In the Mood for Dragon Dance

       The streets were congested almost like a little maze. There were arches with dragons to mark entry points. Chinese characters and chinky eyes, they were everywhere. It was like being In the Mood for Love until a sudden uproar broke the building up subtlety of the oriental culture. Loud cracks boomed everywhere as if there was an exchange of gunfire from unidentified terrorists and prospects. Suddenly, men carrying enormous and gaudy dragons in poles stole the scene. It’s not just any other 23rd day of January in Binondo, it was the Chinese New Year. 

      Dragon dance had been a long tradition in Chinese culture. It is performed by a dynamic team who will give life to the dragon by raising the pole up and down to which the dragon is attached. In the early times, dragons were made of wood, with bamboo hoops and were covered with rich fabrics. However the contemporary dancers have switched to lighter materials such as aluminium and plastics. 

      The dragon symbolizes great power and dignity in Chinese tradition. The emperors of ancient China have considered themselves as dragons of imperial authority. Usually, the dragon dance is accompanied by a pair of lions, which according to Buddhist symbolism; the lions are associated with power, regality and strength that would protect human beings from all forms of evil. The lion dance is only operated by two people whose faces are not seen compared to the dragon which needed a team to hold its length and the faces of the dancers remain visible. 

      There are performances where the dragon follows the direction of a dancer carrying a big ball wrapped in vibrant colors. According to Lawrence Chan, a resident tour guide in Binondo, the colorful ball symbolizes the earth. The dragon follows and protects the earth from evil spirits. 

      Dragon and lion dances are performed at New Year and also during special occasions to drive away evil spirits and bring good luck to the people especially to businesses. During the Chinese New Year in Binondo, before the business establishments started their transactions, owners first opened their doors to dragon dancers as they showcased a heart thumping performance accompanied by deafening drum rolls and tensing cymbals. 

       In some business establishments, owners already prepared a snakelike line-up of firecrackers which were lightened up in the middle of the dragon dance performance. As the firecrackers fired up the air, the dancers, despite the danger anchored within the explosive materials, continued with their performance as if they were invincible to the hazards that could cost their lives. The owners however and also the spectators just held their grounds not too far so as not to see a performance that is almost on the brink of life and death. 

      After their performance, the dancers holding the mouths of the lion reached for an ang pao, a small red envelope with luck money, a payment for the part of the dancers and an act that would invite prosperity for the part of the Chinese. Interesting enough, despite the dragon dance being of Chinese tradition, ironically, there wasn’t a single chinky-eyed Chinese holding a pole or finding himself or herself inside a lion mascot. All the performers were Filipinos: brawny, brown and sweating Filipinos who found themselves subjected to a foreigner’s tradition that in return could already make them subsist for a day or maybe two if the businessman is generous. Also there were children dancers whom in their young age have already their muscles stretched in holding the poles of dragons in exchange for money. These Filipino children whom, in their fresh consciousness would probably not have the slightest tinge of idea of how they have become early subjects of social stratification imbibed within their skins. Despite this triangular system of the Chinese being at the apex and the Filipinos bowing down below, a particular sight during the New Year at Binondo exhibited a morphing of the dragon dance tradition in the eyes and body rhythm of Filipinos. It was the performance of the homosexuals clad in a what appeared to be in a bordering costume of a manananggal and a tribal dancer.    

      While there were dragon dancers in front of business establishments, these homosexual dancers were on the streets blowing fires from their mouths and yelling to the intense beating of drums and tambourines. They had their own tribal street party which mirrored the origins of the early Filipino tribes: barefoot, yelling and dynamically rhythmic. 

         A native ritual within a foreigner’s festivity, only in the Philippines, diversity at its finest. RLM

Other Binondo sightings 

charms, charms, charms

Lotus feet

candles at the Binondo church

Binondo church

another pampaswerte

how long will they keep clasping

old school Math: abacus

back to the basics

I'm not sure if those were crickets

some stuffies at the Chinese drugstore 

goofing around at the drugstore

yellow balls

some Singaporean dish that we ate for free :) yum! yum!

the little girl and the pink chick

Kung Hei Fat Choy!

Lawrence Chan, our tour guide

castanas

incense 

the balloon man

the sign is just so adorable :)

Happy Delicious Kitchen

a historical marker we found while strolling

at a Chinese bookstore 

Little Amazon Meets Earthkeepers

    Some places can be deceiving. Some trends die out early. Some advocacies tend to be forgotten. Some choices end up becoming the wrong ones.

     Not for Teresa and Armando Saniano who have embraced organic as a way of life long before it emerged as a fast growing lifestyle trend. For 13 years now, they have called themselves and strived to be “earthkeepers” by producing fruits, vegetables, ornamental plants and even raising animals through natural farming technology. 

    Although agritourism has only emerged recently, Tere and Armand have already been its early pioneers in Quezon Province when they opened their all natural haven to tourists in 1997.

     Agritourism sprang from the interests of people from all over the world who wanted to know how and where their foods are produced with the fusion of ecotourism. 

