Where art thou, Liberty?

Are we really free?

Are we enjoying genuine independence?

Liberty, where art thou?

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Things may be uncertain, things may not go our way, but let's enjoy the moment, let's celebrate a century and half a score of our so-called "Independence".

Fiesta!!!

Yesterday, June 24, was the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist - patron saint of my barrio Tipas. For the first time in many years, the fiesta fell on a Sunday - which means I spent the day without playing hide-and-seek with people who annually wait for, aim, and throw water onto helpless passers-by as a custom of celebrating the day of St. John. Instead, I got to be one of those pranksters.

And as far as I can recall, it was also the first time that houses nearby, including ours, prepared food and drinks in line with the village-wide merriment. The Hermana Mayora, Mrs. Mary Ann Opeña - a familiar name among TV and movie stars today because of her connections to Lolit Solis, Boy Abunda, Unang Hirit hosts, et al, - brought even more color to the festivities by inviting Kapuso artists on the eve of the the feast.

I also enjoyed the morning parade that traversed almost every street of the four barangays comprising Tipas. I think, it was also the first time I toured our village after being a home buddy for a very long time. I got to see old friends and former classmates. The procession was not exempted from the people who from nowhere suddenly splashed water on our faces using hoses, buckets, water guns, and water balloons. It was fun!

The fiesta reached its peak with a 15-minute fireworks display and ended with bottles of Red Horse. Haha.

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Yesterday, too, my cousin who happens to be a nurse, measured my blood pressure after I complained to her that I feel pain on my chest and nape. The sphygmomanometer read at 140/90. In short, high blood ako. Lagot.

Cafe Lupe 2

A second Cafe Lupe event for the Barkadahan was held last Thursday 16 November 2006. Again, we watched and listened to the music of Ige's band NICCO. It was actually NICCO's third gig at Guadalupe - we missed the second one. All of the attendees two weeks ago were also present that night minus Ivan and Norman; and aside from Bananie and Fed, this time, 01 and beyond's Elma, Ghe, Jeff and Teejay were there. Speaking of Elma, just visit her blog entry for details and photo/s.

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Reality show update: Our Filipino comrades fell one-by-one these past couple of weeks both in Survivor and The Amazing Race. Brad Virata was voted out of Survivor: Cook Islands and became the first member of the jury. Jenny Guzon-Bae was one of the two castaways eliminated yesterday (Manila time) and became the third member of the jury. Ernie and Jeena of The Amazing Race Asia missed the Fast Forward because of a stupid cab driver and fell from second to last place in Jakarta, Indonesia and became the first team to be eliminated. Aubrey and Jacqueline finished sixth and stayed in the game.

Pinoy in Cook Islands

Yet to be confirmed, but I assume that another individual, this time a guy, with Filipino lineage is one of the five mighty Asian-Americans currently ruling the first two episodes of Survivor: Cook Islands under the banner of Pukapuka Tribe. Brad, carrying a familiar Spanish sounding surname Virata (Philippines share common family names with Spain and Latin American countries; and obviously, Virata is identified as an Asian, so there's a high probability that he is a Fil-Am.), joins fellow Fil-Am Jenny Guzon-Bae, Korean-Americans Becky Lee and Yul Kwon and Vietnamese-American Anh-Tuan "Cao Boi" Bui in battling castaways with African, Caucasian and Hispanic bloodlines.

From Survivor: Cook Islands' website, I got Brad's bio.

Brad Virata was raised in the small town of Oak Harbor, Washington, just outside of Seattle. The youngest of five children, he excelled at track, football and volleyball during his teenage years.

Virata received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in international communications from the University of Washington and was an active member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Shortly after graduation, Virata traveled throughout Europe and Asia working as a model. He then moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in fashion and attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. He began working in couture clothing sales and clothing design merchandising for Guess? Men's Division. He spent five years with the company and helped launch the clothing line "Los Angeles Denim Atelier." He currently works as the Director of Men's Merchandising for Lucky Brand Jeans.

Virata is an avid beach volleyball player and surfer. His hobbies include weight training, running, rollerblading, power yoga, beach volleyball and international travel. He is most proud of giving back to his community through work with organizations such as AIDS Project Los Angeles, Project Angel Food, Starlight Foundation and the Big Brothers Program of Los Angeles.

Virata is single and currently resides in Santa Monica, California, with his Boston terrier named Maxx. His birth date is November 23, 1976.

Pinay in Cook Islands

There is a Filipina-American news correspondent included in the roster of the 13th Season of SURVIVOR. Divided into four tribes of five, twenty castaways are sorted based on their racial origins and ethnicity - African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanic Americans and White Americans.

From Survivor: Cook Islands' website, I got Jenny's bio.

Born in Chicago, Jenny Guzon-Bae was raised in the western suburb of Melrose Park, Illinois. A natural tomboy, Guzon-Bae was often found playing football, softball, basketball, climbing trees or racing bikes with the boys in her neighborhood. Despite her parents' efforts to make her more lady-like by enrolling her in ballet and gymnastics (13 years of training), Jenny preferred beating out the boys. It wasn't until high school that Jenny finally embraced her feminine side, but she was still the fierce competitor on the inside.

A skilled writer, Guzon-Bae began honing her skills at age 15 when she was hired as a columnist for VIA Times, the largest minority newspaper in the Chicago area. She eventually graduated college with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in journalism from Columbia College in Chicago. She parlayed her writing skills into the spoken word when she became a television reporter for Chicago's only Filipino-American news program, "Philippine News Reports." Having retired from reporting a few years ago, Guzon-Bae continues to serve her community by emceeing various social events. She is currently a real estate agent.

Guzon-Bae heads up a volleyball league in her spare time. She also enjoys shopping, yoga, pilates, traveling and playing the board game Scrabble. She recently took up fencing, tennis and belly dancing. She enjoys watching boxing, basketball and football.

Guzon-Bae is a member of the North Shore Barrington Association of Realtors.

Guzon-Bae currently resides in Lake Forest, Illinois with her husband, Don, and their son, Casey. They have three dogs: Cola (an Australian Shepherd), Peanut (a Pembroke Corgi) and Sam (an American Eskimo). Her birth date is May 8, 1970.