Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Santa Cruz Island of Zamboanga: Pink Sand Beaches of the South

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It's now undoubtedly summer time in the Philippines even though it somewhat rained a few days ago. You can feel the extreme heat everywhere you go. The air-conditioning in public buses cannot cope with how hot it is right now that you'll sweat it out profusely if you commute in the middle of the day.

I would often bring a spare shirt everytime, and would take a bath before and after the daily trips. If only I could shower while commuting, I would do it just to get rid of this sticky sweaty feeling. I would do everything in exchange for the opportunity to dip in a pool, or better yet, I would trade my soul for a swim in the southern seas - specifically the pink sand coralline beaches of the Great Santa Cruz Island of Zamboanga.

The color of the sand comes from the pulverized red organ pipe coral from eons of surf erosion mixed with the white sand. There is a smaller island nearby called Little Santa Cruz Island but it's a guarded military installation. Illegal coral reef mining has wiped out most of the Great Santa Cruz Island's vast and beautiful coral reef population but the coral reef at the Little Santa Cruz Island is still healthy, and could become a possible source for restoration of the big island.

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I've done a lot of readings online several days before going to Zamboanga to check out what to expect and look for to satisfy my cravings for native delicacies of the city. It isn't everyday that you get the opportunity to visit the place so it's best to make the most of it rather than contend myself with what the hotel has to serve.

One that caught my attention was the Satti - an exotic Hala-certified local culinaria signifying the unique ties between Christians and Muslims in Zamboanga City, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. It is a mix of cubed rice and grilled beef or chicken (meat or liver) barbecue poured with a generous amount of sweet and spicy thick sauce. The meat were like literally swimming because the sauce were so plenty.

The dish is a hit among tourists because the taste of this piquant soup is something to perk up one's day especially when eaten early in the morning.

Best for breakfast, the Satti is a regional delicacy popular in Zamboanga but may not translate well for the people from Manila. We are used to sweet and salty in the mornings along with our favorite 3-in-1 instant or brewed coffee, but at Andy's Satti, they recommend sodas or softrinks as a thirst quencher, and spice reliever just in case you are not used to the spiciness.

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The spanner crab or more popularly known in Zamboanga city as the Curacha is like a gigantic brilliant-red orange cockroach with pincers and fringed with hair at its sides. The name curacha is so close to the chavacano word cucuracha which literally means cockroach, thus the name.

It may be a weird looking monster-like crustacean but many are longing to dine on these Indo-Australian crabs once they are cooked, minimally either steamed or boiled, because it is best experienced in its natural exotic flavor, so as to preserve its original taste.

You should add sauce toppings made with a combination of gata (coconut milk), ginger, chili and other aromatics to enhance the flavor. But the well-loved special sauce from the Alavar Seafood Restaurant seems to be the most highly recommended in the city.

Contrary to what others are saying, these sea creatures can also be found in other waters aside from just Zamboanga. It just so happens that Zamboanga was the one that made it popular as the iconic must-try native delicacy when you go visit Asia's Latin City.

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You'll know everyone liked it when we can't stop talking about it. The ultimate proof is when everyone votes to order it on the last day before going back to Manila. This delectable dessert from Palmeras Restaurant of Zamboanga was simply a blockbuster hit for all of us that we persuaded our host to treat us out again with the yummy treat while we ate at another restaurant.

The Knickerbocker from Palmeras Restaurant is not really that complicated to make because its simply similar to our native halo-halo but instead of beans, sweet potatoes, and other traditional halo-halo ingredients with ice, they used an assortment of fruits instead, plus a few jellos then generously trickled with cream and topped off with a scoop of strawberry ice cream.

There was melon, banana, ripe mango, watermelon,.... and one of our companions even said he tasted avocado somewhere in the mix.

The Palmeras Restaurant serves a lot of delightful dishes but it was their dessert that became the talk of the afternoon, and until the next grueling days when we felt hot under the scorching heat. "How I wish I was eating a knickerbocker right now" I would say to myself. Maybe because it had an extraordinary name unlike any other but what is a name if it didn't taste great as well.

In fairness to the other dishes from the restaurant, I will also share them with you as they also brought out a huge appetite from our group.

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Kapuso actor-comedian Jan Manual may have not won when he joined the teenage reality show Starstruck, but as many would say, there's always a next time and a host of other opportunities. This served true for Jan after landing the lead role in an episode of CBN Asia's Holy Week Special Tanikala: My Sister, My Lover.

