Comedy Relief: Poet Laureate, 1991

December 7, 2009 at 5:13 am (1900s Philippines, Arnedo de Sulipan, Comedy Relief, Domestic Travels, Family Traditions, Gonzalez de Sulipan, Humor, Pampanga Traditions, Personal, Random memories, Religious Traditions, The Manilenos, The Pampanguenos, The Past)

It was the usual Sunday family lunch at Brother Andrew’s [ Lola Charing's ], and we all usually recounted what had happened the last week…

I reported:  “I was in Apalit [ Pampanga ] a few days ago because I had to do something.  While there, I visited the cemetery and prayed for our dead.”

“That’s good.  How’s everything there?”  Brother Andrew inquired.

“Everything’s alright.  Poor Lolo *******, they’ve installed his ‘lapida’ [ tombstone ].  It says ‘Poet Laureate of Pampanga’.”

“But he was really a Poet.  Nothing wrong with that.”  countered Brother Andrew.

“You should see how it’s spelled, Brother…”

“How?”  asked Brother Andrew, a wicked, expectant smile on his face.

“Poet L-A-U-R-I-A-T of Pampanga, Brother.  Chinese LAURIAT not L-A-U-R-E-A-T-E!!!”

“LAURIAT???!!!  POET LAURIAT???!!!  Ahahahahahah!!!”  Brother Andrew asked in disbelief, his eyes wide open.  His food went up to his nose and he was convulsed laughing.

[ As National Museum Director Corazon "Cora" Alvina very wittily quipped at that time:  "THAT'S A PAIN IN THE POET!!!"   :P    :P    :P    ]

Harharhar!!!   :D    :D    :D

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Comedy Relief: Erte Ball at the Villa Escudero I, August 1993

December 5, 2009 at 6:39 pm (Comedy Relief, Domestic Travels, Humor, Personal, Random memories, The Global Crowd, The Laguna Tagalogs, The Manilenos, The Tayabenses / Quezonians)

The cocktails of the Erte Ball were held at the 1930s “Big House” of the Villa Escudero, the ball itself was held inside the adjacent original Museum Building.

During the cocktails, Jo Panlilio greeted an old lady senator.  She inquired:  “Have you seen my daughter, hijo?  I’ve been looking for her the whole evening.”

“No, I haven’t, Ma’am.  If I do see her I’ll tell her you want to see her.”

“Thank you, hijo.  I thought I saw her earlier but she probably didn’t see me.  She has this new bob hairdo and is wearing a one-shoulder black dress.  Please tell her I’m looking for her, hijo.”

“I certainly will, Ma’am.”

Jo Panlilio had certainly seen someone with a bob hairdo and wearing a one-shoulder black top a few minutes before:  Louie Cruz!!!  Jo Panlilio bit his lip at the realization and moved through the gregarious crowd…

Poor Old Lady Senator.  She had mistaken Louie Cruz for her daughter.

Harharhar!!!   :P    :P    :P

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Comedy Relief: Erte Ball at the Villa Escudero II, August 1993

December 5, 2009 at 5:58 pm (1900s Philippines, Comedy Relief, Domestic Travels, Humor, Personal, Random memories, The Global Crowd, The Laguna Tagalogs, The Manilenos, The Past, The Tayabenses / Quezonians)

The Erte Ball, a fantastic 1910s – 20s Art Nouveau – Art Deco theme party, was given by Tito Ado Escudero at the Villa Escudero in August 1993…

For that ball, I dressed as a Venetian blackamoor in gold lame and gold Houles tassels galore and wore portions of a real antique blue, gold, and white Murano chandelier [ a Gonzalez heirloom:  a 22 February 1930 wedding gift to my Lolo Bosto and Lola Charing by his classy youngest brother Lolo Fausto ] —  on my head [ which I had to balance with my right hand the whole evening!  :P ].  Jo Panlilio dressed as an African Queen with 40 yards of Brunschwig & Fils leopard-stripe velvet from Edgar Ramirez’s atelier.  And we weren’t the only guests costumed over-the-top.  Needless to say, it was a fantastically decadent party…

After dinner, we over-the-top costumed guests were requested to assemble backstage in preparation for our runway introductions.  We were all giggling and guffawing endlessly backstage.

