|
Earlier this week I went for a short sunset walk in the barangay of Lingsat in San Fernando, La Union. Like I'd previously mentioned, since it's been so hot, I've been trying to plan my photo outings around other errands I have to run, so that I can do photography closer to sunset, when it's less hot & the lighting is immaculate.
It's not technically an errand, more of a luxury, but there's a nail salon I started going to in Lingsat to get my nails done. I've been working on this project so much, I also need breaks & moments to treat myself! We all do. So I headed over to get my nails done first, then walked to a specific street to do some photography. Part of my mom's family history took place in Lingsat, specifically Hufano St. This is the street my older brother grew up on with our cousins early in his childhood, when our mother first immigrated to the US. He would then immigrate 5 years after her. My tita Rebing & manong Ronald both passed away nearly 2 years ago, one after the other... I didn't grow up here, but I also spent a lot of time here, both in childhood & as an adult. I decided to revisit so I could document what's left of this place to me. All photos below are from my Nikon ZF using a Pocket Dispo lens. View from a computer for the full experience. Click any image to enlarge. 
Walking down Hufano St felt warm & familiar, until I arrived at my tita's house & it was nearly unrecognisable. I only recognised the property because I remembered it was a corner lot & I remembered what the gate looked like. I was sad to see the small dwellings behind the main house were gone — the lot is now empty. And I know it doesn't make sense to keep since she passed away, but I was also so disappointed to see her sari-sari store gone. I spent so many slow morning's at this store, having breakfast, & hanging out with my nieces & nephews.
More blog posts on the work I've been producing during my residency will be published in the coming weeks! Make sure to keep checking this space, follow me on Instagram, or subscribe to my YouTube channel for updates on my posts. All updates on my residency will be tagged under Balay da Judge.
If you've read this far, thank you! Please feel free to share your thoughts or any questions in the comments.
0 Comments
My month-long stay in the motherland is coming to an end & I'll be headed to Japan this upcoming Saturday, where I'll be based for the next week. I've been in Manila since yesterday & have been crying ever since I left La Union. I never wanted to leave. To say the Philippines was an absolute dream is an understatement. Being in the land where my ancestors & family have thrived for generations was the healing I needed. It was more than just a holiday. It was a profoundly spiritual experience that entailed psychic ancestor communication via animals & rare natural phenomena, [re]connecting & repairing my relationship with the land, & deep interpersonal connection I never thought I would experience here. I have no idea when I'll be back, if ever again. Life takes hold & it's never easy to predict. But, I do know this was by far my best trip to the Philippines yet. From epic bike rides through acres of rice paddies, to the most coffee I've drank since I lived in Oregon, to vegan Filipino food, to the coolest book stores, independent art spaces & ukay-ukay — thank you to everyone who contributed to one of the most formative trips of my life. My crushed soul & spirit is healing. ❤️🩹 Here are some photos from our bike rides & brewing coffee by the river. Unless otherwise stated, all photos are from my Nikon ZF using a 24-70mm lens, imported to my iPhone using the Nikon SnapBridge app & lightly edited through my photos app. View from a computer for the full experience. Click an image to enlarge. 🗣️Ride or Die!Bike rides through Dangdangla & adjacent barangays early in my trip.  Welcome arch of Brgy Dangdangla, San Juan La Union; my mother's home village, where she was born & raised.  Pic from Tep Atento. Me (pink safety vest) & my beloved nephew & niece!  Pic from Tep Atento. KarayanFrom my last day in La Union on Tuesday. My nephew, niece & I rode our bikes, met up with friends & brewed coffee by the river. It was the best day ever. 🥲
 More side eye from Miss Sweeper. â–¡    That's all for now. Feel free to leave a nice comment & share your thoughts!
I will try to sort through my photos from Cebu when I get a moment. There are so many. Until then, I'm Tokyo bound next, so stay tuned for photos from my first trip to Japan! It's been exactly 5 years since I've returned to the motherland. The last time I was in the Philippines was to bury my father back in 2019. I'd been wanting to return more frequently since then, but the pandemic suddenly came out of left field. Even on my way over, I can't say I was comfortable being trapped in multiple airports & planes with herds of unmasked & coughing people for what turned out to be over 24 hours of commuting. But, I knew if I didn't do this now, it may be a long time until I could return. After losing my full-time employment in early September, I answered the return call to come home once again... Here's the first installment of some pics pulled from my Nikon ZF. I no longer have a Lightroom subscription, so I imported these lower-res pics over to my mobile via the Nikon SnapBridge app & did some light edits through the photos app on my iPhone. More to come, & film photos will be available when I get back to the states, process & scan them all. Can't wait to tell you all about my new film scanner, too. Stay tuned! Enjoy! Feel free to leave a nice comment & let me know what you think. ;) View from a computer for the full experience. Click an image below to enlarge.
 Some public transportation watching in San Fernando (top right & bottom) & San Juan town proper (top left). I love the public transportation in the Philippines. There's nothing else like it! And I love all the names people give their jeepneys. This one, for example, was named Alaska Halibut. 😆 The following photos are of the church my father was baptised in, & where we also held his mass before we buried him. It turns out St. John the Baptist Church was built sometime in the late 1600s or early 1700s. It is where most of my family on my father's side were baptised, married, &/or also had their mass before burial. This church is very special to my family. 🙏🏽 Please note — I, myself, do not identify as religious. Throughout my work, I document colonial legacies specifically relating to religions & their iconography, more specifically Christianity & its lasting influences through contemporary times. It's probably one of my fav themes to explore!
   
 Not a great pic at all because of the glare, but this creepy display was motion censored & abruptly lit up when my niece & I walked close to it! Scared the shit out of us & I just wanted to share a crappy photo for you to all see what we were looking at. We weren't exactly sure who the figure inside was supposed to be, because there was no signage indicating who it was. However, we believe based on the stigmata on the feet, that maybe this is supposed to be Jesus? 🤷🏻♀️
 🌾 Rice harvest season: Life in Dangdangla, San Juan, La Union, Philippines. Dangdangla is a small barangay in the municipality of San Juan. It has a population of roughly 1000 residents. For those of you who don't know, the simplest way to translate the word barangay (ba-ran-gy) to English would be village or community? The word originated from the balangay, which was a type of boat used by the Austronesians when they sailed & settled in the Philippines. The word was originally pronounced ba-la-ngay.    
My first time to see a carabao out in the wild & close up! The carabao (kalabaw/karabaw) is a type of water buffalo & is known as the national animal of the Philippines, symbolising hard work. Carabao were often found helping with rice cultivation. 💪🏽🐂
Lastly, I ended my river excursion in Dangdangla with a rare double rainbow sighting. 🌈 To me, one rainbow is already remarkable. But to experience a double rainbow in the land my ancestors once thrived in felt like a blessing, & hopefully a good omen.
In pre-colonial Philippine culture, there is a belief that the soul is transported to the afterlife through maritime travel by a boat that flows down a river, & is then returned to nature to guide their descendants. I'd like to think maybe this was a sign from my father, saying "Welcome home, kid. I'm here if you need me." 🤲🏽 Stay tuned for digital pics from my upcoming adventures to Baguio & Cebu! 📸 |
NICA AQUINOIn this space I'll share digital previews of my film photography, updates on new artworks in progress, upcoming programs, inspiration & my other misc interests. Archives
May 2025
Categories
All
|
- Home
-
About
- Bio
- Full CV
- Connect >
-
Press
>
- Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association
- Asian Voices TV, Ep. 10
- Art & Cake Contemporary Art Magazine
- Artillery Magazine
- Corridor8
- Diversions LA >
- FilAm Arts
- Itaú Cultural Encyclopedia of Brazilian Art and Culture
- LA Weekly
- Mutual Art
- Occidental News >
- Oregon Arts Watch >
- Portland Mercury
- Positively Filipino
- Random Lengths News
- Salo-SALA
- San Antonio Current
- Street Roots
- University of Southern California Center for Religion and Civic Culture
- Voyage LA
- Donate >
- Projects
- Mata Art Gallery
- Blog
- Calendar
RSS Feed
