Musa's Longest Running Christmas Gift List: No. 5 Art Book

The Artist's Foundation Inc. has compiled works of art from our recent history. It'll definitely be interesting to see who and what made it into the book. I'm also wondering why they called it, "First Fifty Years". 1948 does not seem like a significant year for Philippine art. I'm eager to find out and to flip through these pages. A fantastic gift for any art- enthusiast. 


If you're not busy, drop by the book launch. Details here: 


Artists' Association of the Philippines
Foundation, Inc.
in cooperation with
Ayala Museum

cordially request the pleasure
of your company to the
book launching of

ARTWORKS
FIRST FIFTY YEARS
1948 - 1998
Art Association of the Philippines

Tuesday, October 26, 2010, 6:00 pm
AYALA MUSEUM
Makati Avenue corner dela Rosa Street,
Makati City

Dress code: Smart Casual
Books will be sold at Ayala Museum
and Filipinas Heritage Library
Rsvp: Mhalou +632-7815918 / 7496439

One Last Look at Dia Del Galeon Manila 2010

I managed to get these shots from my friend Dennis's facebook. He's a Mabuhay Guide and a former ballet dancer for the CCP. Luckily, he was able to board it and he snapped some great photos.

A message from Dia Del Galeon posted on my Facebook page: 

Friends, we thank you for your comments and suggestions and we do hope to make the registration as seamless as possible for the next time it arrives. We really wanted people to see the galleon and that is why we chose to give it to the people for free. And as this was the first run, we now know the issues that we can work on--booths for water, lines for disabled and seniors, tents, more ushers and staff, weekend run, longer run etc. You comments are very well noted for the next run of the galleon.  And please feel free to send us more comments at diadelgaleon@yahoo.com. We might not get back to your right away, but we will get back to you.

The whole galleon business was not an easy task.  All the pier's in Manila are not suitable for galleons anymore so we had to work with a private pier and it was still not suitable. We had to rent extra fenders and other items so that the galleon could fit in Pier 13. The cost was enormous not only to bring this galleon in, but for it to even stay in Manila. The pier had many restrictions such as load capacity and visitor registration. Actually that pier cannot hold a lot of people at one time, it is not stable and could cave in. Further the boat could only accommodate 300-400 in an hour.  At one point, about 5000 people arrived even before registration opened, so the safest thing to do was to turn people away. As much as we wanted to accommodate everyone, if we did, the pier would cave in and the boat would be destroyed, and alot of people would have gotten hurt. And to top it off, it rained. So all the things that could have happened did happen.

Also, we wanted the entire country to see the galleon, that is why we worked with other provinces, so that the people in other parts of the country could see the galleon. And it seems like the pier's everywhere else are more suitable for a galleon than the pier in Manila. Isnt that such an irony?
Again, thank you for your comments and support. And we are so glad that people are interested in our history. If you were inconvenienced, we do apologize. The Filipinos were an important part of the Galleon Trade. We built the Galleons, and almost 80% of the crew on the Galleons were Filipino.

Thank you again!
Sincerely,

Dia Del Galeon

Musa's Longest Running Christmas Gift List: No. 4 Larry Alcala Clothing from Solo

These ensembles from Solo are looking pretty nifty. I've never bought anything from that store but their Larry Alcala    "Slice of Life" Collection is just my taste. It's quirky, modern, and it has a patriotic flair. Solo is even is even doing a model search to accompany it. So you have not one, but two reasons to drop by for Christmas shopping: cute clothes and a chance to be a supah mowdel. Hurry, the model search ends this month. Click here for details.

A View of the Galleon

Can you spot the Galleon Andalucia?

This was as near as I could get to the famed galleon replica. I was hoping to board it last Saturday along with my friends so we dragged ourselves out of bed to be there as early as 8am. We got to the pier an hour late and we were met with a crowd of thousands. Apparently, even people who got there at 7am were no longer being let in because there were just too many people. It was quite sad because I had wanted to write about the experience for PDI. We consoled ourselves with some halo-halo and putobumbong at the nearby hotel. It was there where I managed to sneak in to catch a glimpse of the galleon.

A lot of people left annoyed and disappointed that day.  A friend of mine was willing to check out other piers or even rent a boat to be able to see it.  I could hear the familiar rumblings of, "Only in da Philippines!" One photographer angrily snap, "Kaya maraming umaalis sa Pilipinas eh" as he was leaving the venue. I think that's uncalled for because this could have happened anywhere. However, I do believe in not letting it happen again so I'm offering some constructive criticism to the organizers.

1. Charge an entrance fee. Students should be free but no one is going to mind paying P50 or even P100 to take part in this. This would have helped manage the crowd and provided some basic amenities like a shady area to wait in.
2.  There should have been other activities near the boat that could have kept people busy. A tent with an exhibit would've done wonders to calm people's nerves and would've gotten their minds off the wait. An exhibit would have also helped to educate people about the galleon trade.
3.  Most people (including myself) are constricted by a 9 to 5 job. So I have no choice to go except on Saturday. It defeats the purpose of Dia del Galeon to sail a galleon all the way here and have it closed off on a Saturday- the day that was sure to attract the most visitors. It should have docked for a full weekend.
4. Lastly, they should have allowed people to line up on the pier so that at least, everyone could have seen the galleon. It can be explained to the crowds that boarding will no longer be feasible due to time constraints. But everyone who made the effort to come should have gone home with a picture of the galleon safely tucked in their mind but better yet, stored in their digicams. No one can be sour when they're posing for a picture!

