MOST local horror booths are funny rather than scary (or perhaps I am only trying hard to appear brave). A headless bloody man appearing out of nowhere, moaning, with his arms stretched forward is so common that it becomes hilarious after having been seen many times in many other horror houses.
Most local horror booths don’t have concrete stories. You and your friends just have make your way through a dim maze and expect an overdose of pop-up surprises and screams.
“The challenge was how to make a horror house that was not traditional” Antonio N. Abaya, Jr., the general manager of local amusement parks World of Fun, said in a mix of English and Filipino.
NICKKY FAUSTINE P. DE GUZMAN
“This is where the PETA (Philippine Educational Theater Association) comes into the picture. They are a natural partner because we share a common goal of staging ground-breaking entertainment,” he said.
This partnership resulted in the creation of Bahay Trese, the newest horror house in World of Fun at the Sta. Lucia East Mall in Cainta, Rizal. The horror house is open to the public until Jan. 17, 2016. The Cainta branch of the amusement park was chosen to host the scary attraction since it is the biggest World of Fun.
It is an immersive theatrical experience devoid of the common horror house ingredients, like a headless man, while serving shots of shock and terror.
INSPIRED BY TRUE STORIES PETA artistic director Maribel Legarda, who conceptualized and directed the attraction, said Bahay Trese was inspired by what they learned during their research.
“We Googled the Massacre of Manila, which is something I have been interested for a while. I love horror kasi, ’yung mga gulatan (those shocks),” she said, “During the Japanese occupation in 1945, there was a period of daily massacres. (The Battle for Manila ran from Feb. 3 to March 3, 1945. — Ed.) It was all recorded. But it was so weird because nothing was recorded in Feb. 13, but the massacre picked up again on the 14th until the 24th.”
This is where they got the name Bahay Trese (House 13). The number 13 is believed to be a playground of bad spirits.
“It is the premise of the whole house. It’s a ‘what if?’ What happened on Feb. 13?” she said.
IMMERSIVE THEATRICAL HORROR The experience starts with signing a waiver. “Do you have heart problems?” “Do you have asthma?” it asks. Protocol has the ushers at Bahay Trese asking the guests these questions. While it only assures one’s health condition, it also works to turn on the tension, especially if you are not scared initially. It makes you think, “Hmm… why are they asking me this? What’s inside?”
The 15-minute journey begins with a “mockumentary” explaining the story of Bahay Trese, shown in a very dark room. The script was written by PETA writers Michelle Ngu and Jmee Katanyag.
Unlike most horror booths, Bahay Trese aims to tell a concrete story, that of a doctor whose mother was driven crazy after the spirits of the victims of the Japanese rape haunted her. The doctor, his wife, children, and his lunatic mother commit suicide.
A long-haired caretaker named Mang Abe, dressed all in white, appeared out of nowhere, giving me and five other media friends a jolt. He led us through the whole house.
The home has nine chambers including a foyer, an altar room, a mad man’s laboratory, and a little girl’s bedroom, complemented with spooky atmosphere and sound effects. The set was designed by sculptor Boni Juan, the man behind Melodrama Negra and PETA’s Mga Kwento ni Lola Basyang.
The rooms can be a little too dark and too foggy at times, and like any other horror house — not to spoil anyone’s experience — visitors should be vigilant of the walls and pathways. After, all, who knows what kind of monster would appear from behind, under… or above?
The actors — students from Centro Escolar University and Polytechnic University of the Philippines who were trained by PETA — are also convincing and effective. They have their own lines, unlike in traditional horror houses where the bad spirits do not talk but mumble.
The journey ends by finding the right key — which you’ll get from a coffin — to get out.
Everything is monitored, said Mr. Abaya. In case you want to back out in the middle of the experience, the booth has two exit doors with ushers to save you.
With the air-conditioner, television, computer, electric fan, and refrigerator eternally turned on, a typical Filipino household of five members usually has a monthly electric bill of P5,000.
Students in Isla Verde Island in Batangas play under the shade of a newly installed photovoltaic/solar panel assembly, which provides much needed electricity to their classrooms — One Meralco Foundation
But not everyone pays that much.
Eugene Gonzales, 57, has been harnessing the power of the sun on his roof through solar panels. He is one of the growing number of users of solar energy in the Philippines.
Back when he lived in a 120-sqm house in UP Village, his monthly electric bill ranged from P7,000 to P8,000. Then, when he moved to a bigger house — 320 sqm. — four years ago, he installed 10 solar panels which generate 2.5 kilowatts of energy. Today his electric bill, which also covers a fish pond that needs a 24/7 energy supply, is a measly P1,000 per month.
