Post Tagged with "The Philippines"

ManilArt Scene

Paintings speak a universal language. The painter has this duty/burden/pleasure to express himself to his audience. For many years, Filipino artists have shown their remarkable skill through this medium. Our experiences as a people are reflected through their works and they serve as an inspiration for this generation to take it a notch higher.

The most notable painter who gained international recognition was Juan Luna. His work, the Spoliarium, won the gold medal in the 1884 Madrid Exposition of Fine Arts.

The Spoliarium by Juan Luna y Novicio.

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Kumusta? and other Filipino greetings

After talking about greetings around the world with our friends in PocketCultures, I would like to give a more detailed answer to this question:

The first thing one needs to know about language in the Philippines is that we have lots of them. We’re an archipelago of different cultural communities with various languages and dialects (not to mention foreign influences that enriched our languages). English is widely spoken here and we also have the vernacular Filipino with Tagalog as its base. Up to this day, this has become an issue to some who belong in other ethno-linguistic groups. It deserves a separate post.

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Kiss, hug or shake hands?

This is the first in a new series of collaborative posts, where we explore different social situations from the point of view of our contributors around the world.

Today’s topic: how to greet people in different countries.

Credit

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Of Flags & Meaning

The easiest way to know a country better is by looking at the meaning of its flag.

On June 12, my country will celebrate its 112th year of independence.

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How Now Carabao

A dog is recognized as everybody’s best friend. They’re loved almost all over the world. In my country, dogs are met with the same affection but they also face stiff competition against our beloved carabao.

Filipinos see carabaos as faithful partners in life. The carabao or kalabaw is a water buffalo that is endemic in Southeast Asia. Aside from helping our farmers plow the fields, this animal is our source of transportation, milk for sweets and cooking, meat, raw materials to design furniture, coin and mascot designs, body armor, children’s songs, jokes, and expressions in the vernacular.
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Out & about in Metro Manila

The capital city of the Philippines is Manila. It is part of a large entity called Metro Manila. The easiest way of putting it is this: Manila is the beginning, Metro Manila is the result.

Metro Manila has 16 cities and 1 municipality. It has more than 10 million people living in it and I’m one of them. I live in a city called Mandaluyong where it’s highly accessible to shopping malls and Makati City, the country’s central business district.

With such a large land area, the question comes up:

What do I ride to get around Metro Manila?

There are private and public vehicles. There are metered taxis but it really depends on one’s budget to ride them. I have no car so I’m taking public transport. There’s something to remember about public vehicles. Words such as “ordinary” and “special” will come in handy as I mention a common transportation found within the islands—The Tricycle.

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