it magazine may 2009, vol.1 no.3
DESCRIPTION
MAGNATES OF DESIGNTRANSCRIPT
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EDITORS NOTE
We’re back!!!
After a long hiatus since our October issue IT magazine is back with a new team, a newstandard and more interesting articles that’s all about Bacolod.
Architects and Interior designers work on their drafting table and computers, fashiondesigners on their mannequins and fabrics, painters at work on their easels, chefs in theKitchen -- this is how we often picture designers and artists in our minds. We think of art and design as something separate from the lives of ordinary people, as an occupation only forthose lucky enough to have special artistic gifts.
But design means much more than this. Design is a part of life; an activity that has meaning for everyone. Design has been around since there were human beings. Art and design,in fact, has always been one of our ways of creating order out of our experience of life.The act of making works of art --painting, shaping, cutting, sculpting, cooking -- is in someways more important than the thing that is finally produced. It satisfies a deep human need.We learn something about ourselves every time we encounter a work of art...
Bacolod has always been synonymous to good taste. And we have produced quite anumber of internationally renowned designers in various fields. This issue will feature thosewho have made an impact on both the local, and international scene. From Eduardo “Toto” Sicangco who has been one of the most sought after scenographers in the US to-day, to Von Caberte, an unassuming and very modest concept artist who’s works include the XBox game Ugo Volt.
I hope this issue can inspire people who always had a passion for design but never really had a chance to pursue it. The designers featured here are but a few who made it. So pick up your paint brush, fire up your PC’s and wake up the artist within.
It only takes a single step to start a journey. It’s not always the destination that matters, it’s how you get there.
Model: Meggie UyFurniture: Sason Shop Inc.Stylist: Christina Poblador
Make-up artist: Carlos Durana
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mast headEmilio Tonitto CuencaPublisher and Founder
Armi Therese Sorbito-CusiPublisher and advertising director
Luigi Lizares YunqueEditor in Chief
Hannah Maria LacsonAssociate Editor
Contributing Writers:Luci Lizares
Hannah Papasin-MarivelesGringo Benedicto
Rolen J. EsperaSolrac Capistrano
Photographers:Gringo Benedicto
Hans Corral
Graphic Designers:Dave Ian Delicano
Georgia Mae Catalan
It Magazine is a free magazine. Opinions expressed in this magazine are the writers and are not necessarily endorsed by the Publisher. No part of this publication may be
reproduced without written permission from the Editor. It does not accept and will not be held responsible for unsolicited material.
Please send your letters and comments to [email protected]
You wanna be in IT? Send us your ad placements and event details.You may contact us at:
e-mail: [email protected]: www.itpinoymag.com
itpinoymag.multiply.comfriendster.com/itpinoymag
mobile no.: +63.915.643.1798
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IT: What is your most favorite dish made by someone else?Jonas: Linaga prepared by my late grandma, you always go back to your roots. She was one of the strong influences that made me consider this career.
IT: Have you ever made something that was such a disaster that it was inedible?Jonas: I’ll have to get back to you on that, I really can’t remember.
IT: If there’s an ingredient you can’t live without what would it be?Jonas: Salt! It’s basically used with everything!
IT: What advise can you give other future chefs out there?Jonas: Work hard, fast, and accurate. Don’t worry about the money, it will come later. One does not choose to be a Chef, it is a profession that chooses you, my friend.
Jose Napoleon Salgado is the definition of a top chef in the making. At 23, Jonas, as most call him, has changed the way we look at a chef. Chefs are not snobbish bosses who dislike any customer’s demand, but rather a hardworking, professional who simply loves food and shares his passion of the pallet to others.
After high school, in his mind he wasn’t to sure on what his future had in store. Taking up a course that was not to his liking, Jonas took his leap of faith and moved to Las Vegas to pursue his passion – COOKING! His parents were not enthusiastic about his decision at first, but upon seeing the campus in the Le Cordon Bleu College, and seeing their sons’ earnest and sincerity in taking up the culinary arts, they gave him the green light. The decision wasn’t put to waste; Jonas earned his degree at record time and graduated with Honors. After, he worked in New York and eventually ap-plied at the Sienna Bistro in Las Vegas, and was immediately hired to be an assistant sous chef. Although Jonas has a long way to go before becoming an Iron Chef like Mario Batali, he surely has what it takes to be one. When asked about the hardest thing on becoming a chef: Jonas without batting an eyelash said, “Nothing is that hard when you’re truly passionate about it”. The fervor and enthusiasm of the culinary artist was obvious in the future chef-to-be’s eyes.
