A NIGHT AT THE ROUND TABLE
La Identidad Filipina
A Round Table Discussion
April 4, Tuesday, 7:00PM
Cocktails afterwardsAnybody wanna come with me to this one? Jessica Zafra, Fernando Zialcita, and Ambeth Ocampo, It's like the three tenors of Filipino popular culture. I'm definitely going to check it out. Then I'm thinking about maybe having dinner afterwards at this place...
Aptly called Ambos Mundos (which means "both worlds"), this little restaurant is literally a combination of the past and the present, the east and the west, the Philippines and Spain, and gentility and grittiness all at the same time. First opened in 1888 by Spanish immigrants, the Gaudinezes, Ambos Mundos (above) could be arguably Manila's oldest restaurant (unless of course, somebody knows another that's older). Originally located on Echague (now C. Palanca), right beside Plaza Goiti (now Plaza Lacson) before dragging their original narra furniture, carved wood detailing, and generations old recipes to their current location near the Rizal Avenue MRT-2 stop, near the corner of Florentino Torres and C. Recto St. (formerly Azcarraga) right down from the original TVT Building/Manila Times Office - which looks like it's being readied for demolition by the way.
But anyhoo, their menu (above) is definitely Rizalian. Written on a chalk board out front and also available in laminated form, their selections are strictly old school Manila fare, a mix of Philippine and Iberian specialties with paella prices looking like they came from an era long forgotten era as well.
But aside from the Nick Joaquin chic decor (Spanish plates (above), bullfighting posters, ceiling fans and capiz lamps), most importantly, their staff was friendly and their San Miguels came to the table ice cold and immediately.
According to the employees, a couple generations ago, the Gaudinezes married into the Leung family of Chinatown, after which they opened up the much more famous Cantonese restaurant Wah Sun right across the street from Ambos Mundos.
And I guess, as a celebration of familial love and unity, both restaurants keep matching pet pigs right in front of their establishments. Make sure not to trip on them on your way out (Ambos Mundo's pig above; Wah Sun's pig below).
And it isn't an easy place to find, mind you. So if you really need a landmark, Just look for the crumbling but stunning Deluxe Chinese cinema located right beside Ambos Mundos and at the corner of F. Torres and Soler (below). A million maraming muchos gracias to Anson Yu for the shout out about these little gems.
AMBOS MUNDOS
770-772 Florentino Torres Street.
Tel. 7336709
WAH SUN CANTONESE CUISINE
Right across from Ambos Mundos
Tel. 7344108
NOW I KNOW WHY I HAVE THIS STRANGE AFFINITY FOR PGMA...
But before I get to that. I'm all misty about the lovely photograph above and the lovely post done by the talented draughtsman/photographer/blogger/Cebuano, Ren Enriquez.
This uber-sincere, married, aplications engineer, and "Spanish-painter-in-a-past-life" documented his entire Manila day experience complete with courtesy shots of his post-tour meal at Blue Wave at the Reclamation Area. Be sure to click onto his archive posts if only to check out the charming water color illustrations.
Football, Brushstrokes, et al
Oh. And the reason why I have this weird empathy/sympathy for the president. Someone on Ren's blog also called me a "dwarf".
An open letter from the artist-in-residence:
Greetings,
My name is Antoni Abad and I'm a Catalan artist involved in the creation of cellphone community projects. Since 2004, I worked with groups such as taxi drivers in Mexico City, Gypsies in Spain, prostitutes in Madrid and disabled people in Barcelona. I have given them their own thematic multimedia channels on the internet using camera cellphones in order to get a glimpse into the lives of these otherwise marginalized societies.
At the moment, I'm in Manila preparing the "CallCenterForum", an internet based art project wherein call center agents are the focus. Like timezone expatriates, these people live in a world opposite of the city they live in. They sleep by day and work by night. Their jobs are also one of the most stressful in the world. They spend their working hours by a computer, obediently answering calls, and providing answers/solutions for people who live halfway around the globe.
www.zexe.net/MANILA is a website I have designed for this community to share their views, elations, frustrations and images via MMS. Through the different thematic channels of daily chores, fun times, work issues, and a text forum, this website hopes to offer a glimpse into the inner lives of this Philippine based nocturnal society.
So if you are a call center agent with a story to tell and a cameraphone, please visit the site, scroll down to JOIN NOW!, register your alias, and start sharing your life with us. And kindly forward this email to your call center friends who you think might be interested in contributing to the project as well.