Exciting things are about to happen in the coming months for CBN Asia especially with Holy Week is just a few weeks away. On Maundy Thursday until Black Saturday, CBN Asia brings back its telemovie Tanikala, where a great line up of stories on pain, tears, hope and moving on, and of how God worked in the lives of the four people featured will be shown.

On Maundy Thursday at 5:30 p.m. on GMA 7, Jan Manual and Sheena Halili star in My Sister, My Lover, where Jan plays the role of gay Art Duyan.

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Club de Damas Latinas (Latin American Women´s Club) in the Philippines, founded 47 years ago, is a duly registered non-stock non-profit organization that has focused in supporting children who do not have access to education, health services, or a safe environment.

Sophisticated, civic minded, passionate and empowered ladies of the club are joining their forces to organize its 48th Latin Charity Ball. Their Annual Latin Charity Ball, one of the most prestigious fundraising events in the country and recently been recognized as one of the Top 20 Events of the Year in the Philippines by Philippine Tatler, is their major fundraising event. Their goal is to provide a night full of fun and entertainment while at the same time procuring hope and support to the poorest communities of the country that is our home.

This year, their well known event is named, "Fire Up Your Heart” as it represents the energy of the Latin culture and their inherent passion to help and make a positive impact in the lives of those in need. It is also a continuing call to action for others to get involved and help. The fun filled evening event will be held on May 10th 2014 at Fairmont Makati Hotel, 7:00 p.m.

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The Alaska Milk Corporation’s (AMC) has been a trusted ally in providing everyday affordable nutrition to Filipino families.

I still remember the time during my childhood when they used to call me Alaska boy because I looked a lot like the image of the boy printed in every can of Alaska milk. I had curly wavy hair and had white complexion that I got from my mother side. But unfortunately when I grew older, I got to look more like my father. Anyway, the other reason they call me Alaska boy was because I would always prefer to eat milk with rice instead of any other viand. I would pour condensed milk on top of rice and eat it as is.

Obviously, Alaska has been my favorite because its the only brand that my mother buys from the supermarket even though there are several milk brands out there. Until now, Alaska remains a favorite choice.

This unwavering commitment is now made even stronger as Alaska Milk Corporation partners with Royal FrieslandCampina, the Dutch dairy company that has been supplying mothers all over the world with high quality dairy nutrition for over 130 years now. Mothers can now benefit more from the combined power and expertise of the two companies. The partnership will offer essential nutrients from milk at any stage of the people’s lives.

Berta Rojas of Paraguay: Guitarist Exraordinaire Performs Live in Manila and Cebu

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Berta Rojas, a star in the international guitar community and a tourism ambassador of her native Paraguay being the most popular musician of the country, will hold concerts in Manila (on May 15, 2014 at 8 pm in the Meralco Theater) and Cebu (on May 17, 2014 at 8 pm in the Marcelo Fernan Hall in Lahug). Ms. Rojas, described by the Washington Post as "Guitarist extraordinaire," will play a mainly classical repertoire with a taste of jazz and salsa.

At a press conference held at the Richmonde Hotel last April 7, 2014, members of the media got to interview Ms. Rojas via Skype video call straight from Paraguay. The time difference between Paraguay and the Philippines is around 12 hours so that would mean she had to remain awake late in the evening at around midnight so he could talk to us at the press conference. The presscon started at around 12 noon that day so you can do your own computation.

Present at the presscon were the front acts for the concert in Manila namely Ramoncito Carpio, the country's most internationally awarded classic guitarist and Triple Fret, a trio that plays classical and more accessible pieces, composed of Marga Abejo, Jenny de Vera, and Iqui Vinculado.

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Heart Evangelista looks oh so sultry in a swimsuit gracing the cover of the Swimwear Special of Metro Magazine April 2014 issue.

The issue talks about how to be sexy in Gucci, shares tips and tricks on how to get a sexy summer body, several beauty products, reaffirms that the Filipinas is beyond beautiful. and introduces new swimsuit styles for every shape, size and budget.

They say real sexiness is when you know when not to reveal everything yet still look sexually appealing to the eyes of men, and even women. Heart manages to please even though she partly covers her body to only reveal slightly a portion of her upper assets.

It's really beginning to look a lot like ...summer!

PETA Announces Line Up for its 47th Theater Season

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I grew very fond of watching theater plays ever since I got invited to my very first theater event by a publicist that wanted us to blog about it to help in the promotion. It was a very endearing night as I never realized it would mean staring at the stage for quite a long time admiring how the performers speak out their lines with passion. What was more remarkable was when I started to laugh at the hilarious scenes. It was strikingly surprising for me because there has never been a show that made me laugh that much. I am totally bored of Filipino movies, but I feel more than alive watching theater plays.

