BRYANRREALGO

ILOCOS SUR - The town of Suyo is one of the upland municipalities in this province. It is a a 4th class municipality with eight barangays and a population of over 11,000.   The following photos shows the hidden beauty of this municipality. The town of Suyo can be reached via land travel following a provincial road in the town of Tagudin.

ISABELA - On it's second year, Panagtutupig Festival is celebrated in Barangay Buneg in the town of Echague in this province.  The festival highlights the promotion of their main product "tupig" that according to their history was introduced by residents of Cabugao, Ilocos Sur who migrated to Buneg during World War II. Dominant families here are Sonio, Satre, Sumibcay and other "S" starting family name similar to most residents of Cabugao. Part of the festival is the "tupig" cooking contest. Different groups put a twist to the flavor of the classic tupig by adding chocolates, caramel, peanut butter and pandan.  The classic tupig is made of a mixture of glutinous rice (malagkit), sugar and grated coconuts.  It is cooked over charcoal and wrapped in banana leaves. Panagtutupig festival is celebrated during the last week of April.  Photo Courtesy: Lorenz Sibalon Cabalo

ILOCOS SUR - A number of century-old bridges built during the Spanish period can still be found in this province.  In the town of Santa, a portion of the Manila - North road is connected by century-old bridges.     In 2015 one  of the last two remaining brick stone bridges in Vigan City was saved from demolition due to strong opposition. Instead, DPWH just constructed a new bridge in the northern portion of the old one. The City government plans to close the century-old bridge and convert it to a tourist site. A century-old bridge can also be found in the town of Sta. Maria.  These bridges are commonly categorized as arch bridge as it shaped as curved arch. The bridges found in Ilocos Sur are made off bricks.  There are plans to check the structural integrity of these century-old bridges to see  if it still safe to use at present times. In other parts of the Philippines such as in Tayabas, Quezon - surviving century-old bridges were declared as Nati

VIGAN CITY – The main streets of Vigan became festive and colorful as eleven groups participated in this year Binatbatan street dancing.  All wearing colorful abel iloko costumes as they dances gracefully in tune with a live band.  The binatbatan street dancing showcases the “panagbatbat” or the process of making abel iloko, one of Vigan’s important product.  Locals and tourists enjoyed and appreciated the show.  “It’s been more colorful than ever” Bryan Collado said.  “Nakakatuwa kasi yung mga bata nakikita natin na nakikipag-participate pa sila sa mga ganitong festival na madalang ng ginagawa ng ibang mga bata” Audrey Henito said. The binatbatan street dancing is the highlight of Viva Viga Binatbatan Festival of the Arts that showcases the artistry, tradition, culture and history of this City.    Local officials said that improving and adding more festival is a good strategy to encourage more tourists to visit the place.

    Photo Courtesy: Yahoo.com                                                               Virtual Democracy The 1987 Philippine Constitution clearly guaranteed in Section 4, Article III (Bill of Rights) that “No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.” For the longest time it gives the people a notion that anyone could freely express everything. As the modern communication world continues to advance with the rising of internet, it also continuously raises a number of important issues of freedom of expression that may be interlinked into “free culture.”   Baran discussed that “there is no central location, no on-and-off button for the internet, making it difficult for those who want to control it.” However, for some free expression advocates, the freedom from control is the primary strength of the internet. Baran added tha

ILOCOS SUR – In Vigan City they are considered as the “King of the Road”. As calesa (horse carriage) plays a vital role in the tourism industry of the city serving as a tourist attraction. During the month of May they are recognized for their contributions.  They are given a day-off from being rented by locals and tourists. Instead, the over one hundred calesa are decorated themed on Vigan culture and tradition such as landmarks, food and products and were exhibited along the streets of the City proper. “Nakakatuwa na makita ang mga tao na lumalapit at nagpa-picture sa aming mga kalesa” a kutsero (Ronald Bare) said.  The exhibit amazed many locals and foreign tourists. “Very beautiful, it is special” Markus Hildebrand said.    “Napakaganda na makita ang iba’t ibang dekorasyon sa mga kalesa” Crisilyn Rabang said.  The activity is part of Viva Vigan Binatbatan Festival of the arts that showcases the rich culture, traditi

                                             Photographers joins the 1 st Vigan Photo Walk VIGAN CITY – Tagged as “Capture the Vigan Experience”, the local government in this city organized their first ever photo walk. The participants were photographers from different places in Luzon. The activity aims to capture the beauty of different tourist spots in Vigan such as Plaza Salcedo, St. Paul Metropolitan Cathedral, Syquia Mansion, Pagburnayan and the picturesque Calle Crisologo.  The photographs will be used to promote Vigan on different social networking sites and websites. “Magandang advertisement ito ng Vigan dahil sa mga makukuhang larawan mas lalong mapapamahal o maeenganyo ang mga turista sa lungsod. All participants are encourage to post or upload to different social networking sites ang mga pictures para mas maraming makakita” Vigan Photo Walk Organizer Jesse Alegre said. Travel photographer Rolly Magpayo assisted the participant

Like or Unlike? Social Media Now and Beyond                                                                  Photo Courtesy: Yahoo The last fifteen years internet and later social media becomes too influential to the people’s lives. It became a significant tool for communication, information, entertainment, business and education. It became a part of the people’s daily life because of its interactivity, multimedia and multi tasking capacity compared to other traditional medium such as television and types of print media.  In social media one can interact with people in which they create, share, and exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. It is commonly used in keeping in touch with friends and acquaintances; developing new contacts often with friends of friends, or people with share interests; sharing content; engaging in self expression and exploring identity; accessing information and informal learning and sometimes for recreation with th

ILOCOS SUR – The San Nicolas De Tolentino Parish in the town of Sinait in this province is a favorite pilgrim site among locals and devotees. It enshrines the miraculous 400-year-old image of Sto. Cristo Milagroso or Apo Lakay.     The miraculous image traces its origin to an event in 1620, when some fishermen in boundary of Sinait, Ilocos Sur and Badoc, Ilocos Norte found a large wooden crate floating. They hauled it ashore and when they opened the crate, they saw the life-sized image of the crucified Christ with dark features made of hard wood. The cross stands 254 centimeters high. Along with this image is a smaller image of Our Lady holding the infant Jesus. The said image is now in Badoc, Ilocos Norte as according to the story this is the one the people of Badoc were able to carry, while the image of Sto Cristo was carried easily by the people of Sinait. It is believed that the crate containing the precious items are from Japan, at that time 1614 onwards