The "CallCenterForum" project is funded by the Institut Ramon Llull and is part of the "Filipiniana Siglo XX" exhibition to be held in Madrid in may 2006. This exhibition is a co-production of Casa Asia and the Ministerio de Cultura de España (Cooperación Cultural).
Thanks very much and I hope to see you at the Living Room for the launch of the website on Saturday.
Antoni Abad
IT´S A PARTY FOR CALL BOYS AND CALL GIRLS
It is the end of Barcelona Artist Antoni Abad´s residency at The Living Room. And in order to mark this occassion properly, a cocktail will be held to launch the website of his current art project www.zexe.net/MANILA, a website devoted to inner lives of call center agents. So come and learn more about this fascinating project and perhaps meet some of the people who you talk to on the other end of the line. There will also be a brief artist´s talk and some free cranberry vodka while it lasts (thanks Finlandia!).
MARCH 25, 2006, Saturday
6:30PM
The Living Room
Unit 24, North Syquia Apartments,
1991 MH del Pilar, Malate
0 926 2597506
directions here...
Surfing around. Read this great entry in Howie Severino's Blog about English vis-a-vis Filipino. Carabao Taglish Anyone?
Language is the unspoken wall in the Philippine version of apartheid
by Howie Severino
Naturally, my big mouth replied. Bored lang kase eh.
"Inasmuch as I do respect Filipino (which is different from Tagalog mind you) and use it everyday, I cannot overstate the importance of learning English. Especially in a developing country such as ours.
Language is the door to a world of ideas. The more languages you know, the more possibilities are presented. Knowing English allows you into books, movies, and culture available in those languages."America's Boy" and "Still Life with Woodpecker" are a couple of my favorite books. But I could not have known how brilliant they were unless I understood English and understood it well. Unless Philippine society and it's government goes out of it's way to translate the world's greatest literature (classic and contemporary) into passable Filipino editions - so sorry, it's English as the language of choice for me. Nothing wrong with living in a world where you can only understand Filipino newspapers, Filipino TV, Filipino movies, Filipino radio, and Filipino books I guess. But that's just a little too insular for me. The problem is not the language. The problem here really is that some Filipinos think they are hotter shit than other Filipinos just because they speak English. Now that is not the fault of the language, is it?Bilinguality should really be promoted. It's possible. One doesn't have to sacrifice one or the other. English in School. Filipino in Government and at Home. "
Thank you Francisco Reyes for the white carabao.
THE BEST LITTLE BOOKHOUSE...Some of you may know of this place, but then again, some of you may not. Tucked away in the shadows of the monolithic Robinson's Place Mall Ermita lies La Solidaridad bookstore, perhaps the best little boutique bookseller in the Philippines - or even Asia for that matter. Owned and operated by National Artist for Literature/Ramon Magsaysay awardee F. Sionil Jose, the unassuming La Soli has been vending hard-to-find books to the Philippine intellegentsia for some 35 odd years or so. Specializing in Filipiniana, Filipino/International Fiction, Poetry, and other smarty subjects like Philosophy, Sociology, and Political theory, La Soli is really an oasis of intelligence and gentility in this fast declining neigborhood (thanks to government neglect and the dust, congestion, and traffic caused by Robinson's Place Mall). And as one of the last street level mom-and-pop establishments on the Padre Faura/Adriatico street area, ir is imperative that you rush out now and support this little treasure trove of culture and heritage before it goes by the way of it's shuttered neighbor, Alda's Pizza Kitchen.
531 Padre Faura, Ermita, Manila
HOPIA LIKE IT...I was just lamenting a few posts ago that the Escolta was in dire need of commercial activity in order for it to survive. No sooner had I said that when the first signs of Escolta's imminent gentrification popped up a block away from Plaza Moraga. But now, this former commercial playground for Manila's Hispanic elite has taken an oriental turn, much more in sync with it's context in the Chinatown district. Welcome to the Polland Hopia Cafe. Yes, you read right. One of the Philippines' largest makers makers of that unassuming bean paste pastry has decided to open up shop over at the Escolta and with an upmarket twist at that. Not only is the place decorated with antique Orientalia and dark wood, but their selections of gourmet hopias (langka, durian, and black mongo) and espresso definitely give the entire area a little class. I love the place so much, it is now the starting point for my NORTH BANK tour of the Escolta and Quiapo.
