Alben meng manyaman, boy!

April 29, 2009

Calling all Pampanga-based models and wannabes

Kalalangan Kamaru—known for making Kapampangan films, producing Kapampangan songs, spearheading Kapampangan projects like RocKapampangan, Kalam, Frequency K, and Cinekabalen—is branching out to Model Photography, with its subunit called "Kamaru Photography."

We are building our portfolio, and we are trying to fill it with different sets of our "dramatic character photography".










If you're a model (or model-wannabe, or model-material) based in Pampanga (male/female), and you want to add more creative photos in your set cards, then let's help each other out!

Just email sisig_man@yahoo.com.ph your FULL NAME, DATE OF BIRTH, HEIGHT, and please attach full body and close up pictures (preferrably no makeup). Indicate in your email, too, if you are willing to go sexy (creative sexy, not pornographic sexy).

For inquiries, 0918 699 2459

We don't just take pictures of you... We make you a part of an artwork...

April 21, 2009

Kalalangan Kamaru to participate in Cuyonon music video production

(posting this from Joey Fabello's journal)

The Ploning Adin Ka Ren Music Video Auditions

PURPOSE

Bulyaw Mariguen’s Songs are rock and acoustic songs in the Cuyonon language having contemporary society as the setting of each story within the songs. The stories in their songs represent a reality seen through the eyes of urban Cuyonons who are exposed to both traditional Cuyonon practices and rituals and to the effects of a globalized world. Their songs are also the first Cuyonon rock songs broadcasted, promoted and made available in Palawan through one album, thereby making Bulyaw Mariguen innovators of Cuyonon music.

Bulyaw Mariguen’s songs are the first of their kind. Promoting them to the Filipino community thus shows the Filipino community of the existence of the Cuyonons and their drive to be heard in a country monopolized by creative outputs in Tagalog.

GOALS

As a means to have Bulyaw Mariguen's Cuyonon rock and acoustic songs heard by and promoted to a greater number of other Filipino cultural groups (through music video channels broadcasted nationwide), Cuyonons (since a lot of Cuyonons has migrated to different parts of the country already) and Palawenos (since most Palawenos patronize national television), a music video of one of Bulyaw Mariguen's Songs, PLONING ADIN KA REN, will be shot in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan this coming May 2009.

PARTNERSHIPS

Through the help of the Palawan Broadcasting Corporation (DYPR TV PATROL, DYPR PALAWAN RADYO and IFM 99.9), Kalalangan Kamaru, the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm, cuyopress.com and different individuals (the list of which is ever-increasing as we come closer to the shooting dates of the music video), matinlo productions is able to produce this music video (Ploning Adin Ka Ren).

CASTING CALL/AUDITIONS

Auditions for the lead actor and the lead actress of the music video have already started last April 18 and 19, 2009 at the DYPR Dance Studio (Mabini cor Valencia Street, Puerto Princesa City). Second Batch of auditions starts tomorrow (April 20, 2009) 1 to 3 pm at DYPR.

Should you be interested to contribute your skills for the said project, we are also looking for other individuals to form part of the cast of the music video. Please check the characters needed in the succeeding paragraphs.

THE CONCEPT

The Ploning Adin Ka Ren Music Video is not the usual music video that you see in music television channels. For one, the music video will have English or Tagalog (depending on the market) subtitles to make the songs understandable to the viewers of the music video. At the same time, the concept behind the music video is highly symbolic of what is happening to the Cuyonon culture and the struggle of the music of Bulyaw Mariguen to be accepted by the public who seem to condemn than support such innovations in music.

THE CAST

LEAD:

The Young Modern Ploning
Young Looking (around 20s look)
Good at acting
Experience in TV production (not required)
As long as she is easy to direct

LEAD:

Ploning’s Lover
Young Looking (around 20s look)
Good at acting
Experience in TV production (not required)
As long as he is easy to direct
PLONING’S MOTHER
CORPORATE PEOPLE
MAN IN SUIT OR IN POLO
WOMAN IN SUIT
TEENAGE GIRL AND BOY (ANIME LOOK)
STUDENTS
1 COLLEGE STUDENT (BOY)
1 COLLEGE STUDENT (GIRL)
1 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT (BOY)
1 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT (GIRL)
1 TEACHER- WOMAN
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
NUN
BABAYLAN
MUSLIM WOMAN
CLOWN (can perform simple tricks)
MUSICIANS
FOLK GUITARIST
POP GUITARIST
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
SOMEONE WEARING AN ALAKAYO MASK COVERED IN BLUE DYE (ANYEL)
TAO’T BATO
TAGBANUA (MOTHER AND CHILD)
TAUSUG- FEMALE

NOTES:

It must be noted that the production team took gender issues into consideration. See Religious figure and the attempt to represent girls and boys in most groups. It must also be noted that the indigenous groups chosen to be part of the INDIGENOUS PEOPLE cast are those who can be found in Palawan.

