playing tourists on christmas evening

29 Dec 2009 Leave a Comment

by shallow in denarau, entertainment, resort, tradition Tags: , , , , , , ,

ado and i decided to just pop into a resort last christmas and go around as if we were tourists. we might as well have been, ado himself hardly recognized the place since a big part of the sheraton’s lobby and pool area was remodeled.

tourists abound, as you might expect during the holiday season, and it wasn’t too hard to blend into the throng of foreigners.

we made it to a live show of fiji history, though i hardly listened to the narrative as i flit from spot to spot for a better view. i could tell it was extremely interesting when i caught enough key words like “cannibals” and “tribe wars”. i should get around to dropping by again and watching it properly.

the actors would occasionally walk straight into the audience (standing on the edge of the lobby going into the pool area) and wave the torch at our faces which elicited yells of fright and amusement combined.

then there’s the fire dancing. nothing like seeing the real south pacific do it.

he even put the torch baton ends right on his feet…

…another twirled two flaming batons at the same time…

…and performed blindfolded.

when the “chief” called on the performers and the guests to “feel free to take photographs”, cameras just clicked and buzzed away like nobody’s business.

especially the ladies…

…including me, of course.

hope everyone had a wonderful christmas!

christmas program at the village

23 Dec 2009 1 Comment

by shallow in entertainment, special event, thoughts, tradition Tags: , , , , , , ,

i joined the sabeto (pron. sambeto) pre-school program as an audience member to support dani’s little grandson, eddie (full name etuate, the fijian derivative of edward).

i finally saw just how the much-talked-about fiji time works when we got to the village less than 15 minutes prior to the performance and there isn’t a single soul nor signs of preparation to mean anything near a pre-school program. well, for the record, it started about an hour and a half after sked. and i thought filipino time was infamous. that’s extremely laid back culture for you.

we got to dani’s house and found our boy of the hour still rolling on the ground. literally. with a younger playmate who seem to be enjoying the frolicking and the chasing each other around the yard like a little puppy dog.

folks had to collect eddie’s meke (traditional fiji dance) costume and props from the neighbors and thread his lei of frangipanis, not to mention industriously coerce him to take a very unwilling, very long-winded shower as showers are wont to be with four-year-olds, before we finally made our way into the town hall.

it was almost full to the edges when we got there, we had to crane our necks to find a good spot for sitting. sitting, of course, means on the mat down on the floor. no chairs, not even for the elderly, so arthritis and rheumatism are not welcome ailments for anyone who finds himself invited to these special events.

the town chief was giving a speech in nadi dialect as we left our footwear into a corner and weaved our way into the crowd so we had to try and be as discreet as humanly possible, given the circumstances involving care and consideration not only for toes but fingers unwarily pressed on the mats in the way of our feet. the school principal took his turn to speak after that then sevusevu was performed.

in a matter of minutes, the curtains were installed and the program commenced with children’s songs and christmas carols.

at the end of the first segment, the children were led almost forcibly (like all pre-school program segments end) out the door for them to eventually reappear among the audience, each making his way towards his respective parent to change him into the meke costume and to thrust the spear and shield into his hands.

at around this time, some of the guys still refilling and drinking grog (yes, grog was continuously downed throughout this children’s program) offered me a bilo (coconut shell used for grog) as was customary to guests.

i think it would also be best to point out now that aside from grog, smoking was permitted during the children’s program.

all of sudden, eddie’s littler cousin started bawling his eyes out without warning. which promted eddie himself to look around for a perp and found what it was with a shock. then both of them cried uncontrollably in unison.

that’s because the object of their terror had entered the premises and posted himself on a chair next to the gifts, flanking the table with another villager dressed in a santa outfit, swathed in semi-darkness and motionless but for his eyes that dart around the audience. of course i know he’s a man dressed in a clown outfit. i guess it doesn’t matter whether you are in the north, east, west or south pacific, clowns are as universal a horror as ghosts in chains.

as a result, eddie refused to join the meke with the other boys because that meant going back up front, closer to his horror clown. so much for the costume and the props.

