PAGADIAN CITY: THE NEW "TEASER"

Slowly and steadily, the contemporary Pagadian City address is getting a suave  facelift, thanks to the towering ambition and sky-scraping vision of one man, passionate and inspiring, his canvas is changing the definition of progressive and comfortable living in Pagadian. He may be misunderstood, but his power-packed transformation of the city speaks Major.

Cities excite me perhaps way more than it does to other people. On holidays I roamed to lovely cities like Paris, London, Rome, Milan, Cannes, Monte Carlo and Amsterdam.

I thought I was going to be a traveler  and then my dream morphed into being simply a tourist who is hungry for exciting adventures. It’s the way I think, the way I look at the world.

Like most other fast-growing  cities, Pagadian is “growth obsessed”…the city is the new black, the attitude of the south, which is why the search for MISS PAGADIAN CITY  was doing so well. The brain child of  the City Mayor – Samuel Co, the event was so charming and the city was charmed too.

Pagadian  is undergoing a period of enormous change and unprecedented economic development. It may be a show off but the display of growth works to the city’s advantage, making the city potentially more solid. It is  capable of attracting potential investors and creative types operating at the highest levels, myself included.

The city is an offering that requires an in-depth understanding of the market, it also requires us to be ready for it. It will  take years for the right – and sophisticated  conditions to be created… yet the way I look at it….new Pagadian is the hip&chic in whole Mindanao .

photo credits: Bobot Funcion
                     

Saging Nilung-ag, Ginamos & Pekpek Shorts

I was taking an afternoon nap on a bamboo bed at my nipa pavillion near the main house when I heard a strange sound as if coming out from the deep, say, para bang gikan sa sementeryo gani, kay ga-agulo, murag kalag nga wa mahimutang. She was screaming in sharp voice like Aray...aray nako , araaaaay.....

It bothered me a lot, unta kung nindot unta iyang voice, okey ra....pero por dyos, por dos por dos, chaka jud sa akong mga ears. Nawaaah  bigla ang akong pagka-katolgon, gibati kog kangil-ad, gihilasan ko sa akong nadunggan.

"Lagring...lagring!!!!!!!!!!! day duol ra god dere!" I called.
"Angkol, (wow, ha, sounds like french to me, arghhhh!) wala sa balay si aAti Lagring...tua sa videokihan! says Bering, our neighbor's 8 year old girl. "Adtoa ragod ging palihog" I said.

As I expected, hing kalit lang ug butho sa akong atubangan ang usa ka ghostly figure..kana bang murag kalag, alam ko na, way lain si Lagrimas...gabutang na sad ug Tsing- Tsang- Tso sa udtong tutok....with matching iyang nag-inusarang "PEKPEK SHORT".

"Day Lagring...diay piso, adtoa ra god tong gakanta sa videokehan, katong gakanta ug Aray...ihatag ning piso o, kay dili ko katulog sa iyang pwera gabang tingog ha, bitbita sad ning dos pordos, hala hadloka kini aron moundang." I commanded her.

"O anong nyare...ansabee??? nganong mura kag kandila diha? adtoa na ba!!!

Ser, bugal-bugalon kaayo ka....ako man tong gakantag Aray Ser, nindot kaayo akong bersyon noh? talo pa tong original singer!!!!!!!!

I was left in a trance...mura kog gikan sa delivery room, kana ganing naay nanganak unya gasyagit ug Aray...Aray!!!! ang mabdos, sus noh sa akong mind, merese...merese ka Day, aray-aray ka sa imong bangag...tinoyuan na nimo ha.

It was a nonesense moments with Lagring, of course, she has all the freedom to release all the pollution of her vocal chords, thy kingdom come. Now it's either evaporate to Timbuktu or ignore the local Diva who has all the rights to show off...total akong bana-bana sya jud naka hurot sa tig singko nako sa altar.

Okey, hala pagtak-ang kay mag meryenda tag nilung-ag saging unya palit ug ginamos malos didto sa merkado..ilang ka Bangladish.

While Lagring was busy in the kitchen, mi balik kog katulog oi......

Ser, luto na saging ug ako napod napanitan, Lagring said.
Lagring ngano man nga uyap man kining imong gipalit? ingon ko nimo baya nga ginamosssss???..Yay...the nerve to change my favorite.

"Ser maot tan-awon ang ginamos...itomon, unya ang uyap ganahan ko sa color, penk!!!!!!!!! Lagrimas retorted.

  Yay, I thought, pati ba naman color pinakialaman? hmmmp, sapoton ko, as if dili pod sya tagabukid....di ka ila ug ginamos!