LOCATION


The location of the music video is at Balsahan managed by the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm. (Thank you for letting us use the location for free...!)

THE PRODUCTION TEAM

The production team behind the music video is composed of people from different production teams such as matinlo productions and KALALANGAN KAMARU and different individuals who are interested to contribute their skills for the production of the music video.

Matinlo productions is owned by Joey Fabello and in this production absorbed the responsibilities of a Producer and a Production Manager. The director and the assistant director of the music video came from Kalalangan Kamaru.

The director of this music video is a multi-awarded Kapampangan director and cultural advocate. He bagged the First Philippine Digital Award in short film category from the Entertainment Channel (ETC) this year, is the director of the First Ever Kapampangan Telenovela in the Philippines (Kalam) and the director of the music video of Mernuts entitled Oras, seen at MTV Pilipinas. He was also the one who spearheaded the Rockapampangan Project together with Holy Angel University.

A detailed list of the cast and the production team will be made available in the succeeding pages. If you are reading this entry from a different site, please visit our official blog site at http://www.bulyawmariguen.blogspot.com/. Also, if you know someone who might be interested to be a part of the cast and or the production team, please contact Joey Fabello at 09276275554 or Mares Krishnaa Bajar at 09085421141 or please forward this entry to them.

MATAMANG SALAMAT, WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT! SEE YOU AT THE AUDITIONS!

April 18, 2009

Sandara Park: Jologs in the Phils, Kinda Cool in Korea

So I was randomly watching East Asian music videos when I encountered a song called "Lollipop" by a popular Korean boy group called Big Bang (songs of which I have in my MP3 player currently), featuring a girl group called 2NE1.




I was watching the video, it was kinda bubblegum-pop/hiphop cool. But one of the members of 2NE1 was somewhat familiar in my brain. Then, in the middle of the music video, I had this thought:

She friggin' looks like Sandara Park (of Star Circle Quest fame, partnered with Hero Angeles and Joseph Bitangcol)!

So I researched on the girl group, and boom! It's Sandara "Dara" Park!

To like Sandara Park as a singer/dancer ('Sumusunod') in the Philippines is kinda jologs or uncool, but look at her under YG Entertainment (Korean label)! She's kinda cool.

Just goes to show that a lot of Philippine producers are baloney. I am nationalistic and all, and have always believed that Pinoy artists have what it takes, but our producers are just too mediocre to send a Philippine wave abroad. Sorry.

April 6, 2009

Pinoy X-Men and Street Fighter characters, anyone?

By Jason Paul Laxamana
Urban Kamaru
Central Luzon Daily

There have actually been a lot of popular fiction titles—in TV, movies, video, and PC games—that offer racially diverse worlds. In these titles, the main characters are not just White Americans, albeit the setting could most of the time be in the United States.

Take for example the diverse universe of X-Men, where characters are not just from different countries—they are also from different times, from different dimensions, from different planets, galaxies, and even different universes. Let’s focus on planet Earth though. We have popular delegates from Canada, the most popular being Wolverine. Russia is highlighted by Colossus and the Soviet’s prime weapon Omega Red. Storm is Egypt’s proud mutant. We also have Gambit from France, Nightcrawler from Germany, the Jewish Magneto, and many more.


Then we have Street Fighter, which you probably had your first glimpse of with the movie ‘The Legend of Chun-Li.’ I, on the other hand, have known Street Fighter ever since I played Street Fighter 2 back in my Elementary days.

Being a world geek (in Elementary, I was able to literally memorize the capitals of all the countries in the world in whatever continent; Antananarivo, Ulaanbaatar, and Tegucigalpa were my favorite place names), I found the video game Street Fighter amusing, with each playable character representing a certain country, and at times, representing the martial arts and traditional fashion of that country. You can even choose a country to serve as your game’s location.