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Is wagyu beef really just a marketing hype? Well, not if you’ve sank your teeth into it. Wagyu beef represents luxury dining at its finest, and its tenderness and intense marbling are legendary, especially for gourmands. It’s velvety and smooth, and has a subtle tang of flavor that lingers on the palate. So if you’re one who thinks you don’t have the right to eat wagyu, think again. Don’t have the recipe? Try Chef Richie Gamboa’s Wagyu Surf
and Turf. Don’t know how to cook? There’s the 21 Restaurant.
Assemble Wagyu striploin, baked mussels and potato gratin on a plate and enjoy.
Wagyu Surf & Turf is available at the 21 Restaurant along 21st Lacson St. for P1,200* with the Soup of the Day. For reservations, please call (034) 433-4096.
(*Price subject to change without notice)
Wagyu Striploin 200 grams wagyu striploin
Sprinkle with salt & pepper.Sear. New Zealand Mussels with Bechamel Sauce* 3 pcs. Mussels *For Bechamel sauce: 1 tbsp. butter ½ tbsp All purpose flour Milk, Parmesan cheese
Nutmeg Salt and pepper (to taste)
Melt 1 tbsp. butter. Put in ½ tbsp. all-purpose flour and cook until golden brown. Pour milk until the sauce turns smooth.
Then add parmesan cheese, nutmeg and salt & pepper to taste.
Pour béchamel sauce over mussels and bake till golden brown.
Potato Gratin 1 whole potato, cut into thin strips.
*For milk mixture: Milk All purpose cream Parmesan cheese Garlic, Salt and Pepper
Stack potato slices into layers. Pour the milk mixture* over the potatoes. Cover with foil and bake for 15 mins. till potato is soft. Open the foil and bake for another 5 mins. till brown.
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The shocking truth is: guys are starting to get drunk on frozen margarita (peach-flavored at that) on a Friday night. Hey, what ever happened to the good ol’ rum Jack Sparrow can’t stop having googly eyes with? Reserve the peachy margarita to the ladies,
man, and get a rum-based drink that definitely packs a wallop.
Nacho Zayco and Anthony Castel were eager enough to prepare us a specialty drink to answer our prayers. Called “pinacorum,” it’s out-of-this-world cheap to make and potent enough to whack a horse off its shoes.
We did a little experiment to test it for taste and potency. Of course, the It staff, who somehow can’t refuse a drink, were the guinea pigs. Special guests were Mickey Gui-tche and Aries Gonzaga, who, for some reasons, were delightedly compelled to assist us in coming up with a very objective result.
Recipe Rum, pineapple juice, soda (preferably CO**)—hence, the portmanteau “pinacorhum.”
Directions In a tall glass pour rum and add pineapple juice. Top with soda. Stir. Serve with ice.
Taste We didn’t feel the rum slide down our throats simply because of the juice. The soda, how ever, slightly gave it a delicious “bite.” Surely the ladies enjoyed it as well.
Potency It took us a glass each to blush and get loaded. Two glasses more and we probably would’ve de-evolved into artsy Neanderthals. Finish a pitcher alone and we swear you’d find yourself wasting on the floor like a puddle of Primordial soup.
Verdict Way affordable than any cocktail on the bar list. A perfect primer before a seemingly epic night. Drink with caution though; too much liquor can spell “sicker.”
IT’s Tips: Don’t drink on an empty stomach! A full tummy slows down the body’s absorption of alcohol and helps protect against irritation and vomiting. Alcohol itself increases acid secretion in the stomach and that can make you feel nauseous. Having food in your stomach will help minimize impact of that acid, and will help buffer the effect of alcohol.
*If you and your barkada have a secret recipe to share, mail us at [email protected] and get a chance to be featured in our nest issue’s What’s Your Poison?
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eduardo sicangcoraymund fuentes bernie sason catherine hagad elena fermin
twist by elena fermin
MAGNATES of DESIGN
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Toto as his friends call him, grew up in Bacolod in a very artistic household with a musical-theatre afi-cionado for a father, a lyric soprano as a mother and an avid movie buff for a grandmother who often took him to screenings at the local theatre.
