Ten local shorts filmmakers compete
Bacolod Film Festival Boosts
Local Creative Economy
(BACOLOD FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS NIGHT RESULTS BELOW)
Filmmaking
Ten local shorts filmmakers compete
Bacolod Film Festival Boosts
Local Creative Economy
(BACOLOD FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS NIGHT RESULTS BELOW)
Filmmaking
Buri Road (GM Cordova Avenue):
From a Lonely Path to a site of Vibrant Progress
LIFESTYLE
To many Bacolodnons, Brgy, Mandalagan's famous Buri Road in the 90s was a dark, secluded and lonely road. The only thing that comes to mind about this less known path is that it's a shortcut point to the Lady of Mercy Hospital and Eroreco subd or to the Circumferential Road that also connects to Brgy. Bata. Buri Road was known also for being the road to one of Bacolod's elite subdivisions, the Mountain View Subdivision.
At night, nobody seemed to dare to pass by this area unless it's an emergency situation or if you live within the area.
Pinoys Celebrate BER Months:
Jose Mari Chan Memes, Jollibee Kiddie Meal Collection, Mall Dancing Lights, Christmas Decoration Hunting and More
SEASONAL
It is time of the year when everything becomes colorful, full of excitement and a meme-filled fun!
Well, in the Philippines, the last day of August means the eve for BER Months. This modern celebration is a traditional expansion or evolution of Christmas where in Filipino Christians get to celebrate the season as early as September. Why it's called Ber Months? Well,it's actually an imaginative wordplay made by someone that spread to the Filipino lingo. All months from September leading to Christmas Eve on December has BER letters at its end.
But new fun practices emerged from this contemporary tradition. Usually, on August 31, or even early as July, fun memes of Jose Mari Chan, a popular Filipino producer/composer/singer turned businessman, spreadlike wildfire to Social Media. The memes are teasers and reminders that BER Months are coming.
These meme ideas were based from another Ber Months tradition that have been practiced ever since. As early as August 31, we get to hear Christmas Music or Paskong Pinoy OPM sounds like Jose Mari Chan's Christmas in our Hearts and Perfect Christmas being blasted from loudspeakers in malls, jeepneys (modern transport buses), parks, resorts or in homes. On the foreign side, Maria Carey's I'll be Home for Christmas also is dominating yuletide playlists after playlist in the streaming platforms like in many Spotify, Amazon Music or YouTube Music in this time of year.
Paskong Pinoy is a different cultural heritage based on Western Christmas celebration and Spanish traditions but with twist of barrio style fiesta.
WATCH THIS VIDEO
Christmas Lights Extravaganza
Malls in the Philippines becomes more festive and colorful in BER Months, blasting Christmas OPM and Traditional Xmas music:
Decoration Hunting
Decors you might need this coming Christmas/BER Monts fro your house or office
(for members of Landers Superstore):
Working in Bacolod BUT there are POWER OUTAGES! INTERNET PROBLEMS!
Well, a trip to a CoWorking Space is the Answer
When the Negros Electric and Power Corp. (NEPC) took over CENECO, Bacolod's long-time electric company, many feared that the joint venture would cause more problems just like what happened with the consolidation of Primewater with BACIWA, the water provider of the city. NEPC, on the other hand, promised fewer brownouts or unannounced power outages when they took over until...
August became a fateful month for many consumers when, according to NEPC-CENECO, the 13-year-old transformer of the Alijis substation caused 7 Feeders to fail. It was beyond repair and needed a new one. This event took NEPC's engineers by surprise. It caused a massive blackout in many areas of Bacolod especially down South, affecting a lot of consumers whose businesses and lifestyles rely on electricity.
One of the consumer sectors affected a lot is the WFH or Virtual Assistant (VA) workers who relied heavily on steady power at home. Also, without power, internet connection is cut off. Trouble is no longer a friend to these people who have overseas bosses to report to.
ARENDO CoWorking's Website: https://arendo.com.ph/
FOLLOW ARENDO CoWorking's Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ArendoCoworking
A GRAND SECTORAL AND CULTURAL-RICH FIESTA IN MANAPLA
In Manapla, a town one-hour drive from Bacolod going to North of Negros, August is the most exciting, colorful, and vibrant month of the year. It's aside from the BER months which Manapla also celebrates with glee.
And why August? The town's patron saint St. Roch's, feast falls on August 16 and in lieu with this Manaplahanons get to celebrate their annual fiesta that now goes beyond religious practices but also now commemorates culture, heritage and living legacies.
Manapla's fiesta has evolved into a more modern approach but with focus on on the livelihood of the people like farming, fishing, puto making, dinuguan cooking, art and more.
Innovation has changed how Manaplahanons celebrate fiesta. Powerful sound systems, music sync to hi-tech lights and large LED monitors don the stage. However, the heart of the festivity is more than just these innovative visuals. Under the leadership of Mayor Escalante, councilors and municipal staff, they opted a different approach. A myriad of activities were lined up for different sectors of the municipality.
The local artists were also given a platform to showcase their raw talents through an art competition which, again, is a success as the artworks were so done well. The LGBT+ community of Manapla had their fun evening by showcasing costumes inspired by the products of Manapla.
