Visita Iglesia in Iloilo

 

As the province of Iloilo was considered an important province during the Spanish Colonial Era, beautiful old world architecture can be seen all around. One example is the many Spanish colonial churches found scattered in the province. Almost all towns in the province boast of a Spanish colonial church. Most if not all are restored to their original designs.

If you are in Iloilo during the Semana Santa (Holy Week) or Cuaresma (Lent), go on a Visita Iglesia (church visit) pilgrimage. Visita Iglesia is a tradition practiced by the early Christians where they visit the 7 great basilicas in Rome for the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament during Maundy Thursday. (Source: The Catholic Herald). This practice was passed on by the Spanish Colonizers to the Filipinos.

In recent time, Filipino Catholic faithfuls would visit either 7 (2 stations per church) or 14 churches (1 station per church) to pray the Via Crucis (Stations of the Cross).

 

 

Here are just some of the churches you can visit when you are in Iloilo:

 

Southern Iloilo

San Jose
- San Jose Church
- exterior: Byzantine & Neoclassic
- built in 1873

 

 

Molo
- Parish of St. Anne
- exterior: Gothic Renaissance
- interior: Gothic & Romanesque
- built in 1831

 

 

Jaro
- Cathedral of Notre Dame du Bougies (Our Lady of Candles)
- exterior: Baroque, Gothic and Neoclassic
- interior: Baroque
- built in 1870

 

 

Jaro
- St. Joseph Church

 

 

Eastern Iloilo

Lapaz
- Parish of our Lady of Peace & Good Voyage
- exterior: neo-classical

 

 

Arevalo
- Sto. Nino de Arevalo Parish

 

 

Northern Iloilo

Jaro
- San Agustin High School Church

 

 

Pavia
- Parish of Santa Monica
-  exterior: Byzantine
- finished in 1899

 

 

Sta. Barbara
- Santa Barbara Church and Convent
- exterior: baroque, Renaissance
- built in 1855 and was finished in 1878

 

 

Cabatuan
- San Nicholas de Tolentino Church
-  exterior: Tuscan in style
- built in 1833 and was finished in 1866

 

 

Janiuay
- Parish of St. Joseph & Cemetery
- exterior: Neoclassic, byzantine
- interior: Tuscanic and Doric order.
- finished in the late 1800's

 

 

Lambunao
- Parish of San Nicholas de Tolentino
- exterioir: Tuscan
- interior: Doric
- constructed in 1880 and finished in 1890

 

 

Calinog
- Parish of La Immaculada Concepcion
- exterior: Baroque
- built in 1874

 

 

 

 

Photo Wednesday: ’tis the Season of Lent

In the spirit of the holy week, here is Kahlil Gibran on Prayer.

Then a priestess said, Speak to us of Prayer.
And he answered, saying:


You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.

For what is prayer but the expansion of yourself into the living ether?
And if it is your comfort to pour your darkness into space, it is for your delight to pour forth the dawning of your heart.
And if you cannot but weep when your soul summons you to prayer, she should spur you again and yet again, though weeping, until you shall come laughing.
When you pray you rise to meet in the air those who are praying at that very hour, and whom save in prayer you may not meet.
Therefore let your visit to that temple invisible be for naught but ecstasy and sweet communion.
For if you should enter the temple for no other purpose than asking you shall not receive:
And if you should enter into it to humble yourself you shall not be lifted:
Or even if you should enter into it to beg for the good of others you shall not be heard.
It is enough that you enter the temple invisible.

I cannot teach you how to pray in words.
God listens not to your words save when He Himself utters them through your lips.
And I cannot teach you the prayer of the seas and the forests and the mountains.
But you who are born of the mountains and the forests and the seas can find their prayer in your heart,
And if you but listen in the stillness of the night you shall hear them saying in silence,
"Our God, who art our winged self, it is thy will in us that willeth.
It is thy desire in us that desireth.
It is thy urge in us that would turn our nights, which are thine, into days which are thine also.
We cannot ask thee for aught, for thou knowest our needs before they are born in us:
Thou art our need; and in giving us more of thyself thou givest us all."

