Puerta Isabel 2 Gate : Colored Postcard

Quezon City, Philippines

I was invited last year in an auction/ bourse meeting of the Banknote Society of the Philippines ( BNSP  founded in 1980) general monthly meeting last year held at the club house within New Manila, Quezon City .

There were a lot of amateurs , young professionals and old- time collectors .Unlike stamp clubs, which held their meetings , auctions , lectures and walking tours past 12:30pm.  The club pre-auction is held usually in the morning and auction, a short lecture is held after lunch time.

The pre-auction/ bourse normally starts past 10:00am and extends until past 12:00nn where one can see and inspect items for sale in the afternoon. There are more than 600 items for sale . There were several table bourse / dealers selling some old stuffs and collectible items which range from old toys, photos, stamps, coins, banknotes , antiques , reproduction photos and postcards.

Puerta Isabel 2 Gate postcard

Two particular items stood out , It was a pre-war Puerta Isabel 2 gate postcard and another  Saint Jude Catholic School vintage 1980’s postcard.  Since i knew the dealer selling the items, She gave me some discount on both items on sale. It was not a substantial discount . Never least, I was able to buy some items and would show them off to visitors during the postal tour or during show and tell portion whenever i got a chance of getting invited in some schools to talk about the beautiful landmarks of Manila.

I also happen to buy some vintage photo reproduction of Escolta, Pasig River and Post Office. Initially , it was Php 50 per photo. Using my haggling skills and a little it of persuasion , It was reduced to 3 for Php 100.

Puerta Isabel II was the last gate to be opened for pedestrian traffic in Intramuros in 1861 . There used to be a tranvia line which enters the gate via Magallanes street. According to Dr. Ambeth Ocampo ( noted Filipino historian ), Because no Spanish monarch had ever set foot on the islands, indios and Filipinos alike where kept entranced by the magic of royalty through elaborate celebrations held in Manila every year for birthdays of the king and queen of Spain; their daughters (the infantas); the crown prince (principe de Asturias); and assorted titled relatives.

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Kada Barkada : Teenage Oriented Show on ABC channel 5

Quezon City , Philippines

I was on my weekend stroll together with some of my friends . Technically,  It was more of a collectible hunting trip. My friend invited a couple of us into her home, since they are already moving to a much smaller house. They are throwing some stuffs and i saw some old photos of a group of teenagers with some autographs. Hence, She made some quite revelations and stories behind those photos she kept for around 21 years!.

L-R Mr. Caloy Javier , Ms. Mylene Dizon, Mr. Ricky Liboro, Ms. Sandy Aloba and Mr. Dois Riego De Dios ( original cast of Kada)

KADA Television Show

KADA is a shorten Filipino word  Barkada,  In street slang which means a group of friends or a gang )  – This was a television magazine ( youth- oriented ) show on then ABC channel  5 which aired every Saturday afternoon about 4:00pm from 1993 to 1996 .

I think,  the television show started out as an experimental project of  some sorts of advertising agencies during that time.  ( Most of the celebrities were from De La Salle University except for Mr.Caloy Javier ). During that time, it was the only teen-oriented program that was fast-paced, cutting edge which had an undeniably chic which created some appeal to the teens and young adults . Apart from the usual personality interviews , tourist areas, hangout places, events, the team created some instructional videos. They also have their version of music videos and among other stuffs. The show is one of the reasons ‘why’ a beer brand ( Cali Shandy ) became popular among the teenagers and young professionals . I think they tapped some of the celebrities in their commercial .

Another aspect of the show, is they promote bank saving among the youth  ( Landbank is one of the major sponsor). One of the requisites to become member of the Kada Barkada Club is to open an account with  Land Bank of the Philippines.  Members of the club would have some sort of perks by joining the group . They had their eyeball / meeting together with the hosts and the sponsors. This was retold by another friend who was a big fan of these teen oriented shows. She later joined Gimmick and TGIS fan clubs.

signed autograph by the hosts ( sandy , caloy , mylene, ricky , dois )

 The host of KADA Barkada are an odd mixture of lesser known and budding talents during the early 1990’s  (Although some of them were commercial models):

Mr. Dois Riego De Dios,  He is like the big brother ( kuya ) of the group . He had a couple of television commercial, appeared in a kid show in ABS-CBN channel 2 and taught at DLSU for sometime ). He was also part of children’s show ATBP.: Awit, Titik at Bilang na Pambata which aired from June 5, 1994 to March 29, 1998.  He would also appear in some local movies.

Mr. Caloy Javier, who had a  bad boy image type, easy going type. He is also a part time commercial model.

Ms. Sandy Aloba – chubby, bubbly  band singer and program host.

Ms. Mylene Dizon later ventured into show business and moving to ABS-CBN channel 2 after that ( she is the most visible among the group ) .

Mr. Ricky Liboro, the nerdy, intelligent , soft spoken, next neighborhood boy. He is also a part time commercial model too !  (  Ivory soap commercial  circa 1992- 1993 ) according to my friend, He was one of the first male celebrity model of the soap brand in the country. Mr. Liboro is one of her crushes, that explained ‘why’ she still keep the old photos that she got.  Mr. Ricky Liboro is now connected with a top- banking company in the Philippines.  I have no idea on what ever happened to the rest of the team. She pretty knows a lot about this person.

Some of them graduated from the show after some episodes were replaced by Mai Mai / My My Davao is still active in showbiz with occasional television guesting and hosting. She also belongs to the Davao celebrity clan.

Ms. Trisha or Tricia was also part of the show , especially during the later part.

