They don't call this beauty Greenbelt Park for nothing!

Greenbelt Park has been living up to its name — as a quaint, green world tucked within the ultramodern trappings of an award-winning mall!

La Familia Viajera kids enjoying the pool with its fishes and turtles.

Ate Krystal!

I've been telling my kids that back in the day, Macati, Quezon City, and San Juan (particularly Greenhills) were the only places people frequented to do their shopping, groceries, and other money splurging activities: watching movies, night-out with friends, etc.. For us southerners (I grew up in the Parañaque-Las Piñas area), Macati was the place to be. Back then, much of Metro Manila was not as highly urbanized as they are today. And there were very few malls, most of which are located on those three places I cited above. Krystal was surprised to learn that me, her Tito Jason (my brother), and Abuela Tess (my mom) had to travel all the way to Macati just to buy groceries. It was that "difficult" many years ago (gosh, I feel so old). But we do that only once or twice a month, particularly it's time to receive money from dad who was abroad during those years. The construction of SM Southmall and SM City Sucat in 1995 and 2001 respectively proved to be a shocker for all of us living south of the National Capital Region as we were accustomed to EDSA being the malling area of the metropolis.

Enjoying a shaded moment.

As a young boy, one of the places that we visited during those monthly sojourns to Macati is Greenbelt. But not as frequent as SM Makati, Landmark, and QUAD (now Glorietta). Those three were the only establishments we usually visited because Greenbelt was tucked deep within Ayala Center. Back then, there was only one Greenbelt to speak of, and with much space for parking lots. But now, there are five Greenbelts. The spacious parking lots of Ayala Center disappeared during the last decade to give way to mall expansions (nowadays, parking lots are either underground or in small buildings serving as car parks to save more space).

Now THIS is a true jump shot!

I remember Greenbelt as the quietest place in Macati, hugged by the deep green colors of garden vegetation: huge leafy tree trunks hovering above with vines hanging down to touch the heads and shoulders of busy people walking on concrete. If memory serves well, Greenbelt Park was much smaller compared to today, and the only serene area was the one surrounding its circular chapel, Santo Niño de Paz. As much as I can remember, most of this chapel's physical features, particularly its familiar concrete dome, is still well-preserved.

Today, Greenbelt Park is still serene, but more spacious and with more greenery than before. Its landscaped gardens filled with ornate trees and trimmed hedges are a sight to behold. Birds and butterflies flutter here and there. There's even a man-made lake shaped like a tadpole (I do not remember that lake being there during my childhood) and is filled with brightly colored koy fishes and turtles large enough to be carried by two hands. The head of this tadpole-shaped lake points northwestward towards Calle de la Rosa and Avenida Ayala (Ayala Avenue). At the center of this head is where the old chapel is located, virtually serving as the lake's island. The chapel can be accessed by three covered foot bridges connected to a walkway coursing throughout the park. The tail of this tadpole lake is shaped like a river and swishes on a southeasterly direction, pointing towards Greenbelt Drive and Calle Esperanza. Foreign-looking ducks roam the park freely. They seem to be already accustomed to people who, thankfully, enjoy merely gazing at them (well, its Ayala Center).

With our birthday boy! All pictures from this blog were taken during his 10th birthday last May 13 during the feast day of Nuestra Señora de Fátima.

If you notice, my childhood memories of Greenbelt Park and its old malling area (now Greenbelt 1) are a bit shady because we didn't frequent the place that much. I remember only snippets of it. But yes, the dominant color of those vague memories was green. But when my children grow up, they will surely have tons of greener memories of this place. Remember that we took refuge in Macati last summer. As a matter of fact, we were here at this park almost every day last May since it's just walking distance from the place where we transferred to.

"All in green went my love riding!"

One of the best things we like about this park is that nobody's minding the crazy things we're doing on the grass!

This beautifully landscaped park is surrounded by high-end boutiques and department stores, sit-down restaurants, and bars which enliven the place at night!

