Reminiscing My BBC Radio 4 Interview-Re Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez

Below is my post on my BBC Radio Interview by Melvin Ricarby of Radio 4, BBC, Bristol, UK on July of 2013. My portion of the tape start 12:16 and ends at 16:02 of the 30 minutes tape. I am also reposting my post on this subject written on September 27, 2013.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b036k8v8 ( My portion start at 12:16 and ends at 16:02-It explained how the above music have touched my life.

Last July, Mr Melvin Rickarby of Radio 4, BBC, Bristol, UK interviewed me on how and why Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez touched my heart. The summary of the interview along with other fans of Rodrigo were taped and you could download it in the website as follows:

SoulMusic: Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez for Guitar, Tuesday, July 09, 2013 4:00 AM

My three minute interview start at around 12 minutes and ends at 16 minutes of the 30 minutes tape. I felt weird hearing my own voice with my distinguishable Ilonggo-American accent. However, I am proud to be chosen by BBC as one of the fans of Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez.

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/soulmusic/rss.xml

A brief summary of the recording which was broadcasted live on July 9, 2013 at 4:00AM is as follows:

Written by Joaquin Rodrigo in 1939, the Concierto de Aranjuez is a guitar classic. It was written amid the chaos of the Spanish Civil War, and in circumstances of poverty and personal tragedy. This progamme explores how the piece touches and changes people's lives.

The composer's daughter Cecilia Rodrigo explains how the blind composer was inspired by the fountains and gardens of the palace of Aranjuez. Nelício Faria de Sales recounts an unforgettable performance deep inside one of Brazil's largest caves, while David B Katague remembers how the piece got him through a difficult period of separation from his family in the Philippines.

Guitarist Craig Ogden explains the magic of the piece for a performer, and actor Simon Callow recalls how hearing the piece was a formative experience for him during his schooldays, when it turned rural Berkshire into a piece of Spain.

Producer: Melvin Rickarby

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/soulmusic/rss.xml
Media files: soul music_20130709-1200a.mp3 (MP3 Format Sound, 12.7 MB)

The Alhambra Palace and Gardens, Granada, Spain

A couple of weeks ago, while I was reading my FaceBook(FB) page, one of my FB friends from Spain shared a video of the Alhambra Gardens in Granada, Spain. This reminded me of our trip to Southern Spain and vicinity in 2000. The following are some photos of our trip.

http://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2014/07/2000-photo-trip-down-memory-lane-trip.html

In case you have not been to the Alhambra Gardens, here's a video for your enjoyment.



Macrine and I as well as Ditas enjoyed this Southern Spain trip in 2000.



Note: The visit to Alhambra Gardens in 2000 is one of my childhood dreams that had been fulfilled.

New Vaccine for Parkinson Disease Looks Promising

Yesterday we went for our quarterly check up to Macrine's neurologist specializing in movement disorders and Parkinson Disease. As usual, we always talked about advancement and new therapies for Parkinson. I asked him if stem cell research is the latest and He said No. Since I have been following the Michael Fox News, I told the neurologist, that my guess is probably vaccine research. He smiled with an approving yes. He was not surprise that I mentioned vaccine research.

Jokingly I told him if the vaccine works, then he will run out of new patients, once the vaccine is approved. He just smiled and told me it probably will be another 4 years or more before vaccine is approved by FDA. He told me to read the following articles as follows:

https://www.michaeljfox.org/foundation/news-detail.php?vaccine-for-parkinson-reports-positive-results-from-boost-study

http://www.parkinson.org/find-help/blogs/whats-hot/december-2014

Macrine enjoying her lemon tree and trying to walk in the yard for her exercise after our quarterly check up from her neurologist yesterday. Today she tried to play the piano that I also posted in my FB page. To all who commented and like her piano playing and the above photo, thank you so much.

Again for those who has PD or relatives who has PD: "A Parkinson's diagnosis, although life-altering, is not a death sentence. Symptoms will change over time, as will your attitude; no one should expect, nor should you expect from yourself, that this will be easy to deal with. But people with Parkinson's and others alike should all value and make the most of every day. In a best-case scenario, a Parkinson's diagnosis can become a real wake-up call: a chance to re-examine your priorities, and focus not on what you cannot do, but instead, on what you can."

