Penafrancia Festival 2011

The Peñafrancia festival is set for September 9 to 18 of this year.

 The Our Lady of Peñafrancia Basilica is located in Naga City.

 The feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia is celebrated on the third Saturday of September in Naga City, Bicol.

 The feast day is preceded by a novena, nine days of prayer, in honor of the Virgin. 

On the first day, the image of the Virgin, a copy of the Madonna in Peñafrancia, Spain, is brought from its shrine to the Naga Cathedral where the novena is held. 

On the last day, the image is returned to her shrine following the Naga River route. 

The colorful evening procession is lit by thousands of candles from devotees in boats escorting the image. 

When the barge reaches its destination, the devotees shout "Viva la Virgen" (Long live the Virgin!) and the image is brought back in a procession to the cathedral.


Photo credits to my cuzin Rafael Matubis Jr.

Happy Eid’l Fitr

The nation is marking today (Tuesday) the end of a long weekend with the celebration of Eid’l Fitr, a Muslim holiday. Eid’l Fitr (the Festival of Fast-breaking) is a three-day celebration of the Muslim world commemorating the end of Ramadan, a period of dawn-to-dusk fasting. Eid is a time for giving gifts, especially to children; giving charity to the poor; and celebrating with family and friends the completion of a month of blessings and joy.

4 DAY LONG HOLIDAY IN AUGUST YAHOOOOO!

There will be a four-day long weekend towards the end of August, Malacanang announced on Saturday.

In a radio interview, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said August 29, a Monday; and August 30, Tuesday, have been declared non-working holidays.

August 29 marks National Heroes’ Day while August 30 is the end of Ramadan. - source inquirer.net

TRABAHO SA BAWAT PILIPINO THE 4th JOB SEARCH JULY 15 & 16, 2011

TRABAHO SA BAWAT PILIPINO

THE 4th JOB SEARCH

JULY 15 & 16, 2011

2/F TRADE HALL, STARMALL

EDSA SHAW, MANDALUYONG CITY

PNR FARE FROM MANILA TO NAGA

photo by wowee dollente

photos by vic nierva

PNR Bicol Express train fares are as follows: 

P    548 for the tourist section

P    950 for family-style cabins 

P 1,000 for executive cabins

PHOTOS BY VIC NIERVA

The tourist section of the train features reclining chairs and more space for passengers. Meanwhile, family coaches provide double-deck beds that can accommodate up to 4 people and the executive coach has private cabins.

PHOTOS FROM RIHSPI

Travel time to Naga via the Bicol Express trains is expected to be 10 hours, all in the comfort of new air-conditioned coaches that the Philippine National Railways recently acquired. 

photo from RIHSPI

Soon, more features will be added to the Bicol travel such as television sets and free Wifi access.

PNR NOW RUNNING

Photo by Wowee Dollente

The fully-rehabilitated PNR Bicol Express  have 3 kinds of coaches : tourist class with reclining seats and in-coach movie and sound systems

photo from vic nierva

Sleeping cars for families and for the executives

photos from RIHSPI

The family sleepers (FS) car is one where the passenger can lie down on a full-body bed-like seat with a curtain which can be drawn close to provide privacy. There are four of these "beds"- two on each side of the open-cabin, one above the other. 

The family sleeper car is big enough for four adults. Children may be able to share one bunk bed. Going up the elevated bunk-bed though was a little challenge . Look for this metal bar which could assist you in climbing up the upper level bunk.

Photos from Chito

Dining car with first class amenities.

The dining car (DC) is a semi-full service dining facility, i.e. with waiter but no kitchen at the moment which can seat 50 people at any one time.

The projected journey of less than ten hours will put the Bicol Express at a competitive advantage with buses which take a full ten hours to make the trip, while offering travelers a superior riding experience at attractive fares.

Full service at 4 round trips a day (with a six-coach, 400-passenger capacity) is expected in September in time for the pilgrimages to the Festival of the Virgin of Peñafrancia.

An additional 16 round trips will start next year.

One-day e-passport processing slated for PNP personnel and dependents

Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel and their dependents will have the rare chance of getting their e-passport processed in just one day on July 30.

PNP Director General Raul Bacalzo said that as part of the celebrations of Police Community Relations Month held every July.

The PNP leadership is coordinating with the Department of Foreign Affairs in holding a one-day passport processing at the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame in Quezon City for PNP personnel.

Bacalzo advised interested applicants to bring their National Statistics Office (NSO) birth certificate and at least two valid identification cards.

This year’s theme is “Matatag na Ugnayan ng Mamamayan at Kapulisan tungo sa Mapayapa at Ligtas na Pamayanan (Strong Alliance between Citizens and Police toward a Peaceful and Safe Community).” 

souce: inquirer.net

VIGAN, ILOCOS SUR: My Burnay Making Adventure

VIGAN, ILOCOS SUR: My Burnay Making Adventure

Pagburnayan Pottery Making in Vigan, Ilocos Sur is a popular destination among tourists.

When in Vigan, do what the Vigans do! 

I readily agreed when the Manong Kutsero (horse drawn carriage driver) ask me if I wanted to visit the Pagburnayan Factory. 