Parañaque resident Jose Ricardo Casas, 42, has a similar story. He said he has saved thousands of pesos on his electric bill, which used to range from P5,000 to P8,000. He has installed 12 solar panels at his home which can generate three kilowatts of power, enough — sometimes more than enough — for his family’s needs.
“Aside from saving, I also sell [electricity] because I get additional credit from the surplus of energy I didn’t consume,” Mr. Gonzales toldBusinessWorld in a phone interview.
“What Meralco (Manila Electric Company) gets from me, they pay me [for],” he added.
Meralco, the biggest distributor of electricity in the Philippines, buys surplus electricity generated through solar power for P5 per kilowatt/hr.
Under Republic Act No. 9513 or the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, households using solar panels must have an arrangement called net metering, which, according to the act, “refers to a system, appropriate for distributed generation, in which a distribution grid user has a two-way connection to the grid and is only charged for his net electricity consumption and is credited for any overall contribution to the electricity grid.”
ADVANTAGES OF SOLAR PANELS Solar panels can last for up to 25 years.
“[A solar panel] is financially more viable than buying a second-hand car. I think people should grab it,” said Mr. Casas.
He bought his panels for roughly P400,000, which is expensive for an ordinary Filipino family. “But if you come to think of it, your return of investment is around five years. Lumalabas na 20 years kang makakatipid, (It comes out to 20 years of saving money),” he toldBusinessWorld in a phone interview.
It is a long-term investment, he said, because the electricity utility rate in the Philippines increases by 3% every year. The country has one of the most expensive electricity rates on the planet, joining Hawaii, Italy, Malta, Japan, Cyprus, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Singapore as the top 10 nations with the highest rates (“PH electricity rates among 10 highest in survey of 44 countries,” Interaksyon, 2012).
Aside from saving money in the long run, the user also has the psychic benefit of knowing that he is doing his part in mitigating climate change.
Don’t worry when it isn’t sunny, said Mssrs. Casas and Gonzales. Solar panels still work when it is cloudy, albeit with an 80% drop in output which means one may not longer be able to use, say, an air conditioner, which is the most energy-consuming appliance.
“Pag umuulan or walang araw, seamless, kasi automatic na kapag hindi na kaya ng solar or kapag ubos na ang na-save, automatic Meralco na,” said Mr. Gonzales. (When it is rainy or the sun is not out, it is seamless since Meralco automatically supplies electricity when your solar supply can not longer handle it or your reserves are drained.)
A household solar panel installation comes with a light emitting diode (LED) television to monitor which appliance uses the most energy, how much is left of your energy, and how much electricity the panels can produce in a day.
The two men could not think of any disadvantage of solar energy, except “dapat hindi ka na lilipat ng bahay, (you should not move house) because it is hard to uninstall,” said Mr. Casas.
DRAWBACKS TO SOLAR In a tropical country like the Philippines, it seems like common sense to exploit the power of sunlight as a sustainable energy source.
But its use is not as widespread as one would expect.
Instead, one of the country’s primary energy sources is coal, which, while cheap, is hugely damaging to the environment. Coal energy is one of the largest sources of carbon dioxide releases that fuels global warming.
It all comes down to money. After all, a solar panel setup costs around P400,000.
“Renewable is free in terms of source. But what makes it expensive is the technology,” said Climate Change Commission Secretary Lucille Sering in a meeting with BusinessWorld editors in May.
Solenergy panels at Robinsons — Solenergy
Still, there is hope as prices are falling.
“Besides Germany, what did China do? They practically brought down solar to its lowest cost,” she said. “[Today] they are one of the highest users of renewable energy in terms of quantity.”
Besides the expensive technology, Ms. Sering noted that the Philippine government has yet to take the first step in fully adopting renewable energy technologies because the data regarding the country’s power requirements remain insufficient.
The problem with the Philippines, she said, is that everybody is okay with any energy source as long as it’s affordable, despite its environmental impact. “They’re not looking at renewable energy, they just want energy at the lowest cost possible,” she said.
But then again, Ms. Sering said, “At the end of the day, it’s the willingness of the consumer to pay. [Solar energy is] already there, it wouldn’t be far [behind], given the increased purchasing power of Filipinos.”
According to Anjo Crisostomo, marketing and business development manager of Solenergy Systems Inc., “the three major hurdles [why the Philippines has not yet fully embraced the technology] are incentives, financing, and education.”
