Jeepney or Taste of Manila - Which One Is SPARC Promoting?

Volume 5, Issue No. 33

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of Romar Media Canada, The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail.com) and the Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .

 

Our latest as of Monday, April 29, 2024 

~ In person or virtual (online only), the identity people equate with the Taste of Manila (ToM) festival for the last 10 years has been the easily recognizable graphic design created by Consul Bolivar "Bing" Bao (since reassigned to another mission) of a driver inviting passengers to his vintage jeepney. A group of so-called artists is poised to replace it with a multi-colored illustration highlighting what appears to be the launching of relatively modern jeepney. Where does ToM fit? 

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DISTORTING ToM's ICONIC IMAGE FOR 2024

 Taste of Manila Goes Funky 

SPARC Seems to Be Launching a Sarao Jeepney

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“A lot of people do not value art. Rather than admit they don't understand it, they tend to trivialize it."  ― Wayne Gerard Trotman

TORONTO - The attempt to rebrand the Taste of Manila (ToM) festival starting this year is quite obvious in a new logo being posted on social media by its handlers.

The first time I saw it, I thought the purported non-profit SPARC (Society of Philippine Artists, Recreation and Community) was launching a remodeled jeepney from Sarao Motors in the Philippines. (See collage)

I can't understand where ToM fits there, or where the rebrand conjures images of scenes in Manila, such as street food, or of people in a hurry to get to their destinations through the old-fashioned workhorse. None of these. It's like SPARC promoting a refurbished Sarao jeepney.

SPARC is the chosen org to stage ToM sometime in August, a decision made by driver-turned-self-proclaimed-founder Rolly Mangante aka "kabise" over the objection of another contractor, IEC (International Entertainment Company), which had previously secured an agreement.

One of the components of SPARC is supposedly "artists". Its big but largely empty boast is that it's a "society of . . . artists . . . " 

I purposely removed "Philippine" which it uses as a modifier in its title because I believe it's unfair to drag the name of the country into a shady scheme.

The latest rendering of the ToM logo showing a multi-colored jeepney amidst a polychromatic background assails the eyes and does not  evoke a pleasant countenance. It's a mishmash.

Compare that to the comforting feel of the old logo which incorporates blue, red, white, and yellow - essentially the Philippine banner - with matching green and sky blue, and one feels a sense of belonging.

This old logo was the product of Consul Bolivar "Bing" Bao's creative mind. If a glimpse of Manila is to be discerned from a festival that carries its name, the jeepney, a World War II relic, had to be its familiar come-on. (Related video: Amusing Trivia: 'Tansan,' '19 Kopong-kopong,' 'Bata pa si Sabel' by Consul Bolivar Bao).

Amusing Trivia: 'Tansan,' '19 Kopong-kopong,' 'Bata pa si Sabel' by Co...

In the illustration, Bing's artistry shows a simple yet full grasp of Philippine history juxtaposed with the iconic CN Tower, a Toronto landmark, so there's no mistaking the place-name.

On the other hand, SPARC's adaptation of the ToM logo redirects attention to a relatively modern version of the vintage jeepney, thus defeating the all-time visage of a vibrant city. 

In SPARC's jumbled take, the emphasis is on the vehicle; in Bing's, it's the character, the idea, the feeling, the smell, the taste, of Manila.

Which brings me to what has been my lingering suspicion, i.e. that the "artists" in SPARC are not artist in the sense of being a cognoscente. If there is, the art appreciation is limited to a splash of clashing colors.

Food vendors who have been demanding a refund of their money from last year suspect the "society of . . . artists . . . " actually has "con artists" in its fold. That is an opinion shared with me confidentially and has not been verified as of this writing. 

I tend to agree. The new logo, I suppose, would be a good example of a lack of people in SPARC with artistic inclination. What it has are probably gossipmongers, fictitious social media influencers, and pseudo broadcasters.

An instance prior to SPARC was when it went virtual due to the coronavirus pandemic and had to steal photos and videos of past ToM festivals from my Filipino Web Channel. (Related video: Greed Breeds Contempt and Infighting in Taste of Manila).

The culprit, according to Cecille Araneta of International Entertainment Company, was ToM "founder" Rolly Mangante, a former driver at the Philippine Consulate, who authorized the steal.

