KT in Kalinga: Ullalim ning Fatok (Part 2)

4 12 2012

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Lester Valle

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(This is the ullalim, the story, behind the fatok etched today on my forearm, and Lester’s. I have tried my best to recall everything clearly by memory, as I had no chance to write things down during the blur that was: these were days we were working as audio-visual artisans under the direction of young filmmaker Lauren Sevilla Faustino, shooting a persona-driven documentary on the woman called Fang-od, the last of the Kalinga “mambabatok” elders.)

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https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-RivPIRAgsqg/UL2i851PCbI/AAAAAAAAAVM/3PWG3ZAZHRE/s720/Day%252007.jpg

From Quezon City, we got to Tabuk after about twelve hours, delayed by road repairs and engine failure.

Near the prominent Puraw nga Nuang (White Carabao) landmark at the city center, a pick-up truck was already waiting for us; courtesy of Ma’am Claribel Camarao, a Tabuk elder and teacher, whom Direk Lauren met during a project with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

It is Marco’s first time in Kalinga, and the ascent to Buscalan would be his first real trek up the Cordilleras. He began rolling his 60D as our truck cruised along the spanking new Canao Bridge in the outskirts of Barangay Bulanao. From there, he was to record several interesting snippets of our road trip to Tinglayan, as directed by Lauren, but more because he found everything so new. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Alternative Education, Culture, People, Travel and Adventure

Kayumanggi Surf: Kindergarten Days

10 10 2012

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Erwin Barrientos, Yo Muan and Lester Valle

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On the road to greatness, everybody’s got to start somewhere. At times, that “somewhere” fills your quota of darndest moments for a month. Especially if you go talking about SURFING.

Flashback to Perth, Western Australia, February 2012. KT frontliner Yo Muan was carrying his surfboard ashore. The day was perfect: sun of the right heat, waves of the right size, the wild wind on his face. It felt good. In the midst of ecstasy, he was distracted by a strange sensation of clapping.

Flesh. Clapping flesh.

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Categories : Alternative Education, Beaches, Surfing, Travel and Adventure, Waterscapes

Meet the Pili!

26 09 2012

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Lester Valle

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Now it can be told. Team KT teamed up with the CCI Asia Group (Living Asia Channel) to churn out a short info-docu about the Philippine Pili Nut. The shortie was commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry – Bicol Region.

As we may now garner from recent news on Philippine exports, the country has been building up the image of the Pili Nut as a premium product, to rival the macadamia, the almond, and other more popular nuts in the world market. Bicolanos have been wildly proud of this development, and are pulling out all the stops to herald their flagship commodity all around the world.

KT lensman Lester Valle lends his visual style to the 9-minuter, as main videographer. Carla Ocampo takes the reins as producer, writer, and post-production director. CCI Asia’s Thess Visda and Ian Agawa complete the crew as production manager, and production assistant (slash-official Bicol lokal!) respectively.

Now, if you happen to be a Filipino who still haven’t tasted a single kernel of pili, well, by all means you should. Huwag maging dayuhan sa sariling pagkain, ifyahknowwhatwemean.

Ladies and gentlemen, lapis and fountain pen (a Gary Granada joke, hehe, wala lang), MEET THE PILI!

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© 2012 CCI Asia Group and The Kayumanggi Trails | All Rights Reserved


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Arayat: Aring Sinukwan’s Mountain | A Guide to Hiking Mt. Arayat National Park

12 04 2012

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Yo Muan, Carla Ocampo and Lester Valle

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LOCATION | TRAILHEAD: Mt. Arayat National Park | Bgy. San Juan Baño, Arayat, Pampanga

ELEVATION | DIFFICULTY: 1,030 meters above sea level (MASL) | Class 2

COORDINATES:  15°11’47.94″N 120°44’37.68″E

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The Filipino hiker is quite unique. Beyond following the established Leave-No-Trace principles, we also add another facet to respecting the Great Outdoors.

With animistic spirituality, deeply ingrained in the Filipino psyche, we make it a point to pay our respects to deities — spirits — that may be inhabiting the trails we tread on.

Some offer silent prayers before the start of every trek. Some call out “Tabi po!” excusing themselves for disturbing the ground. Even the most hardened atheists — and Catholics! — among local hiking circles do not question these practices, if only in the name of camaraderie.

These spirits, it would seem, appreciate sincerity. For one, Aring Sinukwan (or, The King, Sinukwan) was such a benevolent deity during Team KT’s trek up his lushly vegetated home, Mount Arayat.

Perhaps, as a token for our hushed behavior, the spirit king and his daughter Mariang Sinukwan gifted us with great weather, a spectacular sunset, and a clear view of the farthest plains of Central Luzon.

But we’ll tell you the story later. For now, here are the particulars. Read the rest of this entry »


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“Why is Mt. Arayat called Mt. Arayat?”

