The Galeón: a New Museum to rise in Manila

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The SM Group of Companies in collaboration with Museo Del Galeón, Inc. held today the ground-breaking ceremony for The Galeon, enivisioned to be a worthy addition to the community of museums, to open in late 2015.

Acapulco Galleon Museum will be a cultural facility with an 8,000 sqm. Total exhibition space, featuring a full-scale reproduction of a magnificent galleon. Unlike all other galleon reproductions attempted before in the Philippines, the new museum bases its reproduction on a very precise set of naval architectural plan published in 18th century Manila.

“What was then just an idea is now fast becoming a reality,” said Hans T. Sy, president of SM Prime Holdings, Inc. When briefed on the project, Hans T. Sy graciously offered a beachfront location in the Mall of Asia complex as the site for the museum. The support given is towards facilitating the circulation of vital knowledge of the first globalization of trade and commerce, in which the Philippines and Mexico were polar points of activity.

The Galeón will convey accurate, exciting information that will throw light on the roots of today’s banking, shipping, commerce, and cultural exchange in the Pacific region. Silver, gold, and potatoes from the Americas and wine, tools, and furniture from Europe were traded for Asian silk, spices, and ceramics in global circuits that are still used today by more than 40 modern nations.

Bronze coins were brought to Manila from Mexico and Peru for the Asian trade.

17th -18th century Bronze Cast, Signal cannon - Used to signal the sighting of ships, whether friend or foe.

The 300 year exchange produced extraordinary cultural change on both sides of the Pacific. Notably, the thousand year old tradition of boat-building in the Philippine archipelago transitioned into ship-building according to European design.

When Madame Margarita Zavala, spouse of former Mexican President Felipe Calderón, visited the Philippines in 2011, she enthusiastically endorsed the plan to build a galleon museum in Manila.

His Excellency Ambassador Julio Camarena of Mexico and Hans T. Sy initiated the ground-breaking ceremony at the Mall of Asia. Also present was Pasay City Mayor, the Honorable Antonio G. Calixto. The program featured Ms. Marian Roces, Lead Curator of TAO Inc. as the keynote speaker, and Senator Edgardo J. Angara who is also a member of Museo Del Galeón, Inc.

Upon completion, The GALEÓN will command magnificent views of the glittering Manila Bay. Construction will begin November 2014 with completion expected on the last quarter of 2015.

Free Entrance to Museum & Galleries, National Museum in Manila this October!

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To celebrate Museums and Galleries Month, these museums are opening doors for free the whole October! 

This includes all the 14 branches of National Museum and our flagship museums in Manila: the National Art Gallery (former Old Legislative Building), Museum of the Filipino People (former Old Finance Building), and National Planetarium.

For more updates visit and like https://www.facebook.com/nationalmuseumofthephilippines. 

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• P. Burgos Drive, Rizal Park
• Manila, Philippines

http://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/

The Museum of DLSU opens exhibit : “ART AND SPACE: A Collection of Design Concepts by Wili Fernandez”

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The Museum at De La Salle University opened an exhibit titled “ART AND SPACE: A Collection of Design Concepts by Wili Fernandez” on April 22.

The show is the Museum’s major exhibit for Academic Year 2013-2014 and it pays homage to its donor on the occasion of his 15th death anniversary. 

Featuring Wili’s drawings and renderings in black and white and in full-color, the collection comes from his personal collection and his former office, the Wili Fernandez and Associates Incorporated. Some of his memorabilia like design books, sketches, awards, pictures, and other personal items are also included in the exhibit. 

Wili Fernandez was an acclaimed world-class interior designer. He was among the founding members of the Philippine Institute of Interior Design.

The exhibition highlights Wili as an artist and designer who contributed in the field of interior design using inspirations from local designs and motif. The show also aims to inspire aspiring Lasallian artists and museum visitors through examples of his professional accomplishment in art, architecture, and design at the national and international levels.

The exhibition is open until August 16. The Museum is at the 2nd Level, Don Enrique Yuchengco Hall, De La Salle University, 2401 Taft Avenue, Manila. Viewing hours are from 8:00 am– 6:00 pm on weekdays and 9:00 am – 12:00 nn on Saturdays.

For more information, please contact The Museum at (+632) 526-1402 or (+632) 524-4611 local 368 or visit the website at http://themuseum.dlsu.edu.ph/.

Thanks  Ms. Lalyn Buncab, De La Salle University Office for Strategic Communications PR Coordinator Marge Liggayu and Arvin  Ello for the invitation and accomodation. 

More photos on Facebook.

