ANP Trade Fair: Sustaining the luster and success after 27 years

IT IS never easy to sustain resounding success after years and years of having an annual trade especially with such a sophisticated and highly exposed clientele like the Manila crowd.

But nonetheless, the officers and members of the Association of Negros Producers met the challenge by calling on all past presidents to review past performances and inject fresh ideas as well to give this year’s trade a new oomph.

The new generation and Martial Law

IF YOU say that martial law was a bad thing, you’d think everyone you’d speak to would be in unanimous agreement. You’d be surprised. A growing number of 21st century Filipinos—those born after the martial law era—believe that a return to the Philippines’ dark era would be in the best interests of the country and its people.

Those who believe in the old regime say that martial law was necessary because of the government’s failure to discipline its people. To quote user Eliakim on a Yahoo! article about Marcos, “Ang mga mamamayan ang kailangan ng disiplina hindi ang bansa.” This is like saying that the people are driving this country into the ground and that it’s not the government’s fault that we’re so poor.

“Children’s Letters to God”, the musicale

RECEIVER and sender. These are two of the main elements of a letter. But what if the receiver of the letter is God and the writer is a kid? God? Did you write it well, Mimi? Can God receive a letter? And how should the letter be postmarked? Address-Heaven? From Earth? Well, in the case of Stuart Hample, of “Children’s Letters to God”, those aforementioned questions are not difficult and different at all.

Why? Because kids are always full of questions about life. (And even adults do too. Many even, I suppose) So, questions, questions, questions and many more like, “Dear God, Are you really invisible or is that just a trick?”, or “Dear God, How did you know you were God?” or “Dear God, How come you did all the miracles in the old days and you don’t do any now?” are just but some of the many queries posed by Joanna, Brett, Kicker, Theo and Iris, the five children who make up the cast of characters of the musical adaptation of the book “Children’s Letters to God” which was staged in the Grand Ballroom of L Fisher Hotel Bacolod last September 21, 2012.

ISAD-G and the art of archival cataloging

LAST September 27, 2012, I was at the Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod Auditorium for the first day of the two-day seminar workshop entitled “Organizing and Digitizing Archival Materials” sponsored by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts or NCCA, National Committee on Libraries and Information Services or NCLIS, Philippine Librarians Association Inc., Western Visayas Regional Librarians Council and Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod.

In attendance were around ninety librarians, archivists and library personnel from Region 6. Moderator for Day 1 was Dr Irene Malaga PhD, Director of the Research and Planning Office of the Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod. From Dr. Malaga we learned about the newly published coffee table book that chronicles the 50-year history of CSA-B.

Cookie: Epitome of the new 40

COOKIE Montenegro joined the ranks of the dual citizenship category: a Filipino (Spanish) citizen and a member of the senior citizen genre.

The Rebel and the Rose

ONE fine September morning, two paintings were hung side by side in the Multipurpose Activity Center of the province. In one painting was a sugarcane worker while in the other painting was a red blooming rose.

As the two paintings awaited the arrival of the visitors, the sugarcane worker and the rose spent some time chatting with each other.

Turn off that engine

I USED to think that standing still in traffic with the engine on wasn’t so bad. Heck! Everyone was doing it. But then my dad saw me letting my engine run while I stepped outside for a few seconds – he started lecturing me about how leaving my engine idling for more than 30 seconds was a waste of gas. I countered that turning off the engine and turning it on again would be a waste of gas.

Make way for Korina

THE klieg lights are on. The audience’s chants are deafening, muffling the strong heartbeats of the contestants. And the booming and excited voice of the emcee exclaims: “And this year’s Ms. UNOR is………”

The stage is one familiar place for her. She had performed her dances and speeches on it since her pre-school days. She had done emceeing and dancing since kinder up to her secondary high. No wonder why when asked to represent her college, beauteous and brainy Korina did not have any qualms in being one of the contestants for the Search for Ms. UNOR 2012.

Lizares: Ayala’s withdrawal from Capitol deal: What a loss!

It was horrific to be greeted by the morning paper’s news about the pullout of the Ayala group of their grand endeavor in Negros.

