Top 10 Destinations Every Star Wars Fan Should Visit

 

Discovering the Beauty of Barcelona: Exploring the Cathedral and City Tour

5 Best Beaches in Ibiza

 

FREE: Concierto de Organo by Fr José Enrique Ayarra Jarne of the Cathedral of Seville

The Embassy of Spain in Philippines in collaboration with San Agustín Church in Intramuros and sponsored by Swiss International Airlines would like to invite you to the Organ Concert of father José Enrique Ayarra Jarne, one of the most noted Canon organist of Seville Cathedral in Spain. 

This will happen on Thursday, June 26th 7PM at the Church of San Agustín, General Luna St., Intramuros, Manila. Free!

For more information you may check the official Facebook Fan Page of the Instituto Cervantes de Manila here.

FREE : Suite Española, A Piano and Flamenco Show

A fan of Flamenco and piano performances? This is for you. Two spanish artists are in town to present "Suite Española", a show where piano scores and flamenco singing find a common ground to provide a greater freedom of interpreting the works of Spanish composers such as Granados, Albeniz and Falla. For more information, you may check Instituto Cervantes Manila's official Facebook Fan Page here

Who: Classical pianist Rosa Torres - Pardo and flamenco singer Rocio Marquez Limon
When: June 7, 2014
Where:  Cultural Center of the Philippines Little Theater Roxas Bldvd, Pasay

This is FREE admission. Please RSVP 
via emb.manila.ofc@maec.es

FREE Flamenco Dance "Abriendo Caminos" by Úrsula López

FREE Flamenco dance concert by Úrsula López!  She personally directed and choreographed this show which is very different from her usual roles as a soloist for numerous dance companies and shows. This flamenco show "Abriendo Caminos" uses the most traditional flamenco styles while the lead Flamenco character Úrsula with her dancers and musicians, aspires to convey feelings and emotions, showing to the world a modern touch of flamenco.

24 de octubre 2013 Oct 24 2013 8pm

Meralco Theater, Ortigas Ave, Pasig City

Entrada gratuita Free Admission

Hasta llenar aforo First come first served

For more information you may check Instituto Cervantes Manila Facebook Fan Page here.

The Pilgrim’s Way to Santiago at Galicia, Spain

I am a sucker of tours – anything related about culture and heritage. I am such a sucker that I was able to build a business out of it by selling tours myself.  Now that I am making a bit of money out of it, I have become more curious how are the tours around the world are done.  Let me cite an example – a pilgrimage tour. 

Locally I can only think of the Visita Iglesia – visiting churches on Maundy Thursday and Holy Friday for just a daytime duration. I did organized visitas to iglesias en Cavite, Batangas, Bataan y Pampanga recientemente so I can relate a bit to this.  

Pero en otras partes del mundo,  puedes un mes o mas.  Un ejemplo es Way of St. James o El Camino de Santiago en Español, a revered site visited by millions of peregrinos or pilgrims to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, northwest of Spain where tradition has it that the remains of Saint James (one of Twelve Apostles of Jesus) carried by boat from Jerusalem is buried. This route can be traced to Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Italy and finally to Spain even declared as the first European Cultural Route and was also named one of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites.

Jai Alai Building and the Jai Alai Game

One of the finest Art Deco buildings in Asia and one of Manila’s best structures, the Jai Alai stadium was demolished on July 15, 2000 commanded by then Mayor of Manila, Lito Atienza. An Architecture graduate and allegedly a regular bettor of Jai Alai, he said a court justice will replace the site but it was NEVER done. This four storey building located along Taft Avenue was noted more of gambling, crime and prostitution rather than its sleek, cylindrical glass front to convey that the world’s fastest sport in the world was held here. It was while taking my Spanish language class last year at Instituto Cervantes Manila I noticed that this Jai Alai game is played a few steps away from the school, in Casino Español de Manila. Out of curiosity I decided to interview these people who play the game. Are they still the same kinds of players who do this out of money or pleasure maybe? 