POLLAND HOPIA
The Escolta corner Nueva St. (Now Yuchengco Street but nobody really uses that name)
Santa Cruz, Manila
Tel. 7319810
NORTH BANK TOURS!March 25 - Saturday - 3:00pmApril 29 - Saturday - 3:00pmMay 20 - Saturday - 3:00pm
THE DUDE DIGS US
Aw. It's so nice to see people having a great time in the Philippines. After reading so much press and posts in the blogosphere on how grotesque, poverse, and insufferable Las Filipinas can be, it really warmed my heart to read about bonafide foreigners TRULY enjoying their stay in our fair archipelago. Log onto thedude.com and check out his amazing blog pictures of Manila, Tagaytay, and Bohol. Also make sure not to miss his time lapse video on Manila's traffic - which was amazingly light on that day. Thanks Carl Parkes for the link and the Barin family who made sure the dude and his dudette had a fabulous time while they were here.
I was accused of believing in fairy tales in a past post, and I have to agree. The arguments of that one weren't that well defined. I actually prefer this new letter that I found in my box today:
Dear Tita Cory, Senators, Congressmen, Businessmen, Media people, Leftists, and all Bleeding Hearts Out There:
I am angry. And I know that there are many out there who are angrier than I am for the same reason. And that reason is simple. I am sick and tired of all you guys claiming to speak for me and many Filipinos. I feel like screaming every time you mouth words about fighting for my freedom and my rights, when you obviously are just thinking about yours. You tell me that the essence of democracy is providing every citizen the right to speak his or her mind and make his or her own informed judgments, but you yourselves do not respect my silence and the choices I and many others have made. In other words, your concept of democracy is limited to having your rights and your freedoms respected, at the expense of ours.
I am utterly flabbergasted that you still do not get it: we already responded to your calls, and our response has been very clear - we chose not to heed your calls to go to EDSA or to Fort Bonifacio not because we do not love our country or our freedoms or our rights, but precisely because we love our country even more. Because quite frankly, we are prepared to lose our freedoms and our rights just to move this country forward. You may counter with your ideological propaganda and give me all the dire warnings about the evils of Martial Law, authoritarian rule, suppression of freedom, etc., but quite frankly all we see is your pathetic efforts to defend your right to continue fulminating, filibustering, and sabotaging this country until you wrestle power for yourselves. You tell me that you are simply protecting my freedoms and my rights, but who told you to do that? I assure you that when I feel that my rights and my freedoms are at a peril, I will stand up and fight for them myself. I have done in the past, and I will do it again when I SEE THE NEED FOR IT, not when you tell me to do it.
You tell us that GMA is not the right person to lead this country because she has done immoral acts. As someone who sees immorality being committed wantonly in many ways every day and by everyone (yes, including the ones you do), I may have become jaded. I may have lowered my standards about what a leader should be. Guess what, Tita Cory, you lowered it yourself. When I accepted your incompetence and fought for you during the many attempts against your government, I already lowered the standards to ridiculous levels. Guess what, Senators and Congressmen, you lowered it yourselves when you ran for office and won and now make fools of yourselves in the august halls of congress.
But th e simple truth that you try to obfuscate is this: you have not been able to offer me any viable alternative! On the other hand, GMA has bent over backwards many times to accommodate you while continuing to work hard despite all the obstacles and the brickbats you have thrown her way. From where I sit, she is the one who has been working really hard to move this country forward while all of you have been so busy with one and only one thing: to make sure she does not succeed. So forgive me if I do not want to join you in your moral pissing contest. Forgive me if I have chosen to see things from another perspective. You say she is the problem. I say, we are - all of us are the problem; more to the point, I think you are a bigger problem than she is. Taking her out may solve part of the problem, but that leaves us with a bigger problem: you. That is right, YOU!
While I felt outraged that she called a Comelec official during the elections and that she may have rigged the elections, I have since then taken the higher moral ground and forgiven her. Yes my dear bishops, I have done what you have told me to do since I was a child, which you say is the Christian and moral thing to do: forgive. Especially since she has asked for forgiveness and has tried to make amends for it. Erap certainly has not apologized and continues to be defiant, continuing to insult us
everyday with his protestations - and he is part of your cause now! Cory has not apologized for her incompetence but we have forgiven her just the same because like GMA, she has worked hard after all.
I know you do not think that GMA's apology was not enough, or that she was insincere, or that that apology should not be the end of it, but please spare me the hypocrisy of telling me that you do so for the sake of protecting the moral fibre of society. The real reason is because you smell blood and wants to go for the kill.
