Filipino Digital Creativity Shines at DMAP Boomerang Awards 2025

Winners of the Young Innova and Young Lotus categories of DMAP’s Sari-Sari DYC 2025, awarded during the Boomerang Awards 2025

Ayala Museum is Free Entrance on International Museum Day

Ayala Museum envisioned by the late artist, Fernando Zobel de Ayala will be offering a free entrance in celebration of the International Museum Day on May 18, 2012. Ayala Museum is noted by its historical collections like the sixty diorama that explains the tapestry of Philippine history and miniature  boat gallery that tells how our Philippine maritime trade and colonial economy was like before and it also houses archaeological and ethnographic objects from the country's northern and southern cultural communities. Ayala Museum also has fine arts collection that features works by three painters considered pioneers in Philippine art--Juan Luna, Fernando Amorsolo, and Fernando Zobel.

International Museum Day is celebrated every year since 1977 by the worldwide community of museums. Because of the new technology, museums are facing challenges related to climate and new electronic media. For more information about International Museum Day you may click here 

Journeying James' Tattoed Kalinga Women

Photo credited to Journeying James

Original photo link and story here

I am a sucker of  heritage and history stuff. Yeah kinda boring really but I don't know I have these eyes and ears for these (Wala ang drama lang!).  We are losing so much of our cultural identity because of the technologies and foreign influence we encounter everyday. I am not against about these but we should at least not let our local identity fade away so when I  read about Journeying James post about  JourneyingJames as a Rice Farmer in Kalinga I instantly got interested about the story and the photo which eventually I posted on Facebook at first.

An Introduction to Writing About Arts & Culture Writing Workshop

“With the growing art scene in Manila and the increasing number of Filipino artists receiving international attention, it is only appropriate to shine the spotlight on Philippine arts, culture, and heritage. Learn how to share and write about these topics to a wider audience. Get an overview of the different fields and opportunities in writing about arts and culture–be it visual arts, architecture, theater, music, or design.” - Writer’s Block Philippines 

An Introduction to Writing About Arts & Culture
October 8 (Sat), 9 am-6pm
November 7, 10, & 14 (Mon-Thu-Mon), 6-9pm
Workshop Fee: P3,500 (10% off WBP members & 15% off for students)

The Yuchengco Museum and Writer’s Block Philippines are offering “Writing About Arts and Culture,” a series of writing workshops that bring together writing skills development, cultural information, and art appreciation. The first workshop in the series will be facilitated by Yuchengco Museum curator Jeannie Javelosa and administrator Dannie Alvarez, alongside Writer’s Block founders Ana Santos, Nikka Sarthou, and Niña Terol-Zialcita. Interested participants can choose either the weekend workshop on October 8, or the weeknight series for three nights of November. This will cover:

• An overview of Philippine arts, culture, and heritage in contemporary life
• Telling the story of arts and culture
• Asking the right questions
• Q&A, case studies, and a writing exercise

Slots are limited to only 30 participants. The workshop fee is P3,500, which includes snacks, workshop materials, and a certificate. For registration and more details, contact Yuchengco Museum at 889-1234 or email info@yuchengcomuseum.org.

Eiga Sai 2011 at Shangri-La Plaza Edsa

"Eiga Sai,” which means "film festival" is now on its 13th year is organized by the Japan Foundation, Manil, a Embassy of Japan, The Shangri-La Plaza Corporation, UP Film Institute."Departures" is their cream of the crop movie for the year,   winner of the 81st Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2009.

All films have English subtitles. Admission is free. Screening venues are at the

Shang Cineplex Cinema 4 (July 1 - 10)             Gaisano Grand Citimall, Davao (July 22 - 24)   Ayala Center Cinema 4, Cebu (August 2 to 7) UP Film Institute (August 17 to 20)

For more information you may visit Japan Foundation, Manila, you may click here or call  +632) 811-6155 to 58.

FREE: TRAVELIFE INDIA Night Dance Performance at Dusit Thani Manila

TRAVELIFE India Night is a free performance featuring world-class traditional Indian performers who are among the top kathak dancers in India today. TRAVELIFE India Night Public Performance is on July 16 (Free) and at the TRAVELIFE India Night Gala Dinner on July 18 (PhP 1499 per person).

To reserve a limited seat at either event, please call Rachel or Bernice at 813-8400/ 892-2620 or email travelife@travelife.biz.

