It’s Halloween again. A lot of spooky things seem to happen on Halloween and a lot of scary creatures come out at night like ghosts and our favorite mythical figure, the aswang. Of course these are just stories. Or aren’t they?

When you grow up in the province, you hear a lot of folklore stories and some of them a bit scary. They should, since they were meant to scare you as a kid so that you won’t disobey rules. I remember being told not to roam around the neighborhood at night because I might be attacked by an aswang.

Some of these are not just stories for others but are reality based on their experiences with the paranormal. I myself may not believe them but deep inside I also think, what if these stories are really true?

Watching the indie film Yanggaw brings a lot of childhood memories. It has brought to life the aswang and the beliefs we associate with the.

For the uninitiated, aswang in Filipino culture is a creature who eats the heart and liver of their victims. They appear like ordinary persons during the day but transforms to a hideous creature at night. Another variation of this creature is the “manananggal” who’s torso separates from its lower half and have wings like that of bats.

Yanggaw on the other hand is what we call a newly-infected aswang. This creature is very aggressive since she thirsts for blood and has a voracious appetite. Sounds scary huh?

In the movie Yanggaw, Amor came home sick from working in the city. She feels weak at day but seems be strong at night. She later transform into an aswang and started victimizing the people in their barrio. It was later learned through an albularyo (healer) that she was infected by an aswang. Saliva from an aswang entered her body through her ears.

My mother used to tell us that when sleeping in other people’s house especially those we are not too familiar with, we should always cover our ears so that an aswang’s saliva will not get into them. Further, we were also told to always have coins in our pocket so that an aswang will not be able to carry us.

Going back to Yanggaw the movie, the albularyo tried to remove the infection from Amor’s body but it was already too late. She was already a full blown aswang. Her family tried to hide her despite the danger they face living with her. They chained her to stop her from hurting others but then the father couldn’t take the pain of seeing his daughter in agony so he let her go. And the girl, who is now a full blown aswang, started victimizing the people in the barrio.

According to stories from old folks, when a yanggaw person has not yet turned into an aswang, there’s still hope of saving her. An albularyo would perform rituals and exorcise her body. When a black bird comes out of her mouth that means she’s healed. If the albularyo catches the bird, he will be able to learn the identity of the aswang who is trying to infect that person.

The yanggaw girl in the movie had a gruesome fate as she ended up being killed by her father when he found her eating her toddler nephew. More than being a scary movie, Yanggaw is a story about a family’s tragedy.

Either you believe these stories or not, one thing’s for sure. We will not hear the last of them so better enjoy these stories. Go watch Yanggaw tonight and scare yourself. It’s at Youtube.

It’s been a week since MassKara Festival but some of us still talk about it. Aside from the usual street dancing competition, which in my opinion gets more colorful every year, there were new events launched. Most notable was the Ipanema Drum Dance which really made Lacson St. the place to be on MassKara nights.

Of course, there was the customary coverage of the Skyscrapercity Bacolod of the MassKara Festival. We’re a mix bunch of engineers, nurses, seafarers,OFWs and entrepreneurs who are very passionate in promoting Bacolod and Negros Occidental.

This year, we hosted some guests from Skyscrapercity Cebu.  Ilonggo and Cebuano together? You bet! And mind you, we didn’t scratch each other’s eyes. We had so much fun that some of us are planning to invade Cebu for the Sinulog festival next year.

My favorite moments during MassKara were those with kids. Yes, MassKara Festival is safe for your children even at night.

This little Darna was with one of the street dancers. She was so into it that you couldn’t see any shyness when she poses as Darna.

I call him the boy with a “split personality”.  At such a young age he’s already showing signs, if you know what I mean. This isn’t really a bad thing considering his talent will be polished if he continues to join MassKara every year.

All eyes were on this chubby kid who sang and danced along with the band. Albeit he only uses a hairbrush as microphone, his performance level is comparable to those on stage.

