...the Pinoy fashion in Canada

Pinoy fashion to grace the runways of Canada

March 28, 2014

GMA News

 

Filipino pride is poised to once again sweep across the nation and the world, with Canada Philippine Fashion Week (CPFW) set to showcase Filipino culture, creativity, and artistry through chic, fresh, and fabulous fashion designs in the runways of Toronto, Canada from June 9 to 14, 2014.

Filipino icons, visionaries, and rising stars in the field of fashion are joining forces to not only promote and nurture Filipinos’ fashion talent in the Philippines and Canada but also aid children with disabilities in both countries through the Kol Hope Foundation for Children.

CPFW is founded by Filipino-Canadian Executive Director Jeff Rustia. While relatively young, CPFW has already earned nods from prestigious organizations in and out of the Philippines, leading it to garner distinctions such as the FEO 2014 Award for Best New Festival of the Year. CPFW has made a name for itself both as a fashion and travel event that is a must-see in Toronto, Canada.

As a teaser for things to come, CPFW held a press conference in the Shangri-La Hotel in the Philippines. Fil-Am models wowed the crowd with clothes boasting of intricate designs that can only come from Filipinos’ ingenuity and border-less imaginations. These one-of-a-kind creations were a hit among the country’s fashion-savvy residents and attracted high-profile personalities including the Philippine Consul General.

The Canada Philippine Fashion Week is endorsed by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Tourism. It is also receiving support from the Ontario government through the Ministry of Tourism, Sport, and Culture. — GMA International

 

 

...the Cannes Festival of Creativity top awardee

Entertainment

Pinoys roar at Cannes Lions 2013

byRappler.com
06/21/2013

 

 

STRIKING AND IMMEDIATE. The Schick Icons graphics won in the Outdoor Lions category. Photo courtesy of Zak Yuson

MANILA, Philippines - Pinoy pride fueled an overflow of creative juices as Filipinos took home the top awards in the 60th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

DM9JaymeSyfu, JWT Manila, Y&R Philippines, and Ace Saatchi & Saatchi took home a total of 8 Lions in different categories, with campaigns ranging from public service to ambient media.

Touted as the world's biggest celebration of creativity in communications, the Cannes Lions is an annual gathering of advertisers and marketing professionals. Each year, tens of thousands of delegates from over 90 countries convene to celebrate their industry and compete to take home the coveted Lions.

Pinoy Lions

DM9's campaign for Smart Communications was awarded the country's first Mobile Lions Grand Prix, the highest distinction in the category, for its literacy campaign via mobile technology, "Smart TXTBKS."

JWT Manila was awarded a Gold Lion in the Outdoor Lions category for its Energizer Schick Icons poster campaign. The campaign marketed the men's razor brand through black and white graphics (the lead photo of this report) portraying such icons as Charlie Chaplin, Salvador Dali, the Guy Fawkes mask and Mr. T.

The jurors were impressed by the ad. In an interview with Adobo Magazine, Tony Granger, who presided over the Outdoor Lions category, said he found the image "striking and immediate" and "a solid Gold Lion."

A member of the JWT team, art director Danielle Lim, expressed elation over the news. She noted that the outdoor category is "one of the toughest" in the competition.

Y&R Philippines' earned 3 Lions for Maynilad Water's "Dengue Bottle" campaign – a silver in the media category and two Bronze Lions in the outdoor category and the promo and activation category.

Ace Saatchi & Saatchi's "Screen-Age Love Story," a campaign for PLDT MyDSL presenting the personal side of digital communication, won a silver and a bronze in the media category, while its Ariel "Olympic Shirt Flag," upholding nationalism and Pinoy Pride, was awarded a bronze.
Watch the highlights of the festival here:



- Rappler.com

 

...the Pinoy talent

Pixar Co-Founder Ralph Guggenheim Lauds Filipino Talent

 

BULLETIN ENTERTAINMENT EXCLUSIVE

By ANNIE S. ALEJO

July 30, 2012

 

 

 

Ralph Guggenheim notes the huge potential in the Philippine Creative Services sector (File Photo)

 
 
 MANILA, Philippines - Marking the maiden staging of the Film, Animation and Gaming Congress of the Department of Tourism on July 26 and 27 was the participation of acclaimed international film and animation professionals, among them Nickelodeon’s Eli Noyes, Cartoon Network Online creator Doug Barry and Pixar co-founder Ralph Guggenheim.
 
