Saturday, June 30, 2012

MAGNIFICAT BOOK LAUNCH PICTURES

Magnificat: Mama Mary's Pilgrim Sites (Anvil 2012) was released yesterday, June 30 at Powerbooks, Greenbelt 4, Makati. Ten of the contributors were present: Angelita Cruz, Ma. Ceres Doyo, Tess Lopez, Guia Lim, Kris Sendin, Marsha Paras, Tessa Herrera-Tan, Lynley Ocampo, and Jaime Laya. The book's editor, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, was present with her son, Andrew Brainard. Karina Bolasco, Joyce Bersales, Gwenn Galvez and other Anvil staff were also present.

A number of the guests were from the Santa Ana Church Cofradia, guests of Jaime Laya who wrote about the Shrine of Our Lady of the Abandoned in Sta. Ana Church.  Theresians also graced the event. Quite a number of contributors to the book are graduates of St. Theresa's College.

The book, Magnificat: Mama Mary's Pilgrim Sites, includes 24 articles focusing on Marian pilgrim sites, eight of which are Philippines sites.  The book is published by Anvil and available in Powerbooks and National Bookstores.  In the US, contact Linda Nietes of Philippine Expressions for copies.

Group photo, second from top, l-r: seated, Jaime Laya and Cecilia Brainard
Standing l-r: Kris Sendin, Marsha Paras, Lynley Ocampo, Tessa Tan,Tess Lopez, Guia Lim, Angelita Cruz, and Ceres Doyo

Group photo, third from top, l-r: seated, Mila Abola, Andrew Brainard, Cynthia Cervantes,
Standing l-r: Meng Sandico. Joy Damo, Maribel Paras, and Lynley Ocampo

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

MAGNIFICAT STORIES, Philippine Daily Inquirer article by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo

Don't forget the book launch of MAGNIFICAT: MAMA MARY'S PILGRIM SITES is June 30, 3 p.m. Powerbooks,Greenbelt 4. Here's a link to an article by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo that came out in today's Philippine Daily Inquirer:

"Magnificat" Stories
by M. Ceres P. Doyo
June 28, 2012, Philippine Daily Inquirer
 
Mama Mary. That is how she is fondly called by many Filipinos who have a special devotion to her. Frankly, I don’t know how the name came about or who started it. I did not hear anyone calling her Mama Mary 25 years ago. She was called The Blessed Virgin, The Blessed Mother (with or without “The”), Mother Mary, Our Lady and Santa Maria with their equivalents in Filipino languages and dialects, Birhen Maria among them.

As it is used now, the Mama in Mama Mary would translate as Inay or Nanay (Mother), which is more intimate than the titular and honorific Ina (ng Awa, or Mother of Mercy, for example). Ah, but the Bicolanos would protest because Ina, as they refer to the Virgin of Peñafrancia, is not merely a title but a claim, a declaration that she is their mother.

I spent some quiet time figuring out the semantic loads of the maternal titles used to describe Mary. I then sort of realized that Mama Mary is a Filipino coinage. Or is it? Anthropologists, sociologists and even the language police might know the answer.

Now most Filipino Christian Catholics (sorry, I’m not comfortable with the word “Roman” before “Catholic”) call her Mama Mary in whatever language or dialect they are speaking. They can’t sound more intimate than that. The convict in prison, the penitent, the supplicant, the prostitute, the sinner, the saintly, doting mothers, macho fathers, irrepressible sons and daughters—you hear them whisper, cry out or affectionately utter the name Mama Mary. How personal, like the way the neighborhood tambay (bum) would say “bahala na si Lord” in referring to the compassionate God next door. So, si Lord at si Mama Mary. How Pinoy.

If I am waxing Marian it is because the book “Magnificat: Mama Mary’s Pilgrim Sites” (167 pages, published by Anvil) will be launched on Saturday, June 30, 3 p.m., at Powerbooks in Greenbelt 4, Makati. The book (price: P295) contains 24 essays by devotees on their experiences in Marian pilgrim sites in the Philippines (eight in this book) and in other countries (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, India, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and the United States). Also included are short write-ups on other international Marian pilgrim sites. Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio G. Tagle gave the book an imprimatur.

