The 6.9 Magnitude earthquake shook Iloilo (Panay), Negros and Cebu Islands yesterday, February 6, 2011. The earthquake caused landslides, cracks on highways and bridges and damages on buildings.  Classes and work in most offices  in Central and Western Visaya were suspended. Shopping malls temporarily closed for inspection for possible damages.

It was reported that a 3-storey building collapsed and seven bridges were no longer passable. 52 deaths were reported mostly from the town of Guihulngan in Negros Oriental were were landslides occurred.

The epicenter of the earthquake was located 5 kilometers northwest of Tayasan town in Negros Oriental, and was tectonic in origin. According to reports, the fault-line was previously unmapped meaning this may be a new fault line.

Aftershocks

There were more than a hundred aftershocks but only around 50 were felt and some were as strong as Magnitude 6.2 which worried a lot f people. This will still continue but hopefully no longer as strong and as frequent. Text messages predicting another earthquake brought panic to some people. The best way to combat these unscrupulous texters is to know as much as we can about earthquakes. Earthquakes cannot be predicted, aftershocks after an earthquake is expected. They may be strong enough for us to shake buildings or weak that we may no longer feel them.

Tsunami Scare

A Tsunami Alert 2 was declared by PHIVOLCS at around 12:30pm yesterday due to observed abnormal rise in sea level.  It’s however unfortunate that some people panicked even in areas not included in the alert. Tsunami Alert 2 means people along the coastal areas should be aware of unusual rise in sea level but no evacuation is required. I heard San Carlos City LGU evacuated some of their people along the coastal area. In my opinion, it’s better prepared than be sorry.

Who’s in charge

Although a lot of people updated their Twitter and Facebook accounts, some people were asking where to get official updates and who is in charge. For updates and instructions, it’s the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council which also has local units in Provinces, Cities and Municipalities.

Help Need 

Looking at the photos uploaded on Facebook, Guihulngan was really badly hit by 6.9 earthquake. I hope and pray no more casualties will be reported. Let’s remain updated and extend whatever help we can give.

Collapsed structure in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental (Photo by Bongbong Woo Tadifa)

Damaged bridge in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental (Photo by: Bongbong Woo Tadifa)

February is the Arts Month and this year, Bacolod City will host Bacollywood: Cinema Rehiyon 2012, , a National Independent Film and Video Art Festival, a project of the National Commission of Culture and the Arts (NCCA) on February 8-11, 2012.

Bacollywood has featured films in Negros and other provinces in the Visayas since its inception in 2009. It has served as platform for budding film-makers to be featured and a venue for discussions on the different issues in the local independent film industry.

Cinema Rehiyon is a non-competition film festival showcasing the works of film-makers from different regions with films set in their respective regions in their own dialect.  With the joint holding of Bacollywood and Cinema Rehiyon, more independent films will be featured and will be made available to local filmgoers.

The festival starts with the opening of “Killing Time,” a Video Installation on February 7, 6 PM at the Negros Museum.  This will be a first time in Bacolod and the exhibit will feature the works of internationally acknowledged Filipino video artists Tad Ermitaño, Gerry Tan, Kiri Dalena, Bea Camacho, Kaloy Olavides, Yason Banal and Maria Taniguchi. It is curated by Clarissa Chikiamco and open to the public until February 29.  This will be followed the next day by the festival opening on February 8, 9 AM, also at the Negros Museum.

Screenings of the different films will be at the Robinsons Movieworld Cinema 6 on February 8-11. The first day will feature Bacolod short films by directors Peque Gallaga, Carlo Ledesma, Jed Sicangco, Cindy Ballesteros, Junjun Montelibano, EJ Ballesteros, Neil Colanggo, Miguel Cruz, Paolo Lindaya and Michael Varca.  Also to be featured will be more than fifty short films from all over the Philippines.

Full feature films from Luzon, Visayas and Minadanao will also be shown such as BIYERNES, BIYERNES (Cebu), DI INOGON’ NATO (CEBU), ING BABAING MAPAMALIT SIM (Pampanga), SA KANTO NG ULAP AT LUPA (Nueva Vizcaya), BUSONG (Palawan), GAYUMA (Bicol region), LAWAS KAN PINABLI (Pangasinan), etc.

Pureza, the full length documentary film on the Negros sugar industry by Jay Abello will be shown on the last day of the festival, February 11.

