Amazing place - cozy and beautiful !! The restaurants are…read moreclean and give good service. People are nice and courteous. God bless everyone.

It's every geek's dream to go to San Diego Comic Con, and maybe see Nathan Fillion in the flesh,…read morepreferably in his Firefly outfit. But, since we're thousands of miles (and hundreds of dollars) away, the annual Toycon is as close as we're gonna get. For now. I always seem to be broke whenever ToyCon rolls around sometime in June, so I don't get to buy much, but I thoroughly enjoy window shopping nonetheless. It doesn't hurt that there are always a ton of cosplayers as well. My favorite has to be the local Justice League cosplayers, and the 501st Stormtrooper Legion. My only complaint with ToyCon is that there isn't a lot of Doctor Who merchandise. I mean, it's not their fault since there's only a very small fandom in the Philippines, but still.

Toycon is where us nerds go on shopping sprees. (Some of us do it in cosplay, too.) It's the…read morebiggest pop culture collectibles event in the country. Whether you're looking for goods from anime, to marvel, to star wars, to games, to pro wrestling, you'll be able to find something to fangasm over and take home at Toycon. I always end up bringing home a nice rare toy for cheap whenever I spend a day or two there. Plus, there's extra fun in the form of major exhibit booths and cool cosplays all around. Last year, there was a special exhibit for the Rurouni Kenshin film, and the local 501st stormtroopers were at the Star Wars Rebels booth with a life-sized moving R2D2! Toycon is usually held in June, and tickets are around P100-250.

Avenue Q, RENT, In The Heights, and recently No Filter, have all been staged at Carlos P. Romulo…read moreAuditorium (RCBC Plaza), which should tell you something about the quality of the plays they produce. I mean, Avenue Q was by far the funniest, most uproarious musical I have ever seen in my life! Who knew puppets played by Rachel Alejandro and Felix Rivera could make me bend over so hard from laughter to the point that I was already crying? And No Filter was a breakout play of epic proportions, delivering quick-fire monologues and witty banter with a solid cast, interrogating what it really means to be defined as a millennial. Before I delve too deeply into the awesome-sauce plays they've staged, which are too many to count, I want to say that although the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium might look small and intimate for a theater, it's those qualities precisely that make going to the theater here such a visceral experience, drawing loud reactions from everybody in the audience. Other theaters will make you feel like you need to dress up fancy for the occasion, but the truth about the theater is that it's accessible to everyone and not just rich snooty people. I wish we could clear that misconception in our country.

RCBC's Carlos Romulo Auditorium is an irony in itself to me. It's small, but it has big productions…read moremore often than not. There are countless performances showed here that're actually the big names in Broadway. The most favorite of mine that I've seen here is Rock of Ages Philippines. I've been a fan of the musical way back since I've heard about it. I mean, why wouldn't I be? It's like a musical with 80's stuff! What more could I ask for? Anyway, it wasn't long after Rock of Ages Japan ended their tour (see? I know these useless stuff!), and the 2012 movie trailer was shown in the movie that ROA Philippines was announced to be showing in the Philippines. I almost screeched in public when I've read it online. So I immediately bought front row seats. I think it was the fourth seat to the front? (egh, the seventh and eight row were already taken at that time). I wasn't thinking clearly though, I was so into seeing Mig Ayesa upclose that I forgot that no matter where you are in this theatre, it's still a nice view. I could've saved like a thousand then! Yeah, it's that small. So the next time you are trying to save up and you still want a great show, it doesn't matter where you are here. Oh, and because it's a small theatre, the audience tend to be awkward towards each other because of its intimacy. If you want a total kick-ass show with all the fireworks and dancing and crowdsurfing awesomeness (okay, not really), make sure you get the tickets to the last show. It's usually where all the awesome occurs. Of course those are just my own tips for having nothin' but a good time (See what I did there?). You can always get the best seats at the best convenient schedule to you.

The Philippines is home to dozens of festivals scattered all over the archipelago, each one trying…read moreto one up the other with pomp and parade. You've got Cebu's Sinulog, Iloilo's Dinagyang, Bacolod's Dinagyang, and Aklan's Ati-atihan just to name a few. They've all got their own character and it's sad not being able to see them all. One way you can get a little taste of all those colorful festivals from the provinces is with the annual Aliwan Fiesta. The gist of the whole thing is that Aliwan aims to proudly showcase the different cultural festivals from across the Philippines, whether they are from big or small cities. Held every April or May, Aliwan is a city dweller's chance to see what all the fuss about fiestas is about. Just watching the participating contingents give their heart and soul is really inspiring. Don't forget to bring your camera and make sure your battery's fully charged. With all that color and all that action going on, you're going to be shooting for a while.

How many cities in the Philippines have their own theater? Marikina is one…read more I once attended a summer art workshop organized by the Marikina City Government. All recitals and exhibits were held in Teatro Marikina. Though it was not as big as CCP's Main Theatre or Ateneo's Henry Lee Irwin Theatre, it was quite spacious. I couldn't remember exactly how big it was because the recital happened a long time ago, but, it was surely bigger than CCP's Tanghalang Huseng Batute or even Ateneo's Rizal Mini Theater. If I am not mistaken, it could be the same size as a regular movie house. Not bad for a community theater. Unfortunately, Marikina does not have a resident theater group so this establishment is not really used for its main purpose quite often. Yes, Marikina organizes a summer art camp almost yearly and the recitals are held here. But, I hope that sometime in the future we can regularly stage plays and have cultural shows here too.