In one corner, I espied the irrepressible Louie Cruz’s partner-at-that-time, the boyish German Eike Felderbauer, so I greeted him:  “Hi Eike!  Long time no see! How are you?  But where’s Louie???”

Our jaws dropped to the floor as the unpredictable Louie Cruz emerged from a corner adjusting the back of his incredible costume.  He was dressed and fully maq-ed as Ursula, the Sea Witch from the Disney animated movie “The Little Mermaid”!!!  He had a Suzy Wong wig and a strapless tightfitting black evening gown replete with humongous stuffed black “tentacles”!!!

“Putang ina ninyo!!!  Nandito si Louie Cruz!!!”  he mock-cursed all of us!!!

Harharhar!!!   :P    :P    :P

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Comedy Relief: Haute Taal, October 2009

December 1, 2009 at 9:26 pm (19th century Filipino Art, 2008, Architecture, Comedy Relief, Design and Decoration, Domestic Travels, Filipino Art, Humor, Past Events, Personal, Random memories, The Global Crowd, The Manilenos)

On one A-MRMF Assumption Mother Rosa Memorial Foundation Tour to the beautiful heritage town of Taal in Batangas, we visited the two beautifully restored and strictly maintained Villavicencio ancestral houses, the 1850s “Original” and the 1870s “Wedding”…

In the “Sala” [ drawing room ] of the 1870s “Wedding” house, now owned by Ms. Monsy Villavicencio-Joven, initials of the illustrious Villavicencio-Marella family members intertwined with leaves and flowers were painted on the frieze of the room.

Admiring the ornate “Sala” [ restored under the direction of patrician Filipiniana scholar Martin "Sonny" Imperial Tinio Jr. ], one of the socially prominent lady travelers, who certainly knew her Art and Antiques, but decided to be naughty nonetheless, pointed to a painted cipher and quipped:  “Sosyal!  “L V”… Louis Vuitton!!!”   :P    :P    :P

Harharhar!!!   :D    :D    :D

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An afternoon at “Tana Dicang”

September 23, 2009 at 5:34 am (2000s Philippines, Current Events, Design and Decoration, Domestic Travels, Family Traditions, Personal, Random memories, The Global Crowd, The Ilonggos, The Manilenos, The Negrenses, The Pampanguenos)

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Social conscience and responsibility

September 22, 2009 at 1:57 pm (2000s Philippines, Angst, Current Events, Domestic Travels, Random memories, The Cebuanos, The Global Crowd, The Ilonggos, The Manilenos, The Negrenses, Tristesse)

It is only expected that those here in Manila, used to a life of ever-increasing expenditures, are clueless as to what the amounts — usually very considerable — they spend for food, grooming, clothes, shoes, bags, jewelry, home, entertainment, travel, etc. can actually buy in terms of life-changing equipment for our fellow Filipinos in the far-flung provinces of our country.

On the tenth day of our trip, 14 September 2009, Monday, Tess Lopez brought upcoming Silaynon artist Carlos Ruiz and I to the Vallehermoso Central School to conduct an Art workshop for the Grade School children;  the art works would be used for Christmas greeting cards to raise badly-needed funds for the Saint Francis of Assisi Parish Church of Vallehermoso and its Parochial School which burned to the ground a week before we arrived.

And while the Vallehermoso Central School was a perfectly charming place [ an old "Gabaldon"-type school building designed for tropical Philippine weather set on commodious grounds ] with perfectly charming students and noble and concerned teachers, I came face to face with the reality [ for the umpteenth time ] that much of the resources that we take for granted in Manila could go a looong way for the children, happy and content as they are, in this distant provincial town…

And so one thinks of the affluent life that has always seemed normal, even ordinary for the fortunate ones:  endless dinners at “Lolo Dad’s,”  “Le Souffle,”  “Aubergine,” and “Antonio’s” [ and lunches in similar places ];  regular salon and spa treatments at the Shangri-La and Mandarin hotels, Emphasis Rockwell, and at BeloMed;  European couture dresses and British and American bespoke suits;  French and Italian leather shoes and bags from Hermes, Blahnik, Vuitton, Ferragamo, Tod’s;  all the modern Italian furniture and interiors;  theater seasons in London and New York, the casinos in Las Vegas and Macau;  the safari trips to Kenya and the larks to Morocco;  etc., etc..  Imagine All the Real Needs that All those Luxurious Wants can buy!!!                