Solenergy, endorsed by the Department of Energy as a Renewable Energy systems engineering and solutions provider, has among its clients Kraft Foods (Mondelez International) in Parañaque City, International School Manila in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Rockwell Land for 8 Rockwell in Makati City, and Salamangka Beach and Dive Resort in Siquijor, among others. It also provides solar panels for some households.
“[Solar energy could] only genuinely make sense to the masses when financed over 10 years or more,” he said.
“We’d like to see more incentives for the end-user, such as zero-duty tariffs on more components and tax credits for businesses that install solar on their premises,” he added.
Mr. Crisostomo told BusinessWorld through e-mail interview that big businesses, unlike individual households, don’t need net metering, because “Commercial clients, especially in terms of an industrial scale, are big power users and normally consume all the generated power from solar. With that said, solar basically offsets a percentage of their total power load,” he said.
Solenergy installs panels depending on the client’s need. “Each kilowatt installed in Metro Manila can expect to generate up to 1,400 kilowatt hours per year. So a 10-kilowatt system, correctly installed, should yield 14,000 kilowatt hour (kWh) in its first year. If you’re able to offset P10/kWh, this translates to P140,000/year.”
Despite the difficulties, going solar could be done.
Last year, Germany — which is not exactly known for being sunny — drew over 50% of its electricity needs from solar (“Germany gets 50% of its electricity from solar for the first time,” The Week, June 20, 2014).
NO ELECTRICITY Oddly enough, going solar does not necessarily mean the production of electricity. There is, for example, a way of bringing light into dark homes, at least during the day.
The Liter of Light or Isang Litrong Liwanag project of the My Shelter Foundation, initiated by Filipino social entrepreneur Illac Diaz, uses old soft drink bottles filled with chlorine and water, which, when properly set in a roof, can provide as much light as a 55-watt bulb in a dark room. The bottles used as lightbulbs can last for three years.
Invented by Brazilian Alfred Moser, the bottles have helped to bring light to communities living without electricity. Currently, it has brightened up 28,000 homes and the lives of 70,000 people in Metro Manila alone. Today Liter of Light is present in India, Indonesia, and even Switzerland.
But sometimes, you need more than a bottle of light. While installing solar energy power in off-grid places can be expensive, some schools in far-flung areas without access to electricity — including Lake Sebu in Cotabato, the Dinagat Islands in Northern Mindanao, Isla Verde in Batangas, and Surigao del Norte — have also been lighting up. They are the beneficiaries of the solar energy project of One Meralco Foundation (OMF), the corporate social responsibility arm of Meralco.
“Launched in 2011, the program hopes to help address the problem affecting more than 5,000 remote public schools today without access to electricity. Teachers in these schools are stuck with traditional teaching methods since they could not use modern learning tools such as computers, slideshow presentations, and audio-visual materials. As a result, their students lag behind, especially in terms of information technology,” OMF President Jeffrey Tarayao. “Some schools resort to using generators, which are not only expensive but also costly to maintain and operate because they need fuel.”
To energize a school, OMF invests an estimated P750,000 to acquire and install high-output solar energy systems.
“This makes it possible for teachers in places like Kibang National High School in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato to skip traversing kilometers of dirt road uphill and downhill just to print their reports,” said Mr. Tarayao.
The foundation also donates computers and printers and other items to every school they have “solarized.”
While solar energy technology will take time (and a huge amount of money) to be mainstreamed, at least some people and institutions have started harnessing the eternal power of the sun.
A better tomorrow should start at home. In the Philippines, many young Filipino designers, students, and environmentalists are into recycling and upcycling (the process of turning trash into treasure) and consciously creating livable spaces for tomorrow.
Nippon Paint’s Young Designer Awards winners “Marikina Link”, an imagining of a futuristic city.
These young folk have a chance to show off their ideas through two recently concluded contests: the Amaia Steps Parkway Nuvali Upcycling Challenge, and the Nippon Paint Young Designer Award.
PLASTIC BOTTLES Ayala Land’s Nuvali, a sprawling 1,750 hectares of green living and working space, hosted the first Amaia Steps Parkway Nuvali Upcycling
Challenge on Oct. 25 with the hope of providing platforms for Filipino creatives to maximize their trash and turn it into treasure.
The criteria for judging include the marketability and the sustainability of the upscaled work, which is in line with Nuvali’s eco-city campaign. The 13 teams were given 24 hours to make an on-the-spot upcycled creation using plastic bottles.
