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The Blind Songbird

Bernadette "Bernah" Navarro, whose native talents were first discovered at the age of three, is a truly promising performer who can inspire and entertain her audience despite her poor eyesight.

When she was born, doctors diagnosed her that she would become totally blind. But her mother had seen a vision in her dream that her child would not live her life totally blind. She sought a doctor for a second opinion and after a series of tests, Bernah's left eye showed signs that it could see, but her right eye will remain blind. A year after, she had a left eye surgery. This spared her from a world of total darkness.

Growing up just like any people with imperfections, she was not exempted from being teased, whether directly or indirectly.

But she proved that she couldn't be let down by winning in singing contests, beating other children who were born without any disability.

Soon, she got enrolled in a special school for the visually impaired where she was treated, respected, and her talents fully recognized, thanks to the sponsorship which came from Monet Silvestre, voice coach and musician, among others.

One of her blind teachers, Mrs. Lopez, has "seen" the artist in her when she heard her sing for the first time, the nationalistic song, "Inang Bayan".

Her passion for music and zeal to perform was highly recognized, opening opportunities for her to sing and dance in big events. Because of this, she was dubbed, The Songbird of Philippine National School for the Blind.

Her dance teacher, Gloria Jamandre, said that aside from doing broadway, Berna could also do ballroom dancing and be a bamboo clapper in Tinikling.

A positive outlook in her life and her creative visualization let her achieve her dreams.

"Mahilig ako sa music at mag-imagine. Sa umaga, ang parati kong ginagawa ay linisin ang kwarto at ini-imagine ko na studio ang kwartong iyon. Tapos, magpapatugtog ako ng music at sumasabay ako sa pagkanta", Bernah said.

Her next step is to pursue an educational scholarship from a foundation so she could enter college and take up a course in Music. She dreamed of teaching music after getting a successful career in musical performance.

Truly, Berna's story is an inspiration for all to be brave in the face of adversity. One's imperfection is not a hindrance to become an achiever.

The Making of a Nipa Cottage

Aling Esperanza Gonzales is the owner of a Nipa cottage family business in Taytay, Rizal for 5 years. She is a native of Pangasinan whose relatives make a living by making nipa houses. She and some of her relatives moved to Taytay, Rizal to start the nipa cottage and furniture making business. Most of her clients were resort owners and residents who have a large space for their gardens.

The nipa cottage business of Mrs. Gonzales is currently located in Highway 2000 in Taytay, Rizal but the materials used in making nipa cottages like bamboo usually comes from Baras or Tanay in Rizal, while thatched nipa palm leaves or pawid comes from Pangasinan.

How a Nipa cottage is made:

Four bamboo poles and coco lumber are used to erect the framework of the cottage. Bamboo poles function as pillars while coco lumber is used as joists to support the flooring, sitting area and upper support of the structure. The outer skins of bamboos have to be removed manually by the use of bolo.



Next, bamboo slats are laid over and nailed to the coco lumber joists to serve as the floor and place for sitting.



Wider bamboo slats are nailed and cut with a saw to cover the joists of the upper framework.



Next, the pyramidal roof framework is constructed out of bamboo.



Walls are made by nailing bamboo slats on two long bamboo poles. The bamboo walls are attached between the bamboo pillars of the body framework. The slats are also added to cover the lower part of the structure.





Next, dried Nipa palm thatch panels were laid by overlapping them on the roof framework.




The nipa cottage is now built completely with a door optionally added.  A net covers the roof and the black designs are applied by creatively burning some parts of the bamboo. The last step is varnishing.









This homey cottage takes a week to build by one or two persons. Ordinary cottages cost from twelve to twenty five thousand pesos while cottages with a room may cost forty to fifty thousand pesos.

The Philippine Toy Convention of 2014

Here comes the Queen, the sexy soldiers, nostalgic sound and Victorian era.

 

When it's not Halloween and I see young people wearing superhero costumes or dressed up as Anime characters carrying huge, improvised weapons at the food court or just simply strolling within the mall premises, chances are, there is an ongoing convention - a toy convention. 

 

I was right. The biggest annual gathering of toy collectors, cosplayers, and J-pop and Anime fanatics happened just recently at Megatrade Halls 1-3 in SM Megamall.

Goods being sold varied, which include action figures and busts from famous movies like Marvel and Star Wars; Japanese and Korean inspired dolls; apparel and accessories; comic books; and many others.

 

But Toycon was not set up for kids only. Grown-ups who attended may not just be into collecting toys that reminded them of their happy childhood memories. They may be eyeing on hot cosplayers as well.

 

The last day of the convention was also jam-packed.

 

Both experienced and first-time cosplayers displayed their elaborate costumes. Band groups showed their talents at the convention.

 

 

The Cosplay Queen

Alodia Gosiengfiao, the Cosplay Queen, was present at the toy convention to celebrate her 10th year anniversary as a cosplayer. She wore a long black gown with a horned headpiece - almost looking like another version of Maleficent on the last day of the convention.

 

 

People gathered around her booth just take a picture of her. Marshalls were there to stop the crowd from entering. However, one could get a fansign and selfie of her and her sister Ashley if a 500-peso worth of Alodia's merchandise was bought. 

 

Ms. Mariglor, her mother, said that Alodia designed her black gown and the headpiece years before the movie Maleficent came out.

 

Even the stuff being sold at her booth were all designed by her - bags, t-shirts, and posters. Necklaces  were made by Ashley.