“This,” he said, “clinched the deal. Very early on, I was exposed to Hollywood. And that started it (being) im-printed on me.”
He studied at the Ateneo de Manila and took up a de-sign class taught by the National Artist himself Badong Bernal. It was he who gave the up-and-coming de-signer his professional debut as a scenic designer. Cre-ating the sets for “The Nutcracker” and “Le Carnaval”, which were staged by Ballet Philippines at the CCP.
Toto moved to New York to take his Masters Degree in Stage Design at the New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. And up until recently was Master teacher of Design. His career in the U.S. started when the pro-ducers of Disney on Ice were having their sets built at the same shop where Badong was doing a project. At around the same time he met a couple of produc-ers who were pitching a show to Radio City Music Hall; they invited him to join their production. From then on, I guess it’s safe to say, “The rest is history”.
His works have appeared on the stages of Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The New York City Opera, The Lincoln Center, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. For Broadway he designed “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”, Off-Broadway “Queen Amarantha, “Das Barbecu” and even the Radio City Rockettes. He also worked with the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Siegfried and Roy, and Disney on Ice. One of the most recent and most popular because of it’s high vis-ibility was being the conceptual artist of the Jackie Chan, Jet Li flick, The Forbidden Kingdom. These are just a few of his many accomplishments in his 32 years as a scenographer.
“One of the best feelings I have is during the final fitting when the actors look at themselves and actually transform,” he said, adding that costumes should always be in the service of the char-acter. “You have to make them feel confident whether they have to go up on stage beautiful or beautifully ugly.” ---quote this for layout.
Just looking at his works, one doesn’t deny his talent. His gauche works and pen and inks are among the most sought-after among collectors of theater and art. Recently Toto has come full circle by staging his first ever exhibition at the Ground Floor Gallery of Ayala Museum entitled “From Inspiration to Illusion”.
Let’s hope it doesn’t end there. I’m looking forward in seeing one of his designs in stage play in the near future. I’ll be the first in line!
by: luigi yunque
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Just recently heralded by the Philippine Regulation Commission as the One of the Most Outstanding Professional of the Year Award is Raymond Rivilla Fuentes. Raymond is a kaleidoscope
personality.
A native of Bacolod City, Raymond started school in La Salle. With the inclination into the arts, he studied in UST but earned a diploma on interior architecture from Kolner Werkunst-schule in Cologne Germany. Immediately af-ter, Raymond got involved in space planning and furniture selection as assistant to head de-signer Harry Meyer in Hamburg.
Wanting now to scale different shores, Ray-mond went to the City by the Bay San Fran-cisco and there he established and managed the Gallery and Interior Design Office. He bus-ied himself with property development projects doing showcases in Hillsborough and San Jose. After four years of design and planning in the U.S., he decided it was time to come home and collaborate with national artist Leandro Locsin for various projects like the new NAIA.
One of the more interesting work experiences of Raymond was his assignment in Selangor, Malaysia where he set up and managed the design firm, CAHAYA, as its house interior designer. He was witness to the rise of Malaysia from a 3rd world coun-try to a progressive to a wealthy nation. The project he was involved in was the Sanc-tuary, a high end property of Bukit Cahaya Country Resorts.
Among his career highlights were many international participations from consultant to planning to designer to representative. He has been sent to China, Brisbane, Aus-
by: luci lizares
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tralia, Osaka and Tokyo, Japan. Raymond has also been commissioned to design lines of furniture and accessories by the Department of Trade and Industry.
But Raymond is a man of many hats. He also loves to cook and has many spe-cialties among them the famous Pan de Chorizo and distributed under the label of
Manoy’s which is how many address Ray-mond-Manoy. At one time, he was the ex-ecutive director of the Negros Museum.
He is currently the Chairman of Tourism and the Performing Arts Society which has had many performances not only in Negros but in many parts of Luzon. He is President of the Negrense Heritage Soci-
ety which has had many ancestral homes exhibits in the past years and the LAS GRAN DAMAS DE NEGROS highlighting on accomplished Negrense Women of Sub-stance.