We ll, I have news for you. I do not like her too. I did not even vote for her. I voted for Raul Roco. But as much as I do not like her, I do not like you even more. I may not trust her, but you know what, I do not trust you even more.
You know why I do not trust you? Because all you do is whine and sabotage this country. You belittle every little progress we make, conveniently forgetting that it is not just GMA who has been working so hard to achieve them. Every single day, we keep the faith burning in our hearts that this country will finally pull itself out of the mess and we work so hard to do that. Every little progress is the result of our collective effort, we who toil hard everyday in our jobs. Yet, you persist in one and only thing:
making GMA look bad in the eyes of the world and making sure that this country continues to suffer to prove your sorry point. In the process, you continue to destroy what we painstakinly try to build. So please do not be surprised that I do not share your cause. Do not be surprised that we have become contemptuous of your antics. You have moved heaven and earth to destroy her credibility, you have convened all kinds of fora and hearings and all you have done is test our patience to the core. For all your efforts, you have only succeeded in dragging us further down. I say enough.
Don't get me wrong. I am not asking that we take immorality lying down, or that we let the President get away with anything illegal. But you have tried to prove your accusations all these time and you have not succeeded, so it is time to let things be. Besides, you are doing something immoral as well if not utterly unforgivable. The Magdalo soldiers are consorting with the communists - the same people who have been trying to kill democracy for years. Cory has been consorting with Erap and the Marcoses.
So please wake up and take a reality check. In the absence of true and genuine moral leadership, many of us have decided to cast our lot with the President, even if we do not like her. A flawed leader is better than scheming power hungry fools who can not even stand up for their convictions in the face of an impending arrest.
Your coup attempts and the denials that you have consequently made only underscore what we think is true: you are spineless and unreliable people who only want power but not the consequences and the sacrifices that go with the quest. Your one and only defense is to cry suppression when your ruse does not work. You are nothing but BULLIES who taunt and provoke, but cry oppression when taken to task for your cruelty. You call for the rule of law and respect for authority, but so brazenly display your defiance and disrespect for the same things you claim to be fighting for.
I would have respected you if you took the consequences of your actions like real heroes: calmly and responsibly instead of kicking and screaming and making all kinds of lame excuses. You say you are willing to die for us, that you do all these things for the country and the Filipino, but you are not even willing to go to jail for us.
Come on, you really think we believe that you did not want to bring down the government when THAT IS THE ONE AND ONLY ONE THING THAT YOU HAVE BEEN DESPERATELY TRYING TO DO in the last many months?
We love this country and we want peace and progress. Many among us do not give a f*&k who sits at Malacanang because we will work hard and do our share to make things work. We the people will and can make it work, if only you get out of the way and let us do it. If you only do your jobs, the ones you are supposed to be doing, things would be a lot simpler and easier for all of us.
The events during the weekend only proved one thing. You are more dangerous and a serious threat to this country t han GMA is. We have seen what you are capable of doing - you are ready to burn this country and reduce everything to ashes just to prove your point. If there is something that we need protection from, IT IS PROTECTION FROM YOU.
S. C. Austero
PHOTO: Cory Aquino in more credible days. Thank you Kerry Collison for Cory shot.
Usually I leave the blackandwhite movement and their supporters alone. Not only because they are sincerely passionate - a trait I always respect - but also because I have a few friends and family members who are part of it. But ever since I found this post on their "sister" site, blackfridayprotest, I just had to fall off my chair, point a finger, and laugh until I choked. Ladies and Gentlemen:
THE BLACK FRIDAY MOVEMENT
Bulletin # 1 - Details of Flash Protest for March 3
Designated time and place of flash protest for March 3:
Any Starbucks Cafe, 6 to 7 PM
Plan of action:
1) Wear black.
2) You and your friends proceed to any Starbucks Cafe near you anytime between 6 to 7 pm
3) Buy a drink. Each person should queue up at the counter, instead of just one ordering for the group.
4) After getting your drink, take a seat or just stand up outside the cafe and hang out for about 30 mins.
5) When your group decides it's time to leave, someone should give the cue and everybody should do the "thumbs down" sign
6) Disperse as peacefully as you came in
Suggested preparations:
1) Invite as many friends, or officemates, as you can
2) If you're an employer or a manager, invite all your subordinates to join you. Offer to "treat" them, if you can afford it.
3) Agree to meet in a place (not Starbucks), or if you're from the same office, arrange for carpooling
4) From the meeting place, proceed to Starbucks as a group. This will have more impact than just agreeing to meet at Starbucks individually
5) If you're staying in a city where there is no Starbucks, any other "cafe" or restaurant will do.
