Pundaquit Virtuosi at the Mall of Asia

December 1st, 2008 | No Comments

It was a good thing that we decided to go to the Mall of Asia last night just to while away time as when we were inside, the Pundaquit Virtuosi, Zambales’ own musical ensemble of gifted children was performing at the atrium. Known Filipino violinist Coke Bolipata led the group as they played popular pieces especially select works of Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

There were solos and duets by the child prodigies present and it was great to see people stopping to watch the performance. The music was just rousing as the familiar strains of the first movement of the Spring Concerto was filling the hall as well as Pachelbel’s Kanon beautifully rendered. And for me, other than the violin solos, I was listening more to the deep and resonant notes of the cello in the background.

The cello is the instrument that I would have wanted to learn. During highschool, I wanted to study this this one but at that time, it was not available in Cebu thus I was forced to take the violin. When I transferred to Manila for college, I was recommended by my instructor to the violinst Esmilla (sorry, forgot his name) at the UP College of Music but with no proper place to practice, I was forced to give it up. As I was listening to this group playing last night, I just remembered all of this and thought of “what if” scenarios. But that is history.

I wish these bright kids luck especially that some got scholarships to study music abroad. There is indeed hope for Philippine classical music artists.

The new TriNoma mall

July 3rd, 2007 | 12 Comments

trinoma.jpg The TriNoma (Triangle North of Manila), another of the Ayala’s mall ventures, the newest mall in Metro Manila was a curiosity to me that’s why last Sunday, we intentionally went there to check it out for ourselves. Located just beside the MRT North Edsa station and just across the street from SM North Edsa, the behemoth of a building from the outside proved to be a disappointment inside. Once you go in, you immediately feel the tight spaces within the mall. The floor height is just too low that I just felt claustrophobic. It lacks the airiness of the the other Ayala malls like that in Glorietta or the Ayala Center in Cebu. The activity center seems just too small, dwarfed by those massive columns that dominate the center. Some sections are just dimly lit. Even if these areas still has to be filled out with stores, the way the lights are fixed along the hallways are just not bright enough.

While I was at first intrigued by the garden cum park at the rooftop upon More »

Church of San Juan del Monte

February 19th, 2007 | 4 Comments

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The impressive church in San Juan is unique in the country in a sense that the buttresses, those architectural highlights found in many colonial churches in the country used to stabilize these structures from earthquakes, are built right infront of the facade. While in other structures it is in the form of thick columns like the ones in Santiago and Sta. Maria in Ilocos Sur, to cite a few, here it is a design statement.

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Miss Calendar Gay

February 13th, 2007 | 1 Comment

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In the run up to the local fiesta in our local barangay which has St. John Bosco as the patron saint (and a familiar one at that as I went to a Don Bosco school for my high school and college education) in the closing days of January, a Miss Calendar Gay was held in one of the streets one Friday night. Made of a makeshift stage, several contestants from various places around the metropolis as well as Laguna and even one, from Mindanao, competed. I have not yet seen this kind of alternative pageant and so decided to do some coverage, even at the sidelines.

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Black Nazarene at Quirino grandstand

January 10th, 2007 | 3 Comments

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A break from tradition, the image of the Black Nazarene, in celebration of its 400th anniversary, was transported Monday afternoon to the Quirino Grandstand where a vigil was done. The following day, the procession was held at around noon. Despite that I don’t have my camera with me during this time, I went to the Luneta to see the image. Alas, it was far from the grounds and fenced off. One way to touch the image is to fall in line which at 0900H was already snaking almost a kilometer!

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