anyway, it’s christmas eve today. we’re busying ourselves with preparing noche buena. you can take me out of the philippines, but you can’t take the philippines out of me. especially not during christmas. we’re having some of our pinoy friends over and there will be pansit and leche flan and potato salad and hamoooooooon de bola with the pineapple slices and syrup!

have a merry merry christmas and a wild and wacky new year!

coronation night feels like the time sacramento kings lost to l.a. lakers in the western conference finals

28 Nov 2009 4 Comments

by shallow in entertainment, special event, thoughts Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

…or like the time blake lewis lost to jordin sparks in a.i.

all photos lifted from fijitimes unless otherwise specified.

miss fiji, merewalesi nailatikau wins miss south pacific 2009

in summary: she deserves the crown for how she answered the last question. but i think other contestants deserve the special awards.

when they were reduced to five finalists, grand slam pageant style, scores were erased and judging for honors was based solely on answers to the last questions. yes, i mean to pluralize that. because unlike other international pageants, they still had to fish for a “surprise” topic from a pool instead of the typical one final question where as one contestant attempts to answer, the others are either in a soundproof isolation booth or wearing noise-reduction headphones with elevator music playing. a dip in many topics for your question i think is a little skewed. how can you compare the answer to, say, “if you win this title, how can you help the youth in their battle against drugs?” to “how can society promote corporate social responsibility?” one question will naturally be more difficult than others and the competition vastly increases the element of luck.

not that i think a one-final-question format would have dramatically altered the outcome. because despite my above ideas, miss fiji still makes a runaway winner; she, after all, delivers the paradoxical “prepared impromptu speech” leagues better than the others. but even with this glaring reality, i was still hoping that my favorite girl miss cook islands, who happens to be articulate herself, throws us a curveball and snags the crown. in other words, like the l.a. lakers some western conference finals ago, i expected miss fiji to win over miss cook islands’ sacramento kings, but up to the last minute, i was crossing my fingers for an upset.

my favorite miss cook islands, engara gosselin bags first runner-up.

what really pops my snare though is miss fiji also winning the special awards for best talent and best traditional costume (my complete thoughts in this entry). there might be other criteria we are unaware of that upend my shamelessly frank opinions or the judges just might have preferential views that are strange to me, but i still can’t quite put a finger on how a “talent” as puerile as declamation randomly coupled with an amateur dance routine beat an obviously classically trained, well-choreographed performance. or how a drag-and-drop costume design whose cut and workmanship is as common as a budget outlet wedding gown beat a conceptualized, well-planned production of a dress. it’s like charlene gonzalez winning best national costume during the philippines-hosted miss universe when, upon ambush interview, the other contestants didn’t even attempt to conceal their aversion of the results.

i hope miss aotearoa somehow reads this so she finds out how ado and i were extremely impressed by her talent! i hope miss samoa somehow reads this so she finds out how my father-in-law’s and my jaws dropped at the sight of her dress!

miss aotearoa (new zealand), paretaunu randal's dance was in a class of its own. miss samoa, tusisaleia pomele's traditional costume was a work of art.

other special awards and brief thoughts:

miss photogenic: miss american samoa (judged by professional photographers)

miss personality: miss american samoa (chosen by the other contestants like miss congeniality or miss friendship)

miss internet: miss papua new guinea (most internet votes. here’s a crazy notion: miss png was nowhere around the top of internet votes for more than half the duration of the voting period. when i posted this entry in my other blog, she suddenly shot straight to number one. it’s most probably coincidence, but i’d like to think that some of my 1000+ readers that day helped boost her stats. i can indulge myself, can’t i?)

miss aotearoa (new zealand) and miss papua new guinea in a fun pose at the arts tent.

miss (forgot the category name of “most text votes”): miss fiji (host country, duh)

miss interview: miss fiji (as the name suggests, best in interview portion)

best in sulu/sarong: miss cook islands (that dalo planting sure paid off. and who would object to her figure.)

miss elegance: miss tonga (selected by sponsors, wins a modeling contract, therefore imho the one truly relevant special award. very well-deserved.)