Guggenheim, who has served as the Vice President of Feature Animation for Pixar Studios and as lead producer for the 1997 animated hit “Toy Story,” and who has been executive producer for Electronic Arts, now runs Alligator Planet LLC. His current company is involved in projects that put him in business with various offshore production studios. While he is yet to work with a Filipino studio, he does know our rich history in the creative field.

“Philippines has a long history of animation that I know goes back at least… it’s 20 years that I’ve been involved in this sort of thing and I know that it goes further than that,” Guggenheim tells Bulletin Entertainment on the last day of the Congress. “And there’s a number of great studios that are here and a number of great young artists whose work we’ve seen over the last few days [that we’ve been in the country]. So we think there’s huge potential here.”

The Congress, with the theme “Made in the Philippines: From Storytelling to Storyselling,” coincided with the Cinemalaya Film Festival. It aimed to help filmmakers (producers/directors), original content creators, and various other people in Philippine Creative Industries to identify issues and challenges that face them, as well as the various opportunities open to them.

It had also planted the seed in the development of a globally competitive Creative Services in the country. In fact, according to a DTI press release, the Creative Services sector reported revenues in 2011 of about US$142 million for animation and US$7 million for game development. It employs almost 10,000 creative workers and support workers as well.

Of bigger and perhaps more worldwide opportunities for local artists, Guggenheim notes, “All of the studios that I know have started because a few artists came together and built something and it became larger and larger and they did better and better work as time went on. They weren’t all experts when they started but their expertise grew and their knowledge grew as they worked together. And it’s an industry where young talent is always appreciated and always desired, so there’s no question that this could happen.”

Perhaps his visit would become beneficial to both him and our local artists.  “We always do a lot of projects with overseas companies and we’re always looking for a new, young talent and companies that are capable of creating stuff and that can work together with us in ah… projects. So yeah, we are always in search for that and we think the Philippines will be a great place to work.”

Guggenheim and some fellow speakers planned to wrap up their second day of the Congress on the 27th by staying a few more hours at the CCP. “I will see my first film at Cinemalaya this afternoon. We’ve been busy with the conference,” he smiles. “We love independent films and I’ve heard Cinemalaya has great filmmakers and great films so I’m ready to relax and enjoy some films.”

As advice to young creators, Guggenheim closes the interview by offering, “I was once so young [boy] who had an interest in animation, got together with some people I knew and liked, and things grew and changed and our company became successful. But we didn’t start with anything more than a dream and an idea of what we wanted to do.”


Indeed, big dreams come true not just in the make-believe world of movies and animation but, as Guggenheim proves, also in real life.

...the ultimate life vest designer

Pinoy designs 'ultimate' life vest

abs-cbnNEWS.com

08/01/2011

 

MANILA, Philippines - It may look like an ordinary backpack with several pockets, but the Rescue 72 grab-and-go bag may be the ultimate must-have when it comes to disaster preparedness.

 

Designed by Filipino entrepreneur Danvic Briones, the bag is a wearable survival kit that doubles as a life vest. Briones said it can carry up to 30 -- even 50 -- pounds of personal belongings.

The Rescue 72 grab and go bag also has first aid kits and tool kits at the front pockets for easy access, a container that can store 1 liter of water, a whistle to make it easier for rescuers to find you, a flashlight to help you get around during the night, and a pocket for a radio or mobile phone.

Briones said he thought of making this product after typhoon "Ondoy" struck Metro Manila 2 years ago.