The book editor, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, collected the stories. Brainard is a writer and editor (19 books and counting) known in both Philippine and Fil-Am communities.

The essays are varied. Many are personal. Celeste (pseudonym of a contributor), writes about her unwed daughter who was pregnant and how mother and daughter embarked on a spiritual journey to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico. A surprise ending waits.

Linda Nietes-Little, seller and promoter of Filipiniana books in America, writes about her pilgrimage to Fatima with her convert-husband and ailing sister Violeta “who brought me back to Mama Mary.”

Penelope V. Flores, a professor at San Francisco State University, writes about her visit to the Maryam Monastery in Lake Tana, Tigray, Ethiopia. Using a local twig brush, she began painting “as if Mama Mary told me, ‘Lose yourself. Paint my Lake Tana emanation and your canvases will show feelings.’”

“At Maria Lanakila, Our Prayers were Heard and Answered” by Millicent Dypiangco is about her yearning to have a child and how her prayers to Our Lady of Maria Lanakila in Maui, Hawaii, were answered with the birth of her daughter Miranda.

Jaime C. Laya writes about the Shrine of Our Lady of the Abandoned in Sta. Ana Church. My own story is about Our Lady of Caysasay in the heritage town of Taal, Batangas.

Each essay begins with a photograph of the Marian image in the pilgrim site and basic information. The book also contains prayers for devotees. “Magnificat” can serve as a pilgrim’s guide book and show a path for those in search, on a journey or simply trying to find their way home. The simple stories may hold answers to questions. The book is by no means exhaustive but it may lead readers and writers to other unexplored and little-known Marian sites laden with inspiring stories.

There’s a Marian site in Indonesia that I visited some years ago. It is the Shrine of Our Lady of Sendang Sono, a “little Lourdes” tucked in a lush, forested place outside Yogyakarta. I wish I had written about it. Maybe next time.

The other “Magnificat” contributors are: Lucy Adao McGinley, Angelita Caluag Cruz, Maria Ciocon, Millicent Dypiangco, Ma. Milagros T. Dumdum, Almira Astudillo Gilles, Ma. Teresita Herrera-Tan, Fe Aida Lacsamana-Reyes, Guia Lim, Ma. Teresa Z. Lopez, Aimee Gaboya Ortega Lucero, Lynley Salome R. Ocampo, Ma. Cristina Padilla-Sendin, Marsha C. Paras, Rev. Dr. Sebastian Periannan, Brian Ascalon Roley, Julia H. Wolski, and Linda Yamamoto. Dr. Paulino Lim Jr. wrote the Introduction.

In her blurb, writer-editor Erlinda E. Panlilio says: “Running as a leitmotif in all the essays in this book is the writers’ palpable love for Mama Mary. Each writer has undergone a change in his or her life or outlook following a visit to a Marian site. Some may have experienced a ‘miracle,’ or felt consoled and renewed, others a deepening spirituality, or an epiphany, an insight into the divine. Although we know that Jesus is the only Way to the Father, it is our belief in the power of Mary’s intercession to her Son, borne out of the Bible’s Cana story, that makes us all turn to Her, whom Her divine Son will never refuse.”

Magnificat, as Mary’s prayer-song (Luke 1: 46-55) is known, is a fitting title for this little book of praise and gratitude. Ave Maria!

Send feedback to cerespd@gmail.com or www.ceresdoyo.com

Monday, June 25, 2012

HISTORIC PARIAN, CEBU - UPDATES


Historic Parian, Cebu Updates
by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Every time I visit Cebu, there is a new development in the Historic District that surprises me. Once it was seeing the Cathedral, grounds, and nearby Cathedral Museum fully restored to their Colonial grandeur; another time it was seeing the Plaza Independencia all dolled up, clean and landscaped; other times it was watching the Yap-Sandiego House and the Jesuit House rise up to become two of the most visited historic sites in Cebu. This time, I was delighted to see that a Chinese Museum is forthcoming in the port area. I'm talking about the old historic building along the wharf, facing the City Hall. It seems appropriate that it will become a Chinese Museum, given the long and colorful history of the Chinese in historic Cebu.

