Emong Borlongan 20 years retrospective exhibit

with Emong and Plet at the opening, his self portrait behind

What a show! Congratulations Emong on your first twenty years retrospective "In City and Country (1992-2012)" at  the Ayala Museum.

44 paintings, each has a story to tell. If you sit down with him, he'll tell you the story and inspiration behind each painting.  For instance, the 1992 'Birheng Walang Dambana'  (Virgin without an altar) is about his friend whose girlfriend ditched him for a rich guy. He found an apt title from Victor Wood's song of the same title.

The 1994 painting "Lumang Litrato" which has never been exhibited before, is about a newly widowed elderly man whom he met and shared with him that he misses his wife.

Birheng Walang Dambana, 1992

Lumang Littrato (1994)

Emong's tatay with his  eacher 

The title of the show "In City and Country"  best describes the source of inspiration of his works - basically, the people that surround him and the hustle and bustle of his milieu. I was able to witness his genius [and also Plet's] from 1998 to 2002 when they were still living in the City, in Nueve de Pebrero in Mandaluyong where he grew up; and from 2002 to now, in Zambales, in the farm of Plet's family.

He said in an interview about his art "The human figure continues to be the focus of my works. The sound and fury of Manila street scenes have been the fitting accompaniment to the figures that graced my works throughout the years."

Self portrati in ID Picture (1995)  

Driver's Lounge (2011)

San Miguel Fluvial Parade (2010)

Of his life in Zambales, he said "I paint in a studio in the middle of a mango farm surrounded by the sound of a sometimes wailing sea and the chirping of the birds. My immediate environment within the home and in the outskirts of the farm presents an engaging scenario of various characters that I have mingled with. Not to mention my exposure to all my brother-in-law's pupils...There are religious rituals that give pomp and circumstance to the practice of the faith. And of course, there is the sea, a character in itself, that is sometimes disconcerting when my wife worries about "imagined tsumanis in her head" but is a refreshing blue field of delight on hot summer days."

Time flies by so fast. I remember meeting Emong for the first time in 1996. I was watching the concert of the Bolipata brothers in Sta. Ana Park and Plet introduced him to me. I was actually wondering what she was doing in Manila. The last time I saw her, she was happily studying at The Arts Student League and helping out as a paralegal in New York. She said she waiting for her US working visa.

the painting that started it all, Gabay (1994)

The following year in April, Plet was still in town. She invited me to CASA San Miguel, the arts center her brother Coke built in their farm, to join the 2nd Pundaquit Earth Day Festival. Both she and Emong were commissioned by Coke to do a mural. Both were holed up in Zambales as artists-in-residence. Plet's mural was to grace the entrance foyer while Emong's 13 x 18 feet mural was the centerpiece of the Ramon Corpus Concert Hall.

I can't forget that weekend. That Friday evening before heading out to Zambales, Plet was in tears because the star of the festival had an emergency and backed out. That meant, CASA didn't have a folk-rock concert to cap the festival. We found out that Joey Ayala was having a concert in Ayala and rushed to him. Plet, usually shy, gathered her wits and all thick-skinned, walked up to Joey after his performance. He must have sympathized with Plet who was still in tears because the next day, he showed up with his band in CASA.

So, the festival was a success... and the rest is history as the saying goes. By the way, Plet did get her visa, nonetheless stayed on. Of their first meeting, Emong said -

Emong's "In City and Country" exhibit will be on view until April 6, 2014. Don't miss it!

N.B. here's a painting of one of our dinners in Nueve de Pebrero (not exhibited, owner: Arthur).

Casa San Miguel's 20th Pundaquit Season

An uncanny photo of Coke, he is indeed an angel of San Antonio

I love going to Zambales to visit ever creative Plet Bolipata in her farm. This is where she and her husband hied off in 2002 and established a home, in her family's mango orchard in San Antonio, Zambales.

The visit was a double treat - first to attend the opening of the 20th season of Casa San Miguel's annual Pundaquit festival dubbed "Pamana" and second,  to get a sneak peak of Plet's video "Manet of My Dreams". Note that she is currently taking a film course in Casa under the tutelage of Ruelo Zendo.

Mind you, the day was packed with several openings! First was the opening of the Museum of  Community Heritage at the third floor of Casa San Miguel.

Plet (in yellow) with her hubby Emong,  sister Non and pumpkins

Honestly, I am amazed by the constant transformation of Casa. It has completely changed since I first stepped foot way back in 1993. The ground floor now has  a restaurant called "Backstage Cafe" and the garden has a Bed and Breakfast. The third floor has been transformed into a museum to celebrate the history and culture of the town.

Currently on exhibit are: the wrap-around mural by local artist Zaniel Mariano, gigantic mobiles by Don Salubayba depicting sea creatures based on folk tales of Treasure of the Sea, a porcelain and earthenware collection salvaged from shipwrecks in the area, Nico Sepe's photographs of the fisherfolk community complemented by early 1900 black and white photographs of American anthropologist William Allen Reed  of indigenous aetas, bamboo poles with peepholes to view 1905 photos by a Mr. Damind and  videos of resident artists Ruel Lozendo and Geby Concepcion.

Nico Sepe's works

inside photos taken by Darmind in 1905 as part of a report by Allan Reed, and videos by resident artists Ruel Lozendo and Geby Concepcion

mobiles of sea creatures by  Don Saluyba

Good to see Amadis and Rome Jorge

Jazel Kristin

Next was the opening of multi-media artist and media practitioner,  Jazel Kristin's exhibit at the Siemen's Gallery called "I consume therefore I am."

