Tapulanga Foundation sets Benefit Dinner and Silent Auction to help deserving students

Tapulanga Foundation presents the 6^th Eat.Share.Love.2014 Benefit Dinner and Silent Auction at the La Proa Ballroom of L’Fisher Hotel in Bacolod City this November 21, 2014.

The foundation’s annual event aims to promote awareness about Tapulanga Foundation and to generate sponsorship and funds for their college scholarship program. 

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Caloy's Buko Pie sang San Enrique

YOU CAN ALSO FIND US AT THE SAN ENRIQUE BOOTH DURING THE PANAAD FESTIVAL

CALL OR TEXT US 09209008072

Layers upon layers of fresh buko meat with the right crunch of its pie crust --- this is what you will TASTE from every single bite of Caloy's Buko (Coconut) Pie sang San Enrique.


I have heard about this special Buko Pie from friends since early 2011 (or maybe earlier). Someone from down south shared with me a piece of this pie. With just one bite, I finally knew what I have been missing in a Buko Pie for a long time.

I got the softest young buko meat layered on a bed of generous custard. I was happy that this pie is not that sweet. Just the right sweetness that it needed. That sweetness that did not overpower the freshness of the young coconut. It was like munching on a mouthful of soft coconut clouds! 


I am now helping the owners to improve their marketing and online communications since we know we have a Facebook market ready. I have actually volunteered to help them a year ago because I knew that they have a good product. And as young entrepreneurs, I also support their idea of doing business in their small town of San Enrique (about 30-40 minutes away from Bacolod City in Negros Occidental). This small business provides jobs for the local people of the town. This is also a great thing for tourism for it highlights the best products of San Enrique.

For deliveries, please call 09209008072.  

A plate of buko pie can be divided into 8 slices. The 9-inch buko pie is in a sturdy box so you can easily bring it as pasalubong. Or better yet, eaten freshly baked on the same day as it is delivered to you. I think the latter is the best way to enjoy your Buko Pie. Or best strategy is to buy one for pasalubong and one for consumption. Fresh buko pies definitely require you to throw away delayed gratification. You just have to eat it while it's hot!

AVAILABLE IN THE SAN ENRIQUE BOOTH DURING THE PANAAD FESTIVAL!!! Hurry :)

But hey, if you badly need a buko pie fix, we do understand and would like to accommodate your cravings. :) 

If you are near San Enrique or passing by the town, please ring or send a message through these Mobile Nos. +63-927-8297888 or +63-923-8823144. The owners would really be happy to serve you in their main branch. Ask any local around San Enrique and they will lead you to us. The business is also open for hotels and restaurants who would like to feature Caloy's Buko Pie sang San Enrique in their menus or special buffets. 


Click the Facebook Fan Page Caloy's Buko Pie sang San Enrique for more information and some promos that we can think of. 


Have a slice of Caloy's Buko Pie sang San Enrique! Kanamiton!

As for me, I will have to wait for another Negros trip to taste my Coconut clouds :) 

XLXL,

FatGoddess

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My Birthday Weekend 2012

My Summer 2012

Cauayan, Negros Occidental - is a town south of Bacolod City in the island of Negros. It has the longest coastline in the province of Negros Occidental.

With friends

Just before going to the beach

My friend Erl - Sunscape

Coconuts against orange and blue skies

Avenger Erl

A Model's silhouette

Fatman with a beer - Silhouette

Honeydew is best eaten when it is chilled. I love it!

Watermelons are the best! Ultimate summer fruit :)

You can buy different kinds of summer fruits just along the highways of Valladolid, Negros Occidental (about 45 mins away, south of Bacolod City)

Cauayan Sunset - April 5, 2012

Lovers or not?

Overlooking Cauayan's islands and shores

Sipalay City's Public Beach

Artistic Diving Resort in Punta Ballo, Sipalay City, Negros Occidental

Peace Pond, Binalbagan, Negros Occidental

Boat. Barkada, Beer. Beach. Birthday.

Note: These pictures were taken with a Blackberry Bold 9000 and edited in Adobe Photoshop CS5.