Films will also be shown in barangay public venues through Cine de Barrio.  After doing the barangay rounds from December 2011, Cine de Barrio venues for the festival proper will be on Brgy. 19 on Feb. 8, Brgy. Villamonte on Feb. 9, and Brgy. Punta Taytay on Feb. 10, all at 6 PM.  Each cinema and barangay screening will be followed by interaction with the film directors as the festival will be graced by filmmakers from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

There’s a wealth of talent in film-making in the regions that has not been getting a lot of attention and support compared to their Manila-based counterparts. As moviegoers, by supporting Bacollywood: Cinema Rehiyon 2012 will be our way of helping our local artists and also learn more about our culture.

For FREE Tickets, please contact the secretariat at 09162173010.

Below is the schedule of activities:

February 7-8, 2012

February 9, 2012

February 10-11, 2012

Pureza: The Story of Negros Sugar is a full-length documentary film dissecting the sugar industry and how it has affected the lives of almost 3 million people in Negros island.

Sugar is the oil that runs the economy of Negros. Negros Occidental alone produces more than half of the total sugar production of the Philippines. Despite the efforts from various sectors to veer away from a monocrop industry,  Negros remained dependent on the sugar industry.

The proverbial image of a Negrense hacendero.

Sugar has been part of the turbulent history of the island where social unrest has been the cause of insurgency in the past. I’m sure most of us has some stereotypical image of the proverbial hacendero (landowner) throwing lavish parties in their palatial mansions while their sacadas toil in the fields. That has been the stigma that Negrenses have to live with for for more than a century.

Pureza refers to the purity of the sugar yield and depends on the different stages in the value chain, from planting to harvesting to milling. It’s an apt title for a documentary which delves  deeper into the historical, cultural and economic aspects of the sugar industry. It looks into the industry not only from the point of view of somebody born into it but also from somebody looking from the outside.

A farm worker planting sugarcane.

The production team were mostly Negrenses/Ilonggo by birth and affinity thus everybody had their own personal story with the sugar industry making the project very personal. Chroma Key technology was used for the Pureza cosplay where they used hundreds of costumes in recreating period scenes retracing the history of sugar in Negros. Animation was also used using the works of Negrense artist Edbon Sevilleno.

The film was produced by Bonfire Productions and Negros Pureza Foundation with support from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Although you can say this documentary is mostly funded by hacendero money, Director Abello made sure there will be no “sugar coating”.

Here are the production team which made “Pureza: The Story of Negros Sugar”

Executive Producers J. ABELLO, JOEY GASTON
Producers FIONA BORRES, AGNES VILLAR
Director J. ABELLO
Writers JET ORBIDA, CHECCS OSMEÑA
Editor FIONA BORRES
Director of Photography J. ABELLO
Asst. Director LOVELLE BELLOCILLO
Visual FX Supervisor RICHARD FRANCIA
Sound Engineers ALBERT MICHAEL IDIOMA, ALEX TOMBOC
Music PEARLSHA ABUBAKAR
Researchers IHVONIE SEVILLENO, KAT VALENCIA

Cosplay Actors

Oying Osmeña
Milton Dionzon
Mandy Alimon
Eero Martinez
Dante Amaguin

Pureza: The Story of Negros Sugar will be shown on the following dates and venues:

February 7 -  Premiere at SM City Bacolod Cinema 3, Screenings at 6:30pm and 9:00pm – (by invitation only)
February 11 – Robinsons Place Bacolod as part of the Bacollywood: Cinema Rehiyon 2012. Free Screening at 6:00-8:00pm. For Free Tickets, contact the  secretariat at 09162173010.
February 17 – Regular screening at SM City Bacolod (Regular Screenings at 12:00nn, 2:00pm, 4:00pm) Tickets are available at P120.00 at Café Uma (709-9966) or contact 0932-3065277 | 0917-3012878 | 034-708607

Watch the full trailer below:

The Bacolod Capitol Shopping Center is known as the Chinatown of Bacolod City because of the numerous Chinese business establishments in the area. Perhaps, only a few Bacolodnons, especially the younger generations, knew that it is a tragedy which gave birth to Shopping.

In 1955, a big fire gutted the area bounded by Araneta, Gonzaga, Locsin and Luzuriaga which is growing commercial center where most Chinese business establishments were located. The business establishments also doubled as residents so these Chinese were also displaced because of the fire.

Alfredo Montelibano Sr. saw an opportunity to attract the displaced Chinese businessmen so he developed the 27-hectare property north of Bacolod which gave way to the Capitol Shopping Center. Mr. Montelibano also donated a half-hectare property to the Bacolod Chinese Catholic Association where Hua Ming School and church are now located.

