5 de Noviembre: Today in Negros History

5 de Noviembre has become more than just a date. It has become a street, a landmark, a celebration of Negros' independence from Spanish rule in 1898.

Negros revolutionary troops led by Aniceto Lacson and Nicolas Golez from the north of Bacolod City (Silay City), and Juan Araneta from the south (Bago City), overcame the Spaniards by tricking them into thinking that they were outnumbered by a large number of rebels with a surprisingly large artillery. It turned out that the guns and cannons were just decoys, defronded coconut palm branches and rolled up amakan mats painted pitch black to look like firearms from a distance.

The ruse was successful as to win the province's independence, celebrated today, November 5, 2009.

12th Adobo Festival in Silay City

For 12 years, the Adobo Festival in Silay City has grown into a major tourist activity in the Paris of Negros.

Locals as well as foreign visitors flock into Balay Negrense along 5 de Noviembre Street, Silay City, to savor the many kinds of adobo Negrense cooks had to offer.

Lunch al fresco under giant foliage of ancient trees was the order of the day. Aside from culinary art, several artworks by Negrense artists stimulate the visual palate as well.



Ian Valladarez and his wire sculpture.



Me and my still life artworks in acrylic and oil pastel.



Bea Mocorro and her oil pastel "pinakas" (pi-NAH-kas) or dried fish.

Waxworks 2009: A Negros Museum Presentation Featuring Kilometrahe Trese

This year's Waxworks presented by the Negros Museum in Bacolod City is getting bigger and bigger, attracting more crowds that makes a Bacolod Halloween incomplete without getting "waxed".

Now in its fifth year, The Performance Laboratory's Waxworks halloween interactive exhibit features Visayan/Negrense folklore such as the agta (black ink), a creature of darkness; the kama^-kama^, the Pinoy version of a small creature of the dwarf family; the babaylan, a priestess/quack doctor; and many other interesting creepy characters in a guided tour to the seven themed chambers of the museum.

Kilometrahe Trese, or Kilometer 13, has become a Bacolod landmark that has earned its fame because of a local manughilot or one who practices quack medicine by accupressure accompanied with esoteric rituals and strange prayers. It also earned notoriety for having many road mishaps, coincidence or not.

The show opened on October 26 and many locals as well as tourists have come to experience the thrilling performances in the 15-minute tour. Not to be outdone, I brought along my four girls on its last day, Halloween night. A fabled white lady dressed in wedding gown bathed in white light greets incoming visitors.

My dad, already in his seventies, decided to just wait outside, feeling more scared of getting crushed than by getting scared of the actors.

Luckily, we were batch number 14 and not the dreaded number 13 as the show's Kilometer 13 theme. We waited at the holding area where three other scary creatures, one a headless mannequin, conditioned the audience for a spooky visual treat. While waiting, some had henna tattoo by an artist.

A costumed guide led us into the dark chamber and the group began to scream and shout, just for the fun of shrieking. However, a mother carrying three little children (one was still months old), backed out, probably scared that her kids might fall ill due to fear.

All the tugging and pulling and pushing within the group of around 20 screaming people is enough to scare me with the thought of a stampede. When we finally got out, me and the girls sustained a few damages: Jo-an's flip-flop strap broke, and my newly purchased Havaianas got stuck in the mud at the museum outer back court.

The horrific visual performance though artistic did not quite connect to the Kilometer 13 theme. Probably this was a different Kilometer 13, a fictional one.

Still it was a fun family treat, a first for my three girls. We then went to have dinner, happily discussing our recent not-so-spooky adventure over dinner at a nearby restaurant, the kids learning for the first time to eat Chinese food with chopsticks.

Now I feel waxed.

Wax Works 2009 at Negros Museum: My Personal Notes

Wax Works, now on its 5th year, used to go unnoticed despite the fact that I just work at the next building.

The first time I was an unwilling guest and if not for the 5 complimentary tickets I was given, I didn't come then dragging along the only other willing companion, my family. That was three years ago.

Since then it has become a yearly tradition with my daughter always egging me to to, curious to know what could be this year's theme.

And so we went, bringing along my three adopted girls for their first time horror room treat. The thought of them being scared out of their wits was amusing enough as we remembered how they screamed in terror as they were being wounded up the ferris wheel a few months ago. It wasn't a nice first time experience in all their 12, 13, and 14 years respectively.

But I also assured them that the scary figures they will be seeing are just humans dressed and made up for halloween. As an example, they also donned themselves in scary clothes and makeup a few days before and had fun scaring each other.

Perhaps this is the reason why the show is more of an interactive thrilling performance show than a terror-filled trip, to avoid any untoward events such as costumed actors ending up being beaten by visitors.

For my seventy year old father who's more concerned of being crushed by freaked out teenagers, he opted to stay outside and waited after our 15-minute horror trip was over.

He just had his picture taken with his granddaughter beside a mannequin costumed as a white lady bathed in white light. At the holding area, while waiting for our turn, the girls also had their pictures taken with headless or horribly dressed mannequins.

An unsmiling guide led us in a maze of several chambers of different ghastly themes. As usual, the squeezing and pulling and screaming of the 20 or so bunch against each was more terrifying than the costumed actors. Only a mother with two toddlers and a baby backed out as it was too much for the little ones.

Thankful for the general patronage scare, my girls came out unscathed except for a broken slipper, and proud to say that the show wasn't scary after all.

Adobo Festival 2009 at Balay Negrense, Silay City

It's going to be another Adobo Festival at Balay Negrense in Silay City on November 5, 2009. This day also marks Negros' independence from Spanish rule in 1898.

History tells us that the revolution led by Aniceto Lacson and Nicolas Golez coming from the north of Bacolod City (Silay City), and Juan Araneta from the south (Bago City), won in an overwhelming victory over the Spaniards.

Thus the celebration capitals of Negros Day are in Silay and Bago Cities.

The Balay Negrense Museum in Silay will again hold it's annual celebration with a cooking contest for its Adobo Festival. In connection with this, there will be a kitchen art exhibit by various Negrense artists.

Everybody is welcome to join the celebration.

Bacolod City Mayor Bing Leonardia Caricature

Bacolod City Mayor Bing Leonardia is easy to caricature because of his prominent facial features. The first thing you will remember about him is his bushy eyebrows and matching moustache. You can actually throw in any cartoon eyes, nose, and mouth into his round face and brush up hair and presto, you get a Bing Leonardia caricature.
















Inspired by making political cartoons, I tried my hand on Noynoy Aquino whose long face and expanding forehead is quite easy to associate with the presidentiable. Just add eyeglasses to his kind eyes and thick-lip smile. A trademark black shirt and a laban sign will make an excellent image recall.

Masks of Bacolod MassKara 2009

These are some of the masks of Bacolod MassKara 2009 that caught my camera's attention.

Most of the colorful masks are made of local indigenous materials fashioned into frilly festive faces, visual adjectives of the Bacoleno spirit.