The Afterglow by Christina Zabat

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Her Version of the Story + BTS

{Photo & Hair: Christina Zabat; Styling: Van Dela Bajan; Makeup: Lea Vanessa Ancheta; Shot on location: St. Peter Alcantara Church, Pakil, Laguna}

Laguna has always been my go-to place for an adventure. Only this time, I went there last March with my co-MFC (Mega Fashion Crew) contestants to collaborate for a shoot.

I fell in love with St. Peter Alcantara Church the moment I saw it. It instantly became one of my favourite churches here in the Philippines. It's a great time machine. Unlike the other churches I've seen around Laguna, they're one of the few who refused to have any repainting or extreme renovations done to their church. The officials made sure of that. 

Before we went to Pakil, I researched about popular restaurants near the area. If you're going somewhere far, might as well make the trip worth it and involve food with it. It's been my mission to find restaurants that are really worth the trip out of Manila. We tried Vista's Art Space and Cafe.

There's a funny story about our journey into finding Vista's. We were going in and out of Pakil and we never really saw their sign. It was just a few metres away from the church. Wasted gas and time. :( We had a good laugh on our way to the restaurant. Their food was really yummy and very cheap. P100 bucks for everything (includes a frappuccino), buddy!

Our pre-dinner feast was brought to us by this stall just in front of the church. I honestly thought they were selling kwek-kwek and fish balls. I was so surprised to find out that they were selling fried vegetables street food-style! AND OF COURSE THEY WERE ALSO CHEAP. By the time we arrived at Manay's, I was so full already. I ate too much and wish I tried everything. I went back to Pakil a month later but arrived at noon. This stall wasn't even around then. I swear! I'm coming back, Pakil.

Anyway, I'm ending this post with a photo of my team and I. It was such a productive day! It remains to be one of my most memorable shoots to date.

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Godai

Godai is literally five great in Japanese. It's also known as the five elements philosophy in Japanese Buddhism. The five elements are (and should be in ascending order): Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Void.

  I tried a different approach towards editing this set. I mean, I also tried to match the mood depending on the elements. I've been trying to give this frequency separation type of edting a try. So, yeah. Hooray for trying to move out of my comfort zone. It's not something I will regularly do though.

{Photo: Christina Zabat; Styling: Gelo Arucan; Makeup: Toni Quinto-Rey; Hair: Jandra Babiera; Model: Ria Bolivar}

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Shoot: Mørt og Lys

{Photo: Christina Zabat; Makeup: Hanna Pechon of Shu Uemura; Hair: Divad Medina; Styling: Fashion Institute of the Philippines students; Models: Haily Kim and Eriko Malabanan @ Yeoh Models}

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Shoot: Remain Nameless

{Photo: Christina Zabat; Styling: Yenyen Navalta and Steven Enriquez; Grooming: Lea Vanessa Ancheta; Model: Bernardo @ Reco Modeling Agency}

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Philipp (090613)

{Photo: Christina Zabat; Styling and Grooming: Yukie Sarto; Model: Philipp @ IM Agency}

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Bernardo (060613)

{Photo: Christina Zabat; Styling: Yenyen Navalta and Steven Enriquez; Grooming: Lea Vanessa Ancheta; Model: Bernardo @ Reco Modeling Agency}

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Nagcarlan + Liliw: Solo Laguna Adventure Trip (Part 2)

This post is a continuation of my solo Laguna Adventure Trip to Nagcarlan and Liliw.

I parked my car just outside the Nagcarlan Outpost. This is where you could park your car if you're going to Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery Historical Landmark. Parking is free as well. Imagine how cheap this trip is if you're not going to think of your gas expenses. So far, I've only paid for a grande-sized Caramel Macchiato and toll.

I asked the tricycle drivers who were just outside the outpost if they knew were Cafe Arabela was. Before going to the underground cemetery, I already asked some of them if they knew were Arabela was. Such a mystery.