      The Saniano’s named their all natural haven Earthkeepers Garden and Restaurant after their over a decade advocacy of striving to keep the biodiversity of nature without the use of chemicals. 

outside Earthkeepers 

    Located in Tiaong Quezon, two hours away from Manila via South Luzon Express (SLEX) way, Earthkeepers sits away from the nerve-wracking rush hours and congested streets of the metro. 

     At first glance, one would think that it’s just another landscape stall like the ones in Tagaytay with terracotta pots and large bonsais displayed on its facade. But wait till you walk farther inside the shades of royal palm trees, little by little you will realize that you are transported to a mini Amazon forest. You will be welcomed by the sweet chirping of birds, raspy trilling of geckos and frogs croaking in chorus. 

water lilies swimming on cement tubs

jump shot at the entrance

the view from the restaurant

     Bamboos, red palms, banana plants, ferns and various species of plants all serve as blankets to Tere and Armand’s organic haven. You will notice that all of these are still visible even inside the restaurant which has only one wall while the rest is enclosed by a green net. As you indulge into healthy meals from naturally raised livestock and freshly handpicked vegetables and fruits, you won’t help but contemplate into an open view of biodiversity happening before your very eyes. 

at the nursery

     Just a few walks from the restaurant you will notice a nursery housing different species of orchids and non-flowering plants that are also cultivated organically. Long before the owners conceived the garden and restaurant, they were already venturing into landscape services. 

    According to Mhe-ann Florendo, secretary of Earthkeepers, they use vermicompost for the organic cultivation of their plants.

African night crawler, want one?

    Vermicompost is an organic manure produced as a vermicast by a type of worm called African night crawlers feeding on the biological wastes of animals and other plant residues. She also mentioned that they use organic insecticides made from fermented lambanog (coconut wine), ginger and garlic. 

cuteee rabbits

    Meters away from the nursery are pig pens and rabbit cages which animal lovers can take delight in. Tourists can interact and feed the animals. They are fed with an organic plant called Madre de Agua. The pig pens do not have a foul smell for according to Ms. Florendo, they put indigenous microorganisms (IMO) in the soil where the pigs are raised. Tourists can also buy from a wide array of rabbits with red eyes, gray furs, black spots and various other kinds. She also mentioned that they use the manure of the rabbits as an ingredient for the vermicompost. 

    Earthkeepers do not accept walk-in customers, reservations should be made beforehand so the owners could have time to prepare the meals and they also give natural farming technology lectures as part of their tour package. 

the palay-isdaan overlooking Mt. Banahaw

     And if you’re lucky, although it’s not part of the tour package, you can request the Saniano’s for a sidetrip to Earthkeeper’s Learning farm. The farm is a non-profit demo farm, a special project of former Congressman now Secretary of Agriculture Proceso Alcala, which specializes in the further research of natural farming technology. It’s along Tiaong diversion road and just a few minutes away from Earthkeepers Garden and Restaurant. 

    Teresa Saniano, a relative of Sec. Alcala, lent the land for the special project in doing further studies on organic farming. It is a hectare farm facing the mystical and mysterious Mt. Banahaw. They also call the farm “Palay-isdaan” because a fishpond was built along rice pads to maximize the utility of the land. The fishpond stocks a distinct species of orange-colored tilapia. 

these pigs don't smell because of the vermicompost mized on the soil bed 

these ducks run away if you go near them

     The pigs raised in Earthkeepers came from the pens of the Learning farm. The farm also raises goats and ducks. Instead of using pesticides, they resort to the biological approach in letting ducks eat the snails which destroy the rice crops, according to Wilfredo Santander, an Organic Agriculture Technology consultant. 

     The farm is also home to plots of petchay, mustasa, lettuce and plantations of barley which are all grown using vermicomposts. These vermicomposts are covered with plastics and stored under nurseries. 

Mr. Santander inside the nursery where they mix the vermicompost

       According to Mr. Santander there are a total of 4,000 kinds of rice in the Philippines and the farm houses 105 of those kinds. He mentioned that there are three kinds of rice: white, red and black. Among these, black is the healthiest. He also narrated a story about how the early Filipino tribes used the black rice as a food for the sick during healing rituals. He said that scientific findings now proved that black rice really has healing components which can cure illnesses. 

rice 101

Most of the names of the rice derive from different tribes in the Philippines 

     He also clarified that brown rice is not a kind of rice but a method in which all kinds of rice undergo during polishing. Since it is a method, all kinds of rice can be made as brown rice. 

    “We have lost the biodiversity of rice,” according to Mr. Santander, despite the thousand kinds of rice that can be found in the country. Other species from outside were introduced since the focus of rice production had shifted from quality to quantity. 

     Mr. Santander’s devotion in developing natural farming technology hopes to bring back the quality not only of rice but also of other crops while restoring nature’s biodiversity. 

      Agritourism doesn’t only allow tourists to experience nature but also to commune with it. The more a tourist becomes immersed in nature, the more he or she will be mindful in being an earthkeeper. RLM