Foundation News

Bulacan is as sweet as it is historical. This cultural laboratory presents the sly Bulacano wit and creative cuisine which epitomize the old Tagalog culture. Aside from visits to architectural landmarks, historian Dez Bautista completes the sensory experience with a balagtasan, puntungan and a tertulia.

When:
Saturday, January 20, 2007!

Number of Participants:
Minumum of 40, maximum of 50

Cost of tour:
Member’s fee: P2,400
Non-member’s fee: P2,700

Inlcusive of transportation and meals.

Payment must be made on or before January 12, 2007. We will accept payments directly at the Museum Foundation office (cash or cheque only). Payment can also be deposited to the Museum Foundation of the Phils. Metrobank savings account: 495-349-550-082-0. Upon deposit, please fax the deposit slip to 404.2685.

Itinerary:
7:00 am Registration in front of Santuario de San Antonio, Forbes Park.

7:30 Departure from Santuario de San Antonio, Forbes Park for Bulacan

9:00 Plaridel Church
The church is a symbol of the triumph of Christians over the Muslims who had occupied much of Spanish territory.

9:30 The Aguaya Monument
A short play dramatizes the triumph of Filipino Republican forces against .

10:15 Bulacan Garden Nursery
Ingam, Malolos City
The huge nursery is a tropical oasis of palms, flowering plants and all manner of landscaping materials.

Merienda: Bulacan tinapay and pastries served with Hacienda juice, empanada de kaliskis, inipit, biscocho, palipit, an de coco, otap, enseimada served with kesong puti

11:15 Leave for Calumpit Church which showcases baroque architecture and ornate stone carvings.

11:45 Leave for Pottery Village
Gatbuca, Calumpit
The American archaeologist, Fox, had unearthed pottery in Novaliches (then part of Bulacan) and Marilao, which proved signs of early civilization in the province.

12:15 Leave for the Bautista House Garden, Malolos
An old dance colors the arrival of guests to the Bautista Gardens. Guests are crowned with fresh flowers while a choir sings songs of welcome. Maligayang Oras ng Pagdating indeed!

1:00 Lunch buffet of Bulacan delights while being entertained by songs of Bulacan sang by Koro Bulakenyo. Menu includes: Liempo negro wuth prunes and chestnuts, Hamonadong Longganisa with grapes, Lengua Maloleña, Lumpiang sugpo, Bibingka with Hamon Chine, and MANY more!

2:00 Walking tour of Old Houses of the Kamistisuhan District.

2:45 Leave for Barasoin Church and NHI Museum

3:00 Audio-visual presentation of the Glory of the Malolos Republic, NHI Museum

3:30 Hiyas Museum
Malolos Provincial Capital
A Repository of the Cultural and Historical achievement of Bulacan

4:15 Tertulia in the Bautista House
Short Balagtasan by Bularan poets
Duet of Love songs

Merienda: A Kakanin Festival that includes tsokolate with gatas ng kalabaw/ country tea, kalamay hirin and assorted kakanin, arrozcaldong sugpu, juice.

5:30 Leave for Manila. ETA is at 7:30 pm

7:30 Estimated arrival in Santuario de San Antonio

There may be changes to the itinerary on day of the tour due to unforeseen events. Please wear comfortable clothes and shoes. Bring drinking water and a fan or umbrella to keep cool.

For more information or reservations, please call the Museum Foundation at 404.2685/ 722.9073/ 0928.503.9392. Look for Elvie, Flor or Patricia.

Download the reservation form as pdf or zip.

The Big Binondo Food Wok: Nibbling Our Way Through Chinatown
POSTPONED!
Fee: P750.OO per person

Four hundred years of history and up to four hours of decadence!

The flavors of China are now in Manila. Come eat, walk and lose those calories as we explore the breadth, the width and most intimate alleys of Manila’s Chinese quarter!

We start, quite paradoxically, in a 16th-century Baroque cathedral while making our way down to a miraculous Chinese shrine! Take a peek at a traditional chocolate factory! Learn about Chinese marriage rituals! Sing hurrahs to an authentic Hokkien-style lumpia!

We’ll horse around the streets talking Filipino history and gorging Chinese treats while checking out the district’s Period architecture. Forget South Beach- it’s Tsinoy chop suey and more as we nibble our way down through Chinatown!

Places of interest in this tour: Basilica de San Lorenzo Ruiz, Santo Cristo de Longos Shrine, Traditional Chinatown Shops & Restaurants, Te Ya Kong, Escolta Architectural Clump (optional), Carvajal Food Market (optional)

Meet at the Lobby inside Binondo Church.

