November 2014 - Titas de Bacolod

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Behind the Scenes - November 27, 2014 : The Aussies are Here!

Behind the Scenes - November 27, 2014 : The Aussies are Here!
Behind the Scenes with Ivy Visitacion


They’re here!

Around 45 Australian teenage students from Southern Hills Christian College in Perth, Australia arrived in Bacolod Sunday as part of their training and exposure to cultures in various parts of the world.

These tours give the students the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others, learn invaluable lessons for themselves, and are given the opportunity to assist in an under-privileged community.

From the airport, we had them sample our famous chicken inasal at Chicken House, where the other customers were taken aback by the sight of the mostly blonde and blue-eyed teenagers filling up the entire restaurant. They even tried dipping their chicken in our indescribable local dipping sauce - the sinamak!

Plans are being drawn up to have an international school in Bacolod as a counterpart of Southern Hills Christian College. Who knows? Someday, the students in the international school here might go on a similar tour in Perth Australia as part of their curriculum!

Early the next day, the group was interviewed on ABS-CBN’s “The Morning Show”. Some of the televiewers inquired about the visiting Australians and were delighted to know that, in the past two years, the school has put up an orphanage in Brgy. Cabacungan, La Castellana in Negros Occidental. Last year, after their short stay with the orphans, the Aussie students even cried when they had to leave, as they had bonded with the orphans who stole their hearts. Their latest project is to put up a basketball court, comfort rooms and a training center in Sagay City to help out-of-school youths in the area.

What a wonderful character-building program this is, where young people are exposed to different cultures and circumstances. Welcome to Negros, boys and girls!*

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Behind the Scenes - November 20, 2014 : Bacolod Welcomes Coyiuto House

Behind the Scenes - November 20, 2014 : Bacolod Welcomes Coyiuto House
Behind the Scenes with Ivy Visitacion


  The Coyiuto House in Bacolod opened its doors last Tuesday with a spectacular blessing and inauguration of the newly-renovated building of Prudential Guarantee and Assurance Inc., or PGAI. Rizal Street was closed to traffic for the event and all the guests were given car passes to enter the area.

When we arrived, the atmosphere was delightfully festive with the throbbing sounds and music of the MassKara Festival dancers and the Chinese dragon dancers performing in front of the Coyiuto House. On hand to welcome the A-list guests were Ramon Kilayko, senior vice president of Prudential Guarantee, and his son, Allan, senior manager of PGAI. Everyone wanted to meet the elegant Robert Coyiuto Jr., chairman of the Coyiuto Group of Companies and his equally gracious brother, James, senior VP and treasurer - PGAI, who both came with a party of 50 executives from Manila.

The affair was a glittering constellation of top local officials, movers and shakers, VIPs of the local business community, civic clubs and socialites.

After the blessing and cutting of ribbon, everyone trooped to the hall where the tables were set for the reception. We enjoyed the hors d’oeuvre, capped by an excellent red wine that flowed throughout the evening. A lavish buffet of gourmet delights sated our appetites as we listened to messages from the top executives of PGAI. Mayor Monico Puentevella lavishly praised the organizers for the superb handling of the event. The guests went home laden with party favors from the hosts.

Kudos to PGAI for a grand blessing and inauguration!*

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Behind the Scenes - November 13, 2014 : A Spectacular Diwali Festival

Behind the Scenes - November 13, 2014 : A Spectacular Diwali Festival
Behind the Scenes with Ivy Visitacion


Last week, Bacolod City was again treated to another dazzling festival when the local Indian community held the colorful Diwali Festival, an ancient Hindu Festival celebrated in autumn each year.

To witness the Diwali Festival here is a scintillating experience as it is complete with a colorful display of Indian costumes, dances, exotic food and, of course, a sample of “Bollywood” dancing.

The festival opened with formal ceremonies at the Bacolod Government Center, with local government officials headed by Mayor Monico and first lady Patching Puentevella, members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, former congressman John Orola, and civic leaders gracing the affair. Special guest was Ram Prasad, first secretary consular of the Embassy of India to the Philippines.

