Memento, created by Emily Romano is a poem about a holiday or an anniversary, consisting of two stanzas as follows: the syllable count should be 8 beats for line one; 6 beats for line two; and two beats for line three. This is repeated twice for each stanza. The rhyme scheme is: a/b/c/a/b/c for each of the two stanzas.
Was born and raised in Manila
With siblings and cousins
Happy
We used to eats lots of guavas
We played under the sun
Full of glee
Childhood memories in our hearts
Cycling, playing, dancing
First love
First date, first kiss till we depart
We’re full of spring and zing
Young love
The Brevette, created by Emily Romano consists of a subject (noun), verb, and object (noun), in this exact order. The verb should show an ongoing action. This is done by spacing out the letters in the verb. There are only three words in the poem, giving it the title Brevette.
snail
l e a k s
slime
Each of the three words may have any number of syllables, but it is desireable that the poem have balance in the choice of these words. Unlike haiku, there are no other rules to follow.
Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is an open-air museum and heritage park in Bagac, Bataan, Philippines. Spread over 400 hectares, the park features a collection of 27 Spanish Colonial buildings and stone houses (bahay na bato in Tagalog), planned to resemble a settlement reminiscent of the period. These houses were carefully dismantled, brick by brick, transplanted from different parts of the Philippines and rehabilitated in these premises, to resemble the original structure. For parts that were missing, woodwork and bricks were replicated to resemble the original structure. For this, the Ciudad employs a workforce of 130 people, including 10 wood sculptors, three metal sculptors, 30 craftsmen who design ceilings, and construction workers. There are also five architects, two of whom are historical architects, and two artists. The resort also has a restaurant, a beach, calesa rides and a swimming pool. (https://www.lascasasfilipinas.com/)
The Tanaga is a Filipino poem. It consists of four lines with seven syllables each; the rhyme scheme is AABB.
Traditional tanagas don’t have titles and are composed in the Tagalog language. Most have been handed down through oral history and contain proverbs and moral lessons. (Similar to the tanaga is the ambahan, which has an indefinite length.)
Modern Tanaga
The tanaga has been in danger of becoming a dying art form. The Cultural Center of the Philippines and the National Commission of the Arts have been trying to revive it. Several groups have been promoting the form in English.
The form is beginning to change slightly – not only are tanagas appearing in more frequently in English, they are picking up titles and varying their rhyme forms (for example, AABB, ABBB, ABAB, ABBA, AAAB, BAAA, ABCD, etc).
Pilipinas kong Mahal
Kahit malayo ako
Puso ko’y nasa iyo
Mabuhay tayong lahat!
Philippines my Philippines
We may be far apart
But my heart belongs to you
Cheers to every one of us!
Our national dish, adobo! Filipinos can cook it anywhere in the world, as long as we have the main ingredients: chicken or pork, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, salt and pepper. Marinate all the ingredients, fry them with a little oil, then simmer them until cooked.
chicken adobo, rice and peas
Stir-frying is my favourite style of cooking – chop all ingredients in small sizes, like julienne. Fry garlic, ginger and onions, first, then add beef and the vegetables. Add oyster sauce, chilli sauce, soy sauce and voila – stir-fried beef!
stir-fried beef and vegetables
Preserved ampalaya and atsara – good accompaniment for any grilled or fried fish, chicken, pork or beef.
preserved ampalaya and atsara
Pancit palabok – is the first meal I ask when I come home to the Philippines because I don’t cook it here. It has some seafood like shrimps, dried fish or tinapa, boiled eggs, glass noodles, etc. Delicious!
pancit palabok
Siomai is dim sum, steamed bun with vegetables and meat inside.
siomai
Favourite breakfast – also known as tapsilog which is a short form of tapa, sinangag (fried rice) and itlog (eggs)
beef tapa, eggs and rice
Grilled squid – yummy! Stuffed with tomatoes, onions, garlic, some herbs, salt and pepper.
stuffed and grilled squid
Lovely soup – chicken, unriped papaya, ginger, onions. Good when one has a cold. Or when one is homesick.
chicken tinola soup
Our favourite dessert! My brother has got this super recipe and it’s to die for! 10 egg yolks, 1 can of condensed milk, 2 cans of evaporated milk, some rinds of lemon. The secret is to caramelise some sugar in a dish, sieve the mixture then steam it, or bain marie it.