(Full story at: Official Blames ToM and Partners for Stolen Footage)

The purloined images were then manipulated and spliced by a brother of a so-called "international reporter" in his "lunatronix" studio in Little Manila, posted online, and made to appear like they were their own. (Copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved).

Animosity, Greed, Clashing Egos in Taste of Manila Festival

Volume 5, Issue No. 32

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of Romar Media Canada, The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail.com) and the Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .

 

Our latest as of Friday, April 19, 2024 

~ What had started as a modest outreach to the community has turned into a fount of ill-will, greed and clashing egos. When it rolled out in August 2014, the Taste of Manila (ToM) festival showed promise to help alleviate the sorry situation Filipinos have found themselves in with a list of civic projects. Ten years later, ToM had nothing to show except the animosity and avarice between and among its organizers. A cash cow, an ATM? You bet it is now, especially for the role players passing themselves off as community leaders. 

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2024 TASTE OF MANILA FESTIVAL 

 The Death of Community Service

Animosity, Greed Rule in What Was Once a Promising Outreach

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“What we wish, we readily believe, and what we ourselves think, we imagine others think also.” ― Julius Caesar

TORONTO - Disingenuous, overambitious, pretentious. That's the regenerated Taste of Manila (ToM) festival in three simple words.

In 10 years, it has been transformed from a down-to-earth event to benefit the community to a flourishing cash cow that lines the pockets of some people playacting roles as community leaders.

From its inception in 2014, ToM was a bastard, the fruit of an illegitimate grab by a greedy manservant whose ambition in his dreary life was to be recognized and validated as an organizer.

Incompetent but not lacking the imagination of a charlatan, he declared himself ToM founder much to the astonishment of many who knew him well, not as a "consul," nor as a "congen," and certainly not as an "amba" or ambassador.

Though they were practical jokes intended to humor him, he took a liking for them, unconcerned that they were an inverse reminder that no matter how he dressed up to the nines, he was just an insignificant lackey. But he took them in just the same, relishing the moment he was referred to by any of the three names.

Realizing his inadequacy, the ToM "founder" enlisted support, first from within his circle of dubious characters, then from people who truly wanted to serve the community. In a manner of speaking, he surrendered parenting ToM to those wanting to make money as long as he got his share of the revenues.

Thus ToM's adoptive parents were born. There's ToM by PCCC (Philippine Cultural Community Centre), ToM by PLACA (Philippine Legacy and Cultural Alliance), virtual ToM by PESO (Philippine Community Events and Service Ontario), ToM by IEC (International Entertainment Company), and lately, ToM by SPARC (Society of Philippine Artists, Recreation and Community).

Of all these purported non-profit orgs, PESO was probably the most notorious. The ToM "founder" allegedly greenlighted it to steal copyrighted photos and videos from my YouTube outlet The Filipino Web Channel. IEC had also a part in it, showing the image of its officer Cecille Araneta with the equally portly Nieves Mangante manipulated and spliced to fit the ToM blurb.

Were ToM a person, it would be difficult to trace his lineage. The fathers and mothers who begot him would be like a mixture of contaminated DNA. Meanwhile, the "founder" who snatched him from his rightful parents is having a grand time sitting tight somewhere as the money continues to flow in year after year after year.

ToM's last two adoptive parents - IEC and SPARC - are still locked in legal wranglings, the trouble no less stirred by the "founder" whose avarice defies explanation. Both claim to have a valid contract to manage ToM.

Actually, the greediness of the "founder" showed in 2017 when a ToM sponsor who hired him as a driver let him go after his spying activities were discovered. Soon, he had put up a competing business that relied heavily on his alleged contacts in the Philippine Consulate.

If we are to believe the social media postings by a blabbermouth masquerading as Marites Tolits, ToM has grown bigger than what the logical mind could comprehend.

The ridiculous part is the duration to which ToM would be staged, from two days in the past, to three days this year, despite demands by vendors refusing to participate, for a refund of monies deposited in last year's ToM. 

Marites Tolits has been luring sponsors and vendors by trumpeting the allegedly increasing number of sponsors, booths and vendors who have signed contracts for the festival in August 2024.

But knowing her tendency to exaggerate and post misleading statements - possibly the reason she could not come forward with her true identity - her postings could be totally untrue. Is this not another form of scam?

Why does SPARC tolerate her nonsense if it's really committed to elevating the community? Is the alias her escape hatch to evade accountability? Indeed, it does give her basis to claim "plausible deniability".

