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Top Philippine festivals you should not miss in 2015

January 2, 2015January 2, 2015 Eric Leave a comment

The year 2015 has just started and here’s a list of some of the best must-experience festivals in the country. Here they are in no particular order. Drumroll please :

Sinulog Festival

1. Sinulog (Cebu) January 18 –
undoubtedly the biggest festival of the Philippines. Experience the deep devotion of the people by attending the fluvial procession on January 17 early in the morning or rhe foot procession in the afteenoon. Highlight of the festival is rhe Street dancing competition every third Sunday of January. As of this writing 37 contingents have already signified their intention to join the competition. 10 contingents will be coming from outside of Cebu.

Contingents to watch out for are the Sinanduloy Cultural Troupe from Tangub City. The Buyogan Festival of Abuyog Leyte, Placer Masbate and the top local bet Lumad Basakanon from Basak San Nicolas Cebu City.

Dinagyang Festival

2. Dinagyang (Iloilo City) January 23-25
Dinagyang is the biggest festival and tourism event in Iloilo.
The festival has always been known for very extravagant production with overly complicated choreography and multiple costume changes. In 2013 Tribu Panayanon portrayed the folklore of rhe sea monster known as Bakunawa. Last 2014 the same tribe from Iloilo City National High school dramatized the Panay Bukidnon epic Hinilawod.

Tribu Panayanon ‘s routine centered on the adventures of three siblings Humadapnon, Dumalapdap, and Labaw Donggon. The group had larger than life props of bats depicting the uyutang. This makes you wonder what new innovation will they showcase on the fourth weekend of January.

Pahiyas Festival

3. Pahiyas (Lucban, Quezon) May15
every 15th day of May the town of Lucban in Quezon celebrates the feast of St. Isidore the Farmer with the Pahiyas festival. Pahiyas is a festival of Thanksgiving for the bountiful harvest. During this day locals deck their homes with fruits vegetables and kiping. Such adornments make each and every house in Lucban resemble a candy house. Oh it’s an open house too! This is the best time to savor lucban’s culinary pride: the longganisang Lucban and Pancit habhab.

Buyogan Festival at Pintados Kasadyaan

4. Pintados Kasadyaan (Tacloban Leyte) June 27-29
former Cebu Sinulog Champions Lingganay Festival and Buyogan Festival all came from here. Pintados Kasadyaan is the provincial festival of the province of Leyte. Highlight of the festivity is the Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals competition participated by various towns from all over Leyte former champions include rhe Alikaraw festival Pasaka Festival Lingganay and Buyogan Festival. All of them made outstanding performances at the Aliwan Fiesta National Street dancing competition.

Christmas Symbols Festival

5.Christmas Symbols Festival (Tangub City) whole month of December
December is said to be the merriest month of the year. And Tangub City some 30 minutes drive away from Ozamis City knows to the celebrate it in style. With the theme Christmas from around the world concept Tangubanons surely know how to put up installations that resemble a popular landmark. What even makes it more interesting is that they made these installations using recycled and indigenous materials like lampirong or polished Capiz shells, corn husk, corn cobs, crab shells bamboo used CD, And a lot more. It’s just amazong to see the ingenuity of the people xome ro life every December.

Aliwan Fiesta

Honorable Mention : Aliwan Fiesta (Metro Manila) April 23-25
known to be Metro Manila ‘s hottest summer event, Aliwan is a weekend rhat gathers rhe best craftsmen artisan and streedancers in a weekend of cultural extravaganza. Highlight of this three day fête is the national streedance competition where the grand winner goes home with One Million Pesos.

Aliwan Fiesta 2015 schedule

December 26, 2014December 26, 2014 Eric Leave a comment

The Philippines’ finest craftsmen artisans and the most talented streetdancers are once again expected to converge in Metro Manila in a weekend of cultural extravaganza.

The Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC) in cooperation with the cultural center of the Philippines (CCP) brings you the annual Aliwan Fiesta 2015.

Highlight of this three-day feast are the nightly shows, trade fairs, dance competitions, float parade festival queen search and the national streetdancing competition where the grand winner wins One Million Pesos.

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Last year’s winners include the Lumad Basakanon of Cebu Sinulog Festival, Meguyaya Festival of Upi Maguindanao and Tnalak festival represented by Santo Niño South Cotabato.

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Aliwan Fiesta 2015 is slated april 23-25. Streetdancing competition is scheduled April 25.

The dazzling Lights of Ligligan Parul 2014

December 9, 2014December 9, 2014 Eric Leave a comment

Every December all roads lead to San Fernando Pampanga for the annual celebration of Ligligan Parul or the Giant Lantern Festival. This yearly spectacle is attended by thousands of local and foreign tourists alike.

But behind all this glimmering lights are a dizzying web of wires and lightbulbs only a genius can understand.

And this is what we exactly discovered during a recent media familiarization tour of the Giant Lantern Festival. The tour was organized by the City Tourism Office of San Fernando and was attended by local media from Pampanga as well as media from Manila.

Early morning of December 2 i traveled from Metro Manila to San Fernando the capital of the province of Pampanga for the tour.

At around 10am we left the heroes hall and off to our first destination : Brgy Telabastagan. Telabastagan is known as last year’s champion of ligligan parul so giving me access to their closely guarded secret excites me a lot.

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Finally we arrived. Even if it’s covered with tarpaulin i can easily spot the lantern as it is soooo big! During the interview we learned that the minimum size of every parol must be no less than 20ft in diameter.