While busying himself with so many myriad and worthwhile projects, Raymond feels it is also time to share and give back his GOD given talents and skills. He has been since 2004 an instructor of the La Conso-lacion College in the areas of interior de-
sign, architecture and fine arts.
Raymond holds the distinction of being the President of the Philippine Institute of Interior Design Bacolod City since its birth. It was through his initiative efforts that Inte-rior Design has been elevated to the sta-tus of Fellow. For this great achievement Raymond has been recognized by the Philippine Regulations Board as One of the Most Outstanding Professionals.
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Mainstream Ilonggos are oddly conservative when it comes to fur-niture design. While we boldly surf each new wave of innovative technology and flying the flag of raw creativity, we wuss out on furnishing our homes – retrenching to nostalgia as if pining for root-edness most of us likely never had in the first place. The domain
of butakas and traditional plastic varnished chairs are common place in the Filipino home.
Although innovative designers and retailers work the trenches in an uphill battle to introduce new design to the market-place, Bacoleños still have a hesitation on approval of new furniture designs. It takes serious talents and pioneers to lead the revolution. Enter one such pioneer – Bernie Sason.
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Over the last decade, design has embraced several seemingly con-tradictory directions, including minimalism, superslickness, exposed process and loving-hands-at-home craftiness.And then design art came along. Catherine Hagad, of Art Energy, designs unconventional objects for those ‘who escape dogma and
reveal their inner beings concepts for people who like to be surprised and are surrounded by unique pieces’. Form always follows function and with her style you will never go wrong.
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She was just supposed to be a wife and a mother of two and worked tirelessly inside a bank somewhere along the high streets of Los Angeles, USA. However, before moving abroad with her family, she was already a practicing interior designer who found Bacolod hesitant to seek advice from design professionals. That and the growing civilian unrest during the Marcos years prompted her to shift to a rather
more “practical” career path. Having worked abroad for five years, just when she thought she’d already given up on her first love that is design, Elena Fermin came back to Bacolod and started to carve a name for herself as one of the most sought-after interior designers in the province. With a keen eye for detail, she masterfully transformed local interiors such as those of Sylvia Manor Hotel, the Sugarland Hotel and its restaurant Twist, with a modern taste, Bacolod has never experienced before.
So What makes Elena a sought-after designer? Check out her work in twist and you will understand why she is actually called one of the best.
by: rolen j. espera
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If the Cebuanos have pochero and the Tagalogs bulalo, we, the Bacoleños, have cansi—one of the best in Negrense cuisine that won a supporting role in the movie Namets! alongside chicken inasal, piaya, and Christian Vasquez. Some say it’s overrated (not to mention that it has practically starred in almost all blog sites as the “must try” Negrense dish), then why call it a “secret”? Easy. Because nobody really cared why it’s so damn
delicious in the first place.
What The defining ingredient of cansi isn’t really the beef shanks or the langka(jackfruit). The secret lies in a souring ingredient that is seemingly uncommon to the rest of the country -- Batuan. This fruit only grows abundantly in Negros and it isn’t the sercret ingre-dient unique to cansi alone but to many local dishes. This is why Cansi is truly Negrense.
Where Sharyn’s Cansi House is situated along Narra St., Capitol Shopping area and first started as a small eatery to cater mainly to Chinese residents within the area. More than two decades have passed since they first started brewing this yummy stew and still they remain a local favorite. Such a favorite, in fact, some customers enjoy their breakfast, lunch and dinner there.
Sharyn’s also serves Crispy Cansi, the “secret dish” that you have to order 30 minutes before coming over. Once cooked, the beef shanks are then taken out of the soup pot, deeply fried, and flaked. And voila -- beef that melts on your plate, almost as sublime as foie gras -- A piece of heaven on a plate. Cansi, a soup that puts the inventor of beef broth cubes to shame, with a bone marrow, a.k.a. the utok,so delicious that no man can stop craving for it.
text by: Rolen J. Espera photos by: Gringo Benedicto
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Every so often a designer comes up with something so appealing to so many people that it becomes a best seller. Now it’s the turn of one of the most popular drinks worldwide, a golden brown liquid which that no party is complete without. Bogsbrew, a product design by Felix Hagad. After learning to brew his own beer, which I say taste nothing less than
a premium beer, he came up with different flavors for his home concoction. I tasted it last Masskara and boy was it good! Maybe it wasn’t like how commer-cial beer is but it does hold up its own. Its good to know that Bacolod is diverse and open enough to try on new things such as this brew that is proudly Negros made.18
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Fofa Co. is materialized through the vi-sion of creating a fashion brand---FÖ-FA: Forwarded Fashion---that will cater to the growing demands of the “New Luxury Market”. Our company is com-
missioned to offer you products and services that deliver higher levels of quality, taste and aspiration than what other brands offer.
