By Beverly T. Natividad
Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines–The Catholic faithful, through the intercession of saints, ask for good health, a rich spouse, even the winning lotto numbers.
But if it’s strength they need to make great sacrifices, they turn to the first Filipino saint, San Lorenzo Ruiz.
This year, Lorenzo Ruiz celebrates the 20th anniversary of his canonization in 1987.
By Carla Gomez
Inquirer
BACOLOD CITY–Negros’ muscovado sugar, which is gaining popularity in the growing health-conscious global market, is synonymous with those mouth-watering pastries only its people can make best.
The dark brown, slightly coarse, unrefined sugar, which still contains the minerals and vitamins originally found in sugarcane, has a pleasant bitter-sour taste from molasses not found in regular sugar, says pastry reinventor Millie Kilayko.
It is also this sugar that makes Negrense pastries delightfully different, bringing back memories of the old days of leisure and long lunches.
By Carla Gomez
Inquirer Visayas Bureau
BACOLOD CITY, Philippines–He will have to work for 20 months to earn the P100,000 he found in a room of a government resort in Negros Occidental recently.
But Pedrito de la Torre, a contractual employee of the government-owned Mambukal Resort in Murcia town, preferred to return the money that he found under a pillow in a resort room occupied by Korean nationals who checked out on September 19, said Negros Occidental Provincial Board Member Edgardo Acuña.
In recognition of his exemplary act, Vice Governor Isidro Zayco said on Thursday he would recommend to Governor Joseph Marañon the hiring of De la Torre as a permanent employee of the Capitol.
By Gerald Gene R. Querubin
Inquirer
BOAC, Marinduque–The Muslims have their “singkil” and the Visayans, their “Usahay” and “Dandansoy.” But what do the people of Marinduque have?
This question has inspired an advocacy by a music educator since childhood to learn and preserve songs and folk dances that are truly Marinduqueño.
“I heard old folks in my place singing old short songs aside from the kundiman and love songs with positive values. I listened to some of them and there, my research began,” says Prof. Rex Manuel Asuncion, who is now director of the Center for Cultural Arts Studies of the Marinduque State College in Boac town.
By EV Espiritu
Inquirer
ITBAYAT, Batanes–No more Ivatan warriors exist today to chant the ancient “rawod,” the stories about their seafarers that are passed down to generations.
The “rawod” chants are tales of high adventure woven out of the mythical journey that the Ivatan forefathers undertook to escape a disaster.
An excerpt, translated by the University of Georgia and attributed to Simina Vohang, illustrates how a “giant flood” battered their ancestors’ boats: “We were on a big boat all kinsmen/In a big boat, sailing on the open sea/We almost reached our island/But the ocean prevented us from sailing home…”
By Jessica Jalandoni-Robillos
Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines–For 15 years now, TOYM (The Outstanding Young Men) Philippines 2006 awardee Michael Cacnio has been steadily depicting the good and the wholesome: Filipino values of strong family ties; respect for elders; hardy labor and simple pleasures.
The photo shows Ambassador Cristina G. Ortega and the director general for external relations of the European Commission (EC) Eneko Landaburu (second from left) flanked by Michael and Ma. Theresa Cacnio during the vernissage-cocktail reception for the artist at Berlaymont building of the EC on Sept. 18. Cacnio graduated from University of the Philippines in 1991 with a degree in Fine Arts. He experimented with brass at a time when it was not a popular medium.
Upon deciding he was comfortable with his cut-and-solder method as opposed to molding, he began presenting depictions of children playing traditional Filipino games such as sungka, luksong baka and tirador, inspired by his own childhood in Malabon; and his series of vendors, among them the magtataho and sorbetero.
HERE’S a video created by arfiedoggie of a Metro Manila roadtrip that shares some of the sights homesick Filipinos abroad might be missing.
What do you miss most about the Philippines?
By Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net
MARITES PEREZ GALAM, 33, head waitress at Imperial Herbal Restaurant in Singapore, found “gold” in a rest room, fought the temptation to keep it, and helped return it to its owner.
The owner, an Indonesian mother who was accompanying her deaf son to Singapore for a surgery, couldn’t thank her enough.
In a long-distance phone interview with INQUIRER.net, Galam said this was how it happened:
CHECK out this video of the Filipino Day celebration on September 1 at Canada’s Wonderland theme park in Toronto.
And here’s Filipino-Canadian Elise Estrada performing at the event.
Videos uploaded by Earsonline.
By Jeffrey M. Tupas
Mindanao Bureau
THIN wisps of smoke from burning incense emitted a strong scent that made me feel mystical.
In a corner of the hall, a woman sat on a mat, her eyes closed, silently making quick but graceful jolts as music played softly on the background.
Eight other persons, including a university student and I, have formed a huge circle, with the burning incense, a bottle of aromatic oil, and a lighted red candle in the middle.
