Saturday, March 19, 2011

St. Joseph's Day

March 19 is Saint Joseph’s Day.  It is a solemnity in the Roman Catholic Church and celebrated as well as a feast by the Anglicans and Lutherans.  It is also father’s day for Spain, Portugal and Italy.



An interesting occurrence during St. Joseph’s is the “miracle of the swallows” at San Juan Capistrano, Southern California, where a whole flock of cliff swallows return from their winter vacation at Goya, Corrientes in Argentina.  They return to rebuild their mud nests months at the walls of the old stone church.  This event is celebrated each year.  The Mission Bells ring as the little birds wing their way back to the most famous Mission in California, the village of San Juan Capistrano takes on a fiesta air.

“People from all around the world come to the town of San Juan Capistrano to share in the rich tradition that defines St. Joseph’s Day at Mission San Juan Capistrano,” said Mechelle Lawrence-Adams, Executive Director of the Mission.

“We are grateful for our swallows history as a means of welcoming the public and sharing this incredible historic resource with them and invite the public to take part in all that we have to offer – dances, entertainment, bell ringing, exhibits, and the opportunity to connect with family and friends.”

The swallows remain for the duration of spring and winter, feeding on insects, spiders, flies and worms in order to breed and to prepare for their journey back to Argentina come October 23, feast day of San Juan Capistrano.

Leon Rene wrote the song “When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano” which was recorded by The Ink Spots, Guy Lombardo, Glenn Miller and Pat Boone.

Monday, March 14, 2011

UE Art Students

I chanced to pass by Philam Life at UN Avenue and saw this exhibit by UE Art Students and took images of some using my cell phone.

Golden Years
Jazmine Mei Diaz



 Si Rubia
Jeremy Joy Francisco


 

Pinakamagandang Hayop Sa Balat Ng Lupa
Keziah Madrid

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Mardi Gras

It was the Ellen Degeneres show that reminded me that the next day would be Ash Wednesday.  Ellen had those Mardi Gras beads and a lady guest from New Orleans.. And so, I downed two beers while watching the show.  

Most people associate Mardi Gras with merry making and carnivals, as in Rio, Brazil and in New Orleans.  Its roots are Christian, marking the day before Ash Wednesday when Christendom starts the practice of fasting and mortification.  Mardi Gras is leterally “Fat Tuesday” in French, also known as Shrove Tuesday or Pancake day in UK.


It is an error to refer to Philippine festivals such as the Ati-Atihan, Sinulog, Masskara, Dinagyang, Buling Buling, etc. as the local Mardi Gras.  It might be more appropriate to associate these to what was known in many Catholic cultures as Carnival, the liturgical period between Christmas and Lent. 

Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, a pagan custom which Christianity has tried to relate to the coming of Lent, a season of doing penance.  The event is also known as Shrove Tuesday, perhaps a more Christian label and associated with pancake dinners.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

The Carabao Band of Thailand

The Carabao Band was organized in 1976 by Thai students Yuanyong Opaku (Aed) and Kirati Promsaka Na Sakon Nakhon (Khiao), both of whom were studying in the Philippines at Mapua Institute of Technology.  Their music take on social and political issues and was either banned or ignored by the government radio and TV stations during the 1980s and early '90s.  Their most popular album was released in 1984. Called Made in Thailand, it sold more than three million copies.