FÖFA at the outset will offer locally produced ladies’ handbags. Our designs encapsulate a vision of a unique collage of different fab-rications, texture and interesting details. Our team is actively on the look out for the newest trends in styling, materials and ornamenta-tion.
The value of our handbags is paralleled and even surpassed by the assured workmanship and design we are to give you. Our designs are well-complemented by the materials we use such as; faux suede and shantung (usually for lining), faux leather, metallic fabrics, hardware materials and details, and other beautifully textured fabrics.The Fofa Team: Meg Uy, Ina Dabu, Isa Cruz
by: rolen j. espera
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The artist bug started out at a young age for Christina, even though she was more of a Bohemian who didn’t have a care in the world. She would dress up her Bar-bie with unconventional clothing... Haute
Couture Barbie? I’m not sure if there ever made one but she certainly did.Her knack for fashion lay dormant for a time until a chance trip to Singapore 3 years ago. Because of all the ethnics groups in Singapore, she saw the diversity and sense of fashion from each and every nationality. Even the boutiques were selling clothes that catered more on self expression rather than what is “USO”.When she got back to Bacolod she decided to open her own store in Robinsons called The Hybrid Project. Her approach was different, the clothes she sells are inspired by Music Genres rather than what’s on the catwalks. What I per-sonally like about her clothes is that she only sells a few items of a particular design, so that it’s unlikely for you to bump into someone wearing the same thing.It was a risky approach in Bacolods fickle cli-entelle, but it worked! The people here were drawn to her ecclectic and diverse collection. When it comes to fashion her favorite line is
“JUST TRY!” You’ll never know what’s good on you until you do.Her attitude towards fashion lead her to be-ing one of the few stylists here in Bacolod. The way she sees people with clothes is like paint on canvas. She became one of the pioneer-ing supporters of BAM, her deal was in order for her to do her job right is for the models to wear clothes the way she wants it be. NO BUTS! Her collaboration lead her to more fashion shows and projects within the industry.
I asked her how she sees Bacolod now in regards to fashion. She said.. Everyone should have their personal style. Let’s not be constricted on what we want to wear and be more adventurous. She also said that the younger generation now is more risque and more self expressive... Even the guys! Their of to a good start...
by: luigi yunque
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At a very young age, Camille already had a passion for fashion. She would always love to dress up, as most girls do at a young age. Her very first inspiration was her Lola Gloria. It was her Lola’s outfits during the golden and glamorous days of Bacolod that served as the catalyst to what would be her future profession as a designer.
After getting her marketing degree from the Thames School for Busi-ness, Camille planned to pursue further studies in London but it had to be put on hold because of the infamous London Bombings.
Luckily, this set-back turned into an opportunity. Entrepreneurial as she is, and fashion not far from her mind, she decided to turn her passion into a business. She opened Baul Saguijo, a vintage store located in Makati. Why vintage clothing? Ca-mille loves things with history. And when it comes to vintage cloth-ing, the workmanship, the detail, the effort and the quality is always a step above what we see in our malls today.
The success of Baul led her to open The Yellow Door Boutique. This time the aproach was different, The Yellow Door Boutique was more on promoting Filipino talents through her shop – from painters, graphic designers, and photographers and up and coming fashion designers. For Camille it was more on a celebration of this particular aspect of being Filipino.
She later on came up with her own line of clothing amply named “The Yellow Door”, and soon after her limited edition line that bore her name. After a series of fashion shows, her casual wear was always labeled as, timeless and was always elegant.
Her success made her decide to take one step further. “I really want to learn from the best and be able to take home that knowledge with me. To make myself better, to give myself more room to be able to create and be inspired,” says Camile so she studied in Central St. Martin’s in London, the alma mater of such famous names like Alexandre McQueen, Stella McCartney and Vivieene Westwood.