On the last day of the the 154th Manang Pula Festival, despite some setbacks like an occasional brownout and rain, the events were resounding success. Merrymakers were treated to a thousand free Manapla puto and a bowl of dinuguan cuisine. There was happiness and fun! It was an infectious fun! It was evident in the vigor and smiles of participants of the puto cooking and dinuguan contest as well as in the participants of the Manang Pula dance showdown which had 12 entries from different barangays. The dancers and prop people braved the heat to perform in the street and arena dance competitions. The performance and the announcement of the results were shot live in social media through influencers Arkipila Go, Couple Feet and I Love Manapla.
HERE ARE THE RESULTS:
Street Dance Competition
2nd Prize - Brgy Purisima
1st prize - Brgy. 1A
Champion - Brgy 1
SPECIAL AWARDS:
Most Disciplined Tribe - Brgy. Punta Mesa
Best in Costume Design - Brgy. San Pablo
Best in Manang Pula in Character - Brgy. 2-A
Best Bernardo in Character - Brgy 1-A
Best in Production Design - Brgy. Punta Salong
Best in Choreography - Brgy 1 A
Best in Arena Dance Competition
2nd Place - Brgy. Punta Mesa
1st Place - Brgy. San Pablo
Champion - Brgy. 1-A
TANDUAY RUM FESTIVAL
FOOD TRIP AT THE PARK
Go eat! Go drink! Go Drunk! Go Enjoy! But don't sin!
The Tanduay Bacolod Rum Festival is a merriment that targets not only rum aficionados but also the entire family who want to take a respite and break from life's monotony away from home. Despite the event's title, the Rum Festival actually is a merriment that also targets everyone. The food park Bacolod City Government Center is the hub of the festivity.
During this time, different street food kiosks are lined up to tame everyone's gastronomic demands.
Name it and you have the famous Bacolod Chicken Inasal leading the array of grilled cuisines. With hotdogs to isaw to pork bbq and more, unli rice is up for grabs as well as free soup to complement them. While those who love
talaba (oysters) so much , won't be disappointed as kiosks have those fresh ones, too. Right there and then, after you choose what you desire, it's up for waiting and grilling time before the eating begiins. Well, as the song goes, smoke gets in your eyes, literally.
Two giant balloon replicas of Tanduay bottles were installed and lighted up at the BCGC park grounds while barrels of the famous rum maker adorned the Bacolod letters icon. At the entrance of the food park, there's an Instagrammable wall that greets everyone. The wall is painted with a visual story about Filipino and Bacolod culture, focusing on bayanihan, blue collar job employees seemingly preparing and sharing food and, well, drinking a beverage (which we assume is Tanduay).
Meanwhile, walking around the food park, you get to meet some pretty Tanduay promo models in their red and white dress, duo musicians who plays pop and classic music, friendly security people, and ukay ukay sellers. Of course, as the name suggests, you get to see bartenders inviting you to taste their mixes of alcohol drinks (not for free).
The Bacolod Rum Festival started in 2019 and returned after the pandemic in 2022. Usual activities include, Rum Barrel Painting contest, Flairtending & Mixology Competition, Rum Education Day (Field Trips to Tanduay plant in bacolod), Culinaria Competition, Parade and Street Dance Competition, Motorcade of Tanduay's Ambassadors and Special Guests, Food Park, Music Festival and it usually culminates with a free concert at the BCGC grounds like Ely Buendia of Eraserheads who performed on August 19, 2023. For year 2023, Juan Karlos and Allmost Music will sing their hearts out LIVE at the BCGC where the Rum Festival food park is located.
WATCH THIS VIDEO FEATURE
As you can see in the video above, we only reached the 3rd falls as we were saving our energy back to the main resort plus for another adventure to Don Salvador Benedicto in the afternoon. We ate a light breakfast at the resort before we trekked so it gave a extra jolt for our us to walk around the forest. The stairs to the 2nd falls was so steep and slippery, you need more energy to go up safely. The 3rd waterfalls was even more challenging to reach. The sheer power of the falls blow off the dew drops to the stairs, making it slippery.
Indeed, hiking to these natural wonders is worth it.
HIKING TIPS
If you have the energy, determination and passion to hike to these 7 falls, we have some tips for you to keep in mind:
1. You need to ask for a personal guide (comes with a fee)
2. You have to list your full names on a manifest at the gate
3. If you hike in groups, you need to check each other
4. Wear non-slippery shoes (hiking shoes are ideal). Don't wear slippers
5. Watch out for falling rocks
6. Be aware of the cliffs and zigzaging pathway (you might fall down if you don't check the mountainside pathway
7. Wear comfortable shorts
8. Bring canteen of container of water
9. Careful in moving up the steep cemented stairs to the other falls
10. Don't throw garbage in the forest. Take pictures only
11. Appreciate nature but don't disturb their habitats
12. Just in case, put some sunscreen and anti-mosquito lotion
13. During rainy season, be careful as the water stream is stronger and deadly
14. When hiking avoid making pranks and jokes
15. Watch out for venomous snakes
16. Don't eat too much before hiking
17. Bring first aid kit
18. Bring some reflective materials for easy detection (you can this when get stranded or lost in the forest.
19. Don't cook, don't smoke or bring materials that can cause fire in the forest
20. Always Remember: Safety First! (Hold on to Railings, Don't Run, Don't Jump esp on wet stones, Walk slowly in slippery cliffs and don't swim during a rainy day (Flashflood might be happen)
LONG EXPOSURE SHOT MAKES WATERFALL PHOTOS MAGICAL
TANDUAY RUM FESTIVAL FOOD TRIP AT THE PARK EVENT | 9 DAY CITY FESTIVAL Go eat! Go drink! Go Drunk! Go Enjoy! But don't sin! The Ta...