Someone did tell me, long ago, that the excess resources one has should not be used for one’s pleasures, but should instead be used to help others.

I countered that “It’s so much more fun to make messes of ourselves!!!”  *winks*

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Teves town

September 22, 2009 at 1:54 pm (1800s Filipinas, 1900s Philippines, 2000s Philippines, Design and Decoration, Domestic Travels, Random memories, The Cebuanos, The Global Crowd, The Ilonggos, The Manilenos, The Negrenses, The Past)

Of course, Negros Oriental Governor Emilio “Dodo” Macias M.D. reacted suitably when I casually mentioned over the Bais fiesta lunch at Angelo and Ruby Teves’ house [ 10 September 2009, Thursday ] that “Dumaguete = Teves,” at least in Manila circles.  The good Governor — despite being at the top of Negros Oriental politics — was magnanimous and politely agreed that it was the popular perception, at least in Manila circles.

The Teves are generally regarded as a Spanish mestizo family, like so many of the Old Negros Oriental aristocracy.  But according to them, the original family name was actually Tan of Chinese origin.

The most prominent Teves these days is the current Secretary of Finance Margarito “Gary” B. Teves.  He is acknowledged by the clan as a financial genius as well as an upright man of unquestionable integrity.  He is a son of the formidable Herminio “Miniong” Teves by his first wife.

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The Cure

September 22, 2009 at 10:51 am (2000s Philippines, Angst, Domestic Travels, Humor, Personal, Random memories, The Cebuanos, The Global Crowd, The Ilonggos, The Negrenses, The Pampanguenos, Tristesse)

For a month before I went on a jaunt with Tess Lopez to Negros Oriental, I had been quietly enduring chronic stabbing pains in my right ribcage.  It was most painful when I was about to lie down, when lying down, and when rising.  But on the eighth day of the trip [ 12 September 2009, Saturday ], I suddenly realized that the pain had finally disappeared!!!

I don’t know what did it, but it must have been one of these three, or all of these three things, that rid me of the chronic stabbing pain…

What Vivian Yuchengco told me two weeks ago [ 21 August 2009, Friday ] over lunch at her sister Connie Yuchengco-Gonzalez’s was right:  roads and bridges are being constructed / reconstructed all over the Philippines.  Driving from Vallehermoso town to Dumaguete City — passing the towns of Guihulngan, La Libertad, Jimalalud, Tayasan, Ayungon, Bindoy, Manjuyod… — that Monday morning [ 07 September 2009 ], we saw, nay experienced, that 45 kilometers of the national highway from Bais City to Dumaguete City — passing Tanjay City and the towns of Amlan, San Jose, and Sibulan — had been torn up and were being reconstructed.  So for all those kilometers, Tess Lopez’s van, and the three of us Goyong the driver, Tess, and I inside, were constantly whipped from left to right, then right to left, shoved forward and backward, backward and forward, and diagonally both ways!!!  Good thing Tess and I were engrossed talking about everything under the sun or we would have positively gone bonkers.  Wednesday afternoon [ 09 September 2009 ], we drove from Dumaguete City to Bais City for the annual town fiesta [ Saint Nicholas Tolentino, Feast Day 10 September 2009 ], and it was the same story.  It was even more fun because Mercey Teves-Goni and other friends were with us so there was more to talk about.  Thursday afternoon [ 10 September 2009 ], we drove from Bais City all the way back to Vallehermoso town.  Now that was another memorable drive:  the national highway from Bais City for many kilometers was also torn up and was being reconstructed.  So for an unimaginably bumpy number of kilometers, Goyong the driver, Tess, and I were again whipped from left to right, right to left, shoved forward and backward, backward and forward, and diagonally both ways!!!  By the time we got to La Libertad town, I felt that I had had Swedish, Shiatsu, Thai, Hilot, and whathaveyou massages all at the same time!!!  It’s called “lamog” [ "all beaten up" ] in colloquial Pilipino.

