Heritage Month: Capul Island

by 360journals August 18, 2013 in Heritage 0 comments tags: Acapulco Beach, Capul Island, Catarman, Heritage Month, Heritage Month 2013, Laoang, Laoang Island, lighthouse, NCCA, Northern Samar, Rawis, Saluka Festival, St. Ignacio de Loyola, St. Michael Parish, Taoid
It was a rainy weather as we landed in Catarman Airport in Northern Samar; the hour-long flight aboard PAL Express’ Q400 turboprop was marred by occasional turbulence as we pierced through dark clouds along the flight path. Flying at 20,000 feet, the lower altitude provided some nice views of the terrain below us. But for almost the entire duration, this being a 5:30AM flight, the cabin was in silence, passengers only began to stirred as the aircraft wheels touch down on the runway. After a hearty lunch, the group took to Brgy. Rawis, an hourly ride from Catarman across rice fields and sandy shores, into Laoang Island, the site of NCCA’s technical assessment of the different structures for possible heritage declaration. Laoang Island is accessible by a 10-minute banca ride; these small outrigger boats are the inhabitant’s main transportation in crossing the 300 meter channel that separates it from the main land. A bridge was suppose to be build, but due to lack of funds, it was never started; nevertheless, this has given locals the opportunity to earn income from ferrying people and goods alike. First stop was St. Michael the Archangel Parish Church – built in the 17th century […]

A Visit to The Manila Collectables

by 360journals August 12, 2013 in Heritage 0 comments tags: Andalucia, Dia del Galleon, handicrafts, Intramuros, The Manila Collectibles
“The Manila Collectible Company = Awesome, Curios and Thoughtful Stuff. It’s a one-stop-shop that offers the best of Philippine products. It’s conscious, indigenous and artisanal.” As the tagline goes. Foodstuffs and handicrafts on display Hand woven textiles and artifact replicas This little shop, located behind The Manila Cathedral in Intramuros, is the brainchild of Charisse Tugade and Carlo Elbeo, both avid promoters of Philippine indigenous crafts and culture. I know Charisse from way back – having met her during the Dia del Galleon Festival where a replica of a Spanish galleon – the Andalucia, visited Manila; I also worked with her briefly while she was with the National Museum for its 360 virtual tour; and lastly, the most memorable, having traveled together, with others, to Hong Kong for an international conference on museums and technology. So please visit TMCC, apart from offering wonderful products, it is also a great place to discover the many indigenous items from various cultures and tribes around the Philippines. The shop is open from Tuesdays to Sundays, 10AM to 630PM. They also offer highland coffee, free wi-fi, the ultimate kidspace, workshops galore, meeting space, 450 sq. meter alfresco rooftop event area, and a fabulous view […]

Heritage Month: Cebu

by 360journals June 22, 2013 in Heritage 0 comments tags: Bradford Chapel, Cebu, Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, City Hall, Crown Regency, Gabii sa Kabilin, Heritage Month, NCCA, TAOID 2013
Gabii sa Kabilin (Night of Heritage) opened in Cebu as part of the celebration for Heritage Month 2013 at the Bradford Chapel, which will be celebrating its centennial year. Supported by the NCCA and attended by heads of the difference cultural agencies of the country, a simple song and solemn prayer ceremony followed by the actual tours of some of the heritage sites around Cebu City. A photo exhibit was also opened at the Cebu City Hall and a grand reception conducted at the courtyard of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral Museum. Spearheaded by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. and inspired by the long night of the museum in Germany and other European countries, Gabii sa Kabilin aims to encourage the public to visit museums and understand their position as a venue for cultural understanding. Gabii sa Kabilin began on May 25,2007 with four Cebu City Museums—Casa Gorodo Museum, Cathedral Museum of Cebu, Basilica del Santo Niño Museum and Fort San Pedro. Since 2009, the number of participating museums has grew to include other notable heritage sites of Cebu and Mactan. Bradford Chapel Opening Cebu City Hall Photo Exhibit Facade of Cebu City Hall at Night Cebu Cathedral at Night Interior […]

