Jimenez: Big bikers thank Thunderbugs for superb convention hosting

HUNDREDS of text messages poured in right after the big biker delegates, along with the visiting small bikers, left Bacolod City happy and contented with the superb hosting of the convention by the Thunderbugs Bacolod Motorcycle Club led by Chairman Manolet Lamata and President Bingbong Escamilla.

The thousands of delegates who all converged at the Capitol Lagoon for two nights found the activities surprisingly more than what they expected. But the delegates did not doubt the hospitality that the hosting Negrenses could give as they could all recall that the best convention in the past was in 2001 and it was also Thunderbugs Bacolod that hosted it.

My Easter people

ANNUALLY, I have a choice of my Easter people. Easter people are people who live in a Good Friday world. Easter People embrace that sorrow and suffering, even death, are real and are inevitable chapters of our lives. Easter People acknowledge these “dying” processes in our lives and transcend them. They learn from the difficult path and convert them to something of rejoicing instead of regretting and rejecting.

My Easter people

ANNUALLY, I have a choice of my Easter people. Easter people are people who live in a Good Friday world. Easter People embrace that sorrow and suffering, even death, are real and are inevitable chapters of our lives. Easter People acknowledge these “dying” processes in our lives and transcend them. They learn from the difficult path and convert them to something of rejoicing instead of regretting and rejecting.

Easter People live in hope because of the confidence that Jesus is there in all the trying times, and He will make all things new. They bring joy and their joy is infectious. Theirs is an “Alleluia Living” because God is praised and thanked for whatever comes into their lives be it trial or triumph.

A Taste of tuna hospitality in GenSan

ONBOARD our favorite airline, we enjoyed the pleasant travel on air via Cebu Pacific’s Airbus A-319 as our southern escapade was destined to be touching down at the tuna capital of the world, General Santos City (GenSan). Originally known decades back as Dadiangas, the city of GenSan is now truly a destination worth spending a weekend or a business meeting with corporate associates.

MA…RI…CAR (AWW!!!)

WRITTEN during my radio days, the script I’m sharing with you, readers, is a parody of a popular Mexican telenovela. However, the lampoon goes beyond the mere drama and romantic love that typified soaps of such genre. It speaks of patience, long-suffering and true love (and a very brave attempt to write in Tagalog).

True love here also means unconditional love, just like the love of God for us. We may not be always faithful to Him and we continue to sin despite our promises to walk the straight, narrow and difficult path, yet, He never fails to forgive us and forget our transgressions. (I hope you forgive and forget my imperfect Tagalog.)

Keeping cool

IT’S summertime – time for excursions to the beach, cool fruit drinks, summer clothes, and the sun. Dios mio the sun… have you noticed how hot it’s been getting lately? Everyone in the world is complaining about global warming, sure, but you’ll definitely feel the effects of it if you live near the equator like we do.

We have a love-hate relationship with the sun. We need it for Vitamin D, for light and for energy, to name a few things. It’s the star that our planet revolves around, so that’s kind of a big deal. We just hate it for one reason – it’s hot, really hot.

The Harrowing of Hell – An Easter tale

HAVE you noticed that the Apostle’s Creed that is sometimes mentioned at the Sunday mass features the phrase “He descended into Hell and on the third day He rose again…” instead of the old version which states that Jesus “descended into the dead…”?

They actually both mean the same thing, and not every Catholic knows what the seemingly dreadful phrase means, even though they recite it every time they go to church. A clarification: the phrase does not mean that after Jesus died, he suffered in Hell. Obviously the Son of God Himself cannot be sent to Lucifer’s realm because the Son of God is clearly not evil, and is in fact the personification of goodness itself.

The Paschal Mystery of living, dying and rising

ADVENT, Christmas, Lent and Easter are not mere ceremonies or red letter days in the Christian calendar that affords longer holidays. The reason why Christ was born, lived, suffered, died and resurrected is to be an example to all of us that, everyday, this mystery comes alive.

Our own lives can very well give us a story book narration of this. Life can be very difficult. We all go through our stations of the cross but what is our attitude towards all these mini-deaths? Mini-deaths they are called because they are paralyzing and devastating.

