been completed.

Pope John II traveled by Pope Mobile to the seaside sprawling platform on February 20, 1981, from the 1982 Bishop’s residence along Rizal Street. By that time, the road was already cemented.

By that time thousands had already congregated in the area. Thousands more followed the Pope who was accompanied by bishop Fortich and members of the local clergy.

Actually, it was in 1961 when a group of forward-looking Bacolod residents, joined Palanca in putting up BREDCO to reclaim some 250 hectares of Bacolod’s foreshore area into a docking place for inter island vessels and international boats. Work was initially slow-paced, by 1975, it picked up with the entry into the scene of Marsteel Corporation and Marsteel Consolidated, Inc. headed by Antonio Martel. The Development Bank of the Philippines also provided financing for the project.

By the time of the Pope’s visit, BREDCO had already reclaimed 100 of the 250 hectares it had envisioned to carve out of the Bacolod foreshore area.

Today, the once sea-covered area has become a bustling commercial center with promises of becoming an industrial beehive following the approval by the Philippine Export Processing zone of its initial offer to put up an economic zone.

The 1981 visit, therefore, served as a blessing for the city from the sea. Another reason why Palanca gazes with joy at the donation of a shrine that will serve to immortalize that historic chapter in Bacolod’s progress as a city.*

I don't see how that building looks very monumental, it just looks like another condo or apartment building, something like the campanile in venice would be nice.

 

[Christendom]

I don't see how that building looks very monumental, it just looks like another condo or apartment building, something like the campanile in venice would be nice.

oonga,,,it looks more on bunsiness building...cool even the structure is a small but purposely for a mix-used (leisure & commercial building)

 

[[email protected]]

it's more in the nature of a glass tower, to afford a view I guess, it's not thick enough to look like a condo or a business building...just a modern glass tower...like I said..

 

[Jeff & Dahl]

looking for old steam engines...

Hi All,

I'm new on this thread but I'm hoping that you can be of help, I'll be traveling to Negros in a couple of months and I'm hoping to see some of the old steam engines that are on display, the only problem is finding out where they are!

I've found locations for the Lopez Sugar Co "shay" in Sagay City and also the big Baldwin "mallet" that is in the city plaza in Sagay city. I think there is a loco on display outside the Victorias mill in Victorias city.

The Question is:

Where are the other locos locations?

Please help!

Jeffrey

 

[sugarboy]

During the early part of the war, Filipino guerrillas from the United States Armed Forces in the Far East set fire to the mansion to prevent the Japanese forces from utilizing it as their headquarters, he said.

This is a result of poor intelligence work by the local guerillas. On the other hand, the houses which were eventually used by the Japanese as their headquarters and staff residences are still intact today.

Being in the middle of a canefield and far from the city, it wouldn't matter at all if the Japanese took over the Lacson house hno:

 

[Christendom]

Rafe Totengco retraces his roots
THURSDAY, 16 JULY 2009 20:02 MOMAR G. VISAYA / AJPRESS NEW YORK (REPRINTED FROM BALIKBAYAN MAGAZINE)

New York-based fashion accessories designer Rafael Felix (Rafe) Totengco’s foray into the fashion world began way early in his life. How early? How about fifth grade?

"It kind of happened accidentally," Rafe tells Balikbayan Magazine. Then we began a trip down memory lane and we ended up on the corner of fifth grade and awkward, in the city of smiles, Bacolod.

In the Philippines, when you go to mass every Sunday, you’re supposed to wear your Sunday’s best. When Rafe was young, he didn’t really care about clothing and he would just wear whatever he had. His sisters would be embarrassed and would tease him that he looks like the gardener’s son.

Rafe’s mother, in one of her trips to Manila, bought fabrics in Divisoria, gave it to him in a box and told him to go to the tailor and have stuff made. Off he went to the tailor but he didn’t realize back then that he could actually tell the tailor what to create for him.

He bought some fashion magazines and started looking at the illustrations. At that time, he says there was a magazine called Manila Women’s Wear and there was an incredible illustrator named Danilo Franco. He began tracing over Franco’s sketches because back then, he didn’t really know how to draw people. "I was in fifth grade and all I drew were horses, Voltes V, sharks. Then I thought, ‘What if take this pocket and put it here and this and that color would match," he recalls with a smile.

Rafe returned to the tailor with all his sketches and after a week, he had a whole new wardrobe. "I was like, ‘Hmmmm. Who cares about horses?’ It was a Eureka moment and that triggered my interest. At that point, I was buying Manila Women’s Wear every time it came out. I was obsessed with all those illustrations," he admits.

