Rediscovering bamboocraft
“UNDER the bam, Under the boo, Under the bamboo tree,” so goes the simple ditty sang by Allie Fox of Paul Theroux’s unforgettable The Mosquito Coast.
Apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes to Bernadette
ONE of the most renowned apparitions of our Blessed Mother happened in Lourdes, France. On February 11, 1858, the Blessed Mother appeared to a girl named Bernadette Soubrious. Her family was one of the poorest in town and Bernadette was sickly girl, uneducated but had a pure heart.
Kiddie Chef
LAST January 28, 2012, I met up with Sun.Star Bacolod Account Executive Mary Grace Buot at the Pearl Manor Banquet Hall to observe a pizza-making contest where Chef Carmine Pece was invited to be the chief judge.
The participants were guests at the joint birthday celebration of Dian...
Things people do for love
VALENTINE’S Day is fast approaching – and the male halves of couples are scrambling to find something romantic to do for their female counterparts. It would be wise to avoid the cliché romantic dinner on Valentine’s Day – all the restaurants are taking the opportunity to literally cash in on the...
Pamper yourself
THE place is new. It started operations last January 23, 2012. Situated at the 2nd floor of the new Bacolod Chinese Chamber of Commerce at the back of a bank and the old bus terminal, Pamper Zone Spa and Salon for Kids and Adults is something to visit, to try, and to frequent.
Why?...
The freshness to the New Year
WE WERE just reveling the New Year 2012 and then came the Chinese New Year of the Water Dragon. As people say, “New Year, New Life”.
We are told by Fung Shui experts to follow rituals to make this a more auspicious year. We may listen to all these and in our own little superstitious way...
Mambucal feeds the hungry
MAMBUCAL Mountain Resort may be famous for its lush forests, hot springs, picturesque lagoons, and mineral-rich mud but what is often overlooked is the fact that Mambucal can feed the stomach as well as the eyes. After a trek to the famous seven falls (if you are bursting with energy and have...
Goodbye Mom
I COUNT myself blest having had a mother who, to my mind, is the best anyone can have.
Eyes on Asia: Taipei & Seoul
ASIA is a really nice place, but we only know about it through books, pictures, and those movies where the actors’ lines don’t sync with their lips.
Fun at Hda. Adela
GRADE 4 students of St. John’s Institute visited Hacienda Adela for the first time and they had such a wonderful time. With some help from the Silay City Tourism Office and special mention to Tourism Officer Ver Pacete and super-knowledgeable young historian Solo Locsin, over a hundred young...
Ecoture 2011 Part 2: Fashionable Greenery
WHAT is one good reason to promote organic farming? For one, it promotes soil fertility and boosts food productivity with minimal negative impact on ecology and biodiversity. Presently, Philippine agricultural practices are governed by Republic Act 10068 known as the Organic Act of 2010.
The many voices of Jay Gallega Malaga
A LEGGERO tenor? Or a base? Can he do a Cesare Siepi spiel or an Andrea Bocelli’s tune?
Living in harmony with nature
AYALA Land Inc. (ALI) launched last Saturday the third phase of Verdana Homes Asyana which showcases the best of Asian living through contemporary Asian architecture and harmony with the natural environment.
Asyana is located south of the now iconic 215-hectare Ayala North Point estate...
How Christianity shaped the modern world
RELIGION plays a very important part in our everyday lives as Filipinos. Being host to the largest Catholic community in Asia is a great honor, as well as a great advantage.
Miraculous Sto. Niño dela Providencia
IT WAS some years ago when the image of the Miraculous Sto. Niño dela Providencia was brought to the Carmel Chapel here in Bacolod City. I had the chance to interview Lorna Gonzales, the caretaker of the Niño and from then on, I have been drawn to Him who celebrates His feast every January 27...
The Squids of Veloria
PERHAPS the squid population in the waters of Northern Negros does not know their role in prospering the coastal areas there. These ten-armed marine animals are carnivorous and feed on fish and crustaceans. Some live on the surface while the others live in the depths of the sea. Not surprisingly...
Ecoture 2011: Going green for a sustainable future
MISS Grendel Alvarado, a top model of the Philippines, first graced the front cover of Sun.Star Weekend Bacolod’s October 3 to 9, 2010 issue in a stunning wedding outfit created by Bacolod fashion designer Mr. Bryan Cuachon.
Miss Grendel was part of the Sugar and Style Fashion Show that...
“Ang Guro” on stage
“CAN you still remember your Grade I teacher?” This was once the by-line of an advertisement of one financial institution. This is also the base concept of the play “Ang Guro” staged by Stairs Production and Imagination Beyond Events Philippines at West Negros University Gym last Saturday,...
Judging for the Lantern Festival 2012
FOFR the second year in a row, I agreed to judge for the Lantern Festival of the Bacolaodiat 2012. It is very difficult to extend my rejects to Chairman of the festival, Leonito “Diotay” Lopue, knowing the tireless efforts he has spent on this festival.
So last Sunday, there we were at...
Attending Chary’s Party
“A WOMAN’S beauty at seventy is her own soul’s doing,” penned an anonymous writer.
Beside Placid Waters
A NEWS item in a local daily reminded me to hie off to the New Government Center last Wednesday afternoon to see the dragon lantern created by Miss Nunistell Mae Fulo-Lee and her companion Noby Juno along with the other entries to the Dragon Lantern Making Contest of the 7th Bacolaodiat Festival...
Edbon teaches how to Tampisaw
THE Weekend Workshops at the Museum (WWM) organized a special visual-arts workshop on Watercolor Painting last January 14 to 16 at the Phinma Gallery of The Negros Museum. Tampisaw, a Watercolor Workshop by Edbon Sevilleno is not for beginners. Beginners will have a hard time catching up...
A rooster crows in the Year of the Dragon
WITH the Chinese New Year, I was thinking whom to feature as my Chinoy for the year. Asking my son Andre who would be good material, he said that why not feature a doctor instead. Chinoys are always heralded for their business acumen, so do a departure. Why not, indeed, and the first name that...
Year of the Dragon
IT’S Chinese New Year again – and the city of Bacolod is gearing up for the year of the dragon. That’s right! Last year’s metal rabbit will be swallowed by a smoke-belching dragon on January 23. The streets will run red with Chinese lanterns and dragon dancers will party like it’s the end of the...
Mabuhay, Señor Sto.Niño!
LAST Monday, I jumped on the first flight available for Cebu when I heard some distressing news that my mom was ill. By God’s grace and through the help of good friend Jackie in the travel industry, I made it.