I felt that eating the mga baby pa nga shrimps is an outright cruelty to the bill of rights sa mga seafoods, diba? baby shrimps can't reach adulthood...

Anyhow I ended up eating saging with brown sugar, lol.

The next morning I went some shopping at my favorite Robinson's at C3 Pgadian, stuffs for the week, and I thought buying something for Lagring. She is a good and so crazy yaya and her coming out is a good sign to me. Nawala na ang iyang kamaulawon, baga nag face...mokanta jud bisan yabag ug tingog.

The Santa Lucia thrift shops seems a large community of sinampay, hundreds of faded and worn out clothing made an eye sore to me, almost glary to the society-ness, ahahahahahahaaha.

I saw several pekpek shorts na tiyak magustuhan ni Lagrimas....white, jeans color at pink of course!

When she saw them, she jumped with joy...ambot why, ukay- ukay ra na ha, pero wala nako gi ingon, basin iuli nya sa akoa. What matters Lagring is always polite, and thanked me for the gesture.

So ayon every afternoon ga ngaw-ngaw ang ungo sa videokehan, dili jud ko katulog...anyway duol na ang kwaresma...penetensya ko ug advance.

Being just Normal....

Of BIRTHDAYS & being FRUGAL

My previous birthdays were spent in a Hollywood scenarios. Three months bookings been done to ensure the success of the big day. A seven star hotel was on my dream, complete with high gourmet of Asian fusion ..the best amongst that life could offer. Inquiries were too harsh sometimes rigid, about where do I work and salaries. Knowingly that Filipinos stereotyped as the most frugal kind of people that worked abroad, I was fully been interviewed as if I can’t afford. Ahahahaha, as if!!!!

Next is the wheels of luxury, the king of the road, the vehicle to the stars- stretched limousine. Rented for one thousand dollars per hour, the car shimmers with quirks and decadence. The interiors flash with glaring sounds, a mirrored bar complete with champagne, wines and sodas. Ten of us were booked on that special day, the closest among the close friends.

The after party-selecting the hippest and the newest bar/disco in town to finally end up the birthday bash.

The ten who will share on my table were selected among friends, artists,nobles and and celebrities…but ended up on my friends mostly.

On that evening everybody dressed to the max, thy kingdom come. It was the merging of the fiercest spender in the city….gauging prominence on their arm blings—only HERMES and LOUIE VUITTONS were allowed.

The food were absolutely mouth watering, of course, it was so expensive duh!!!!!

The crowd was brilliant and sartorial too. Everything on that day seemed endlessly perfect….except my wallet!

I don’t mind at all, it was my fabulous birthday and who needs birthday celebration on the pathetic lowly indigestible, disgusting, cheap, shameful, tasteless, pedestrian stall in the forgettable alley….duh!!!!!

Lifestyle is a way of life, if you don’t have it…fake it!, buy it, borrow or still worst…steal it! Ahahahahahaha!

Did I mention that my friends never fake it?...rule number one: to be real.

We only have three rules actually:

1.  Are you famous dahling!( seen in glossy mags, high events)

2.  Do you travel to fab places..(London, Paris,Milan,New York)

3.  Do you have Hermes baby….!

PLANTACION MONTANA FUENTES: SOON......

About forty five minutes  drive from Pagadian City Airport – through small towns and hamlets, down palm-fringed roads and alongside clumps of  trees – takes you to the relatively undiscovered Plantacion Montana Fuentes. It is home to the newly-minted oasis of serenity in the near future, located on a picturesque expanse  nestled in a rustic environment, of dense trees and mango orchard…. the property is a luxurious soul sanctuary that is waiting to be experienced soon.

Satiate your senses in a multitude of ways from the instant you step into its environs. The architecture is inspired by a mix of Balinese and local ethos in almost every aspect of its design, recreating a quintessential Asian experience amidst the bounty of nature.

The key word is relaxation. A private retreat – that  raise the luxury and intimacy quotient with infiniti pool, private dining areas, a rain shower and soak tub. A refreshing way to experience peace in the midst of pampering!

Organic and natural rituals are imparted in spaces infused with energy and holistic balance. Here, signature experiences are enough solace for the soul.

The property follows a host of green practices,   employing alternative energy resources like rain-water harvesting and solar heat plants to save energy. Their green initiatives like the tree plantation drive and helped create awareness and education amongst the environmental conscious few.  The Plantacion’s dream invested on a long range plan and its minimalist and urban designs, luxe rooms and sumptuous world cuisine make it an ideal retreat for the discerning taste.

