Hazard Maps Seminar @UP NIGS 12052015

Last December 6, I attended a seminar which was forwarded to me by a former ASP classmate. When I first received the invitation, I couldn't inform H immediately if I could make it since that Saturday was already allotted for the office's center-wide Christmas party, something I shouldn't miss since the theme is Rock Music and all of my fave rock bands are sure to be reinterpreted in the different teams' performances. In the end, my love for maps prevailed. I also wasn't too keen on going to Pampanga to party all night.

It was also the last day of a personal project so I decided to just skip the party in favor of this seminar. It doesn't disappoint. Maybe because I am neither an architect nor an urban planner nor a geologist that's why I was happy to have learned a lot. Because mapping is integral in archaeology simply because spatial analyses are also involved, I was super interested in this seminar. It also gave me a chance to know other uses for mapping and why it is suddenly becoming the "in" thing especially in matters involving disaster risk management and mitigation.

Finally happy to see the great Dr. Mahar Lagmay in person (so I made sure to get a fullbody shot!). He talked about Project NOAH, what the project has done so far and upcoming projects which I am very excited about. I hope I can be part of this project. It looks so cool and I have visited their den in NIGS once when we were toured there. And I so love their sophisticated equipment!!! I regret not taking up Geology in college. #cries

Introduced as Dr. Mahar Lagmay's righthand man, Mr. Oscar Lizardo is Project NOAH's Chief Technology Officer who talked about how the average person can use the database developed by Project NOAH and how to leverage the NOAH app.

Arch. Geomilie Guittap discusses the oft-ignored part in disaster management: how to deliver relief goods to affected communities. Hers is an interesting talk that draws parallelism and notes differences between commercial supply chain and humanitarian relief chain. The speaker is someone I would really love to connect to since she is confidently smart with a beautiful heart. (Inspired by Pia Wurtzbach's response in the recently concluded Ms. Universe Pageant.)

Arch. Nicasio Espina Jr. talked about how risk and hazard maps influence design and urban planning and talked a lot about the CLUP (Comprehensive Land Use Plan). While it is cool that we have the CLUP, I am actually far more interested in how CLUP is used, or is it just another theory sadly unused in practice? (I love hs curly hair! And he resembles Hiro Mizushima, the actor who played the lead character in Kamen Rider Kabuto...)

And so spending the whole day in my beloved alma mater, what else is there to regret? Definitely nothing. Parties end when they end, but seminars make possible the beginning of something wonderful because great ideas are shared on the floor for the benefit of mankind.

That ^, and finally knowing a little bit more about urban planning. 

Santa Cruz, Laguna

If you have read my earlier post on part 1 of my Laguna adventure, you probably are already aware that I went around the province to check out the churches. First stop was Santa Cruz, Laguna. I first came to know about this town for its quesong puti (cheese made from carabao's milk) which I like because it's not heavily salted.

first heritage structure we saw

A friend of my sister also resides in the town so when I got there I asked for her cellphone number from my sister so we could at least meet up there but she replied when J and I were already on our way to Nagcarlan.

We started our Santa Cruz trip asking around for directions to the Aglipayan Church where the famous wooden Marian image is located. On the way we had breakfast and since I was on tight budget (as always) I went for breaded chicken with rice for P50.

budget meal of fried chicken and rice

Off we went around town to see the churches both Catholic and Aglipayan.

facade of the Immaculate Concepcion Parish Church

altar

choir loft

ruins

Aglipayan Church

the Marian image in the wood

famed wooden Marian image adapted to the tainted glass

As we were leaving, we saw a procession with people spraying water at each other. Turns out to be a fiesta celebration! We were lucky people didn't think of spraying us water!

water celebration

Crossing the bridge, we came face to face with this grand mansion!

This constitutes my Laguna Trip Part 1, together with Nagcarlan, Liliw, and Majayjay. 

Laguna Tour Part 1

Before the mapping project ended in April this year, I was able to forge alliance with two other active volunteers who had already exceeded the required outputs early on. One is from Calamba, Laguna and the other from Bulacan. The three of us have previously mapped Pila, Laguna last April 9, taking advantage of the holiday Araw ng Kagitingan to do volunteer work.

J who hails from Bulacan was my buddy for the day. Plan was that we would meet up with C somewhere in Laguna but since C suddenly had lots of deadlines to meet that day, he only joined us for dinner in SM Calamba, his treat at Max's Restaurant remembering how fond I was of sizzling tofu.

J and I met up in Cubao to take a bus going to Santa Cruz, Laguna. From there on, we visited Nagcarlan, Liliw, Majayjay for their churches and snapped photos of heritage houses, most of them already dilapidated. We also paid a visit to the Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery which is really a small one but the fine architecture of the chapel there with some ceiling paintings intact makes it one important cultural property.

It was a tiring day. I got home at close to 12MN. because when the three of us gather we talk endlessly about plans, dreams, frustrations, and the future of the project. It's amazing how fate brings together three persons from different disciplines but who share the same passions and who have almost similar experiences of not being understood by our respective families.

Read more:

Santa Cruz, Laguna

Nagcarlan, Laguna

Liliw, Laguna

Majayjay, Laguna

This is just Part 1. Part 2 is yet to materialize and when the time comes, I'll make sure to go to Pagsanjan Falls!

Museo de la Historia de Tabasco: Casa de los azulejos

After visiting La Venta and the Museum of Natural History in Villahermosa, I took the combi and asked to be dropped off in Plaza Armas but was dropped off the the historic center (centro histórico) which was bustling with commercial activity. It was a hot day and my camera and phone were running out of battery.

It is during these times when I truly appreciate having had to deposit my bag before going around the museum. A kindly lady saw the plastic bag I had with me and offered me a more decent medium-sized shopping bag, the kind promoted by environmentalist grocery stores. I asked to have my gadgets charged and they kindly let me while I went around the museum. It was also a relief to find that they have free wifi so I was able to contact my friend in Constitucion, Campeche. (You may want to read about my misadventures HERE.)

True to its name, I was bowled over when I entered to find the walls and floors all covered with azulejos. I first came to know about azulejos in my last trip to Laguna when my buddy pointed out the painted tiles inside a church there. The museum houses a few artifacts on the history of Tabasco, asserting that Mexico had its beginnings in this Mexican state attributed to the Olmecs and later on to the Mayas. 

While the collection of artifacts dating to preHispanic times pale heavily in comparison to what the Museum of Anthropology has in the Federal District, what is remarkble in this museum is the collection of preserved vintage objects like TV, radio, jukebox, horse carriage, sewing machine, and others.

The museum also has a banner of Tabasco's escudo which was heavily influenced by the Russian Bolsheviks and which shows pride of place for its fertile lands. Despite its few collection, a visit to this museum is worth it if one enjoys studying architectural styles and history. History buffs would be delighted to know that there is a short article here on the history of the television in Tabasco--- this alongside the role this state played during the revolution.