Lifestyle

MUSHU REVISITED

Entrenched in the deep recesses of my foodie mind are the good times with friends and guests. Lovely times with friends. But it is mostly memories with guests from outside Bacolod that I had just toured around Negros. They who were taken by the sights of our province. As if the visuals were not enough, […]

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Lifestyle

Si Peque Gallaga ang Busalian

I learned a new word on the night of February 18, 2020.  “Busalian” is a good Hiligaynon word to memorize because it means “a famous, charming, enchanting, spell-binding man who possesses power and influence over others”.  No doubt, Negrense Maurice “Peque” Gallaga is a busalian and his influence is wide as his followers are plentiful.  […]

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Lifestyle

Saob Cave Weaves its Magic Mats

The ominous rainy weather and dreary atmosphere when I was in Basey, Samar was nothing as long as I could get the chance to watch women in Basey’s Saob Cave weave their magic mats just as their mothers did before them.  I crossed the San Juanico Bridge from Leyte with Irene Magallon (Sta. Barbara’s Tourism […]

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Lifestyle

The Ancient Filipinos in China

They say that most Filipinos have Chinese blood.  As for me, I really wouldn’t know unless I have my DNA tested.  My only claim to Chinese ancestry is through Padre Mariano Gomez of Gomburza who was of Filipino-Chinese-Spanish ancestry and who is included among the Chinoys of Bahay Tsinoy in Intramuros.  The good padre was […]

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Lifestyle

Happy 86th Birthday to you, Sir Ramon Hofilena!

I’m going to take an irreverent stance toward Ramon Hofilena, he who resides famously in the Manuel Hofilena Ancestral House in Silay that claims to be the first ancestral house in the city that opened to the public as a museum.  Why not?  I have been the butt of his enduring insult all these years […]

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Lifestyle

Old Houses: Negros

When I was taking guests around one huge ancestral house in Negros, I told a lady guest that I have been inside this 1890’s mansion several times but had not experienced anything supernatural.  We were on the ground floor at the patio where the horses’ stables used to be.  This woman was gifted with the […]

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Lifestyle

Hiligaynon as Spoken and Written by Chona Gosiaoco

Let’s talk about Hiligaynon, the lilting language spoken by inhabitants of Negros Occidental and the provinces of Panay Island, and even in Romblon, Masbate and Palawan. Forget about baybayin and let us Negrenses and Ilonggos first master Hiligaynon, alternately termed “Ilonggo” the latter referring to Iloilo culture and people. The Hiligaynon language never fails to […]

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Lifestyle

Unmasking Bacolod City’s Mask-maker Jojo Vito

To mention “Bacolod City” is to mention the Masskara Festival;to mention the Masskara Festival includes the masks of Jojo Vito in one breath. Meet Jojo Vito, entrepreneur, artist, college professor, management consultant, travel enthusiast and multi-awarded blogger, also known as the man behind the Jojo Vito Designs Gallery.  If his face is familiar, it’s because […]

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Lifestyle

Blogging for an Ex-Deal: A Rant

We lifestyle bloggers have it so good. We get to try out a new restaurant; we travel free of charge; we spend the night in posh hotels; we lounge around by the pool like a beauty pageant candidate; we shoot a photo here and there, here and there, like we have all the time and […]

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