"'Nung Ondoy walang nakaisip na ganoon kabilis ang baha," he said in an interview on radio dzMM's "Todo Todo Walang Preno" on Monday.

He noted how most people tend to panic or make the wrong decisions in times of disasters, especially when they have not prepared a survival kit.

"'Pag hindi ka ganoon ka-handa, mabilis mag-panic. Ang tendency mas mali ang desisyon na nagagawa kaya nagkaka-casualties. 'Pag ready ka, may presence of mind, mas ok ang percentage ng survival, mas mataas," he said.

In typhoon-prone Philippines, a survival kit may be a determining factor between life and death. The key is to know which items you'll be needing to get by, and to make sure that these will last long enough before help arrives.

Common items in a survival kit include food, water, a first aid kit, a Swiss Army knife, toiletries, clothes, garbage bags and cash.

A Philippine Coast Guard doctor, however, earlier suggested that unlikely items such as condoms, sanitary napkins and diapers may be handy in surviving natural disasters.

...the young designer

Fil-Dutch designer shines at Amsterdam Fashion Week

by Dheza Marie Aguilar

ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau

07/20/2011

AMSTERDAM - Jonathan Christopher Hofwegen still needs to write his thesis, but the 24-year old Fil-Dutch designer is already busy attending major fashion shows.

He recently showed his new collection at the Amsterdam International Fashion Week, shortly after being selected by Marc Jacobs himself for the final 5 of the Designer for Tomorrow at the Berlin Fashion Week.

His collection called Personatus gives a unique approach to men’s fashion – pieces which shows prints when under different light or tops that has a scarf on it. He takes inspiration from his everyday life to make his creations and uses insects as starting point to create the forms. He also said that through insects, he wants to show the darker side of mankind.

“My main goal for this collection is to break the boundaries between male and female dressing because mens wear is so strict and so bound. I just want to break that boundaries and be more open on what men can wear,” said Hofwegen.

Influenced by Mom

Hofwegen, who moved to Holland with his mother and stepfather when he was 6, said that his mother Dorothy had a great influence on his interest in fashion even at a very young age. He recalled how he was fascinated by his mom’s show collection and got inspired at how she dressed up.

“I was always thinking about what to do and what to wear,” he said.

This interest took him to Willem de Koning academy for his bachelor’s degree and an internship with Dutch fashion designer Francisco van Benthum. While still fulfilling his bachelor’s degree, he made the collection Deconstructable Gender which was nominated for the academy’s Drempelprijs for design in 2009.

He was then selected by the Artez Fashion Masters, a fashion school in Arnhem where he now belongs to the Generation 12, a group of five international students, carefully selected from hundreds of applicants every year. His group showed their collection at the main stage of this year’s Amsterdam International Fashion Week.

For her part, Mrs. Hofwegen can only be proud of what her son has achieved and the bright future that is waiting for him. She said that the advices that she passed to Jonathan also came from her own mother.

“Kasi ang sabi ng nanay ko kahit mahirap ka, basta maayos ka sa sarili mo, mayaman tayo sa buong puso natin. Kailangan ay maayos ka sa sarili at presentable ka, kahit wala kang pera, kahit hindi ka mayaman, ok ka,” she beamed after watching her son’s show.

Using Filipino fabrics

Hofwegen is proud to use Filipino fabrics from banana and piña for his collections. One of his pieces was made using pineapple fabric which according to him is everybody’s favorite. It was actually stolen before his show so he had another one made. He is also fond of using banana fabric.

“When my mom wanted to get married, she bought me this shirt from banana leaves fabrics and I am so in love with the fabric. It has its own feel to it. It’s not quite silk but it’s not linen, it has totally different look and it has a totally different way of how it falls to the body so I become really interested with that,” he said.

Aside from banana and pineapple fabric, Hofwegen also wants to use other hand woven fabrics from the Philippines.

“I like [to] get in touch with [the] locals and make like really nice fabrics which you can show what the Philippines is capable of.”