I am a lover of Old Cebu and yearn for the area to experience a revival. Most other countries have preserved their historic districts, creating memorable places for their constituents and tourists alike. The fact is that such historic areas bring in a lot of tourist revenue to the government and locals; consider the income tourists can generate from staying in hotels, eating, buying souvenirs, commuting, and so on – a lot of money. But the government and locals themselves need to make an effort to fix and clean up the historic sites and surrounding areas. It’s a win-win situation, if only people would think about it.

Aside from the forthcoming Chinese Museum, I saw that the Jesuit House has developed a new gallery with an informative exhibit about the findings and history of the area. And plowing ahead with his development of the historic 1703 Jesuit House, owner Jaime Sy is constructing a reproduction of the façade of the Old Colon Houses, with the overhanging tiled “tayamtam.” It will be used as a café, and I assume perhaps a souvenir shop or two, as this project develops.

Jaime Sy and Val Sandiego (who owns the Yap-Sandiego House fronting the Heritage Monument) have been persistent in fixing their historic places, sinking lots of their personal funds in the process.  Cebu should be grateful to people like these who are concerned about preserving historic sites and not than just making money.

I wish more Cebuanos would have such dedication to history and culture. Maybe then, someone with money would buy the vacant lot fronting the Heritage Museum. This would be the perfect place to build a Colonial style building for shops and offices; such a structure would contribute much to the development of historic Cebu.

Talking with friends the other day, we thought it would be lovely if the Aboitiz family, who owns the Casa Gorordo Museum and RAFI Foundation in the historic district, would develop this vacant lot. The Aboitiz family is after all a land developer, among other things, and I am sure such a development would be an easy matter for such a wealthy and powerful family. It would tie their name in further as pioneers in the gentrification of Old Cebu, building on their developments of the Casa Gorordo Museum and RAFI Foundation.

Speaking of the Casa Gorordo, I attended the June 24 fiesta in the Parian District of Cebu.  The patron saint of the community is St. John the Baptist, and as a member of the Cofradia, I participated in the prayers, procession, and dinner at the Casa Gorordo as a guest of Pepit Revilles, member of the Gorordo Family, who owned the Casa Gorordo. When Pepit sold the Casa Gorordo and grounds to the Aboitiz family, they agreed that the June 24 fiesta celebration in the Casa Gorordo will be continued. Pepit described how her family hosted such fiesta dinners every June 24.

Unfortunately this year’s June 24 fiesta dinner was rained on; in addition somewhat perturbing was that instead of having an old-fashioned fiesta dinner as the Gorordo Family would have held, the event turned out to be a corporate affair, complete with two videos about RAFI and a RAFI project (Gabii Sa Kabilin), and a repeated invitation to partners to partner up with RAFI.  This introduction took so much time that by the time Pepit Revilles talked about her family traditional fiesta dinner, the audience was quite confused about the point of the evening.  Perhaps the fiesta dinner ought to stay focused on the point of the event, which is to continue the tradition of having an old-fashioned fiesta dinner after the procession honoring St. John the Baptist, patron of the Parian District of Cebu. An understated mention of RAFI’s role in maintaining this quaint family tradition of the Gorordo family would have been more appropriate, and would have maintained the kind of warmth that the Gorordo family had when they had such fiesta dinners. (Strangely, there were two caterers, one hired by RAFI and the other by Pepit Revilles, for the June 24 dinner.)

Still another place that I visited was the Sugbu Museum, which always impresses me at how well-laid out the exhibits are. My favorites are the galleries with the Pre-hispanic artifacts. Congratulations to Jobers Bersales who continues to maintain this museum at a high standard; it is now rated the best in such tourist books as the Lonely Planet, and in internet sites such as TripAdvisor.