The annual Metro Manila Film Festival has got to be the most popular film festivals in the…read morePhilippines. It did after all start in the 1970's. I feel like this film festival is already like a holiday to us Filipinos because it's nationalistic to the core. It promotes and supports solely Filipino films running from December to January the next year in all theaters nationwide. But for others who still want to watch foreign films, 3D and IMAX theaters are excluded (if you didn't know). During the start of the festival, there's a parade of floats that represents each film included in the festival. It's quite an event for the masses since the actors and actresses greets people from their respective floats. The traffic gets pretty heavy so don't pass by Parañaque and Roxas Boulevard where the parade takes place this year. Important to know first hand! It's usually chaotic and super crowded since Filipinos love their celebrities. XD During this festival season, I usually watch comedy, documentaries or historical movies as I seem to be drawn towards them and I always highly enjoy them. Most of their films are also highly commercialized so if you're into those kinds of films, this festival is for you. There's also an awards night which is great to give due credit to the filmmakers that deserve the recognition.

As a frequent con goer, this is by far the best in my opinion. Why? Because it doesn't only revolve…read morearound Japanese anime and thingamablobs but it is a convention that considers all types of fandom whether it is from Japan, US, or Europe. What also sets it apart from all other cons is that their panels focus more on what is more Filipino and this is the first con to have a Geek Fight which was the highlight for me last year. To me, it's the closest thing we got to having a San Diego Comic Con experience. It's also a breath of fresh air to see cosplays of characters that are more based on comic books and films. It's not that I got tired of seeing anime and video game cosplays but it gets boring when you see the same thing over and over again. What I also love about Nexcon is that there aren't too many people that it's difficult to walk around the halls. I can't wait for Nexcon 2015 and to take a photo with R2D2 and the rest of the 501st Legion once again. I also can't wait to see my fellow Whovians and the life-size Dalek again and have more fun than last year.

If the likes of the San Diego ComicCon, WonderCon, the New York ComicCon and all their other…read moresiblings are out of your reach, rejoice in the fact that Manila's got its own! NexCon is Manila's very own sci-fi, fantasy, and pop culture convention. Unlike most of the "mainstream" conventions, which usually cater to anime and Japanese pop culture (and happen in Megatrade Hall), NexCon focuses on Western sci-fi and fantasy fandoms, with some geeky guests from the local scene. It's a giant gathering of fans in assorted costumes, where they can enjoy events and celebrity panels, spend all their money on merchandise, and just celebrate being a geek. It's where you can meet Darth Vader, pose with your favorite Marvel and DC superheroes, meet some Browncoats, and get inside a life-size TARDIS. You get the picture! NexCon 2014 was held at the Bayanihan Center in Pasig. Events included a local celebrity panel on film, TV, and comics, a special GeekFight! game, cosplay and cosplay photography contests, all-day tabletop gaming, and a concert to cap the two-day event off. NexCon 2015 is coming up this May, so prepare your lightsabers! :D

Salcedo Auctions is the only legitimate auction house in the country. As the pioneer in a young art…read moreindustry, this claim to legitimacy is not without its controversies - but I'm not here to talk about that. I'm here to attest to their expertise, their professionalism, their vision. I've seen the collections of at least two Important Philippine Art auctions. This is the main bi-annual sale of Salcedo Auctions. The art specialist Richie Lerma goes through a painstakingly tedious process of research and study to make sure of the historic pieces' authenticity, or of scrutiny and critique in order to assure the investment value of modern or up-and-coming local artists. Salcedo Auctions is famed to have "found" and sold a long lost Juan Luna masterpiece in 2014. I personally fell in love with Alfonso Ossorio's works with my exposure to Salcedo Auctions' collections. His piece, "We Are Many," a post-war (read: 1901, I think!) multimedia work spoke layers and layers of meaning for me. And it sold for 11 million pesos at the last auction to an undisclosed buyer. I dreamed to buy that piece in my lifetime, but it may never happen haha! But just the fact that I could feel that way about an artwork, of a local artist at that, from the trenches of our history, just goes to show what important work Salcedo Auctions is doing for our art industry. If I had 12 million pesos to spend on a piece of art, I would have bought that. There's no corresponding value too high for how strongly I felt about "We Are Many." I hope one day I'm given the opportunity to see and buy that again. Aside from Important Philippine Art, Salcedo Auctions has ventured into the luxe lifestyles of some Filipinos and our Asian art-loving neighbors. Look out for their auction weekends for historic books and maps (an 1800 first edition of Noli Me Tangere was discovered, authenticated, and sold two years ago), limited edition watches, even rare automobiles and jewelry. Last piece of kwento - I was once tempted to bid seeing that some stuff actually had starting prices at 8,000 pesos. Buti nalang I didn't! I found out that piece sold for 120,000 pesos in the end. Ha ha let's build up our investment and disposable funds first!