Your MassKara experience is not complete without going to a party! The whole stretch of Lacson St. is full of partygoers and are the different bars in Bacolod. Bacoleños really know how to party!

Until next MassKara Festival!

More on MassKara 2009

Our geographic location has a big influence in our culture. We are in the Pacific Ring of Fire and also in the Typhoon Belt. At least 20 typhoons visit the country in a year and we have 22 active volcanoes. Just imagine the chances that we will be hit by a natural calamity every year. The Philippines is a dangerous place to live but rather than sulk over it, we have embraced our situation armed with our faith, humor and each other.

Filipinos cope with a problem with prayers and humor. Thus, despite all the problems we have, we still have the propensity to joke about our predicament. Some culture may find it strange but this is what helped us survived over the years and will remain part of Filipino life.

A calamity always brings out the best in Filipinos. We can always hear stories of heroism form ordinary people in times of crisis. The bayanihan is at work during these times too. We have little to give yet we always share what we have with those who were victims of natural calamities.

We cannot do anything about natural calamities but we can do something in mitigating its effects. As the country is still reeling from the onslaught of Ondoy and Pepeng, hopefully we have learned our lessons. The effects of typhoons were magnified by our lack of preparation and environment degradation. Let’s stop being the problem and become part of the solution. Disaster preparedness is not only the responsibility of the government but of everybody. Hopefully, the next time we will be battered by a natural calamity, we will be ready.

The online shop of the Association of Negros Producers (ANP) was launched on September 11, 2009 during the opening of the 24th Negros Trade Fair at Rockwell, Makati. It was another pioneering feat for the longest running provincially organized trade fair in Manila.

The Association of Negros Producers own and operate the Negros Showroom which is one of the country’s successful trade houses and serve as a benchmark for other provincial trade houses. The history of ANP started when everybody thought it was the end of the sugar industry. When sugar prices plummeted inthe 1980’s,Negros Occidental was the worst hit since the province’s economy was basically monocrop. Fifteen courageous women who were mostly housewives put up the House of Negros Foundation which later became the Association of Negros Producers.

The Negros Showroom is a showcase of the best products designed and crafted by local manufacturers who are members of the ANP.  With the launching of the online shop, these world class products will be available 24/7 where ever you are in the world. Visit the website at www.bestofnegrosisland.com and browse through their catalog and choose a product for pasalubong or as a gift.

Whenever there’s an SM City, business establishments begin to sprout like mushroom. Sometimes, the size of an SM City Mall is an indication of the economic activity in a city. Most of us who live where there’s an SM City know that it has a significant role in our life. Most of us has a story to tell.

When SM City Bacolod management announced that they are going to have a blog contest for the Negros Bloggers, I was quite excited, to say the least. All we have to do is to blog about our most memorable experience at SM City Bacolod. Well, that’s easy.

I am lucky enough to have lived in two beautiful cities with notable SM City Malls. First, SM Delgado in Iloilo was the first SM outside of Manila. SM City Bacolod on the other hand, is the first mall outside Manila designed to look like the SM Mall of Asia. My story was on how SM City celebrates with us through the years.

Yesterday was the announcement of winners and the awarding was at the SM City Foodcourt. We were also quite nervous since we have to read our blog entries in front of everybody. If it was any consolation, we were treated with heavy snacks before the spotlight was turned on us.

Of course I was hoping to win but other bloggers are good too and all hoped to win. Nonetheless, I was pleasantly surprised when my entry won as 1st Runner Up. My prize was P1,600 gift check and gift items.

Asst. Mall Manager Ms. Julia Javellana and I

The Grand Prize Winner was PinayMommy Ruby.

Asst. Mall Manager Ms. Julia Javellana and PinayMommy

I hope there will be other similar activities to motivate the other bloggers to join. Thanks SM City Bacolod for organizing this event. And of course, our gratitude go as well to the generous sponsors of the event, tenants of SM Foodcourt.

An event will not be complete without a group picture.

Photos courtesy of SM City Bacolod