While his classmates in his fifth grade class played with toy robots and spiders, Rafe’s interest in fashion escalated. This was also the time when he began buying Vogue. Can you imagine, fifth grade in Bacolod, buying Vogue. There was only one department store there which carried Vogue and it was so expensive. Of course it was wrapped in plastic and you can’t just open it and look. You have to buy it!" he adds. The now celebrated designer never looked back.

Rafe ran Schizo, a clothing business in Manila until he was 21. In 1989, he moved to New York to pursue a career in fashion design. He enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and gained experience working as a design assistant.

In 1994, a Soho boutique asked him to produce a collection of belts and watch- bands. When they sold out instantly, the boutique requested for Rafe to design a grouping of handbags to sell alongside the small leather goods. One year later, the first collection of Rafe handbags debuted.

Over the years, Rafe Totengco has become one of the most acclaimed among the new generation of American designers, garnering awards and nominations from the Accessories Council, The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Fashion Group International and other award-giving bodies in the fashion industry.

On Coming Home
year, Rafe opened his first Manila boutique at the posh Greenbelt 5. It was like a homecoming of sorts, as the Philippines welcomed him back with open arms. With the opening of this store, Rafe says his life has come full circle.

The Manila boutique, designed to mimic the brand’s New York City showroom, boasts baby blue damask patterned walls, rich chocolate brown floors and an eclectic mix of Asian antiques and vintage furniture. The free-standing store carries an edited collection of Rafe handbags, shoes and leather goods which are merchandised to epitomize the brand’s fun, chic aesthetic. In addition, Rafe will produce a collection of limited edition accessories especially for the boutique.

Owned by Ricco and Tina Ocampo, the husband and wife team behind multi-brand fashion boutique Mix, the store is a franchise that grew organically from the pair’s long-standing relationship with Totengco.

"Ricco and Tina have supported me from the very beginning" says Totengco. "From my early years in the Philippines to now, with the store. I couldn’t have imagined two better partners to work with on this endeavor."
Rafe has been going back to the Philippines quite regularly specially in the past few years. As a balikbayan himself, he hopes to come back a few more times than the usual.

"It is always fun for me to go back home and I really enjoy it because I get to see my old friends. I have Manila friends and Bacolod friends and the two groups don’t necessarily mix," he shares.

He admits though that it is the myriad of food choices that he misses the most. Among the comfort foods that he craves constantly is the chicken inasal from his native Bacolod.

For the past years that he has been going home and staying in Manila during his visits, he was always on the lookout for the authentic chicken inasal from his childhood.

During his past trip, he had a photo shoot and the night prior, he bumped into Joel Torre. Rafe told him that he was craving for some inasal. "I told him I was naglilihi, and he said, ‘I’ll deliver it to you.’ I was like, ‘Really?’" Rafe recalls.

Long story short, Torre (who operates JT Manukan Grille restaurants in Manila) delivered his famous chicken inasal to the studio where Rafe was shooting his spring campaign.

When the food arrived, they were still in the middle of the shoot and they had to stop to eat the chicken he has been craving for. "It was so good. It triggered a lot of my childhood memories and the friendships I have built," he quips.

The designer is thankful that despite his being away for so long, every time he comes home, he feels as if he never left. "That’s what’s so beautiful about the friendships that I have there," Rafe adds.

If and when he gets more time to travel, Rafe wants to explore more of the Philippines and visit Vigan, Bohol, Zamboanga, Palawan and other tourist spots in the country.


During our interview, we asked Rafe to play favorites, and here are excerpts of that conversation.

Fashion icons: Coco Chanel is amazing, Christian Lacroix is very original, Givenchy, Rei Kawakubo, Yohji Yamamoto, they all have inspiring stories and I learned a lot from all of them. I’m like a sponge.

Style icon today: Kate Moss, she couldn’t do no wrong.

Season: Spring, then summer. It’s all about the colors and optimism. It’s time to be happy. You can be whimsical. Fall and winter, you get to be more serious and get into a cocoon. During the spring, you can have a little frivolity. Who doesn’t need that?

Three words to describe himself now: Approachable. Curious. Adventurous.
Design Inspiration: There is no one source for me. It happens every time, even when I am eating and I see a perfect shade of pasta sauce. Conversation, music, people, it is random. It’s up in the air and it’s hard to pinpoint.

Things to Wear: I have my "uniform," which is jeans, printed or striped shirt. My friends could spot me from a mile away. I always wear the same things.

City: Paris

Hotel: The Grand Hyatt in Tokyo

Restaurant: Le Voltaire in Paris

Airport: Incheon in Seoul, it is spotless and very modern.

Airline: Japan Airlines

Travel Must-Haves: My iPod, notebook because I need to sketch while I am waiting or while I am doing nothing, and my eyemask, because you know.... (laughs), or maybe Ambien.