It did not take long for us to see the black ribbon in Facebook and the call for concerned citizens to light candles in the Capitol Building at 6 in the evening to mourn for our province.

A view from the top

TO IMPRESS the NAITAS group of the wonders of our province, a visit to Campuestohan was arranged by Jenny Cordero, and indeed the travel agents from all parts of the Philippines were impressed!

Reaching the highlands was a leisurely ride, just shy of an hour. The road was manageable; some areas were country road but it was not damaging to one’s vehicle. Signages were in place along the Alangilan road and there is no fear of losing one’s way.

The father of Talisay City turns 91

WHEN the City of Talisay became a charter city, it was during the term of Mayor Amelo T. Lizares. Thus he became known as the Father of Talisay.

The Negros Trade Fair

Note: This article contains brief passages from the 2010 book “Silver Tiangge,” which the publisher has allowed to be used by “reviewers…in critical articles and reviews.”

ON SEPTEMBER 26 to 30, merchants from all over Negros will be at Rockwell Tent, Makati to sell all kinds of handicrafts from our own fair island to rich and affluent Tagalogs.

September 2012: 10th Development Policy Research Month

IT HAS been awhile since I last participated in the Development Policy Research Month celebration held every September of each year at the Bacolod City Library.

The last time I joined was in 2009 when my newspaper collage exhibit was accommodated thereat in line with the theme of the 7th DPRM back then which was “Coping with Climate Variability and Change”.

Running to save lives

DESPITE the drizzle, the participants came. In spite of the 100 limited slots for the 15-kilometer category, ten more registered. And walk-in registrants came on site to join the run - and the fun! Runners, running enthusiasts, plain runners and even non-running buffs — all joined hearts and limbs to run to save lives.

Lizares: Our Lady of Health Vailankanni, India: The Lourdes of the East

A FEW days ago, I was cleaning out the contents of my small church/walking bag which contained a coin purse, some tissue paper, handkerchief plus some pieces of paper. Before disposing them, I was surprised to see one leaflet titled The Miracle Mother of Vailankanni. I have never heard of her before so I went to my computer and checked her out. Allow me to share this interesting story I gathered.

Getting around through the kindness of strangers

It was dark already yet my friend and I were still seated at a bus stop across the Jangam Metro station where we had gotten off after a city tour of Seoul. We were wondering how on earth could we get a taxi or if there is any where we were. Min, my hostess, had told us to wait at the stop and take a taxi to her apartment.

Citius, Altius, Fortius

CITIUS, Altius, Fortius. Latin hendiatris terms for "Faster, Higher, Stronger." Borrowed from his friend Henri Didon, a Dominican priest who was an athletics enthusiast, these three words were proposed by Pierre de Coubertin on the creation of an International Olympic Committee in 1894.

According to records, de Coubertin said "These three words represent a programme of moral beauty. The aesthetics of sport are intangible."

Korean Kuisine

WHAT is in our pancit canton that makes Koreans crave for them? When I asked my friend Min what she would want me to take to Korea, she asked only for pancit canton. I told her to ask her friend Jee what Jee would want me to bring her and Jee wanted also only pancit canton. My companion and I brought a total of 5 dozens that went through Customs (thank heavens!) without a hitch. I was so afraid that Customs might think I’m selling the noodles in Korea.

What Min’s family was ecstatic over were the tarts (caramel and macapuno), dried mangoes and dried fish. The non-food items were Human Nature products, bamboo pamaypay from Talisay, items made by our Aeta tribes, a Bacolod tee-shirt and even Coke products made in the Philippines for Min’s Coca Cola collection.

Yagangyang to the max

IMAGINE that you are a working student taking up a second course in college and you have just finished taking a string of exams on a Saturday. You wish to relax the following Sunday because it’s your birthday and the following Monday is a national holiday. For sure it will be “yagangyang” to the max for you.

This was the case for Mrs. Remia Quebrar, presently working as Clerk II at the Bacolod City Public Library. I just thank my lucky stars that I was invited to the birthday bash of Mommy Rems which was held at La Castellana, Negros Occidental last August 26, 2012.