For his next collection, Hofwegen already plans to use Filipino fabrics. He believes that Filipino fabrics can have its place in the fashion industry when developed and exposed to the world.

...the winning ad

'Creatures' ad campaign wins at Cannes festival

abs-cbnNEWS.com

Posted at 07/12/2011

 MANILA, Philippines - An advertising campaign dubbed "Creatures" won the Silver Lion for the Outdoor Category at the 2011 Cannes Festival of Creativity.

The campaign is for Boysen and it was done by the agency TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno (TBWA\SMP).
The 2011 victory is a second for both Boysen and the agency in the said awards.

In a statement, the agency said the "Creatures" campaign used high-speed photography, premium Boysen paints, meticulous shot choice, and design craft. It is a sequel to the "Flowers" campaign of 2010, which also won many awards, among them a Bronze Lion at the Cannes Lions Festival.

Behind "Creatures" is the creative team led by Creative Director Jake Tesoro, with Copywriter Bryan Siy and Art Director Nolan Fabular.

The agency also said the campaign is consistent with Boysen's thrust toward caring for the environment.

The paint company is currently spearheading a large-scale art project on the busy EDSA highway using Knoxout, a paint product that reportedly breaks down air pollutants.

This project is dubbed EDSA or Everyone Deserves Safe Air. Under the project, EDSA's walls will feature giant art pieces by 7 artists and TBWA\SMP.

...the Olympic medal designer

Pinoy places 10th in Olympic medal design tilt

abs-cbnNEWS.com

07/03/2011

MANILA, Philippines - A Filipino artist from UP Mindanao placed 10th in the public voting for the Innsbruck 2012 Winter Youth Olympics Medal Design Competition.

Mishael Jacob Pueblas' design garnered 2,240 votes in the competition to design the first Winter Youth Olympic Games medal.

An International Olympic Committee jury will decide on the final design from the top 10 entries.

According to the Medal Design Competition website, Pueblas' design was themed "Embracing the Triumph."



It features embracing human figures and the goddesses Nike and Hebe. It also features the Olympic Rings that signify unity of the games, as well as flames, that show the "burning passion of the young athletes that leads them to triumph."

In an interview with Mindanao Times, Pueblas said that he was fascinated with how winning athletes react to their victory.

"Usually, they shout for joy or embrace their loved ones to share their triumph. I want to capture that very point of their lives; my design embeds that very precious moment on their Olympic medal," he said.

The winner will get a VIP trip to the Youth Olympic games and a replica of the medals.

...the Young Lions award

PH wins Young Lions award at Cannes fest

By Angel Guerrero
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Monday, June 27th, 2011

 

GRAND PRIX DM9 JaymeSyfu’s Gabriela “Bruise” poster wins the Grand Prix at the Cannes ACT Responsibly competition. Pepito Olarte, Philippine Daily Inquirer vice president for advertising, accepts the trophy from Cannes Mayor Bernard Brochand during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

 

 

Cannes, France—The Philippines has won the prestigious Young Lions Young Marketers Competition for hot creative talent at the 58th Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.

Angeline Go and Justine Ferrer of Del Monte Philippines won the gold for the Cannes Young Marketers competition.

The Young Lions Competition is designed to catapult the careers of rising stars that are set to redefine the future use of imagery in advertising.

Philippine agencies BBDO Guerrero, TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno, DM9 JaymeSyfu and Ace Saatchi & Saatchi took home a combined haul of five medals from the festival which ended on June 25.

Dubbed the world’s biggest and most prestigious show on creativity and communications, the seven-day festival showcased around 24,000 entries from all over the world, the most deserving of which walked away with the highly coveted Lion trophies.

Pepito Olarte, vice president for advertising of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, was host to the 17 Philippine delegates privileged to be part of this groundbreaking advertising festival. The Inquirer is the Philippine festival representative of the Cannes Lions.

Rewarding category

Outdoor proved to be a rewarding category for the Philippines as TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno’s “Creatures” campaign for Boysen and BBDO Guerrero’s “Persistent Headaches” campaign for Saridon each received a Silver Lion.