Five items every man should have in his wardrobe: (1) A good watch because you don’t want to be embarrassed when you hold your wrist up. It doesn’t have to be expensive and as long as it is not fake. I like a little authenticity. (2) A good pair of shoes because at the end of the day, you can be in jeans and shirt but if your shoes are awful, it just speaks volumes. (3) Clean shirts. I don’t care if it is crumpled because sometimes it is kind of cute, but please make sure it is clean. (4) A good belt. I look at the finishing details. (5) Trousers that fit.

Weekend Brunch: So many, like Pastis is fantastic and fun for the crowd, but if you just want to eat, SoHo House is it. Dimsum in Chinatown is also my idea of a good brunch. Bobby’s in TriBeCa.

Work Lunch: Union Square Café, Republic and Tarallucci E Vino.

Dinner: Zampa, Scarpetta, Cendrillon, Indochine and Il Buco

Bar: SoHo House, Zampa

Weekend getaway: Fire Island

Art Gallery: I really love going to the galleries in Chelsea. Steely Wise, Mary Boone

Museum: I love going to the MoMA. The architecture is really fantastic. I love the Costume Institute too.

Store: Muji, it’s like no-design design. I love it. It’s like I can buy almost everything in the store. There are kind of things that are anonymous that are perfectly designed I think. I also love going to Odin on Lafayette Street.

Relaxation spot: The swimming pool, I go to the Y in Vanderbilt.

Broadway shows: All My Sons, with Katie Holmes and Patrick Wilson; History Boys, that was a lot of fun and Mamma Mia, of course. As a Filipino, how could you not love Abba?

( www.asianjournal.com )
( Originally published in Balikbayan April 2009 p.34 )

 

[Christendom]

JULY PERFORMING ARTS HIGHLIGHTS
Negrense Singers in World Championship in L.A.

Four young singers – siblings Ma. Ama Karina, Ma. Ana Kristia and Kristopherson Madrigal, together with Aissa Mae Mateos - have qualified for in the World Championship of Performing Arts at Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, California scheduled July 11-19.

The four are pilot students of the Maestro Art Madrigal Music Production and Performing Arts and are also members of the Young voices of Negros, a children’s choral ensemble.

Another group of Negrense signers, Kulay Pikata, will compete in the Seniors’ Rhythm & Blues and Jazz category. The Kulay Pikata singers are Jose Gentica VII, John Raymund Castiller, Ernesto Sanao, Joel Teodoro, Jubert and Jimmy Monserate.

The World Championship of Performing Arts is an annual talent competition which is judged on the bases of acting, singing, dancing, modeling, instruments and a variety of categories.

Filipinos have fared well in the Olympic-style competition with Jed Mandela winning the Senior Grand Performer of the World prize in 2005, and Raymund Sajor and Aria Clemente taking the Senior Grand Vocalist Champion and the Junior Grand Champion Performer of the World in 2007.

The participation of the Negrense singers in the international competition are among the highlights of the local performing arts at this time of the year.

At the Wifi Body 4: Independent Contemporary Dance Festival which ends today at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Pull School Performing Arts of Dwight Rodrigazo are among the regional groups competing for the top prizes; the competition, sponsored by the contemporary Dance Network Philippines and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, aims to present contemporary dance as a viable art form and nurture local talents.

The competition caps the two-week dance festival, which also featured Jed Amihan, a former UNO-Recoletos Kasadyahan Dance Company and Teatro Amorseco member, who is now connected with the Manila-based Air Dance, a contemporary group organized by Rodrigazo and Paul Morales.

Dance Pull members Roque Saison, Ian Nick, Tiba and Marius Centeno will join the 3rd New Choreographer’s Competition along with Razel Ann Mitchao and Christopher Chan as dancers. The group will also perform Sakada and Birds for the Mind, choreographed by Rodrigazo.

On the other hand, The Kagayon Dance Troupe of Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod will compete in the 7th Mindanao Modern Dance National Competition on July 15at the South Cotabato Gym and Cultural Center, Koronadal City. The group will interpret a contemporary dance choreographed by ballerina Georgette Sanchez.

Two groups from the Province of Negros Occidental had already won the top slots in the previous editions of the competition – the VMA Poseidon Dance Theater, the 2007 champion, and Teatro Amorseco which placed second runner-up in 2003.

The Koronadal-bound dancers are Charmae Cabrillos, Geraldin Braceros, Ma. Katrina Guevarra, Joan Ramos, Kriza May Pecaoco, Antonio Peralta, Jr., Anthony Teodosio, Reygiem Distrito, Condrado Cadapan Jr., and Jose Patrick Entiero. Ma. Victoria Fontanilla is artistic director, Rudy Reveche is technical director and Novella Radislao, the finance officer.