For more information on the Travelife India Night Gala Dinner on July 18 that features the gala show and the Indian degustation meal, please visit their Facebook Fan Page here

Vatican’s Nativity Scene features Nine Filipino Statues

During a solemn evening ceremony last Dec. 24th in Rome’s St. Peter’s Square, the nativity scene or locally called as ‘belen’ was unveiled and nine statues were ‘Filipinos’ as traditional figures of the Holy Family. Dressed in colorful native attire and playing musical instruments, these portray the joyful spirit of the Philippine Christmas which is known as the “longest and most festive celebration in the world”.

Kublai Ponce-Millan, the Filipino sculptor who designed the statues said these represent the different indigenous groups of the Philippines in a festive celebration of faith, music, food and family on the occasion of the birth of Jesus. Philippine Ambassador to the Holy See, Mercedes A. Tuason who is present during the event thanked the Governorate of the Vatican City State for giving the Philippines a special place in the center of the Roman Catholic Church’s celebration of the birth of Christ this year.

The Philippines is the first country outside Italy to be given a major part in the Vatican nativity scene. This event was attended by ecclesiastical authorities of the Holy See and civil authorities from the City and Province of Rome. At 6pm sharp, Pope Benedict XVI lighted a candle for peace while watching the unveiling ceremony from his apartment window. He blessed the crowd with the light of a single candle amid the darkness. It was in 1982 when this tradition started by then Pope John Paul II.

Source: Vatican’s nativity scene featuring Filipino figures unveiled from CBCP News

Screenshot from  Rome Reports Philippines helps with Vatican Nativity Scene in Youtube

The Alcove’s Photography Challenge and Holiday Gift Ideas

THE ALCOVE’S PHOTOGRAPHY CHALLENGE

Explore the Makati Commercial Business District (MCBD) on foot and capture arresting images under time pressure! This is what the Alcove’s Photography Challenge is all about. Interested?  A shoot list will be given to participating photographers during the orientation and subjects must be covered during the time allotted and in the area specified. Open to all amateur photographers, the winning photographs will be displayed in The Alcove’s online gallery. Freebies such as photography magazines and gift packs will also be given to all confirmed participants. Mark this day in your calendar next year, Jan. 22, 2011.

This photography challenge is thru the efforts of Filipinas Heritage Library, a  division of the Ayala Foundation, Inc. (AFI), a one-stop electronic research center on the Philippines.

          To download the mechanics, registration/waiver form please click here

   

 THE ALCOVE'S HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS

 

All images and information are from Filipinas Heritage Library website.

National Geographic's Thirty Rare Images of the Philippines (1898-1966))

Scroll down to see the images

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Currently displayed in Trinoma are thirty (30) rare images of the Philippines captured by the National Geographic camera lenses from 1898-1966. Images are mostly about the everyday life of different tribes and their culture, untouched by a Facebook-driven world of today and what the Philippines is, as the second richest country in Asia around 1950’s.

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National Geographic Society or the National  Geographic  is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. It started as a club for an elite group of academics and wealthy patrons interested in travel, 122 years ago. Gardiner Greene Hubbard became its first president and his son-in-law, Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone succeeded him in 1897 following his death.

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National Geographic, has given grants for scientific researches and has recently awarded its 9,000th grant for scientific research conducted worldwide. Two of its most popular aided researches are Robert Ballad’s Titanic wreck findings and Jane Goodal’s Chimpanzee studies. Its trademark logo is a yellow portrait frame which is usually seen around the edge of the flagship National Geographic Magazine cover. This magazine is translated to 32 languages and has 50 million readers worldwide. National Geographic is located in Washington, D.C. where they maintain a museum free for the public.

National Geographic has ventured many endeavors such as book publishing, television, film, music, radio, museum exhibits, digital media and an annual International Geography contest for middle-school students.  Known as supporter of scientific projects, National Geographic is one of the international partners and consultants of the well-anticipated and first ever world class museum in the Philippines, The Mind Museum in Taguig which is scheduled to open last quarter of next year. This museum is also launching campaigns in search of volunteers, assistance particularly financial, hope we have inspired someone to be.

Here are a few photos taken from the exhibit:

Bogobo Man

Caption will be added soon

Dead Ifugao girl

Sultan of Sulu has Many Wives

Bayanihan

Caption be added soon

This exhibition is presented to you by The Mind Museum, a science museum project of the Bonifacio Art Foundation, Inc. and its institutional partner, The National Geographic Channel.