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On Pureza, The Story of Negros Sugar (Documentary Film - 2012)

PUREZA, The Story of Negros Sugar

A Full Documentary Film by Jay Abello

February 2012

Part 1

LIVING MI DULCE VIDA

by Ihvonie “Teytey” Sevilleno

Pureza, The Story of Negros Sugar is a full documentary film

Executive Producers J. ABELLO, JOEY GASTON

Producers FIONA BORRES, AGNES VILLAR

Director J. ABELLO

Writers JET ORBIDA, CHECCS OSMEÑA

Editor FIONA BORRES

Director of Photography J. ABELLO

Asst. Director LOVELLE BELLOCILLO

Visual FX Supervisor RICHARD FRANCIA

Sound Engineers ALBERT MICHAEL IDIOMA, ALEX TOMBOC

Music PEARLSHA ABUBAKAR

Researchers IHVONIE SEVILLENO, KAT VALENCIA

Living mi dulce vida in Negros, I thought I knew it all. Spoken like a true-blue Negrense, “Kabalo na ko na ah!”

Tawrrnngg… was I sooo wrong. Researching for a 200-year old province – our Negros Occidental – was HHHHHAAARRRRDDDD.

Preparing a Scene at General Aniceto Lacson's Ancestral House in Hacienda Claparols, Talisay City

 Finding books and research materials about Negros was not as easy as typing N-E-G-R-O-S on Google. Thousands of delicate pages, old newspaper clippings, heavy hardbound books, wooden chests and decrepit boxes of old photos were our companions for a year.  After 3 years, some pages are still haunting my dreams.

Moi, Researcher

Kat Valencia, Researcher while researching
at the Negros Occidental Historical Commission
Library beside the Provincial Library

As researchers, we had to bring our own “top-of-the-line” mobile digital archiving equipment.  This included laptops, point-and-shoot cameras, flash drives, removable drives and an old grey scanner (which seemed heavier because of its monstrosity of cables). For a year, we lugged them around so we could provide our writers with the information they needed.

My tasks in this location shoot at Hacienda Santa Rosalia in Manapla includes Photo Documentation,
Wardrobe Assistant and Production Coordinator

I have always loved libraries but I got overdosed with libraries while doing the film. We spent thousands of hours at the Rafael Salas Library of the Negros Museum, the Provincial Library of Negros Occidental and its neighbor the Negros Occidental Historical Commission Library. I also went to the Silliman University Library in Dumaguete, Negros Oriental and the Center for Western Visayas Studies of the University of the Philippines – Iloilo. And the list goes on and on, with thousands of pages, maps, political cartoons, articles and photos scanned to the highest resolution that our old thick scanner can handle.

The House of the Gastons, Hacienda Santa Rosalia, Manapla, Negros Occidental, Philippines
(one of our locations for the Cosplay Shoot)

Kat, Velle and I (and our countless assistants) visited ancestral homes and private libraries and went through numerous personal collections – all these to know more about US. I was basically a scavenger/hunter/forager for anything NEGROS and WHO to talk to in Negros. It seemed to be an endless quest for yours truly, the struggling “Sugar Expert IV (a sugarity)”.

(Sugarity:  noun: an original Pureza term related to Negros sugar and its industry.)

Ihvonie “Teytey” Sevilleno

Researcher/Production Coordinator/Director’s Soothsayer/Pureza House Dumaan and Official Cook/Marketing Person/Museum Worker

PART 2

MARRIED TO PUREZA

Direk Jay Abello on the Cosplay Shoot (Chroma)

I remember how we called ourselves - work addicts and OCs – because of the passion we gave to our work.  The repercussions were so great that we had sleepless nights and numerous trips to 24-hour McDonald’s stores.  By then, we had a regular quitting of Production Assistants who got overwhelmed with our sugarities and such.

Makeup for our "Uncle Sam" (Direk Milton Dionzon)

Direk Jay Abello with the cast and production crew at our Pureza - Giant Exterior Chroma Wall (available light)

Migraine-inducing meetings went for, sometimes, 72 hours.  These meetings had Direk Jay, Sir Jet and Miss Checcs endlessly talking and writing on our humongous white boards in PeacePond and Pureza house. How I wished then that those white boards were large digital touch-screens so I could copy-paste their notes unto MSWord! By the end of the 72^nd hour, I resorted to taking photographs of the notes on those white boards.

Ms. Checcs, Fiona Borres, Kat Valencia and Lovelle Bellocillo:
We will always be Pureza Girls!