Tucked away in the scenic and vivid vistas of a mountain range, the site encapsulates the  merged of indigenous local craftsmanship.

missing a place called HOME

  It's my travelling back home once again, at least on my homesick mind... another bewitching  time on my emotional snaps down memory lane. It is some sort of my recharging journey to connect once again my innerself  to a place called..home.

Why going home is still very emotional moment  for me then.....It's like me in a period movie...something sepia...some edgy cinematic pictures almost an entry to a vintage film festival.

  Dusky frame with monochromatic  shades of brownish gold landscape while an impatient sun perched in a corner of mountain trees waiting  in the wings of Mother Earth for its exit cue. It's my own version of "The Way We Were"  reverie. But back in time was just a year ago, where I saw trees, animals, my farm, mountain jeep, horses and water buffalos.

I don't dwell in the past...I am a present/ future tense in a sentence, yet here I am with confused emotions. After a longish spell lost in my thoughts, I know the answer...I simply miss all the good things in my life....my son and  Home.
 

My   travel back home involves more than just being there at the Philippine Fashion Week on May, exploring cuisine at Morato and sipping coffee at Greenbelt, landscape, nightlife, art, fashion, music.
More even enjoying the breath of fresh air in the mountain mist..it's my embraces to my love ones, a bonding moment  deeply catalogued in my memory bank,  so looking back, it will be another sepia coloured Kodak moments in some vintage  film festival on my mind.

 As a fashion designer and artist  I often travel for inspiration, or to find myself. Or even to change  by load-shedding previous inhibitions and ways of being. Sometimes using  other journeys  as mirrors to the ones I  have left behind. Here, my  destination gives me  a new relish of life  to look at the world, and perhaps myself, differently.

So  who needs  Paris to give my  imagination a free reign, let me  put it cogently: ‘One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of connection.”

photos: all from PAGADIAN CITY

BUCOLIC CHRISTMAS: IT'S MORE FUN

The morning mist filled the Montana with fog that seemed surreal, a landscape of clouds as if I was floating in the sky. White and cotton-like, it enveloped the whole Plantacion and the visibility is zero. I took my cup of brewed coffee from the kitchen of my farmhouse and went to the extended pavillion overlooking the river. I felt the December coldness, and I  covered myself with thick blanket over a comforter last night.

Which one of us doesn’t get nostalgic around Christmas time? Personally I slip into ‘fantasy mode’ as the aroma of  season is floating in the air with Christmas songs, carolers stroll around villages and parols hanging on windows.

Enveloped in festive fervour my mind reminded to my last Christmas holiday in the misty cold Plantacion Montana Fuentes.
From Manila International Airport I took a transfer airport vehicle bringing me to a domestic flight to Pagadian, a good one week before Christmas. My idyllic rural life is my bucolic sense of therapy  away from the metropolitan chaos and strenuous city life. High spirited, took me to an hour and fifteen minutes to reach Pagadian and my flight was smooth as silk. It was quietly my rejuvenation and relished while I inhaled the unmistakably native air as I beeline on luggage check out counter.

 Mark Sebastianne my 5 year old son was waiting eagerly outside the airport building so as my nephews and other family members. The traffic ouside was minimal, a very sign that at last I reached my distination. A quick drop at Jolibee for lunch made my baby smiling all- over, knowingly it is his favorite restaurant. I felt short of a fake Bohemian Zamboanga style with cornucopia of my Louie Vuitton mixed Hermes scarf and juggling my Hermes bag that I brought along my la provence holiday.

 I marveled as I watched orders of French fries,burgers and chicken joys strucked down on our long table. I can’t still believe I smelt a lifestyle change from my Gothic environment and fashion playgrounds abroad to this unbelievable sway of change, de rigueur 360 degrees.

But see, the spirit of a holiday is that of an intrepid backpacker is definitely not me…realizing that, it’s like waves of nearby sea, accepting and consuming. It doesn’t repudiate the wannabes, the unsophisticated that the ‘real vibe’ imbibers say is corroding my destination. Sipping an orange juice, I prepared myself to leave behind chauffeured stretched limousine and jump into my military typed mountain jeep in top-down like going to a Rambo.

If you are a Carrie Bradshaw-like cocktail chaser, follow what I call ‘Pagadian’s Beverly Hills – a trail that begins from the downtown Avenue up to the top of the Hiker’s Plaza, dotting the main road with beer joints and cafes.
For those seeking an aventurous nights, Django’s is your hotspot, bling-bling young crowd meets jungle Janes and cute Romeos.
Now if these places neither suit you, then ask some snotty boys to go far down to a quirky check and meet Tony near the pier for some barbecues and balot.

