"Holy Week" or "holy week!"?

Our house is located right at the border of our village. Beyond the border are squatters' homes and other low-income households. I remember when I was a kid, even 2 weeks before Holy Week we would hear the singsong sounds of the Pabasa over a couple of loudspeakers. It was sometimes irritating, because the mournful sounds would go on all through the night, but most of the time it was just a background reminder that another long weekend was coming. In the time before the Internet, it also served as a distraction from the monotony of waiting through the Holy Week.

Now, I don't hear the Pabasa at all. Instead, loud music comes from boom boxes in different households, or sometimes just the normal sounds of the metropolis. Perhaps the neighborhood has changed, or most likely the people in them have changed. It's a bit disconcerting that a predominantly Catholic country like ours would find one of its holiest days relegated to something as simple as an extended weekend.

I remember the admonitions that one shouldn't eat meat, shouldn't take a bath on Good Friday, and countless other restrictions that do not seem to be followed by the majority nowadays. Now, it's more common to head over to the beach or hang out at home than participate in religious activities.

Just this past Holy Week my wife and I went back to her hometown of Lucena and I was surprised that even in a provincial city, there were a couple of eateries and establishments that were open even on a Good Friday. There was a time that even in Manila, Holy Week would make the streets a ghost town and too bad for you if you didn't have enough groceries to last the distance.

Is this really the price for progress and modernity? Admittedly, I'm also a victim of the times and I'm certainly no devout parishoner. However, all the religious activities during Holy Week are part and parcel of our history and our identity as a people and I can't help but feel some small concern that we are losing a part of ourselves as we get more enamored of "modern" pleasures.

Perhaps it's the stress of living that we all feel for most part of the year. So that even a few days off would be golden before going back to the penitensya of ordinary life and work. I guess it really is ironic that everyday life would be considered a burden, so that the commemoration of Christ's crucifixion, death and most importantly, His resurrection becomes a footnote in our minds. But when I watched The Passion of the Christ, I could not help but wonder what is the value of our whole droll existence when compared to what Christ went through? And what would it say of us that such a sacrifice was paid back by a few days of frolicking in the beach, drinking beer and eating sisig like crazy?

I guess we would know if our transformation would be complete if Maundy Thursday and Good Friday would not be considered holidays anymore (just like in the U.S.). In any case, dark as it may seem, it's really something to think on for the rest of the year.

Exploring Arnis Rapado

There are many styles of Filipino martial arts, running the gamut from spears and swords, all the way to grappling and empty hand techniques. The differences usually lie on the emphasis of techniques. These differences are usually apparent from region to region, but more often than not, styles can evolve among different instructors depending on their personal interpretation of the art, even among those who studied under the same master. This is not necessarily a bad thing because it shows that the art is adaptive and vibrant, but it can make identifying a style particularly confusing.

Right now, I'm going to focus on one particular style called Arnis Rapado, developed by Guro Limuel "Maning" Bonsa. Guro Bonsa was born in Albay in the Bicol region. He studied under several arnis masters in Bicol before moving to Manila in 1974, hence Arnis Rapado is heavily influenced by Bicol arnis. In fact, rapado is a Bicolano word meaning “to hit.” Aside from teaching, Guro Bonsa expanded his repertoire by studying other arnis styles under several grandmasters like Ernesto Presas (Kombatan / Modern Arnis), Jose Mena (Arnis Doblete Raperon and Arka) and Antonio "Tatang" Ilustrisimo (Kali Ilustrisimo).

All in all, Guro Bonsa has more than 30 solid years of experience in the martial arts. These are experiences gained not only in the training hall, but in the street as well. In the provinces, it is not uncommon that when one is learned in arnis, one would receive challenges from gangs (either singly or as one whole group) or from other arnisadors.

Guro Bonsa did not limit himself to just arnis, but has also mastered Karate, Kung Fu and Tai Chi Chuan. All of his experiences were distilled into his expression of the art, called Arnis Rapado.

Arnis Rapado is more of traditional, as opposed to tournament, arnis. Techniques are simple and direct to the point, emphasizing the quickest and most efficient way to defend oneself, because what may work in the tournament does not necessarily translate into the street. Like other styles, Arnis Rapado teaches students to use one or two sticks for self defense. However, Arnis Rapado emphasizes ambidextrous familiarity with each technique, meaning a practitioner should be able to execute a particular technique either with the left or the right hand. Guro Bonsa says this is important because one never knows if one will need to use the "off hand" in a fight. It will also help to mentally prepare the student to face any opponent regardless of whether the opponent is left-handed or right-handed.

Like other styles of traditional arnis, Arnis Rapado also teaches blade work, such as single sword, sword and dagger, and single dagger techniques. Guro Bonsa is also one of the few masters that include balisong (butterfly knife) and knife throwing in his training methodology. All in all, Arnis Rapado contributes to the wealth of Filipino martial arts available to us by preserving the original intent of the art while introducing innovations that train the student to handle different self-defense situations.

