NO ART TALK TODAY

We also do culinary Arts do we?

Below is a nightmarish experience I had eating food from R*****s this after noon. This place used to be good. Its on J. Abad Street, near Alex III.


Time was when I was so proud of R*****s opening in San Juan. Finally, I said, a decent above average Mexican restaurant.

Fast forward 8 months later, and it seems that earlier success has gotten into the heads of the owners and personnel of this once 'must try' destination.

I ordered a Steak Fajita, and a cheese Quesadilla. I looked at the prices. Fajita was P340, and no price for the simple cheese quesadilla. That was just the beginning of my nightmare.(They had a small sign saying their 'peach' quesadilla was P190)

When the bill came, the cheese quesadilla was P290! Pretty steep for something not even on the menu. I complained, but the counter girl blithely said that all quesadillas were that price (even if not stated on their menu) She was unapologetic.

The store manager was sitting nearby, listening to what I was saying, but doing nothing. He was busy with his cell phone.

Then, upon getting home, the horror started in earnest: The fajita I remembered that was so large two or more people could eat it, had shrunk.

 The steak was overcooked. In fact, I felt I was chewing on some hard gum while trying to swallow the once tender meat. This would have been good for my flat tire last week.

The cheese quesadilla? Three quarters of it had its crust burnt. I mean, not brown, but BLACK. I wanted to return it, but my kids persuaded me not to go make a scene.

So that's it. The END of my R*****s experience, and I know exactly what to say when friends ask me for a good Mexican place in the Wilson area - none.

Success has gone to the heads of these once conscious owners. There are many more Mexican  places open on Ortigas and nearby. I ate there a few days ago, debating whether R*****s was a better choice. Now I know better.

This message does not end here. I don't seek any form of consolation from these people who probably won't give it to me anyway.

Go ahead and ignore me R*****s. I don't expect you to react any differently. I hope you do well in your next restaurant.

I love my job blogging about restaurants. (If you need to pee, you need to find a Ristroom)

Post Glow

It's taken a full eleven days before any new post could be written after our exhibit launch - but with good reason. The reasons are many and valid.

XAG is now a force to be reckoned with, with projects coming up, and the grand vision of an Arts Centre in Xavier a reality just waiting to be taken by it's horns and run with. The task is daunting, given that the performing arts is as broad and diverse as the deep blue sea, but it can be done. With the blessings of the school and the powers at be, XAG getting a home is a dream closer to reality than originally thought.

The key here, of course, is the mural. It is XAG's "signature" project that will announce that Art has arrived at Xavier and will be there to stay. The old adage, "if you build it, they will come", rings true. Once the place and it's purpose is established, the artists will come, the sponsors will hopefully support, and Art will be alive and well where it once was just a pipe dream.

Heading this unwieldy Guild is not for those with little time to spare, for it's management is a full time job in and of itself, and it's incorporation into the school and stated goals of developing artists can only be accomplished with all the catalysts giving it their best.

There should be no rest until the fog of what was once a dream is lifted and XAG becomes a reality for all to enjoy and appreciate.

Fruition

Good seeds planted in good soil yield great crops.

From those grainy days in January, when conception was just beginning, to the incredible journeys of those who participated in those meetings, to the painting, and sculpting of magnificent works of Art, it has come down to less than 24 hours.

The first Xavier Alumni Art Exhibit, with the blessing of one of Xavier's enduring icons, Fr. Ismael Zuloaga, S.J., is about to set sail.

It does so with lofty goals, and inspired work, both from the heart, and from above to achieve what had a been a pipe dream for many a Xavierian's closet dream: unleashing the inner artist in himself. Will the Ismael Zuloaga Centre for the Arts in Xavier ever become reality? That is the task ahead, and with a mural commissioned by Fr. Zuloaga himself, what better way to usher in this Art tradition in Xavier than this?

The performing Arts is one gigantic broad umbrella - for it is not visual arts alone that comprises the vision of its' founders: Music, Film, Writing, Culinary, and much much more. But the spark has been made, and the powder keg of untapped Artistic talent so inherent in XAG's enthusiastic members is about to be unleashed.

For Xavier and XAG, it is time to let your light shine!

Looking Past the End of the Beginning

I write this with a slight heavy heart, the reasons of which many will not understand and consider to be too "personal" to include in an Art Blog.

To make it brief, I've had some family issues I had to deal with. That, plus dealing with the local bureaucracy and the increased blood pressure one inevitably suffers after that excruciating ordeal that the government never recognizes is the root cause of terrorism.

