Spotlight: Meet Miguel Vera

He is the pride of PSBA Quezon City’s Business Chorale, where he was club president in 1987. As a mentor of the organization, he continued to help members by conducting singing and acting workshops even after he graduated from PSBA.
Romeo Arca, known as “Boyet” to his close friends, is gifted with a powerful baritone-tenor voice. It was pure talent that launched his career as a successful recording artist in 1991 where he became known as the Miguel Vera. He was also a member of the Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit or OPM. Prior to recording, he appeared in the Cosmos commercial, “Bagong Tunog”.
It was also in 1991 when he launched his album under Viva Records, “Nais Ko” where songs “Nais Ko” and “Narito Ang Puso Ko”, became instant hits. Narito ang Puso Ko became theme song of the movie by the same title, which starred Lorna Tolentino and Gabby Concepcion.
Miguel Vera is now based in the U.S. and currently doing shows here and abroad.
Below is the interview made with Miguel Vera via Facebook:
JM: Paano ka nagsimula as a member of Business Chorale? Do you still recall the song you had audition with? Or you had an exemption dahil as expected maganda talaga ang boses mo?
Miguel Vera: No audition for me..hand pick ha ha and nag start yan ng puro lalaki lang kami..
JM: Who was your greatest influence that inspired you to become an artist?
Miguel Vera: My dad..
JM: Ah ok,for sure maganda din boses ng dad mo...• How were you discovered? Did you ever have a chance to join some singing contests before?
Miguel Vera: Di kumakanta dad ko pero magaling siya sa sax and harmonica..yes,when I was a kid sali ako mga singing contest..but my biggest break is when i won the Fe Panlilio scholarshiip na project ng OPM..after
that dami na offers na dumating.
JM: OK I presume you have become an OPM artist? What was your first TV appearance? If I remember, una kita kaseng nakita sa Ryan, Ryan Musikahan with Ogie Alcasid.
Miguel Vera: Yes that was the first and yup I'm an OPM member.
JM: Pero sino favorite mong singer here and abroad?
Miguel Vera: Local Basil Valdez, foreign Lou Rawls and Luther Van Ross.
JM: And just to share with current BC members, paano mo hinuhugot angkin mong galling sa pag-awit?
Miguel Vera: Ang paghugot ng galing nangagaling sa puso..di sa teknik..ang talent ini ensayo..there should always a room for improvement..pag pumasok sa utak mo na magaling ka na at wala ka ng kailangan matutunan..dun nagtatapos ang lahat at dika na aabante.
JM: What is your message to current BC members?
Miguel Vera: Sa BC members eto lang masasabi ko..abutin niyo ang kung ano man ang gusto niyong marating,be ready sa madaming trials,walang short cut sa lahat ng gusto niyong puntahan,be fair sa kapwa niyo at huli sa lahat..keep practicing your craft at lahat ng natutunan sa puso ilagay,wag sa utak baka magka hangin.

To listen to his songs, please click the link below:
Miguel Vera' songs

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Heading Up to Global City

It happened to be Independence Day in The US as I head up to Global City and I was surprised to see the big development that went through as far as the real estate is concerned. A lot of buildings have been built as it continues as the place has become more progressive and that was pretty fast to see how it is being developed. Shopping centers have a wide array and I was too quick to remind me the last time I visited Sta. Monica in California about more than two years ago. What comes in to my mind, is we have some beautiful cities in the island, not considering the southern part of the country yet. The other side of me tells me how ironical it is that Philippines is a poor country that dozens of buildings are built including high rise condominiums which an average wage earner could not even afford to buy a piece of land taking more than 10 years of savings before a person could buy one and that is if he or she have a saving around 3k a month. Huhh....that was pretty tough. What about your daily expenses a day such as foods, utility and transportation cost.

I went to the mall at the same spot where different classes of people spend time shopping, strolling and dining. Unlike in the outside part where you can see few people walking and to my impression are those who belong to either A and B class in Serrendra. Global City is more developed and something new to a person who quite to seldom see or visit the place. So in the mall, I had a dinner in an inevitable resto at Mann Hann which I forgot to write down what I have ordered, hahah...it's something like a mixed seafoods with veggies.

