Category Archives: Culture

Arts, Culture, Government, Politics

Rowena Guanzon Would Rather That Filipino Artists Go Hungry!

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MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Ex-Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon criticized Malacañang for holding concerts in the palace grounds, saying that it is a diversionary tactic to let the Filipino people forget that they are hungry.

In effect, the confused lawyer is saying that she would rather let struggling artists from across the country go hungry.

“Artists live in a make-believe world, not the real world,” she said, “and there is absolutely no reason to support their careers nor to promote the arts in a starving country.”

Culture, Food

Balut: Filipinizing An Easter Tradition

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MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – It’s Easter and it’s time for an age-old tradition of the Easter egg hunt, an activity loved by children and adults alike.

Making Easter eggs has been problematic this year in the Philippines because of the shortage and exorbitant prices of chicken eggs.

But leave it to Filipino ingenuity to and resolve to deal with crises.

This year, some 80% of Easter eggs that will be used for the egg hunt will be made from balut.

Balut is a fertilized bird egg (usually a duck) which is incubated for a period of 14 to 21 days, and then steamed. The contents are eaten directly from the shell. Balut that is incubated for longer periods have a well-developed embryo and the features of the duckling are recognizable.

So this Easter week, don’t expect mamang magbabalut (balut vendor) to roam the streets selling the popular delicacy.

Culture, Diversity

Former Comelec Chair Sighted Flagellating Himself In San Francisco!

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SAN FRANCISCO, California (The Adobo Chronicles, San Francisco Bureau) – It is a weird Filipino tradition during the Holy Week — Filipino men flagellating themselves as penitence for their past wrongdoings. It is a tradition that has withstood many decades, despite the fact that the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines frowns on it.

Well, that tradition seems to have taken roots in San Francisco, California. Men and women flagellating themselves year-round, leading up to the annual Folsom Street Fair where BDSM (bondage, discipline/domination, sadism and masochism) goes on public display.

Although the Folsom Street Fair is months away, reports have it that ex-Comelec Chair Andy Bautista who is accused of hiding in the U.S. to escape an arrest warrant and charges of unexplained wealth, was sighted flagellating himself on Maundy Thursday at the corner of Folsom and Seventh Streets.

Is Bautista finally coming to terms with Jesus, repenting for his sins and finally deciding to return to the Philippines to face the charges against him?

Or is it just an excuse to give way to his leather fetish?