Jorge Pineda postcards from Luxemburg and Mexico

Quezon City – Philippines

I started to collect postcards since grade one. It started when our social studies teacher would require them as a semester project which would require students to pass a  couple of scenic spots , national heroes or folk dances. We would troop to the nearest bookstores and buy the cheap postcards.  Paste them in a  white bond paper size with all sort of captions and art papers to highlight a particular scenic spots , national heroes or folk dances.  We would write the captions  in colored pentel pens!

I would buy 1 or 2 more postcards as additional for my personal collection, I would later know that some of my aunts and even my mom had some postcards hidden in some photo albums or containers somewhere in our house. Some of my personal collection were lost over the years ( some eaten by termites, some were given away to friends and relatives )  I would only buy postcards intermittently . over the course of several years until i reached high school and college.

Luxemburg ( top ) Mexico ( bottom)

In a local bourse/ auction chance upon a 2 postcards on sale about 2 years ago, With some inscription Jorge Pineda from Luxemburg and Mexico dated 1908 and 1909 respectively .

back portion of the postcards

Mr. Jorge Pineda is an artist which lived in Manila and based on personal accounts by deltiologists ( postcard collector ) and stamp collector – He seems to be a very prolific artist, stamp and even postcard collector.

He also drew cover illustrations for Renacimiento Filipino as well as ads, and designed sweepstakes tickets, postage stamps, and the prewar 20-peso bill showing the Mayon Volcano . He did illustrations for many books, such as Bajo los cocoteros (Under the Coconut Trees), by Claro M. Recto.

Artist

He was born (26 July 1879-12 Sept 1946) and  won the awards at the Universal Exposition in St Louis, Misouri, USA: bronze for Campesina (Farm Girl), showing a solidly drawn head of a rural lass, and honorable mention for Las buyeras (Women Preparing Betel Nut Chew) in 1904. As a painter, He is considered as a peer and contemporary of  Fernando Amorsolo but less prolific, being an occasional painter and he explored subjects outside those of the Amorsolo school. Among his most charming genre scenes are those depicting Filipino games like siklot and sungkaan.

Reference:

CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art, Vol 4. Manila: Cultural Center of the Philippines, 1994.

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King Alfonso XIII of Spain stamps

Quezon City , Philippines

Collecting stamps and other collectible items are like collecting  little pieces and bits of history .  Bargain hunting , haggling is always part of the exciting hunt.  Collecting Spanish -Philippines era stamps can be quite expensive as very few items are up for sale and sometimes, there are even forgeries that even experience stamp collectors ( philatelists ) cannot easily distinguished.

different kinds of stamps issued during the Spanish colonial era 

I happen to chance upon a small lot in a local bourse/ auction several weeks ago which contained an array of unused ( without gums)  and some in mint condition King Alfonso XIII of Spain. Most of the 10 piece stamp set were issued  in 1889 , 1890, 1896 , 1897 and 1898 and it is between 107 to 126 years old.  Many stamp collectors would think it was a bit pricey to own this set. Luckily , I was able to get the entire stamp set for just under Php 100 or $ US 2.25 dollars ! It was not really that CHEAP for i know a stamp collector was able to buy a stamp collection for just under Php 250.00 with a lots of Spanish- Philippines issues and comes with a stamp album, Now that is the real bargain hunter.

Biography: Alfonso was born in Madrid, Spain on 17 May 1886. He was the posthumous son of   King Alfonso XII, who had died in November 1885, and became King of Spain upon his birth. The French newspaper Le Figaro described the young king as “the happiest and best-loved of all the rulers of the earth”. His mother, Maria Christina of Austria , served as his regent until his 16th birthday. During the regency, in 1898, Spain lost its colonial rule over Cuba , Puerto Rico , Spanish East Indies which includes Guam, Marianas , Palau and The Philippines . Spanish: Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena; English: Alphonse Leon Ferdinand Mary James Isidor Pascal Anthony of Bourbon

References:

Spanish -Cuban stamps: http://www.stampworld.com/en/stamps/Spanish-Cuba/Postage%20stamps/?year=1880

King Alfonso XIII: http://www.catawiki.com/catalog/stamps/depicted-persons-individuals/1012477-alfonso-xiii-of-spain-1886-1941

Top 8 Must Collect Items at the Southeast Asian Games 2015 in Singapore

Manila, Philippines

Collectors around the Southeast Asian region and the world looking for a regional games are here for a treat of their lives. This biennial sporting festival which unites 11 countries in Southeast Asia . Memorabilia collectors are looking for official merchandises  which can increase their prices in the near future or something that will bring nostalgia and fond memories of hosting an event. Singapore last hosted the event in 1993 or 22 years ago .

8. SEA GamesT-shirt – Selling Price SGD$ 19.90 ( around Php 658 pesos) This is probably the most practical commemorative souvenir item .  Supporters can wear them during the duration of the the 28th SEA Games and a wise marketing strategy , people wearing the item are like free advertisement for the event and a regional pride. Even non- ASEAN member countries are buying this stuff and an ideal souvenir from Singapore. It comes in blue, red and black colors. It is 60% Jersey Cotton and 40% Polyester . 7. SEA Games Countries Flag with Nila – SG $ 7.90 each or SGD $ 86.90 for 11 countries ( around  Php 261.20 pesos each or Php 2,873.12 for 11 piece set )

A collector had an option of collecting a piece or a set of 11 countries.

6. Tote Bags and Bags SG $ 7.90 and $49. 90 ( Around Php 261.00 and Php 1,649.15 pesos ) Another practical and useful buy at the SEA Games are the Tote Bags ( made from canvass)  and Luggage Bag types. It suits all ages and can be useful even after the games.

  5. Nila Plush Toy- SGD $29.90  ( Around Php 988.00 pesos)

They are cute and cuddly. Nila is the official symbol of Singapore and the 28th SEA Games . I have several collector friends from Singapore and local plush toy collectors told me that it was one of the  hottest selling items . 4.) Charms Collection – SG $ 6.90 and SG $ 8.90 ( Around Php 228 pesos and Php 295 pesos) These items are quite easy to carry , have mass appeal especially on teenagers and young adults . 3.) Ballers / Gel Bracelets – SG $ 3.90 each or $42.90 for 11 piece set ( Php 128.88 pesos each or Php 1,649.11 pesos) This brings a nationalistic pride when you wear this kind of arm band, This appeals among  the teenagers and young professionals. BUT one must bear in mind that once it have been worn and in contact with greasy and sweaty hands, Its collecting value will surely goes down . Merchandise wise, There might be tens of thousands or hundreds of thousand of these might have been produce .  Plastic tends to get brittle with age . 2. Commemorative Pins- Selling Price 50 pins set –  SG $399.90 ( Around Php 13,221.65 pesos ) The 50 pins include designs of Nila playing each of the 36 SEA Games sports and posing against the participating countries’ flags. This is the perfect gift or item for collectors. The limited edition  set was quite popular amongst customers at the launch of the 28th SEA Games Merchandise last  November 2014 .  Just a word of caution, The price of these commemorative pins had greatly fluctuated over the years and some  Olympic and World Cup commemorative pins had greatly suffered losses at several local auction in the Philippines. I have seen a 1988 , 1992 and 1996 Olympic pins in frames and in good condition are just being sold at just a fraction of the SEA Games pins.  Maybe there are more pin collectors in other parts of ASEAN region but not really in the Philippines. 1.) SEA Games Commemorative Stamp and Cover ( Issued by Singapore Post Office ) SG $3. 90 ( Around Php 128.90 pesos ) The value of these stamps are a big marketing boost to these games, They are quite CHEAP . There are a lot of people not only in the ASEAN region which collect stamps but particularly collect sports on stamp theme .  There are 4 stamps to complete the set and not bulky to buy, There is also a First Day Cover for a few additional dollars.  Slogan Collectors around the world will also be able to collect ” We Love Sport ” postmark this coming June to commemorate the hosting of the event.  The stamps will be release to the public on June 5, 2015 date of the opening.

Physical Store:

Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm Venue: Outside Ngee Ann City, 391 Orchard Road, 238873.

Website Link for orders  :

Sea Games Merchandise :https://www.seagames2015.com/get-involved/merchandise

Singapore Post Office : https://www.singpost.com/

Philippine Hibiscus Hybrids Featured on Stamps by PHLPOST Authorities

Manila Central Post Office, Liwasang Bonifacio, Ermita, Manila, Philippines

Philippine hibiscus sheetlet

Philippine Postal Corporation issued a series of Philippine hibiscus ( gumamela) which were developed by plant horticulturists from the University of the Philippines Los Baños in Laguna province.

First Day Cover with Blocks of Four:

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis – ‘Goria’.     Has medium flowers, regular single, deep rose petals with white eye zone and prominent white vein markings. Plants are bushy, medium height, and a good bloomer.     This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds.     Suitable for growing indoors and in containers.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis – ‘Nay Isa’. Has medium to large flowers, fully overlapped single, brilliant yellow petals with splashes of orange on the eye and zone. Plants are tall, bushy with upright habit, and prolific bloomer.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis – ‘Tandang Sora’.     Has a single medium regular flower, and creamy white petals with prominent red eye zone. Plants are very prolific bloomer, upright with average height.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis – ‘Nazaria’. Has medium flowers, cartwheel overlapped single, cerise pink petals with deep red eye zone. Plants are bushy with medium height, and good bloomer.

 Souvenir Sheet:

First Day Cover -Philippine Hibiscus souvenir sheet

Hibiscus rosa – sinensis “Emerita V. De Guzman”.     Named after Dr. Emerita V. de Guzman, Filipino scientist who researched the propagation of pure makapuno trees. In particular, she studied the growth and development, in vitro, of the makapuno coconut embryo. Emerita De Guzman research led to the faster propagation of pure macapuno trees and increased makapuno nut production from 3-5 makapuno nuts to 14-19 nuts. Emerita De Guzman also invented tissue culture techniques for the rapid propagation of abaca and banana plants.

Hibiscus rosa – sinensis “Helen L. Valmayor”.     Named after Helen L. Villamayor, Philippine Orchids propagator and author of several books on Philippine orchids.     Hibiscus rosa-sinensis ‘Helen Valmayor’ has bright orange petals with yellow edging and pronounced red eye zone. Flowers are medium to large, single, and have overlapped blooms that bloom for two days. Plants have good blooming habit and upright with leggy bush habit. It is part of the UPLB Millennium Hibiscus Hybrids Series.

Hibiscus rosa – sinensis “Gelia T. Castillo”. Named after Gelia T. Castillo, noted for being an outstanding Filipino rural sociologist. Dr. Castillo is a figure recognized internationally for her contributions as a social scientist. Her publications are major and definitive works on Philippine agricultural and rural development. Dr. Castillo and was elected as Academician in 1983, and was later conferred as National Scientist in 1999.

Hibiscus rosa – sinensis  ” Dolores A. Ramirez”.     Named after Dolores A. Ramirez, a Filipino national scientist known for her research in biochemical genetics and cytogenetics of plants. After her doctorate Dolores went back to University of Philippines as a professor and researcher. She focused on the cytogenetics of various important Philippine crops, including rice, coconut, banana, sugarcane, ornamentals, legumes, fruits like durian, lanzones, santol and balimbing.  In 1976 she received the Gregorio Y. Zara award in basic research. In 1981 she was the recipient of a Rizal Pro-Patria award for outstanding achievement in biochemical genetics, and in 1985, a UP Professorial Achievement award in agriculture. She was conferred as a National Scientist in 1997.

Technical Description of the STAMPS

Se-tenant Blocks of Four  (30,000)

10p  Hibiscus rosa – sinensis “Gloria”

10p  Hibiscus rosa – sinensis “Nay – isa”

10p  Hibiscus rosa – sinensis “Tandang Sora”

10p  Hibiscus rosa – sinensis “Nazaria”

 Miniature Sheets of 16   (7,500)

 40p Souvenir Sheets 4  (5,000)

10p  Hibiscus rosa – sinensis “Emerita V. De Guzman”

10p  Hibiscus rosa – sinensis “Helen L. Valmayor”

10p  Hibiscus rosa – sinensis “Gelia T. Castillo”

10p  Hibiscus rosa – sinensis  ” Dolores A. Ramirez”

 Layout Artist:  Rodine Teodoro

 Litho Offset, Amstar Company, Inc.,  Perf 14

Stamp size : 30x 40mm

Se-tenant Blocks of 4, Miniature Sheets of  16;  Souvenir Sheets of 4 First Day Cover

Designs:  The design of the stamps came from the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB) Hibiscus Hybrid “Centennial Series”, dedicated to Filipino women who unselfishly served the cause of the Philippine revolution during the Spanish and American regimes, hence named after them.

Filipino Shadow Play El Gamma Penumbra Group Wins the Asia’s Got Talent

Quezon City , Philippines Filipino shadow play dance group El Gamma Penumbra from the Philippines won the first season pan-regional reality show Asia’s Got Talent. The talent show are being broadcast all over Asia .

Asia’s Got Talent Grand Finals Opening Number

The popular dance group beat out fellow Filipino contestants Gerphil Flores, Junior New System, and Gwyneth Dorado, as well as Thai rock group The Talento, Chinese acrobats Gao Lin and Liu Xin, tap dance group Dance Thrilogy, Mongolian musical ensemble Khusugtun, and Japanese dance troupe Triqstar.

The results somewhat leaked several hours before the final night when some netizens who watched the pre-taped edition in Singapore before the show ( It was broadcast around 8:05pm Malaysia/ Singapore / Manila /HK/ Taipei  time)  began posting them in their twitter accounts , facebook pages and forum sites. Among the forum and websites like Pinoy Exchange forum , Pinoy DVD , Starmometer, Dailypedia and the official facebook page of AGT were at buzz over the winners.

When AGT audition was held in the Philippines last year, There were thousands who auditioned , making the country – one of the hotspots for the talent search. Aside from the large following on social media sites like facebook, twitter by Filipino fans.

trending hashtag in twitter

Infographics by Facebook ( most talked AGT participants)

Asia’s Got Talent AXN official you tube ( El Gamma Penumbra- May 7 Finals )

Asia’s Got Talent AXN official you tube ( Gerphil Geraldine -Flores  May 7 Finals )

Asia’s Got Talent AXN official you tube ( Junior New System ( American – May 7 finals)

Asia’s Got Talent AXN official you tube (Ms. Gwyneth Dorado – Titanium  May 7 finals)

Based on the number of viewers at the official Asia’s Got Talent uploads , El Gamma Penumbra got over 2 million views followed by Gerphil Geraldine Flores with over 1,400,000 views.

Asia’s Got Talent AXN official you tube (Gao Lin and Liu Xin ) with 280,000 plus views

Early favorite acrobat duo Mr. Gao Lin and Ms. Liu Xin from China was not included in the top 6.   There  was no sms voting in mainland China (although Hong Kong is included)  AXN is not shown in China.  Internet is very restrictive and social media sites like Facebook does not counts votes coming from China. Although I think there are large following by these group from ROC – Taiwan and overseas Chinese .  Some netizens especially those who followed the acrobat duo in their journey saw that their semi-final and final night presentations were somewhat bland compared to their audition video and some even compared their performance to another talent competition in Europe.

Asia’s Got Talent AXN official you tube ( Khusugtun ) with 230,000 plus views

A big surprise for the finals is the Khusugtun band which hails from Mongolia. I saw their you tube uploads and the group had a good following not only in Mongolia but throughout the far east side of Asia in countries like Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,Turkmenistan , Inner Mongolia ( China ) all the way throughout far east Russia. They group had done some concert in Europe.  I was thinking that it would be 1,2,3 Public Vote in favor for El Gamma Penumbra, Gerphil Geraldine Flores and Junior New System .  This is based on my observation from how the social media people react , facebook and you tube views. But somehow , They got some following from these largely untapped areas of Asia.

Asia’s Got Talent AXN official you tube ( Talento -May 7 finals) 126,000 plus views

Another BIG surprise of the night was the Talento boy group from Thailand. I must say  they have been very active in social media and sms voting .  I was thinking that it could be the 2 Chinese acrobats or Triqstar can make it.

The winner is determined by public vote, where audience members and viewers at home in Asia can vote for their favorites via SMS, Facebook, or on the show’s official app. The voting closed on Monday, May 11, at 11:59pm.

The winner of Asia’s Got Talent will receive a cash prize of US$100,000 and a chance to perform at the Marina Bay Sands. It was revealed that Asia’s Got Talent will have season 2  .  Congratulations to the Winners!