Arriving in the factory in a kalesa ( Horse drawn Carriage) distinguished tourists from locals. Not only because the locals know how to speak Ilocano but also because they usually ride the tricycle or walk around town.

I was filled with awe when I saw hundreds if not thousands of Burnay upon entering the factory! The burnay is an earthenware jar crafted by a potter’s hands with the aid of a potter’s wheel. It uses fine sand (anay) as a tempering material and fired at a high temperature in a huge brick-and-clay ground kiln that makes it is harder and more durable than other terra cotta. According to the Manong Kalesa driver who also serves as my guide, the local bagoong (fish sauce), sugarcane vinegar and basi wine would not taste as good if not fermented in stoneware burnay jars.

Burnay technology was brought to Vigan by Chinese artisans, who, according to Vigan folk historian Damaso King, came from Kwi-Sao, Chun-chiu province in Mainland China. As such, it may have existed in the area even before the coming of the Spaniards in 1572. These Chinese artisans who set up this cottage industry depended on the natives for their clay supply and labor.Fidel Go, owner of the Ruby Pottery and descendant of the first Chinese potter who came to Vigan, has his own account of the burnay industry’s history in Vigan.

Burnay Making

According to him, burnay technology was introduced to Vigan around 1890 by Pedro Go, a Chinese settler from Chinkang, in Fukien, Mainland China. He set up his camarin (jar factory) along what is now known as Rivero Street in Brgy. VIII. Around 1916, Ongkai Go, son of Pedro Go’s brother, came to the Philippines and worked with him, then went back to China to marry when he was 18 years old.

Ongkai came back to the Philippines around 1922, now with his cousin Igan Go, to set up their own jar factory, which is now known as Ruby Pottery. At such time, there were five (5) burnay factories in Vigan – that of Pedro Go, of Igan Go, and of relatives Ramon Go (owner of RG Jar Factory), Buki Go, and Domingo Go. The separate camarin of the last four (4) were all along what is now known as Gomez Street in Brgy. VII.

Fidel Go is the son of the late Ongkai and inherited the Ruby Pottery from Igan Go. He was awarded the Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan (National Folk Artist Award) of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts in 1990 for continuing the craft he inherited and for himself knowing all the rudiments of the craft. He claims that between the two (2) surviving Chinese-owned jar factories, he is the only one (now with one of his sons) who still does pottery himself.

Zosima Amistad, wife of Pedro Amistad, the proprietor-potter of NP Jar Factory, supplies supplementary information to Fidel Go’s story.

She remembers that there used to be seven (7) jar factories (presumably at a time when Pedro Go’s camarin already went out of operation). Aside from the four (4) already mentioned, there were those of Filipinos Jovencio Adora along the present Katipunan Street, Nicolas Amistad, and Evaristo Amistad whose camarin were near the southern end of Rizal Street.

Nicolas Amistad and Evaristo Amistad were the son and nephew of Iban Amistad respectively. Iban Amistad learned the craft while working as cook of one of the Chinese factory owners. According to Zosima, Iban learned to mold jars in the potter’s wheel while his Chinese master went away to gamble. He then taught his son Nicolas who later set up the NP Jar Factory. Nicolas’ son, Pedro Amistad, inherited the said jar factory and like Fidel Go, himself molds jars, sometimes with the help of one son.

Today’s Barangay VII is still more popularly known as Pagburnayan, which literally means “place where burnay is made”. This section was so aptly called because all the burnay camarin (cottage factories) were located in this southwesternmost part of the poblacion.

But about 15 years ago, there were only four (4) burnay factories left in Vigan. Three (3) belonged to Barangay VII’s jurisdiction, and one (1) under Barangay VIII, but all were neighbors.

However, one of the burnay factories (that within Barangay VIII) ceased its operations in the last decade. Presently, three (3) burnay factories remain: RG Jar Factory, Ruby Pottery, and NP Jar Factory. These burnay factories are the only ones found throughout the country.

At present, a variety of burnay products are made, mostly for decorative functions. These are jars of different shapes, sizes and designs, plant pots, ashtrays and others.

These are marketed within the country and abroad. The factory owners’ business contacts, other local and foreign traders order the jars with specifications or purchase these on the spot. About four (4) traders from Bulacan and some others from Manila frequent the jar factories in Vigan. It is said that the Bulacan Garden in Manila is the strongest dealer of burnay. Other Filipino and foreign exporters also patronize the Vigan burnay jars.

Volume purchases or orders are bought at discounts and are transported to other places by hired freight service. In one instance, Ruby Pottery delivered three freight loads of jars to an international shipping line to satisfy the order of a foreigner businessman who would take these to Belgium. While exportation is not yet regular, demand continues to expand to other foreign countries (e.g. Great Britain).

Local and foreign tourists also buy jars directly from any of these factories. Since Pagburnayan is a must-see section in Vigan tours, jars, especially the miniatures, are easily sold. The miniatures have a potential for expansion as they are bought and resold with some value added, as in converting these into painted decorative items.

Source: "Lifted from the Vigan Ethnographic Studies by VMP Socio-Cultural Team"