So it's time for me to go home by 7pm but was caught in the traffic as it happened to be in a rush hour. Then I came to a stop to the Shang mall for a bit of rest.

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A Year Ago

It seems hard to believe that we are in the month of July and fast approaching that "ber" month which means Christmas season once again will just be around the corner. We just had our New Year recently and summer had just ended over a month ago. As soon as the summer was gone, we had the month of June as start of rainy season. The flood came about a week ago, it rained hard that caused the first flood in the year happened to be my birthday!! haha...And shortly after it subsided, then came another flood the following day.

I usually start to reminisce things in the past, and the greatest moment that happened in our lives are things in the past. This is the time when we realize that our pasts aren't quite bad at all but something that we can always cherish as these days gone by.

First thing I want to recall is the month I stayed in New York City last year. I love New York that I really wanted to go back as soon as possible. But few things have changed as the plan has temporarily put to shelf. But there's a big, big possibility for me to go back there this year and will try before the winter comes.

It was also in the month of July when I stayed in the Big Apple, and I was renting a room from a Filipino couple who own a house in Elmhurst, about 15 minutes to Manhattan by the subway. It was Independence Day of the U.S. when Best Buy had its sale. Mitch, a physical therapist was my buddy and we both watch the fireworks seen at the Hudson River.

Quite alone there, but I had so much fun as everyday I had to go to NYC and walk in Broadway, drink coffee and surf internet using my Acer laptop in Cosi Cafe, or go to Madison Square to spend another day in the university belt.

I should be ready when I go back there, bring my camera and laptop, and find a good place to stay. But a big NO to Brooklyn that recalls me about that dirty hostel I stayed for about a week before I met Tita Julie during the Philippine Independence Day in New York.

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Learning the Art of Photography

Blogging will not be complete without using a photo just to picture out a scenario of your article. A person may not be fond of photography, however he or she may use an existing photo grabbed from any source to describe a certain situation of the written article. It does not take one to be an expert to shoot a subject but you can always gain exposure by using a point and shoot camera.



Recently, I use a digital SLR camera to capture moments. As an entry-level, it lets me do some experiments as cameras like this have a lot of features compared to a point of shoot one that I have used before. That also lets me crave more to do an extra mile and explore the art of photography which has been my long time passion and it goes with my travel. Usually I like to shoot some scenery but not really so particular about the label as this would allow me to do some experimentation to different subjects. Just as long as I can capture the best moment, that is something that I would really want to do as part of my fulfillment. Let me get some tips from the experts first before I go into a deeper value about photography.

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Caramia's Banana Blast

The other day I was in Robinson's Galleria and tried Caramia's best selling dessert called "Banana Blast". It's not more of an ice cream, but it's like a frozen chocolate cake or combination of both. Aside from banana, it is filled with sliced frozen strawberries and chocolate ganache syrup, crushed cookies crust, topped with the same gelato scoops. Imagine the day when it's hot and you are inside the mall, refresh yourself by tasting a Banana Blast. Caramia is in front of Guess boutique shop, just when you walk along the mall's main path way. The dessert is simply irresistible and mouth-watering, especially when you are tired walking and the crowd sees you while you sit back and relax in a wide open space area. They would just simply stop to see how delightful Caramia's desserts are. Ahh, I would love to go back there and taste some of their unique ice creams.

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Baguio City Part 2

I was in Baguio City the second time around in the month of May and such purpose was implemented two weeks after the first one transpired. The weather was a bit colder and is manageable, as the summer capital of the Philippines is experiencing isolated rains in the afternoon which prevented us from going out from the hotel that we stayed. Occasionally there's a rain shower during the three-day stay in the city.

Session road, as always, is crowded as I can see some tourists surfing the main road as most of the restaurants can be found in this area. I bet your tour will not be complete without walking to the Session road because the cathedral lies in the city and is also considered as one of the tourist spots in the Pines City. But there's absolutely some places that I've missed to visit as time is short to complete everything.

Some places are truly educational, like when I get to visit how the weaving is done by the manufacturer. Scarves are one of the authentic products that show its culture, so I had a chance to visit the two manufacturing sites. The first one lies in the city itself, and the second one is in the outskirt, located in La Trinidad. These are hand-made woven,with special threads are used and according to the manager, it takes almost three months to complete the production of scarves. Usually they are thick and rough when you touch it with your hand. Their scarves are export quality and is not really commercialized as most of the common scarves are seen in the shops or boutiques.