 

Alodia had skillfully designed and created all of her weapons and costumes since she started cosplaying. She rose to fame after winning in a cosplay convention in 2003. Since then, she cosplayed different Anime, movie and video game characters with Ashley and got featured on magazines. She had endorsed several products on television as well. 

 

When her schedule is busy, she collaborates with a couturier to tailor the costume she has designed.

 

Currently, Alodia has a two-year contract in Japan to do endorsements, recordings and collaboration with an apparel manufacturer. In August, she'll be having a fashion show to launch her teens apparel. She goes back and forth to Japan every two weeks. 

 

Ashley, who used to cosplay, is currently into performing with her band Midnight Meetings. They'll be having an album launching very soon.

 

 

Cosplay Evolution

Nowadays, cosplayers dress up not only because of anime and manga fanaticism. Portraying the characters of Playstation games, action figures and trending Japanese fashion could also catch attention. 

 

Some female cosplayers wear as little clothing as possible, depicting their fave Anime or video game badass characters. 

 

 

This year's group cosplay winner was the Hyper Dimension Neptunia group composed of three members - Black Heart, Nepgear and a yellow villain. When I asked why they chose the popular Playstation 3 game characters for cosplay, Kristine Joy (dressed up as Black Heart) said, "Sa tingin kasi namin, astig siya, hindi pa siya common na nako-cosplay... ang pangit naman kasi kapag parang may kaparehas ka na gumagala din."

 

 

While some are willing to spend money just to perfect their costumes, others used their resourcefulness and creativity just to be able produce elaborate and highly fashionable attire.

 

Couples Galileo and Jinky bought their coats and cutsews from an ukay-ukay store while their accessories were either owned or bought at a minimal price. Jinky used her creativity by sewing laces to her skirt and bag. Galileo had to dye his hair to match the plastic red rose he brought with him.

 

 

And voila! They had become the Lolita fashion cosplayers for the first time. 

 

Lolita fashion is a trending Japanese street fashion inspired by the Rococo and Victorian-era clothing.

 

 

Shinkan Band

Toycon wouldn't be livelier without a band performance. 

 

Shinkan, an amateur band group of five members brought so much nostalgia to the crowd of toy enthusiasts and Anime fanatics when they performed Yuzurenai Negai, the opening theme song of a popular Anime series, Magic Knight Rayearth. 

 

An electrifying rush of the 90's child memories were felt by those who have heard it, awakening their enthusiasm. Some went jumping to the beat of the nostalgic music.

 

The band was led by its vocalist, Ivy. Other members include guitarists Marlowe, Jolo and Icel, and drummer Kajo. Last year, they have won awards at the Best of Anime and Ozine Fest.

 

 

With all these facets, Toycon can be described too as a gathering of performance artists - cosplayers and musicians. Before the year ends, there will be another toy convention. Fun for the kids and kids-at-heart never stops here.

The Dance of the Nine Maidens

Despite Makati being a modern and highly-urbanized city, it has preserved a tradition that is passed on from generation to generation since the Spanish era - a tradition known as Bailes de los Arcos (Dance of the Arches) or Panatang Sayaw.

Bailes de los Arcos is performed on two consecutive feast days - The Feast of the patron saints Peter and Paul (June 29) and Virgen de la Rosa (June 30) at the plaza of Barangay Poblacion in front of the 17th-century church of Makati.

The dance ritual, which is performed for two hours, has three parts: the diccho or chanting of prayers by each dancer or "mananayaw";

trono or singing of prayers accompanied by the orchestra; and baile which means dance.

Two dances were performed, one with arcos (arches) and other one with castanets.

 Nine maidens aged 14 years old and above are chosen to be trained as dancers. They must be devotees of Saints Peter and Paul and the Virgin Mary, and can sing high notes.

The most important qualification however, is to be in a state of virginity for the dance is an offering to the Virgen de la Rosa.

Their mothers, grandmothers, and even their grandmothers' mothers were once the virgin dancers.

Devotees strictly choose maidens who wish to be part of the dance.

The old folks of the Poblacion believe that a storm will happen on the day of the feast if one of the dancers lied about being a virgin.

 

Panata

Some of the dancers dance for several years because it is their "panata".

When a virgin dancer's wish has come true after the "Panatang Sayaw", she may leave the group if she wants to.

The longest-tenured dancer remaining becomes the Capitana or the leader.

The Panatang Sayaw tradition is preserved with the help of the 74-year old Erlinda Atilon-Reyes, a former mananayaw and Capitana. According to her, she taught the dance ritual she learned from her ancestors to the next batches of dancers.

Now that she is getting older and weaker, she still plays some roles in Bailes de los Arcos such as conducting the orchestra.

One of her nieces, Chikee, is this year's Capitana. She has been dancing for seven years.

Chikee has been wishing to earn her college degree at Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and become a licensed Chemical Engineer. She's now an incoming 5th year student.

Just like the other dancers, her personal intentions compel her continue her devotion to the patron saints and the Virgin by being a mananayaw.

 

Witnessing the dance ritual

Enter gray skies. Eight girls dressed in blue and another girl dressed in pink sang songs of prayer and danced while at the center of the stage.

Ladies, young and old, sang simultaneously while watching the ritual. It's amazing that they still have memorized the song despite the long lyrics.

Light drizzles came intermittently but the show went on for two hours. There was no heavy rainfall. A few hours later, they continued to dance on the streets of Barangay Poblacion.

This ritual describes the Filipinos' religiousness and value for culture. Old beliefs are still observed even up to this age of modern technology.