I went back to the outpost to ask about Nagcarlang Church or the St. Bartholomew Parish (according to Ms Elena). The tricycle driver I asked if he knew where Arabela was went up to me and said that it was located in Liliw. He asked where it was but since he couldn't go that far, he referred me to another driver who could take me there. I decided to take a tricycle to save on gas. Times are still hard, man.

It took about fifteen minutes for us to reach Liliw from Nagcarlan. The locals pronounce it as Nagcarlang, by the way. On our way to Liliw, we passed by the river that my friend had mentioned to me before. We stopped by Talahibing Bridge just to take a couple of shots of the river. I was in love with Nagcarlan at this point.

This is Liliw, my friends. It is beautifully situated beside a mountain. The main street where the slippers and shoes were sold was closed. Fun trivia: It's the slippers capital of Laguna. While walking, I immediately thought, "Oh. So this is like the Marikina of Laguna."

Along the road, there were food stalls ranging from fish balls, halo-halo, and corn. They were also stalls selling ice cream and milk tea!

Parking spaces were very hard to find. It was a wise decision to leave my car in Nagcarlan. I paid fifty pesos to the driver for bringing me to Liliw. I don't know what the flat rate was at that time, but I didn't have loose change so that's what I gave him. Not so wise after all.

Cafe Arabela was made for me. Seriously. The ceiling room was just a few inches above my height. I am tiny - Asian tiny. The waiter who served me during this time was hunched already. My guess was that he's around 5'10".

I was still on my pescetarian pledge during this time. I ordered Grilled Fish in Caponata Sauce. I absolutely loved it! I also asked which drink was their best seller. I ordered Green Apple Mint Drink under the Italian Drinks menu. It was like drinking a mojito without the alcohol.

Cafe Arabela's menu is varied. They serve Korean, Filipino, Italian and Spanish food. The price is reasonable. My total bill for this meal was P210. If my memory serves me right. I lost the receipt already. I'm so sorry.

Here's a photo of me showing you how low their ceiling was. 

After my meal, I did my time check and it was almost four in the afternoon. I hurriedly went to my next stop: Liliw Church.

Liliw Church is also known as the red church. Oh, red. Now I'm having flash backs of the red wedding scene in Game of Thrones. If you want to be a bit formal, you can also call it St. John the Baptist Parish Church.

I'm glad I saw it late in the afternoon because it was really really red when I arrived. It was a five minute walk from Cafe Arabela. You won't miss it! I love how it was perfectly situated in front of a mountain. It was so beautiful.

The church was successfully restored after it was burned during the Spanish era. It was also seriously damaged by an earthquake in 1880. It was built in 1605.

The interiors were also breathtaking. My favorite part was this capilla located at the right side of the church. The arched walls were really perfect. If I wasn't pressed for time, I would've stayed longer.

I took my last gratuitous self-portrait of the day at the arched way going to the capilla. I was dead set that we could do a shoot here. Going around the church area, I was already imagining the possible angles and layouts we could do for our shoot.

After this, I hired a driver to take me back to Nagcarlan and have a mini stop over at Nagcarlang Church. There was a slight traffic on our way out of Liliw along the highway. My driver said, "Kakatapos lang ng school." I looked at the people coming out of this supposed school. I found it cool that there's an adult school in Laguna. However, my driver added a few seconds after, "Tapos na ang sabong. Ang tawag namin sa sabungan dito eskwelahan." Whoops.

I'm not posting anymore about Nagcarlang Church though. I took a couple of shots and left for Manila. I was hoping to be by Sto Tomas Highway before it got really dark.

Click this link for Part 1 of my Nagcarlan + Liliw Adventure.

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Nagcarlan + Liliw: Solo Adventure Trip (Part 1)

Last March 6 (Yeah. That long ago.), I went on a mission. No. Seriously. I was really on a mission - an ocular mission. My Mega Fashion Crew alums and I have been planning to do a location shoot for quite some time now. I took the liberty of going to Laguna to look for churches that would fit with our baroque-inspired shoot. Based on my research, Laguna fit the bill of numerous baroque-inspired churches.