Exhibition dates and venues (2010):

October 3-4 Greenbelt 5
October 7-10 Glorietta
October 21-24 TriNoma
November 12-14 Bonifacio High Street

Pinay Wins International Photo Contest about Democracy Challenge 2010

Mikas Matsuzawa, a UP Diliman student taking Journalism is one of the twelve (12) winners of an international photography contest “The Democracy Photo Challenge 2010” organized by the State Department. She submitted a photograph of a young boy in school uniform, carrying a (parol) Christmas lantern as a school project, walking to school along a narrow dirt road lined with dense foliage and riddled with puddles. A proud Pinay, she said the boy in the photo is from the Dumagat tribe in the mountains of Eastern Rizal who along with other children had to walk for about two hours, some of them barefooted, just to get to the nearest school.

Matsuzawa said that the education in the Philippines should be like Democracy… for everyone but unfortunately it appears not. Matsuzawa mentioned her own school, UP as an example. Though UP is the country’s premier state institution for tertiary education, the yearly budget cut is depriving the students to a better education. The Democracy Photo Challenge shows the power of 21st century technology in engaging people from across the globe in meaningful conversations,” said Moustafa Mourad, Interim President of One Economy Corporation. “This exchange of ideas and cultures is at the heart of democracy."

Three thousand (3,000) entries from one-hundred thirty-one countries participated and were narrowed to thirty-six (36) finalists representing each region in the world. The thirty-six (36) finalists’ entries are then presented online and five-hundred thousand (500,000) people joined to decide the top twelve winners which Matsuzawa is one of them. This pinay student must be very lucky then! For more information about Democracy Photo Challenge please click here and the pictures of the eleven winners please click here.

Information and picture source from: Digital Photographer and Yahoo Philippines

Teodulo Protomartir: How his Photos of Manila in Ruins during World WarII made Him the Father of Philippine Photography

TV Director of comedy show “Bubble Gang”, Uro dela Cruz and celebrated Manila tour guide Carlos Celdran talked about “Images of Manila – Then (1946) and Now (2010)” through the efforts of Museum Foundation of the Philippines Inc. Uro, who is a camera collector shares how he serendipitously bought a camera from an antique-selling store in Escolta which is owned by a man said to be the Father of Philippine Photography.  He talked about the almost unbearable bad smell of the crumpled and wet negatives from Teodulo’s camera and how they painstakingly save his pictures from ‘extinction’.

Teodulo worked in a camera - importing company during his time. By 1930, he led a group of photographers scouring the old Manila taking pictures. Few photos that surprised Uro, was taken somewhere in Lucban, Quezon his hometown, in a place where he used to walk every day when he was a kid. Teodulo traveled outside Manila to take pictures too. He even took a photo of Mayon Volcano in Legazpi, Albay. His negatives usually have notes on it, like what level of exposure, the speed or what kind of film he used. Every week, his group would gather to discuss matters about their hobby which at that time is only for the rich, conduct photo exhibits and a radio show.

Carlos, an authority on Manila’s history guided by Teodulo’s photographs, visited again these places and took pictures of how it looked like today. He said that Manila is a reflection of the world: a hodge - podge of cultures from the East and West. One touching photo shown is an old and skinny Teodoro wearing sunglasses to hide his eyes that is nearly succumbing to blindness. He died shortly before two of his daughters became professional ophthalmologists.  But his photos of Manila are priceless and forever will be historical pieces to the Filipinos. He is indeed worthy to be the Father of Philippine Photography. Below are some of pictures he took around 1940's.

Teodulo getting blind because of old age with his priced cameras

Quirino Grandstand

Santa Mesa

Plaza Miranda

Lucban, Quezon

35 Mm Camera Club
Note: The talk was conducted last Sept. 8, 2010 at Silverlens Gallery, Makati

Three Days of Art at ManilArt10

ManilArt10, the country’s top international art event now on its second year had attracted a lot more leading art galleries and a few international. Art collectors and hobbyists alike filled the event from July 30 - Aug. 1, 2010 at SMX Convention Center, Pasay City. Almost sixty exhibitors joined and showcased their finest art pieces!

With an entrance fee of P200 or $4.50, participants of ManilArt10 had the chance of attending any of the seven FREE art lectures. I was lucky enough that ManilArt10 had "Artwork Photography" by Ross Capili, an award-winning professional photographer and visual artist. He talked about the techniques and legal ways in capturing a particular painting or artwork from a point of view of a novice photographer to those who make it as a living.

He emphasized that photography is a business anyone can easily put up. He also said that a photographer should be always cautious in publishing his shots that he should be aware when it comes to copy rights. A resposible photographer should make sure that he be credited in his works: at least a name below the picture etc. Uhum! the lecture is just so timely for ManilArt10 since it is about Art Photography. Check out these photos I took if I absorbed anything during the lecture:

Artisans at Work: A Photo Exhibit on Filipino Arts and Crafts

The art of photography attempts to freeze passing moments into permanence. It hopes to capture timeless and unforgettable moments into a series of images. This is according to the people behind the photo exhibit entitled "Artisans At Work" which pays tribute to the men and women who produce useful objects that enrich Filipino culture. These photos taken by amateur and professional photographers focus on celebrating Filipino arts and crafts. Take a look!