Eventually more commercialized teen-oriented shows from GMA Channel 7 ( TGIS)  and ABS-CBN channel 2 ( Gimmick ) gained more viewership by mid- 1995 and 1996 which eventually cause the viewers attention to shift to these two stations.

My friend  have around half a dozen of those small pocket sized photos with autographs ! I happened to be there at the right place and at the right time when she gave me one ! She told me that she attended one of the grand eyeball of Kada and one of the items given away during the eyeball was the pocket photos of the original members.

Until My Next Hunting Trip !

Toy Convention 2015 : Asia’s Biggest Pop Culture and Toy Event

TOYCON Philippines 2015: The Country’s biggest pop-culture event celebrates its 14th Year with its theme ”  Battlefields of Play” .

The annual toy convention is iconic and is  considered by many industry’s experts and visitor’s as  Asia’s biggest and longest running convention for toys, anime, comics, cosplay, gaming and anything and everything related to hobbies and collections .

Organizers are expecting that at least 20,000 to 50,000 visitors from all walks of life and ages will troop to the 3- day event.  The progress for this annual convention is phenomenal with several related activities such as cosplays, toy auction and new toy launching.

a 2-day Media launching was recently hosted by Newport Mall last May 30 and 31, 2015 which attracted record crowds and invited guests.

Those of us who grew up in the pre-social media era or even the pre-electronic gaming age remember a time when “Play” was associated with the outdoors.  We fondly remember halcyon days of setting up toy soldiers in the hilly terrain of our own backyard or lining up our Star Wars action figures to go into battle with our He-Man toys in the wonderland of our childhood bedroom.

Those were the days, when our imagination knew no limits and the fantasy characters of comics, cartoons and movies were our genuine playmates; ready to defend and protect us, by the Power of Greyskull or by the all-encompassing Force, forging into battle with the evil hordes of Cobra, the Legion of Doom or armies of Decepticons.

This year’s TOYCON highlights the World of DC Comics with its colorful characters upholding justice with a grand exhibit from Pacific Licensing.  Also get a chance to own cool licensed DC Hoodies from the Authority Hoodie.

Southeast Asia’s leading Internet TV service launches in the Philippines, as IFLIX explodes into the pop-culture landscape of the country during the Philippine ToyCon, with unlimited access to its line-up of the most awesome and iconic movies and TV series.  With trial memberships now open, everyone is free to explore and enjoy the vast range of content on iflix.com.

Walt Disney Pictures brings in the wonder of Star Wars with its new line of merchandise from the original film saga and the new Star Wars Rebels series.  And also, get into the world of the smallest superhero with Marvel’s Antman interactive exhibit.

Also catch future and fantasy fever as Universal Pictures’ Terminator: Genisys and Jurassic World launches in ToyCon with an eye-popping display of the movie’s cinematic artwork and line of collectors’ toys.

Other movie highlights are the upcoming live-action Attack on Titan from Pioneer Films and Doraemon: Stand By Me the Movie in 3D.  Catch Doraemon and friends live at the ToyCon stage!

The TOYCON also gives you its biggest battlefield of toys with exhibits from the local toy clubs:Pinoy Lego users Group exhibit, Planet Krypton, Funko Funatic Philippines, the Coca-Cola Collectibles exhibit, One Sixth Republic and Pinoy Sixth Scale collectors exhibit and the awesome Toycon Gallery exhibit area which showcases the best of the local toy group community.

The TOYCON also features the biggest in Cosplay with the TOYCON’s own Cosplay Universe unleashing a barrage of individual and group cosplayers led by Asia’s Cosplay queen, Alodia Gosiengfiao.   Also catch the Star Wars 501st Philippine Outpost parade its new troopers and droids from a galaxy far, far away.

Revel in opening night festivities with a series of ToyCon Pop Quiz competitions and get your fill of local and foreign comic book artists in the Artist Alley set up by Flipgeeks and Komikon.

And off course, TOYCON would not be complete without the biggest dealer floor of all pop culture merchandise in terms of apparel, collectibles and memorabilia, graphic novels and comics, cosplay paraphernalia, and toys, toys, TOYS!

So let loose the child in you once again by getting ready for war in new battlefields of play!

The Philippine TOYCON 2015 will then be held on June 19-21, 2015 at the Halls 1, 2 and 3, SM Megatrade SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City.  Toy convention opens from 10:00AM to 9:00PM

 Media Partners includes ABS-CBN channel 2 , HERO, 99.5 Play FM, 103.5 K-Lite, Malaya Business Insight, MTV Pinoy and FHM.

Event Partners includes  Anime Alliance, FlipGeeks, Komikon, Resorts World,Resorts World Manila and Medium 3.

This is co-presented by the Asian Comics, Toys and Hobbies- Collective, Inc., IFLIX, and World of DC. It’s sponsored by MaxiCollector, Authority Hoodie, Pacific Licensing, Toy Empire, Walt Disney Studios, Toy Kingdom, Warner Brother Pictures, Warner TV and Toonami.

Also supported by Great Toys Online, Bruder Toys, the Gaming Library, OISHI, PLDT Home DSL and PLDT Home Telpad, Sphero, Big Boys Toy store, Transfer It, Lynelle House of Fashion, Kramer Toy Warden.com, Universal Pictures and Pioneer Films.

For those who are attending the event ,Tickets are now on sale at SM Tickets (www.smtickets.com) til June 18.

For more information on schedule of activities and event details please visit:

www.toyconph.com

www.facebook.com/toyconph

email: toyconph@gmail.com

Tickets are also available at the event gate on June 19-21, 2015

Note: For those who wanted to avoid long queues during the 3-day exposition, Try to buy tickets before visiting the site.