If there's one place in the Philippines that I would like to live and rusticate, I would consider Baguio because of its cool weather that would probably shut off your stress, foods are not expensive especially when you like vegetables which are absolutely fresh, and you can find transportation cheap. Seems like I didn't want to return to Manila yet as two nights stay are not enough to have my body satiate with a stronger vigor.

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Pahiyas Festival in Lucban, Quezon

Pahiyas Festival is a colorful feast in Lucban, Quezon celebrated every 15th of May in honor of San Isidro Labrador. A must-see festival which highlights procession of the image of San Isidro Labrador and features a parade of papier mâché figures of a farmer and his wife. All the houses are decorated with agricultural harvest like vegetables, fruits, flowers, ferns and rice stalks. This is to ensure bountiful harvest in the coming season.

The long queue of traffic with all the vehicles stretching the main road had made me impatient that I decided to get off from the jeepney ride and walk a mile to reach the town. Most people were walking to and fro so I've figured out these are visitors who are about to see the town fiesta and some are about to leave the place after witnessing the colorful feast . Different vendors have narrowed the streets as some are selling hats, necklace, key chains, foods and souvenir items. I arrived Lucban 5p.m. a 45-minute travel time from Lucena. As the town is filled with tourists, most of the restaurants are full-packed making me hard to find a restaurant that I could easily get an order. My intention was to eat pancit hab-hab, one of their delicacy the town is famous of aside from longganiza de Lucban, so I found one that isn't crowded.

I saw a lot of visitors carrying their cameras, but I tried to compare mine, which is a digital camera but not expensive as what they have. So that made me crave more to buy a high-end one. A photo enthusiast like me has a desire to acquire a camera which has more fully functional features so I could take advantage of its benefits.

When I began to explore the streets, I saw a colorful flake-like food sold by the vendor. They said it is called "kiping" a rice wafer. I bought one for 10 pesos and it tasted like a flake. You can also see some folks dancing and singing in one of the streets and its like a local Mardi Gras of New Orleans, Louisiana.

By 7:15p.m. I was about to leave the place as I went to the long line piled up with people waiting for a shuttle going to Lucena.

By past 12 midnight, I've reached Edsa Central and I took a cab to home.

Pahiyas Festival is a one of a kind fiesta that one should take into consideration if your interest is to explore some of the best festivities in the Philippines.

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Baguio City: Rain, Rain Go Away

The trip for Mariveles was disappointing. There was nothing to explore as compared from the travel that I did recently. Since there was a mix-up with a plan going to Baguio, we decided to go back to San Fernando, Pampanga as the bus drops some of its passengers in SM Mall. Following shortly after taking our lunch in the mall, we proceeded to the Central Terminal but unfortunately we have waited for more than two hours as buses going to Baguio did not appear in time. We went to Dau as alternative path en route Baguio, and a 45-miute drive going to the terminal where most of the buses have its stop over.

We arrive almost 8pm and an agent took us to the tourist desk so we can choose the inn that we can stay overnight. Early in the morning we went to Burnham Park and at the same time we've been looking for a hotel with a better rate. We checked in Hotel Enrico located at Legarda Road and for an affordable rate, we got a bigger room which was nice and clean, it has a bath room and the hotel is equipped with free wi-fi internet connection.

The rain pours as typhoon Bebeng hits Baguio moving from the southern part of the Philippines and making the city foggy and cold as summer was expected to bring warm during the dry season. We went to SM Mall and by noontime we had our lunch at Syblings Nook in the mall. I had pasta with a coke in can. The rain still continues to pour as we never had the chance to visit some of the tourist destinations like Mine's View, the Church, Grotto, strawberry fields in La Trinidad and more. We decided to go back to our hotel after we had coffee at the Starbucks. By 9am the following day, we had availed our free breakfast as we were about to check out the hotel. After checking out by 11am, we have gone to the market and bought some of its famous delicacies like peanut brittle, strawberry jam, pinipig. We also bought carrots, broccoli, peppers and strawberry fruits.