DM9 JaymeSyfu walked away with a Bronze Outdoor Lion for the Department of Tourism’s “Limestone” poster.

DM9 JaymeSyfu also won the Grand Prix at the Cannes ACT (Advertising Community Together) Responsible Competition for the Gabriela “Bruise” poster. The award is given to the campaign which received the biggest number of votes from Cannes visitors.

Olarte accepted the trophy from the mayor of Cannes on behalf of DM9 JaymeSyfu.

Fashion laundry

Ace Saatchi & Saatchi’s “Fashion Laundry” for the Procter & Gamble detergent brand Ariel merited a bronze trophy in the Media Lions.

DM9 JaymeSyfu’s “Center of Attention” series “Opera” and “Lecture” ads for Pharex made the Press Lions short list but was unable to bag the coveted medal.

BBDO Guerrero’s FedEx “Changing World” was on the short list for Cyber Lions, while TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno’s Boysen Creatures, “Jellyfish,” “Snail” and “Fish,” and Campaign’s & Grey Philippines’ “Sneakers” for Lacoste, made the design category short list.

The country waited with bated breath as the Philippines’ Young Lions competed for the prestigious Film Lions and Young Marketers Competition.

Beside Ferrer and Go, Young Kidlat Awards winners Jeffrey Roel Thomas and Ramon Luis Alfonso of Publicis JimenezBasic for film also took part in the competition.

Profits for charity

This year’s brief, disclosed to competitors on June 22, required teams to create a fictional product or service relevant to their business and a supporting communications strategy for the launch, with all profits being donated to charity as the unique selling point.

Twenty-six teams under 28 years of age, had just 24 hours to interpret the brief and to develop their concepts, using content from Getty Images’ range of creative, editorial and archival collections.

Belarus came in second and Brazil, third.

Melvin Mangada, executive creative director of TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno, a silver Lion winner in this year’s Cannes, was the country’s sole member in the Cannes Outdoor jury.

Biggest winner

A day before the festival ended, the biggest winner was McCann Romania, which successfully sank its teeth into the Grand Prix in both the Promo and Direct categories. Located in Bucharest, the agency’s “American ROM” campaign for Romania’s favorite homegrown chocolate bar, the ROM, also bagged two Gold Lions for the same categories.

Asian pride was also on full display, with Cheil Worldwide’s “Homeplus Subway Virtual Store” for Tesco serving as its tour de force. The campaign won Korea a Grand Prix and a Gold Lion for Media.

Other Grand Prix winners were Droga5 New York for Outdoor Lions, Australia’s Clemenger BBDO for Press Lions and South Africa’s Net#Work BBDO for the Radio Lions.

The seven-day festival ended on Saturday, with the announcement of top accolades which included Palme d’Or, Agency of the Year, Network of the Year and the Grand Prix for Good.

...the Globe

Globe reinforces Filipino innovation with CodeSpark 2011 (The Philippine Star) March 12, 2011

MANILA, Philippines - Globe Telecom is bringing back CodeSpark, a program that encourages Filipino developers to exhibit their ability and creativity in designing and innovating applications for the mobile phone.

Globe is once again partnering with Nokia Philippines in reinforcing Filipino talent and ingenuity and showcasing local technological innovations to the international market.

Through the CodeSpark program, developers get the chance to build innovative applications for the Nokia platform and distribute their creations through Globe and Nokia’s Ovi Store.

For this year’s CodeSpark program, Globe and Nokia Philippines have also partnered with Forum Nokia, the global developer program that provides developers with tools, technical information, support, and distribution channels that they can use to build and sell innovative, world-class applications.

Nokia will be awarding $1,000 for every successful application that will be published on the Ovi Store.

The CodeSpark program is spearheaded by Globe Labs, a department in Globe created in 2008 to immerse the company and its different partners with technologies.