School-based young theater directors will present new works and semi-classics in their respective compuses starting this July. The Maskara Theater Ensemble of the University of St. La Salle opens the theater season with Chance Encounters, a twin bill featuring Fundador Tipon’s Emo Trip and Dennis Teodosio’s Pobreng Alindanao slated on July 30 and 31 and on Aug. 1, 6-8 at the Gallaga Theater.

Emo Trip Kian, portrayed by James Frederick Sibug, who is intensely going through an emotional trip and is rudely interrupted by Eli (Thomas Valiere Canonizado) who tries to engage him in a conversation. The exchange escalates into a confrontation between an unwilling participant and an enthusiastic aggressor. The boundaries of anonymity are swept aside when certain truths are revealed, which tragically concludes in a savage ending. Fundador Tipon directs from his own script.

Pobreng Alindanao deals with the story of Chubbs (Care Angela Catahuran) and Tiny (Krizza Dia Jocame), two dragonflies struggling to fit inside a cocoon in the hope of emerging as butterflies until they encounter its old owner, Beauty (Jensen Artificial) – a butterfly who is attempting to beat the natural course of her existence. Their ensuing encounter reveals harsh truths about their existence while tackling age-old concerns of self-esteem, beauty and acceptance. Adam Riolo is the play’s director.

The Colegio San Agustin Kanlaon Theater Guild will mount on Aug. 27 a trilogy of plays by National Artists for Theater Severino Montano, Rolando Tinio and Wilfredo Ma. Guerrero. Student director Mhelcar Anierdes directs Montano’s classic, “Sabina”, a 1953 one-act play in English. Ricardo Salanap, Jr. re-interprets Tinio’s “May Katwiran ang Katwiran” in its original lyrical Filipino while Charles Kevin Tan handles Guerrero’s comic play, “Away-Basketball”, an adaptation and translation from the original English.

The trilogy is part of the multi-media event dubbed as “Saludo: Tribute to Philippine National Artists” by the CSA-B Performing Arts. It will open on Aug. 26 with a musical and dance presentation by the CSA-B Brass Band, Kalinaw Chorale and the Kagayon Dance Troupe showcasing the works of music masters Lucio San Pedro, Levi Celerio, Ernane Cuenco, Andrea Veneracion and dance icons Francisca Reyes-Aquino, Ramon Obusan, Lucresia Urtula and Leonor Orosa-Goquingco.

Complimentary activities will include film showing of the works of Lino Broka, Ishmael Bernal and Eddie Romeo and an exhibit on the life and works of other national artists, like Leandro Locsin (architecture), Edith Tiempo (literature), J. Elizalde Navarro (visual arts) who are all from Visayas. Jerry Panisales, Virnal Lisa Clarion, Marivic Fontanilla and Rudy Reveche are the Artistic Directors for the Brass Band, Chorale, Dance Troupe and Theater respectively.

Senior theater artists Tanya Lopez, Ismael Java and Rudy Reveche will direct full-length plays about a domineering Spanish mother, a Philippine wild shrub and a Frenchman considered as the patron saint of diocesan priests.

Lopez will direct a translation of Federico Garcia-Lorca’s “La Casa de Bernada Alba” scheduled Sept. 9-12 and 17-19 at the USLS Gallaga Theater. La Casa is about a strange family of women who are mourning the death of the last man to have entered their house which is located in the middle of a vast plantation. The matriarch declares an indefinite period of mourning behind locked doors. The daughters spend long hours yearning for freedom while their grandmother dreams of retiring in a home by the sea.

A neighboring bachelor offers to marry one of the daughters. One of them is in love with him. But all of them want to escape. The production is another Maskara Theater Ensemble production featuring current members and alumni Carlos Durana Jr. Noel Michael Morales, Dianne Valerie Galvan, Karen Ragas, Camille Jade Nayon, Honey Marie Celedonio, Adelyn Maloloy-on, Alyssa Gelongo and Junamae Quicson.

Java on the other hand, will direct West Negros University Kalingaw: Teatro Hiligaynon’s musicale from his own libretto. Title after a shrub with enticing berries, “Anagas” deals with the planned wedding of characters Rosa and Doming amid natural disasters, calamities and sickness. Ceasar Pacalioga is the Musical Director with musical arrangement by Jegger Anhao. It is tentatively set on Sept. 10-12, first as a sing-through and on December for its full-length version.