We were all warmly welcomed by members of the local Indian community to the ceremony, and then treated to an array of delicious, scrumptious Indian delicacies that we thoroughly enjoyed.

It was a most delightful learning experience for us who only know India through the movies, Ghandi, Passage to India, and the popular “Slumdog Millionaire”. We have read about the most romantic tribute to love, the Taj Mahal, and of course, have made the chicken curry, one of our favorite staples hereabouts. But there are more exciting things to learn about India and this festival has certainly opened our eyes.

The local Indian community has galvanized themselves into a dynamic group to make the people aware of the richness of their culture and traditions. Kudos to the organizers of the Indian Diwali Festival.
Thursday, November 13, 2014

A Breath of Fresh Air

A Breath of Fresh Air


What a breath of fresh air to read Bebol Carreon's column. I've gotten to the point where hers is the first column that I look for in the Sunstar (only that it doesn't come on a fixed day of the week).  Her articulate writing with quotes from authors we've missed in ages past gently draw the reader in.  She has a way of looking at the world that makes me smile.

She admits that she is new in this thing but the budding columnist demonstrates her skill for writing about both people and ideas interspersed with the events in the city.  I can only assume that it goes back to the way young girls were trained in language in the St. Scholastica's Academy.  Way back then, language was definitely considered an art.  It still is.  Only today, we've mangled it by using mixed dialects in one sentence or chopped up the spelling because of too much texting.

Now why do I consider her writing a breath of fresh air?  Let me put it this way - Bebol's musings are the respite I find amidst the stories of politics in Negros on one end and the newfangled social chronicles on the other by Edouard-Garcia-wannabes.  This is the quiet place where I stop and smell the roses and daydream back into the Bacolod I once knew.  It's the much needed intellectual stimulation which gently massages your thoughts without pressuring you to immediately take sides as most opinion columns beg for.

If you haven't read her articles, it's not too late.  Bebol has just begun.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2786/bebol-carreon



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Follow me on Twitter @TitasdeBacolod





Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Why People From Bacolod Spend Tomorrow's Money Today

Why People From Bacolod Spend Tomorrow's Money Today




Now listen here.  Your Tita will tell a story....

There is a saying that the people from Davao spend yesterday's money today, the people from Cebu spend today's money today, but the people from Bacolod spend ...well, tomorrow's money today.

How did it get to this point? What triggered such behavior? If you still have these lingering questions, allow me to take the first step in breaking apart the mystery.

Spending versus one's future earnings comes naturally to the Negrense. This was triggered before the turn of the 20th century when sugar as a product was picking up in terms of price in the world market. Demand was beginning to grow among the Commonwealth domains in South East Asia including Australia and New Zealand.

The principal catalyst in this little "Story of Sugar" is a man by the name of Nicholas Loney. He was the son of a British admiral, born in the naval town of Plymouth, and well-educated. He left England at the age of 24 to seek his fortune and travelled to South America, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, and finally to the Philippines in 1852. He became a clerk in Manila of the British firm Ker & Co.

In 1856, Loney was assigned to Iloilo and became a vice-consul and eventually opened the firm of Loney & Ker & Co. In those days, British ships came to the Negros and Panay region to be loaded up with sugar for export to Australia and the other states in the region under the British flag. Once docked in the ports of Negros and Iloilo, the ships would be stationed for some time until it was fully loaded with sugar for export. Precious days were lost in this exercise.

To arrest the situation, sugar crops and produce were paid for in advance the year before so as not to hamper the loading of sugar on British vessels. This is where the practice of receiving money against standing crops began in the Philippines. From those days, the crop loan had entrenched its way into Negrense lifestyle. This was further fortified by the sugar quota system under the Jones-Costigan Act of 1934 wherein year on year, the Philippines had a great quota to fill, not only for the British but for the almighty US of A.

Imagine receiving the bumper reward of money months before the crops were to be harvested! Loney even convinced the American financial house of Russel & Sturgis to open a branch in the Negros-Panay region in order give crop loans to planters.

Now with cash on hand to spend long before the harvest has actually come, I guess I need not elaborate how Negrense decadence came about and how the phenomenon has become legendary.



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Follow me on Twitter @TitasdeBacolod




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