for winning miss elegance, miss tonga, paea williams gets a modeling contract. it couldn't have gone to a better candidate.

a full two minutes after announcement of winners, i have gotten over the loss of my favorite candidates. so i went on to browse online for photos. i wrote this entry a few days ago saying i couldn’t find any picture of miss aotearoa doing the maori pukuna. well i just found one:

miss cook islands, engara gosselin blows a kiss as miss aotearoa, paretaunu randal does the pukana.

miss south pacific 2008, niue's vanessa marsh with some of this years candidates. she has been a very worthy representative of the region. and i still think she's a dead ringer for sarah geronimo.

i'm posting sarah geronimo's photo here just to prove my point. i bet some of you thought this was vanessa marsh at first glance! this is sarah about to sing the pna before the pacquiao-morales fight.

as we called it a night, i suggested to ado that greenscape ltd. sponsor a special award in next year’s pageant. in keeping with the nature of the landscaping business, it should be the best in hair foliage award.

national costume, interview and talent portions: hits and misses

28 Nov 2009 3 Comments

by shallow in special event, entertainment Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

please excuse the lack of more recent photos. there is limited coverage online of last thursday’s and friday’s festivities. calling on miss south pacific official website… typically, official websites update promptly and comprehensively with almost real-time accuracy…

all photos lifted from fijitimes.

i’m in a bit of a testy mood today because i didn’t have enough sleep. so i’m going to be stricter than usual and say, in general, i wasn’t impressed. and i can’t believe how after a bad night’s coverage, i’m reading stuff like “a tough act to follow”. i don’t know what their standards are, but i wish they at least won’t settle for below average and call it “a tough act to follow”. it’s an international event, for crying out loud, other countries would think we are satisfied with mediocrity. all right, cutting some slack, this is the first time fiji hosted the miss south pacific. but aside from the highlights, points for improvement should also be emphasized.

day to day, night to night, live coverage is interrupted by one technical difficulty after another. from mics not working to videos taking too long to load to a complete power stoppage altogether. during the sarong/sulu competition, for instance: a power outage should not hinder the program at all. there should be plans b and c for things like that. don’t even make me start with the mic and how one emcee tucks it into his armpit as he unfurls the question scroll during interview portion. not that it dramatically changed my viewing pleasure. the overall quality of the lights, sounds and pictures weren’t doing it for us to begin with, so much so that ado can’t stand watching it and many times had to get up from his seat and walk away. having been educated in film, poor coverage is his pet peeve. on top of that, by a serious oversight, the committee failed to include the message from samoa’s prime minister into the handout program. and to think samoa is the home country of this pageant. these among other major setbacks.

but poor coverage is not my pet peeve, so i have to admit i still do enjoy watching the event. because a pageant is a pageant and that’s my guilty pleasure.

national costume

by a long shot, miss samoa’s costume wins this in my books. her outfit depicts a species of parrot fish known to possess habits that are beneficial to the environment. the mermaid-tail cut was perfect for her frame and the color complemented her skin tone (or i might just be biased towards teal. it is, after all, my favorite color). the “scales” were a mosaic of mother-of-pearl discs, clearly assembled with painstaking effort and excellent workmanship. the bustier top was actually the fish’s head and the eye is a jewel brooch. it demonstates the parrot fish about to consume the corals strung around her neck which i think is just a brilliant way to mix education with a work of art. the dress would make an absolutely fantastic museum piece. if she doesn’t win this portion, i’d probably say the contest is rigged. or i just have a dramatically different opinion.

miss samoa, tusisaleia pomele's marine-inspired costume (not shown here) blew the competition out of the water. i made a pun there.

stage interview

like many other pageants i’ve seen before, this one most likely let the ladies anticipate what possible questions and issues would be raised during the q&a, giving them the chance to formulate answers and practice how to deliver them (believe me, many pageants do this. my club used to train beauty contestants for interview portions). i may be wrong, but all answers seemed canned, several of them were gazing up as they were talking, a strong indication that they were trying to recall certain key words or phrases. all in all, it struck me more as if it were a prepared speech contest than an interview portion. not that i have anything against it. i’ve seen much worse in bigger pageants. remember bb. pilipinas 2008 and that question from vivian tan? i don’t mean to remind you, but i’m assuming it has occurred to you already.

