The Grand Santacruzan at INTRAMUROS with The Runway Atelier

The Intramuros Administration, Department of Tourism, The Philippine Travel Agencies Association together with The Runway Atelier just held THE GRAND SANTACRUZAN at the Intramuros grounds today starting from Foro de Intramuros (in front of San Agustin Church) going to Puerto Real Gardens in Manila. 

The event was participated by Runway Atelier's models and artists, donning specially designed gowns to commemorate history and the Catholic faith. This is a yearly tradition for Filipinos to showcase its religious significance when Santa Elena tried to look for the holy cross. There will be models and escorts coming from The Runway Atelier participating in the procession, and it was so nice seeing them dressed in their gorgeous garbs and outfits, depicting iconic characters from scriptures. Last year (2024) THE GRAND SANTACRUZAN Reyna Elena was Karylle Tatlonghari and Rosa Mystica was her equally gorgeous Mom Zsazsa Padilla. 

Folks were at the venue as early as 3pm, and the crowd was a mix of foreign tourists, locals, people from the church, and relatives of those who were participating in the Santacruzan, They also walked around the Intramuros grounds and converged at the Puerta Real Gardens at the eastern part of the walled city. Faces did light up when they saw other participants, and it was so nice to see them wear their very detailed gowns, and suits for the consortes that evening. 

They gave special awards to Nazalea Vicera, Trixie Mariscotes. The Best Dressed Awards went to Marian Angeles, Anne Marie Tolentino, Criselle Ava Geronimo and Alynna Orfanel. Mr Photogenic Awards went to Ardie Matsada and Migs Casimiro. Ms Photogenic went to Zoe Shi and Lizzie Aguinaldo. The Crowd Favorite Award went to Rhianna Altos and Theodore Salgado. Mikael Collin also won Best Escort. Then they announced the Best in Arc Awards. 3rd Place went to Mikay Barruiz, 2nd Place was won by Alyanna Orphanel, and 1st Place went to Rhianna Alto and Theodore Salgado.

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Congratulations to all the winners and participants of this grand event. I heard there will be more things happening this month, make sure you follow The Runway Atelier social channels as they post events there regularly.

INTRAMUROS Administration Launches Summer Festival and Tourism Passport

It's going to be a lot different at the walls of Intramuros in Manila as they celebrate their 46th Anniversary and the 2 initiatives, the Intramuros Summer Festival and their exciting Intramuros Passport.

Atty. Joan Padilla says "We are on our 46th year of the Intramuros Administration and as a testament for our commitment, I am thrilled to announce the two initiatives the Intramuros Summer Festival and the Intramuros Passport. This will happen on April 26th, aimed to showcase history, vibrant culture, deepening Filipino identity in one day. We have programs, projects, activities to enjoin everyone in the development of the walled city. We have partner schools who made this possible, and we are also excited to launch the Intramuros Passport. This will unlock access to key locations, allowing you to collect stamps to remember your experience here. If you avail of it, you get free access to the Summer Festival and Sinag Concert in the evening. This is an opportunity to strengthen our partnerships, together with the CCP and Ballet Theatre, to perform here as this will be a commitment to the future of Intramuros. Mabuhay ang Intramuros!"

Head of Tourism Promotions Rhea Kristine Cy says "The Intramuros Summer Festival is taking place at the Plaza Moriones in Fort Santiago, and will have activities in other locations too. The local businesses, schools and residents will also have collaborations with them on this day. Domestic and International tourists are encouraged to come."

7:30 Zumba Session at the Plaza Moriones, 8am Street Parade to Plaza San Luis, Performers from schools of zletran, Manila, Mapua, PLM and Lyceum will also be there. UST will have a medical mission at the same time til 12 noon. Centro de Intramuros will have Storytelling Sessions from 2:30pm, Living Museum at 2pm in Centro de Turismo, Pop Up Markets at General Luna along the Riverwalk. The grand Sinag Concert will happen at 6-10pm at Plaza Moriones inside Fort Santiago. Artists like The Itchyworms, Earl Agustin, Over October and students will perform in the concert. This will be hosted by Zephy Francisco and Boobay. 

Intramuros is currently vying for Asia's Leading Tourist Attraction at the World Travel Awards, so if you have time, go vote for them!

About the Intramuros Passport, Head of Business Management Dan Mendoza says "This is a milestone, a creative tourism initiative to position Intramuros as a vibrant tourism destination. To get it, you need to purchase it at ticket booths at managed sites and this will get you to Fort Santiago, Casa Manila, Baluarte de San Diego (8 sites) for only 350 pesos. It's non transferrable, seniors and pwd's will be given discounts. You get to earn passport stamps at each site, a rewarding cultural journey. It will be memorable, and there will be perks on pre selling starting April 26, because you get free tram rides, and the Summer Fest Sinag Concert. Discounts will be given to passport holders in participating partners like Barbara's, Tesoros, coffee shops and a whole lot more. There will be more things to come back to in Intramuros. You can scan the qr code for more information."