Ryu and Honda represented Japan; Ken, Balrog, and Guile represented USA. Dhalsim, a personal favorite, represented India while his skills revolve around the discipline of Yoga; Saggath, Adon, and Bison (albeit biologically Irish) of Thailand; Blanka of Brazil; Chun Li of China; Fei Long of Hong Kong; Dee Jay of Jamaica; Zangief of Russia, with Sambo-inspired brute skills, a popular sport in Moscow; Cammy of England; T. Hawk of Mexico; and Vega of Spain, among others.

Kiddie cartoons also have their share of diverse worlds, such as ‘Codename: Kids Next Door.’ Numbah 1, the leader, is a British boy. Numbah 2 is a blonde Australian kid. Numbah 3 is a happy and seemingly slow-minded girl from Japan. Numbah 4 is a techie stout kid from the United States. Last but not the least is Numbah 5, a black French girl. Together, they are known as the Kids Next Door.


Filipino, wer k?!

Having been concerned with the status of Kapampangan in the national setting, and of the Philippines in the global setting, I once included in a Kapampangan short story a boy who was wondering why there was no Filipino character in Street Fighter 2. Then, he began imagining how the Filipino fighter would look like and what his skills would be if ever Capcom decided to included Philippines in its roster of fighters and locations.

Now that you have read the first part of my article, it would be easy for you to tell that I am speaking through that kid, albeit I never thought of that as a kid.

But I still wonder: why is the Philippines often neglected in these fictional worlds of diversity. Is it our being a poor country? Is it our unpopular local culture, unlike those of Japan, Egypt, and China? Is it our cultural diversity, rendering other countries unable to figure out a single icon—or even a single audio-visual stereotype—that would represent a Filipino character?

Minute Moments of Glory

Filipinos have taken small parts in the world of fiction abroad.

Take for example the demon-possessed Filipina in the opening sequence of the religious fantasy Constantine, starring Keanu Reeves, where she even spoke a Tagalog line ("Papatayin natin siya"), albeit unnatural.

The original Starship Troopers storyline from the book had Juan Rico, the main protagonist, as a Filipino, accompanied by a multiracial training group.

Dante’s Peak spoke of the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in its lines.

Ashton Kutcher’s MTV Punk’d once used as accomplice a red carpet correspondent who spoke Tagalog to celebrities passing by.

A Tagalog-speaking ventriloquist can also be found in the Hollywood movie ‘Big Fish,’ starring Ewan McGregor, when his character was parachuting onto the Korean stage.

Sinawali, a fighting style credited to the Kapampangan warriors of Macabebe, is included in the Kali Silat martial arts DVD available in the United States.

We have also expressed our protest in several so-called "racial slurs," from the ‘Desperate Housewives’ to BBC’s ‘Harry and Paul’ show. The latest of course would be that "nation of servants" label from a Hong Kong columnist.

Filipinos also giggle in mirth upon seeing the name of their country included in global listings and popular world cultural products, such as Philippine English being recognized as a significant dialect of English, the Philippines being one of the most SMS-crazy country, our country being mentioned in one of Britney Spears’ songs ("Piece of Me"), and a lot more.

We are not alone

Of course, we are not the only country neglected in diversity-driven titles. We’ve never seen characters from Trinidad & Tobago, Bosnia & Herzegovinia, Vanuatu, Lesotho, Belarus, Luxembourg, Seychelles, Djibouti, Sao Tome & Principe, Malawi, and Azerbaijan except probably in Miss Universe pageants.

Despite having history with contemporary and former world superpowers such as USA, Spain, and Japan, we still don’t appear in their imaginations, in the shows and games they produce. And whenever we do, it’s either a pitiful bit or a derogatory portrayal.

We don’t even have to think global to notice our ethereal identity. Whenever the world speaks of Asia, or Asian culture, they are most probably referring to the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, and to a great extent as well, the South Asians (Indians). Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia will come to mind on the other hand when we begin to talk about South East Asia.

A pity, isn’t it? Don’t get me wrong though. I wrote this article because I believe we have to know our place, our status, in the world before we can pinpoint how to work about things. Because for all we know, a lot of Filipinos are already complacent, living in the delusion that the Philippines is a very popular country in the world, with all the Manny Pacquiao victories, American Idol participations, foreign film festival engagements, and the Charice Pempengco citations. "Feeling sikat," as we often say.

It’s an effective source of pride for a lot of Filipinos whose world knowledge is limited to what free television can share; I just hope we can make Pinoy pride injected into the global consciousness, not just local.

Please email your reactions to sisig_man@yahoo.com.ph