Half the sky

In 1973, the previously all-male Ateneo de Manila University accepted its first women students. 127 enrolled as freshmen, and 35 transferees were accepted in the upper years. It was a tough road to get to that point, with both the student council and the administration against it as late as 1968. The year-long commemoration of coeducation in the university is titled "40 Years, Half the Sky," after the Chinese proverb which says that "Women hold up half the sky." The young female students of Ateneo now take their presence in the university for granted; many of them don't even know what "coeducation" means. I hope that the commemoration helps them understand the issues back then, and how many women and girls all over the world continue to struggle with disempowerment, oppression and violence.

And one

I almost didn't notice that yesterday was my 1,000th post! So, just for the fun of it, I now mark my 1,001st post with the silver sphere on top of the Philippines' Kilometer Zero marker—with my reflection on it. The girl in yellow behind me is my cousin taking a photo of me taking a photo.

Baguio redux

It has been three years since my husband and I went up to Baguio City. Located in the Cordillera mountain range, it is known as the Philippines' summer capital because the American colonial government would move there during the summer months to escape Manila's heat. Casa Vallejo was Baguio's first hotel, though originally built as a dormitory for government workers. It survived Japanese bombing during WWII and the devastating 1990 earthquake, and after laying in disrepair for many years, it was finally restored and reborn as a boutique hotel—with a restaurant, bookshop and spa—last year.




The main reason for the vacation was our 15th wedding anniversary on June 1. One of my husband's former students, who lives a few kilometers away in the town of La Trinidad, sent us a beautiful bouquet of roses and lilies which I arranged in a vase I borrowed from the hotel, wrapping it in the sinamay (woven abaca fibers) and ribbon that the flowers came in. They brightened up our room wonderfully and made our stay even more special. Thank you, Sari.

A brotherhood of heroes

Many of the leaders of the Philippine Revolution of 1896 were members of one of the oldest fraternities in the world: Freemasonry. This Centennial Memorial Clock was a project of various lodges and individual members of the Philippine masons during the hundredth anniversary of the country's independence from Spain and stands across the shrine of the most renowned Filipino mason and our National Hero, Jose Rizal.

Memories

Fourteen years ago tomorrow, Exie and I got married at Mary the Queen Parish in the City of San Juan. Our lunch reception was at the restaurant Chateau 1771 in the El Pueblo Real complex in Ortigas Center. It closed last year—for good, I thought, because it relocated to the newer Greenbelt 5 mall in Makati City, a location which better suits its fine dining atmosphere. Happily, I discovered earlier this month that the company only closed the El Pueblo location temporarily. Its interior has been completely renovated and it is now named Café 1771 but it still offers some of the original dishes and its charming facade has been retained. I'm glad to know that our wedding reception memories are not just memories now.




Happy anniversary, love of my life.

Sweet treats

Today, I decided to share with you a couple of the pastries that we brought home from Sofitel Manila's Galette Patisserie & Chocolaterie: an exotic fruit tart with berries, grapes, pineapple, mango and dragon fruit…




and a strawberry and chocolate mousse with white and dark chocolate leaves (which I think look like lopsided bunny ears)…




just because today's my birthday. :)

Sticky rice

Sapin-sapin is a Filipino dessert made of malagkit (sticky rice) flour, sugar and coconut milk, and cooked by steaming. The different colors come from additional ingredients (and food coloring) which give the basic recipe different flavors. Depending on the cook, these could include ube (purple yam), corn, sweet potato and even squash (think pumpkin pie). Sapin-sapin means layered, and slicing into the white pieces will reveal at least two other layers with different colors and flavors. This particular sapin-sapin features a center of biko, another sweet glutinous rice delicacy. If you like coconut, you can sprinkle toasted coconut flakes over it or, better yet, latik—the result of heating coconut milk until the oil separates from the solids.




Because of it's festive colors, sapin-sapin is popular Filipino party fare. So what better way to celebrate My Manila's 2nd anniversary than with something sweet and very Pinoy. Thank you, everyone, for your wonderful encouragement these past two years—it is because of you that I have managed to continue blogging for this long. It has been a joy showing you Metro Manila and other parts of the Philippines, telling you about our customs, history and art, and all other manner of things (even the not-so-nice ones), and I hope that you've found it enjoyable too. Again, thank you.

One Big Night

Today's the day—the grand celebration of the Ateneo de Manila University for its 150th anniversary, its sesquicentennial! And the reason why I haven't been online much these past couple of weeks. We begin with a wreath-laying at the Ateneo Heroes Memorial, then a Mass at the Church of the Gesù, where the Marian procession starts which brings the congregation to the high school grounds where the rest of the event is but which is also a commemoration of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception last December 8. From 6pm to 8pm, a musical celebrating the history of the university from 1859 to the present, especially commissioned for today, will be performed by members of all the student performing arts groups, though scripted, arranged and directed by theater professionals who happen to be alumni. After the musical, the real party begins with bands from the 1970s to the 2000s, also with members who are alumni, playing until midnight. The problem with working in the office that organizes these things is, all of us have work assignments throughout the entire event. So please keep your fingers crossed that I can watch some of the performances (and take some decent photos), because if I can't, I'll have to wait for the video recording and I really like live performances much better. Whatever happens, I think all of us will be glad to get our lives—and full night's sleep—back. The gates leading to the campus are decorated both for the sesquicentennial and the Christmas season. The stars with tails are traditional Filipino Christmas decorations called parol, symbolic of the Star of Bethlehem which led the three wise men to the stable where Jesus was born.