Holy Thursday: Blessing of the Holy Oils

EVER since I experienced my first Chrism Mass, I try at best to make it every Holy Thursday. There are no Masses in the morning of Holy Thursday because all priests belonging to the diocese gather together in the Cathedral with the bishop to renew their priestly vows. And so it was last Holy Thursday when Bishop Navarra in union with priests both diocesan and religious came together at the San Sebastian Cathedral.

Celebrating World Theater Day

MARCH 27 is World Theater Day. The National Committee on Dramatic Arts of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) spearheaded simultaneous performances of various theater organizations and performing troupes around the Philippines.

At 4 p.m., these organizations rendered short plays, skits, dances and songs. The Negros Museum, through its director Tanya Lopez, joined in celebrating this event by getting various school theater groups together for a riotous time.

Black Saturday is beautiful

I ALWAYS thought of Holy Saturday as the loneliest of times for Jesus. That’s why whenever I would be sad or in torment, I would always imagine myself creeping into the tomb and joining Jesus in His loneliness. Holy Saturday is the day of silence. It is a bleak and dark day, that’s why it is also called Black Saturday.

Roughing it up at Danjugan

“ARE you a wine-er?” Gerry Ledesma jokingly asked me as I sipped from the plastic wine glass over a dinner of squid done two ways. I could feel the warm effect of the Chilean merlot spreading over my chest. I promptly replied, “I’m a beer-er.”

The truth was, in the relaxed island atmosphere of Danjugan, it didn’t matter whether I was sipping wine or gulping down beer. In fact, just plain cool water would have been the perfect accompaniment to the pristine environment enveloping us at the breezy dining hall starting from the low evening tide of the Moray Eel Lagoon beneath to the lush vegetation overhead.

Shattered

SOMETIMES the complexities and perplexities of everyday living are just so hard to comprehend that we turn to reading some best sellers which somehow articulate the jumbled up feelings we have inside and put some sense and meaning into our crazy existence.

I am not insane. This cruel world is. I am being pulled in opposite directions. My whole being is being torn apart by the cruel dictates of man and fate. These are soulful lines which are inspired by the book “Shatter Me” which is recommended for summer reading by my youngest child.

Research fiesta

FIESTAS would always connote colorful buntings and balloons, loud music, games, plenty of food, revelry, muses on parade, street dancing and warm fellowship.

But what if, instead of muses on parade and revelry, one finds biodegradable waste shredder, spiral wheel water pump, saybolt viscometer, refrigerant air dryer, rice hull carbonizer and many more high-tech sounding names?

Kanlaon – of fire and brimstone

MOST people wonder what to do with the long Holy Week vacation. Hundreds flock to the beach and enjoy the sun, others go to the mountain resorts to be one with nature, and still others spend their holy weeks frequenting the many restaurants and coffee shops that are so popular among Bacolod’s citizens.

But for those that seek something more thrilling – may I remind you about the giant rock jutting out from the middle of the island? Our beloved Mount Kanlaon is the third most active volcano in the country, preceded by Mayon and Taal volcanoes.

Negros Volunteers for Change Foundation

EMPOWERING people is always the most successful way to effect change. When the gaze is focused in Christ, country and the community, then positive change will surely flourish.

This is the mission and vision of the Negros Volunteers for Change Foundation, a non-stock, non-profit organization registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission by dedicated citizens in partnership with government and forever seeking avenues for such alliances.

Michael Cacnio: Philippines premiere brass sculptor features Milestones

CATCH your breath; pause for a while; embrace your moments; and don’t let them pass you by.

These moments are called Milestones and beautifully sculpted moments are presented at the Italia Restaurant and in cooperation with Charlie’s Art Gallery by Michael Cacnio, world class brass sculptor of the surrealist genre.

Let Danjugan guides guide you

IF you go to Danjugan Island one of these summer days, allow any of the 22 graduates of the Young Educators and Tour Guides Circle Camp to show off what he or she has learned during the two-day event. These young people are from the 12 pilot coastal public schools of Cauayan, Sipalay and Hinobaan municipalities in Southern Negros where most of the remaining coral reefs of Negros Occidental may be found.

Habemus Papam Franciscum

THEY say history is made every day. And this is mostly true, especially now that we have a new Pope. Former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina is now Pope Francis I.