Heritage Month: Sarangani

by 360journals June 15, 2013 in Heritage 0 comments tags: B'laan, Heritage Month, Lake Sebu, Lamlifew, NCCA, Sarangani, T'boli, TAOID 2013
The celebration for Heritage Month 2013 continues, this time at Sarangani, hometown of Manny Pacquiao and in time for the Sarangani Bay Festival (popularly called Sarbay). Echo Rosales lead the opening of the celebration by accepting as NCCA’s Heritage Ambassador in a press conference held at the Roadhaus Hotel. We also visited the B’laan village of Lamlifew, a living tradition museum where children dressed in traditional wear danced to age-long music. Saw first hand how B’laan tapestry and other handicrafts were being made; and finally tasted some of the native foods of the tribe. The serene Lake Sebu in was our last destination the following day. Lake Sebu is a natural lake located in the municipality of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato and within the Alah Valley region. The Philippine government has recognized it as one of the country’s most important watersheds; it is one of the many bodies of water supplying important irrigation to the provinces of Sultan Kudarat and South Cotabato. Home to the T’boli and Ubo tribes where the land surrounding the lake was awarded to them under the ancestral domain, the lake is being promoted as one of the prime eco-tourism destinations in the municipality. Portions of […]

Heritage Month: Tam-awan Village

by 360journals June 06, 2013 in Heritage 0 comments tags: Arts, Baguio, Heritage Month, NCCA, Tam-awan Village, TAOID 2013
Tam-awan Village in Baguio became the site for the celebration of Heritage Month last May 17, 2013 spearheaded by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). Located in Pinsao Proper, Baguio City the village uniquely blends indigenous aesthetics and exquisite Cordilleran craftsmanship with an artist’s concept for a village adapting to Baguio setting. Chanum Foundation, Inc., founded in 1998, began to reconstruct Ifugao houses in Baguio with the view of making a model village accessible to people who have not had the chance to travel to the Cordillera interior. On a land near an abundant spring, the foundation started out with three knocked-down huts transported from Bangaan, Ifugao. Tam-awan village now has seven Ifugao huts and two Kalinga houses. Using the original materials and adding only new cogon roofs, traditional artisans reconstructed the houses and laid them out resembling the design of a traditional Cordillera Village. The huts in Tam-awan Village are named after the areas where they come from. From Ifugao, we have the Bangaan Hut, Anaba Hut, Batad Hut, Dukligan Hut, Kinakin Hut, and Nagor Hut. Our Kalinga huts are from Luccong and Bugnay. Except for Bugnay Hut, which serves as one of the village’s galleries, […]

Romblon’s Heritage

by 360journals May 30, 2012 in Heritage 1 comments tags: Fort San Andres, NCCA, Romblon, Sibuyan, St. Joseph Cathedral
The roosters here have no sense of time. Jotted awake at 4am by one cockcrow, it quickly became a chain reaction as the rest of the birds followed, seemingly taunting you to go back to sleep, but my mind had already become active with the day’s thoughts and foremost of which was to murder some fowls. Located some 260km south of Manila, the province of Romblon comprises 3 main islands – Tablas, Romblon and Sibuyan plus four other small island municipalities of Banton, Simara, Maestro de Campo and Carabao Island (touted as the next Boracay). Contrary to popular perceptions, getting to Romblon is relatively easy. Zestair has a thrice a week flight that lands in Tablas Island from the domestic airport in Manila; while the more adventurous can take the cheaper overnight Montenegro ferries that ply the Batangas-Sibuyan route. Once in the provincial capital, smaller ships and numerous bancas are available to other island destinations. Hotel accommodations in the town are currently limited to a few four story buildings, but numerous seaside resorts abound. Apart from boats, principal means of transportation around the island is via motorcycles, mostly 2-wheels for families and 3-wheels for public conveyance. Known as the marble […]