Reveche will direct Teatro Lingganay’s musicale on the life of St. John Mary Vianney, in celebration of the Roman Catholic Church’s declaration of the Year of the Priests on June 19 this year to June 19, 2010. The Sacred Heart Seminary-based theater group is composed of seminarians. It is scheduled to be staged in December. RReveche

Rhap Salazar and The Young Voices of Negros win top prizes at 2009 WCOPA


LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. 17 July 2009. Team Philippines has done it again at the grand finals of the 13th World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) held at the Westin Bonaventure in downtown, Los Angeles. ABS CBN’s original “Little Big Star” Brightest Star Rhap Salazar won the coveted titles Junior Grand Champion Solo Vocalist of the World, and the Junior Grand Champion Performer of the World. The vocal quartet The Young Voices of Negros won the title Junior Grand Champion Group Vocalists of the World.
12-year-old Rhap sang a one-minute version of Celine Dion’s “All By Myself” at the final show.

“Hours before the finals, Rhap’s voice was getting tired due to extensive rehearsals for two straight days. He did everything to conserve his voice. Despite the odds, he gave a stellar performance worthy of the top prizes in the junior division. The American judges were simply blown away by his soaring vocals,” said WCOPA Philippine National Director Carlo Orosa.

The judges at the grand finals were composed of high profile agents, record and television producers, choreographers, and Disney theme park directors in California and New York.

On the other hand, The Young Voices of Negros (Katrina, Kristina, Aissa and Kristopherson Madrigal) performed a highly polished rendition of “And I Am Telling You,” from the musical “Dreamgirls, in four-part harmony.

WCOPA’s newest junior champions Rhap and The Young Voices of Negros will be featured on ABC’s “Good Morning America” through the “My Life in Three Words” segment.

Team Philippines’ junior vocalist Mayumi Morales, and senior vocalists Martha Joy and CJ Concepcion also competed at the grand finals.

Kimverle Molina of Saudi Arabia won the title Senior Grand Champion Vocalist of the World while Jo Robinson of Australia won the titles Senior Grand Champion Intrumentalist of the World, and the Senior Grand Champion Performer of the World though.

Other members of Team Philippines Maila Mitra, Evette Pabalan, Oreo Vamenta, Divo Bayer, and Guy Lockwood made it to the semi-finals.

During the weeklong competition, Filipino celebrities showed their support for the team – Isay Alvarez, Louie Reyes, Butch Jimenez, Tricia Jimenez, and Rhap’s best friend Charice Pempengco were among them.

“Filipino talent is highly regarded as world class. This being my last year as WCOPA Philippine National Director, I feel so blessed and honored to have produced three Junior Grand Champion Performers of the World – Aria Clemente in 2007, Catherine Loria in 2008, and Rhap Salazar this year. My heartfelt thanks to all our sponsors, my co-workers Oliver Oliveros and Judith Bueno, STAGES, and most especially to the Office of the President, Her Exellency Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for supporting us every year,” said Orosa.

“Television producer and director Kitchie Benedicto will be taking my position as WCOPA Philippine National Director starting next year. I know that the triumph our country has earned will be cared for by director Benedicto,” added Carlo.

Since the Philippines joined the WCOPA in 2005, seven Filipino performing artists have won the global competition’s top prizes: Jed Madela (2005 Grand Champion Vocalist of the World and Grand Champion Performer of the World), The Cercado Sisters (2006 Grand Champion Group Vocalists of the World), Reymond Sajor (2007 Grand Champion Vocalist of the World), Aria Clemente (2007 Grand Champion Vocalist of the World and Grand Champion Performer of the World), Catherine Loria (2008 Grand Champion Vocalist of the World and Grand Champion Performer of the World), and Rhap Salazar and The Young Voices of Negros this year.

WCOPA medalists Aissa Mae Mateos and the Madrigal siblings Kristopherson, Ma. Ama Karina and Ma. Ana Kristi who visited Mayor Evelio Leonardia (center) at the New Government Center before leaving for the world competition in the U.S.*

Negrenses win five medals at LA world championship

The Young Voices of Negros, a children’s choral ensemble, yesterday won five medals in the 2009 World Championship of Performing Arts held in Los Angeles, California, July 11 to 19.

Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia yesterday congratulated the members of the group through their director, Art Madrigal, who informed him of the good news.

Its members are siblings Ma. Ama Karina, Ma. Ana Kristi and Kristopherson Madrigal, and Aissa Mae Mateos, who are students of the Maestro Art Madrigal Music Production and Performing Arts.

The WCOPA website www.wcopa.com said they won two gold medals in the Group Vocal Original Works – 11-12, and Group Vocal R&B/Soul/Jazz – 11-12, and three silver medals for the Group Vocal Gospel - 11-12, Group Vocal Open – 11-12 and Group Vocal Pop – 11-12 categories.