This is why I am always in the look-out for opportunities to cover theater performances. It may take several hours of seating, but the entire length seemed only seconds because you simply won't feel any boredom watching live performances. If I could only throw away the TV and setup a theater in my living room and make theater actors perform daily plays for me, then that would be worth subscribing to. Local TV channels sucks, cable TV channels dominates, but theater RULES!

This is why I was excited to hear about the 47th theater season announcement of the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA). When they recently announced it line-up for its 47th theater season at a press launch held at the PETA Theater Center located in New Manila last April 5, 2014, I knew it would be another great year.

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We just came from a very long Grand Civic and Military parade that was participated by local government agencies, college students and teachers, and of course the military, and immediately after was a night concert graced by local talents from the Mindanao areas singing in their local dialects at the Paseo Del Mar right beside the enchanting musically gyrating water fountain

Ricky Manzano, a cousin of the popular actor and TV host Edu Manzano, (or should I say the uncle of Luis Manzano since Luis is more prominent now in showbiz than his dad) bought the Country Chicken restaurant, one of the city’s oldest restaurants, from its previous owners (The Fernandez family) and continued to serve its most popular dishes maintaining the well-loved recipes and introducing new ones to tickle more of the palate of its patrons. It is located right beside Oliva, his fine dining restaurant that is also a popular eating destination.

They have two branches, one at Pasonanca park and another one that's smaller at Paseo Del Mar. We visited the one at the Pasonanca park to have dinner, and to try out their popular homemade ice cream.

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Will you be the Philippines’ first-ever Red Bull Thre3style champion?

After the success of last year’s Red Bull Thre3style Showcase, the organizers are holding more events in 2014 - but this time they are looking for the Philippines’ best DJ to represent the Philippines at the World Finals in Baku, Azerbaijan.

We are giving a shoutout to the world-class Filipino DJs of the Philippines to apply in this prestigious competition:

In order to apply for the competition, DJs need to register on the .com website: http://www.redbullthre3style.com/enter
For updates, the Facebook event page has been activated: https://www.facebook.com/events/228775040656251/

What are you waiting for, guys? I know that there are a lot of great DJs out there with superb skills comparable with world-class foreign DJs so you better flaunt your skills and become recognized worldwide.

This is your opportunity to shine out among the rest by giving out your best!

LINE Global Community Has Grown 400M Strong

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As LINE enthralls more Filipinos with its colorful combination of features and services, the mobile messaging app’s global community continues to post unprecedented growth as it recently surpassed 400 million users.

Since its launch in 2011, LINE has grown into a global communications app that lets users communicate through voice and video calls, as well as stickers and text messages.

“One of our goals for 2014 was to reach over 500 million users and today we’ve been able reach the milestone of 400 million,” says Akira Morikawa, CEO of LINE Corporation. “I’d like to thank all our users and supporters for their help so far.”

Behind growing user bases in North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia, the amount of LINE’s daily new users has reached a record-breaking pace of 1.7 million per day—indicating rapid worldwide growth.

Alongside the rising number of users, the amount of communication made through LINE has also skyrocketed. Since the start of 2014, records have been set for the daily usage of chat messages (10 billion/day), sticker messages (1.8 billion/day), and phone calls (over 12 million/day).

Wazzup Pilipinas!

We would like to share to our readers that Wazzup Pilipinas was recently featured in one of the leading newspapers of the country, the Philippine Star, just yesterday April 7, 2014, Monday.

The feature was also posted on their online portal in digital form via the following link:

http://www.philstar.com/networks/2014/04/07/1309566/wazzup-named-top-phl-community-blog-site

We are grateful to have been recognized by award-giving bodies even though we've only been around for less than a year. This just proves that a lot of things can happen in just a short span of time given the right opportunities.

Wazzup Pilipinas aims to become the preferred online media partner of everything that's happening in the Philippines because our advocacy is to promote the country as a promising economic tiger that has outgrown its third-world country image. After all, we are the home of the best boxers, the most number of beauty queens, and the best beaches in the world.

Below is the full page copy from the newspaper containing the article:

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Kaspersky Lab, a leading secure content and threat management solutions developer, knows that mobile malware is the hottest topic among cybercriminals and the number of malicious mobile apps is rapidly growing.

The reason for that is obvious – there are multiple ways to earn money on infecting your smartphone – ranging from direct theft to rather geeky stuff like bitcoin mining.

Take a look at the infographic above to figure out, what assets on mobile require a dedicated protection solution.