Krystal by the turtle-like concrete dome of the Santo Niño de la Paz Chapel.

Momay and Juanito beside the chapel's old bell.

Juanito and Jefe examining this Tug-Of-War bronze sculpture right outside the chapel.

A carabao each for my boys!

Juanito's wondering how he can reach those ducks without getting wet.

Capilla de Santo Niño de Paz.

This snow-white cat is unmindful of shoppers and passersby while having its siesta. Even my wife's presence didn't bother it.

Yeyette and Juanito.

There's an area in Greenbelt Park (Greenbelt 5) called "ArtPark" which features avant garde sculptor Eduardo Castrillo's peculiarly shaped bronze and brass sculptures amid a sea and shade of green.

¡Felicitaciones a la Familia Zóbel de Ayala

por hacer reluciente de limpio este

parque lleno de verdor y belleza!

Click here for more of our green adventures in Greenbelt Park! ¡Hasta la vista!

Mangyan village products in Glorietta

On my first visit to Puerto Galera many years ago, I learned from whispers that the Zóbel de Ayala family has a rest house there somewhere near White Beach. After that, I kept hearing admirable stories about how they take care of the Mangyan tribes, probably as part of their corporate social responsibility. I never gave it much attention back then. But last summer, right after Momay's 10th birthday lunch at Dekada, we found this in Glorietta 3.

So the stories are true, after all. The Mangyans do have a padrino in Ayala Foundation, the social development arm of the Ayala Corporation.

The Mangyans (originally spelled as Mañguián; Mañguianes if plural) are the indigenous peoples of Mindoro Island, composed of Mindoro Oriental and Mindoro Occidental. Out of eight Mangyan groups in the said island, the Ayala Foundation is in charge of the well being of the Iraya-Mangyan. In Puerto Galera, Mindoro Oriental, it is estimated that about 200 families of this group are living at the foot of Monte Malasimbô, that imposing mountain one sees near popular White Beach. The Ayala Foundation bought a huge tract of land there in Sitio Talipanan, converting it into a well-managed village for the Iraya Mangyan, complete with electricity and water supply. In this village is a school for children and an area where adults are being taught various livelihood projects with focus on their weaving tradition. All products coming out of their ancient weaving assignment are then shipped to Glorietta 3 where they are to be displayed and sold.

At the second floor of Glorietta 3 (we're just not sure if it's still there) can be found a make-shift shop where the Mangyan products of Sitio Talipanan are sold. Although this shop has no name, it has an informational ad which says "Mangyan Village Products". It is written there that since 1989, Jaime Zóbel de Ayala and his wife Beatriz (the parents of famous brothers Jaime Augusto II and Fernando) brought down the marginalized Mangyans from the mountains (Monte Malasimbô) to the lowlands (Sitio Talipanan) to implement numerous educational and livelihood projects under the auspices of the Ayala Foundation with the assistance of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Anne. The objective is to bring them to the Filipino mainstream society and to give them decent homes.

This reminded me of how the Spanish friars of long ago took the very difficult task of civilizing, educating, and Christianizing pre-Filipino peoples who were then scattered in upland forests and riverine settlements. But not all ethnolinguistic groups were Hispanized, as evidenced by the Mangyans and their hitherto primitive lifestyle. Where the friars failed, the Zóbel de Ayala family succeeded.

Birthday boy Momay carrying a deep nito-made basket.

Juanito, perhaps our most artistically inclined child, is the one who is more interested with these Mañguián products.

