Cordoning off the beach from onlookers

A minute later, during the Philippine National anthem

Yesterday was the 65th anniversary of the Douglas MacArthur landing in Talisay City, Cebu, which is my home town. There was a series of programs, speeches, song and dance as well as a reenactment of what happened in World War II. However, these ladies, especially the one at the center caught my attention.

Paete's Rite of the Dead, my sixth photo story in Pagtu-o

My latest photo story in Pagtu-o | Faith is now up. Paete’s Rite of the Dead documents this unique ritual in Paete, Laguna wherein an alleged 16th century wooden and jointed Santo Sepulcro, the dead Christ lying in state, undergoes a ritual that is akin to mummification rites in some tribal groups in the Cordilleras.

Check the slideshow and free PDF

Enicka, my niece, graduating from Kindergarten 2

My niece Enicka, six years old graduated yesterday from Kindergarten 2 at simple ceremonies at her school in Dumlog, Talisay City, Cebu. She was Most Responsible (they do have this kind of awards) plus a medal for being second honor in the class.

A runner preparing for the 5th Friday night run, last night, organized by Max Limpag (CebuRunning.com) with his wife. This is an informal weekly activity that is gaining popularity with local runners. Running for fitness is also one of the fastest growing sport in the country today.

My original plan was to shoot and run and see for myself if it’s really feasible. However, I learned the hard way that next time, it’s better to just shoot or to just run unless I’m conditioned and fit enough to multitask (check my post about the run last night at fitandrun.info).

Max Limpag with his wife of ceburunning.com have been organizing Friday night runs starting at 10 PM at his office in Sun Star, Cebu’s largest local daily and last night was the 5th so far with about 22 runners joining including me. The route usually ends at the Ayala IT Park. Depending on the route, it can be 4-7 kilometers long.

Now, if you’ve been following my running at fitandrun.info, I just started three weeks ago with a running plan and I was unsure if I should join. Max invited me last week but have to beg off and this week, I thought why not shoot for a future feature of this weekly activity and try to run at the same time?

I packed light with my DSLR, ultrawide and flash. It was not so much about the weight which, was really manageable, and with my Rudy Project bag that was small enough and able to hug my back with the series of adjustments. I really didn’t find it difficult but was in fact, comfortable the whole time.

My major mistake was to try to get ahead of the line to shoot but, unfortunately, spent much energy catching up that by the time I made it, I was already exhausted and still didn’t have good images. Darn! This affected my run in the first few kilometers but when it started to rain, I did recovered from that debacle and finished. Third to the last. It was sweet.

I should just do another documentation of the group and not run. Next time.

If not for the article that I submitted for Juan Magazine, a free publication distributed in airports and selected travel destinations, I wouldn’t have gotten to write for Living Today, a Pinoy – Canadian Magazine that is published monthly in British Columbia. Well, Yul Baritugo, the Executive Director, invited me to contribute articles and photos about travel in the country. These are the first two under the Destination Philippines travel feature.

Living Today, February 2010 issue Co-written with Yul, it highlights Cebu as a destination with its many places to visit, food and festivities.

Sinulog and Cebu’s Myriad Offerings article in Living Today, page 1

Sinulog and Cebu’s Myriad Offerings article in Living Today, page 2

Living Today, March 2010 issue This one focuses on San Juan La Union for the surfing and Ilocos Norte for its food, Paoay and the stunning sand dunes.

Northern Exposure article in Living Today, page 1

Northern Exposure article in Living Today, page 2