Three young digital designers and graduates from the Technological University of the Philippines Manila, Danny John Kalinga, Jojean Aguilar, and Johnedel Edward Ogalesco, were declared the champions thanks to their lamp called “Bubble Corals,” inspired by bubble corals (Plerogyra sinuosa).
The lamp is made from scrap 1.5-soda bottles cut in half and put together to create a seamless ball of bottles that resembles bubble coral — or a cotton ball, a puff of cloud, or a dandelion.
“It was colored in white paint to make it simple yet modern and contemporary,” said Ms. Aguilar.
“Now that we have ideas, we want to improve (the lamp), and why not create other upcycled creations,” said Mr. Kalinga, smiling.
Their winning creation cost them less than P3,000 to make, and if they were to mass produce it, they said they would sell it at P5,000.
The trio received P100,000 for their effort.
The “Biojet” plan for a sustainable office, which is environment and people friendly.
Danilo Perez, Peter Paul Padua, and Louie Luena, whose ages range from 21 to 37, were able to make an elegant chandelier from P1,000 worth of plastic bottles and an old palanggana (a basin), that earned them the second prize in the upcycling tilt and the corresponding P50,000.
The black chandelier, with dangling bottle cap rims adding extra oomph, can fetch P3,000-P5,000 if they ever decide to mass-produce it.
“I would definitely use it at home. Anyone can do it,” said Mr. Luena.
Upcyling has always been close to Carissa Patricia E. Del Rosario’s heart, an accessory designer who works with copper wires and gemstones which she sells under the brand “The K Neutral Collection.”
“I’ve always been conscious of upcycling even before I encountered the term. When I was a kid, I used to collect tahong (mussel) shells and make them into accessories,” said the 28-year-old artist.
She took third place by using empty Mountain Dew bottles to make a table which can also be a storage chest. She screwed the scrap bottles side by side into a shape that suggests aviator sunglasses, painting some of the bottles white and leaving others untouched — the green Mountain Dew bottles suggesting the lenses of the sunglasses. The table comes with a tabletop accessory made from scrap bottle caps and wires. She spent P5,000 on the table and would, if ever, sell her creation for P8,000 to P10,000.
This is the beauty of upcycling — it preserves resources and encourages creativity, all while generating profit and making life better.
FUTURE CITY AND OFFICE The architects and interior designers of the future who participated in the recently concluded Nippon Paint Young Designer Award (NPYDA) on Oct. 21 dream of a world that is peaceful, people-friendly, and sustainable. Their wildest, yet feasible, ideas made up the blueprint of a city of tomorrow. The theme of the contest was “Design with Heart.”
Jose Augustine Ricarte, 21, a graduating Architecture student at University of Sto. Tomas (UST), imagines his future city as cultured, colorful, and interconnected. He bested nine other young designers with his entry called “Marikina Link.” His plan was chosen as the grand winner because it is sustainable and fosters a sense of community.
He said he grew up visiting Marikina and loved its floating sculptures when he was a child. “My work was inspired from the traditional Filipino fiesta, which highlights and brings a sense of community among people,” he said. In his imagined city, he incorporated lively colors (“to de-stress the people”) while promoting open spaces, like parks, for interactions like dates and picnics.
Winners of the Amaia Steps Parkway Nuvali Upcycling Challenge included a lamp and a table made from old soda bottles.
He said the state of the city today is dizzying with all the buildings and traffic gridlocks. “I wish for more open spaces in Metro Manila,” he said. He advocates wide and open spaces, like walkways, because they foster “people with culture.”
The budding architect’s ideas reflect the opinions of his elders in the profession.
Once upon a time, Manila used to have four big parks, including Harrison Park, a favorite hangout before World War II, said architect and 2015 Gawad CCP Para sa Sining awardee Paulo Alcazaren. Fast forward to 2015, where the lush greenery of yesterday has been replaced with the concrete and asphalt jungle called Metro Manila. “What happened to spaces?” he asked on his Facebook page.
At a recently concluded forum in Quezon City about “future-perfect” cities, urban planning expert Benjamin dela Peña said neither cars nor buildings should be the top priority when creating a city, but the people. “Pay attention to the living things — and not the cars and the buildings. Pay attention to humans when developing a city,” he said.
And not only cities, but offices, too.
People should be at the forefront when building office spaces.
Offices today are often crammed full and divided into cubicles. Tomorrow’s offices will be different. According to Gensler Design Forecast, a US-based integrated architecture, design, planning, and consulting firm, the HQs of tomorrow will shun cubicles and maximize spaces to encourage “interaction, collaboration, innovation, and promotion of a sense of community.”
