By Berniemack Arellano, on February 21st, 2010%
 Deco's La Paz Bathoy
I haven’t eaten La Paz Batchoy since…I don’t remember. Heck, I haven’t eaten Batchoy when I went home in Iloilo just a couple of weeks ago! Although there are batchoyans here in Metro Manila, but I wanted to taste something different from the usual batchoy (yes, Lucky Me! therapy! Haha!)
I just found out that Deco’s La Paz Batchoy has opened up its first branch here in Manila…even though if the outlet has been open since last year pa! It’s located in the newly-opened Southgate Mall near Magallanes Interchange in Makati (for commuters, its the big blue building with a television on top…and its on “EDSA-Mantrade”…sabihin nyo lang sa konduktor na “Mantrade”). Continue reading Finally! I Have My Bowl of Deco’s La Paz Batchoy!
By Berniemack Arellano, on February 17th, 2010%

It was my first time I went to this festival…or fiesta. It is not the usual street dancing competition or handaan sa bahay-bahay festivities but it was a perfect way of celebrating Valentine’s Day and the Chinese New Year out of the hustle and bustle of Metro Manila. Nah, not the “Age of Aquarius” song again, but it’s “up, up and away, my beautiful, my beautiful balloon” in Clark Field in Pampanga as the people celebrate the 15th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. The feast of hot air balloons and anything aviation has been running since February 11 (Thursday) and I was just in time for the final day of the said event (Feb 14)! Hurray for Flight Sim! Continue reading Up, Up and Away! The 15th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta
By Berniemack Arellano, on February 10th, 2010%

Wow…It’s been almost two weeks since the festivities and I still can’t get over the January celebrations either. That January though, I came home for somewhat like an annual pilgrimage for myself. I couldn’t resist the temptation of those throbbing drums pounding loud and hard in this southern Philippine city every January. I’ve been with this festival since 2003, yet it never failed to amaze me as it continually innovates itself year after year it is being celebrated by the Ilonggos. Outrageous and frenzy as some say it may seem but this is Iloilo’s grandest fiesta at its finest!
It was one crisp morning of January that the city streets were starting to feel the throbbing beat of the drums, as if Iloilo City’s core was a heart. As the sun shines in this central Philippine city, the crowd gradually increased to witness and enjoy Iloilo’s grandest fiesta, the Dinagyang Festival. Now, this is the time you’ll be seeing those dancers painted in dark brown (back then it was black…welcome to the era of political correctness, hehe!) with colourful costumes and choreography so agile and fast that you shouldn’t blink during their performance! Continue reading Hala Bira To Life and Faith! Celebrating Iloilo’s Dinagyang Festival 2010
By Berniemack Arellano, on February 7th, 2010%

Valentines Day is fast approaching and so is the season of displaying love from the simplest way to the most sophisticated. Yet, are you far from your loved ones? Do you like to send them something sweet and thoughtful? Is it something that would they really appreciate and think that you care? Do you like to give them a piece of your love and passion as if you are just nearby? Well, worry no more. Island Rose keeps relationships alive by giving service to the people who would like to deliver flowers to their ones they love anywhere in the Philippines! Continue reading Send Some Bunch of Love this Valentines Season with Island Rose
By Berniemack Arellano, on February 1st, 2010%
 Tribu Kasag of Banate in Kasadyahan 2010
Magsinadya kita! That’s what we do during Dinagyang. Sadya is a Hiligaynon term meaning “happy, joy or fun.” The Dinagyang Festival street dancing starts not on the Ati-Ati competition but with the Kasadyahan Festival. Held on a Saturday before the Ati-Atihan highlight of Dinagyang, it is a cultural dance parade, contest and showcase of Iloilo’s kabanwahanan or towns and several institutions within the city and the province (and I heard it is also open to all towns in Panay Island as well!) You don’t get to see soot-covered Ati warriors dancing during Kasadyahan like what most of us know about Dinagyang though. By the beat of the music and interpretative dance, the contingents showcase a myriad of cultural topics that is incorporated in every Ilonggo, from history to current events.
Continue reading Revelry and Dance: Kasadyahan in Dinagyang Festival 2010

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