The World Championship of Performing Arts is an annual talent competition which is judged on the bases of acting, singing, dancing, modeling, instruments and a variety of categories.

Five Filipino performing artists who have won the global competition’s top prizes are: Jed Madela (2005 Grand Champion Vocalist of the World and Grand Champion Performer of the World), Cercado Sisters (2006 Grand Champion Group Vocalists of the World), Reymond Sajor (2007 Grand Champion Vocalist of the World), Aria Clemente (2007 Grand Champion Vocalist of the World and Grand Champion Performer of the World), and Catherine Loria (2008 Grand Champion Vocalist of the World and Grand Champion Performer of the World.)

Leonardia said the children’s achievement at the WCOPA is a feat that should make every Bacoleño proud. He also said that the children, trained by music master Art Madrigal, will serve as an inspiration for others to aspire to become the best in what they do.

He also lauded the efforts of all those who were instrumental in the success of the children who have brought honor and recognition not only to Bacolod and Negros Occidental, but also to the whole country.*

http://www.visayandailystar.com/2009/July/20/topstory4.htm

 

[c6josh]

Bacolod Public Plaza and San Sebastian Cathedral

The Cathedral


Built in 1876, the San Sebastian church become the nucleus of a new settlement which eventually became the present day City of Bacolod. The church was built upon the initiative of Fr. Mauricio Ferrero, a Recollect friar, and it become a cathedral in 1933. The San Sebastian Cathedral is today one of the century-old churches found in Negros Occidental. Located near Bacolod Public Plaza



The Plaza

The Bacolod Public Plaza was constructed in 1927 to complement the weekend cultural activities of the early Bacolodnons.

The Plaza has a rectangular shape land area with a forest type ambience, its north boundary is the San Sebastian Cathedral, Bishop Palace and La Consolacion College (LCC) along the street of Rizal, its south boundary is the Plaza Mart City Mall and various commercial buildings along the street of Gonzaga, to the west is the Reclaimation area the location of SM City Mall, BREDCO, Manokan Country and Bay Center, and to the east you will see the State Theater and various commercial establishments.

Inside the Plaza you will see beautiful fountains, monuments dedicated to heroes of World War II, a tree that was planted by famous Philippine President Manuel Quezon and many others.

If you have a good understanding about the Bible and believed that your religion is the right one, the only way to salvation, then exchange your idea or belief to the people of Public Plaza because in here you can find great bible debaters and philosophers.

the bacolod cathedral looks good as it is but the plaza really needs renovation especially the public restrooms and of course the fountains...

 

[Christendom]

Sons of Bacolod honored in Urian Awards
Monday, September 21

"No other name in filmmaking represents regional success more than Peque Gallaga that is why he was chosen as this year's Natatanging Gawad Urian (Lifetime Achievement) awardee."

This was how "Manunuri Ng Pelikulang Pilipino" (MPP) member Mike Rapatan lauded Peque Gallaga at the recent Urian Awards Night held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines last Sept. 19.

And in what seemed to be a true convergence of destinies, the Gallaga-megged film, "Yanggaw," yielded a Best Actor award for Ronnie Lazaro whose first major role was in "Oro Plata Mata," also by the master director.

"Salamat Gid. (Thank you very much) Ang tagal ko nang nakikita ito sa bahay ng mga kaibigan ko gaya ni Joel (Torre), ngayon meron na rin ako. Ang sarap pala manalo. It's been a 27-year wait, now I am 51 years old," said Lazaro in accepting his trophy.

He continued: "There's not enough time for me to explain what he (Gallaga) means to my career. He was the first to give me a break as an actor. Before that I was his prop man. I learned nearly everything from him."

The attention being given to regional talents began in 2008 with the NCCA (National Commission for Culture and the Arts) project called Cinema Rehiyon.

"We harvested a good number of regional films from that point on. What makes Filipino films truly Philippine cinema is that it has a lot coming from the regions," said Rapatan.

"Yanggaw," set in and produced in Bacolod, is one of such examples. Another is "Oro Plata Mata," produced in 1982.

Gallaga himself praised filmmakers from the different regions in the country.

"Francis Ford Coppolla said, 'The next best film maker is a fat lil girl from Kansas with a lil camera'. Instead of Kansas, however, I suspect she's growing in Bacolod, San Fernando, or the Cordilleras," said Gallaga.

The Cinema Rehiyon project will be having another video competition in which filmmakers from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao can join by contacting the office of the Executive Director at the NCCA.

Meanwhile, Mylene Dizon won as Best Actress for her role in "100."

The actress credited "100" co-star Eugene Domingo for convincing her to take on the role of a woman dying of cancer. Mylene then dedicated her win to her sons, one of whom, Tomas, was with her that night.

