Inauguration of the historic Alberto Mansion

The much-awaited opening of the Historic Alberto Mansion is on Friday! Guest of honor and speaker is H.E., Vice President Leni Robredo. Everyone is invited to attend and witness the culmination of a 10-year battle for our local heritage.
–Bryan Jason Borja–
(Head of the Biñan City Culture, History, Arts, and Tourism Office)

¡Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Lucena turns 140

This coming Sunday, November 3, on the occasion of the 140th anniversary of Lucena City’s establishment as an independent town of Tayabas Province, the Konseho ng Herencia ng Lucena will hold a week-long series of cultural activities. See the images below for the schedule and venues. Everyone is invited.

50% administrator, 50% politician

I’ve been long cynical against politics, until I met Mayor Calixto R. Catáquiz, the beloved former chief magistrate of San Pedro Tunasán, La Laguna and the architect of its cityhood (now known as the City of San Pedro, Laguna Province). It was he who opened my eyes that politics cannot be all that bad, and that there is more to it than what we usually hear from the news. A businessman first before he got involved in politics, Mayor Calex’s strategy of being a “50% administrator and 50% politician” worked wonders for the congested former municipality. In 1995, for instance, he was able to raise the coffers of the municipal treasury from ₱6.41 million to a staggering amount of ₱70 million. This, despite the lack of industrial sites.

Critics and other cynics will of course easily shrug him off as just another traditional político. But Mayor Calex cannot be categorized as such. A born realist, the soft-spoken mayor’s honesty during private conversations will stagger his listeners. His matter-of-factly manner of sharing his political ups and downs will elicit surprise, laughter, and tears. His biography is not just about the story of his life and political career but also the story of San Pedro’s journey from a mere rural municipality to a bustling city.

Lunch at Bricx Café & Bistro Bar. Mayor Calex holds the draft of his biography.

I’ve been chronicling his life story for more than ten years already. Finally, it’s done! It is now on its final stages of review, and will be edited soon by his friend, veteran journalist Chit Lijauco. Another friend, multi-awarded photographer George Tapan, will take care of photography and the book cover. God willing, Mayor Calex’s biography will be published and launched sometime next year, just in time to wrap-up our city’s Road Map 2020, a long-term development plan that was conceptualized and launched in 2010.

If my other writing gigs will not prosper soon, then Mayor Calex’s biography might just well become my second book after 2017’s “Captain Remo: The Young Hero“.

¡A Dios sea toda la gloria y la honra!

Pushing Boundaries

Since the dawn of man, his indomitable will has done marvels that continue to echo to this day. Man has built walls that rival the scale of mountains, has brought forth monoliths that soared through the heavens above, and has conquered the very elements of nature that once seemed so powerful. Man has been pushing boundaries since then and he will continue to break barriers for ages to come.

Eric Masangkay (b.1972), is one of the most promising contemporary artists that has graced the halls of Kape Kesada Art Gallery. He has shown that his style, which he has been honing for the past decade, can stand toe to toe with the likes of seasoned sculptors before him. Kape Kesada Art Gallery’s exhibit entitled, “Pushing Boundaries”, celebrates the human form. It channels the grace, beauty, and intelligent design in the style and material that combines robustness and fluidity of motion.

See you all on Sunday, 2:00 PM at Kape Kesada Art Gallery to meet the man of the hour, Eric Masangkay and his show entitled “Pushing Boundaries”.

From Kape Kesada Art Gallery’s Facebook page.

Gira de las Iglesias de Manila

GIRA DE LAS IGLESIAS DE MANILA
Jemuel Pilápil

Mientras todo el mundo hispano está celebrando el 12 de octubre como el Día de la Hispanidad, Día de las Razas, Día de la Diversidad de la Cultura Americana, Día de las culturas, Día del Pilar, Día de Cristobal Colón, etc., aquí en Filipinas casi no hay nada —aparte de la Fiesta de la Virgen del Pilar de Zamboanga o Zamboanga Hermosa, Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario— como La Naval de Manila, y Nuestra Señora del Pilar en Mindoro.

Pues, vamos a reunirnos para celebrar algo en conexión con nuestro alma como filipinos, que es el cristianismo. Conoceremos su rol como parte de nuestra cultura. Sin embargo, apreciaremos la grandeza de las iglesias más destacadas de la ciudad de Manila, parte del patrimonio hispano tangible en Manila.