Armed with a lot more experience, creativity and inspiration, Camille now enters a new chap-ter in her book of fashion. With the success she had in the past, it’s not hard to see what the future holds for her. But, she’ll surely take vintage back to mainstream fashion.
by: luigi lizares yunque
by: luigi yunque
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Von Caberte is very modest. In fact, he is modest enough that nobody in his left-brained mind knows he exists. But to those who live on their sketching and Photoshop-ing, those who know that a Wacom tab-let isn’t a bathroom tile—he is a god. Say it’s an outright overstate-ment or a presumptuous line to prophetically single him out to be the
One, but having worked with Matrix Reloaded lead animator Jeff Lew for the short film Killer Bean Forever—in the voice of Morpheus, “Isn’t he worth watch-ing for?” 2009 shall herald the release of Ugo Volt, a first-person shooter set in a post-apocalyptic world which Von helped develop for Microsoft’s Xbox gaming console. Not only that, his previous works had been featured in numerous inter-national publications and online sites. Recently, together with his ilk, he helped form the League of 2D Artists, a group of animators and graphic artists that aim to gather aspiring illustrators and assisting them in mastering their craft.
by: rolen j. espera
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Outrageous. Nonconformist. Unorthodox. These are just a few adjectives to describe Manny Montelibano, same words that could
picture out his works be it in film, theatre, or photog-raphy. Not afraid to experiment on the “new” while showcasing the “old,” Manny’s works basically is a story that tells a story. Whether in a series or solitary, each captured moment is a story of life with all its facets of a guy who’s living it to the fullest.
by: sol capistrano
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X-Men Origins: WolverineHead honchos from Fox had seen a veritable milking cow from the X-men franchise, which is not a surprise given the more-than-cult follow-ing of the comic book – from 15-year-old nerds salivating over Rogue’s rack to professionals wishing they have the Bald One’s telekinetic pow-ers. But it was really Wolverine that had clawed its way out of the heap (bad pun intended), out into multiplexes and into his own feral movie. Claws intact? Check. Live Schreiber as Sabretooth? Check. A Deadpool cameo. More than check. Worth the feral hype? Er, not ‘xactly. Weighted heavily by a BAD loophole right from the start, the movie heavily banks on the high-protein diet that its stars have ingest-ed to have those stomach muscles that could shame Leonidas. The SFX-laden film boasts of more-than-decent acting from Messrs Jack-man and Schreiber and Deadpool fans certainly got their wish as the wise-cracking merc do more than cameo doing some fancy footwork with the help of a couple of katanas and wires. Could have been solid entertainment ‘xcept for the lazy deus ex machina towards the end.
DefianceA poor man’s Schindler’s List, pic is about three Polish Jews -- brothers all -- who formed an underground group to fight off Jerry in WWII. Stars Daniel (Don’t call me Bond) Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie “Billy El-liot” Bell as the Bielski Bros. who went underground and formed a Robin Hood-esque community right smack in the forest of Sherwood. Er, I mean Nowogródek. Craig, shedding off his license to kill Russkies so that he could tote an AK-47 so that he could NOT kill the hated Jerries is strong as usual in the role of the eldest Bielski brother Tuvia. Schreiber, who seemed bent on starring on EVERY other movie with an English script, uncannily channels his bestial alter-ego in that other movie in-volving uncanny mutants. But biggest character arc came from Bell, effective here as the third brother Azael, the only one with a real, un-forced character development of the story. Helmer Zwick paints a lovely Polish countryside, strongly recalling past films (The Last Samurai being most notable). Melodrama tends to be overtly heavy, though.
Milk Sean Penn shocks and awes. Let me say that again. Sean Penn shocks and awes. Showing why he deserves the Oscar, Dubya’s Number One celebrity critic gets Supervisor Harvey Milk down pat, from the verbal tics to the gestures. Pic shows the last seven years in the life of the titular Milk, the first openly gay man elected in a major position in the Board of Supervisors in California. Helmsman Gus Van Sant creates a film that is both intimate but not prying, accurate but not overly anal (hear that Spieldberg?). Tight support comes from James Franco, Emile Hirsch and Diego Luna as Milk’s gay co-horts. Clearly one of the best films of the year. And yes. It’s better than Slumdog Millionaire.Four out of four stars
by: hannah m. papasin
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Going to the Mawarime Daira camp-site, situated somewhere between Nagano and Yamanashi Prefec-ture, is, I must say, a bit tricky espe-cially for foreign travelers. From To-
kyo it takes four hours and five train transfers just to get to the nearest station to the campsite. And as the English language tends to dissolve as you move further away from Tokyo, the fact that it’s in the middle of nowhere didn’t get us into cruise control. Then, there is another twenty more kilometers of either walking or getting on a bus stationed somewhere we couldn’t find. Bless our souls, a family of vacationers offered us a ride to Nana’s Superstore (to get us our food and supplies) and to the campsite.