So for those like me who were shut out, here's a peek from high up and far far away.

I hope that they sort it all out because I for one am looking forward 

to boarding the galleon next year.

Winnie Monsod Asks Students to Pay Up

This video of Professor Winnie Monsods' last lecture has gone viral. All that attention comes with mixed reactions from the public. Personally, I'm inspired by what she said and awed by the woman herself. Looking at her and hearing her speak, I would not think that Winnie Monsod is 70 years old. She could definitely pass for 50 years old with the idealism of a 20 year old. It's refreshing. College students not just from the University of the Philippines can learn a lot from this. Being able to graduate from college is already a privilege in itself. Overall, her message is clear: We have a duty to our country. Right now, our country needs us. How we plan to give back is open to interpretation. 

I am only one, but I am one.

I cannot do everything, but I can do something.

What I can do, I ought to do.

And with the grace of God, I will do it.

The Return of the Manila Galleon

 

If you happened to be in Manila Bay on the morning of October 6 and you spotted a 17th century ship sailing towards the shore, do not panic. Ghost pirates are not attacking. You are looking at the famed Manila Galleon, grand ships built in Manila during the Spanish colonial times. After a century and half of being absent, it is coming home in the form of a working replica christened, “Andalucía”. This replica was built late last year as part of the Dia Del Galeon Festival and it’s travelled from Spain to China and now to the Philippines using the power of the wind, two emergency diesel engines, and minimal navigation and communications technology.

The Manila galleons were the world’s first supersized malls. The largest ships of their time, they were once laden with the treasures from Southeast Asia, China, India, and Arabia. They carried goods like porcelain wares, silks, spices, jades, jewels and luxury items to Mexico and the rest of the Americas and even Europe. When the ships came back from Mexico, it brought home chests filled with the Spanish Dollar or silver pieces of 8, the first world currency. The galleons allowed for the lucrative Manila-Acapulco trade to thrive from 1565-1815.

These giants of the seas voyaged once or twice a year serving primarily as vessels for exchanging goods but it also transported the cultural cargo of two Spanish colonies, eventually paving the way for a global exchange. Here are some quirky trivia you may not have known about the Filipino Mexican connection:

-       Mexicans gave Filipinos words like “tatay” and “nanay” from their own “tata” and “nana” meaning father and mother. Filipinos gave them the words “palay” and “palapa.” Palapa is coconut frond in Filipino while in Mexico; “palapa” is a beach hut.

-       In Mexico, a clan with the last name “Maganda” has resided for more than 2 centuries. People from their area have the habit of drinking sap of a coconut which they call “tuba”.

-       The town of Mexico, Pampanga was originally named Masicu because of the abundance of chico that grew there. But the Mexican emigrants who settled there renamed it.

-       The Philippines got a taste of Mexico’s through culinary flavors like sampaloc, achuete, and tsokolate batirol. Filipinos added sugar, groundnuts, or milk making for their own version of the Aztec drink

-       80% of the crew on the galleons was Filipino. Perhaps it was due to the Manila-Acapulco trade that the Philippines developed an enduring relationship with the sea and shipbuilding. Filipinos are currently the most sought after seafarers making up 1 out of 3 seamen in the world.

Learn more at the exhibit “Connecting Continents: The Filipino in the Galleon” at the Senate Building and by boarding the Galleon Andalucía at Pier 13, South Harbor, Manila from October 6-9. Open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Admission is free. These events are part of the Dia Del Galeon Festival organized by UNESCO, NCCA, and the office of Senator Angara. For more information contact: Ms. Charisse Aquino-Tugade (632) 527 2192 local 616 or email diadelgaleon@yahoo.com.

Setting the Scene with Eduardo Sicangco

Naysayers like to say that our culture isn’t making it on the world stage because of our ultra confused heritage. But a certain, “Toto” from Negros dared to say otherwise and actually made it on the stages of Broadway. “Toto” is Eduardo Sicangco and he is a multi-awarded scenographer- the person in charge of creating the look of a stage performance. This goes from how the curtain opens, to the transforming sets, down to everyone’s costumes.

 

I picked up this inspiring bit from his interview on Flow Magazine:

How much of your roots do you channel when you design?

My Filipino roots are a given. They inform my sensibility and sensitivity as a designer and as an artist. And what advantageous roots! Malay/ Pacific Islander, Spanish. European/Latin,  Asian/Oriental, American/Hollywood, even Muslim. For a designer, the Philippines is fortuitous and lucky place to be from, specifically in terms of frames of reference. Look around: Spanish cathedral and cobble-stoned streets, mosques and minarets, McDonalds and Startbucks, pagodas and nipa huts, primitve tribal art and Juan Luna! Short of African. I am fortunate enough to possess a naturally affinity for most sensibilities required by various projects. Now take all these and combine with the ultra-sophisticated mindset of a world-class city like New York and you have quite an edge.

Here Sicangco talks about his creative process on Adobo Magazine:

“From the script and story, as a designer you get a blurry image in your mind. And you try to make that image clearer and clearers. I procrastinate and procrastinate and I turn to sharpening my pencils so it feels like I’m working – and finally I just do it. That’s when it starts to flow. Creative chaos. That’s how I work. Like a bomb exploded in my apartment is an apt description. My apartment will never make it to Architectural Digest. Never.”

I love how his work is infused with the Pinoy fiesta aesthetic. If you’ve been to Philippine fiesta and watched our floats and our handmade costumes, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

All photos were taken from his website.