Sanyog Manapla

A GRAND SECTORAL AND CULTURAL-RICH FIESTA IN MANAPLA

 EVENT | TOWN FIESTA

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. 

 WATCH THIS VIDEO

This sectoral kind of fiesta encompasses different members of the community from the children to the youth to adults to senior citizens, women, LGBT members and more.
Geographically Manapla is beside the sea. So, the fishermen had their boat race (bangkarero). It is a salute to the fishing sector that thrives in the town. The sport lovers got to see action in the ring through boxing at the plaza, basketball league and biking events that showcased the sporting abilities of local and individuals in Negros island who were invited to join. The party lovers, meanwhile, were treated with nights of music from well-known acts, DJs and bands from Manila. 

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 

Many OFWs went to home to experience again the fun and food. Surrounding the plaza were the usual features of a festival: food park, ukay ukay tents, rides and others. On the eve of the fiesta, the Manapla National High School also spent their homecoming/reunion gathering and show at the public plaza.

TANDUAY RUM FESTIVAL (FOOD PARK WALKING TOUR and MORE)

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 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.

TREK TO MAMBUKAL RESORT'S MAGNIFICENT 7 

(Did We Reach All Seven Waterfalls?)

   NATURE WITH HIKING TIPS and VIDEO BELOW   

THE FOREST PATH TO THE WATERFALLS

Negros Occidental is home to the mystic Mt. Kanlaon and other neighboring volcanoes. In these mountain ranges, thousands of waterfalls abound. And in Mambukal Resort and Wildlife Sanctuary in Brgy. Minoyan, Murcia, you can find seven power waterfalls feeding the resorts' man-made lake and swimming pool with its cool waters. 

Hiking to these 7 falls, however, takes time, patience and energy plus a lot of safety nets should be considered as there are occasional landslides and, of course, the terrain can get  muddy and slippery on rainy season. Flashfloods are also a given phemonenon as the North Negros Forest is catch basin and can bring high levels of water. That's why the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental, the institution that owns and maintains Mambukal, closed down the hiking trail, for the meantime, for the safety of tourists. 

It is advised to do the trail during summer to avoid these muddy paths. Of course, water is much more clean and bluer. 

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.

BRIDGE OVER SERENE WATERS

Going back, we took some group and selfie photos. But, one can wonder how such picturesque place exist. There's a speechless wonderment while we were taking photos of the ecology that overpowers us. Our nature photographs and videos for MANG INTERESADO youtube channel can tell it vividly and these images included some stick insects that are seemingly saying hello to us. These little creatures are indeed amazing to look at as it blends well with the flora of the place. On top of it all, you will be awe-struck with Mother Nature's bounty: stunning scenery, clear waters, the living flora and refreshing environment.

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

LISTEN: BACOLOD MASSKARA FESTIVAL 2023 Theme Song (with lyrics)

Hear ye! It's the time of the year when,  every October, the streets of Bacolod, the capital of Negros Occidental, becomes alive again with reverie and people start to feel the happy vibes in the air during the BER Months (not becaiuse of Christmas season) but because of the Masskara themes are being displayed everywhere from malls to the streets.
Many already knew how this 3-week long festival started but for those who heard this festival for the first time, Masskara was created because of very sad events. In the 80s, Bacolod suffered many setbacks in its sugar industry thanks to the world p. That event back then caused havoc to the life of Negrenses and Bacolodnons because sugar was the lifeblood of the island. The sinking of the Negros Navigation MV Don Juan taht caused many deaths and missing people added to the injury to the economy. Thus the festival was born out of these sad events. Local artists convened to created a long-lasting event that will influence people to smile again in the midst of hardships. Smiling dancers with masks competed along the streets of the downtown area and people from all walks of life were attracted to the colorful costumes that were truly memorable, fun and creative. For years, its success gradually revitalized the economy and the spirit of Bacolodnons.  Under the leadership of Mayor Albee Benitez, MassKara came back after some years of hiatus due to the Pandemic.  On 2022, BALIK YUHUM (SMILES RETURN) becomes the battlecry theme of the post-pandemic Masskara.  
Fort the year 2023  on Mayor Albee's 2nd term, MassKara has a new theme called Sinadya sa Bacolod and it also comes with a THEME SONG performed by: Kyle Echarri, Janeena Chan and  Anthony Rosaldo . of the 2023 MASSKARA FESTIVAL (WITH LYRICS)  This is Released by Bacolod Yuhum Foundation | 