ok, i wouldn’t even choose one i think stood out from the rest, because no one really did imho. but if some alien race suddenly pressured me into choosing one, i’d have to choose miss fiji. i do not doubt that she is intelligent and she practiced her lines well. while simply based on content, all of them said the right and relevant key points, only miss fiji was able to deliver her “piece” without faltering, pausing or repeating herself. on that, i’d say she did a far better job than anyone else. i believe she would do well to speak in front of international audiences if she wins and is sent to represent the south pacific in conferences. i’m sure she’s smart, she’s personable and she won’t embarrass the country by talking nonsense. but, frankly, i’m not really rooting for her. go figure.

miss fiji, merewalesi nailatikau, seen here during the sarong/sulu competition, is smart and articulate.

talent night

was it too much for me to hope? that someone comes up to a mic stand with a guitar to sing “harvest for the world”? or someone takes her place by a baby grand to sing “heal the world”? ok, now i think i’m too badly influenced by american idol, everything i see is david cook and david archuleta.

in between contestants, the show goes on commercial break. so why do they take so long cuing the contestants during their respective turns? the stage hands and assistants still grope in the dark setting up props and backdrop while the viewers look into pitch black nothing. what did they do during commercial break? take a break? i know how difficult it is to organize and to implement a talent night, but please more effort for an international event where people from different countries get the chance to scrutinize the show.

now that that‘s out of the way…

oh my, props for miss cook islands for dramatizing, singing and dancing! of all three, i think she should stick most to dancing. i mean she isn’t a terrible singer, she can carry a tune, but i don’t think she’ll make it to hollywood week with that performance… unless of course she makes like this season’s bikini girl and both simon cowell and randy jackson move her on to the next stage. again with the a.i. reference…

one opinion i just have to voice out: there ought to be an age limit for when declamation can still be considered a talent. i think the limit should be 12. unless of course you are ralph fiennes or someone around that calibre, then you can get away with monologue and soliloquy until you run out of shakespearean verses. some ladies declaimed. and they are not ralph fiennes.

i was very disappointed with miss tahiti, i had such high expectations of her. she belongs to a family of professional dancers and we’ve seen her do the tahitian tamure (the polynesian dance that involve rapidly thrusting your hips in all directions while your shoulders remain solid) with exceptional skill. this lady has tremendous talent for sure, but her number was ruined by overthinking. whoever suggested that she perform about five different dance styles and wear all five different costumes should be locked in a barrel. she spent more time with her back towards the audience trying to put one costume after the other. such a waste of opportunity.

i had the same expectations of miss tonga and she delivered. she’s an entertainer in hawaii. her performance was a dramatic end to a polynesian legend (narrated by one of the emcees before miss tonga took to the stage), where as a goddess about to perish, she danced her last dance before finally succumbing. someone should make a west end musical out of this story. any producers out there?

miss tonga, paea williams gave a performance filled to the brim with emotion.

but i placed my highest bet on miss aotearoa (new zealand). she’s a choreographer by profession and performs traditional maori dances. what really makes you want to see how she fares is the fact that she aspires to one day dance with janet jackson in concert… people, please keep passing this message until it reaches janet herself. miss aotearoa has some mad skills. hers was a modern interpretation of a maori number (a fusion dance of sorts, a genre famous in nz and oz for traditional dance troupes). she pirouetted, bent over backwards, did leg extensions and went down on all fours, done with flawless grace and very emotional choreography. she could represent as a solo performer in superstars of dance. i swear. if she doesn’t win best talent, i’d say art is hopeless.

miss aotearoa, paretaunu randal, seen here during the sarong/sulu competition, is limber, graceful and definitely showed the best talent.

