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Tuesday, December 21, 2010
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The Grand Towers Manila
The Grand Towers was borne out of the vision to create a condominium project that exudes excellence, incomparable elegance and style.
Its developer aimed to come up with a product that will meet the needs and demands of the sophisticated living and discriminating taste of the upper class. With the project's scheduled turn-over on 2010, the dream of sharing this product of excellence will soon be fulfilled.
Convenient Location
A modern enclave which keeps you close to your daily destinations. Near the business districts of Makati and Ortigay, top schools like De La Salle University, Collage of St. Bennilde and St. Scholastica's Collage, shopping centers, and major airports in Roxas Boulevard.
First-rate Amenities
A home of incomparable luxury with its 3,000 sqm dedicated to recreation and relaxation facilities and one level of commercial spaces.
Flexible Comfort
A place where you can find your own space in the city with studio, one-bedroom and two bedroom units to cater to your desired comfort and lifestyle.
for more info visit: Philippine Retirement
About Philippines
Discover a retirement paradise…Live in the PHILIPPINES!
With 7,107 islands experience the unique charm of our historic land….the warmth and friendliness of the people…
– its natural landscapes, beautiful beaches, mountains, incredible rice terraces, skin diving, surfing, five star hotels, great food, fruits and vegetables, tropical animals, and other places … will show you what this beautiful tropical country has to offer.
Manila, a lively metropolis with magnificent view of the golden sunset you would not want to miss.
to read more visit: Philippine Retirement
Tultugan Festival
Tultugan is an indigenous Ilonggo bamboo drum used centuries ago by the natives of Panay to communicate with each other. The drum was used by the natives to send messages of distress to the community by making fast beats. Upon hearing, the beats neighbors will then follow the pattern. The transference of beats is crucial to the evoking the immediate action of everyone in the community.
Tultugan Festival is the main tourist attraction of the municipality. It gives tribute to Panay's rich culture.
for more year long Philippine Festivals visit: Philippine Retirement
Pintaflores Festival
Pintaflores is coined from the words Pintados, the concept behind the Nabingkalan Tattoo Festival, and the "flores", the Spanish word for flowers that dominated the theme of the Dances of Flowers. The Pintaflores street dancing and ritual competition highlights the annual Pintaflores festival every November 3-5.
It features rhythmic dances and dance dramas of life and death and the triumph of good against evil that depict the people's thanksgiving of merriment, abundant blessings and success. As part of the Pintados Tradition, the faces, arms, bodies and legs of the dancers are painted with flowers to express gratitude to man and his environment.
The street dancing is culminated by a dance ritual performed at the City Auditorium. Different dance steps and musical accompaniment add to the thrill of the competition. The Human flower formation is another impressive part of the dance ritual that products the ingenuity and skills of the choreographers and dancers.
for more year long Philippine Festivals visit: Philippine Retirement
Lubi-lubi Festival
The Lubi-Lubi Festival showcases the various uses of the coconut tree through street dances and other celebrations.
The residents of the peaceful town of Glan's version of the mardi gras or lubi-lubi serves as the highlight of the festivities in honor of the Sta. Catalina de Alexandria.
for more year long Philippine Festivals visit: Philippine Retirement
Ibalong Festival
In this event, the spectators also play a good part of the celebration. People who dress in outstanding costumes win prizes, while everyone else is invited to dance behind the floats in the bandís music. Not only costumes of the famous heroes are seen. Some are costumed depending on the chosen theme of the year for each tribe or group, like wearing costumes of ancient warriors complete with weapons such as spearheads, while other wear large body costumes of paper mache.
In this 3-kilometer parade from Legaspi, stalls populate the entire route selling almost everything under the sun. Acitivities such as trade fairs, art exhibits, tours, and beauty pageants, and sports competitions are also held.
for more year long Philippine Festivals visit: Philippine Retirement
Peñafrancia Festival
Every first to third week of September, the Peñafrancia Festival takes place in Naga City, the pilgrimage center in southeast Luzon's Bicol region, where millions flock to venerate the grand patroness Our Lady of Peñafrancia for the past three centuries
The highlights of the festival are the Translacion and fluvial procession. In the Translacion, which occurs on the second Friday of the month, the image is transferred from the Basilica to the Metropolitan Cathedral by barefooted male devotees called voyadores. After the nine-day novena (on the third Saturday), the image is returned to the Basilica on a barge pulled by baroto (rowboats) along the Naga River, whilst crowds watch along the city bridges and riverbanks lighting candles and crying, "Viva la Virgen!"