Nagcarlan is a two-hour drive away from Manila. Take it from me who didn't plan this throughly, my supposed two-hour journey turned into three hours. And kids, in Manila, never leave during rush hour. I did and it caused major annoyance on my way out of SLEX. It didn't help either that there was also an accident along SLEX.

I went to a nearby Starbucks to get my caffeine fix. I haven't had breakfast at this time. Actually I did - I ate banana oatmeal. I was just thirsty. Coffee is part of a very very awesome food group.

This was along the Sto. Tomas Highway, if I remember correctly. It was after the Calamba Exit. I really thought I was lost because I saw signs leading me to Batangas. I also thought Google Maps and Waze were being useless. I had to ask around if I was on the right track. Once I saw the Nagcarlan road signs, I was starting to get really excited.

My friend had been inviting me since college to go to Nagcarlan. He has relatives there and has been telling me about the river and how cold it was even in the summer. No plans ever pushed through. I actually called him while I was on my way just to confirm if the directions I got were right.

Nagcarlan is popular for its underground cemetery. It is a historical landmark and is protected by the National History Commission of the Philippines. It's a cemetery beneath a church. The church was built by a Franciscan friar named Vicente Velloc in 1845. The graveyard, by the way, is fifteen feet below the church.

Once you enter the church, you have to log your name. I came in with students from Nagcarlan. Everyone's welcome to see the structure and the cemetery. There were no fees.

I talked to to Ms Elena. I really do hope I got her name right because got damn, this was months ago and I'm honestly bad with names. You are allowed to bring your dSLR inside the premises just don't use your camera's flash when you're already underground.

Ms Elena told me that they've been trying to salvage what's left of the church. There used to be paintings everywhere inside. I wonder what this place looked like in all of its glory.

I spent a bit of time with her and her associate before going down the crypts. She told me about its rich history. She also told me that the underground cemetery was used by the Katipuneros in 1896. It was also used to plan for battle during the Filipino-American War. It also sheltered Filipinos during World War II.

The entrance to the underground cemetery.

The place was eerily cold. Eerily + cold. You're in a cemetery, Christina. Not to mention, it was situated underground. Restoration was going on at that time of my visit so you could hear hammers pounding. It wasn't annoying. I'm glad that they're really doing whatever it takes to rehabilitate Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery Historical Landmark. Yes. That's how you should call it.

Aside from the students that were hanging out inside, there were also balikbayans and locals. One of the residents who accompanied his balikbayan friend told me that the church had a tunnel leading to another nearby church. However, they closed it now just to pave way for residential areas. It would've been fun to traverse that tunnel on my way to the next church.

I was also looking at the niches for the oldest buried maharlika underground. I was told that the rich folks at that time were buried here. If not within those walls, they were buried alongside the church.

I particularly liked the door and arched entrance of the church. I knew I had to take a couple of self-portraits so I could select one I could use as my Facebook profile picture. Guess which of these two I chose. Hashtag profile picture problems.

I spotted a group of students having their picture taken by doing something similar to parkour. Or maybe it's really parkour. I didn't really ask. However, I did ask this kid if he could do more of that stunt for me. We did a bunch of retakes until he fell and bumped his head on the ground. That last part was a joke.

Outside, I looked at the nearby niches. This was the oldest I could find. It was also a sunny day. But it wasn't the sunny kind of day where the heat is prickling your skin. It was indeed a good day for a much-needed solo road trip.

It was already two in the afternoon around that time I took the last batch of photos in this entry. I had to eat lunch and search for my next church. Before I left Manila, I wanted to eat that's locally-established in Laguna. My next mission was to look for Cafe Arabela. That was also some journey to look for that restaurant. This time, I had to go to the next town. It was located in Liliw, Laguna.

Click this link for the second part of my Nagcarlan + Liliw Adventure trip.

