Clothed in many colors

Adults who bring children to The Manila Collectible Co. can keep their little hands busy in this corner where they can paint some clay pots. The store also carries products for children, including stuffed toys of Philippine animals like the carabao and tarsier. I just love the sarimanok separating the children's corner from the rest of the store. The sarimanok is a legendary bird of many colors which originated from the Maranao people of Mindanao.

To go

Of course, one can't have a Filipino gift shop without food. The Manila Collectible Co. has gathered together a good array of food products from all over the Philippines. Dried fruit, jams and preserves, biscuits, chocolate, teas and infusions, coffee, fruit wines, vinegar—all made locally from local produce.

Choose your style

I don't think yesterday's mural was for sale, but there are many paintings by young and upcoming artists to choose from at The Manila Collectible Co.

Cultural Appreciation 101

The mural at the entrance of The Manila Collectible Co. is symbolic of the store's mission to promote the best of the Philippines' indigenous creative industry. The painting is titled "Icon" and was conceptualized by Charisse Aquino-Tugade, the founder of the company, and a long-time writer and host for the Living Asia Channel. It was executed, however, by the Kulisap Group of Artists of the Eulogio "Amang" Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (EARIST). The left side features representations of the Philippines' many indigenous ethno-linguistic groups, and the right side features important cultural landmarks and treasures.

See murals from around the world in Monday Mural.

Getting ready

This is the closest I've gotten to the dome of the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, better known as the Manila Cathedral and the seat of the Archdiocese of Manila. It was taken from the roofdeck of The Manila Collectible Co., which can be rented for events (but I don't recommend it during dreary rainy days, like the day we were there). The Cathedral has been closed since February of last year for structural renovations, the most important of which is seismic retrofitting. The current cathedral is the eighth church to be built on the site, and at least four previous structures were destroyed or heavily damaged by earthquakes.

Dressed like royalty

Of all the handwoven fabrics available at The Manila Collectible Co., it is the inaul that I found most beautiful. Crafted by weavers from the province of Maguindanao, inaul is traditionally used as a malong, a tube skirt used by both men and women. For The Manila Collectible Co., the weavers also created smaller pieces, perfect as shawls or scarves. I found them so beautiful, I couldn't resist buying one—a magnificent jewel-toned, iridescent shawl made of the softest silk. Now I need to find an occasion special enough to use it.

Woven dreams

T'nalak are woven dreams. T'boli women weave them, keen eyes and hands working together to judge lengths, to transfer patterns from memory to loom. T'nalak is made of the whitest abaca fibers connected end to end with the smallest possible knots and dyed red and blackest brown. Its patterns are handed from mother to daughter, or bestowed on the weaver in dreams by Fu Dalu, the spirit of the abaca. It is a product as much of quietness of spirit as it is of skill, for not all women weave, and not all weavers dream.

~ from the chapter "What is T'nalak?" by Maria Elena P. Paterno in the book "Dreamweavers"

T'nalak (in the foreground) and other indigenous hand-woven fabrics and clothes are also available at The Manila Collectible Co.

Natural fiber

The Manila Collectible Co. is a four month old store in historic Intramuros which showcases products from artists and artisans all over the Philippines. All the products they carry are handmade and neatly displayed according to category in the store. These are the shelves of handwoven bags and baskets. We bought an enormous, soft tikog bag large enough to serve as luggage for our next road trip.

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.

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.
 

Manila skyline

This view of the City of Manila is exactly like the night shot I posted on August 26, taken during the next (very overcast) morning. Aside from the two creamy yellow neoclassical buildings of the National Museum of the Philippines, one can see the water hazards of the Club Intramuros Golf Course, and parts of the 16th century walls of Intramuros on the lower right.

Bumper stickers

If you had hundreds of spare stickers, would you cover your car bumper with them? I thought this was crazy but it also made me smile.

Portrait with noodles

Kanzhu, a small restaurant that we tried recently, prides itself in its hand-pulled noodles. It's easy to understand why—freshly made noodles have a soft, wonderful texture that commercial noodles just cannot replicate. I think Kanzhu has to work on their broth, though—it was disappointingly bland and is a discredit to their hardworking noodle-maker.

Yummy to the last sip

When something becomes popular in Manila, it really becomes popular. During the past year, tea shops have opened in almost every block in the metro. The range is very wide—from quiet places that serve fresh, carefully brewed organic teas to shops that serve tea drinks with milk, all sorts of flavorings, sago pearls and jelly cubes, and everything in between. One guess what kind of tea Pao Pao Xiao Chi serves. It was the only place I could get a cold drink at the Greenhills West Clubhouse. To be fair, the simple iced fruit tea I had was pretty good; it wasn't too sweet and they have a light touch with the flavoring so I could still taste the tea.