Masskara Festival - Bacolod City, The City of Smile

One of my joy trips is a very memorable– experiencing the Masskara Festival! Year 2009 I went to the City of Smile, the most festival in Bacolod City, capital city of Negros Occidental.

The City of Smiles, the Bacolod, is proud of their culture as being strong willed with a warm heart and sweet. Joyful Bacolod people from all walks of life trooping the streets in the celebration the festivities. Tourists, local and foreigners were everywhere in the streets to witness the colorful events.

You’ll see colorful – masked dancers in the street dance competition, with beautiful design mask and colorful costumes. They call this mardi-gras parade. The street dance competition was held October 16 and 17, 2009 along the streets of Araneta going to the Plaza where the finale performance was held.

We went to the San Sebastian Cathedral, just across the Plaza. Festivities are really great with food fairs, mask-making contests, brass band competitions. Well known celebrities join festivities programs. There are drinking and eating contests and many trade fairs and exhibits.

San Sebastian Cathedral

Yearly Masskara festival is celebrated every third weekend of October because , it was October 19 was the city’s charter inauguration anniversary.

This beautiful place, Bacolod, also boasts of antique houses, old churches that dates back during the Spanish time and other cultural sites. It’s really a joyful to see shops with their great products especially arts, colorful masks and paintings and many more.

 

I was really happy then, being in a wonderful beautiful place - Bacolod, the City of Smile. :)

Popular Child Stars Choose Moose Gear as Their Go-To-Brand Trendy , Top Quality Clothing

Through the years, Moose Gear has established itself as one of the trendsetters in children’s fashion.  This is due in large part to the quality of its pieces and how it has provided up-to-date designs with a wide array of selections that both moms and kids alike love.  The material Moose Gear uses are made of 100% cotton fabrics that feel good on the skin. Its collection ranges from loose shirt and polos, button down polo shirts and jackets that come in classic shades to fun shades, loose and tight-fit denim jeans, and shorts in plaid and cargo styles perfect for active boys who play a lot. Boys really need clothes that can withstand their rough and  tumble world. Clothes like Moose Gear are built for boys.

Moose Girls clothes, on the other hand, offer the latest in feminine wear.  The Moose Girl line showcases the hippest tween trends as the selection offers pieces embellished with sparkles and sequins.  These come in bright, happy colors, with top quality graphics for fashion tops, stylish shorts, leggings, pants, and skirts, which every girl want

Goin’ Bulilit regulars like Nash Aguas, Bugoy Carino, Aaron Junatas, Angelo Garcia, Izzy Canillo and Miguelito De Guzman choose Moose Gear’s clothing which is great for their active and demanding lifestyle. Xyriel Ann Manabat, Sharlene San Pedro, Mika dela Cruz and Cha Cha Canete reveal that Moose Girl clothing are their most favorite pieces.

Nash Aguas has always combined charisma with talent, even during his Star Circle Kid’s Quest days where he won the grand prize when he was 5 years old.   Today, at 12, Nash prefers skinny jeans and buttoned-down polo shirts, in his favourite colors of white, blue and green

Bugoy Carino, the prince of the dance floor, not only has the right moves but also a distinct taste for clothes. The eight-year-old Bugoy loves wearing loose pants and dons his favorite plaid shorts and hoodies for his “pamporma”

 

Chubby he may be but 12-year-old Aaron Junatas can still pull off being cute and cool. Aaron says he is happy with his loose Moose Gear shirts and polos which he wears in his sitcom and commercials.

Angelo Garcia, Izzy Canillo and Miguelito De Guzman prefer simple and casual clothing. Good thing that there are plenty of options for them from Moose Gear that can make them look trendy for their daily activity.

 

 

Xyriel Ann Manabat ,  more popularly known as Momay, but now plays a lead role in “100 Days to Heaven”, is very talented but also with a good sense of fashion.

Sharlene San Pedro is already a veteran when it comes to TV commercials and TV shows. And even as she has grown into a lovely 12-year-old, she has not changed a bit from being the ever casual Moose Girl that she has always been. “Moose Girl clothes fit her personality, and whether she goes to the church, attends school functions and TV shoots, there’s always something from their collection that she likes. She particularly likes Moose Girl’s trendy tops and stylish shorts,” Sharlene’s mom says.

An active girl who loves role playing over toys and costumes, Mika is also a favorite not only for TV roles but for commercials as well. “Mika is just full of life. She is studious and quite ambitious. She’s an obedient child too,” her sister Angelika proudly shares. At the young age of 12, Mika is already a fashionista who loves Moose Girl’s colorful leggings.

Cha Cha Canete , the cute little girl who will forever be marked as the little lass inching her way to the living room to the tune of “Bulilit sanay sa masikip,” also has a number of Moose Girl pieces in her wardrobe.