With Pureza, it was like a wedding. Something blue, something borrowed and something new. Pureza was not only blood, sweat and tears but tons of laughter, friendship and family. After three years, I am not divorcing Pureza. But we are all coming home to finally tell OUR story. Finally.

===========

Negros Pureza Foundation and Bonfire Productions, Inc.

in cooperation with

the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and 7th Films

present

 “PUREZA:  The Story of Negros Sugar”

SYNOPSIS


For the first time in Philippine cinema, a full-length documentary film on the struggling sugar industry of the island of Negros and how a piece of crystallized grain could affect a whole island of 3 million people!


At the turn of the 20th century, Negrense “hacienderos” (sugarcane land owners) were the richest and their farm workers the highest paid in the country. But in a span of a century, the Negros sugar industry plunged from its proverbial pedestal into its inglorious present state.


Why is the industry in peril?  Is it, indeed, a flailing sunset industry?


Filmmaker J Abello, a former sugarcane farm manager, offers a glimpse of the island’s turbulent history through dramatic and controversial video:  lavish parties of Negros sugar barons, candid interviews with hacienderos, never before seen footage of Negros Island…and more.


“Pureza: The Story of Negros Sugar” traces the history of the Negros sugar industry as it faces strife and discord in the advent of the 21st century. 


 PRODUCTION STAFF:
Director – J. Abello
Editor – Fiona Borres
Executive Producers –J. Abello, Joey Gaston
Producers– Fiona Borres, Agnes Villar
Writers – Jet Orbida, Checcs Osmeña
Director of Photography – J. Abello
Sound Engineers – Albert Michael Idioma, Alex Tombok
Music – Pearlsha Abubakar
Visual FX Supervisor – Richard Francia
Asst. Director – Lovelle Bellocillo
Researchers – Ihvonie Sevilleno, Kat Valencia




COSPLAY ACTORS:


Oying Osmeña
Milton Dionzon
Mandy Alimon
Eero Martinez
Dante Amaguin




DIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY:
JAY ABELLO


An industry disciple working on over 25 feature films in the Philippines, countless TV shows including soap operas and TV commercials in a span of 10 years, Jay Abello is a movie fan by heart.  He describes the movie set as “one of the most romantic places you can ever be in. You’re in the middle of nowhere and you have all these lights and production people trying to make something out of nothing and it’s a new world altogether.” 


He also believes that he is a film student at best and has always traveled and accepted projects based on this—“I just want to learn more about film.”


Among Jay Abello’s best works is doing cinematography for the films Brutus (Tara Illenberger), Donor (Mark Meily), Kano’(Coreen Jimenez) and Nino(Loy Arcenas).   He has also directed two feature films (Ligaw Liham and Namets!) and Pureza is his first documentary feature.


DIRECTOR’S INFORMATION:
Unit 1806 Tower 3
Avida Towers
New Manila
Quezon City
Mobile: 0917-8588813
Landline: (02) 2151205
Email: behonest@jayabello.com


PRODUCERS’ INFO:


NEGROS PUREZA FOUNDATION, INC.
North Drive Corner Margarita Streets
Villamonte Public Market
Bacolod City
Contact Persons: Andrea Gallos or Jojane Morcilla or Mel Mendoza
Mobile: +63 907 706 1332 or +63 932 306 5277 or +63 917 301 2878
Landline: (034) 433-5034 


BONFIRE PRODUCTIONS
FSS Bldg 1 Annex
89 Scout Castor St.
Diliman, Quezon City
Contacts: Fiona Borres or Zandra Garay
Mobile: +63 928 551 6724
Landline: 632-3762346
Email: fiona@bonfire.com.ph
Visit www.bonfire.com.ph


For those who are asking for the Screening of Pureza: 
SCREENINGS:


PREMIER (By Invitation):
Screening 1 – February 7, 2012 | 6:30PM, Cinema 3, SM Bacolod
Screening 2 - February 7, 2012 | 9:00PM, Cinema 3, SM Bacolod


BACOLLYWOOD | CINEMA REHIYON 2012
Screening: 6PM, February 11, 2012 at Robinson’s Place-Bacolod
Please contact Secretariat for Tickets - 0916 8782878


February 17
3 REGULAR SCREENINGS
(Open to the Public, Tickets at P 120.00)
Regular Cinema Hours at SM Bacolod, Tickets will be available at Cafe Uma


For schools, universities and large organizations, please contact NEGROS PUREZA FOUNDATION for screening.