Painter

Sculptor

Potter

Fishermen

Jeepney Driver

Dancers

This exhibit is about a typical Filipino: it could be a jeepney driver, sculptor, fisherman, potter, weaver or a dancer. According to them "they are guided by a clear and a sure hand, these artisans create products that serve their function well they clothe us, store our food, help us travel. And yet these products possess a humble but genuine beauty that transcends everyday functions--the delicate needlework in traditional fabrics, the precise geometric patterns in woven baskets, the colorful flags and aluminum horses of jeepneys. These unique features prove we Filipinos glorify even the most ordinary articles with adornment."

The mosted noted photographer of this exhibit is Jaime Zobel de Ayala, the first Filipino photographer to be confirmed "Licentiate" by the Royal Photograpic Society and has received similar commendation from the French and Spanish government. Joining him is a priest, a columnist, a pastry chef, a Cebu-based dentist, a priest and even Piolo Pascual a local actor.

If you want to see these photos you may visit: Market! Market! (May 18-31), Glorietta (June 1-14), Marquee (15-28), Trinoma (June 19-July 12), Alabang Town Center (July 13-26), Ayala Center Cebu (Aug. 7-21) and Bonifacio High Street (Aug. 20-Sept.12).

Photo Exhibit: Pinoy's Tribute to the 82nd Oscar's Award Night

THIRTEEN best Hollywood Oscar movies of all times were used as a theme of our local actors and actresses for the photo exhibit shown in Greenbelt 1 this evening. The earliest movie ever depicted was "Gone with the Wind" created in 1940 and "Inglorious Bastards" last year as the most recent.

The people behind this did a good job. The picture is a combined masterpiece of the actors, hair and make-up artists, costume designers and the photographer. Each scene if stared for quite sometime looked very, very realistic and intriguing. It did not appeared dull and picturesque but just like a real scene in any movie.

Two of my most favorite scenes are from Titanic - the highest grossing film of all times ( please update me guys if ever needed) which these two young actors are submerged in the water. They are hugging and facing each other like they are in an air atmosphere breathing normally! The hair was just perfect not messed up by the current, the long gown of the girl is floating up, a realistic indication that the photo shoot is really underwater. Even the guy's eye is opened and looking at the
girl too! Anybody could guess or tell for how long did they took this shoot and got this almost perfect scene?

This movie always remind me of my first year in high school. We are in a Biology class and we have a movie presentation. This movie was just showing up for a few weeks and it was in the verge of popularity that we convinced and connived with our teacher to show this movie instead of another dull Biology educational tapes scheduled to be shown. Without letting the other teachers know about it, of course!

Last is the Brokeback Mountain shoot. Why? Because knowing that this controversial movie is about two guys who developed intimate relationship with each other, instead it was portrayed by two girls! Two thumbs up to the one who conceived this idea. It was a twist but definitely worthy.

The two girls did a good job as well that their facial expressions and how they are grabbing each other's dress was simply erotic. Here is the list in chronological order:

1940 Gone With The Wind (Jake Cuenca & Maja Salvador)
1961 West Side Story (Nikki Gil & Billy Joe Crawford)
1967 Bonnie and Clyde (Shaina Magdayao)
1987 Dirty Dancing (Rayver Cruz)
1994 Forest Gump (Albert Martinez)
1944 Casablanca (Jericho Rosales & Maricar Reyes)
1995 Pulp Fiction Zanjoe Marudo & Mariel Rodriguez
1996 Titanic (Erich Gonzales & Enchong Dee)
1998 Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Melissa Ricks & Raymund Marasigan)
2005 Phantom of the Opera (KC Montero & Solenn Heusaff)
2006 Brokeback Mountain (Isabel Daza)
2006 Memoirs of Geisha (Kim Chui & Marc Nelson)





Tomorrow is another Oscar night... For sure another batch of shining starts in Hollywood will be added on it's wall of history. Fashion will be at it's highest tomorrow as the parade of stars will walk in the red carpet. Some will be praised, some will be mocked and a few will bring home an Oscar trophy - a lifetime achievement for them. Aside from their costumes please mind how are the
winners react impromptu of whom are the people they would like to thank for. That is pretty enough to know which one's are God-fearing, family or career-oriented, just blown away that they mumble or speechless or those who arrogantly say they have nothing or no one to thank for.