Watch Película: The 10th Spanish Film Festival

Twenty films from Spain and Latin America are now showing from October 5 to 16 at Greenbelt 3 Cinema 1 to celebrate Película, the annual Pelicula Spanish film festival in Manila. There will be special screenings of films: Raya Martin's Buenas noches, España (Good night, Spain) and the classic 1961 Golden Palm Cannes Film Festivalwinner, Viridiana. After watching, you may vote for your favorite film and help it win the Audience Choice Award this year. The screening of the winning film is on October 16, 9:30 p.m. Tickets are at P65 each.

For more information about 10th Pelicula Spanish film festival, visit pelicula.ph

The Parisian Life Painting of Juan Luna

"The Parisian Life" painting is also known as Interior d’Un Café or "Inside a Café", even titled in some books as "The Maid" and "Un Coquette" or literally someone who is one step lower than prostitute painted by Juan Luna. He is known to use prostitutes as models in his painting sessions for a very obvious reason - they're paid cheap. In 1904 at the World Fair’s Saint Louis Exposition in the United States, this  painting won Silver Medal.

Forty-six million pesos! While we see homeless families living under bridges and beggars everywhere, how could the GSIS able to bear buying a painting which in any moment could be in a foreign hand and could never be given back to us through an auction so expensive like this? "The Parisian Life" painting is one of Juan Luna’s obra maestras done in Paris, France year 1892. This is not Juan Luna’s most popular painting – it is the “Spoliarium” but the story behind it is very unusual. This painting is showing a lady wearing a flamboyant hat, in a French dress with long sleeves, ruffled ends and length reaching beyond her ankles. Not so far from her back are three men who look like making gossips about her.

The three men in "The Parisian Life" painting are actually heroes in Philippine History: Jose Rizal, Ariston Bautista Lin and Luna himself. A "Kwentong Barbero" version of this painting explains the story behind which is about these men in a coffee shop exchanging glances over a prostitute: two of them planning who will be the first to hook her up tonight and the other one sharing he just actually gone to bed with this same girl a night ago. What a story all worth of a historical value and international award! But if one has an eye that can see beyond this painting made in oil, this lady actually has a "geographical likeness" to the mirror-image or the map of the archipelago of the Philippines. You put a map of the Philippines over her and it seems she is really the Philippines at that time. Her knees (we kneel when we pray) matched to Cebu in the map where Roman Catholicism started and on her navel (means birth) is the Kawit, Cavite map where our First Independence was declared and a lot more coincidences! Her left arm a bit detached in a downward slant signifies the Palawan islands! She appears to be strangled too as there is a line on top of her head because that time Philippines is under colony.

One very interesting fact about Luna is he is a man of temper and known about his jealousy over his wife's alleged infidelity. After killing his wife, mother-in-law and wounded his brother-in-law by gunshots he was never jailed for long in France because the Queen Regent of Spain helped her as she is regarded as a "National Treasure" at that time because of his paintings. In fact, he remains to be until today. Our previous administrations tried to ask his “La Batalla de Lepanto" painting displayed in Senate Hall of Spain to be given back to us until now but Spain insisted the painting should remain to them because it was done when Philippines is still under colony of Spain.

“The Parisian Life” painting according to GSIS Pres. Winston Garcia was brought back home for P46 million through an auction bid. This painting if divided to the 1.3 GSIS million members would only cost P36 each. Currently, the painting is now valued at P200 million or $8,000. Not bad at all for a purchasing a painting in the name of heritage. But wait there is a rumor circulating someone or a group of ready to buy this in its current amount. Should we or should we let go of this painting? We can feed so many people in this amount.

This talk The Parisian Life painting of Juan Luna was delivered by Michael Charles "Xiao " Chua,  historian at GSIS Museum last Aug. 6th, 2011. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Wohow! After four years, I have finally seen the Parisian Life Painting again in National Museum. It is now the permanent home for Juan Luna's masterpieces including the Spoliarium. It is located at the 3rd level, of National Museum's National Art Gallery. Entrance fee is Php 150 for regular visitors, less Php30 to senior citizens. The National Museum of the Philippines or Museum of the Filipino People Manila is located along Taft Ave, Ermita, Manila, 1000 Metro Manila. You can click here my blog review of Juan Luna's Parisian Life 2016. 

Manila Galleons: the Largest Class of Ships built in 1565-1815 were Made in the Philippines

For more pictures, please scroll down.