Calabarzon Heritage Field Trip with the Ford Fiesta

by 360journals October 14, 2011 in Heritage 0 comments tags: Angono Petroglyphs, Balayan, Batangas, Calabarzon, Cavite, Ford Fiesta, Laguna, Majayjay, Maragondon, Quezon, Rizal, Tanay, Tayabas
The sun was about to set as we made our way towards Majayjay; one more church remains on the itinerary as we sped down the winding roads somewhere at the boundary of Quezon and Laguna. The gas tank was nearly empty with about 10% of fuel remaining and apparently for over an hour, ours was the only car negotiating this stretch of the roadway; things were finally getting exciting! 2 days ago, Ford Philippines offered the 1.6L Fiesta S with a full tank of gas to go wherever I pleased. Having done advocacy works for both the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) and the National Museum, I decided to continue my personal project of documenting the Colonial Churches of the Philippines and those sites declared as National Cultural Treasures. I had the option of either going north for the churches of Pampanga, Pangasinan and La Union or the equally rich heritage towns of the Calabarzon; taking time and distance considerations of these sites, I chose the latter; the former will have to wait. Armed with a few maps, my iPhone, iPad and a mobile router, getting lost would certainly not be part of the equation. The almost realtime […]

Philippine National Shrines

by 360journals June 04, 2011 in Heritage 0 comments tags: Agoncillo, Aguinaldo, Barasoin Church, Bonifacio, Casa Real, Juan Luna, Leon Apacible, M.H. del Pilar, Mabini, Magsaysay, Manansala, Miguel Malvar, Nagcarlan, National Shrines, NHCP, Pinaglabanan, Quezon, Rizal
Author’s Note: This article uses virtual reality technology to provide an immersive experience. Click the images to view the 360-degree VRs. Adobe Flash 10 or higher is required. Average VR size is 2.2Mb each. June 19, 2011 marks the 150th birth anniversary of our National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal. As the nation joined hands in the celebration of Rizal’s works, achievements, and sacrifice; and in tribute to other heroes who laid down their lives for the country, we take you in a virtual journey to re-discover the places and sites that are of importance to them – the National Shrines. These were shot and produced with the assistance of National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), formerly National Historical Institute (NHI) in a span of about 6 months – from the ancestral home of Juan Luna in Badoc, Ilocos in the north, to Rizal’s place of exile in Dapitan City, Zamboanga in the south. It is the hope of the commission as well as the producers, that these sites be made accessible virtually to everyone, especially so to the youth and students of far flung provinces and those that just cannot physically visit the shrines and learn about its historical […]

Multi-Faceted Landscapes of Manila

by 360journals March 19, 2010 in Heritage 0 comments tags: City Hall, festivals, Fort Santiago, Intramuros, Jones Bridge, LRT, Manila, manila bay, PNR, San Sebastian Church, sunset
Author’s Note: This article uses virtual reality technology to provide an immersive experience. Click the image to view the 360-degree VR. Adobe Flash 10 or higher is required. Average VR size is 1.7Mb. This 360 virtual tour is in response to the British Council’s “Show Us Your City” contest of Creative Cities in the UK and East Asia for The London Festival of Architecture 2010. The sun hasn’t risen yet and I’m already half-awake as the sound of oncoming trains rolled by outside my windows. Not exactly a wake-up call, but nevertheless they are a welcome sensation as I lay on my bed, pondering on the things that lie ahead. Such are the daily occurrence in my neighborhood north of downtown Manila, a place that’s near a wet market, at the intersection of two railways – the LRT and the PNR.

UNESCO Heritage Churches

by 360journals September 21, 2007 in Heritage 0 comments
Author’s Note: This article uses Apple’s QuickTime technology in providing an immersive experience by means of virtual reality panoramas. QuickTime is required to view the 360-degree VRs. Average VR size is 1.8Mb each. I love churches, especially centuries-old ones. Apart from their religious significance, I like the tranquility of its ambiance, the intricate architectural designs of its interiors, and the historical and cultural attachment to its community.