Intertwined

"Art-making is not about telling the truth but making the truth felt."

~Christian Boltanski, French sculptor

Made of recycled stainless steel, "The Trees" by artist Reynato Paz Contreras stands in the middle of the park in the middle of the roundabout that is Burgos Circle in Bonifacio Global City. According to the artist, "The three trunks signify stability. The intertwining branches and leaves create a circular effect to symbolise the 'circle of life.' This sculpture represents the interrelationship of humanity and nature, and the vital role that each one plays. May it remind everyone to preserve the environment not just for today but for the future as well."

Tree of life

"The two basic items necessary to sustain life
are sunshine and coconut milk."

~Dustin Hoffman, American actor

In the Philippines, the coconut tree (Cocos nucifera) is considered the tree of life. Sustenance and shelter are just the most basic needs that coconut trees can provide. The list of useful products and by-products that come from every part of coconut trees, though not endless, is very long. In fact, we have a government agency under the Department of Agriculture that focuses solely on the coconut industry: the Philippine Coconut Authority.

This is artist Impy Pilapil's tribute to the Philippine "Tree of Life." It is made of metal and glass, and stands in the atrium of the Eugenio Lopez Center in Antipolo City.

Gestation

"There is nothing in which the birds differ more from man
than the way in which they can build
and yet leave a landscape as it was before."

~Robert Lynd (1879–1949), Irish writer

A new building will be constructed in the Loyola Heights Campus of Ateneo de Manila University and, it being a Catholic university, a ground blessing was held last week. For the occasion, young sculptor and furniture maker Niccolo Jose created "Blue Eagle's Nest" using the soil and wood found on the site. The nest with its two eggs will remain on the site until the groundbreaking or until the next season's rains wash them away, whichever comes first.

War in heaven

"Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back."

~Revelation 12:7

In the courtyard of San Miguel Church (see yesterday's post) stands this 12-foot cold cast bronze sculpture of Saint Michael slaying the dragon, which symbolizes the devil, created by Florante Caedo.

A special visitor from Portugal

On 14 October 2013, the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima visited the St. Stanislaus Kostka Chapel of the Ateneo de Manila High School for half a day. Sculpted by José Thedim and blessed by the Bishop of Leiria-Fátima in 1947, the statue was sent out to bring the Message of Fatima to the world.

Father and Son

This statue of St. Joseph with the child Jesus stands in front of the Jesuit Residence inside the Loyola Heights campus of the Ateneo de Manila University. The inscription on the base is in Latin and declares, "Behold a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord setteth over his family." The statue was one of the few things left standing when the school's Padre Faura campus was razed to the ground during World War II. The inscription further states that the statue was donated by Don Rafael Perez in 1916 and was transferred to its current location in 1955.
 

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.

My guardian dear

There is an old story by Ateneo de Manila Grade School teacher Mr. Juan Javier which explains how the Holy Guardian Angels became the patrons of the Grade School and the special guardians of young Ateneans. The story takes place at Padre Faura, during the term of Fr. Henry Lee Irwin SJ as Headmaster.

Mr. Javier narrates how, on the evening of September 28, 1933, a group of Ateneo boarders were seated outdoors after having dinner. Nearby was a shrine of the Immaculate Conception. As they were singing and laughing, an earthquake shook the ground and a wall collapsed on them, but to the amazement of everyone, the students were not hurt. At the school assembly the following Monday, the Headmaster, Fr. Henry Lee Irwin SJ, declared that October 2 would, from then on, be the school feast day. This was because the community believed that it was the Holy Guardian Angels that saved the students from harm during the earthquake. The feast of the Holy Guardian Angels falls on October 2. Every year since then, the feast of the Holy Guardian Angels was celebrated at the Grade School with a procession, a school-wide Mass, and salu-salo (get-together). When Ateneo de Manila Grade School transferred to Loyola Heights in 1954, the chapel was dedicated to the Holy Guardian Angels. Images of the Guardian Angels were also commissioned for the chapel and the garden.

Every human being has been blessed by God with a guardian angel. They are messengers of God's love—our personal protector and guide. They lead us to God, helping us live a life of faith, excellence, and loving service. As patrons of Ateneo de Manila Grade School, they are forever our companions and friends in the Lord. May we be guardian angels to others—especially to those in need.

Angel of God, my guardian dear, 

to whom God's love commits me here, 

ever this day, be at my side, 

to light and guard, 

 to rule and guide. Amen. 

It is with deep gratitude to the Lord that this Holy Guardian Angels Park is blessed and dedicated on the 20th day of October 2010.

~From the plaque in the Holy Guardian Angels Park of the Ateneo de Manila Grade School

A fountain for a hero

I've already posted a photo of the grand central fountain of Liwasang Bonifacio (Bonifacio Park) with the Manila Central Post Office in the background. This is what the fountain looks like from the post office, with the clock tower of Manila City Hall just peeking above the plumes of water and a view of the heavy weekday traffic of Manila. The park is named after Andres Bonifacio (whose statue is on the far side of the fountain, beside the street), considered the father of the Philippine Revolution against Spanish colonial rule.

The Family

This small glass sculpture by Ramon Orlina has always been one of my favorite pieces in the collection of the Ateneo Art Gallery. Orlina shapes his sculptures from blocks of industrial glass, hence the green coloration of most of his work. An architect by training, Orlina began exploring sculpture during the turbulent 1970s when his clients started moving to the U.S. because of the Marcos dictatorship. Completely self-taught in glass sculpture, Orlina has since won numerous international awards for his work, and was declared The Outstanding Filipino (TOFIL) Awardee for the Arts in 2006.