The Montelibano family has already transformed what used to be cogonland into Villamonte Subdivision and the upscale Capitolville Subdivision. During the time that the Capitol Shopping Center was being constructed, the exclusive boy’s school La Salle Bacolod and St. Scholastica Academy were already operating not far from Shopping. It’ not surprising then that the area became a prominent commercial center in Bacolod after its completion.

However, through the years, various business establishments re-opened in Bacolod downtown area and big malls opened in the city which took away customers from the Shopping area. Years of neglect have deteriorated most establishments in the Shopping area and even parts of the roads need to be rehabilitated.  Capitol Shopping Center has lost its luster as a business center and no longer attracted investments and only a few new establishments located in the area in recent years.

In the hope of reviving the once prime commercial district, Bacolod City Mayor Bing Leonardia recently signed City Ordinance no. 576 naming the Capitol Shopping Center as the Bacolod City Chinatown. The ordinance was authored by Councilor Dindo Ramos and co-authored by Councilor Em Ang stipulated that the city government will appropriate at least P15 million initial funding for the improvement of the infrastructure such as the welcome arch, greening and landscaping as well as road concreting. The city government, through the ordinance, hoped to attract investors by returning up to 70% of the cost of a project that will be put up at the Chinatown Center in the form of tax credits spread over five years.

The revival of the Capitol Shopping as the Bacolod Chinatown was lauded by the Filipino-Chinese Community since the Chinatown has been an important economic, cultural and spiritual hub for the Filipino-Chinese in Bacolod City.

Just like the way the Filipino-Chinese has risen from the ashes of the great fire of 1955, the renewal of interest in the Bacolod Chinatown Center will hopefully give way to the rebirth of the once robust business center.

The Bacolaodiat Festival 2012 will be celebrated on January 20-23 and  this year will be the 7th BacoLaodiat Festival which will usher in the Year of the Dragon with the theme  “A Majestic Spirit in a Challenging Year.”

Bacolaodiat which was coined from Bacolod and Lao Diat (Fookien word for celebration), is Bacolod City’s celebration of the Chinese New Year.

Every year, the Bacolaodiat Festival gets bigger with the support of Filipino-Chinese community. Filipinos have also embraced the celebration since the Chinese culture has a very strong influence us.

Chinese foods will be showcased at the Chopsticks Alley with cooking demo from our local cooking experts such as Chef Sandy Solinap of Verdera and Chef Ronnie Guance of PURO Organic.

The Lantern and Street Dance Competition also gets more exciting every year with more groups joining. Dancers wear colorful Chinese costumes and uses lanterns as they dance to the lively Bacolaodiat theme song.

Last year I wished that the Chinese New Year will be declared a non-working holiday and I’m glad this came true this year. With the declaration of January 23 as a non-working holiday, expect more people to come to the Bacolaodiat festival.

Chines New Year is more fun in Bacolod City so don’t be left behind. Mark your calendar Toto and Inday. Kiong Hee Huat Tsai!

 2012 Bacolaodiat Schedule of Activities

I believe the Virgen sang Barangay Chapel is one of the most beautiful churches in Negros Ocidental. In fact, I find it so beautiful I got married there.  Located inside Sta. Clara Subdivision, considered as the Forbes Park of Bacolod City, the chapel is quiet, intimate and with no unwanted observers. If you’re planning to get married here, book your wedding date early since we had to book as early as April for our December wedding.

Virgen sg Barangay Chapel Interior

The Virgen sang Barangay Chapel was built in 1983 on a land donated by Antonio Gaston. The chapel was designed by Architect Norman Campos and features shell mosaic done by Ms. Leticia Sia Ledesma.

The centerpiece of the Virgen sang Barangay Chapel is a 9 ft x 21 ft mural mosaic of Virgen sang Barangay made of 95,000 pieces of polished shells done by Ms. Leticia Sia Ledesma. It is said that the image on the mural of the Virgen Sang Barangay floating on clouds over Negros in protection came to Ms. Ledesma in her dream. All 95,000 pieces of polished shells are in their natural color and all are gathered locally from the shores of Negros. It is said that it took 60 men 100 hours to polish the shells.

Virgen sg Barangay Chapel Mural

Look closely at the intricate details of the mural and you’ll surely admire the meticulous hands that painstakingly cut, polished and glued the shells. The minute images of houses, boats and trees are all made of shells.

Close-up of the Virgen sg Barangay Mural (Photo by Maricar Dabao)

The chapel is always part of the longest running cultural tour in the world, the Annual Cultural Tour of Negros Occidental (ACTNO) of Ramon Hofileña. If you want to know more about the story behind the chapel and other cultural places in Negros Occidental, join Mon Hofileña’s tour every December.

