MALIGAYANG Pasko sa inyong lahat! Our family’s annual Christmas party took an extremely jolly, Filipino theme with the hashtag #PinoyPopPasko.
All of us have a heightened sense of national pride, thanks to the dramatic win of Miss Philippines Pia Wurtzbach at the recent Miss Universe 2015. How fun that our party theme was right in there, with all the Pinoy elements, festive décor and native food.
Before leaving for the pageant, Pia did a fashion pictorial for Inquirer Lifestyle wearing some of the Red Charity Gala gowns of Lesley Mobo. Fashion designer Albert Andrada, who created the stunning blue gown we all saw on TV, invited Pia to the gala last October.
Town plaza
Swatch’s grand dame Virgie Ramos provided much of the native décor for our family party. We had an ice candy stand, a buko cart and even a sari-sari store. Parol and banderitas transformed our living room into a town plaza, and we even had a Sarao jeepney and pedicab on the street for guests to arrive in style.
Adding to the theme were higante mascots and a marching band from Lucban, thanks to Buddy’s Pancit Lucban owners Zaldy and Nova Veluz who were nice enough to detour the giants and the band, complete down to the baton-twirlers! Buddy’s opens its 14th branch next month at City Walk, Eastwood, after its latest at the Fisher Mall, Quezon City.
Among the treats for our guests were “dirty” ice cream, taho from Jun Allanigue, halo-halo from Milky Way, and freshly made bibingka and puto. Chris and Hope Evangelista of Graco Farms (tel. 0917-5624348) served fresh buko juice in the shell, and sold organic eggs and other produce. They also brought in two New Zealand goats, Olaf and Tutpik, for the guests to pet. For giveaways, they had chicks for the kids to bring home.
Like a real fiesta
Like a real fiesta, overflowing food was served, with selections from our son Bryan Prieto’s new restaurant Ricing Bowl and Buddy’s bestsellers like Pancit Lucban, Longanisang Lucban, Sisig, Hardinera and Cassava Cake. Zaldy organized two chefs to cook the pancit on the spot, so it was deliciously fresh.
To create an even more festive ambience, homegrown liqueur from Destileria Limtuaco was served. Cocktails with cute, quirky names like Fiesta Punch and Ang Babait Ninyo added spirit to the occasion.
Aaron Limpe-Aw, marketing manager of Destileria Limtuaco, arranged for prizes of Manille Liqueur, Mango Rum Liqueur and Very Old Captain Artisan Crafted Dark Rum. (To have your own Destileria Limtuaco party bar setup, contact tel. 3617491 local 840.)
The highlights of the evening were the thrilling games, with grand prizes from Bench, Rebisco and Swatch. Additional prizes came from Freeway, Goody, Heliocare, Watsons and ZenZest. No one went home empty-handed, as loot bags stuffed with Gardenia, Goldilocks, Hope in a Bottle water and Inquirer desk calendars were given out.
Newly added to the list of generous sponsors is Rebisco. Offering various selections of cookies in delightful reusable containers, Rebisco provided prizes and added its latest ice cream products that everyone enjoyed. A tower of Rebisco products was the most eyed grand prize that evening.
To complete my Pinoy look, I wore a terno that was part of the student exhibit of Slim’s Fashion and Arts School. Talented young fashion design student Yvonne Tabanao made a colorful, Pablo Picasso-inspired terno that was perfect for the party.
The new Meralco
That same evening, Meralco launched “Lighting the Second Century,” a coffee-table book that provides an insight into the world of the new Meralco as an innovative and customer-centric company, and a responsible corporate citizen.
Meralco chair Manuel V. Pangilinan said the book narrates the story of the new Meralco, its journey in achieving its business goals, its aspirations for the country and Filipinos, and the trails it blazes, anticipating the demands of the future. The book’s three eminent Filipino writers are Butch Dalisay, Exie Abola and Felice Sta. Maria.
Meralco has been serving Filipinos for 112 years. From its longtime role as a distributor of electricity, the company today has expanded its services as an energy solutions provider and has revved up its commitment to the communities within and outside the franchise through the various projects of One Meralco Foundation.
Architectural legacy
The Meralco Lopez Building, home to Meralco, was today declared an Architectural Legacy of a Philippine National Artist by the Cultural Center of the Philippines. This is in recognition of the genius of the building’s architect, Jose Maria V. Zaragoza, who was posthumously proclaimed National Artist for Architecture in 2015.
The massive building has stood as a prominent landmark in the Ortigas commercial business district since its inauguration in 1968, and will become a historic landmark when it hits the half-century mark in three years.
In keeping with its annual “Maliwanag ang Pasko” tradition, Meralco once again opened the Liwanag Park to the public with a lighting ceremony at the company’s headquarters. Liwanag Park is open until Jan. 10.
Department of Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro graced the lighting ceremony and received, on behalf of DepEd, a donation of 2,000 solar lamps from Meralco employees, partners and customers. The donation is the result of One Meralco Foundation’s “One Child, One Lamp” campaign launched in November, which aims to raise funds to donate solar lamps to public schools in mountain and island villages without electricity.
That’s a great story to share, as I wish you a Merry Christmas!
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