Manila-Acapulco Galleons or Manila Galleons are ships made of renowned Philippine hardwood, as long as 160-feet long, up to 2,000 tons and can carry a thousand passengers. Cavite in Manila Bay, was the largest shipyard building Manila Galleons; others were built in Sorsogon, Marinduque, Masbate, and Camarines. Only eight out of a hundred plus of these galleons were made in Acapulco, now Mexico. For 250 years, Manila Galleons sailed once or twice a year across Pacific Ocean between Manila to Mexico carrying spices, porcelain, silk clothing etc. These goods are then traded to American, European and East Asian markets. Manila used to be one of the world’s greatest ports during the Manila Galleon days and aboard these ships are people from Manila who became the first Filipinos in America.

“San Pablo”, the first Manila Galleon, was under Fr. Andres de Urdaneta, who used only a compass and his wind & tide navigation knowledge for sailing. It was him who discovered the shortest route back to Mexico through north of Cebu. Because of the 129-day duration and immature guidance of the 15-year old Captain Felipe de Salcedo, most of the crew died before reaching to Mexico. Having said that the Manila Galleons were a hundred plus more and very indispensable part of maritime history, why not much of their accounts were told? Aside from the “Concepcion” and “Santissima Trinidad” galleons, where are the rest? It is believed that a number of Manila galleons were wrecked because of the strong winds, inadequate knowledge in early seafaring days or encounters with foreign pirates.

October 2009, UNESCO recognized Manila Galleons’ part in the globalization of trade and cultural exchange and declared 8th day of the same month as the International Dia Del Galeon (Day of the Galeon) to promote understanding of the impact Philippines contributed to the world trade history. It was the Mexican War of Independence in 1815 that ended galleons from sailing permanently. Histories of Manila Galleons are seldom talked about in our local TV shows, nada in movies! A challenge is thrown to the historians, media, directors and private individuals to share what they knew and share to the young ones maybe through a documentary film or so. Few wrecks have been found so far of these within the Philippine archipelago because of two reasons: either it sank in the deep, hard to explore waters or the Philippine law discourages active exploration of these historic wrecks.

Below are the pictures from a replica of Galleon Andalucia from Spain which docked for 5 days in Pier 13, South Harbor Manila.

Click below for more pictures.

Spain’s Galleon Andalucia will Visit Manila for 5 Days!

History buffs! This is your chance to see the Galleon Andalucia in reality. For those who need the minds to be refreshed, two hundred fifty years ago, the Spaniards sailed to the Philippines through the galleon vessel to trade goods and spices. This galleon is a 51-meter-long replica of the Andalucia, which is currently stationed in China for the Shanghai Expo, will be docked at Pier 13 in Manila from October 5 to 9,2010. The ship will be open to the public from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Fundacion Nao Victoria in Spain created this galleon which uses wind to sail and thus is not dependent on fuel. Andalucia was the first known vessel to have successfully circumnavigated the world. This visit of the Andalucia is part of the  International Dia del Galeon Festival 2010. With the theme “Habitat, Heritage, History and Language: Continental Connectivity”, the festival will start on September 24 and will continue for two weeks with a series of interdisciplinary workshops called Artes Talleres and Spectaculos.

Sen. Edgardo Angara, chairman of the Dia del Galeon steering committee said  that ‘Through the galleon trade, the world learned about the Philippine abaca and the ylang-ylang as Manila became a global port in Asia. In turn, the Filipinos received the Mexican chocolate (tablea) and were introduced to Spanish music and arts. ‘ This is a proof that we are long civilized before and we have a rich contribution in the world history. This festival would also produce resolutions from workshops and discussions, while integrating the arts education module to the curriculum of art schools.

The Galleon ‘Andalucía’ is a  17^th-century ships which sailed in Spain, America and Asia. The replica Andalucia which was launched in Punta Umbria in Huelva last December by the Nao Victoria Foundation, will travel to the Universal Exhibition in Shanghai to show ‘the potential and reality’ that Andalucía and companies from the region can develop in China. The ship has a total of 40 crews.

News and pictures taken from Yahoo Philippines and Typically Spanish