I haven’t had the chance to visit Café Elysa Restaurant, one of my favorites in Cebu, but will do so when I have the chance. I am anxious to see what wonderful things owner Steve Aznar and manager Joy Uy have done to this delightful Restaurant (also ranked highly in TripAdvisor).

Until next time, this is Cecilia Brainard reporting from Cebu City.


tags: Cebu City, Philippines, Cebu tourism, historic Cebu, heritage, Museo Sugbo, Cafe Elysa, Casa Gorordo, 1730 Jesuit House, RAFI, Yap-Sandiego Museum

Monday, June 18, 2012

INVITATION 2 LITERARY EVENTS IN MANILA

 Reminding all of these events, open to the public. I hope to see some of you there.

Saturday, June 30, 2012 - Book Launch of Magnificat: Mama Mary's Pilgrim Sites, Edited and Collected by Cecilia Brainard - It's at 3 p.m, Powerbooks, Greenbelt 4, Makati;

Thursday, July 5, 2012, 6 p.m.- "The Evolution of Cecilia Manguerra Brainard" - Cecilia will speak about her journey as a writer, Ortigas Foundation, to secure a seat, call 631-1231 local 222 and 228 or email ortigasfoundation@ortigas.com.ph.

The Ortigas Foundation Library is located at the 2nd Floor of Ortigas Building, Ortigas corner Meralco Avenues, Ortigas Center, Pasig City, 1602, Philippines

Tel.: (632) 631.1231 local 228
Fax: (632) 706.3834
Website: www.ortigasfoundationlibrary.com.ph

Saturday, June 9, 2012

JAIME C. LAYA - MAGNIFICAT BOOK LAUNCH

 JAIME C. LAYA recently emailed me the following re the book launch of MAGNIFICAT: Mama Mary's Pilgrim Sites. He's one of the contributors, writing about the "Shrine of Our Lady of the Abandoned" in Santa Ana Church, Manila.  I've posted his bio after his email.  (The book launch of Magnificat on June 30 is open to the public.)
~~~~
Dear Ms. Brainard,

I invited some people from Sta. Ana to the book launch. I hope that's okay. Congratulations on the book!

Jaime Laya



~~~~

JAIME C. LAYA is Chairman of Philtrust Bank, Independent Director of various corporations, and Trustee of various educational, charitable and cultural institutions. He holds a B.S.B.A. from the University of the Philippines, M.S. from Georgia Institute of Technology, and Ph.D. (financial management) from Stanford University. He has served as Minister of the Budget, Minister of Education, Culture and Sports, and Governor of the Central Bank of the Philippines. He was Action Officer of the Intramuros Administration (1979-86) and Chairman of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (1996-2001). He is now helping in the conservation of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Abandoned at Sta. Ana, Manila.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

PRESS RELEASE: MAGNIFICAT: MAMA MARY'S PILGRIM SITES


PRESS RELEASE                                       For Immediate release – 6/2012



ANVIL RELEASES NEW MARIAN BOOK
“MAGNIFICAT: MAMA MARY’S PILGRIM SITES”


           
            Anvil Publishing Inc, is proud to announce that the book, Magnificat: Mama Mary’s Pilgrim Sites will be released on June 30, 2012 at Powerbooks, Greenbelt 4, Makati.

The book collects 24 essays by devotees about their experiences in Marian Pilgrim sites. The sites are located in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, India, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the United States, and there are eight Pilgrim sites in the Philippines.

The book includes short write-ups of other international pilgrim sites and some Catholic Prayers. Archbishop Tagle of Manila has issued an Imprimatur for the book, Magnificat: Mama Mary's Pilgrim Sites.

The contributors are: Lucy Adao McGinley, Angelita Caluag Cruz, Maria Ciocon, Celeste, Ma. Ceres P. Doyo, Millicent Dypiangco, Ma. Milagros T. Dumdum, Penelope V. Flores, Almira Astudillo Gilles, Ma. Teresita Herrera-Tan, Fe Aida Lacsamana-Reyes, Jaime C. Laya, Guia Lim, Linda Nietes-Little, Ma. Teresa Z. Lopez, Aimee Gaboya Ortega Lucero, Lynley Salome R. Ocampo, Ma. Cristina Padilla-Sendin, Marsha C. Paras, Rev. Dr. Sebastian Periannan, Brian Ascalon Roley, Julia H. Wolski, and Linda Yamamoto. Dr. Paulino Lim Jr. has written the Introduction.