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Editorial: A Ray of White

{Photo & Hair: Christina Zabat; Styling: Jhobes Estrella; Makeup: Theresa Bello; Model: Alisa Sazonova @ Elite Manila}

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Ella (250213)

{Photo: Christina Zabat; Styling: Van Dela Bajan; Makeup: Lea Vanessa Ancheta; Hair: Alee Benson; Model: Ella Tejana @ YEOH Models}

{Photo: Christina Zabat; Styling: Loi Villarama; Makeup: Lea Vanessa Ancheta; Hair: Alee Benson; Model: Ella Tejana @ YEOH Models}

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Shoot: Arm Fold

{Photo: Christina Zabat; Styling: Jhobes Estrella; Grooming: Carla Gumin; Model: Francis Ariosa @ CalCarrie's International}

After our first collaboration, Jhobes and I planned our next shoot. It took quite a while for it to push through. Our shoot location was in Laguna and it was my first time to do a guerilla shoot. It was an adventure! It's just really sad that here in the Philippines, everything needed to come with a permit to shoot in a particular location. I envy friends from abroad who could just shoot anywhere. Where is the freeeeedooom? Haha. We shot this end of August 2012. I know. I'm always late in uploading my stuff. That's my annoying trait. In this shoot also, I first met Francis, Carla and Cenon (who would later be the winner of the photographer category in Mega Fashion Crew Season 2).

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Rex + Mikyle Quizon

{Photo: Christina Zabat; Styling & Model: Mikyle Quizon; Special thanks to: Dan Chua and Patricia Zamora}

This was for Rex Clothing's campaign that I shot a year ago with blogger Mikyle Quizon of Style Division. The photos were used in their store that I never got around to visiting. Trinoma's really far from where I live. However, I saw the photos of it online so that makes up for it.

I enjoyed working with Dan! This was the second time we collaborated for his shirt line. Our shoot was just light and easy. We were done in no time. I still use some of the shirts he sent me from time to time. I hope to work with him soon. Rex Clothing is available at The Ramp/Crossings Trinoma Mall and G/F Cinderella, Glorietta 3.

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Rex + Prince Stefan

{Photo: Christina Zabat; Styling: Dan Chua and Patricia Zamora; Grooming: Theresa Bello; Model: Prince Stefan (GMA Artist Center)}

My first collaboration with Rex Clothing. I had fun doing this shoot as this was also the first time I met Dan Chua - the owner of Rex Clothing. He and Patricia are classmates in Mandarin. Patricia recommended me to shoot his new line of shirts. Woot! Thanks, Pat!

[concupisco]

You say that you love rain, but you open your umbrella when it rains. You say that you love the sun, but you find a shadow spot when the sun shines. You say that you love the wind, but you close your windows when wind blows. This is why I am afraid, you say that you love me too.

Unknown (via concupisco)

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Coded

{Photo: Christina Zabat; Styling: Tin Ledesma with JR Queta; Makeup: Clarence Paul; Hair: Gerald Bryan Yakota; Model: Nathaniel of Mercator}

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Go, Grow, Glow

{Photo: Christina Zabat; Hair & Makeup: Lloyd Luxie; Styling: Dale Marcus, Jomah Chu, Xyza Ragunjan, Aileen Aala, Kris Sese, Ellen Gersava and Micah; Model: Jodilly Pendre}

One of the most fun and awesome-est shoot I was ever part of! The styling team (FIP Style Society January-March 2012) did an amazing job! They were very creative. It was really fun working with them. It was such a treat to be able to experiment with them as well.

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Raquel

{Photo: Christina Zabat; Styling: Theresa Bello; Makeup: Czarina So; Hair: Katchie Mejias; Model: Raquel of ELITE Manila} 

{Photo: Christina Zabat; Styling: Theresa Bello; Makeup: Gayle Zabala; Hair: Katchie Mejias; Model: Raquel of ELITE Manila} 

{Photo: Christina Zabat; Styling: Theresa Bello; Makeup: Dee Millosa; Hair: Katchie Mejias; Model: Raquel of ELITE Manila}