One example was her unverified claim that half-a-million people attended the 2023 ToM which SPARC had mounted in Little Manila. I long suspected that the "artists" in SPARC are con artists, but I digress. That story is for another time.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Marites Tolits was probably relying on the historical fact that the number of ToM attendees had progressively risen each year from August 2014 to August 2019, ToM's last person-to-person event, which was just three months before COVID-19 struck.

SPARC is somewhat engaged now in brushing off ToM's legacy. The familiar image of a driver beckoning passengers to his postwar jeepney rendered by Philippine Consul Bolivar "Bing" Bao has been replaced by a non-artistic drawing of a multicolored hybrid. 

Maybe, just maybe, it's an attempt by ToM's so-called founder, Rolly Mangante, to distance himself from the Philippine Consulate where the concept of ToM originated and where he worked as a driver.

Mangante, according to knowledgeable sources within SPARC, is currently embroiled in a word war with a former ToM official that he had junked once he had secured a contract with SPARC to handle ToM for three years.

The official has been prying into ToM for its inability or refusal to pay back vendors hesitant to join ToM in August. (Copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved).

Filipino Restaurant Month: From Politics to Gastronomy

Volume 5, Issue No. 31

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of Romar Media Canada, The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail.com) and the Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .

 

Our latest as of Monday, April 8, 2024 

~ The Philippines' colonial past is reflected in culture, in food particularly, according to some pundits. One story goes that Filipino cuisine as we know it "is sometimes characterized as the 'original Asian fusion cuisine'." Arguably it is, if the excellent fusion foods two Philippine-born chefs are whipping up daily at their restaurants are taken into account. 

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2024 FILIPINO RESTAURANT MONTH 

Filipino-Canadian Fusion Food Shines

Manila-Born Chefs Helm the Kitchen at Mineral and Mother Tongue

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“Food is the avenue into a culture.” ― Amie Belmonte

TORONTO - The idiom "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach" comes to life in this the 2024 Filipino Restaurant Month (FRM) undertaking by Philippine diplomatic missions in eight provinces in Canada.

Though the heart and the stomach have different biological functions, the phrase describes exactly the dining experience Consul Mary Grace Villamayor, artist and journalist Michelle Chermaine Ramos, and this reporter, had last week.

It's certainly a tender, even romantic, way of expressing appreciation for the cook who spends hours putting together a fine meal, and in our pleasant case, for two Philippine-born chefs, namely, Daniel Cancino and Francis Bermejo.

Not only did they capture our hearts, they also succeeded in stimulating our appetite for fusion cuisine, a field they excel in, and served at Mineral restobar (1027 Yonge St. in Rosedale) and Mother Tongue (348 Adelaide St. West).

Related videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukPH6-FFbZA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R79RjhohGmQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yawvHmACJeg

The wave that Cancino and Bermejo create at their restaurants may be fortuitous for, perhaps not quite well-known, the fact that "Filipino cuisine," according to Wikipedia, "is sometimes characterized as the 'original Asian fusion cuisine', combining native culinary traditions and ingredients with the very different cuisines of China, Spain, Malaysia, Thailand and Mongolia, among others, due to its unique colonial history."

The rich elements of East and West are on full display during the two successive days Consul Villamayor had set for a visit - Wednesday, April 3 at Mother Tongue and Thursday, April 4, at Mineral, to try the food there in consonance with the 75th celebration of Philippine-Canada relations.

It could be said then that diplomatic ties between the two countries - once soured by Canada's garbage (video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbBj_7HJk3w T) - have gone from political, economic, and social to the more self-fulfilling gastronomy.

The bad weather on those days did not dampen our enthusiasm to discover for ourselves why fusion food is such a big hit in the two Toronto establishments, not because the chefs are Filipinos, but due to their creativity and culinary expertise in whipping up mouthwatering dishes.

Small wonder why their clientele was undaunted either. The palate that's long used to ancient and contemporary Filipino food got supplanted, albeit temporarily, due to what Ms. Ramos called "amazing" taste of culinary fusion.

I rarely hear such a word spoken so candidly and spontaneously as a reaction to food laid out on the table - an intermingling of foodstuffs known to Filipinos and Canadians and resulting in delightful comestibles.

All I can say was "very good" to define the blended nourishment Mineral and Mother Tongue were serving the three of us instant gourmands partaking in the Philippine government's annual FRM program.