NAITAS comes to Negros

NAITAS or the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies is the premier and the largest association of independent travel agencies in the Philippines. With over 1000 members and 17 chapters nationwide, travellers will find it easy to get travel reservations and bookings nationwide.

NAITAS is ruled by the following objectives:

The Dutch presence

BACK in elementary, we were taught to memorize the list of foreign nations involved with the Philippines in the following general order: Malaysians, Chinese, Indians, Arabs, Spaniards, Americans, and Japanese. Some of you might even have put “England” right between Spain and America, but we’re missing someone here.

Ever since their independence from Spain, the Republic of the Seven United Provinces, known today as the Netherlands, had been harassing Spanish ports in Manila and doing all that they could to be “el dolor en el culo” to Spain.

Lizares: Conchita R. de Luzuriaga Gallaga joins creator

LAST Tuesday, we said goodbye to another lady pillar in the Negros community, Conchita R. de Luzuriaga Gallaga. But as we mourn her loss, we look into some excerpts in her life which overflowed with meaning and substance.

I asked her daughter-in-law, Pilar Bustamante, if she could write a tribute about Tita Conchita and this is what she says lovingly about her mother in law.

Jimenez: Birthday bash with closer friends

A GATHERING of closer friends was last Monday's dinner catering by the Tizons at the residence of Tikboy and Joy Martir with children Junjun and Marianne and their respective families.

Tikboy Guanzon Martir celebrated his birthday and a thanksgiving moment for better health, with supportive wifey Joy and closer friends.

One Sunday in Jangam-dong

I GOT lost on the way to the grocers. I set off on a Sunday morning at past 9 while Min was still asleep after a late night watching the Olympics live at London time. I thought I’d surprise her by buying her favorite yogurt drink. (Boy, can she down up to 5 a day.)

Lizares: Assumption message from the new Superior General Sr. Martine

SR. MARTIN, the new Superior General of the Religious of the Assumption, shares her message to all members of the congregation, as well as all alumnae:

Addiction of online gaming

SOME of you have problems with alcohol, gambling, smoking or, God forbid, drugs. But did you know that you can also be addicted to online gaming? People have literally died from too much gaming. One teenager shot himself while playing a game called Everquest, another one jumped off a roof after going crazy playing World of Warcraft, a Vietnamese kid murdered a woman to get money to feed his online gaming addiction (after which he was sent to a “reeducation camp”) and several Koreans have died of fatigue after week-long no-eat no-sleep gaming marathons.

Consummate Negrense artist Ramon de los Santos

IF YOU are an art collector on the look-out for some really good buys, then you just can’t afford to miss the one-of-a-kind exhibit of bas reliefs and terracotta of Ramon de los Santos now ongoing at the Museum Café of the Negros Museum.

Art enthusiasts are also invited to view the said artworks which are strategically placed at the Museum Café where one could take some refreshments while experiencing the simple joys of art appreciation.

Annyeong Sa Inyo!

MY TRIP to Korea was about two years in the making. Min, a former student of mine, had wanted to come back to Bacolod for a vacation but, ever since she started a job at the Anti-Doping Agency in Seoul, she had never found the time to visit. So, the only alternative to this was for me to fly over there.

James’ “Brown” Rising

“BAKIT ba nakita pa kita sa gitna ng Glorietta/‘Di ko napansin na ikaw yun nung una/Kasi nakatalikod ka at medyo tumangkad ka pa/Ngunit ganun pa rin ang kulay ng buhok mong brown”

So goes the 1st stanza of James Leyte’s Tagalog lyrical narrative “Brown”, written two years ago.

Outstanding Assumptionista, outstanding Catholic Filipina

DURING the Assumption Day celebration when recognitions were given to the “old girls” who graduated from 1936 to 1954, a high school graduate of 1949 gave the response; she was Tita Betty de la Rama. She went on to receive a Bachelor of Science diploma from Assumption Herran, with a major in Education. Not content with that, she took her Master’s Degree in Child Psychology in Fordham University in New York City.