I've already had many close encounters with the Mangyans because Yeyette is a Mindoreña herself; she's from Abra de Ilog, Mindoro Occidental where there are still a couple of Mangyan villages left (I just don't know to which Mangyan group they belong). The only problem is that many of these groups are being taken care of incorrectly by various Christian sects, usually only for religious conversion. That is why whenever I meet a Mangyan in Abra de Ilog, they remind me of thickly sooted beggars in Metro Manila. And yes, they do beg whenever they visit the población while the more industrious ones offer their services —various manual labor such as doing the laundry, gardening, farm hand, etc.— in exchange for money or other dry goods. These poor souls have lost their dignity. But the Ayala Foundation and the Sisters of Charity of Saint Anne, on the other hand, had other things in mind. And that is to empower the Mangyan. One way of doing this is by supporting the revival of the Iraya-Mangyan's weaving tradition, particularly the creation of the so-called "nito" (native vine) baskets and other related woven products such as plates, pot holders, bags, etc. These are then sold in this small shop which we found at the second level of Glorietta 3 last May 13. And the best part of it is that all proceeds go directly to the Ayala Foundation's Iraya-Mangyan Project for the benefit of the said ethnolinguistic group. ¡Bravo!

Yeyette bought a couple of intricately woven pot holders made entirely out of nito while our kids marveled at the other products showcasing the artistic side of the Iraya-Mangyan which was then unknown to the general public. It's just curious to note that these products were handmade at the foot of thickly forested Monte Malasimbô and are now being sold within the brightly electrified lights of airconditioned Glorietta 3. From forest to mall.

Click here for more photos! And stay tuned for more of our San Pedro Macati tour in the coming weeks! ¡Hasta la vista! =)

Historic birthday lunch at Dekada

For Momay's 10th birthday last summer (May 13), we treated him to a modest Filipino-style lunch at Dekada in Glorietta 3, Ayala Center.

Dekada prides itself with the tagline "Historic Filipino Cuisine".

Dekada is taken from the Spanish word "década" which means "decade", thus suggesting an ambiance of historicity in its menu. And true enough, the names on the food list comes as a mouthwatering reminder of Filipino History because they are a mixture of both familiar Filipino meals and historical names.

La Laguna salad. Because we're Lagunenses. =)

Pancít bihon guisado (with lechón caualì).

Lechón manóc (whole).

Palitáo (flat, sweet rice cakes made from malagquít rice) with muscovado sugar.

Buco halo-halo especial with condensed milk for dessert.

Saráp to the bones! (apologies to that other place).

We got Momay's birthday cupcake from nearby Vanilla Cupcake Bakery.

Customer service, at least on this branch, is fantastic! The smiles from the staff are genuine. Before we ordered our food, my wife asked permission if we could eat the birthday cupcake we bought from another establishment (Vanilla Cupcake Bakery) because it was for Momay's birthday. This would have been a problem for other establishments (we've already had our share of experience of it, that's why Yeyette had to ask permission), but not with Dekada. And while we were already enjoying their superb meal, the staff surprised us with a birthday gift: a chocolate ice cream for Momay! And they even sang a hearty "Happy Birthday" for him, bringing tears of joy to Yeyette who is easily moved to heartwarming deeds.

Happy birthday, Momay!

What do Momay and this friendly waiter have in common? Their first names are both José, and they both share the same birthdays! Happy birthday, Momay and José Balón!

Even the set up of the place is unmistakably Filipino. The decors piled up in various corners remind one of those old cluttered shelves in homely ancestral houses. The design of the tiled floor entrance is similar to those seen in a bahay na bató. Books, a vintage radio, old records, and other trinkets will make you feel as if you are eating in your own ancestral home. The cushioned seats are designed with familiar Filipino images such as old cameras and faces of patriots.

All in all, Momay's birthday lunch in Dekada cost us only ₱1,246. And the six of us were already stuffed!

❤L❤A❤F❤A❤M❤I❤L❤I❤A❤V❤I❤A❤J❤E❤R❤A❤

Our verdict:
Food: ★★★★★★★★★★
Ambiance: ★★★★★★★★★★
Customer service: ★★★★★★★★★★
Value for money: ★★★★★★★★★★

Dekada is located at the second level of Glorietta 3 in Ayala Center, Macati City. Special thanks to Manager Gerald de la Cruz and all the staff for making our brief stay there very enjoyable and memorable. For the complete photo album of Momay's 10th birthday, click here.