The white, white sands of Boracay

My wife and I got married on December 2006, but we decided to defer our honeymoon to Valentine's Day. Valentine's is a bit significant for us because that's also when I proposed to her (okay, not exactly on Valentine's Day, but it was our Valentine's dinner so it's practically the same). We decided to to have our honeymoon in Boracay, primarily because we hadn't been there yet.

At first it sounded so cliche to go to Boracay. After all, EVERYONE was going or has gone to Boracay. It's one of the most advertised beaches in the Philippines (in Pinoy terms, gasgas na siya). Not to mention which, I've also heard the stories about how Boracay was becoming overdeveloped and overcrowded. However, we had to try it at least once, so the decision was set.

Boy, I'm sure glad we went to Boracay, because we really enjoyed our stay there. Although our guide mentioned that it wasn't as rustic and peaceful as it used to be, being new to the area, Boracay was still charming enough that we want to go back.

It all started with a search in the Internet for honeymoon packages for Boracay. I wasn't familiar with the place and I was a bit pressed for time because I was in the middle of wedding preparations then. This wasn't the most cost efficient way to go about it, but it was the best I could do at the time. Luckily, I was able to find one such package and Cebu Pacific had this great promo ticket price. So I made the reservations, paid the bills and all we had to do was wait for the day itself.

Boracay Island is located at the northwestern tip of Panay Island, in the province of Aklan. According to our guide, a Japanese survey team discovered that Boracay island itself is just perched on top of the ocean shelf. Well, we better hope there's no strong sideways earthquake that will dislodge the island.

There are actually two ways to get to Boracay, either by sea or by air. I would have preferred the sea route because it's more relaxed and scenic, but we only had a few days, so we had to fly in. One can either fly to Kalibo or arrive at Caticlan which is closer to Boracay Island. However, Caticlan Airport is small, so only propeller planes can service the area. I've heard how riding in a propeller plane can be like riding a roller coaster. Not feeling like a bronco on rodeo day, we chose to fly to the much farther Kalibo Airport. For me, an Airbus beats a prop plane any time of the day.

Upon arriving at Kalibo, we took a 1-1/2 hour bus ride to the port of Caticlan. There wasn't much traffic and the route was scenic enough, so the travel time was worthwhile. After a short boat ride, we were finally there, in Boracay!

After checking in at Club Manila East, we basically went around the shops to explore the place. We ate a late lunch at a nice seafood place called Paradiso Grill. We bought a few trinkets and after that basically rested until it was time for dinner.

Come night time, the beach front changes face. All the nice lights come out and the music starts playing. One thing I liked was that the restaurants would set up tables and chairs, so that one can have dinner just a few feet from the surf. Others even had matting and pillows so that one can really lounge on the ground while having a few beers with friends. All in all, it was a very comfy setting.

We finally decided to eat at this Mexican-themed restaurant (the name of which I unfortunately forgot), primarily because there weren't many people plus there was some nice music playing. I liked the ambience and it would be a perfect place for a Valentine's dinner. We ordered some burritos (big servings, these) and whiled the night away.

Admittedly, the beachfront places were a bit pricey, though not exhorbitant. There are cheaper eating places further into the interior, but we had to experience the beachfront food places at least once.

One thing I have to say is that although it was technically the peak season, the beaches weren't that crowded. There were enough people for the beach not to feel isolated or empty, but not so much that one would feel crowded. I preferred it this way, because a few years ago I had experienced going to Puerto Galera during Holy Week and navigating the beach there felt like going through Divisoria.

On our second day at Boracay, we went on an island-hopping tour. It was an additional cost, but we might as well see as much of the area as we could. We first went to this fish feeding area. It reminded me of feeding fish in our aquarium back home, but the sea spray and rocking boat really made the home experience rather drab by comparison. Next we went to Crystal Cove island to visit some nice caves. After that we had to cut the trip short because the waves were a bit strong and my wife was getting nervous, but it was still a nice experience.

After the island-hopping experience, we had lunch at this place called La Isla Bonita. They had rooms and cottages but they also had a small restaurant that served affordable but sumptuous food. I practically gorged myself there (to the horror of my wife). Most of the time we were pretty much just soaking in the sights.

The place really holds a lot of potential. One can just spend all day soaking it up on the beach, or if that's no one's fancy, visiting the various shops or restaurants in the area. I really believe that Boracay has a little something for everyone.

At least I now know about how to make the trip more affordable. There's nothing like actually being there to find out. This way, we can spend more days there and do a lot more activities. For first timers, I also recommend getting a simple guide book like Boracay: The Island Guide (available at any National Bookstore). It contains a lot of information from hotels (arranged according to room rates), to eating places and trivia about the island.

Here's looking forward to our next trip to Boracay!