Gensler’s forecast is reflected in the work of Martha Joyce Tomas, 19, a budding interior designer from UST who imagines the office of the future as a “living, breathing structure that blends with nature.” She won the NPYDA grand prize in the interior design category with her work, called “Biojet.” She said the Biojet office is open to provide ventilation (it doesn’t have air conditioners), provides for a minimum consumption of energy, and uses hues of nature like greens and blues. “Biojet” was inspired by Palawan, where her grandmother grew up, but the blueprint is applicable to Metro Manila, she said.
“Although easier said than done, I think the students, the youths, should strive to create a sustainable future together,” she said.
THERE ARE inevitable comparisons between the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, whose 11th iteration was held last August, and the relatively new QCinema International Film Festival, which is now on its third year. The newer film festival is ongoing until Oct. 31.
Both festivals fund films which are shown in competition each year, and both show other films outside of the competitions.
Some may argue that the Quezon City (QC) festival is larger in terms of number of theaters involved -- Cinemalaya shows its films in the Cultural Center of the Philippines venues and in Greenbelt theaters in Makati while the QC fest has enlisted the cinemas of three major malls in its area, all of which are easily accessible to the public through the MRT.
But the bigger difference may be in terms of funding.
Cinemalaya featured only short films and no full-length movies when it opened in August this year, part of a retooling which will see full-length films return next year having had more time devoted to development. There had been talk of the possibility of Quezon City taking over the slack for Cinemalaya after its long-time backer, businessman Antonio “Tonyboy” Cojuangco, stopped funding the festival last year.
Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista said he did not want to merge QCinema with Cinemalaya because “’pag minerge mo (when you merge) it will only be Cinemalaya.” He said he wants different branding for his festival.
The QC Film Development Commission was created seven years ago by Mr. Bautista, a former actor, when he was still the vice-mayor. “And now we are here,” he said. The commission was created with budding artists, writers, and directors in mind. He said the goal was to give them creative platforms.
Unlike Cinemalaya, whose financial situation always leaves it in a precarious state, the QC festival is funded through the city’s amusement tax. According to Mr. Bautista, QC collects P110 million per year from the 10% amusement tax levied on foreign and local films shown in cinemas within the city, which is dedicated to tourism and the amusement development fund. Half of the fund can be used for the year, while half is set aside. “Pataba na siya nang pataba, perpetual na siyang may pondo. (It will grow bigger and bigger, [the festival] has funds in perpetuity.) It will be managed by QC Film Development Commission and the Tourism department, among others,” he said.
BIGGER, BETTER Festival director Ed Lejano said the thrust on QCinema is diversity. “The grants we give [are big]... When they produce, [the filmmakers] own the rights. We have nothing to do with it. It is investor-friendly kaya maraming pumasok na producers (which is why many producers enter the festival). We have an exciting [lineup from] foreign to Pinoy. It is well curated and diverse,” he told BusinessWorld during the opening night on Oct. 22.
“Bigger and bolder in terms of scale and the number of films. Sana tuloy tuloy na ito (We hope this will be continuous). Quezon City needs a genuine film festival,” said Mr. Lejano.
For the Circle Competition New Filmmakers category, the festival gives a grant of P1 million each to eight aspiring directors. In this year’s Circle Competition lineup are Water Lemon by Lemuel Lorca; Kapatiran by Pepe Diokno; Iisa by Chuck Gutierrez; Patintero: Ang Alamat ni Meng Patalo by Mihk Vergara; Gayuma by Cesar Hernando; Matangtubig by Jet Leyco; Apocalypse Child by Monster Jimenez and Mario Cornejo; and Sleepless by Prime Cruz.
The festival provides a P200,000 grant for the creation of full-length documentary films in the International Documentary category. The selected finalists are: Of Cats, Dogs, Farm Animals, and Sashimi by Perry Dizon; The Crescent Rising by Sheron Dayoc; Audio Perpetuaby Universe Baldoza; Traslacion: Ang Paglakad sa Altar ng Alanganin by Will Fredo; andBingat by Choy Pangilinan, Qubry Quesada, Joolia Demigillo, and Abet Umil.
The awards night for the films in competition is on Oct. 28.
Aside from the competition films, the festival is showing more than 15 local and international films, along with digitally re-mastered iconic movies including Lualhati Bautista’s Dekada 70; Oro, Plata, Mata by Peque Gallaga; Bagong Buwan by Marilou Diaz-Abaya; and Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon? by Eddie Romero, all thanks to the partnership with ABS-CBN Film Restoration Project.