These child stars indeed love the brand and has announced this to the Moose Gear community, in the Grand Fans Day event held on July 3, 2011. Speaking of the Moose Gear online community, did you know that it has the biggest number of fanpage members for a local clothing brand on Facebook? Currently, Moose Gear’s Facebook Page boasts of 200,000 fans, which grew within a span of just one year, and it keeps on growing every day.  Those who have liked the fanpage, aside from interaction and messaging, can also get a chance to be featured in the regular Pick-of-the-Month, participate in the weekly Moose Gear Playtime, be part of the monthly birthday greetings, and other promotional activities. Moose Gear is also hoping to generate huge volume of visitors to their recently launched website, www.moosegear.com.ph, which is more than a product site but a community site for its customers.

Moose Girl is exclusively distributed at SM department stores, while Moose Gear is available at leading department stores nationwide.

 

Indulge ! (sometimes)

This is not a regular food blog ! I just wanna share something I really enjoy doing before , which is cooking !  I stopped cooking my favorite dishes when I became a working girl again October 2006. I think I also stopped liking food, since I became serious on becoming fit and slim , though i find it hard to be really slim ,  I feel I’m healthy and fit anyway.

Once , I had this feeling of , I want to eat something I really really like ! I’ve decided to go  to the market (I did not do for the longest time ). And rushed to the kitchen , joyfully prepared the shrimps and the crabs. It was fairly easy to prepare. I just stir fried them with crushed garlic and chili with a little bit of salt. and wow, I just cooked the best dish for my family!

My Garlic Shrimp and Crabs 

It never fails , good food really is one of the world’s greatest pleasures! We enjoyed our lunch , experience every bite of it, and really indulge in what they say “ a forbidden food!” I told them it’s not bad to indulge , sometimes.  Well, I think I’ll cooked another special dish next time.  Chow!

Visit to Barasoain Church, Malolos Bulacan

Everytime my birthday comes, I always grant myself a special wish. I always wish to go to a  popular  or  special place,  and make my thankful  and prayer to a solemn blessed church. So last year , I have celebrated my birthday and visited a beautiful church in Malolos Bulacan.

Barasoain Church is also known as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish. It has been called “The Cradle of Democracy in the East.”

Barasoain Church has been considered as the Philippines' most historic church. It is one of the most religious building in our country. It is a Roman Catholic church built in 1630 in Malolos City Bulacan. It is the site of the First Philippine Republic. This church served as the session hall of Malolos Congress, the first congress in the Philippines held in September 15, 1898.

One historical event was happened when the former President Joseph Estrada vowed his oath of presidency in 1998 at the altar of the church, causing him to be the only president who took his oath in Malolos, the same as Emilio Aguinaldo did.

I have read that Barasoain Church is frequently visited by most Filipinos and even foreigners from different sides of the country. And because of its popularity and old age,  many people would plan to celebrate exciting beautiful wedding, baptism, first communion and other religious activities in this church. 

The monument of Emilio Aguinaldo in front of the church. General Aguinaldo established the Malolos Republic (The First Philippine Republic) in the Barasoain Church in the year 1899

A historical marker

I always see the image of the church before when I have a ten-peso Philippine bill together with an image of Apolinario Mabini. And at present, it is in the front side of 200-peso bill.

Post Reunion Random Thoughts

As far as I remember , after graduating from high school , I haven’t seen many of my classmates and batchmates for 30 years, except of course for some  who became my college class/schoolmates. But then even they, after college, we separated ways.

At first I thought reunions of good old friends here in today’s social network sites  like facebook , friendster (!) is fine enough. But I decided to come to this reunion in January , with excitement, and curiosity. It’s not a very formal reunion anyway. Just a get together sort of our batch.  I was excited to see my old friends, my classmates, clubmates , bandmates  and all.  Curious to see familiar faces and see how they all  have turned out after so many years! I have a good memory of people and events. I am a nostalgic sort of a person. It’s so fun to reminisce things over and over again! Sometimes I think I’m stuck in my childhood.  I think a part of me never grew up.

  

The night was so good, the organizers did a great job. Some of our teachers also showed up. There was a buffet dinner, cocktails, a video presentation of old pictures, a very lively program , games, great speeches. There was also a silent moment of prayer while pictures of  batchmates who died are being shown.

Picture takings are  everywhere as some do  table hopping to greet batchmates of familiar faces. It’s a joy to recognize people immediately and see they looked better than before. Even more joyful when they recognized you at once and tell you haven’t change a bit !  My closest friends’ private joke was , “Oh my, so I looked this matured 30 years back then!! Ha ha ha.”

After the program, and more picture takings, music of 80’s were played and people danced as if they were on their JS prom!  T’was really good to be young again! Some just enjoyed watching. What a night ! It ended with see you soon, see you in fb, email me, call me, text me farewells.

Everyone seemed to be pleased to see each other.  But just one  night of catching up of three decades of being apart wasn’t enough. Almost every group went separately,  in different places, bars , restaurants , or in our case, we went to one of  our classmates’ condominium unit in Makati to cap the night with more stories and plans of more reunions. That was Saturday night , ended until the morning , lunchtime of Sunday!

I’m so glad I went to that evening of celebration of our youth and adulthood, a night of fun and surprises . And yes, it will never stop, as more batchmates and classmates are suddenly coming out to join us. Oh well, reunions and re discovering of people…really never stops, never stops adding color to what we call  Life!