Octopus arms

"There can be no tyrants where there are no slaves."

~Jose Rizal (1861–1896), Philippine national hero

A couple of friends and I spent Philippine Independence Day, June 12, at the Ayala Museum. We got to silkscreen our own t-shirts courtesy of Team Manila, which brought its ScreenMachine for the event. In keeping with the occasion, the design they chose was a stylized Philippine flag with the year that the country declared its independence from Spain, 1898. The shirt in the foreground is still missing the red part, which is the pattern on the silkscreen frame on the right. Notice that the ScreenMachine just holds the tees and silkscreen frames—the printing still has to be done manually. In a country with a 7% unemployment rate and an 18% underemployment rate, I completely approve of Team Manila's production choice.

The soldier

Today is the Feast Day of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus. Before his spiritual conversion at the age of 30, Ignatius was a soldier, hence the common depiction of him wearing a coat of mail and breastplate, and carrying a sword. This statue is in the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila Grade School in Quezon City.

Gateway

The Old West Gate in what used to be the Subic-Olongapo Base (now the Subic Bay Freeport Zone) was called the Spanish Gate by the Americans when they took over the base. The plaque on the gate reads:

This gate was the entrance to the original Spanish naval station established in Subic Bay in 1885. The principal Spanish construction lay to the east along what is now Rivera Point and consisted of an arsenal, several warehouses, and a number of shop buildings.

The base at Subic-Olongapo was used by the Spanish Navy to provide repair, supply, ammunition and medical support for ships. The post was commanded by the second commandancia of the base at Cavite and was considered a subsidiary of that command.

The Spanish garrison remained in possession of the Subic-Olongapo base until June of 1898 at which time they were driven out by Filipino forces. The area was formally occupied by the U.S. Navy in September of 1899.

On June 12, 1898, the Philippines declared its independence from Spain. Despite being occupied by the Americans soon after, it is the date that we now commemorate as our Independence Day. After all, what is 48 years compared to 333 years?

The reason for the season

The simple cross at the top of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish church, set off by bougainvillea which blooms throughout the year in the Philippines.

Happy Easter!

A journey around the parking lot

The Way of the Cross is a devotion that many Filipino Catholics go through during Lent, especially during Holy Week. So people can do this mini pilgrimage to the scenes of Christ's sufferings and death without disturbing those attending other Holy Week services inside the church, the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish closed off its parking lot and set up the stations around it.

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Black Soup Cafe may be small, but it set aside space for musicians to perform in, and welcomes exhibits from artists, whether established or new. I love that. The restaurant's full name is Blacksoup Cafe + Artspace.

Whatever your interests are and whatever you decide to do, I hope you have a wonderful day with your loved ones. Happy Valentine's Day! :)

Colorful blocks

The School of Humanities' creation for the Ateneo de Manila University's Christmas Parks is a colorful and stylized interpretation of Jesus' nativity in the islands of Batanes. The province is the northernmost of the Philippines and is composed of ten small mountainous and rocky islands, and traditional Ivatan houses are made of those same rocks—echoed in the construction of the Holy Family. The hair of Mary and Joseph evoke the "hairy" headpieces worn by the Ivatan. Called vakul, they are made from abaca fiber, and are a protectection from both sun and rain.

Born in a metropolis

Aside from the bottle cap mosaic/stained glass nativity, this was my other favorite among the sixteen Christmas Parks of the Ateneo de Manila University. Also a mosaic, but this time made out of computer parts with orange plastic tubing for accent.
  The three figures of the nativity are made of the same materials.
  The setting for this particular nativity is the National Capital Region (NCR), which is more popularly known as Metro Manila. And the two things which distinguish the region from the rest of the Philippines is its skyscrapers and light rail transit systems, here made out of used foil snack bags.

Christmas elegance

The Ayala Museum's very elegant interpretation of the traditional Filipino parol, or Star of Bethlehem.

Partaaay!

Makati City has been hosting a New Year Countdown street party for quite a few years now, but it was the first time that my husband and I managed to go.
  A stage was set up at the intersection of Ayala and Makati Avenues—two of the major roads of the central business district—for a street dance competition and lots of bands. The tents at the sides of Ayala Avenue housed food stalls, and for the duration of the party (which started at 7:00pm though we only went at 10:30pm), drinking liquor was allowed on the streets.
  There were lots of projection screens for people who were far away from the stage, whether by choice (like us) or because they could no longer get to the front because of the crowds.
  At five minutes to midnight, Makati's mayor, Jejomar Erwin "Junjun" Binay Jr., and his family and political allies, were called onto the stage. Present was Junjun's father, Jejomar Binay, the current Vice President of the Philippines and the former mayor of Makati. VP Binay is reputedly going to run as president in 2016. About the only thing that ruined the night for us was the emcee introducing him as "the next president of the Philippines." A little too premature there.
  The city even had its own 2013 ball, but I don't think it dropped from anywhere—it was just hanging on the stage. Unless I missed the drop because I was looking at the fireworks.