tonight’s the coronation night! let’s see if any of my favorites win the title. if not, i think i would be very frustrated. this is personal…

another entry, other pageant favorites

24 Nov 2009 Leave a Comment

by shallow in special event, entertainment Tags: , , , , , , ,

i watched the opening ceremony of the miss south pacific pageant the other day and one of my favorites, miss tonga, didn’t make it soon enough for the inaugural festivities. but the last-minute entry did make it and i like her a lot for doing that maori pose of flicking hands and bulging eyes. people who are not familiar with that expression might find it alarming. as for me, i think it’s absolutely cute. too bad i can’t find a photo online of paretaunu randal doing it.

miss aotearoa pacific (new zealand), paretaunu randall

aotearoa pacific is new zealand. for miss south pacific, the new zealand contender has to be of maori descent in order to participate in the traditional showcase and presentations.

yesterday morning, they covered the activities in the arts village and the tent where contestants gave viewers a brief “tour” of their respective displays. they explained crafts, indigenous materials, native languages and their country’s culture in general. they performed traditional dances and even gave dance workshops to interested audience. last night, among the performances, hosts interviewed each candidate onstage.

after watching how the ladies presented their displays in the tent and how they handled themselves during the interview in front of a live audience, i found another favorite in miss papua new guinea, antonia singut.

miss papua new guinea, antonia singut. she looks like brandy or mary j. blige to me.

some were clearly nervous in front of the camera, can get a little disoriented against the lights, others sounded canned and contrived, as if parroting answers from a script (there is such a thing as overpreparation). miss png, on the other hand, was confident and spontaneous and obviously knew her craft very well. in her country’s art display, she confidently explained what her costume was made of, was even able to compare it with fiji’s similar materials. when asked about the design on her dress, without batting her long curly eyelash, she named the source of the dyes, how they were painted on and how the entire design actually tells a story. if she practiced this answer (which i think she did), she was able to deliver it without sounding as if she already knew the question beforehand. when eventually asked what other items viewers can find in her display, she nonchalantly strides around the booth, expertly describing each piece of work, looking at the camera (which the others didn’t or barely did at all), talking to the viewers, making you want to be friends with her or something. when by accident she dislodged one item off its hook, sending the piece to her feet, she didn’t even flinch nor slacken her momentum; she quipped a little apology and moved on. that’s poise for you.

in the night’s interview portion, she was the only one who enunciated her greeting beauty pageant style (“insert mother tongue here… my name is antonia singut, proudly representing papua new guinea!” higher decibel and stress on name of country), others sounded more like they were addressing a student body or a business convention. her voice had clarity and her delivery was effortless as she told the audience how her name means bird-of-paradise in her native language, that’s why her dress and her accessories depict that species. again, if she practiced this answer (which i think she did), she has clearly mastered the art of seeming spontaneous. she is, after all, a journalism student. on top of that, she is the granddaughter of the illustrious veteran journalist ian boden, to whom she dedicates her participation in the pageant.

to recap the day, my vote for most photogenic is still miss tonga. best in evening wear (if you can call it that. they don’t even have this category, but what the heck) is miss cook islands. and best in interview is miss png.

i am excited to watch tonight’s coverage and see who will shine this time.

a pageant, by any other name, smells just as…

22 Nov 2009 6 Comments

by shallow in special event, entertainment, thoughts Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

…well, superficial. which is exactly how i want my pageants.

pageant, n.: show; exhibition; an elaborate colorful exhibition or spectacle often with music that consists of a series of tableaux, of a loosely unified drama, or of a procession usually with floats.

of course, today we take the word to mean a beauty competition.

pageants (by its modern layman’s definition) is my biggest irony. while i do agree with what feminists the world over stand against regarding these spectacles (you know, the usual objectification of women, one form of harassment, etc., etc.), i still love watching them with an obsessive fervor, will keep on condoning such “elaborate colorful exhibition” and am very likely to enable other girls to join one if i had the sponsoring power.

coming from one of the world’s most pageant-y countries, i was quite thrilled fiji gets to host this year’s much vaunted miss south pacific. however, as the days wore on and i learned more about the festivities that go with it, i have to admit i was a little disappointed. there isn’t really much to associate between this and the pageants i have come to know and love.