I can just imagine how can these master craftsmen create stunning visual play of lights without confusing themselves on the wires? I learned that Telabastagan uses 11,800 lightbulbs just for one lantern. According to Mr. Arnel Flores lantern designer of Telabastagan for this year, their expenses have already reached six hundred thousand pesos. They will also be using eight rotors to create the magical patterns on the lanterns.

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Rotors are barrel shaped steel connected to a power source. When a thin hairpin-like instrument touches the surface of the barrel. The light bulb goes on. To turn it off. Portions of the barrel are covered with masking tape. The rotors are said to be the brain of the most dazzling lights of San Fernando Giant Lanterns.

Its just amazing to see an entire barrel covered with masking tape and then piece by piece they are removed according to the lighting pattern or design.

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More than just the giant lanterns, we also got to tour a school where college students are busy preparing beautifully crafted lanterns using recycled materials to be used during the lantern parade one of the activities leading to the highlight of Ligligan parul.

We also visited Safer Village one of the participants for this years inter village Christmas Decor competition. I can really see the community effort in this competition. Each one is pitching in their contributions in any way. Whether its snacks for the guests or sounds for entertainment. It’s really amazing what the spirit of Christmas can bring.

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This year’s highlight of Ligligan parul is slated December 13 at the Robinsons StarMills in San Fernando Pampanga.

Mekeni, Malaus pu kayo!

Sharapova Andy Murray highlights the IPTL weekend match

December 5, 2014December 5, 2014 Eric Leave a comment

I have been playing tennis since late high school until college. I am alao hooked to watxhing tennis matches on tv, so names like Martina Hingis, Venus Williams Lindsay Davenport were not new for me.

Oftentimes i would stay up late just to watch the tournaments in Roland Garros during the French Open or at the All England Tennis Club for Wimbledon.

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And who would have ever imagined that these tennis superstars would set foot in Manila?

And just recently these tennis superpowers flew in to Manila fora weekend of amazing games.

The International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) waa held in Manila with some top players. The event was made possible by PLDT Home.

On the opening day I got to watch the matches of Goran Ivanisevic carlos Moya Maria sharapova as well as half-Pinoy Treat Huey.

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ivanisevic, the former ATP number one player is still on its top form. I can just imagine his powerful groundstrokes.

The three-day event was held at the jam packed MOA arena. Through the event many people got to know Maria sharapova and Serena Williams. I just hope too that there would be more people playing tennis.

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Many thanka to PLDT Home for the complimentary tickets.
Pleaaw follow the social media accounts of PLDT Home:

facebook.com/pldthome
twitter.com/pldthome
Instagram.com/pldthome

Bohol Travel Fair with Loboc Children’s Choir at the Glorietta

December 4, 2014December 4, 2014 Eric Leave a comment

The Philippines’ world-renowned Loboc Children’s Choir (LCC) will take center stage as Bohol launches its year-round tourism campaign at the Glorietta Mall, Makati City on Dec. 8 to 10, 2014.

Dubbed as “Visit Bohol 2015,” the campaign is aimed at re-launching Bohol as a major tourism destination. Monthly activities will be lined up for next year, including the launching of two international music festivals, international triathlon event, dive festival, new eco-tourism products and the much-awaited geo-science tours.

Next year also marks the grand homecoming of Boholanos all over the world called Tigum Bol-anon Tibuok Kalibutan, a triennial event which also coincides with the Sandugo Festival held every July.

In a statement, Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto said that “Visit Bohol 2015” is his province’s way of supporting “Visit the Philippines Year 2015” (VPY) rolled out by the Department of Tourism.

“We are very grateful to Secretary Jimenez of the DOT and its marketing arm, the Tourism Promotions Board, for their full support in the tourism recovery program of Bohol. This year has been an exciting year for Bohol and we are seeing a much revitalized tourism industry,” he said.

Aside from the Loboc Children’s Choir, The Voice Philippines talent Darryl Shy and soprano Dren Ramos will serenade mall goers. The award-winning children’s choral will perform daily at 6pm-7pm for free.

“This is our way of thanking everybody for the support they have given to Bohol in one way or another, especially during our most difficult time after last year’s earthquake. Now that we have risen above our challenges, we are inviting everyone to come to Bohol and enjoy the beauty and serenity of our province,” Chatto said.

As much as 60 percent discount in accommodation, tours and other travel essentials in Bohol will be up for grab in the three-day event. AirAsia, the world’s best low-cost airline, will also offer its lowest possible rates for tourists visiting Bohol. It flies three times daily to Bohol.

In addition to the free musical numbers and travel deals, the event will also showcase popular Boholano products.

Considered as the eco-cultural tourism capital of the Philippines, Bohol has been known for its fascinating Chocolate Hills, the pristine and white sand beaches in Panglao, and the well-loved Tarsier, considered the smallest and oldest primate in the world, as well as the relaxingly romantic Loboc River Cruise.

In promoting the province as the newest must-go tourist destination, the travel fair will also introduce other interesting spots in Bohol such as the powdery white sand beaches of Anda, the Lamanok Mystical Island which is home to captivating caves where ancient Boholanos bury their loved ones in jars, as well as Asia’s largest mangrove forest, Banacon.

The Bohol Travel Fair signals the first event gathering all stakeholders from the tourism sector in Bohol for a massive campaign to entice tourists to visit. It is part of the Bohol Tourism Action Plan developed through the collaboration of the United States Agency for International Development through its Advancing Philippine Competitiveness Project (USAID-COMPETE), the Department of Tourism (DOT), the United Nations-World Tourism Organization (UN-WTO), and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), as well as local tourism stakeholders.