And more lights!

The spectacular finale of the fireworks show in Makati City after the new year countdown.
 

May this year be as wonderful for you and everyone you love. 

Happy New Year!

White wafers

The decorations hanging from the cupola of the Ateneo Church of the Gesù this Christmas season are called Neules de Mallorca, a traditional craft from the island of Mallorca or Majorca in Spain. They are cut-out paper disks with delicate designs which originally were edible wafers made of the same unleavened bread that Roman Catholic communion wafers are made of.

Today

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, 

which is Christ the Lord.

~Luke 2:11

  The Nativity scene at the Ateneo Church of the Gesù

Wishing you and your loved ones a blessed 

and grace-filled Christmas.

Exie & Hilda

They came on a boat

In the Christmas Parks of the Ateneo de Manila University, the Jesuit Residence (where the Jesuits who work in the university live) and the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI, a Jesuit-run institute though not part of the university) were assigned the MIMAROPA region. An abbreviation for Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan, the MIMAROPA region is a long and narrow string of island provinces in the west central part of the Philippines. As you can imagine, boats are a major way of traveling around the islands, and the EAPI and Jesuit Residence's Nativity is set on a bangka, a small outrigger canoe which is the most common boat used in the country. The roofed shelter is optional and is usually found only on bigger boats.

Boat to Bethlehem

The Christmas Parks of the Ateneo de Manila University are also thematic, with each group randomly assigned one of the regions of the Philippines to incorporate into their Nativity scene. Probably one of the most challenging regions is the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). How does one sensitively depict a very Christian belief in a Muslim setting? By not making any direct reference to the Muslim faith, of course. The Nativity scene is set on a vinta, a traditional boat with a sail of colorful vertical strips which has long been used in the islands of Mindanao. And as an additional detail, Joseph is also wearing a taqiyah.

Parents!

Aside from providing decorations for the campus for the Advent and Christmas seasons, the annual Christmas Parks project of the Ateneo de Manila University is meant to foster community, with the various offices and academic units building their own parks. As I mentioned in the bottlecap Nativity post, one of the requirements is to use recycled and indigenous materials. There is also a limit to the amount that each group could use to buy new materials, a sensitive and just requirement given that those same monies can be used for the many social outreach programs of the university. And to make sure that people do their best with the limited time and resources on their hands, the Christmas Parks was turned into a contest, with the grand prize being an amount bigger than the expense budget limit.
  One group, however, stated at the very start that they were going to build a Christmas Park but weren't going to join the contest—which basically meant that they were not going to limit their costs. The beautiful, delicate, life-size porcelain figurines alone probably cost more than the entire budget.
  The group used indigenous products, though, with the most prevalent decorative item being coconut husks—on the ground and the ornaments on the tree. And while the members of the group chatted away and shouted directions from their picnic tables, their maids and drivers constructed and decorated the scene for them. I have to admit, there's a very big advantage to having a lot of money.

Throwaway

This nativity scene was made by the personnel of the Ateneo de Manila University's Office of International Relations. The design concept is based on both mosaic and stained glass, but it is completely made of plastic junk—bottle caps and bottoms, straws, and ring binders—with a few broken optical disks thrown in. I find it absolutely fantastic!

There are sixteen nativity scenes around the campus created by the different units that make up the university. One of the criteria for their creation is the use of recycled and indigenous products. I have yet to walk around to take their pictures, but I'll be sure to post them here once I have.

Parallel

The majestic simplicity of a single, enormous white Christmas star is appropriate for the majestic simplicity of the main entrance of the University of the Philippines (U.P.) – Diliman's Palma Hall, with its soaring, three-story high rectangular columns. The building is named after Rafael Palma, U.P.'s fourth but first Filipino president, and is currently the home of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. The small but colorful stars flanking the stairs are suggestive of the young students which populate its rooms and corridors.

Eggs in a basket

The Philippines may still be predominantly Catholic, but who can resist the Easter Bunny, especially when she comes with such pretty Easter Eggs?

Happy Easter!

Caution: low headroom

What can a city do with the low but wide space under the ramps of flyovers (elevated highways)? Turn it into a parking lot for motorcycles! An eminently practical use at the heavily congested corner of EDSA and Ortigas Avenue in Quezon City.

Today, though, this space will probably be jammed with people, not motorcycles, since it is the 26th anniversary of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution.