Text by: Kimmy Baraoidan Photos by: Chris Quintana and Kimmy Baraoidan The adhan (call to prayer) echoes throughout the mosque and nearby houses in Los Baños, Laguna just before 6:00 a.m. While the town is still half-asleep, a hypnotic male voice chants over the loudspeakers, summoning members of the Muslim congregation to the mosque for…
Text and photos by: Kimmy Baraoidan There's a Filipino saying that goes, “Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay 'di makararating sa paroroonan (He who does not know where he comes from will never get to his destination). In pursuing any art form, an artist must know the history of the medium, its masters and…
Text by: Kimmy Baraoidan Photos by: Kimmy Baraoidan and Bong Ranes Six in the morning and the green mosque quickly filled up with Muslims. They were there to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marked the end of Ramadan. Eid al-Fitr is Arabic for ‘festival of breaking the fast.’ During Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset for…
Text by: Kimmy Baraoidan Photos by: Chris Quintana and Kimmy Baraoidan The multipurpose hall at the CAS Annex 2 building in UPLB quickly filled up, as students poured in, eager to watch Comedy Manila Goes to Elbi, the first ever Comedy Manila show in the campus. Some professors also came to watch—they were easily noticeable…
Text and photos by: Kimmy Baraoidan It’s that little store that you see when you walk or drive down to the parking lot of LB Square in Los Baños, Laguna. Though small, the store boasts of hip and cool local clothing and apparel brands, the type that would typically suit a young guy who’s into…
Text by: Kimmy Baraoidan Photos by: Chris Quintana and Kimmy Baraoidan “Fear no forecast. Boards shall roll in rain or shine,” said the announcement on the Volcom Facebook page. The Wild in the Parks skateboarding competition was delayed twice because of thunderstorms. Backyard Skatepark in Sta. Rosa Laguna, is an open-air venue, and it was…
Text by: Kimmy Baraoidan Photos by: Chris Quintana and Kimmy Baraoidan “Si Tatay Dagsa daw nasa UPLB. Nakatambay daw s’ya sa UP gate (Tatay Dagsa says he’s in UPLB. He’s staying at the UP gate),” said my friend Chris in a text message. As luck would have it, I was just around the area, on…
Text and Photos by: Chris Quintana A throng of what could be the country's best skaters has gathered on a Saturday afternoon, August 29, 2015, at Backyard Skatepark in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Elder skaters perched on the adjacent bar drown the humidity with cold beer as they cheer and jeer the young ones arriving and…
Text by: Kimmy Baraoidan Photos by: Chris Quintana and Kimmy Baraoidan “Para sa iyo, kasama kong naliligaw sa ulan (For you, who is lost with me in the rain),” wrote Manuel 'Manix' Abrera on the second page of “14.” The words were printed in long-form cursive text, punctuated with a smiley face. I closed the…
Text by Kimmy Baraoidan Photos by Chris Quintana and Kimmy Baraoidan Saturday night traffic jams can leave one passed-out exhausted. It took us almost forever to get to Ja Ke Bar from Los Baños, with private and public vehicles moving at a glacial pace on the old national highway traversing Calamba and Cabuyao. The tricycle…