The essays in the book are varied. Some are factual, as that by Jaime C. Laya about the Shrine of Our Lady of the Abandoned, Santa Ana Church. Ma. Ceres P. Doyo also writes an informative account of Our Lady of Caysasay in Taal, Batangas.

Other essays are more personal such as the work of Linda Nietes-Little who is known as a book seller of Filipiniana books, and whose article in this book marks her debut as a writer. Of her essay, When Mama Mary Called From Fatima, Nietes-Little says, “This recollection of our visit to Fatima is a memorial to my sister, Violeta. She passed away on January 28, 2010 at the age of eighty.”

Celeste, the pseudonym of a contributor, writes about an unwed daughter who finds herself pregnant, and the spiritual journey mother and daughter make when they make the pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico.

Penelope V. Flores, Professor at San Francisco State University, writes of her visit to the Maryam Monastery in Lake Tana, Tigray, Ethiopia, and how, using a local twig brush, started painting. “It was as if Mama Mary told me, ‘Lose yourself. Paint my Lake Tana emanation and your canvasses will show feelings’,” Flores writes.

Millicent Dypiangco testifies in her article, At Maria Lanakila, Our Prayers were Heard and Answered,  about yearning for a child and how her prayers to Our Lady of Maria Lanakila in Lahaina, Maui were answered with the birth of her daughter, Miranda.

As Erlinda E. Panlilio, writer and editor, says in her blurb for the book: “Running as a leitmotif in all the essays in this book is the writers’ palpable love for Mama Mary. Each writer has undergone a change in his or her life or outlook following a visit to a Marian site. Some may have experienced a “miracle,” or felt consoled and renewed; others a deepening of spirituality, or an epiphany, an insight into the divine. Although we know that Jesus is the only Way to the Father, it is our belief in the power of Mary’s intercession to her Son, borne out of the Bible’s Cana story, that makes us all turn to Her, whom Her divine Son will never refuse.”

The book has also received praise from Reverend Father Dionisio M. Miranda, SVD, President of the University of San Carlos: The Magnificat has always been a testament to God’s paradoxical dealings with his people. This book assembles a tableau of witnesses to how a fleeting visit with Mary can turn into a life-changing introduction to her Son. Through their stories the author offers their readers the distinct possibility of setting the stage for a personal, if vicarious, epiphany.

            Bishop Leopoldo C. Jaucian, SVD, DD, Bishop of Bangued, says: “This is another outstanding book by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard. Profoundly Marian and beautifully written by the contributors as these are their personal experiences! To our fellow devotees and would-be devotees of the Blessed Virgin Mary, you will surely fall in love with "Magnificat: Mama Mary's Pilgrim Sites" and love Our Blessed Mother even more.

            As Father Reuter succinctly says, “The devotion to Mary is strong in the hearts of every Filipino.” Magnificat: Mama Mary’s Pilgrim Sites provides testimonies of just that – the firm devotion and love Filipinos have for Our Lady

The book’s editor is Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, award-winning author and literary figure in the Philippine and Philippine American communities. The book, Magnificat: Mama Mary’s Pilgrim Sites follows her recent book, Out of Cebu: Essays and Personal Prose, released last February by the University of San Carlos Press.

###

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

MAGNIFICAT: MAMA MARY'S PILGRIM SITES - BOOK LAUNCH 6/30/12, Makati

It's confirmed: the book launching of Magnificat: Mama Mary's PIlgrim Sites, is on Saturday, June 30, 2012, at 3 p.m., Powerbooks, Greenbelt 4.  Attached is the e-invitation from Anvil.  Please forward, and please come.  It would really be good to have an excellent turnout at the booklaunch, so please do attend and/or tell others to attend. 

