HAVE YOU BEEN TO ZAMBALES?

Up, Up And Away!!!!!





"Hurry Up Guys, We Only Have A Few Minutes Left...."





The 29th Mango Festival.....






Fixing The Decor.....






The Municipal Hall.....






The Start Of The Street Dance And Parade.....






















One of NAYON's past supporters recently had an ex-deal offer that the club could not refuse. He was thinking of promoting Zambales as a tourist attraction and wanted the club to photograph the picturesque spots with the photos to be used as advertising materials to promote its tourism program. In return, board, lodging and transport shall be sponsored by our benefactor. The task shall take five days and people who can go on a moments notice will be the ones to go. And the lucky ones were Boyet, Peter, Buboy, Bless and me. Club president Gigi actually was supposed to go to Pangasinan for a business matter but we brainwashed her to proceed first to Zambales and join us in the shoot even for a day.

I've been to Iba, Zambales before, but that was ages ago. It was during my cousin, Manong Elmer's wedding to his wife (until now) Manang Sandra, since she was from Zambales. I can't remember details of that event other than most of my cousin's relatives in Ilocos Sur made the trip. Oh, I also recall my Aunt Veron being one of the principal sponsors during the wedding.

The province is actually known for its sweet mangoes. In fact, the province celebrated its 29th Mango Festival last April 23 until April 26, 2008. As with other festivals, the province has week long activities to commemorate the event.

I traveled with Bless (we were the only females, hence I rode in her car) and the men travelled in Peter's car. We arrived at Iba, Zambales town proper a few hours before noon. Our host, ex-Mayor Jun Farin briefed us about the day's activities while we had lunch. At 12 noon, we were about to proceed back to the town plaza when out of nowhere, it rained quite hard! The winds were strong, it blew off the tents of the participants of the fair and tore of the banderitas hanged near the municipal building. As soon as the rain stopped at 3 pm, the crew immediately repaired everything and the street dance started at 3:30 pm. That goes to show that for the people of Zambales, in times of bad weather, the show must go on.

WHO WATCHED THE OPENING?

John asked me to shoot the opening night since most of the members were still at work with opening night being a Friday. I didn't mind though since I was free and I wanted to watch the musical once again.

Rem Zamora and Ayam Barredo asked me to take photos of guests in front of a tarpaulin made and placed in the lobby of Greenbelt Cinema One. The funny thing was that I consider myself as someone who knows, not personally of course, the movers and shakers of the city. But when seen up close, I had a hard time pointing out who's who. Huh!?! So much for my perceived ability.

John and Boyet eventually showed up and were the ones who pointed out people to me! These guys are really "showbiz" people in their own right. John knows the movers in the upper echelons of Philippine society (the perk of being a bank manager) while Boyet has his connections with the "pangmasa" artistas (he claims most of them come from his home turf of Malabon). Now how can I compete with those two?

In the end, one person I didn't expect to see that night really made my job worthwhile. Just when the play was midway through the first act, a woman running towards the door and opens it arrives breathlessly and asks "Am I late?" As I looked up, I realized that Lea Salonga was actually talking to me! I then replied "Not that much, just by 15 minutes." She then greeted some Repertory staff and made her way inside the theater, seated among her ex-Repertory colleagues. I didn't even know she was in the country at that time! I may have failed to watch Lea in "Miss Saigon" and "Les Miserables" before but this incident trumps the past failures, ten fold!

REP AT THE ALTAR.....

The Club Members' Selected Shots.....






NAYON Group Photo With Repertory's Rem Zamora.....






The Souvenir Program.....






Presenting the Altar Boyz.....



























The Men and Women Of Repertory Philippines.....







For this summer's Repertory Philippines' show, they shall be performing a musical called "Altar Boyz". I was not familiar with this musical at all. But after watching the dress rehearsal as some club members took pictures for their souvenir program, I have grown to love the musical. The musical is all about a Christian boy band composed of five boys namely Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan and Abraham trying to save the world, one screaming fan at a time. As a Christian boy band their mission is to reduce the number of troubled souls to zero. Problems arise when the group goes to New York and the boys succumb to their respective frailties. Will that dampen their faith in God?

I love the musical! With songs such as "Jesus Called Me On My Cell Phone", how can it go wrong? It also is fast paced and hilarious considering its theme. Those in the cast for this Philippine production of this award winning play are PJ Valerio, Red Concepcion, Reuben Uy, Chevy Mercado and Reb Atadero playing Matthew, Mark, Luke, Abraham and Juan respectively. The musical was written by Kevin Del Aguila and its composers were Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker. The local production was directed by Chari Arespacochaga.

ONE SUNNY DAY.....

Reflective Surface......






Manila Skyline In Black And White.....





Manila Sunset.....











Manila Yachts.....











Right after my photo club's monthly meeting for this month, we noticed the sunny weather outside. And the surprising thing was that the meeting finished on schedule which was 5:30 pm. Rarely does this happen to us since most meetings extend beyond that time. Enjoying the weather outside, some of us went to Harbor Square beside the CCP complex to shoot. Some of us were able to bring our cameras while most of us did not. My mate Bless even asked to have an OTS using camera phones! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Unlucky for her, I brought my camera with me so I was one of those who was able to take decent pictures during this sunny day.

As soon as the sun went down, we decided to have dinner in one of the restaurants in the square which had a second floor. Boyet had his laptop with him for the tabulation of scores during the club's monthly photo contest. But the highlight of the gathering was the video showing from him. What was the movie showing all about? Secret!!!!

WELCOME BACK ......

"Miss Ko 'To!.....Yummy!!!!!"





"Ninang Bea, I'm getting tired!"





Glad And Cousin Bea.....





"My New Anime Hairdo....."





My Grown Up Niece.....






It was great to see my brother and my niece once again. Time moved fast and before I knew it, two years have passed and it was time for them to come home for a vacation. It seems that my niece had a hand in their return as she repeatedly told her parents that she missed the Philippines and wanted to come home. Her parents then decided to schedule their vacation at the time her elder sister Germie graduated from college.

My brother seemed to have gained weight. And his first request to me was to take him to Jollibee (which started to open 24 hours) and buy him his favorite burger, The Champ! I could not refuse his request so we sneaked out of their house to the burger joint and ate burgers and fries. I just have to remind my brother to watch his weight and his health in general for the sake of my niece. I pray that he eventually heeds my call.

My niece has really grown! She added a few inches to her height and is now reaching my shoulder. She is fast becoming a young adult and with her height, she can be mistaken as one. And the most amazing thing is her diction when speaking in English. She sound like my Fil-Am nieces and nephews! My brother has asked me to speak to her in Pilipino while she's here, reasoning that he does not want her to forget how to speak our native language. But there are moments where I fail to do so, since I want to hear a glimpse of her ability. I used to be her teacher when it came to her schoolwork particularly in her English subject. Hearing her now does instill a sense of pride in me considering her enormous improvement. God Bless You, Glad and Ading.