As I fill my lungs with the moist Yllana Bay sea, I concur that nightlife in Pagadian is an assault to the senses and the peculiar flavor of the city’s fascinating attempt  to uplift itself to quality nightlife. Discerning tastes must be adjusted and slip into the flow as a veteran night owl told me, “Either you get it or you don’t”….there’s no middle ground. So if you are toeing to classic, jazz  and other bars to fit your chic/hip bars make a graceful exit and go to Plaza Luz and listen to  Opera music that compliment the dancing fountain.

LAGRING IN THE CITY

After finishing a quick shower, I had a quick change with just a Topshop cargo shorts in white and a tight Zara shirt with minimal prints in long sleeves. I grabbed my favorite Tom Ford shades and Ed Hardy's cap and my Arafat scarf.


 It was Saturday and I decided to have a break from the farm and do some shopping and a little bonding with my son, Marc Sebastianne Fuentes who nagged me everyday for the past three days that he dreamed last night of a burger and spaghetti, his favorite. Lagring shows too much excitement since I told her that I will give some money for shopping since it's her birthday the following week.

" Lagring, ready na baka? I asked her, while I grabbed the car key and about to leave. Oo sir....kadyot lang kay nanghimasa sa ko" she said.

Kadugay biya nimo intawon, maabtan jud tag ulan ani . Ngano man kang ga tsinelas man ka?...sa ciudad ta adto oi! pag sapatos sa, I was just so

desperate to see her in a modest yet nice wardrobe. Yet here is Lagring, wearing a pink t-shirt(she loves pink, maong nadonot na nyag bali-balik ug suot) and some blue jeans from 
inutang sa silingan nga ang brand  Natasha.

Wa na kay laing t-shirt Lagrimas?....napaok na nang imong fink t-shirt day ahehehehehehe...I joked at her.

Sir, gipangayo man gud sa akong manghod akong red....kay isuot daw sa bayle, kay pyesta man gud sa among baryo.

Well, I thought , end of the queries and start to leave.

I am happy with Lagring, boutan nga bata and Baste, my kindergarten baby loves her. I used to seeing them together giggling and laughing around the house. I was thinking of allocating 2,000 pesos just for her additional clothing, and also my personal gift for her birthday.

Our first destination was Jolibee opposite People's. I like eating my breakfast there and can see my jeep parked just opposite the building.Baste ordered Hotsilog , while Lagring hesitantly went for Chicken Joy.A dasilog with my pancake and hot choco is my Jolibee's favorite.

Satiated, we proceeded first at the Bench shop near Southern Mindanao College Building just a 2 minute drive fron Jolibee. I bought some underwear and asked Lagring if any item caught her fancy." Ay sir, dili lang ko dere kay mahal.I said it's my gift on her birthday, yet she insisted to go somewhere like Novo, BE and Gaisano, our last stop.

I parked my car at the back and went inside the air conditioned mall in the city. I love the simple city life and fresh air in my farm...everything is already at hand, my favorite Chavignon Blanc (WHITE WINE) and the daily fresh seafoods which remained so cheap compared to Manila.

We cruised down Teresa's Boutique and checked the latest trendy ladies wear that I hope she will like, but Lagring can't accept fully a fashionable lifestyle...baryotic pa rin ang taste. So we went upstairs and look for what ever she likes while I am looking for my son's toys, shoes and shorts.

Unsa na Lagrimas, naa na kay napili Inday?....Wala Sir!...

Ha?...naunsa naman ka, kadaghan dere mga nindot nga blouses ug skirts o pantalon, syarog wa jud kay napili?????

Hmp!!.. ambot nimo oi!!!!!...na hala lagring nia kining dos mil ug ikaw na ang bahala mopalit sa imong gusto. Ug kami ni Baste adto mis playground sa taas...padulaon sa nako sya.

So we went up and sure Baste enjoyed the rides.

Time passed and still Lagrimas did not show up.Asa naman ang  kagwang ha...and I began to worry.

After a while she appeared with only a little package on her hand.

O, unsa nay imong napalit ug pwerte nimong dugaya?

Usa ra ka blouse Sir.

Ha? unsay imong gihimo sa nabilin nga kwarta??

Gipalit nakog cellphone Sir!..

Asus, kahibalo pakog celfon ra diay imong gusto, dili jud ka tagaan ug kwarta!!!!!!!!!

Asa diay tong imong daang cellphone?

Gipangayo sir sa akong bana....!!

Yay I thought...the nerve, I felt so short changed with Lagring. But it was my gift to her


...so I kept my mouth shut.