"Apas Sumpay"

CEBU, Philippines -  A revue of paintings, illustrations and art installations made by the members of the Cebu Artists Inc. (CAI) is currently on display at the second level of the Ayala Center Cebu's new expansion.

Titled "Apas Sumpay," meaning continuation or extension, the open-themed exhibit gathers a series of works made using different mediums and the implementation of creative styles - from representational illustrations of seascapes and historic landmarks, to forward-thinking contemporary-themed compositions and creative installations.

Ambivalent in the way it showcases the creative visions of Cebu's homegrown talents, the show runs until tomorrow, November 14.

Katutubo Exchange Program

Airplane travel offers much more than the thrill of riding high up the clouds and reaching far destinations in much, much shorter time. Travel, in general, has the transformative power to introduce people to life outside their limited local worlds. The experience often leaves one with a new perspective and fresh approach to life.

Travel opened the eyes of Dr. Edwin Antonio to the rich but mostly overlooked culture of the Philippines' indigenous peoples. Working for an arts and culture agency, he traveled frequently to different parts of the country and immersed himself in various indigenous communities. He once conducted a photography workshop for local children and saw how much impact that activity made on them.

This experience led Antonio to establish the Katutubo Exchange Philippines, a volunteer group of cultural workers and youths that advocate the promotion of indigenous culture and arts. Their flagship project is the Katutubo Exchange Program (KEP), aiming to promote cross-cultural understanding and traditional arts, and heightens public awareness on indigenous cultures. Every year, a group of young people from various ethnic tribes are enlisted in the KEP, to go on an educational tour around a designated city and then share the beauty of their culture by showcasing their special talents.

This year, in celebration of the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples and the International Youth Day, the KEP brought to Manila 30 talented youths from the ethnic tribes of Mamanwa of Surigao, T'boli of South Cotabato, Manobo and Bagobo of Davao, Panay Bukidnon of Iloilo, Ifugao of Ifugao, Kalinga of Kalinga, Ibaloi of Benguet, and Kankanaey and Yapayao of Ilocos Norte. The visiting youths were as amazed in their experience of the big city as the city residents were in witnessing their performance of traditional songs and dances.

There's no denying the positive impact of the project on the participants, who otherwise probably won't have the chance to go outside of their small community circles on their own. And Antonio knows that it takes collective effort to sustain it. He admits that it would not have taken off the ground if his group alone were to move it.

The KEP acknowledges the generous support the program gets from sponsor companies and institutions. Cebu Pacific Air, for one, has been bringing these indigenous children to Manila and back since the program started. Antonio says, "We are grateful to Cebu Pacific for giving these children the chance to experience what it's like to ride an airplane and set foot in different places."

With the right support in place, KEP is committed to continue helping the indigenous peoples to expand their worlds, and promote their native cultures and traditional arts. The Katutubo Exchange Philippines Facebook page is at: www.facebook.com/kxphilippines.

Archon X

Last month an exhilarating spectrum of annual gatherings, conventions and events happened in the city. One such event brought together a number of Cebuano cosplayers, toy collectors, comic book collectors and competitive gaming aficionados to the Activity Center of Ayala Center Cebu. It was one of Cebu's pioneering and longest-running hobby conventions - this year's "ARCHon X."

ARCHon is short for "Animation, Role-playing, Comics and Hobbies Convention." It showcased a wide gamut of pocket competitions and exhibitions - including card game tourneys, fighting game competitions, a digital drawing competition, the convention's ever-anticipated cosplay competition, and more.

As a gathering of artists, gamers, cosplayers, exhibitors, and toy and comics collectors, the success of this year's ARCHon X tells something about how much the broad collectibles-and-hobby culture has come to have a tremendous effect on Cebuano youths in the past couple of years.

The first of the ARCHon series was held on July 24, 2004, as an open venue for different hobbyists to get together and spend a fun-filled day with their fellows. It has since grown into becoming one of Cebu's grandest annually-held and highly-anticipated conventions. (Yasunari Ramon Suarez Taguchi)

New Wine Bar in Cebu

Cebuanos recently trooped to the Level 4 Roof Deck of Ayala Center Cebu. The event was the opening of the newest wine bar in the city, marking another milestone in Cebu's gastronomic

scene. The place is called Planet Grapes.

The launch was hosted by Chico Garcia and Gino Quillamor of the TV show "The Morning Rush." It was made even more fun with the announcement of the "10 best Cebuano Pick-up Lines" contributed by the guests. Winners, of course, got prizes. Manila hip hop and mash-up DJ Ron Poe entertained guests with current top hits.

Introducing a new way to enjoy wine especially to those who are intimidated by it, Planet Grapes offers a no-nonsense approach to wine drinking, removing all the bells and whistles that were traditionally associated with "properly" enjoying wine. Instead, it provides a refreshing twist for budding wine drinkers of all ages. It has a state-of-the-art Italian Enomatic dispenser that keeps the wine's flavor and characteristic intact for more than three weeks, as if the bottle had just been opened. One can try a sip, half-glass, or full glass of wine at affordable rates.

What’s more interesting is the introduction of street food to pair with the wine. "Filipinos love to eat so we believe the best way to get them to try and like wine is to serve them their favorite food," says Planet Grapes owner and managing director Romy Sia, who came to town for the launch along with partner and Planet Grapes president Christian Tan. Sia is referring to "food that is both familiar and good but which [people] never imagined to have with wine."

Planet Grapes opens daily from 11 a.m. until late night. The website is at: visit http://planetgrapes.com.ph; email address at: [email protected].