Fresh from her artist-residency in Paris, Jazel's works are made up of cut-up images of food she's eaten and enjoyed in the different cities she's been in such as Paris, Baguio and Manila. She chose to mount these works on raw wooden chopping boards that "allowed her to cut,paint, gild, burn and destroy them to her heart's content."

"So I ask you, what consumes you" by Jazel Kristin, mixed media, 2012.

"Everything I touch turns into gold", mixed media, 2012.

After the exhibit, we were ushered to Ramon L. Corpus hall to listen to the Pundaquit Virtousi's concert. Coke opened the program with a solo violin performance. The "Pamana" video was shown. This is a  UNESCO  project promoting the Philippines' five world heritage sites, original music by Coke and the text  by award winning poet Vim Nadera.

Setting up the sneak preview of "Manet of my dreams"

The concert was followed by a dinner (more like a feast of local bests) at the Backstage Cafe and performance by the folk dancers from the local community under the direction of Manolito Basillo.
During dinner, we hurried to Plet's to watch her short film.

The Pundaquit Festival is an annual community program of Casa San Miguel to develop the local fishing community through various programs including long and short term residencies for visiting artists, performances, workshops and exhibits.  The Festival will run until May with different exhibits and Saturday performance. For more info, visit www.casasanmiguelph.com.

Schedule:
Feb 9 - Geric Cruz's 'I Feel Safe' here exhibit, 'Next Wave' featuring shorts by Film students Plet bolipata, Glenn dela Cruz and Henessy Casiano.
March 16 - Foundation Day and Brendale Tadeo exhibit
March 29 - Seven Last Words of Christ and Geloy Concepcion's exhibit
April 26 - Conference for Art Educators
May 11 - Aviva Lerer's exhibit and Kianne Esteban's recital
May 19 - Karlo Gatus' exhibit
May 20 - Gab Mendoza's recital

P.S. For those who want to spend a weekend at Casa, check out their bed and breakfast. It has five airconditioned guest rooms with ensuite bathrooms. Do book really early since the rooms fill up fast especially during the festival season. Also, if you are a surfer, bring your surf board and hit the waves in Pundaquit, a 15-min walk from Casa.

Easter boot camp in Zambales

Yep, this easter we - the running girls Bettina, Ninfa, Raeanna, moi plus Ricky SB - headed off to Zambales for a boot camp training of sorts. Originally, the trip was intended to check out the course in Subic before joining the triathalon sprint event this May. But with the new Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), we decided to trek Pinatubo, and then the plan expanded to include a bike to Pundaquit and then a swim in the new Anwaya Cove where the water is cleaner than Subic Bay.
First day trek to Pinatubo. We left Subic at 6:30am and drove an hour and a half (only 20 min via SCTEX to Clark) to Pinatubo Spa Town (or known as PST) in Barangay Sta. Juliana, in Capas, Tarlac. There are no signs to PST which is located inside a military facility. We booked our 'skyway' tour, a shorter route to the crater lake, with Jovi Balbiro (contact # 0928 781-3556). Our P1750 per pax included two 4x4 jeeps, a guide, a hearty lunch and all the fees. The 4x4 ride was about an hour drive into lahar country, crossing river beds and up a narrow pathway to the 'skyway' parking. From there, its NOT a 40-min trek to the lake; more like an hour. The path starts with a steep incline, downhill then a trek along the river filled with rocks and boulders. There is a stairway leading up to the summit. The view was awesome. It brought me back to its eruption in June 1991, diving in Anilao where the whole place was covered with 3-5in ash and the water was emerald green, about 1-ft viz underwater.... We headed back down at noon. We were lucky that it was unexpectedly cool. The path was shady with lots of fern foliage. At the PST, we enjoyed a relaxing 1.5 hour shiatsu-swedish massage and facial while Rae tried the volcanic ash treatment where she was buried neck down in ash.
Second day bike and concert in Casa San Miguel. We ran 8km in Binictican (Subic) first. On the way to San Antonio, there were lots of pentinents on the road- either flagellating (whipping their raw backs) or carrying a cross - so the 45-min drive took us more than an hour. Our host, artist Plet Bolipata-Borlongan, who now resides with her husband Emong in Casa, set us up in her art studio and served us a yummy seafood fare - seaweed salad, kilawin, crabs, pinakbet and fresh mangoes from her family's orchard. After lunch, we biked first to Pundaquit (Capones beach) then to San Marcelino or a total of 30.43-kms. We made it back in time to shower and listen to the string concert of Haydn's seven last words by the Pundaquit Virtousi. (Note that Casa has a concert every Saturday at 6pm).
Third day swim in Anwaya Cove, a 45-min drive from Subic to Morong, Bataan. Again, the day started with an 8-km run in Binictican before heading out. Anwaya is the new resort project of Ayala Corp. We swam around the outer permiter of the bay.
Last day bike around Subic. We wanted to try out the sprint's course from the boardwalk to Ocean Adventure. However, after driving thru the hilly slopes, we opted for the easy course from Bettina's house in Binictican to the airport. Unfotunately, we walked half-way uphill back home and Bettina called for her driver. So, I guess this means, we're not yet ready to do the sprint this May or even the Triathalon in Bali this July... maybe do another boot camp next month again in Subic?