Globe Labs aims to identify and develop applications across fixed and wireless networks that can be commercially introduced. It helps bring in the latest information and communication technologies at the earliest market-relevant time to consumers.

“We are delighted by the response we received when we launched the program last year. This year, it will be even bigger and more challenging for Filipino developers as we seek for fresh concepts and ideas for mobile applications that will cater to the local preference of the market and engage them to download away,” said Blue de Venecia, head of Globe Labs.

“Implementing the CodeSpark program is very much aligned with our plans of strengthening our mobile data business this year. Through CodeSpark, our consumers will enjoy new and exciting mobile phone applications developed for the Filipino, by the Filipino,” De Venecia added.

CodeSpark 2011 is open to developers - individuals, groups, companies or members of the academe. The applications should be built using QT or Java MIDP platform. Game applications to be developed must be educational in nature.

Applications should connect to the Internet via GPRS, 3G or HSDPA to deliver all or part of its core functionality or use at least one of Globe services — SMS, MMS, LBS or Voice.

Interested developers who wish to register should include their outlines for the application they wish to develop.

Submitted application proposals will be evaluated and approved by Globe, Nokia Philippines and Forum Nokia based on the following criteria: (1) Stickiness, applications’ ability to cause users to return to use it often as part of life’s routines; (2) Relevance, applications that are locally relevant to the target audience, geographically and demographically; (3) Uniqueness, applications that are not currently available in the Ovi Store; and (4) Fun and Cool.

Once proposal for application is approved, qualified developers will be advised to create an Ovi Store Publisher Account to be approved by Nokia.

Presentation of applications proposal for review will happen on March 15, April 1 and May 2. The applications should by then be functioning and installable on actual devices.

Publication of the applications on Nokia’s Ovi Store is on May 31 and at the myGlobe Free Apps for six months, making the applications available to Globe subscribers for free.

...the apps creator

Cebu studes create app that dials names By Jessica Ann Pareja (The Philippine Star) March 07, 2011

Calling through SpellDial’s website, www.spelldial.com, also saves kilobytes of the phone’s memory to store contact information, says SpellDial lead creator Joseph Albert Padin.| Zoom

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A group of college students in Cebu has developed an application that allows mobile phone users whose phones can access the Internet to call a person registered in the application site’s database.

The catch, according to SpellDial lead creator Jose Albert Padin, is that the caller need not memorize the person’s number, but just the username of the person being called. Padin said it is often easier to memorize a person’s name than his or her mobile phone number.

Calling through SpellDial’s website, www.spelldial.com, also saves kilobytes of the phone’s memory to store contact information, he said.

“We believe that connecting should be simple and easy. That’s why we made SpellDial. SpellDial allows others to contact you through a name instead of a number. Why do you let people contact you by number when you have a name? With SpellDial, your name could be your number,” SpellDial’s slogan reads.

“I have talked with 100 people and only three of them remember Jollibee’s delivery number. This is because we easily forget numbers. Most of those I have talked with, however, remember the vanity numbers of their favorite fast food (outlets). So we thought that if names are easy to remember, then why dial numbers?” Padin said.

Vanity numbers are phone numbers that spell something on the keypad like “348-MCDO,” which stands for 348-6236, McDonald’s delivery hotline. Vanity numbers are limited to four characters so not all may use it.
With SpellDial, establishments may use their name regardless of how long it is.

Another situation when SpellDial would come in handy, Padin said, is when a mobile phone user loses the phone. What would happen is that the user would have to get in touch with all his contacts either through text or voice call to disseminate a new number. However, if the user is registered under SpellDial, he simply has to update his contact details online.

“In SpellDial, you never lose connection. I have donated my phones at least thrice to snatchers and it was miserable to lose all your contacts,” Padin said.

Getting connected

To register to SpellDial, a mobile phone user can go to the SpellDial website and create an account for free. Once he is registered, his contact details will be saved in the site’s database.

Padin said users need not worry about security because the site provides an option that hides the contact numbers registered. There will also be no duplication of usernames because a username is registered exclusively to one account.