An imposing chandelier made of 14,000 pieces of  white shells hang at the center of the chapel and glows dramatically when lighted.

Virgen sg Barangay Chapel Chandelier

The Stations of the Cross and images of saints and altar pieces are made of 30,000 shells.

Virgen sg Barangay Chapel Images of Saints

History of the Image of Virgen Sang Barangay

In 1954, Antonio Gaston of Silay, the visionary founder and leader of the Barangay Sang Virgen Organization, had a word with Bacolod Bishop Manuel Yap about an idea of giving the patroness of the Barangay Sang Virgen Organization a purely Filipino look. Bishop Yap approved the idea, but getting the icon painted proved to be difficult. Works from artists from the Salesian order and from graduates of prestigious art schools were not satisfactory.

Several months later, Father Pixner sent Gaston a painting done by Crisogono Domingo, an inmate of Santa Barbara Leprosarium in Iloilo. It is not a painting on a canvass but on a lawanit board. Mr. Domingo was an ordinary house painter. It took one look from Gaston and he knew it was going to be the image of the patroness.

The icon also gained the approval of of Bishop Manuel Yap who canonically blessed and installed the image in the diocese by October 16, 1954. The Bishop acclaimed the painting to be a work of art and inspiration. The original painting was personally blessed by the Blessed Pope John Paul II at the Bishop’s Palace when he visited Bacolod City on February 20, 1981 .

Today, the replica of the Virgen sang Barangay image on a lawanit goes house to house in Barangays where family members pray the rosary for several days before transferring the image to the next house.

I haven’t tried asking at the Diocese of Bacolod if they know where the original painting is now located. God-willing, I’ll try to search for it if only just to admire the work of an ordinary house painter who has inspired one of the most enduring images of the Virgin Mary and one that is truly Filipino.

Post Script: Added January 3, 2012

During the get-together dinner with NITI tour guides, Bambi Borromeo revealed to me that the original image of the Virgen Sang Barangay painted by Crisogono Domingo is at the Virgen Sang Barangay Shrine in Silay City.

When I agreed to be one of the judges in Silay City’s Christmas Village Arko Competition, little did I know that I will be the only non-artist in the group. It was an honor to be in such an esteemed group of judges. Good thing they have no air and made jokes so I was immediately put at ease.

There were two categories to be judged, the Arko ang Angel Competitions. I was with Lee Santiago and Ronnie Baldonado to judge the Arko. We were to judge the 16 entries from the different barangay as to Creativity and Originality (30%), Durability (30%), Visual Impact (30%) and Use of Materials (10%).

Judging 16 entries is not easy and especially since there were a lot of very good entries. In the end, we were glad we have a unanimous decision.

Third Place – Brgy. Hawaiian

Brgy. VI or Hawaiian got the Third Place. Brgy. VI is where the Hawaiian-Philippine Company is located that’s why it was renamed Hawaiian. The theme of their Arko focused on sugarcane milling which is very reflective of their barangay. The Arko is an iron dinosaur or steam locomotive made from acacia leaves painstakingly glued all over the arko. Hawaiian-Philippine is one of the few sugar centrals which still maintains a running steam locomotive using bagasse as fuel. Brgy. Hawaiian’s iron dinosaur Arko is complete with smoke and train horn sound.

Brgy. Hawaiian - Third Place - Silay Christmas Village Arko Competition

Second Place – Brgy. E. Lopez

Brgy. E. Lopez’s entry was made from corn husk meticulously folded and glued on the Arko. What’s amazing was that if you looked closely, the folded corn husks overlapped so closely you won’t see it’s base. The main figure of the Arko was a star with a Nativity scene at the center.

Brgy. E. Lopez - Second Place - Silay Christmas Village Arko Competition

The kids will surely love the Pinocchio figure on the left post and a clown on the right which are both made from empty water and softdrink bottles.

Brgy. E. Lopez - Second Place - Silay Christmas Village Arko Competition

First Place – Brgy. III

The inspiration for Brgy. III’s entry was the first settlement in Silay which was a coastal village named Carubcub. The artist, Silaynon wire sculptor Ian Valladarez, used twisted wires and scallop shells for his creation. You’ll surely admire his artwork especially if you look closely at the minute details.

According to Ian, the three seahorses in the Arko represent the Three Kings and the baby in their pouches represent a rebirth of the meaning of Christmas which is the birth of Jesus Christ which we so often forget because of too much commercialism.

Brgy. III - First Place - Silay Christmas Village Arko Competition

The kids and the kids at heart will enjoy the marbles which roll around the seahorses through a mechanism using gravitational force. I was pretty impressed with the artist who also has a good grasp of science.