The Best Supporting Actress plum went to Aleera Montalla, a first time winner, for "Yanggaw" while Best Supporting Actor went to Coco Martin for "Jay."

Other awards were for Best Short Film ("Andong" by Milo Tolentino), Best Musical Score ("Hunghong sa Yuta" by Popong Landero) and Best Editing (for "Jay" by Francis Pasion, Kats Serraon and Chuck Gutierrez).

Best Film went to "Serbis" by Brillante Mendoza. It won three other awards namely for Best Director, Best Cinematography (Odyssey Flores) and Best Production Design (Benjamin Padero & Carlo Tabije).

Mendoza wasn't on hand to receive the awards because he's in Brazil for the World Film Festival where a full retrospective of his work will be shown.

Associate Producer Jun De Guzman said that the awards prove that Mendoza's films aren't only appreciated abroad but also locally. De Guzman was referring to Mendoza's recent Cannes Film Festival win as Best Director for his film, "Kinatay."

 

[Christendom]

"Balay Daku - Ancestral House"
Location: Hacienda Guadalupe,
Barangay Ayungon, La Carlota City

Wander into the past and find out how the hacienderos lived their lives in "The Ancestral House of Don Teodolfo M. Infante which was constructed in 1929. Don Teodolfo personally designed and drew the intricate designs and woodwork. When it was finished, it was one of the most beautiful Hacienda Houses and was the place for grand parties.

In December 12, 2001, the Balay Daku was finally recognized by the National Historical Institute as Heritage House, and was installed a Historical Marker.

^^

 

[Guest]

*ILLUSTRIOUS PHILIPPINE ARANETAS*

Throughout the ages the Araneta family has contributed to the society in which they lived. More recent notables include Filipinos who were prominent all over the country.

Felix M. Araneta, a prominent resident of Molo, Iloilo, was an influential supporter and financier of the revolutionary movement in the province of Panay, when the Philippine Revolution against Spain broke out in 1896-1898.

Juan Anacleto Araneta was designated Commanding General and Secretary of War of the Revolutionary Federal Republic of Negros in 1898.

General Pablo Soriano Araneta was a member of the revolutionary committee [comite de conspiradores] formed in Molo, Iloilo in March of 1898. He was one of the founders of the Federal Republic of the Visayas.

Gregorio Soriano Araneta, legal luminary, businessman, nationalist and patriot, served his country and people under three regimes.

Salvador Araneta, Harvard-trained Lawyer, Philanthropist, Cabinet Secretary and a distinguished Economist, was a delegate to the Philippine Constitutional Convention, circa, 1934 and 1971-1972. He was the founder and president of the ARANETA UNIVERSITY AND FEATI UNIVERSITY in 1946. He served as Secretary of Economic Coordination [1950-1952]. Appointed Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources of the Philippine Republic in [1954-1955].

Teodoro C. Araneta, the prosperous lumberman, from Zamboanga was well-known in Manila business circles. He was a delegate to the Philippine Constitutional Convention in 1970.

J. Antonio Araneta was a well-known figure in Manila political and legal circles.

Luis Ma. Araneta was a familiar figure in local Architectural, Engineering and Construction circles.

J. Amado Araneta, a business tycoon, was the owner and founder of the ARANETA COLISEUM in 1960. He was the son of Marciano Yulo Araneta, erstwhile "El Presidente Municipal" of Bago, Negros Occidental.


Copyright [1997] All Rights Reserved -

No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any format for profit or for other means of electronic, photocopying, recording without the written permission of the author and publisher.

Link - http://www.angelfire.com/ar2/raraneta/index.html

 

[Guest]

THE PHILIPPINE ARANETAS

The Araneta Family

One of the most famous and powerful Filipino families.

THE FIRST PHILIPPINE ARANETAS

According to historical accounts obtained from the elders in the family, the Philippine Aranetas originated from the Basque region of Northern Spain.

In 1723, during the Galleon Trade, two priest brothers named Baltazar de Araneta and Don Jose de Araneta arrived in Manila aboard the Spanish Fleet,"La Sacra Familia". They came from the Basque region of Spain by way of Acapulco, Mexico. This was, however, not conclusive as some members of the family, disputed that the two are neither priests nor brothers and Don Jose de Araneta must have been born in Gipuzkoa, but not Baltazar de Araneta, who was born in Mexico.

There are many conflicting stories about the beginning of the first Philippine Aranetas. Many of these stories were passed down verbally from one generations to another, it is more likely than not, that these stories have changed along the way. Some have it that Don Jose de Araneta was born in Zamboanga. If he was born in Zamboanga, therefore, he can not be the same person who arrived in Manila in 1723. Another stories has it that an Aranetas from the Basque region of Spain settled in Zamboanga.While others have their beginning with two brothers, who were priest, from Mexico. Until documentations to substantiate all these stories are found, the true facts remain unknown.