The campsite was neat. It had a main structure was the ryoken/lodging/convenience store
that resembled a 16th century timber-framed house. Around it was the parking area, camp-site, and dinning area. We got our tents, looked around for a flat spot to pitch on and settled in.
More than anything else, it was camping. Aside from the convenience store where we got our noodles and instant microwave rice, and hot baths for ¥500(250php), I would say it was still “roughing it up.” After all, the toilets were “squat toilets” and you had to roll down hill in pitch-
black darkness just to do your business. Sleeping was a bit tricky too. Trust me, I can sleep almost anywhere and anyhow but when its 8 degrees Celsius and with virtually zero warm clothing due to underestimation, it becomes a different story. I got really cold, but then again, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
A couple of days into climbing and hiking, we met some other climbers too. Tomi and Miyan, they’re Japanese, and they were really nice. They even cooked us curry which was the best. Having instant cup noodles six times in a row, and changing only in flavor, I had to say “the curry was remarkable.”
I didn’t bathe for three days. I didn’t care. It was cold, and I didn’t stink anyways. (I swear!) When I finally did hit the showers, oh man… pasabor.
This was, yet again, a fun trip, a different one and certainly something I will never forget.
Though the campsite is called Mawarime Daira, the place is popularly known as Ogawayama; the mountain in which the campsite is located. Ogawayama, 1,570 meters above sea level, is a haven for hikers and climbers where walls and granite boulders are conveniently accessible around the campsite.
by: gringo benedicto
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Everyone on the Bacolod social register came trendy and sexy to StreetLuxe, 2008’s biggest red-carpet event, last October 15 during the MassKara Festival at Breizh. Music and fashion fused during the launching of It Magazine’s second issue when Cebu’s hip label, Rhipstop Soul, rallied the streeters and electronic-rock band, The Jerbies, called in the so-called club scene aficionados. The spindoctors of Team Deep Sphere and celebrity DJ Erwin Edralin of Manila capped the night with house music as the revelers consumed the complimentary drinks and partied with the BPE Dancers. StreetLuxe was made possible by Joel Ortega of City Trading, Jonas Salgado, and GTech Multimedia.
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It’s all in the grapevine: once North opens for a party—you have to be there! And it’s not surprising why Bacolod
takes heed every time. Last December 27, North held Phat Phryday 2, the razziest hip-hop/R&B party with DJ Ace of the Embassy Superclub. A night later on December 28, partyphiles got to revel with the best club anthems of 90’s rave in Remem-bering Upperground with DJ White, DJ Rex, and Paul MO.
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Date: Feb 14, 2008Venue: The Ruins,Talisay CityOccasion: Nene Lacson’s Valentines Birthday PartyMotif: Red and WhiteThe Bar: Patron,Moet et Chandon, Vipper, Mojito,CapirinhasThe Food: Enteng’s, Chicken House, Sweet Greens and FeliciasThe Music: Nicky Puentebella “DJ White” and Gruppo Mari Teves
What a party!!! Thanks to the rain the Red and White Party turned to a truly Wet and Wild evening... So what can I say? You shoulda been there!!!
edouard garcia,bibing villanueva and raymond javellana owner of the ruins
joe zubiri, drag queen carlos dorana, raymond fuentes and sandy daza
maripi, zeny wilson, mary tabora, nick sta.maria and lisa marcos
maurice arcache,bibingvillanueva and spitzie yunque nene with his lady friends
jad lacson, luigi and luci yunque and alana montelibano
georges, vicky zubiri, thiago, maricris zobel and gillian
eva abesamis,luci, citoy lopez, bibing and ted villanueva
eduardo “nene” lacson
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