The first two years of FRM were discoveries and adventures in Filipino dining. In April 2022, there were nine participants in the Greater Toronto Area. In 2023, that number went up to 12.

This year's third FRM - limited by choice to two fusion restaurants in Toronto - was rather a confirmation of what we knew all along, i.e., that Filipino chefs are world class if given the chance to bloom.

Cancino and Bermejo, the executive chefs in the two restos, should be on their way to seeding the traditional Filipino food into Canadian menus. Just to prove my point, come, visit and dine at Mineral and Mother Tongue. It'll be a delightful experience. (Copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved).

April Fools' Day Feature: Let's Have a Good Laugh

Volume 5, Issue No. 30

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of Romar Media Canada, The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail.com) and the Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .

 

Our latest as of Monday, April 1, 2024 

~  April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved with these pranks, which may be revealed as such the following day. The custom of setting aside a day for playing harmless pranks upon one's neighbour has been relatively common in the world historically. - Wikipedia.

In celebration of April Fools' Day today, April 1, we've listed eleven items of interest to the Filipino community. True or not, exaggerated or not, the rule is to not take it too seriously. Everything here is said in jest and only for the fun of it. 

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IT'S APRIL FOOLS' DAY TODAY

TPR, a Sinking Ship; Balita ng Facebook; Sour Taste of Manila; Con Artists in SPARC; Filipino 'Empty' in Parliament  

Also 'Sirang PLACA,' 'Chismosang Marites,' 'Walang Buhay' Festival 

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“The gods too are fond of a joke.” ― Aristotle

TORONTO - Let's share a good laugh today. Here goes . . .

1. Unconfirmed reports from the underground claim the left-leaning The Philippine Reporter (TPR) - "a sinking ship" by some accounts - changed its name to The Philippine Deporter.

2. The same sources from the underground say the tabloid's editors - Hermie Garcia and Mila A. Garcia - have been kicked out of the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada for 1) trying to stiff two of its reporters; 2) for lying about the federal agency giving money grants; 3) for fabricating a "grant guy" to hide its deceitful scheme; 4) for not admitting to the wrongs it committed; 5) for dragging the association into disrepute.

3. Among other changes in the local media is the renaming of Balita, the paper founded by the late Ruben Cusipag. It's now called Balita ng Facebook, which is a recognition of its primary source of news and entertainment.

4. On its 10th year this year, the Taste of Manila appears to have turned off people - vendors and sponsors mostly - who now call it the Sour Taste of Manila (SToM).

5. Its self-declared founder, Rolly Mangante, alias "kabise" who drove for the Philippine consulate, has a new gig as a driver of 18-wheeler trucks crisscrossing the US and Canada transporting leftover food from overpaying vendors.

6. SToM (Sour Taste of Manila) is to be staged again, reportedly, by the so-called Society of Philippine Artists, Recreation and Community (SPARC). Unverified reports claim the "artists" in SPARC are no more than "con artists" victimizing vendors and sponsors.

7. SPARC has two main undertakers, a gay, oops, I mean guy, named Danilo "Sani" Baluyot and a tomboyish Rosemarie "Rose" Ami-Seaborn. Without explanation some people refer to him as "insanity" Baluyot and to her as "chismosang Marites Tolits".

8. Ever heard of PLACA, the non-profit Philippine Legacy and Cultural Alliance, the undertaker of FUN Philippines festival? Now on its fifth year since its founding in 2019, the envious eyes in SToM classify it as "sirang PLACA".

9. As it is staged from year to year, PIDC's Mabuhay Festival seems to have lost luster and has now become a "walang kabuhay-buhay festival", apparently from the same old-same old guests and chronic activities.

10. Another unconfirmed report say Little Manila might be renamed Greater Little Manila so as to include establishments outside its traditional loop. Photographer Jose "Joey" Baking, a perennial candidate and loser in Toronto's mayoral race, is reportedly eyeing to be its honorary "mayor." Naku ha, as he is fond of saying.

11. Just like other officials before her, MP (some phonetically-challenged people pronounce it as "EMPTY") Rechie Valdez has succumbed to the call of the stage. Her friends have conducted a "karaoke fundraiser" in January in support of her reelection. Oh, by the way, what has she done for the Filipino community other than being in many photo ops? (Copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved).