Kaamulan FestAside from reconnecting with friends & exploring the island, Kaamulan is the main reason why I wanted to come to Mindanao this time! I was really hoping to experience the grand entry & hopefully see some performances or Native games, but we weren't able to this time. Hopefully next time if I'm ever able to visit again! Nonetheless, it was great to connect, experience the art, view how different their art styles are, but also draw connections as well. While the cultures of the Northern & Southern Philippines can greatly vary, I hope people can also realise the similarities we share with our relatives in the south. The Kaamulan Festival is a large month-long cultural gathering of the ethnic tribes of the Bukidnon province in Mindanao. Held in the provincial capital of Malaybalay, it is a special time for the seven tribes to unite. I was told the festival has been going on for a little over 50 years, but some believe it may have been celebrated even farther back. Although I didn't get to experience any music or performances this time, I got to leave the festival dripping in brass jewellery — something I was hoping to leave with. Throughout the Northern & Southern Philippines, brass is used to make musical instruments & accessories. Brass instruments are played for an array of uses such as communication, ceremony, or celebration. As accessories, brass is worn to ward off bad energies & spirits. All photos below are from my Nikon ZF using a Pocket Dispo lens. The women portrayed below consented to me photographing them. View photos from a computer for the full experience. Click any image below to enlarge. 
Abbey of TransfigurationWe had the unique opportunity to stay at an accommodation in Malaybalay that was near the Abbey of Transfiguration. Nestled among acres of banana & cacao trees, the abbey is a Catholic monastery that has a pyramid-shaped church, as well as a coffee plantation that is farmed, harvested, & roasted by the monks that live in the monastery. Make sure to grab a bag of their Monk's Blend coffee beans at their gift shop! If you are interested in going inside the church, please note that they do have a dress code, just like the Vatican in Rome & now the Basilica de Santo Niño in Cebu. 
   And that concludes my 9-day trip to Mindanao. 9 days was not enough, but I'm so happy & grateful I got to experience it at least once. I hope this is not the last time I will be in Mindanao. I just know there's still so much to see & experience here. And while I know these don't seem like a lot of photos, I was honestly just trying to be there & be immersed in it all.
Eternally grateful to my friend's Nikki & RM for taking the time to show me around Mindanao, & also dealing with some of the unnecessary qualms I came with. 😅 Thank you for everything! Please check out their newest project that is currently underway, Balay Kasamtangan. If you have the means to, please redistribute your wealth & support their one of a kind project! If you've read this far, thank you! Please feel free to share your thoughts or any questions in the comments.
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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
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