 

Mother Nature's Balance (The Elemental Machine Photomanipulation)

Model Photography, Photoshop Manipulation and concept by George Pontino Jr

Model:Apple of Manapla

Here's THE ELEMENTAL, an image inspired by the Mayan "End of the World" brouhaha which suggests that our dear Earth will face it's impending doom based on a ancient calendar the Mayan used.  But 12.21.12.  came but nothing happened. We are still here..alive and kicking. Environmental factors and ecological imbalance also inspired some of its final theme output.

This photomanipulation work doesn't reflect my usual favorite apocalyptic forces like a quakes, tsunamis, zombies and meteor showers to name a few. But this time, I like to show a thematic image of how to "Save the Earth from Doom." The image is a fantasy and mechanical theme utilizing my photography that I took of a model posing on a real machine that was used to grind sugar before the large milling companies in our islands were built.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: My photo edit connects with atomic matter, Mother Nature and its elements that are powerful symbols. This doesn't reflect the "Saving the Earth" concept directly but I wanted to portray that somewhere, somehow Mother Nature is real and she balances Earth using  her elemental machine, saving it from an impending doom. Hope you like this... (CHECK OUT THE STEP BY STEP IMAGE BELOW)

(Click to Enlarge images) 

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Tame Your Sound: Alien Invasion Photomanipulation

Photoshop Manipulation and concept by George Pontino Jr.
Model Photo Provided by the model



*See The Making below...

Tools: Photoshop CS5 I Mac OSX Lion I Wacom pen and tablet

My intro will be lesser this time for i wanted to highlight the final and behind the scenes images. This photomanipulation was borne out of a request. Thanks to Ralph Ledesma (a beatboxer) and his photo taken by Fiel Efenio that I was able to come up with another challenging yet satisfying photomanipulation that is both mysterious and cute, in a sense. Inspired by the Japanese cute culture called Kawaii and robotics, I gathered some juice of creativity for a taming scene (Think the How to Tame Your Dragon scene where the young Hiccup tamed Toothless. You get the Idea) Now, think of a robo bulldog alien that seems fierce but made of speakers and headset, but if you look closely, it is an adorable bot creature that's just want to invade our planet with its beatboxing sounds. Check out below for the step by step image

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THE MAKING...

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Pre-Nuptial Photomanipulation for Jun and Che's Wedding (A Fantasy)

Photos and Text by: George Pontino Jr.

Weddings are undeniably special. That's why it takes months to prepare a wedding. Couples encounter a massive amount of information overload and decision-making like, for example, in choosing the theme of their once-in-a-lifetime wedding day.
And for couple Jun and Che, they have chosen a fairy-tale-inspired theme and specifically that of Rapunzel. Challenging to realize bu,t of course, it has the magical and lasting appeal not only to the couples  but to the guests as well. 

BTS SCREENSHOT. One of the author's pre-nuptial 
photomanipulations for the couple

And to realize that imagined magical world, we went to a secret island -- 4 hours away from the capital city of Bacolod in the Philippines by private car and another 30-minutes by pump boat. Upon arriving, the secret island was kind of abandoned and eerie specially when night time comes though there are modern amenities that are waiting for us there for us to use as background locations. 

We had exclusive adventures that of course paved ways to great photography, videos and photomanipulation concepts.

(See our adventure in a secret island for a Pre-nuptial photo and video session)

AQUA ADVENTURE. Boat ride to the Secret island. Oh that branches are so eerie.

FANTASTIC PLACE. One of my shots of the couple. 

The secret island is really a sight to behold.

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SERENE SANDBAR. Photography and Videography sessions during sunset

(Shown are photographer Iyo Gaudite and videographer Edgar Pama)

Che, as Rapunzel, for a  photography session by the beach. 
The bride's make-up done by Carlos Durana

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