Three days

I spent the last three days at Betania Retreat House, run by the Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary, in Tagaytay City in the province of Cavite. Three days with no internet, no cellphone, and no gadgets (I took this photo when our retreat group arrived, then put away the camera too). Three days of meditation, contemplation and prayer. I hope they will be enough to get me through another year with patience, serenity, and grace.

The Diliman Jungle

When these concrete animals appeared in front of a house in our neighborhood back in 1974, all the children—me included—were absolutely delighted. None of us thought they were kitschy at all. Almost 40 years later, they're still around, but the elephant has lost its trunk, the horse has a damaged tummy, and the lion's mane has started falling off. The poor things.

Life

According to the plaque beside it, this statue of Mary and the child Jesus in front of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish church in Quezon City is dedicated to the Dignity of Life—the unborn, babies and children.

Dandy

The most colorful Chinese guardian lion—also known as a foo dog—I have ever seen protects an artist friend's studio and flower shop. This particular lion is male, since his paw is on the world. Female guardian lions have their paw on a cub.

Not Kevin

"The Postman" (yes, that really is the name of the sculpture) standing in front of the neoclassical building of the Philippine Postal Corporation's headquarters.

Only the best

From the 2007 Philippine Daily Inquirer article about the honor guards at the shrine of Philippine National Hero Jose Rizal:

Battle-tested in Basilan and Jolo, a certain brotherhood within the Armed Forces of the Philippines carries out a special kind of mission at the country's Kilometer Zero, where the "enemy" includes the scorching midday sun, heavy downpours, the call of nature, and all sorts of distractions from hecklers and curious promenaders.… The Rizal monument is the only statue in the Philippines provided with an honor guard. For decades, guarding it has been a role exclusively given to corporals and sergeants of the Marine Security and Escort Group (MSEG), mostly soldiers with at least a year or two of combat experience against Moro separatists or communist insurgents.

Meditating in the garden

Cafe Juanita (see the previous two posts) is located in a converted house in Barangay Kapitolyo in Pasig City. To maximize the space for customers, the small garden was roofed over and enclosed. To retain the feeling of a garden, however, the space was filled with hanging and potted plants, and what looks like old window grills were attached to the bare concrete wall. Buddha also meditates in the room—on a drum this time—watched over by six colorful macaws.

Northern beauties

The Ilocos Norte Capitol, located in Laoag City, which is the province's capital, as seen from Aurora Park with its Pamulinawen Fountain and the Ilocos Norte Oblation. Laoag is about 480 km north of Manila.

Protector

Catholicism and other Christian religions may be dominant in the Philippines, but many Filipinos see no inconsistency in adopting feng shui elements in their homes and commercial establishments. This jade fu dog, which is more properly called a Chinese guardian lion, was on one side of a bakery's display case. I assume there was another at the other side, since they're always supposed to come in pairs.

One afternoon in Tarlac City

From May 12 to 24, my husband and I went on a road trip through the Central Luzon and Ilocos Regions, stopping at cities and towns that we've never visited before. My Manila goes outside Metro Manila for the next few days. I hope you enjoy the trip.

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Tarlac City is about 105 kilometers northwest of Metro Manila. The province, which carries the same name, is best known as being the home province of the Aquino family, which includes Benigno Jr. "Ninoy", whose assassination at the airport when he arrived from exile in 1983 became the catalyst for popular discontent and opposition against the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, and his wife Corazon "Cory", who became the country's first female president when People Power forced Marcos out. The Aquino Center houses their memorabilia, and chronicles their political careers and the events which led to the Philippines regaining its democracy, however flawed it still is today.


We stayed at the Microtel Inn & Suites at Hacienda Luisita, where we arrived during an overcast Sunday morning. Hacienda Luisita is a sugar plantation owned by the Cojuangco family, part of which they opened to public commercial enterprises. Microtel is an inexpensive, no-fuss but comfortable hotel with very helpful and friendly staff. Though it doesn't have a restaurant, the room still comes with free breakfast, which is served in the small lobby which has free wi-fi, free-flowing tea and coffee, and—most welcome and much-needed in our humidity—ice and cold water dispensers.


At the city center, a monument to Cory Aquino stands in the middle of a small roundabout. I had no luck trying to get a closer photo of the statue, unfortunately; I just can't figure out what camera settings I need for upward-looking shots during cloudy days.


The small roundabout was between a park (which we didn't visit because it had just rained and the ground was muddy) and the San Sebastian Cathedral. Since it was a Sunday and there was a Mass going on, popcorn vendors and tricycles were out in droves. I almost got run over when I crossed the street and entered the cathedral premises on the stripes; I thought they were for pedestrians but it seems that they also mark where vehicles can enter and exit the gates.


Because of the Mass, we couldn't take photos inside the cathedral. So my husband and I walked around outside, where we saw a sculpture of a cross and the Virgin Mary gesturing and walking towards a fetus lying on clouds and surrounded by cherubs dedicated to "the innocent victims of abortion."


We had our dinner at Tessie's Grills and Roasters, which seems to be a very popular local restaurant because of its inexpensive buffet. What caught my eye, though, were the decorations of their events hall. Roman Gladiators and Anubis standing sentry outside the doors, and I saw a mask of Tutankhamun inside when I accidentally walked in, thinking it was the entrance to the restaurant; I almost gate-crashed someone's debut. Not quite something I expected to see in the farming province of Tarlac. LUZON ROAD TRIP SERIES #1