By 1pm we left the city and arrive Quezon City at past seven. My overall experience visiting is pretty good although it rained most of the time leaving us unable to visit some of its popular places. We went short in time that I would love to rusticate more in Baguio for a couple of days.

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Bangus Festival in Dagupan

I had a chance to explore Bangus festival, an annual festivity that kicks off every month of April in Dagupan City, Pangasinan. The fiesta highlights the province's Bonuan bangus famous for its unique taste. We arrived around 5p.m. taking us an hour to find an inn as most of the hotels were fully booked due to festivity which ends on the last day of this month. While trying to organize my thought what we should do, most of the time we had some walks along the main streets of the city.



The main source of our dinner is the street foods and some of these vendors prepare barbecues as they have been waiting for the highlight of the festivity lasts the following day. Then we had coffee at the shop close to the inn where we checked in.

We left the city at two in the morning without having witnessed the most important part of the event - the bangus parade, as we have some commitments in the next period of time. The stint in Dagupan fell us short as the plan was not organized well prior to visiting the place.

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Moriones Festival in Marinduque

At last I was able to visit Marinduque again after eleven years have passed. I left Manila on Good Friday because I knew that thousands of tourists go to see the Moriones Festival held on Holy Week in the island. So I figured out that it is best to leave when all are already set into a place of festivity. Although there are few ports available for disembarkation in the island, travelling time from Lucena, Quezon to Balanacan, Marinduque would take approximately two hours. You'll get to know once you arrived in Balanacan because the first thing that you would notice is the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary which serves as a landmark as seen while approaching the island. My late grandma Asuncion Bunag Madrigal was a native of the island and she used to serve as Recamadera of The Virgin for Our Lady of Biglang Awa from 1949 to June 1973.

The trip exhausted my energy as the summer season jives with my body temperature making me enervated throughout the day. As the festivity's taking place, I was able to catch up with some of the activities and as usual, aside from my cellphone, there are two things that I don't miss out to bring - my laptop and my camera. These electronic devices are as important as my cellphone as it becomes my habit by using them as often as I want.

So I hanged out in a Cafe fronting the court and opened my laptop to upload some of the photos I have taken during my trip.



I spent my dinner at Casa de Don Emilio-one of the place's fine dining. They served me "Binusog na Pusit", a squid stuffed with onions and tomatoes. So when I got my bill, they've mistakenly charged me with the foods I didn't placed to eat which was way up high from what I have ordered. Although the foods are not expensive and the staffs are friendly, I left the place with disappointment as some of their desserts are no longer available aside from mistakenly charging me of the bill that wasn't mine.

But if your travel destination is at beside the sea, it is best to try sea foods as we know that most of them are likely fresh from the water.



If you happen to visit the place, your travel will not be completed without going to the sea as Marinduque is rich when it comes to beach resorts. And one of them is Poktoy White Beach, located in Torrijos, a two-hour drive from Boac if you are taking a jeepney ride. The beach itself is quite isolated since it's a far depending on your destination and what place you have stayed in the island. Because it happened to be Easter Sunday, the resort was quite populated, but not as crowded as some of the beaches in Marinduque.

There are many good reasons why Marinduque is one of the best place to visit. And one of them is said to have an almost zero crime rate, and no one will ever snatch away your cell phone while using it in the public place. But it is best to visit the place during Holy Week as Moriones Festival where cultural practices or folk history is taking place in the island. So colorful and it is where masked and costumed penitents who march around the town for seven days. During May is the season for Santa Cruzan where parade of beauties in the streets can be seen.

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A Summer Taste of Blueberry Yogurt

If I think about summer, what's usually comes in my thought is to have a taste of sago and gulaman, melon juice, halo-halo or ice cream. It becomes inevitable especially after exposing myself in the heat of the sun to quench my thirst aside from bottled water.

Yesterday I was in Mega Mall and saw this Red Mango and one of delicacy they serve is Blueberry Yogurt. It has an additional toppings like strawberry, cheesecake and walnut. Although I am not really a fan of eating yogurt because I've never liked its taste, the serving gave me a nice impression about yogurt so I ended up ordering a large size, instead of looking for something to eat inside the mall. Yogurt is a dairy product said to be produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. It is nutritionally rich in protein, calcium and vitamins.

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