Actually, the Ateneo de Manila's 150th anniversary was on Thursday, December 10. But it being a school (and work) day, we couldn't have a big or late night to-do. So how did the university commemorate the day? As befits a Catholic institution, with a Mass. As simple as that.

An homage to the humanities

As part of the Ateneo de Manila University's 150th anniversary celebrations, the Loyola School of Humanities staged "Magis" (Latin for "more," which summarizes the Jesuit ideal of the pursuit of excellence) on September 9. It was a three-hour cultural gala that celebrated and paid tribute to Philippine national hero Jose Rizal, the university's most eminent alumnus, and to the Ateneo's performing artists, composers, filmmakers, popular entertainers, journalists, outstanding teachers, National Artists, and recognized figures in Philippine theater, literature and visual arts. The show ended with a procession of the images of the Immaculate Conception and St. Ignatius, after which everyone, from the performers to the audience, stood up to sing "A Song for Mary," the Ateneo de Manila's alma mater song.

Maria Clara

During my recent trip to The Block in SM City North, I chanced upon an exhibit of Maria Clara gowns as interpreted by young Filipino designers—the mall's way of commemorating the Philippines' Independence Day, which is today. Maria Clara is the heroine in the novel "Noli Me Tangere" written by Philippine national hero Jose Rizal. She epitomizes the traditional Filipina: meek, obedient, loving and God-fearing. The name has also come to refer to the type of clothes worn by Filipinas during the late Spanish colonial era—a mestiza dress combining indigenous and Spanish influences. I know that it's another cheeky way of commemorating this day, but I think that it's quite fitting too since we consider our Independence Day as the day that General Emilio Aguinaldo declared our country's independence from Spain in 1898, rather than the day that Americans granted us our independence. This black and white gown was created by Edwin Uy.

Totem

In a little green spot in the Quezon City Hall grounds stands a totem pole which serves as a friendship marker between Quezon City and New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, which have been sister cities since 1991. The marker was installed during the first official visit of New Westminster Mayor Wayne Wright (now on his third term) in October 2004 when Quezon City celebrated the 65th anniversary of its founding. I can't find any information about the totem pole though. Is it an authentic totem pole shipped in from Canada? Or was it carved by Philippine artisans to mark the occasion?

A treat

Another little treat from Bizu Patisserie—this one is called Amour: orange chocolate mousse between layers of crème brûlée and brownie—just because it's my birthday! :)

Bubbly chicken

Since it opened in 1945, Max's Restaurant has been known for almost only one thing: its crispy, tender, juicy fried chicken. Drop the diet and forget about cholesterol because you just have to eat the skin of this one. Instead of regular potato, Max's fried chicken is served with kamote (sweet potato) fries. Sweet potato has a higher nutritional value than the common potato and is popular as an inexpensive snack food among Filipinos. My favorite accompaniment to their fried chicken is their pancit canton. Named for the southern Chinese province of Guangdong (Canton is the anglicized form) where the original egg noodle dish came from centuries ago, Max's pancit canton is topped with vegetables, pork, shrimp and chicken, including its lamang loob (innards), which makes it even tastier. Don't worry if you can't eat those—I can't either and just push them aside. And for a refreshing drink, a tall glass of buko pandan shake: fresh young coconut, milk, sugar and ice run through a blender and served over cubes of pandan gelatin.

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Max's Restaurant has always been popular in Metro Manila for large family parties, and I thought this would be an appropriate post because one year ago on this date, I posted my first photo in My Manila. Back then, I had no plans of making it a daily photo blog because I already had Happy at Home. I only joined City Daily Photo two months later, and silly me even registered the wrong email address so I couldn't get into the author forums until I emailed the Eric of Paris Daily Photo and he corrected my information. Thanks again, Eric! And thank you to all of you who have made blogging such a wonderful experience for me—for your comments, your appreciation, and more than anything else, for your own blogs. I truly enjoy all the blogs that I visit because of the fantastic photos and the wonderful information that I learn—about history, lifestyle, customs, architecture and nature. What some people assume as ordinary can be so fascinating to me because it's so different from my experience. When people write about their country's painful circumstances, I am always humbled and shamed, and reminded and challenged to see beyond myself and try to do some good. For all of these, and much, much more, thank you. Now dig in!

What lies beyond?

When I was a student at the Ateneo de Manila University, I would see a small white and blue bridge leading to a wooded area from the road every time my dad (who was a professor there) and I arrived in the morning and left in the afternoon. I finally gave in to curiosity and crossed it one day. In the middle of the woods was a greenhouse where Botany and Biology students kept their plant experiments. What a delight to see that the bridge is still there and still painted white and blue. One of these days, I'm going to cross it again and find out if the greenhouse is still there. If it's not, I'll just follow the path of mossy stones and see where they lead me.

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This is my 100th post! Time goes by so fast…

Philippine Independence Day

Today, 12 June 2008, the Philippines is celebrating its 110th year of independence from Spain. Even the malls got into the action—with Independence Day sales and decorations using the colors of the Philippine flag. This is what The Block at SM City North EDSA looked like over the weekend. I know this is a cheeky way for me to mark our independence, but I just couldn't resist.