Sta. Monica Church

I had the opportunity to visit the Sta. Monica church this past weekend. It was Ethel and Edison's wedding and the occasion called for us to drive all the way to Angat Dam in Bulacan. I love weddings! But I wasn't aware of the fact that it was going to be held in a centuries old church like Sta. Monica.

The church of Sta. Monica is approximately 67 km north from Manila and takes about a two-hour drive to reach  . It has been restored quite recently in time for the town's third centennial celebration in 1983. The church follows the Philippine earthquake baroque architecture. Built in 1802 under the  direction of  Fr. Joaquin Calvo, it was destroyed during the 3 June 1863 earthquake.

The knave is done in a Filipino inspired fresco ala Sistine Chapel with touches of local bamboo to divide the vignettes. Arched windows line the knave with posts topped by a composite Corinthian/Doric columns. The retablo is rather simple and unpretentious with the side niches dedicated to the  Mother and Son icons of the order of Augustinian order: St. Augustine and St. Monica.

The doors are made of Philippine hardwood heavily carved with arabesque design dominated by the images of St. Augustine and St. Monica. The facade is flanked by columns and arched windows with the obligatory niches for images of saints. The top is pedimented with a raked cornice ending in jar-like finials at the sides while the bell tower is rather austere  and plain but ends with a balustrade at the top.

The statuary may be quite new, however, the pews are ornately carved in high relief of floral designs. The flooring of black and white tiles and the gold leafed finials on the choir loft posts show a high sense of aesthetics prevalent in the town.

Chillin' at the Skydeck

Dusk at the skydeck

I have already blogged about the best kept secret in Intramuros. And it's catching on...

Buffet spread

Just recently I went to Bayleaf Hotel's Skydeck with my bff. This time I had no foreign guests with me. I had no hidden agenda for impressing anyone else. So it was just two of us, the hotel staff and the hotel's food. This particular evening, we just wanted to chill and be delighted by the sights and flavors of the hotel's outlet.

Long Island Iced Tea

My friend wanted to try a cocktail and he settled for a Long Island Iced Tea. I settled for a can of soda and we had an animated conversation over a bowl of roasted peanuts. Meanwhile, photo ops were in order so I started taking shots of my friend. There was a light breeze blowing and while we were enjoying the setting sun, actor Robin Padilla walks in. Apparently, he was endorsing a senatorial candidate who was preparing for a campaign sortie at the Liwasang Bonifacio situated right across Taft Avenue.

cream of veggie soup

Then we ordered the soup of the day, a cream of Vegie soup. I settled for Lumpiang Shanghai and Okoyitos: fried spring rolls and a patty of shrimp and bean sprouts with a vinegar and garlic dip. We relished every morsel, with me finishing off the okoyitos and vinegar dip.

Lumpia and okoyit

Shrimp and pommelo salad

I then decided on a shrimp and pommelo salad that was bits of julienned mangoes. The salad dressing had just the right amount of acidity to it and the shrimp were plump and juicy. It helped that the greens were fresh and crispy as well.

Angus Steak

The Angus beef steak was perfectly done. It was cooked medium rare. The charring sealed in the juices and the drippings were the perfect accompaniment to baby potatoes and broccoli florets.

Churros y chocolate

We just couldn't let the evening pass without a visit to the Bayleaf Hotel's coffee shop on the ground floor. Cioccolata coffee shop does a really mean Churros y Chocolate that brings back childhood memories of merienda with my grandma. Crisp on the outside and creamy steamy on the inside with a generous amount of chocolate dip, this version made from scratch right on the open counter made me smile with delight. Yeah, good enough to rival the more established Spanish restaurants that offer them on their menu.

This evening was one for the books!

CCP DANCE SCHOOL RECITAL

Daphne and Nino in a brilliant fishdive

I've had a long month overseeing the outcome of the costumes for CCP Dance School's Summer Dance Workshop recital. I made an earlier post on the design process of Coppelia a few weeks ago. This time, the designs become reality as they have been executed with the help of the production design team of Ballet Philippines.

Viennese dolls

The seamstresses of BP worked day and night just to make sure all the little girls and boys enrolled in the workshop look good in their brand new costumes. Credit goes to Manang Terry with the other mistresses, Alma, TonTon, Gemma, Ging and Jenny for cutting, sewing and putting together all the design elements required. While Mang Ago, with the help of Rendo and Arabo took care of the sets and the backdrop.

Waltz babies

Victor Ursabia, the CCP Dance School director and Verna Fajilan, the choreographer and re-stager were on-hand to direct the fine details of corps work and blocking. Teacher Ruby, on the other hand, was backstage making sure the kids were at their best behavior.

Chinese dolls

It was fun to see the kids doing the dress and technical rehearsals. Some were still adjusting to the Kleig lights while others were so at home onstage hamming it up for the motley group of staff and workers watching from the theater. You're likely to spot the divas in the making from the little girls that go up on the stage. They are so cute, you wanna pinch their pink little cheeks.

Spanish dolls

I had a blast taking shots of all the participants! Hopefully, I'll have enough time to see the girls on the actual performance dates:  May 4 and 5 at 3:00 p.m. at the CCP Main Theater. For now, my work with the annual Summer Dance Workshop is done... see you in December?

Prayer corps de ballet