As pope, he is a pope of many firsts – he is the first pope to come from the New World (the Americas), the first Jesuit pope, and the first non-European pope in over a thousand years.

A young Negrense beekeeper

THERE are about 20 beekeepers in Negros Occidental, but here is one beekeeper that caught my eye. Archie Acuna was the only beekeeper in the 2012 Negros Organic Farmers Festival who packaged his product in rectangular plastic containers with slices of the honeycomb while others sold their honey in recycled rum bottles.

“The honey sells faster when I include the honeycomb,” Archie explains this visual effect. The inedible but commercially useful beeswax does add a charming touch to the packaging.

The Princess and Us

SHAMEFULLY, I am one of those many Filipinos who had really no comment about the Sabah issue when it started. It was so far away and usually the bottomline is really that there is really nothing I can do about it so why fuzz and add to the stresses of daily living?

Facebook has its function other than just to keep tabs of what’s happening in friends’ lives. It also has its serious purpose of awareness and awakening us to certain ideals.

Txacho

IT WAS Valentine’s Day and we were invited by Analu Trebol to try the new restaurant of her sons Jamete and Gino which serves tapas. In town was Mila Beirotte with her son Mark and wife Jennifer and their two kids Alex and Kobe. Dolly Dacanay, one of our dearest friends of Analu, who is Barcelona-based, was also an honoree of the small get-together.

After a year of being in mourning black, it was time to be reunited with vibrant colors. What would be more suitable for the occasion than Valentine red, which is actually my favorite color?

Kari sa karinderia

THE mere mention of "French cuisine" often brings to mind a certain snootiness and elegance.

There are tables that need reservations, the intricacies of preparing the dishes and the wines to match them. Even the warm invitation to "bon appétit!" evokes the selection of cheeses and heavenly desserts to cap the meal.

Goodbye Pope Benedict XVI up close from the Vatican

ON FEBRUARY 11, 2013, Monday, Pope Benedict XVI convoked a consistory not only for the three canonizations, but also communicated his renouncement of the Petrine ministry due to the fact that his strengths are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the said ministry.

I was alone at that time and kept on going over the news in my mind. As I replay the words of the Holy Father in my mind, I bring back memories related to him. I had chances of seeing the Holy Father up close. But, reading his writings is what I consider my closest contact with the Pope.

March 16, 2013 is the opening of the Negros Farmers Weekend Market

IN LINE with their corporate social responsibility, DC Cruz is opening the Negros Farmers Weekend Market on March 16, Saturday, at Magsaysay Road opposite the DC Cruz office.

Laid out on an L-shaped 1.2 hectare property, this market was conceptualized last December along the lines of the successful Saturday Salcedo Market at the Makati Business District, which in turn echoes the charming and bustling once-a-week open-air markets around Europe, especially, France.

AXN features Negros Occidental

YOU may not be aware of this but an eleven-man team visited our island last February 22 to stay for six days. Out of the eleven, seven were first-time visitors to our beautiful province and it seems that they had a blast digging into our culture, and their plates.

The abdication and the prophecy

On February 28, 2013, His Holiness the Pope officially stepped down from his office and abdicated. There hasn't been an abdication like this since the abdication of Pope Benedict XII in 1415. The news comes as a shock to Catholics worldwide, since no pope has abdicated for the past six centuries.

Without a pope, the day-to-day duties of the papal office fall upon the shoulders of the camerlengo. However, the camerlengo does not act as the head of government of the Catholic Church.

Sweet and stylish Cristina

CRISTINA SANTOS GOMEZ, one of the 10 Best Dressed Women in the Philippines, celebrated her birthday yesterday with a quiet getaway to Bohol with her brother Arlu and friend Anthony.

Cristina is the daughter of one of my closest friends (BFF) Imelda (Dandy) Salao Santos now Gomez, (the better half of Arlu Sr.) since high school or was it grade school in Assumption Convent. Despite the distance of her being a Marikina resident while I am tumandok Negrense, we have always kept close tabs of our latest goings on.

Life begins at 40

A WEEK ago, on the evening of February 17, 2013, the debonair Raymond John Villacorta, of Silay City, turned 40.

Run/Walk Fun

ALL over the world, run/walk events are being sponsored for charities. What could be a healthier and more fun way to shed off those calories, be fit and at the same time contribute to a most notable cause?