is it just me, or does the reigning miss south pacific, niue’s vanessa marsh, look like sarah geronimo? anyhow…

there are the usual sashaying ladies across the stage, interview portion, press conference, the “miss photogenic” online/text voting, and the special congeniality awards. however, in terms of format, this has nothing remotely similar to other pageants; this one is more along the lines of town fiesta, only on a bigger and international scale.

assess for yourself: it involves a week-long celebration starting from the day the contestants parade in the park and culminates in the crowning of miss south pacific. it has a very dynamic itinerary that involves tremendous displays of culture, traditional entertainment, arts and crafts, exhibits, and sports. there are art workshops for flower-weaving and masi-making, sports like soccer, volleyball and rugby, a church youth program of action songs, puppet shows and drama, photo exhibitions and even physical games like tug-of-war and coconut relay, among many other activities. like all other pageants, this one has the “beauty with a purpose” (to borrow miss world’s vision) or more aptly “beauty with a cause” (borrow miss earth) thing going on. this year, it’s all about preserving the environment. which makes me wonder if, like miss earth, the girls would plant trees somewhere…

anyway, like a town fiesta, right? now expand your knowledge of fiestas to encompass a whole global region then consider national television.

ok, before anyone says i’m belittling this pageant for creating parallels with town fiestas, please take note that my experience of these festivals are nothing ordinary. our moalboal fiesta and beauty pageant have been graced by high-ranking officials, including no less than pres. gloria arroyo herself and her father before her, pres. diosdado macapagal. these things are serious like a heart attack, folks.

moving on.

of course, i have to say there is nothing at all disappointing about these festivities and this cultural exposure. don’t get me wrong, i have, so far, enjoyed the opening ceremony (except the long-winded speeches. i don’t like speeches in festivals, but that’s just me) and i would definitely try to join the workshops if i get the chance to go up the capital this week.

i guess i was simply let down by my own expectations. you see, i was counting on bouncy choreography as the presentation of national costumes unfold with great unnecessary pomp, as each lady approaches the mic stand and, flashing a megawatt smile, practically yells a greeting in her mother tongue along with a prolonged declaration of her country (e.g., “buenos noches, señores y señoras, my name is felicidad trias de los angeles from the wonderful country of puerrrrrrrto rrrrrriiiiiico!”). i was hoping for a montage of the girls frolicking in the beaches, playing volleyball and building sand castles with their sashes permanently attached to their shoulders, getting on the bula bus as they wave to ogling onlookers and passers-by; i wanted so badly to witness a swimsuit competition and even more badly an evening gown competition with little girls singing a fijian version of “you are my star” as they hand long-stemmed roses to their respective candidates. all the sparkling gems, the glitter, the massive curls that glisten in the lights, the pairs of legs that could go on forever. yes, chiffon and beads that extend to the edge of the universe, legs and belly-buttons strutting in six-inch heels.

i’m not complaining. in fact, i’m going to watch the formal programs on tv. or live if i score a ticket. i’m rooting for these contestants:

miss tahiti, aruhoia biret

miss cook islands, engara gosselin. who also represented her country for miss earth in, where else, boracay philippines!

miss tonga, paea williams

no doubt, miss south pacific is a fantastic event. it’s as fun and frivolous as it is educational and goal-oriented. but after this, i do wish i get to see an old-school glitz and glamour beauty pageant. i’m superficial like that.

michael jackson wore this jacket in his “thriller” concert tour (we’re not worthy *bow*)

29 Oct 2009 Leave a Comment

by shallow in denarau, entertainment Tags: , , ,

this is it! opened today in theaters!!!

the studded leather jacket worn by michael jackson in his thriller world tour is here in hard rock cafe, fiji!

DSC09882

DSC09883

i know, the shots aren’t exactly pro type. i’ll try to post better ones another time. when we get a better camera, that is.

a staff mentioned that some customers have offered to buy it, one even willing to pay $500,000.00, but hard rock cafe refuses to give it up.

it’s quite surreal.

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