For more information or reservations, please call the Museum Foundation at 404.2685/ 722.9073/ 0928.503.9392. Look for Elvie, Flor or Patricia.

Download the reservation form as pdf or zip.

At the northernmost tip of the Philippines lies the island province of Batanes. This postcard-perfect archipelago is said to a land bridge for the rest of Asia. It is believed that Austronesians from Southern China and Indochina reached Batanes in 3,500 B.C. making the islands the gateway of a great migration.

Being an insular people, the Ivatans have preserved their gene pool, culture and traditions; particularly their method of building the Ivatan house, usually a small, low house that has heavy stone walls and a roof of thick cogon that was designed in response to the environment. Ivatans have, for centuries, shared the tasks and costs of building and repairing the houses. Sadly, modernization and modern construction materials are endangering the Ivatan homes.

We invite you to join the Museum Foundation of the Philippines and Architect Jose F. Ignacio on November 25, 2006 as we rediscover the depth of the Ivatan architecture and it’s curious link with the landscape and climate of Batanes. Hopefully, we’ll all walk out with a deeper perspective of place that holds many in awe.

For reservations please call 404.2685 or 0917.8170127 and look for Elvie Magpayo or Patricia Limon.

* * *

Architect Jose F. Ignacio is assistant head at the Environmental Architecture Laboratory of the College of Architecture of the University of the Philippines and has done comprehensive research on the Ivatan houses in an effort to preserve them. His paper, “Documenting the Heritage Houses of Batanes” talks extensively about the architectural anatomy of the Ivatan houses, the traditional practices of the Ivatans, and their transfer of architectural know-how.

Stories About Preserving Philippine Cultural Heritage: The Heritage Houses Of Batanes will be held on Saturday, November 25, 2006, from 10 am - 12 nn at the Tambunting-Villonco Hall of the Museum of the Filipino People, Valencia Circle, Rizal Park, Manila. The fee for Museum Foundation members is P50 and non-members P100.

Mounds, Magnates & Mausoleums!
A Chinese Cemetery Walk
on October 28, 2006

Boo! So you’ve heard about its flamboyant tombs but never had the guts to visit it? Well, here’s that trippy trip you’ve been dying for! Come and join Ivan Man Dy and the Museum Foundation as we walk through the family mausoleums of the Chinese cemetery!

We’ll skirt through the historic alleyways of the City of the Dead, learning about the lives of the Philippine Taipans of yore. See a lumber mogul’s three storey mausoleum! Light incense at one of Manila’s oldest Chinese temple! Discover the exploits of the renowned Noodle King! Visit a unique ‘turtle tomb.’

Let’s talk history, learn about Chinese customs and check out some of the most eclectic architecture in the city. We’ll search for worldly ghosts and tread where no spirits have tread before! So what are you waiting for? Warm up those muscles as we take a tour of the Tsinoy underworld- in style!

For more information and reservations, please call Elvie Magpayo or Patricia Limon at 404.2685 or text 0918.585.0383.

Fee is P750 inclusive of tour rates and transportation.
(Minimum of 6 persons)

Itinerary:
08:00 am: Pick up at Starbucks, Forbes Park
09:00 am: Cemetery Tour
12:00 pm: Drop off at Starbucks, Forbes Park

This Halloween tour is brought to you by:

Iloilo is the land of the sugar barons, the home of lilting accents, a Philippine port to the past, and a center of culinary delights. Come join us as we rediscover the second oldest city in the Philippines!

Join our tour on November 10-12, 2006!

Our City Guide:
Mr. John Silva is a son of the Visayas. This proud Ilonggo is a senior consultant at the National Museum and a fervent advocacy writer who is naturally passionate about the preservation of the cultural heritage of the Philippines. Armed with his southern charm and quick wit, John Silva continues to fight for the preservation of our cultural treasures. Come and take delight in his charming and personal tour of Iloilo.

Hotel Accommodations:
Hotel Del Rio is centrally located only a few minutes away from the airport, pier, historic downtown, and the city’s commercial district. The graceful Iloilo River, which flows in the backyard, provides the peace and tranquility other hotels in the city cannot quite offer.

The tour package is computed based on twin sharing accommodations. For those interested in a single room, kindly contact our office. (Rates will be adjusted accordingly.)

Cost of tour:
The cost of tour per person is P12,800 for members and P14,000 for non-members. The fee is inclusive of round trip tickets, transfers, hotel accommodations, entrance fees, all meals and tours. These costs are based on a minimum of 25 persons and are subject to change.

You can download the brief itinerary and reservation form (they’re in pdf format) or call the Museum Foundation office at 404.2685. Look for Elvie or Patricia.