DABOY DOCUMENTARY The festival opened in Oct. 22 with the screening of The Last Pinoy Action King, a portrait film about the life and death of action star Rudy “Daboy” Fernandez. It was co-directed by Australian filmmakers Andrew Leavold and Daniel Palisa of the documentary The Search for Weng Weng.
Mr. Leavold teaches Filipino film history, while Mr. Palisa has worked on films by Filipino directors Lav Diaz and Khavn de la Cruz. They said that when the action star’s son, Rap Fernandez, proposed the documentary, they said yes right away, “because he (Mr. Fernandez) was a legend.”
“His movies reflect realities and they have a social relevance. Karamihan namamatay siya(he dies in most of them), it’s always a struggle. Unlike the formula of Fernando Poe, Jr., he (Mr. Fernandez) dies fighting for what he believes. Bida- contrabida siya. (He is an anti-hero),” said Mr. Bautista, who worked with Mr. Fernandez when they ran in the local elections of 2001.
Mr. Fernandez, who was running for mayor, did not win.
The documentary weaves together rare photos and TV guestings, movie clips, and interviews with families, friends, costars, and colleagues.
It has screenings on Oct. 28, 6 p.m., at TriNoma Cinema 1, and Oct. 30, 1 p.m., at Galleria Cinema 7,
The film festival runs until Oct. 31 at TriNoma, Gateway Mall, and Robinson’s Galleria cinemas. Students have a 20% discount.
CONCERT Harana Featuring Lani Misalucha Oct. 31 Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, Bagac, Bataan
Hotel de Oriente
What better way is there to spend the last day of October than with a weekend getaway somewhere historic, romantic, and filled with music?
On Oct. 31, Asia’s Nightingale Lani Misalucha will serenade romantic souls at the heritage resort Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bagac, Bataan, at a one-night only concert called Harana.
While Bagac is widely associated with the World War II’s Death March (you can pursue your ghost hunting adventure there if you dare), it also is home to a unique collection of historical homes and buildings, giving visitors a look at a much earlier time in the country’s history.
The 400-hectare Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar features restored original Spanish colonial buildings and bahay na bato (stone houses) (there are currently 27), were transferred, plank by plank, from their original locations aroud the country to Bataan. The resort was born from the vision of the art collector, owner, and architect Jose Rizalino Acuzar who wanted to make a life-sized replica of Spanish-era towns.
“As a heritage resort, we champion Filipino talent. Lani Misalucha is hardly here in the Philippines. People clamor for someone who they don’t see on a daily basis,” said Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar marketing director Mary Rose Razon.
Misalucha, who is now based in the US, popularized songs like “Starting Over Again,” “Bukas na Lang Kita Mamahalin,” “Tila,” and “Malaya Ka Na,” among others.
Mel Villena, renowned musician, composer, and musical director for artists like Sharon Cuneta, Pops Fernandez, and Martin Nievera, will be the concert’s musical director. The AMP band will provide musical accompaniment.
The show (with a four-course dinner) costs P10,000 per person. It may sound steep, but perhaps not, because the concert is for the benefit of Quiapo Manila Kapitbahayan sa Kalye Baustista atbp. Lugar, Inc.
Lani Misalucha
MANILA’S FIRST LUXURY HOTEL IN BATAAN The romantic harana and dinner will be held in the newly opened Hotel de Oriente. Unlike most of the structures in the heritage resort, the Hotel de Oriente is a replica of the original grand hotel — built in Binondo, Manila in 1889 — since it was destroyed in World War II. In its place today stands a commercial bank.
Thanks to surviving photographs of Manila’s first ever luxury hotel — Jose Rizal stayed in room 22 in 1892 after a trip in Hong Kong — the architects and engineers of Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar were able to copy the façade of the hotel down to its last detail.
The interior is a different matter. While its grand style matches the façade, the interiors do not match the original since it is not a hotel but is an events space.
The three-storey building is rustic yet elegant, with much wood and gold. Guests are greeted with a wood mosaic replica of Juan Luna’sSpoliarium made by local artists.
The Manila and Binondo Halls on the first floor can accommodate 1,000 guests. Among its first visitors were the international delegates from the Asia Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) in June.
The steps leading to the second floor also feature a wood mosaic highlighted with touches of gold. Look up and see a replica of a Botong Francisco painting, again, made of wood mosaic.
The third floor houses smaller function rooms named after Manila’s famous streets like Avenida and Azcarraga.