History of All Saints and All Souls Days

Macrine, Knitz (Amor) and I visiting the tomb of our parents, David and Paz Katague, in Barotac Viejo, Iloilo, Philippines

Yesterday and today, the TV news in the Philippines are all about traffic due to the hundred thousands of Filipinos visiting the cemeteries to honor and pray for their beloved dead relatives. Here in the US, its all about Halloween costume parties and "Treat or Trick" for children knocking on your door for candies. Last night we have only about 30 kids knocking at our door. A couple of years ago, we had twice that number. It must be the rain that discourage the kids ( with their parents) Treat or Tricking this year.
Carenna, my 13 year-old and youngest grand daughter in her Super Girl costume, Halloween, 2016

If you are not a catholic you must be wondering why the celebration. Here's the explanation and two videos that explain it all.

"On All Souls Day, we not only remember the dead, but we apply our efforts, through prayer, almsgiving, and the Mass, to their release from Purgatory. There are two plenary indulgences attached to All Souls Day, one for visiting a church and another for visiting a cemetery. (The plenary indulgence for visiting a cemetery can also be obtained every day from November 1-8, and, as a partial indulgence, on any day of the year.) While the actions are performed by the living, the merits of the indulgences are applicable only to the souls in Purgatory. Since a plenary indulgence removes all of the temporal punishment for sin, which is the reason why souls are in Purgatory in the first place, applying a plenary indulgence to one of the Holy Souls in Purgatory means that the Holy Soul is released from Purgatory and enters Heaven. 

Praying for the dead is a Christian obligation. In the modern world, when many have come to doubt the Church's teaching on Purgatory, the need for such prayers has only increased. The Church devotes the month of November to prayer for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, and participation in the Mass of All Souls Day is a good way to begin the month."

Barquillos and Ice Cream for Merienda

Today, Macrine and I had Barquillos( rolled milk wafers) and ice cream for merienda ( afternoon snack). This reminded me of my teenager days in Iloilo. This nostalgic memories reminded me of my Father, Dr David Jamili Javellana K(C)atague from Barotac Viejo, Iloilo, Philippnes. In the late 1940's just after the American-Japanese War in the Philippines, the third class town of Barotac Viejo did not have an ice cream store and bakery. So every week, my Father and I would take a 2 to 3 hour ride by bus to Iloilo City to purchase our monthly supplies of groceries and bakery goods. The roads at that time from Barotac Viejo to Barotac Nuevo were not paved and the bus trip was very bumpy. During the rainy season some parts of the national road is flooded.

However, in the early 2000 when my wife and I visited Barotac Viejo, the roads were paved, so the 60KM auto trip from Iloilo City to the town took us only about 55 minutes.

http://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2014/12/where-heck-is-barotac-viejo-iloilo.html

If you are not familiar with barquillos: Barquillos are thin rolled cookies of Spanish origin. In the Philippines, Iloilo is particularly known for its barquillos. They are made by pouring a thin batter is onto a wafer iron (barquillera). Once the wafer is cooked to a light brown it is immediately rolled while still hot. It becomes a crisp rolled cookie when it cools. Barquillos are now available in local flavors like ube and pandan. Sometimes they are filled with polvoron powder to make a sweet called barqueron. Here in Nothern California, Barquillos are sold in our local Pilipino grocery store.

They are imported from the Philippines. Here's a short video in how to make barquillos or rolled milk wafers.

The Sisters of the Cenacle in Asia and Donald Trump

Cenacle Sisters of the Philippines and Singapore( in Asia). My sister-in-law is in the middle row second from the left. Several sisters of the Cenacle in Asia and Northern America are my contemporaries during my student days at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, Q.C. in the early 1950's.