 

(Photo: Binondo Church, 2010)

Skyline: New York, NY

The city of superlatives. When asked to describe NY, one cannot help but use every superlative in the dictionary. It is big - the largest city in the US. It has the most number of high-rise buildings in America - second in the World. It is exciting - tagged as the "City that never sleeps." It is the capital of business - home to Wall Street. It sets the trend in fashion - host of the Fashion Week. The list goes on. Clearly, New York City is so much more than its skyscrapers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

La Mesa Eco Park: A Forest in the City

 

Inside the La Mesa Watershed and Eco Park is a dam and an ecological reservation site. It is a haven for nature lovers and even those just seeking a different environment in the middle of the crowded and highly-urbanized Manila. Trees are bountiful and grasses are green.  

 

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="363" caption="en route to the eco park"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1582" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="Playground for kids"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1598" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="the pathway"][/caption]

 

Many locals head to this place to take a dip in the only salt-water swimming pool in the city (said to be healthier than chlorine-treated pools) or just to spend time with their families over barbecue. The park does not restrict bringing of food. In fact, cooking and grilling areas are available for their convenience.  

 

[caption id="attachment_1583" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="Rest Areas"][/caption]

 

There are even pavilions avaliable for corporate functions or parties. Because of the contrasting environment inside the park as opposed to the urban scene of the metro, many couples choose to have their pre-nuptial pictures taken there with the greenery as their backdrop.  

 

[caption id="attachment_1579" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="water lilies"][/caption]

 

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="Neptune"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1588" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="Fish pond"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1587" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="Fish pond"][/caption]

 

For the active ones, the park has several recreational activities to shoo away boredom. There are areas devoted especially for boating, fishing, wall-climbing, biking, zip line, and paint ball games.  

 

[caption id="attachment_1580" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="Fishing Area"][/caption]

 

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="Monkey bars"][/caption]

 

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="Boating Area"][/caption]

 

The La Mesa dam supplies most of the water supply of Metro Manila. You have to go up this steps to get a glimpse of the watershed.  

 

[caption id="attachment_1581" align="aligncenter" width="363" caption="en route to the dam"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1584" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="La Mesa Dam"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1586" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="birds eye view of the park"][/caption]

 

To get there, take a shuttle service (FX, van, etc.) bound for Fairview, Quezon City from Taft Avenue. You will know when you are near when you have already passed by UP Diliman, Sandiganbayan, and finally the Fairview market. Get off at Wilson Street and take an East Fairview tricycle to take you inside the park.

 

 

La Mesa Watershed & Eco Park
East Fairview Quezon City
tel. no: 632-4109670
website: www.lamesaecopark.com  

   

Operating Hours:
8am to 5pm daily  

Entrance Fee:  

Non-Quezon City residents - Php 40
QC residents - Php 20
Senior Citizens - Free  

Swimming Pool Fee:  

Adults - Php 60
Kids - Php 30

 

 

Photo Wednesday: Before & After

 Irony is just honesty with the volume cranked up.
- George Saunders

 

I do not have a degree in art or anything close to it, but I know how to appreciate beauty. Museums have a lot of those. Whenever I go to museums, however, I sometimes get distracted and admittedly get fascinated by the people looking at the works of art hanging on the gallery walls more than the works of art themselves. Looking back, I now regret not taking a picture of a painting by the masters Van Gough, Monet, etc. Ironic, I know.

Irony is all around us. Candid photos taken in museums for instance sort of capture the other side of museums: informal, as opposed to what most people usually perceive of it. There is a bit of irony in the idea of looking at people looking at a picture, as you are looking at this picture. Get it? Maybe the volume is too cranked up, lower it and read again. lol

 

 

 

(Photo: At the Art Institute of Chicago, 2005)

*** I emailed the Art Institute and learned that the painting is called "The Fountain, Villa Torlonia, Frascati, Itlay, 1907" by John Singer Sargent. Click here to know more about the work.

