Posts in Category: People


Gong Xi Fa Cai! Celebrating Chinese New Year in Binondo

Back from the dead.

It’s been awhile. What can I say — life got in the way.

And while I do have a couple of stuff on the backburner that I can put up, I can’t think of a more appropriate post to revive this space with.

So without further ado.

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The Chinese morning news.

February 19, 2015 saw me take a half-day leave from my night shift work, trudging half-awake to Shell Tiendesitas to hitch a ride with some friends to catch some of the Chinese New Year festivities in Manila Chinatown — and maybe sample some authentic Chinese food as well.

We arrived in what is the oldest Chinatown in the world — yes, you read that right, OLDEST IN THE WORLD — at the crack of down. The district was largely quiet, with most of the shops still closed for business. So we did what we always did what we always did — wait.

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Year of the Goat good luck charms.

Before we knew it, the place was awash with people milling about. Vendors, most of whom were selling good luck charms, popped up along the sides of the road, and customers were lined up outside popular (mostly food) stores like Eng Bee Tin and Wai Ying. TV crews took up places all around Binondo church and all sorts of entertainers were going around, performing for anybody who could be bothered to throw in a few pesos in their direction.

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Dragon Dance

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Firecrackers to ward off evil spirits that bring ill fortune.

Despite being half-Chinese, I’ve never celebrated Chinese New Year in any shape or form, nor have I been to Chinatown to watch the festivities. I was surprised at how many non-Chinese folks turned up to spectate and participate — I noticed that even in an incense altar (albeit with a sort of crucifix, a testament to how Filipinos are wont to mix stuff in with Catholic traditions, dogma be damned), more Pinoys were waving incense sticks about and mumbling prayers compared to their Chinoy fellows.

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Praying to the ancestors.

It was an interesting experience to say the least, one I’d like repeat should I get the chance. Many thanks to friends and folks — most of them members of the Framed Shots Camera Club — who let me tag along.

An afternoon with Joey G.

I’ve been helluva busy these past few days – with the big day drawing near, well, suffice to say that things are becoming much more stressful and my hands are almost perpetually full all the time.

It’s also a bit frustrating that I haven’t been on a landscape safari these past few months, due to either uncooperative weather or just because I simply lack the time. I do plan to post a couple of my landscape shots in the future, so watch out for that.

Anyway, I did get to recently sit down with Joey Generoso, whom I’ve been a fan of since high school. While my other peers were listening to Backstreet Boys and Boyzone, I was either rocking out to Eraserheads and Mr. Big, or listening to Side A – which still remains to be one of my favorite bands of all time.

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Through the years, Side A has gone through a lot of changes, lineup included. From the original crew composed of Kelly Badon (lead guitar), Joey Benin (bass guitar), Naldy Gonzales (keyboards), Joey Generoso (vocals, rhythm / acoustic guitar) and Ernie Severino (drums), only Joey G., Naldy, and Ernie remain. And from the bluesy influences that shaped their sound more than a decade ago, they have had to evolve to cater to the mainstream audience now, which has obviously different tastes.

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Few bands live as long as Side A, and Joey is grateful that time has been kind to them. And he is always quick to credit their former manager, the late Wyngard Tracy, as a major factor in shaping what the band has become. A lot of good habits they have, Joey recounts, were learned under Tracy’s management. And as Side A continues to grow and develop, playing side by side with newer, fresher talents in the music industry in the Philippines, Joey is confident that they will continue to entertain audiences as well as serve as mentors to the new crop of Pinoy musicians.