Viewers are free to play with the Arko so you are free to inspect the mechanism if you happen to visit the Christmas Village, which I highly recommend you do.

Solo Locsin of Silay Tourism Office, Brgy. III Punong Barangay Efren D. Dequilla, and Ian Valladarez

We had no time to go around the Angel Category entries from the various schools so below is a sneak into some of the entries.

Silay City Christmas Village - Angel Category

The Silay City Christmas Village runs until January 6, 2012 at the Silay Public Plaza. I recommend you find time to bring your family to this display of Silaynon artistry. It’s a cheap way to spend quality time with your family and make your kids happy. Believe me, you’ll be elated too with the colorful display.

Fresh Start Organics will be inaugurating their Organic and Natural Store today December 14, 2011 at the Robinsons Central Citywalk coinciding with the birthday of the owner Chin Chin Uy. Organic consumers will now have a place where they can buy organic fresh produce, rice, coffee, fruit jams, and personal care products of Fresh Start Organics.

Fresh Start Organics is one of the pioneers in the organic movement in Negros Occidental. Their organic farm in Silay City is a showcase on sustainable farming and a proof that organic farming is the way to go especially for small farmers.

Fresh Start Organic Grocery

Fresh Start Organic Coffee

Customers can also enjoy organic food at the Fresh Start deli such as taro-malunggay pandesal, artisan piaya, organic ice cream and fresh fruit juices and dine al fresco at the Central City Walk.

The taro-malunggay pandesal is sold for P8 per piece and it’s composed of 60% taro flour. Taro flour is derived from taro (Colocasia esculenta) a root crop we locally call bisol or palawan. The taro-malunggay bread is healthy, very filling and goes well with Fresh Start Organic coffee.

Fresh Start Taro-Malunggay Pandesal

Fresh Start Organics Ice Cream has several flavors to choose from and it’s sold for P85 per cup. The flavors were created by Pinkerton Ice Cream for Fresh Start Organics using organic ingredients.

Fresh Start Organic Ice Cream

The Fresh Start Oraganic and Natural Store opened in November without much fireworks but it has already attracted the attention of organic consumers. I have been to the store several times already and guess who I caught buying organic products at Fresh Start? No less than Margarita Fores and Silay City First Lady Marissa Montelibano.

Chin Chin Uy, US Peace Corps Volunteer Rachael Saler and Margarita Fores

Chin Chin with Silay First Lady Marissa Montelibano

Happy birthday to Chin Chin Uy and congratulations to you and Francine on the grand opening and inauguration of Fresh Start Organic & Natural store at the Robinsons Central Citywalk! I hope you continue to convince more people on the benefits of living an organic and healthy lifestyle.

The 6th Negros Island Organic Farmers Festival is no doubt the most anticipated organic event of the year. You don’t get to see all of these world-class chefs and restaurateurs in one event very often. Don’t miss to attend the various lectures on different topics on organic lifestyle and see various cooking demo by the country’s top chefs using local organic ingredients.

Meet the Chefs

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

The venue of the Cooking Demo is at the Organic Market Restaurant while the lectures will be at the Provincial Capitol Social Hall.

Other activities include Daily Trade Fair, Daily Night Events, Daily Organic Cocktail Demo by Culinary Students, and Daily Organic Farm Tours (pls email viajenegrense@gmail.com for rates & schedule).

My friends and I were hanging out t the Robinsons Central City Walk when my friend Weng commented how beautiful the moon was. Indeed, the sky was cloudless so we get to enjoy the full moon. It was only when I got home and logged in at Facebook that I learned that we are also having a total lunar eclipse and Bacolod City had a clear, cloudless sky to enjoy the full view of the unfolding of this natural phenomenon.

Lunar eclipses happen when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned or are very close to each other with the Earth in the middle blocking the Sun’s rays from reaching the moon.

In the Philippines, there are superstitious beliefs attached to eclipse. It is said that a giant snake or Bakunawa is eating the Moon in a lunar eclipse or the Sun, in case of a solar eclipse. Pregnant women are also prohibited from going outside the house without covering for the head or they risk giving birth to a child with defects.

It’s a sight to behold as the shadow of the Earth slowly blocked off the Moon and the latter turned to red. The moon’s red appearance is due to the refracted sunlight which is refracted through the dust and clouds on the Earth’s atmosphere. Color of longer wavelengths such as red reaches the surface of the moon.

I hope you were able to see the total lunar eclipse last night since we will not see another one until 2014.