Mabuhay Restop’s Manila Vanilla!

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Enjoying wonderful world to sing, dance and dine for Bayanihan with Mabuhay Restop’s Manila Vanilla! Last week, we had awesome homestyle dinner, with regional Philippine specialties and family favorites. The place is so nice and spacious venue for meetings and special occasions. People can have breakfast, lunch or dinner meetings, Filipino-Themed Children’s Parties and Family Reunions.

We enjoyed the experience of MANILA VANILLA , the Cultural Dinner Show while we having  a sumptuous Filipino buffet dinner!

MABUHAY RESTOP in Roxas Boulevard , near Manila Ocean Park, and Rizal Park, offers a unique tourism experience of the Philippines, with the Filipinos. Enjoy Filipino homesyle cooking, different Philippine regional specialities, and some family recipes and favorites with a Filipino twist. 

It is a widely known fact that Filipinos are very hospitable people, so much so that they greet guests not by asking, “Kumusta (How are you)?” but by asking, “Kumain ka na ba (Have you eaten)?” Such quirks and other peculiar Filipino traits are celebrated in Mabuhay Restop’s Manilla Vanilla--a unique musical comedy directed by Nestor U. Torre, with music composed by Ryan Cayabyab.

The show tells the story of a Filipino family as they prepare to open their home as a bed & breakfast. Served with deliciously self-deprecating humor and lighthearted song and dance numbers, the show will tickle your funny bones and serve as an enjoyable introduction to those new to Filipino culture.

Aside from a night of pop-cultural entertainment, audiences will also get to enjoy a delicious Filipino buffet of home-style dishes and different regional specialties.

Mabuhay Restop’s Manila Vanilla! stars Celine Fabie of the Ryan Cayabyab Singers and Spotlight Artist Centre's "Katy: The Musical," Astarte Abrahan of Resorts World Manila's "The Sound of Music" and Repertory Philippines' "A Portrait of the Artist as a Filipino"; singer and comedian Andy Bais; and entertainer and Gawad Kalinga volunteer Edward Fernandez.

As a museum, travel café, and social enterprise in one, Mabuhay Restop is devoted to promoting Philippine culture and heritage in creative ways while making a difference. The social enterprise has committed to give 30% of Mabuhay Restop’s net income to Gawad Kalinga, a Filipino nation-building movement dedicated to eradicating poverty and restoring human dignity through building empowered and sustainable communities

“At Mabuhay Restop, we want our guests to get to know and experience the Philippines like never before,” says owner and president Rose Cabrera, a UCLA-educated California lawyer and GK advocate. 

“We don’t just offer great food and entertainment; we also offer voluntourism tours and other avenues to provide visitors with an opportunity to create better lives for communities who need it most.”

Other attractions to its repertoire of shows, Mabuhay Restop also offers something for the kids and kids-at-heart with Mga Kwento ni Tita Beauty, also written and directed by Nestor U. Torre. A spin-off from Mga Kwento ni Lola Basyang, the show features creative and theatrical storytelling featuring 6 original Filipino and English tales imbibed with valuable moral lessons. This will be Saturdays (3pm) show and includes special Pinoy Merienda for the kids!

For a different Philippine travel experience, Mabuhay Restop offers the Voluntourism or Kalinga Tours. 

They provides visitors a totally different Philippine travel experience by taking them not just to beautiful tourist spots in Bicol, Bacolod, Palawan, and Davao, but also to several Gawad Kalinga villages, where they can experience the warmth and hospitality of the Filipinos, practice compassion in action, and understand the soul of bayanihan. 

Additionally, Mabuhay Restop also offers the Bayan Tour, a 3-hour guided and interactive tour in Rizal Park for visitors who wish to learn more about the Philippines and the Filipino. This tour features the one-of-a kinds "I am Filipino" art exhibit with 12 Filipino artists like Ugu Bigyan, Nemi Miranda, Ramon Orlina, Ryan Cayabyab, JC Buendia and Ernie Francisco, and Albert Badz Magsumbol.

 Stained glass art displayed above their buffet table

Ultimately, Mabuhay Restop aims to make a difference in the lives of Filipinos through social tourism and entrepreneurship. “We want to be able to set an example to other entrepreneurs by showing it is profitable to invest in the poor and partner with them through social enterprises.”

Let's experience the Philippines like never before by joining a KALINGA TOUR which will take you not just to Philippine tourist spots, but also to a Gawad Kalinga village where you will experience the much vaunted warmth and hospitality of the Filipino, practice compassion in action, and discover hope.

More pictures, click Here.