Padin said users can even use special characters if only to make the username unique.

To call a person registered in the database, the user simply has to click the “Use SpellDial” option, which will lead him to the application page. There, the user can type the name of the person in the dial box.
As of last month, SpellDial had active 989 registered users.

Limitations, plans

Padin explained that the application only works for mobile phones that are Internet-capable like iPhones and Android-powered handsets, but the team is optimistic that it can find ways to make the application accessible even to non-Internet phones and even landlines.

“We understand that only some parts of the world have constant Internet access virtually everywhere. So we are also working to develop technology that will allow you to use SpellDial from an ordinary GSM mobile phone or even a PSTN landline. Although we don’t know how long it would take, it could come sooner than you expect. So make sure that you get the SpellDial name that you want before someone else takes it,” said the SpellDial team.

In the Philippines, the number of i-Phone users has reached millions and is expected to grow double or even triple in a few years.

The team

Padin is a fourth-year Information Technology student at the Center for International Education in Cebu City.

With him in the team are Nicole Faye Macarasig, an IT student of STI; Maria Paola Galan, a graduating IT student of the University of San Carlos; Jonina Joy Sharpe, a Mass Communication student of the University of San Jose-Recoletos; David Tangal, a Business Administration graduate of the University of San Carlos; and Kent Jason Tupas, an IT graduate of AMA Computer College. — Freeman News Service

...the art of lighting

Pinoy parols light up Bangkok, two other foreign cities

12/19/2010

The native parol (Christmas lantern), like the talented Pinoy, is well on its way to conquer the world, with some 100 parols from Pampanga province now lighting up Thailand's capital Bangkok even as two other foreign cities are getting set to light up their own Pinoy parols this Christmas season.

The colorful lanterns, which were simultaneously lit in a lighting ceremony in Bangkok last December 9, were provided by the office of San Fernando city, Pampanga Mayor Oscar Rodriguez, who was the special guest at the ceremony.

San Fernando city, which boasts of a major Christmas lantern industry and holds an annual Giant Lantern Festival every December, is considered as the country’s parol capital.

Philippine Ambassador Linglingay Lacanlale joined officials of the Royal Thai government, members of the diplomatic corps and the Filipino community in Thailand, at the lighting ceremony — a historic first in Bangkok according to the Department of Foreign Affairs in its website.

It is not the first time that the parol has been used in other countries.

In 2006, the Philippine Embassy in Vienna held a ceremonial lighting of 60 parols in the Vienna City Hall Square. Parols can now be seen in the annual Vienna Christmas Market. In San Francisco, California, an annual Parol Festival has been held since 2003.

Although its name comes from the Spanish farol, the parol is recognized as the Philippine Christmas lantern.

The star-shaped paper lantern, in part times popularly used to light the path for the ritual dawn mass called Misa de Gallo, is now a favorite local Christmas decoration hung in homes as well as public places, and now not just in the Philippines but increasingly, wherever there are Filipinos.



Proud to be Filipino

At the Bangkok ceremony, Lacanlale explained to the guests what the parol means to Filipinos, saying the parol is an excellent example of Filipino creativity and ingenuity.

The DFA quoted a Filipino teacher who came all the way from the northeastern province of Pithsanulok to witness the event as saying, "I have never felt proud as a Filipino as I do now."

"For the first time in my more than 20 years of living in Thailand, the Embassy shines so brightly with the parols serving to remind us and our Thai friends about a unique aspect of our Christian tradition," the unnamed teacher said.

After the lighting ceremony, the guests were treated to a reception that featured traditional Filipino dishes like lechon (roast pig) and favorite delicacies like puto bumbong (rice cakes baked in bamboo tubes).

The Embassy plans to make the parol-lighting ceremony a yearly event.

Next year, it hopes to display the lanterns in Sukhumvit Road, the main thoroughfare fronting the Embassy.—With Carmela G. Lapeña/JV, GMANews.TV