What’s the fuss about Tagaytay Highlands

See Tagaytay in a new light in The Highlands. Tagaytay Highlands is an exclusive country club located fifty five kilometers away from Manila. Tagaytay is the choice weekend getaway among tourists and locals alike because of its cool climate,  nice view of Taal Lake and Taal Volcano in Batangas, and proximity to Manila (just 1 and a half hours away). Because of this, it is no wonder that Tagaytay is starting to get crowded.   

Where better to enjoy the cool climate of the Tagaytay Ridges, than in a scenice and peaceful place that is The Tagaytay Highlands. As I said earlier, it is an exclusive club. (read: membership only access country club). Hence, you should either go there with a member, bring with you an invitation from one, or pretend to be interested in acquiring a share there. So, what's the fuss about the place? I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. 

 

[caption id="attachment_1502" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="en route"][/caption]

  

[caption id="attachment_1503" align="aligncenter" width="484" caption="view of midland"][/caption]

  

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="view of the condominiums"][/caption]

  

[caption id="attachment_1524" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="the country club"][/caption]

  

[caption id="attachment_1521" align="aligncenter" width="491" caption="view of the horizon"][/caption]

 

How to get to Tagaytay:

from Taft Ave. & EDSA right below MRT Taft station/LRT EDSA station
- catch a shuttle service (vans, FX, V-Hires) at the basement of Metropoint Mall or BLTB or Crow Transit Buses accessible from the said stations bound for Tagaytay, or 

from Buendia near LRT Buendia Station
- - hop on a shuttle service (vans, FX, V-Hires) in front of EGI Mall (Jollibee) at the corner of Taft Avenue and Buendia going to Nasugbu, Balayan and Lemery, Batangas and get off at Tagaytay, or catch a JAM Transit Bus going to Balayan, Batangas, and Lemery and get off at Tagaytay. 

 

 

 

Skyline: Chicago, IL

 

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which destroyed one-third of the city was one of the worst disaster in 19th century U.S.A. The quote "Fire is the test of gold; adversity, of strong men" by Martha Graham held true for Chicago during that time. Rather than dampen the spirit of Chicagoans, it spurred the city to get back to its feet and literally transformed it into one of the most populous and economically important American cities.

One of the unique trait of the city's scape is that most of its high-rise buildings are found near the lake. This was all part of Daniel Burnham's "Plan of Chicago." The name may sound familiar with Filipinos. This is because his city planning projects did not stop at Chicago. He was commissioned to make the Plan of Manila and Baguio in the Philippines. His plan for Manila was ignored, except for Roxas Boulevard, but he was successful with Baguio. He laid the the plan for the city of Baguio, hence Burnham Park.

 

view from the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum

 

view from the Shedd Aquarium

 

view from the John Hancock Center Observatory

 

 

 

 

view from Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower)

 

 

Photo Wednesday: Grandparents' Stardust

 

 

Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do.
Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children.
- Alex Haley

 

 Unknowingly, our grandparents influence us one way or another.  For those of us whose grandparents were physically there for us, they could mean supporter, role model, mentor, playmates, or travel buddies. For those geographically impossible to be together, emotional presence is just the same significant.

My grandfather was my travel buddy when I was younger. I remember how my cousins and I  would make a bee line towards his car whenever he would go visit the farm. It is too bad that we didn't have pictures from all those little field trips. I am definitely a recipient of those stardusts.

The same is true with my niece. On one of her regular check ups, my niece who was 4 years old at that time told her doctor, "My problem is that my mama and papa are going home to the Philippines." aaaw.

 

 (Photo: Central Park, NY, 2005)

Skyline: Kansas City, MO

 

With art deeply rooted in its past, it is not surprising that Kansas City's landscape is striking. Nicknamed as the "City of Fountains," KC boasts of over 200 fountains, claiming to have the second most in the world with Rome as the first. It has also earned the moniker "Paris of the Plains" because of its wide boulevards, beautiful parks, interesting architecture, and countless jazz clubs and gambling halls. Not surprisingly, it has produced the following notable Kansas Citians: Harry Truman, Amelia Earhart, Walt Disney, Ernest Hemingway, Joyce Hall (Hallmark), Kate Spade, Eminem, David Cook, and Melissa Etheridge.