3 01 2012

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Carla Ocampo

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The name “Arayat” denotes a couple of things: one, the municipality in the province of Pampanga; and two, the inactive volcano lording over the vast plains of inner Central Luzon.

Conventional stories about how Arayat got its name have been propagated by several online sources, and even by the municipality itself. But after much thought and research, Team KT offers a different idea.

In popular texts, the name of Arayat the town is attributed to a certain Fernando de Arayat, an encomiendero who governed this part of Pampanga and its surrounding towns during the Spanish Era. He was born in peninsular Spain, in a place that was— allegedly— called “Arayat”. But…

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Daklis: Dance of Sea, Hum of Harvest

10 11 2011

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Wing Larase and Lester Valle

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“Daklis,” said a middle-aged fisherman, as he let a shy smile peer out from his eyes, when KT lensman Lester Valle asked “Anya dayta, Manong?” (“What is that, Sir?” Lester had asked in Iloko)

It was almost 9AM, the sun was already white hot and everybody on the balmy Lakay-Lakay Beach in Claveria, Cagayan had begun wiping his or her brow, picking out fish entangled from this neat network of cross-knotted nylon strings.

Daklis could then denote the two things that comprise this entire activity: ONE, the very, very long net that could span a whole square-mile of coast and waters, with a funnel-shaped “dead-end” at its very center; and TWO, the community chore itself, of hauling in unison this very long net ashore, where tens upon tens of residents from Claveria’s fishing villages would join in and eventually get their share of the catch, enough for the day’s three meals or —- if they are favored by Apo Lakay-Lakay —- enough to be sold by the kilo for added income, however humble the sums may be. Read the rest of this entry »


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Claveria in Pictures: Nu Haan Nga Agtudo, Here’s What to Do!

9 11 2011

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Lester Valle

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Summer is still the best time to go to Claveria; on these days the weather is predictably sunny for weeks.

See, the Wet Season brings in quite a lot of rain along the northern Philippine coast. This could be a real bummer, since Claveria (a coastal town) is more of an Outdoorsman’s Playground than a here’s-a-shopping-mall-so-it’s-perfectly-fine-to-be-indoors kind of place —- not to mention the damage to the crops and the meager fish catch in the aftermath of typhoons, which are not too welcome news for the town’s simple folk, whose lives depend largely on the gifts of earth and waters.

For an easy-breezy trip, you’d most probably opt for a pocket of time without rain. Once you nail the perfect schedule, though, Claveria WILL give you the time of your life, and that’s a guarantee.

Nu haan nga agtudo (and that’s “If it ain’t gonna rain” in the Iloko language), here’s what to see, and what to do! Read the rest of this entry »


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Claveria, The Northern Escape

14 10 2011

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Wing Larase and Lester Valle

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Nothing will stop a real wanderer. Not even the thought of butt-bruising, sleep-depriving, day-long rides just to get to the best places of these islands.

For the knighted ones, who’ve been to several summits, crossed a dozen seas, and endured century bike tours at least five times over, a twelve-hour bus saga is kindergarten.

But for the rest of the populace who’d want to live the traveler’s life, but have yet to pack in the guts— and experiences— to realize it, this 12-hour land trip is a fair enough baptism of fire. And if you’re at all considering this sort of initiation, you might as well choose a destination that’s entirely worth the butt cramps. The KT Prescription: try Claveria, Cagayan: way up north in the Philippine island of Luzon, and twelve hours away— by bus— from Manila.

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IPAKITA MO! The Making of a Multi-Kultura Music Video

18 07 2011

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Jaymar Carlos, Ruben Hamahiga Dela Cruz and Lester Valle

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I first heard the song “Ipakita Mo” during the 62nd birthday celebration of Banyuhay’s frontman, Heber Bartolome, the Philippines‘ ilong-pango pride originator.

The composer, Jhake Nebreja

It made my hair stand on end; Ka Heber and the best of his songwriting workshoppers were singing in tongues… tongues of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. At least thirteen Philippine languages were written into the rousing anthem, sung with feverish zeal by all voices involved.

Soon after, I learned that this massively nationalistic song was composed by seasoned folk rocker Jesus “Jhake” Nebreja of the progressive folk band NUKLUS (Jhake’s trio with Joven Aguilar and Babez Alejo).

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The 1st International Conference on Rizal (a.k.a. So You Think You Know Jose?)

14 06 2011

Aaaaand… the Rizal@150 fever rages on, highly-Googlable as expected. But before we even jump into planning our next big step in the name of “paying homage” to Jose Protacio Rizal— for whose life the Great Academe-and-Class Divide in the Philippines was dug to bottomless proportions (since he became THE National Hero, something he can’t refuse by virtue of being, well, dead)— couldn’t we ask ourselves a question first?

More than a century after the man was methodically gunned down, the riddle lingers on in spite of the law requiring every Filipino to be schooled about his biography and works…

SINO KA BA, JOSE RIZAL? Read the rest of this entry »


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