Invite as many friends and colleagues.
Let's paint Starbucks BLACK on Friday.
God bless,
Enteng
Omigod. It's so ridiculous I don't know where to start. It's so gloriously stupid it mocks itself. It's already a parody.
And there are soooo many layers to mock as well. The (unintentional?) faux intellectualism of dressing in black and sitting in a café as protest. And then the double-faux of that café being a Starbucks. The mind boggles. Or maybe its performance art: a parody of protest, an ironic, nonsensical commentary on deconstruction-as-rebellion! Let's call it "Derridadaisme". (Jaques Derrida. Dada.)
It's simultaneously lazy: "Since we hang out already in Starbucks na, why not make it a protest also nalang!" - and ambitious - "Tell your friends, Tara! Let's make it a movement!" Shet, pare. It's so blatantly elitist and unintentionally moronic, that it really makes the mind spin. It at once shows disrespect to local political authority: "Down with GMA!" - and yet is oh-so-respectful to a multinational corporate authority (or locally, the Tantocos): "Buy a drink so the Starbucks people will let you hang around!" In the words of the Aiza Seguerra circa 1990: "Ngek!"
It's so committed to an abstract idea: "Dictatorship! Naku! What about our people's welfare!" - while at the same time so very disconnected to reality. You're spending HOW MUCH for a stupid drink in order to show your "concern" for people's welfare? And I thought it was all just to ironic to be true until I learned that people actually went! Not just a few people, but around "80 to 100 people...enough to cover the outside seats". Wow. So if Manila has 10 million people at the least, they mobilized .001(?) of the population. Someone help me with the math here.
And I still would have left this all alone had they had not ERASED MY COMMENT ASKING IF THIS WAS A JOKE from their blog. And they have the audacity to bitch about 1017 censoring free speech: "Let's fight for free speech - Just as long as you don't make fun of us." Hypocrites. Jessica Zafra was right, we are an irony-free country and a gift to ironists everywhere.
Idiots all. Look up the word "Irony" if you got the time, guys.
And to all the people who say that we who are not on their side "don't get the point": I say, it's you - the protesters who don't get the point. You obviously don't have enough numbers to get the anti GMA ball rolling. So please try to find another more constructive way to prove your love for country instead of through pseudo-anarchy. Not everybody wants to join your little noisy party OK? So please...Please.
I put this post here lest they erase it from their blog once again. They so totally missed their window to kick Ate Glue out. Poor things are desperate and it's showing.
A NIGHT AT THE ROUND TABLE 
Aptly called Ambos Mundos (which means "both worlds"), this little restaurant is literally a combination of the past and the present, the east and the west, the Philippines and Spain, and gentility and grittiness all at the same time. First opened in 1888 by Spanish immigrants, the Gaudinezes, Ambos Mundos (above) could be arguably Manila's oldest restaurant (unless of course, somebody knows another that's older). Originally located on Echague (now C. Palanca), right beside Plaza Goiti (now Plaza Lacson) before dragging their original narra furniture, carved wood detailing, and generations old recipes to their current location near the Rizal Avenue MRT-2 stop, near the corner of Florentino Torres and C. Recto St. (formerly Azcarraga) right down from the original TVT Building/Manila Times Office - which looks like it's being readied for demolition by the way.
But anyhoo, their menu (above) is definitely Rizalian. Written on a chalk board out front and also available in laminated form, their selections are strictly old school Manila fare, a mix of Philippine and Iberian specialties with paella prices looking like they came from an era long forgotten era as well.
But aside from the Nick Joaquin chic decor (Spanish plates (above), bullfighting posters, ceiling fans and capiz lamps), most importantly, their staff was friendly and their San Miguels came to the table ice cold and immediately.
According to the employees, a couple generations ago, the Gaudinezes married into the Leung family of Chinatown, after which they opened up the much more famous Cantonese restaurant Wah Sun right across the street from Ambos Mundos.
And I guess, as a celebration of familial love and unity, both restaurants keep matching pet pigs right in front of their establishments. Make sure not to trip on them on your way out (Ambos Mundo's pig above; Wah Sun's pig below).
And it isn't an easy place to find, mind you. So if you really need a landmark, Just look for the crumbling but stunning Deluxe Chinese cinema located right beside Ambos Mundos and at the corner of F. Torres and Soler (below). A million maraming muchos gracias to Anson Yu for the shout out about these little gems.