From articles written by Santiago Gomez [El Galeón de Manila en el siglo XVIII, Navios de la Carrera de Filipinas.] in reference to Baltazar de Araneta and Juan de Araneta. To wit; ''The Galeón Nuestra Senora del Pilar de Zaragosa", under the command of General Baltazar de Araneta and his master Captain Jose Antonio de la Madrid, sailed from Cavite on July 31, 1736, accompanied by the flagship N.S. Cavadonga, it arrived in Acapulco, Mexico, four months after. The same ship returned to Manila on August 20, 1739, (on board the ship was the newly appointed governor to the Philippines Gaspar Antonio de la Torre.)

Also there, was the Galeón Santisima Trinidad y Nuestra Senora del Buen Fin, familiarly known as El Pederoso (The mighty.) The governor, Jose Francisco Ovando y Solis ordered its construction, in the yards of Bagatao (island of Luzon), to replace the Nuestra Senora de Cavadonga, which was captured by British Admiral George Anson, commander of the frigate, HMS Centurion. Built in 1751, it was one of the largest ships in the islands. its first trip departed in mid - 1751, under the command of General D. Francisco Ustariz, with its master Captain Juan de Araneta. Without any setbacks, it returned to the Philippines in the spring of 1752.

Another articles written in Maguindanao which was translated in chabacano dialect revealed that in 1725, Don Jose de Araneta joined and served the Spanish Politico-Military Government of Mindanao based at Zamboanga City. He served also as interpreter of the Government and the Sultan of Maguindanao, together with Placido Alberto de Saavedra. According to some historians, he was executed on or before 1746, at Sulugan, Mindanao, nowadays known as Anuling in Cotabato. The date of his death is not conclusive because of conflicting information drawn from translations of various documents pertaining to him.

Before the turn of the century, two of his sons, Mathias Araneta and Vicente Araneta, left Zamboanga province for Iloilo. They settled in Parian [Molo]. Don Jose's other son Benito, followed them afterwards. Years later, Vicente Araneta, together with his family, moved to the province of Negros Occidental and established his residence there. This started the Negros branch of the family.

The Philippine Aranetas of today are descendants of Don Jose de Araneta and Baltazar de Araneta.

References:

Portal Archivos General de Indies (Por Santiago Gomez)
Islas Filipinas: Mindanao (Por Benito Francia and Julian G. Parredo)

Copyright 1997
ALL RIGHT RESERVED

TRIVIA:

IMAGES:

Silver Lion, gold star, war body armor

SYMBOLISM AND EXPLANATION

Blue: Heraldic sense, loyalty and truth (Those who carry this color in their coat-of-arms or coat are obligated to help servants who are unjustly abandoned by their feudal lords.)

Silver or white: Peace and sincerity.

Gold or Yellow: Nobility, honor and courage

Red: strength

Seal: A ducal crown of gold

Crest: Three ostrich feathers

Motto: Nobleza Y Valor

Like their ancestors before them, the Aranetas showed their heroism during the Philippine Revolution. General Juan Anaclecto Araneta, Pablo Soriano Araneta, Gregorio Soriano Araneta, Marciano Soriano Araneta and Jose Soriano Araneta, exemplified the meaning of honor and valor fighting the Spanish tyranny in the Philippines. Their revolutionary actions were supported by Felix Araneta y Militante, Agaton M. Araneta, Ceferina Araneta de Esteban, Eusebio Araneta, Casimiro Araneta, Faustino Araneta and many other family members. They bore within their hearts the family legacy of nationalism and pride. Indeed, the Aranetas proved their nobility, with its roots traced to their Basque ancestors, could never be erased by distance and time.

the Araneta Family still exudes power today....

In their hometown of Bago, their relatives the Toress, the Javellanas are still in political positions...

The current mayor, Janet Torres an Araneta is Mayor.

Mikey Arroyo, the first gentleman is the great grandson of Rosario E. Araneta and Aniceto Lacson ..

Manuel Araneta Roxas is a Senator..

The Aranetas own Cubao.. their cousins the Yulos own half of Laguna..

Famous beauties , former miss International Gemma Cruz Araneta, and model Bianca Araneta hail from this clan....

BongBong Marcos and Irene Marcos are both married to Aranetas...

These are just examples, the list goes on...

[email protected]

 

[c6josh]

The Gaston Mansion
Manapla, Negros Occidental

The Cartwheeel Chapel

^^it needs to be preserved and maintained