Capiz: the tasty, the yummy, the scrummy

Don’t get me wrong with the title. I am not trying to emulate “the true, the good and the beautiful” slogan of a former First Lady. But consider me guilty because my gush here about Capiz will be the true, the good, and the beautiful anyway.

Turning a blind eye to the conventional gawk of our tourists/travelers- museums, vestiges of the past, beaches, etc. – Capiz has its own way to market its tourism industry- no no (!), not the wakwak, manananggal and the kikik, but its mouthwatering sea foods.

I am not saying the province is poor on the cultural and historical facet. In fact, history tells us that Capiz became the Spanish’s second settlement after Cebu. Moreover, the town of Pan-ay homes the biggest church bell in Asia. Pan-ay was once the capital of the province before it was transferred to Roxas City.

PEALING THE BELLS – The writer and his foster-dad inside the 10.4 tons bell made from 70 sacks of silver coins.

Unsurpassed of course is the province’s reputation as the Seafood Capital of the Philippines. Capiz absolutely deserve the title. The lavishness and diversity of Capiz’s marine life treats vacationers with a variety of sumptuous cuisines- from baked scalloped in garlic and butter, tuna, blue marlin, crabs, lobsters, prawns, oysters and the celebrated diwal ( or angel wings which is endemic in the Panay seas), and I can enumerate more.

Photo courtesy of Ricky Diumayuga for photo 1, 2 and 5

Yes, of course, you can find this in sky-high restaurants, but still, Capiz is over it, because they serve it fresher, if not freshest. Plus, plus, plus, as all travelers would like to hear, the charge is friendlier to your pockets.

We have many reasons why we travel- to unwind, relax, escape from all kinds of glitches, and finally finding ourselves. Will not a nibble of this luscious, succulent marine sumptuousness complement it all?

I had visited quite a few tour destinations of the country- from Ilocos’ timpost Pagudpod to the Land of Promise, Mindanao- but Capiz takes a special place in my heart. Is not there an old adage saying that the nearest organ to one’s heart is the stomach?

Well, Capiz just captivated mine.

Truly, goodly and beautifully, Capiz, that tasty, yummy and scrummy province will be part of my itinerary again, soon.

Published in Manila Channel. August 18, 2012.

Unfolding Underwear Folding

Why wear underwear, in the first place?

Well, there are a dozen and one reasons I heard from friends- from usual to bizarre. Like: to support that hanging thing there; to make your package more appealing; to hold the urine after urinating; to make sex exciting; to promote foreplay when making love; etcetera.

Most, if not all people I know wear one, for different reasons; some maybe the same or different from the ones mentioned. But seriously, why do we cover our thing? Does it make sense? Oh well, the thing is, we are wearing it. Whether it makes sense or not, it doesn’t matter. For if it doesn’t matter anyway, why would our mothers require us to wear it, as early as when we are still in preschool, eh?

Even in history, it is still unclear as to when the people wear undergarments was. It is said that loincloth was considered the earliest undergarment as some archaeologists suggest through dig remains that dates backs thousands of years ago. Maybe, in the far west. But in the Philippines? How come that some of our forefathers, when the Spaniards came, were wearing g-strings made from selected leaves and uway? Maybe they can’t afford loincloth.

That was the primitive society of course. Now then, since all of us will agree that we do wear one, next question is: do you fold your underwear?

That’s a silly question, one might think.

One might even be reminded of Patricia Lorenz’s “Life’s Too Short to Fold Your Underwear”. Conversely however, not a word from Lorenz discourages us to fold our underwear.

Why fold it anyway?

Well, if your closet like mine is not so spacious, doing so will save space.

Likewise, when travelling, not only that it will save space, it will also give you a sense of assurance, if ever by accident your bag dispatched its zipper, and everything in your bag fell of the floor, gee whiz(!) [it happened to me once at NAIA!], at least your underwear will not flaunt in exhibition. Worse if your underwear is not that so presentable due to its loosened garter!

So here is how I fold mine.

PS. Underwear Day is celebrated in the US on the 22nd and 23rd of August. See, even underwear have their Day aside from wash day!

Published in Manila Channel. August 17, 2012.

On Bisayan wine: A barrel of laughs, vino en vidrio and cheers!

I keep at least ten different bottles of wine in my room. Oh,oh, I am not a drunkard, much less a roué. But I drink occasionally.Bevitore saltuariamente.

I am wont to get a bottle of wine, especially during my travels. I had sipped the expensive (but not necessarily classy)- merlot, white zinfandel, white grenache, cabernet sauvignon, sangiovese, shiraz, chablis, etc;  and also swigged to the less expensive, but not necessarily tawdry wines.

When I went to Vigan a couple of years ago, I tasted for the first time, their celebrated rice wine, called basi. It is worth to note that it’s one of my top favorites, clobbering those strange, opaque varieties mentioned. However, I still choose vino de coco(coconut wine) over it.

The Bisayan (i.e. Eastern Visayas) tuba avers to be the finest, if not the best wine made from coconut. Not only because the region yields the second largest volume of production (next to the Davao region, 2005 PCA report) of coconut, but because history tells us that tuba is part of Bisayan’s modo de vida.

When the Spaniards footed the Islands, evident to the Pintados people are their gleeful virtue (which the Filipinos as a whole share), thus the name Bisaya- from the root word saya, meaning happy. And in every social gathering, tuba is at the center of conversations and laughter. The Spaniards themselves, both the missionaries and conquistadores, couldn’t say no to inviting spirit of tuba.

During family occasions and even occasionless nights, tuba gathers everyone in telling tales, cracking laughter and chance of bonding. Lately however, the patronage to this traditional drink has been fading, for reasons like the inability of local tuba producers in product innovation to match the growing competition of liquor industry.

Quite the reverse, lately I was introduced to the new vino de coco product in the region. Boy oh boy, the flavor is refined and classy! I am certainly conclusive that this is a sure-fire! Surely, this is the beginning to regain tuba’s glory.

Wine is renowned as heart healthy. And in moderation, it may be a help in trimming weight and reducing forgetfulness. Likewise, it may boost our immunity and help prevent bone loss.

With friends, we share a barrel of laughs. Alone, we exclaim, vino en vidrio!

Aside from the mentioned, we drink wine for varied reasons.

Whatever the reason is, Isalud!

Article published in Manila Channel, August 19, 2012.