Chocolate Hills

I am Filipino-American. Both my parents were born and raised in Cavite City, Philippines. The first time I visited the PI, I was quite young and I have no recollection of it. The second time I visited the PI, I was 12 years old and about to enter Junior High. My memories of the Philippines were not, to be honest, pleasant. It was too hot, there were a lot of mosquitos and my mom had us cut off our long hairs for fear of getting lice and promptly got us perms (I will not show you photos of this perm, because it literally looked like a poodle attacked my head).    

When my husband wanted us to visit the Philippines for our honeymoon, I was hesitant. My husband, like my parents, was born and raised in the PI. He is the most out-spoken proponent of all things Filipino. He loves his native country and it showed. I agreed because I wanted him to show me the beauty of the Philippines that I did not see in the past. I do not want to get too political on this blog about the state of the Philippines, but I do want to show what I learned during my trip back in 2007 - that the Philippines is a beautiful country and there are places that are worth visiting and admiring. 

I will be talking about various places I visited on my trip throughout this blog. Today I wanted to focus on The Chocolate Hills.

The Chocolate Hills are a geological formation in the Bohol Province of the Philippines. There actually is not a clear consensus on how these hills (which there are at least 1260 of them) were formed, but most believe these are marine limestones which overtime have been eroded by rainwater. Majority of the year, these hills are green, but during the dry season they turn brown thus earning their nickname. The Chocolate Hills are one of the most popular tourist attractions in Bohol and for that matter in the Philippines. Currently there is an application to protect them as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  

There are several Filipino legends on how these hills were formed, some involving carabao and fecal matter! but I prefer the tragic story of unrequited love of a giant named Arogo who fell in love with a mortal girl, named Aloya. When he found out Aloya was to marry another mortal, he kidnapped Aloya. Aloya got sick in his care and she died. Arogo was so devastated that he cried giant tears that dried up and became the Chocolate Hills.

Our tour guide was a adorable Filipino guy named Joshua, who told us this story in his broken english. He said Aloya "got so sick, that it was so fatal, you see, that she died." Classic.

Just remember to bring some good walking shoes if you decide to check out The Chocolate Hills, because the best way to see them is to climb all 214 steps up the observation hill.

Filipino heritage in the home

My husband and I are both Filipino - I was born and raised in San Diego and my husband in the Philippines. We share an affinity for modern design and pops of color, in particular the color orange.  As much as I like the clean, straight lines of the modern design, I also like to bring the personal into the home.  In addition to having our fair share of family photos scattered about, we are attempting to include some of our heritage in the design.

Designer and author, Meg Mateo Ilasco, has the perfect home that mixes mid-century modern, bright colors and her and her husband's Filipino heritage.  

The rattan chairs are hand-me-downs from Meg's mom. The chairs were reupholstered to give them a more fresh look.  The Philippines are one of the top suppliers of rattan products. Rattan furniture are known for their durability and strength.  

Meg's dining room have pops of blue and orange colors that complement each other well.  The macramé planter is another find from Meg's mother.  I like that this room has an eclectic mixture of mid-century, 1970s, and personal touch to it.

In my own home, the biggest and most valuable piece is our original oil painting by Filipino artist Ed Santuangco. We discovered this artist's work when we went to the Philippines for our honeymoon in 2007 where we even had a chance to visit his gallery, Collections of Art, in Angeles City.  We were instantly attracted to the modernity of the painting in regards to his subtle use of cubism and the bright oranges, blues and golds.  But at the same time the theme is very Filipino - the painting depicts a Filipino market and in the background are the ubiquitous Jeepneys.

Of course not to seem too pretentious with this talk about original art in the home, I'll bring it down a notch by saying our Filipino household would not be complete without our "Barrel Men" (and women). If you are Filipino and you do not know about the Barrel Men then Shame on You!  If you aren't aware of the Barrel Men, let's just say that when you lift those barrels up, you will get yourself a little (or big) surprise. That's all I'm going to say.  Mindless entertainment for hours.  

The remainder of our house is comprised of a lot of Swedish furniture. We are not swedish, but my husband works at IKEA...which will be another blog topic for another day...

(top photos by Thomas J. Story via Sunset Magazine)