There will be FREE regular performances to be done by Philippine Ballet Theatre as they also partner with the Intramuros Administration, (they did this too in the 90's but it stopped in 2021 for various reasons) now they are forging shared visions to life!

Now that's just the start, there's a lot more that is going to happen in the walled city soon. More shows will be scheduled this year as they partner up with CCP and Philippine Ballet Theatre. Go get the Intramuros Passport today!

Stories of the Road: The Origins of Banaue Rice Terraces

 

Learning from books is one thing, but learning from people who lived and breathe it would be something so much better.

Dubbed as the 8th wonder of the world, the Banaue Rice Terraces remains as one of the things we all marvel at because yes, as it says, it's impressive to know that it was not made with much tools but with just bare hands. The folks from Stories of the Road (a YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@Storiesoftheroad ) wanted to find out from locals the actual origins of it. Armed with a drone, a few film cameras, they arrived in Ifugao and got the surprise of their life. The community wasn't just plainly taking it easy that day, they were celebrating and yes, it was an opportune time to get to know more about the culture and its people.

This is the handy work of Eric Gamorot (the Director), Rhett Paul Bolivar (the Producer), John Paul Bolivar (Production Assistant), and Marky Ramone Go (Writer). They were in the quest to find out the origins of the Banaue Rice Terraces. It was a different perspective because it didn't come from historians, but the folks who had their own stories passed on from generation to generation. They feel this was a more accurate narrative. They also got DK Tijam to do the narration for the episodes, so make sure you listen in on their conversation.

Eric talked about this lengthily during the Orange Magazine 14th anniversary event, please watch this:

Here is the first episode:

 Here's the newest episode which includes their experience witnessing a full on festival in Ifugao!

 

Their goal would be to go to other places in the country to do the same. They've gotten really good feedback upon releasing their first episode, and recently released their second one on the channel. If you would like travel content like this, you may subscribe to their channel and follow their social media accounts to get updated about their content.

Optimism Seen in the Future of Philippine Fabric and Weaving

Dropped by the talk about Philippine fabrics yesterday hosted by Humboldt University in Berlin wherein Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda was guest speaker along with Ms. Analyn Salvador-Amores from UP Baguio. It was entitled "Habi: Weaving Philippine Textiles Future" and it was quite a nice discussion on how those who care are strengthening their efforts to keep the weaving culture alive, learn more about regional designs, documenting it, reviving designs from museum archives (yes a long time ago), and perhaps where to see the industry flourish in the next couple of years.

Professor Dr. Vincent Houben from Humboldt University in Berlin says "I'm very happy to have this happen, to put in place this program to advance Philippine studies. The PH and Germany are close and very intertwined. Rizal spent quite some time here and we have lots of information about that. We're thinking in some scales we can focus with the Philippines and see in a context where there is a weaving connection. The Philippine culture needs to be seen in a broader sense. Through the program over the past couple of years, we're grateful that we have a lot who have done their studies about the country, welcome from Europe."

Analyn Salvador Amores the project leader of Cordillera Textiles Project UP Baguio says "Weaving communities in the Cordillera region exist and empower communities. Cordillera region is in North Luzon from the ranges in Apayao to the more central Nueva Vizcaya, an Igorot domain. Through trade, inter-marriage, weaving patterns have similarities in this study. These communities have a long history of weaving, you can see this in the tribal photos from various photos archived in the US, Russia and other countries. Textile are produced through natural fibers, and cotton, manually weaved with sticks passed on from generation to generation. Lowland Ilocanos introduced new ways through export and trade. Fabric was traded for goods, food, poultry and farm products. There is a decline in weaving in the region because of an aging population, decrease in master weavers, lesser interest in generations thereafter. The government has taken steps like endorsing acts for the use of Philippine tropical fabrics for uniforms of public officials, employees and festivals. They also enacted resolutions for research, put up school for living traditions that promote indigenous weaving but met challenges as it has been not sustainable, and has lesser funding access. In the recent years, there is a resurgence in textile weaving including geographical sourced Cordillera textiles identified with certain communities. The CordiTex currently is doing multi disciplinary research and vigorously documenting textiles. Now local weavers get to access records, learn and re-learn weavings as we continue to do anthropological fieldwork in the Cordillera."

Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda concentrated more on the resurgence on the demand for the more intricate production of Piña Seda (silk) fiber and says "We started in the school of oriental studies 5 years ago. There's so much I have to say about Pina Seda Weaving and Embroidery in the Philippines. It is not just done in my province of Aklan, but in different regions in the country. Traditional textiles are ties that bind, it links the past to the present and brings together cultures no matter how diverse it is. It's a synergy between workers and artisans, several hands are needed to make one fabric alone, not to mention the designer and embroidery of which women would hand make it from farm to shop. Since 1998 we have worked to enact this into law to not just protect but help the industry. The pineapple plant is not indigenous to the Philippines but we have made way to produce the red variety of fibers from it. It is laborious to produce it and the influx of imported fabric and fashion trends made it dwindle. With government efforts, provinces have been tapped to produce this including Aklan, the Bicol region, Cavite, Davao, Misamis Oriental, Laguna, Cagayan, Saranggani has been tapped to produce it. Mulberry farms are needed to produce silk in the Philippines, and demand has remained high for it. In a bid to produce more Pineapple fiber, machinery has been provided to farmer cooperatives in plantations so they can increase production  of pineapple fiber. There's a need for convergence of government agencies, so they can continue building capacity, promote domestic trade and do a systemic development in marketing the fabric. All of these are necessary to produce products to respond to immediate needs of the public. The DA should assure steady supply, DTI can help promote these fabrics through trade fairs both locally and abroad. TESDA can also do skills training for weavers and embroiderers and have a nurturing environment for this industry. It is one way of showcasing our traditional textiles in the hopes to further promote it in different markets. It takes support from legislation to make things happen, soon we will have more galleries in different parts of the country. We plan to put up documentation centers, conservation agencies, to help farmers, weavers, local textile manufacturers and establish centers where they can get services in processing. If there's a desire, there's a need, and we need to support them. It will also provide jobs for the countryside, the Philippine Piña Seda is a prized fabric and it is truly world class. I wish to go back in time and tell you that the task before us is to help our people value and continue our heritage, we must open doors of opportunities for weaving communities and promote greater support for our cultural enterprises."

Honestly, it was like a breather to hear them be optimistic about Philippine fabrics and with a good amount of systems in place, plus continuous efforts in policies and funding, the future looks bright for the weaving industry. It's definitely a pillar for the fashion industry and without the raw materials, how can one create? I feel as the economy is slowly going back to normal, this deserves the attention it should get. It's part of culture, and without it, we would cease to exist as Filipinos because it makes us who we are as a nation.

"Finding Rizal in a Time of Barriers" Premieres on ANC

In a time when Filipinos are still confined in the walls of our homes, how do we remember our heroes?

This year marks the 160th birthday celebration of our national hero Dr. Jose Rizal. As a person who enjoyed the subject and much of the life/teachings of the man who proved that the pen is mightier than the sword, there seems to be little to no information available to Filipinos about what he did in Europe. This June 19, a Rizal documentary is set to premiere on the ABSCBN News Channel and ABSCBN Youtube account. It's aptly called "Finding Rizal in a Time of Barriers" which is conceptualized and envisioned by well known environmentalist, cultural mover and journalist, Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda.

The former Senator had the chance to tour Heidelberg and a little German town called Wilhelmsfeld two years ago. In that place, she met Dr. Fritz Hack Ullmer (who is the great grandson of Pastor Karl Ullmer) who's family hosted our national hero for 3 months in 1886. His lineage (all three generations) had kept Rizal's letters, memorabilia all these years. This wouldn't have been possible without the help of Ambassador Theresa de Vega of the Philippine Embassy in Berlin, Consul General Evelyn Austria Garcia of the Philippine Consulate in Frankfurt and the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila + the men and women from the Office of Deputy Speaker Legarda. With the pandemic making all things impossible for them to finish everything, they came to help make this happen in time for Rizal's 160th birthday this year.

Senator Legarda says "Our national hero Jose Rizal lived in a time where there were barriers on skin color, religion, ideologies and more. He broke though these barriers, and his trip through Germany also earmarked the completion of his most famous book Noli Me Tangere which changed a whole country in the process. He also wrote "A Las Flores De Heidelberg" while studying ophthalmology and lived with scientists and humanists Blumentritt and Virchow in Berlin. You'll also get to know the Ullmer family whome he stayed with for a short time in Wilhelmsfield. The Filipinos need to know about this time in Rizal's life, and we're showing that on the documentary. It will also include stories passed on from his Grandfather Friedrich who was only 14 during Rizal's time. You will also see how special he's regarded in Germany as he remains immortalized in streets, plazas, tons of markers paying homage to our national hero."

This will be shown on the ABS-CBN News Channel this comine June 19th, 2021 which falls on Saturday at 7PM. It will also be streamed simultaneously on ABS-CBN News YouTube channel and the Facebook Pages of the Department of Foreign Affairs, National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the Office of Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda. Replays will also be done the day after on ANC at 4PM so make sure you catch it at these times.

Happy birthday Pepe!