I know, I know, I haven't written in a while. Tag it to being busy, tag it to having my bronchitis recur. Excuses, excuses I know. Now, there's so much that's happened I don't know where to begin.
The Handumanan Carnaval Queen event happened (my offering to my mother who would have loved the event). I have realized that this sort of thing is not my cup of tea, dear readers. It was amusing but not great fun to have your hair blowed dried to oblivion, have makeup so thick you looked like a Kabuki. The Carnaval Queen Persona is not part of my Persona-Repertoire.
But in any case I amused myself.
For instance, there were two other "damas" or princesses and one of them was a lovely young woman whose only topic of conversation was her 24 inch waistline. This was her claim to fame. Everyone knew about her 24-inch waistline. Miss 24-inch Waistline herself announced that her teenage daughters had thicker waistline than she had. The entire time we were being madeup, she and the gay hair dresser and make up artist discussed her waistline, and how scandalous it was that beauty queens have 26-inch waistlines. The dress designer declared, "I send them away. I tell them to go on a diet before I make their gowns." It seems that Miss 24-inch Waistline, maintains her waistline, not just by dieting, but by wearing a custom-made corset every single night. (She is married; I wonder what her husband thinks of that. And I wonder how healthy it is to sleep in a corset at night. It's like feet-binding.)
The Handumanan event (Handumanan means remembrances or memories) used the carnaval queen business as a way of framing their program. The performers performed to the Queen and damas. So there was a couple who sang Cebuano songs, and man who did a balak (spontaneous Cebuano poetry. Vice Mayor Mike Rama also did a balak. Performer Max Zurban did songs and jokes in Cebuano. Here's one Max Zurban joke: A nun went jogging at 4 in the morning and was raped. The next day, the other nuns went jogging at 4 in the morning. Of course this is funnier in Cebuano, and told by Max Zurban.
The finale was Cebuana singer Dulce who was very, very late, the poor audience and even I were tired and sleepy.
The program ended with a sinulog dance; and then I couldn't wait to get out of the gown and into my normal clothes. Had a late supper with my sister-in-law and my two Manila guests, Norma Lucero and Lilu Giminez. And back home, was happy to scrub all that makeup off and take down my hair.
More to come, including a visit to the Gold Museum in Ayala Museum - a 10-13th century Philippine gold artifact exhibit.
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