Here's the full Trailer:

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What's in the Museum Cafe?

I work at the Negros Museum and since we opened our Museum Cafe, everyone I know would ask me about our Museum Cafe. What to eat, What's on the menu, What's the specialty, Do we serve lunch, rice, pasta, blah, blah, blah, blah...

I have constantly talked about it for 2 months now and I guess my mouth is a bit sore from all these talking. Here goes. My personal choices at the Cafe. Next time someone asks me, I will just give them the link.

About the photos, they are from my photographer friends who came to volunteer for our food shoot for the Museum Cafe. Thanks to Quino Yao, Dr. Michael David, Jomi Garrucho, KitKat Lobaton, Lynell Gaston, Ronnie Baldonado, Christine Weber, Nephi Treyes, Bumpy Coscolluela, Marianne Coscolluela and Carlyn Martir.

OKAY...let us start with the first thing that I would usually ask for at the Cafe. The amazing Pork Bitter Balls. These are for real. And they are not Bitter, at all!

These 5 pork balls are deep-fried and are crunchy outside. Inside is just a mouthful of heaven. I don't care what's in it, though I trust our cook about the natural and fresh food that they have been making. I know it's kinda irresponsible for me to say that. But then.....

YOU will definitely understand when you will take a bite of this.

And the orange juice, is squeezed from fresh oranges. 3-4 oranges are squeezed into a tall glass, no sugar, just pure orange juice with its natural fibers. Drink up.

SO NOW, I want to take you to the MEAT OF THE MATTER.

This is the Talisay Ham on Sesame Bread with lots of greens, fresh tomatoes and cucumber slices. Thrown in are some fresh tarragon from the cafe's garden outside. Just ask for mustard if you would like some.

These are my other personal choices from the sandwiches:

Smoked Salmon on Sesame Bread

 Some Bacon and Spiced Pork Belly Ham would also do you good. I didn't provide the photos so you would order them at the our Cafe. Haha!

Homemade Cheese in French Baguette

My favorite bread is the French Baguette, freshly baked everyday. But I love the others too: Sesame Bread, Corn Bread and the Whole Wheat Bread. Heavy bread and you can have it as your lunch because it will hold for several hours on your stomach.

French Baguette   Photo by Ronnie Baldonado

Whole Wheat Bread

Corn Bread

Black Sesame Bread

I don't really have anything to say. I just want to line them up. My heart skips triple-beat when I see something significant as a % symbol.

Ice-cold beer, wine and international liquors are available after 4pm.

For desserts, you need to try the Apple Cake. NAMIT gid ya. But it's a big slice so you might need someone to help you eat it. Rich cake with toasted green apples which are surprisingly sweet and not a hint of the natural apple sourness. And hehehe.... a lot of whipped cream on top. (Photo will be added soon when I have the patience to take a photo of eat instead of just thinking of getting the picture before I finished the whole cake.)

When you order your coffee, don't forget to taste the madeleines with it. I am not a coffee drinker but these madeleines are just fluffy and sweet and melts in your mouth. Perfect.

Madeleines from the Museum Cafe   Photo by Michael David

So anytime you are free, you can come to the Negros Museum (just beside the Hall of Justice and a few minutes away from the Provincial Capitol Building). The food is great and I always feel relaxed when I am there.

And for those asking if they are serving lunch, they have this Special of the Week (or until supplies last) and they have different kinds of international cuisine. They also have the Snack of the day and Soup of the Day. Check them out for their Weekly Specials. If you need to call for reservations or any information, contact 09213307861 or (034) 4334764. The PHINMA Main Gallery is also open for functions,  meetings and events.

They are with the same hours as the Negros Museum: TUESDAYS TO SUNDAYS from 10am-8am.

When i need a break from the office, I go to our Museum Cafe to order Orange Juice or talk with the staff. You may choose to sit outside under the umbrellas with your friends or read a book inside the PHINMA Main Gallery surrounded with the current art exhibits. I am sure you will enjoy the ambience and the food.

I have brought some of my friends here to eat and talk and catch up.

With Easter, Elaine and Odie

Ramon my friend, playing around with the water pitcher

Happy eating!

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