Category: La Union

Return Call Part 5: Ugnayan

10/16/2024

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.

Karayan

From 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. 🥲

Check out that side eye from Sweeper. □

More side eye from Miss Sweeper. □

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!

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Return Call Part 3: Luna, La Union

10/16/2024

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Going a bit out of sequence because I have so many photos to sort through from Cebu still... So here are some pics to my quick visit to Luna, La Union.

About 6 years ago, I visited the town of Luna (formerly known as Namacpacan) & the Namacpacan Church (AKA the Santa Catalina de Alejandria Church) for the first time. The church was built in the late 1600s.

What is special about this church? This church houses the largest image of the Mama Mary/Apo Baket in the whole Philippines, & found its way to Luna in the 1800s. She was originally ordered from Spain & was intended to be delivered to Vigan, Ilokos Sur via a galleon ship coming from Mexico. Due to a heavy storm that caused difficulty in transportation, Our Lady of Namacpacan found her way to Luna & this was perceived as her communicating that she wanted to live in Luna.

Here are some photos I created with my Nikon ZF using a 24-70mm lens (I always forget to mention what lens I'm using – it's the only lens I brought with me, haha), imported to my iPhone using the Nikon SnapBridge app & lightly edited through my photos app.

The good thing about this visit is, last time I didn't get to explore the compound, so there are new places I got to experience at this place.

View from a computer for the full experience. Click an image to enlarge.

I don't know, but they seem to love their dead Jesuses inside of clear glass coffins. This is the third one I've seen since I've been here!

After hitting up the religious gift shop, the lady working there told us there was a special room filled with displays of all the dresses they put on the Apo Baket. It was like walking into a mini gallery. Each dress in itself was a handmade work of art! Aside from the 6'4 Apo Baket herself, this was my favorite feature of the church compound!

Look at it closely: Mama Mary's metal studded punk cape! Hands down my fav outfit of her's.

Lastly, got to visit some old Spanish ruins around the church compound that I didn't even know were there. Pretty cool stuff, but a bit dangerous with uneven grounds & broken stairs.

Church exterior.

There is a local belief that those that travel to visit the Apo Baket to pray to her will have their prayers answered. Back in 2018 is when I paid my first visit to the church & offered my first prayer to her. My prayer hasn't been answered yet, but I don't know if it will ever come true. You kind of have to believe, no?

This church was declared a national cultural treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines. I'm actually surprised that with the lore of the Apo Baket, there aren't more tourists. Barely any, actually. If more people knew about this cultural landmark, whether they're religious or not, I feel that there would be more visitors, naturally. If you're like me & enjoy collecting religious art, don't forget to stop by their gift shop!

Pay this spot a visit during your travels through La Union. You can also stop by to have food by the stone beach, visit the Kamay na Bato gallery or Bahay na Bato. There's some fun things to do in Luna!

Feel free to leave a nice comment below & let me know what you think!

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Return Call Part 1: San Juan & San Fernando, La Union 2024

9/26/2024

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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! 📸

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Return Call Part 5: Ugnayan

🗣️Ride or Die!

Karayan

Return Call Part 3: Luna, La Union

Return Call Part 1: San Juan & San Fernando, La Union 2024

NICA AQUINO

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Return Call Part 5: Ugnayan

🗣️Ride or Die!

​Karayan

Return Call Part 3: Luna, La Union

Return Call Part 1: San Juan & San Fernando, La Union 2024

NICA AQUINO

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Karayan