During the three wonderful days [ 07 - 09 September 2009, Monday to Wednesday ] we spent with the lovely Mercey Teves-Goni at her Dumaguete City residence, there was a steaming pot of ”Chocolate Eh” on the dining table whether it was breakfast, lunch, merienda, or dinner.  YUMMY!!!  For the first time in my life, I had access to “Chocolate Eh” practically 24 / 7, and I absolutely didn’t mind.  True to my delightfully bad manners, I gulped it down instead of sipping it slowly like the ladies, Mercey and Tess.  The effects were wonderful:  We were happy and giddy all the time.  By the third day, I had consumed enough “Chocolate Eh” that I had begun to smell like a candy bar.

We were also constantly laughing about Anything and Everything…!!!  After dinners, Mercey, Tess, and I related the darndest stories of our lives, stories which made each other’s jaws drop to the floor, and it was way better than any comedy show on TV because it was all for real, however incredulous some of the episodes were.  Some of the stories, all real-life, could have put the world’s best fictionists — Ernest Hemingway, et. al. — to shame.     

So the next time I have chronic body pains, I have very good ideas on what to do…   :D    :D    :D

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First Class

September 22, 2009 at 10:43 am (2000s Philippines, Current Events, Design and Decoration, Domestic Travels, Random memories, The Cebuanos, The Global Crowd, The Ilonggos, The Manilenos, The Negrenses)

On the third day of our trip, 07 September 2009, Monday, we proceeded to Dumaguete City, about two and a half hours drive away.  We left Vallehermoso town at 9:00 a.m., drove through the big town of Guihulngan [ said to be one of the biggest towns in the Philippines in terms of land area ], and because Tess Lopez wanted me to see a new resort and meet its artistic genius, we visited the “Lalimar” resort in La Libertad town.

“Lalimar” seemed to be a nice-enough private beach resort with a rather chic, native Filipino leitmotif, the 3 – 5 star kind that had clean, stylish guest rooms with clean, contemporary bathrooms and a pleasing dining area overlooking the sea…  Until Tess told me it was “public” and a “government project” to boot.  What???

“HAH???!!!  Impossible!!!”  I insisted.

 ”Well, it is.”  Tess declared as a matter-of-fact.

I thought to myself:  It’s hard to believe that it’s public and it can’t possibly be a Philippine government project because I know, We all know, what a Philippine government project is like, specially a Philippine government project resort:  YUCK, YUCKIER, YUCKIEST.

But it was… it really was a government project.  Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod.

Well, pray tell, Who was The Genius behind This???!!!

Jocelyn “Josy” Sy-Limkaichong.  Congresswoman of the First District of Negros Oriental.

In the simplest terms, She’s First Class.

Why-oh-why can’t we have more congressmen / congresswomen / government officials like her???!!! 

*unfinished*

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Fruit Batty

September 22, 2009 at 10:34 am (2000s Philippines, Domestic Travels, Humor, Personal, Random memories, The Cebuanos, The Global Crowd, The Ilonggos, The Negrenses, The Pampanguenos)

I’m not a fruit lover, unlike my late paternal and maternal grandmothers, my late mother, my sister, and my Korean sister-in-law.  But I discovered that I could eat tons of fresh fruits in Negros Oriental…

In Vallehermoso town, We found ourselves in hilly orchards of “lanzones,” “rambutan,” and other fruits.  The trees were dripping with fruits!!!  Thanks to the generosity of the owners, We were left to our own devices for a little more than an hour…  So we just picked at any fruit within arm’s reach.  They were sooooo SWEET and SUCCULENT!!!  Even the very few sour ones were still delicious.  Until then, this city kid had no idea that fruits directly picked from the trees tasted incredibly better than those in refrigerated supermarket shelves!!!  I just ate and ate and ate until I ballooned like those horrible, spoiled children in “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”…!!!  

Ah, the great pleasures of the Philippine countryside!!!  Eat your hearts out, expats!!!   :P    :P    :P

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