We will most likely have a book launching in the US, and I will get back to you about that.


Here's info about the book: 

MAGNIFICAT: Mama Mary's Pilgrim Sites


Collected and Edited by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, this book collects 24 Marian devotees' accounts of their experiences in Marian pilgrim sites. The sites are found in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, India, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the United States, and there are eight Pilgrim sites in the Philippines. The book includes short writeups of other international pilgrim sites and some Catholic Prayers. Archbishop Tagle of Manila has issued an Imprimatur for the book, Magnificat: Mama Mary's Pilgrim Sites.


Contributors are: Lucy Adao McGinley, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, Angelita Caluag Cruz, Maria Ciocon, Celeste, Ma. Ceres P. Doyo, Millicent Dypiangco, Ma. Milagros T. Dumdum, Penelope V. Flores, Almira Astudillo Gilles, Ma. Teresita Herrera-Tan, Fe Aida Lacsamana-Reyes, Jaime C. Laya, Guia Lim, Linda Nietes-Little, Ma. Teresa Z. Lopez, Aimee Gaboya Ortega Lucero, Lynley Salome R. Ocampo, Ma. Cristina Padilla-Sendin, Marsha C. Paras, Rev. Dr. Sebastian Periannan, Brian Ascalon Roley, Julia H. Wolski, and Linda Yamamoto.

Blurbs:
This is another outstanding book by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard. Profoundly Marian and beautifully written by the contributors as these are their personal experiences! To our fellow devotees and would-be devotees of the Blessed Virgin Mary, you will surely fall in love with "Magnificat: Mama Mary's Pilgrim Sites" and love Our Blessed Mother even more. - Bishop Leopoldo C. Jaucian, SVD, DD, Bishop of Bangued, Philippines"

The devotion to Mama Mary is strong in the hearts of every Filipino. - Father James B. Reuter, SJ

The Magnificat has always been a testament to God’s paradoxical dealings with his people. This book assembles a tableau of witnesses to how a fleeting visit with Mary can turn into a life-changing introduction to her Son. Through their stories the author offers their readers the distinct possibility of setting the stage for a personal, if vicarious, epiphany. - Father Dionisio M. Miranda, SVD , President . University of San Carlos

Running as a leitmotif in all the essays in this book is the writers’ palpable love for Mama Mary. Each writer has undergone a change in his or her life or outlook following a visit to a Marian site. Some may have experienced a “miracle,” or felt consoled and renewed; others a deepening of spirituality, or an epiphany, an insight into the divine. Although we know that Jesus is the only Way to the Father, it is our belief in the power of Mary’s intercession to her Son, borne out of the Bible’s Cana story, that makes us all turn to Her, whom Her divine Son will never refuse. Kudos to Cecilia Manguerra Brainard for putting together an engaging collection of stories that magnify the humble handmaid of the Lord. - Erlinda E. Panlilio, Writer and Editor

IMPRIMATUR granted by Archbishop Tagle of Manila

Friday, June 1, 2012

CECILIA MANGUERRA BRAINARD'S FORTHCOMING EVENTS:  

Thursday, June 7, 2012, 7:30 p.m. - Cecilia Brainard reads at the UCLA Extension's Writers Program Publication Party, Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., LA, 90049, tel: 310-825-9415

Saturday, June 30, 2012 - Book Launch of Magnificat: Mama Mary's Pilgrim Sites, Edited and Collected by Cecilia Brainard - details forthcoming  

Thursday, July 5, 2012, 6 p.m.- "The Evolution of Cecilia Manguerra Brainard" - Cecilia will speak about her journey as a writer, Ortigas Foundation, to secure a seat, call 631-1231 local 222 and 228 or email ortigasfoundation@ortigas.com.ph.

The Ortigas Foundation Library is located at the 2nd Floor of Ortigas Building, Ortigas corner Meralco Avenues, Ortigas Center, Pasig City, 1602, Philippines

Tel.: (632) 631.1231 local 228
Fax: (632) 706.3834
Website: www.ortigasfoundationlibrary.com.ph