Lifestyle

The past few months have been challenging for many of us. The pandemic has affected us in so many ways. Some lost their jobs due to the different quarantine levels.Plenty of people were stranded for commercial flights were on hold. A few felt worried and sad to the point that they can not function very well. There were so many changes in this “new normal.”The Department of Health (DOH) identified the paradigm of the “new normal” due to the onslaught of COVID-19. DOH stated that new normal is a new way of thinking about, deciding on, and doing our usual affairs with an invigorated sense to remain healthy.They mandated ways to reduce the spread of this virus by wearing masks, washing our hands regularly, staying at home, limiting mass activities, and many others.Help is avai...

Negrense artist Susanito Sarnate's nativity scene is set in a sugarcane farm.*Ricky Gallaga photos More scenes from Susanito Sarnate's belen*A nativity scene music box*A Bolivian nativity scene*An eastern tradition belen where Mother Mary is seated from Bulgaria*Dr. Ricky Gallaga*The 90 plus year old pieces from the nativity set of Gallaga's mother.*In this belen, each king represents a different Canadian-Indian tribe*A nativity set from Peru*A coconut shell from Peru with a belen inside*A nativity set from Zimbabwe with a lot of beadwork*A doctor, who has a collection of nativity sets from around the world that are on display all year round at his home in Bacolod City, said they are a reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.Dr. Ricky Gallaga, the dean of the College of Medic...

Life is too short not to share our experiences and learning.This is what this column is about.COVID-19 has put a halt to many of the things we have been used to. It has grounded planes and cancelled travels. It separated us from friends and loved ones with who we would have spent holidays and special occasions with.Thousands of jobs have been lost, careers stalled, and businesses closing or barely keeping afloat. Conferences and events where people usually come together to learn and bond as a team have stopped.Despite all these, learning cannot be chained. Although traditional institutions are floundering with the new normal, the current situation has pushed education and skill-learning to discover more platforms and adapt for survival.Life is too short not to shar...

The Visayas Islands Visual Arts Exhibition & Conference (VIVA ExCon) 16 that opened virtually on Sunday, November 8, recalibrated itself for the celebration of its 30th year of unimpeded continuance. Given the reality of the 2020 pandemic, the limitation imposed by necessary precautionary measures and the impact of such on the mindset of artists, VIVA ExCon 2020 has recalibrated the festival design to engage creative spirits in a virtual dynamics that is interactive, online and will bring together the creative community to rise to the challenge of the times.VIVA ExCon is a Visayas-wide biennale which was started by the art group Black Artist in Asia in 1990 in Bacolod City and whose hosting has since then toured the Visayan Islands every two years without fail.  It h...

A businesswoman from Bacolod City this week was the first Filipina to win the prestigious Qatar Woman Leader Award in recognition of her contributions to the Middle Eastern country’s economy.Clairevee “Aya” Gamboa, who has founded several businesses in the Middle East, was presented the award virtually by CMO Asia, at the World Women Leadership Award Congress and World Marketing Congress in Qatar.Gamboa, who has been in Bacolod since the COVID-19 pandemic broke, thanked the award-giving body for recognizing her contributions to Qatar’s economic diversity by “advancing a world-class hospitality, brand creations, business development” and her contributions to its “national security during its time of challenges”.“Being the first Filipina consultant in the Middle East to be recogn...

Some of the Finding Bon Marco cartoons*Bon Marco, the lemon Beagle*A series of cartoons about finding a mischievous lemon colored Beagle named Bon Marco has become a hit among social media followers of a Negrense retired college professor during the COVID-19 pandemic.It has also helped raise funds to buy meals for undernourished children and typhoon victims.The “Finding Bon Marco” series by Bugsy Lopez Bongco, 63, who taught accounting and auditing at Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod and the University of St La Salle in Bacolod City, are posted on Facebook and Instagram twice a week.The cartoon series used to be on her personal Facebook account, but as followers grew Bongco recently decided to start posting the Finding Bon Marco game on the FB page called The Legal Beagles.B...

The resident butterflies in the garden of Romana de los Reyes* A Christmas butterfly tree of Golden birdwings butterflies*A Common Leopard butterfly Christmas tree*Romana delos ReyesA retired professor has dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic with ease, thanks to a butterfly garden in her yard that has filled her world with the colorful wonders of nature.Romana de los Reyes, 74, who was director of the Institute of Philippine Culture, a social science research institute of the Ateneo de Manila University,  lives in her retirement home in Barangay Balingasag, Bago City.  “My garden began in 1997 when I decided to retire at 50,” she said.Among the flowers blooming in her garden are the kuisia with yellow flowers which local vendors call Ms. Philippines, the not-so-commo...

Photos courtesy of Bea CruzA budding Negrense fashion designer’s dream to make her mark in the international scene has come true.Bea Cruz from Victorias, Negros Occidental, did that by winning two major awards at the 14th International Virtual Art Renewal Center (ARC) Salon Exhibition and the Fashion Week San Diego in California.Cruz, who has a shop at 123 East Building along the Circumferential Road in Barangay Villamonte, Bacolod City, won first place as top Fashion Week San Diego 2020 designer on October 17.She also bagged the Art and Beauty Behind Fashion best team award.The ARC Salon Exhibition was hosted by Sotheby’s New York.“The award I won from Fashion Week San Diego was my first win,” she said.“I was really surprised because I’ve always envisioned my w...

The ‘Star of Hope’ reminds one that faith overcomes fear, and courage sees one through crisis.*Christmas balls made from discarded Nespresso capsules.*Christmas is in the air at the Negrense Volunteers for Change as it artisans prepare for the holidays.The NVC “elves” are again working on Christmas ornaments from recycled materials to raise money to continue their mission to provide meals for malnourished children and create vegetable gardens to produce food for the poor who have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.Among NVC’s newest ornaments this year is the “Star of Hope” made from scraps of the 17,040 PPE gowns NVC Foundation made and distributed to frontliners for its “Combat Covid-19” campaign, NVC president Millie Kilayko said.“This new ‘Star of Hope’ he...

Actress Assunta de Rossi, who is married to former Rep. Jules Ledesma (Neg. Occ., 1st district) gave birth to a baby girl Friday, October 23.The baby has been named Guilia Florentina Alessandra, and her nickname is Fiore, which means flower in Italian.The couple were married in San Carlos City in Negros Occidental in 2002, and Fiore is their first child.Assunta’s sister, Alessandra , posted a photo of her sister with the baby shortly after she was born. (Photos from posts of Alessandra and Assunta de Rossi)