El 13 de octubre organizaremos el lanzamiento de la “Gira de Las Iglesias de Manila”. Promovido por el grupo de la Sociedad Hispano-Filipina. Esta gira será dirigida totalmente en el idioma español por Jayzl Villafania Nebrê.

Fecha de la gira: 13 de octubre (domingo) de 2019.
Horario: 09:30.
Punto de encuentro: Basílica Menor de San Sebastián, Quiapò, Manila.

Hagan clic aquí para conseguir más información.

Película 2019 — 18th Spanish Film Festival

Instituto Cervantes de Manila, in cooperation with the Embajada de España en Filipinas, Turespaña, and other related cultural organizations brings us once again one of the most anticipated annual film festivals in the country: Película. Now on its 17th edition, Película features a selection of quality films of various genres (comedy, drama, suspense, animation, documentary, and short film) from the Spanish-speaking world. It is a perfect opportunity for Filipino students of the Spanish language to hone their listening skills as well as to get acquainted with contemporary Hispanic culture. Below are the schedules as well as the press release (both in English and Spanish) from Instituto Cervantes de Manila…

PELÍCULA is a Spanish Film Festival organized every October by the Instituto Cervantes (Manila), in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain to the Philippines. Created in 2002, this event shows award-winning Spanish and Latin American films. The Film Festival has grown through the years to become the most important exhibition of Spanish Cinema in the Southeast Asian region. PELÍCULA 2019 will treat you to a collection of good quality movies, many of which have been awarded in prestigious festivals. Comedy, drama, thriller, animation, documentary, short film are some of the many element inside the festival’s program. Enjoy PELÍCULA!

Creado en 2002 por el Instituto Cervantes de Manila, PELÍCULA se celebra cada octubre en colaboración con la Embajada de España en Filipinas. El Festival ha crecido a lo largo de los años hasta erigirse en el más importante escaparate de cine español en el Sudeste Asiático. En esta XVIII edición te invitamos a disfrutar de una selección de obras de calidad, muchas de ellas premiadas en festivales de prestigio internacional. No se trata únicamente de una cita con el cine español, pues el Festival también propone una mirada al cine latinoamericano y a las voces surgidas de un continente que se expresa mayoritariamente en español. Comedia, drama, suspense, animación, documental y cortometraje, son algunos de los géneros que encontrarás en la programación de PELÍCULA 2019. ¡No te lo pierdas!

Película will run for 10 days, from October 3 to 13 at Greenbelt 3. Click here for more information. ¡Nos vemos allí!

Señor Gómez: el nuevo director de la Academia Filipina

¡Buenas noticias!

Estoy muy contento de poder informarles que ahora hay un nuevo director de la Academia Filipina de la Lengua Española, un destacado filipino a quien todos conocemos: ¡el mismísimo Señor Don Guillermo Gómez Rivera, gran campeón del idioma español en Filipinas!

Ayer, dentro de las augustas paredes del histórico Casino Español de Manila en Ermita, Manila, se celebraron elecciones para votar por el nuevo director de la institución estatal más antigua de Filipinas. Los miembros tomaron la abrumadora decisión de instalar al Sr. Gómez como su nuevo director mientras que Lourdes Brillantes, otra distinguida escritora filipina en español, fue elegida como su vicedirectora (el director y vicedirectora que salen fueron Emmanuel Luis Romanillos y Daisy López, respectivamente).

Tanto Gómez como Brillantes son premiados del Premio Zóbel — el primero en 1975 y la última en 1998.

Los miembros de la Academia Filipina de la Lengua Española. Izquierda a derecha: Trinidad Regala, Lourdes Castrillo de Brillantes, Guillermo Gómez Rivera, René Saldania, José Rodríguez Rodríguez (director honorario de la Academia), Salvador Málig, y Emmanuel Luis Romanillos (presidente saliente).

Puede considerarse como un nombramiento tardío, pero aún no es demasiado tarde. Aunque tiene 83 años y está en una silla de ruedas, su mente es más aguda que nunca antes. Con el Sr. Gómez al mando de la Academia, el futuro del idioma español se ve más brillante. Sus planes para el avance del idioma español ganarán más terreno.

¡Enhorabuena al gran filipino de nuestros tiempos!