WHAT A WEEKEND (Casa San Miguel)

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Still hungover from our workshop weekend at Casa San Miguel in Pundaquit, Zambales.

I’ve been wanting to visit this music, arts & culture haven eversince I saw images of it on a magazine a long time ago.  Finally we were invited here to share our knowledge on creative documentary filmmaking to 70 high school students!!! Yes 70!  It was a bit difficult to keep their attention the whole day but hearing them identify correct camera angles and different documentary approaches was very rewarding.

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To end the already perfect day, we decided to walk towards the beach and watch the sunset.

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Looking out into the sea, I had this overwhelming feeling of gratefulness inside me.  My goal in life is to give back to the world what it has given me and with this opportunity, hopefully, I am one step closer to that.

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The next day, we rode on a small banca and was given the front seat view of the majestic ocean. It was mesmerizing to watch the different shapes and colors of the waves as it undulates towards my direction. Being in this wide open space can be overwhelming, the sea is so vast and I feel so small…

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front view seat of the majestic ocean

island hopping

capones island

give me peace, give me liberty

balancing act

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After Capones Island, we hopped onto Anawangin where we filled ourselves up with life’s simple pleasures – pancit canton with hot & spicy tuna, hard boiled egg, halo-halo and lots of crazy ideas!!! We got to conceptualize an out-of-this-world music video to the tune of Vogue with the mountains and the beach as our backdrop. Hahaha, sorry inside joke :D

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LIFEs SIMPLE PLEASURES
halo-halo & pancit canton (with spicy tuna)

we were suprised to see a forest of trees next to the beach

happy campers in anawangin

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Heading back, we encountered a huge wave that almost toppled us over. Good thing manong boatman maneuvered us safely back to shore but not without a casualty. I tumbled out of the boat and got only one leg out when the fishermen helped pushed our boat into land. I fell awkwardly on the beach and was scared that water got inside the plastic bag with my camera in it. I heaved a sigh of relief when I found out that the only thing that got wet was my ass and that my dear camera is unharmed. Whew! Adventure

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At the Backstage Café in Casa San Miguel,

The food we consumed were just marvelous and the stories shared on our table was pretty intense. We all agreed that it’s been a jam-packed day. We are invited again to go back and check on the students, hopefully that time, we get to see the atelier of Elmer Borlongan and also hopefully, I get to learn how to play the violin. Woot woot!!!

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brewed coffee with mascovado & milk

dried fish, fried egg & fried rice for breakfast

mango shake

arugula salad with prosciutto, goat cheese & caramelized onions

pesto pasta

brewed coffee & cookies

homemade vanilla ice cream with grapes, jam & chocolate liqueur

gorgeous dishes concocted by the world renowned violinist Coke Bolipata

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Exploring the place, we discovered picture-perfect opportunities for us to pose, haha. I’ve known these guys since 1994, we are all good friends back in college. Abbie SJ Lara is a director & editor for documentaries and Ruelo Lozendo is a filmmaker and resident artist here at Casa San Miguel. With us also is writer/poet/teacher Nerissa Guevarra.

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hogwarts-like maze

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I am very happy that we still get to hang out and work together. We all have pursued our passion for the arts and we have somehow kept our playfulness/silliness which I believe is very important in life

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sculptures by plet bolipata borlongan

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I even had the opportunity to hold this musical instrument that I plan to rock out in my next life. While I was trying to play the violin, I felt we had a connection I think with formal lessons, I might have something good going on here, hahaha. I even went to a music store to ask for the regular price of a violin. I know I still have a hundred and ten things to do BUT I feel that now is a good time to do this. It’s never too late to learn something new diba?  :)

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violinist Julian teaching me how to properly hold the bow

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I am in love with this place. How lucky the residents are of this community to have this kind of venue. A space for them to grow as artists where they could recognize their full potential. Sir Coke Bolipata, world renowned violinist and the brainchild of this all, cooks up ideas & concepts and then discusses it with Casa’s resident artists. Sabi ko nga, dito parang walang imposible, lahat pwede.

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CASA SAN MIGUEL on FB

https://www.facebook.com/pages/CASA-SAN-Miguel/215623601858206