~manila, you're not that ugly

Let’s #helpDOT!

I was part of the organizing team for the Island Paradise Adventure Race (IPAR) – Visayas Leg, an amazing government project to help boost local tourism in December 2005.   With one-million pesos up for grabs,  thirty backpacker teams raced across Luzon and Visayas on foot, relying on the various modes of public transport–LRT, buses, jeepneys, tricycles, RO-ROs, ferries, etc.  It was my first foray into tourism and government work, and one of the biggest gifts I took from it, aside from meeting so many adventure racers, some of whom grew to be celebrities (Everest boys and girls!), was the direct interaction it gave with the quiet beauty of the “unpopular” and often overlooked areas of the country.

Shown below are various pics around Luzon taken by my friends Hussein and Travis, who were part of the committee that previewed the sites to be included in the race.

PETROGLYPHS Cave, Angono:

The Pacheco home in Morong, Rizal:

Mang Panoy’s Woodcarving, Paete, Laguna:

Pottery-making, Capati Farm, San Jose, Batangas:

(more…)

Confession: I had no idea who Blanco was, nor was I familiar with his works, before I went to Angono last week.   The little that I knew of him was that he had a lot of talented children, and they painted as a family.

But wow oh wow, I was really floored when I visited his home in Angono! Tucked away in the middle of the Rizal province are paintings of a genius family– think Von Trapps for painting! Such an amazing, amazing place, full of love that is still palpable, to this day, even to the most ignorant of visitors.

The Blanco Family Museum displays the family’s most treasured works, ranging from those done by each family member as far back as 4 years of age until about the mid-twenties. All seven children are gifted painters, and Loring Blanco, their mother, joined in the painting party at age 48. Dad Pitok Blanco set up the museum to prevent the usual occurrence of artists’ families not having their works as keepsakes. None of the paintings on display are for sale.

Painted by their youngest, Peter Paul, at age 4:

Age 6:

A portrait of Peter Paul done by his older sister, Gay Blanco, at age 8:

A beautiful capture of a scene she must’ve seen often, using oil pastel on wood, age 7:

Already playing with lights and shadows at age 14:

(more…)

Angono has always been on my travel wish list. So glad finally I made it there–and on an impromptu trip at that!

With just crammed online research the night before, my best friend and I drove to Angono, Rizal to visit the art galleries of Nemiranda and the Blanco family Thursday morning last week.   We got there a little past noon, and after lunch at Balaw-Balaw Restaurant, we went down the street to the Nemiranda Museum and Angono School for the Arts.

We found a gate that said “entrance fee”, and after a few unanswered knocks, we decided to go inside. It took us a while to realize we made a mistake and entered through the back door (which explained the construction mess!).

If we just walked a little, we would’ve gone in by the real entrance, which was around the corner.

Nemi Miranda is a painter and sculptor, and his cement sculptures were inviting, and lyrical if that’s an apt word, as if they’re part of an epic or myth.  Very reminiscent of Hermes Alegre’s diwata muses (Hermes is one of my Pinoy favorite painters–my first purchased artwork is by him!)…

(more…)