The other day my Italian-American neighbor who is a very devout and practicing catholic asked me what I knew about the Order of the Cenacle when she found out that I have a sister-in-law who is a Cenacle nun in the Philippines. So I did some Internet search and one of the many things I learned is that the word Cenacle meant the Upper Room. The word cenacle is often confused with Senakulo. Senakulo (from the Spanish cenaculo) is a Lenten play that depicts events from the Old and New Testaments related to the life, sufferings, and death of Christ. The senakulo is traditionally performed on a proscenium-type stage with painted cloth or paper backdrops that are called telon.

I also learned that the founder Saint Therese Couderc was known for her humility. This word reminds me of Donald Trump, this year Republican Nominee for US President. Trump is a living example of the opposite meaning of the word humbleness and humility! Heavens forbid if he gets elected! To insure he does not get elected do not forget to vote for Hillary!


Now here's a short information from Wikipedia about the Sisters of the Cenacle.

The Sisters of the Cenacle (full title: Congregation of Our Lady of the Retreat in the Cenacle) is a Roman Catholic Congregation founded in 1826 in the village of Lalouvesc (Ardèche), France. The founders were Saint Thérèse Couderc and diocesan priest Jean-Pierre Etienne Terme. Today this congregation has branches in sixteen countries in the world.

The mission of the Cenacle is threefold: Prayer, Community and Ministry

The first video describes the inspiration and origin of this order of Nuns that I am very proud of. The second video are members of the Cenacle and Male Friends singing What a Wonderful World!




Celebrating 50 years of the Cenacle in the Philippines.

For details about the 2 singing nuns read:
http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/206601/these-nuns-can-sing-and-music-is-their-prayer/

Family Pictures Slide Show-Trip Adviser

A Picture is worth more than a thousand Words.

All You Want to Know About Feng Shui, But were Afraid to Ask

Our beach house with the Japanese bridge as the focal point in the landscaping design of the property. The bridge was my own design.

A few months ago, I was viewing pictures in Facebook from a relative friend showing pictures of a hotel lobby and the living room of a house being redecorated by his well-known interior decorator spouse. I commented and asked him, if his wife incorporates the principles of Feng Shui in the rearrangement of furniture as well as coordination of colors scheme in her design and renovation projects. I have not received an answer, but those pictures in FB reminded me of my previous posting in my blogs. I titled it "Is Feng Shui a Science or Art", December, 2012.

Please note that I am not a famous interior decorator or a landscape architect, but I have been practicing Feng shui principles in my adult life in the decoration of our homes, beach house and gardens both here in US and in the Philippines.

In my younger days, I used to be an enthusiast of the practice of Feng shui. I have read several books on the subject. The practice is very interesting and to me it is all common sense. So what is Feng Shui?

Feng shui is an ancient art and science developed over 3,000 years ago in China. It is a complex body of knowledge that reveals how to balance the energies of any given space to assure health and good fortune for people inhabiting it.

Feng means wind and shui means water. In Chinese culture wind and water are associated with good health, thus good Feng shui came to mean good fortune, while bad Feng shui means bad luck, or misfortune.

Historically, Feng shui was widely used to orient buildings—often spiritually significant structures such as tombs, but also dwellings and other structures—in an auspicious manner. Depending on the particular style of Feng shui being used, an auspicious site could be determined by reference to local features such as bodies of water, stars, or a compass. Feng shui was suppressed in China during the cultural revolution in the 1960s, but since then has increased in popularity.

Modern reactions to Feng shui are mixed. The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience states that some principles of Feng shui are "quite rational", while noting that "folk remedies and superstitions, that have been incorporated into Feng shui's eclectic mix" borders to a pseudo science.

I have applied the principle of Feng shui in the arrangement of furniture in our house, color scheme in the room decor of our retirement home, the location of the front door of buildings in the Philippines and also the landscaping and orientation of trees and plants in my garden. I have not become a very rich person due to my practice of Feng shui, but I do enjoy practicing the art of Feng shui in all facets of my life.

Try Feng shui and you will feel better, happy and who knows you might win in the lottery and become very rich in the near future. As New Year approaches, this is a good time to start new and fresh and have fun in your Feng shui practices.

Here's a short video on the rearranging furniture with the basics of Feng shui!