Think about that for a second - stalled application for 14 months, 9 trips to an agency that refuses to believe your nationality even with a valid passport, and roadblocks after roadblocks with mind-numbing stupidity. Oh, that police dude that shot 8 passengers dead last August? He had a case bogged down in the courts for almost 2 years. Is shooting people wrong? Heck yeah. Ever consider the root cause?

That's how terrorists are made.

Now, if I had stage 5 cancer, a morphine-drip, and a ton of ammonium nitrate that can fit into my trunk, why not do a Kevorkian and plow thru the building like Tim Mcvay? Hmmmm....

The original intent of this story wasn't about the above. That was just venting. The story here is looking past April 30th, after the first Xavier Alumni Art show. What's next? Where do we go from here? It is time to look past the end of the beginning.

Well, there's plenty. XAG, if everyone recalls, is just the start. The spark, so to speak. There's the mural, of which some fervent artists are already talking up, and the Centre for the Arts in the school aptly named after a man whose name, the last we checked, was not in any of the schools buildings, rooms, fields, etc.

Looking past all the acrylics, the marble finish on the sculptures, the displays, the ribbon cutting, and the 30 days of showing the stuff XAG is made of, much work needs to be done, and the impetus on that is squarely on the shoulders of the XAG brain trust itself. The Artworks will speak for themselves, and XAG now needs a direction to head into, now that momentum has been built from the exhibit.

If the Guild intends to remain relevant and be on the forefront of meaningful change in Xavier's Art scene, it cannot treat this coming exhibit as a mere 'flash in the pan'. It needs way more than that. There will be more meetings, more suggestions, and a more coherent staff that will be lean and mean, with someone who will take the bull by the horns and run with it.

A XAG messiah is in the offing.

The Birth

                                                     It started as a dare

                                               a sunny day back January,

                                             just friends in friendly banter

                                                it then became OUR story.

                                                  A few of us had noted,

                                               our love for Arts was true

                                                   so why not gather all,

                                                and bond as one like glue.

                                         From painting, song and sculpture

                                                to photos, film, and more

                                              it grew and spread like fire

                                              like eagles we would soar.

                                              And so the guild was born,

                                                 you'd say it's accidental

                                                   but here we are today

                                                    it is, it is sensational.

Don't Turn Off the Music

For days we've blogged about Art. Visual Arts - sculpting, photography, digital arts, and, of course, painting. The Xavier Alumni Art Guild has its share of another form of art, and one that is not to be overlooked by the hype and buildup to April 30th's exhibit: Music

XAG's own 'father' of its music heritage is Robert Yulo.

Yes, Seb Chua is XAG's yoda of sculpture, while Mikko Sison, arguably, is one of XAG's most gifted artists in painting (especially large vibrant mesmerizing pieces). Seb has his heir apparent - Kylo, already well into his own brand of inspiring sculpture himself, while Alex, Fred and Jed Tan has dabbled into acrylics, & pen and ink with their own twist. Ditto for Owen Tiam in photography.

On the 'quiet' side of the XAG front is no other than Robert "Bob" Yulo - an immensely gifted musician whose talent is often overlooked because of his quiet demeanor, and propensity for humility. Most, if not all of the XAG artists are humble in nature anyway- knowing full well that Xavier was never known to produce the likes of what we're about to see on April 30th.

But Bob will always be known for his 'easy to the ears' music. Selfless, and tireless in his work, he has always given his support to the Xavier Alumni Art Guild since its inception. We should be focusing more on his work in the days to come.

The beauty of an Artwork is not necessarily gauged by the virtuousness of it's work, but also by the nature of it's maker. 

Xavier and the Art Blues

Time was when Art and Xavier were singing the blues.

In less than 2 weeks, the whole scene is bound to change as Xavier Artists begin their ascent and wake up from a deep deep slumber.

A full spectrum of media will open: from acrylics, oil, watercolor, pencil, marble, cast iron, and much more will make their debut in the Art exhibit. The Art backwater that was once was the bastion of business and entrepreneurship will at last have an Art tradition it can be proud to call its own.

These pioneering (8) eight - Mikko Sison, Seb Chua, Fred Tan, Owen Tiam, Robert Tan, Kylo Chua, Jed Tan, and Rudy Yu will showcase their Art in a gallery owned by a Xavierian Alumni himself - Simoun Balboa. It is but the first, they say, of many shows to come, and gives birth to the recognition of Arts in the School's hallowed halls.

For skeptics and aficionados alike - there is but one phrase to say: Show us what you got.

Perhaps, Xavier's Art scene will no longer be singing the blues...