The feast day is preceded by a novena, nine days of prayer, in honor of the Virgin. On the first day, the image of the Virgin, a copy of the Madonna in Peñafrancia, Spain, is brought from its shrine to the Naga Cathedral where the novena is held. On the last day, the image is returned to her shrine following the Naga River route. The colorful evening procession is lit by thousands of candles from devotees in boats escorting the image. When the barge reaches its destination, the devotees shout "Viva la Virgen" (Long live the Virgin!) and the image is brought back in a procession to the cathedral.
for more year long Philippine Festivals visit: Philippine Retirement
Kadayawan Festival
The Kadayawan Festival is an annual festival in the city of Davao in the Philippines. Its name derives from the friendly greeting "Madayaw", from the Dabawenyo word "dayaw", meaning good, valuable, superior or beautiful. The festival is a celebration of life, a thanksgiving for the gifts of nature, the wealth of culture, the bounties of harvest and serenity of living.
Today, Kadayawan has transformed into a festival of festivals, with a number of spin-off festivals in the region. The festival honors Davao’s artistic, cultural and historical heritage, its past personified by the ancestral “lumads”, its people as they celebrate on the streets, and its floral industry as its representatives parade in full regalia in thanksgiving for the blessings granted on the city. A celebration that interfaces the three aspects: tribal; industrial and; arts and entertainment. The festivities are highlighted with floral floats, street-dancing competitions and exhibits that showcases the island's tourism products and services.
for more year long Philippine Festivals visit: Philippine Retirement
T'nalak Festival
The T'nalak festival is celebrated during the foundation anniversary of the province of South Cotabato.This celebration kicks off with the Dayana Civic Parade highlighted by a float and cheer dance competition and closes with the T'nalak Parade or Madal Bel'. Colorful street dancing competition offers unique entertainment. Dancers from around the province, dressed in native costumes of B'laan, T'boli and other tribal groups in Mindanao, are performing on the streets of the city.
These competitions shows the rich and colorful heritage of the several minorities in this area and are just some of the activities to see in this event. The T'nalak parade is a performance that is a feast for the eyes, together with the sound of a pretty impressive tune that will keep you standing on your toes for a long time. The T'nalak festival puts together all the historical and spiritual culture of South Cotabato. It is a great event to see and a great way to see the Mindanao culture in action.. A visual experience you will not want to miss, you can feel the unifying power of this celebration and the irrepressibly festive spirit of the participants and spectators.
for more year long Philippine Festivals visit: Philippine Retirement
Sandugo Festival
The Sandugo Festival is an annual historical celebration that commemorates the Treaty of Friendship between Datu Sikatuna, a chieftain in Bohol, and Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi. This 16th Century peace treaty occurred on March 16, 1565 through a blood compact or "sandugo".[1][2]
The festival kicks-off the month-long festival with a holy mass, diana, motorcade and program sponsored by the City Government of Tagbilaran. Among the major activities during the month is the Miss Bohol Sandugo Beauty Pageant, and the Sandugo Street Dancing Competition which is usually held on the 3rd or 4th Sunday of July, and organized by the Bohol Sandugo Foundation, Inc. (BSFI).
for more year long Philippine Festivals visit: Philippine Retirement
Pili Festival
Pili is an indigenous crop of Bicol region, particularly Sorsogon. This festival showcases the PIli, the primary purpose of which is to emphasize its importance and to increase the awareness of the public on its various economic uses.
Pili Festival is Sorsogon City’s premier annual festival.
It also coincides with the City’s traditional patronal fiesta, June 28-29, in honor of its patron saints, St. Peter and St. Paul.
The Festival showcases the Pili Tree, which is indigenous to Sorsogon, and known hereabouts as The Majestic Tree because of its many industrial, commercial, and nutritional uses from its roots, trunk, branches, leaves, sap and fruit.
Appropriately costumed young people dance down the streets of the City during the Festival, demonstrating in dance, the many uses of this remarkable tree.
for more year long Philippine Festivals visit: Philippine Retirement
Pahiyas Festival
Pahiyas is the harvest festival and is observed in the towns of Lucban, Candelaria, Tayabas, Sariaya, Tiaong and Lucena City in honor of San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of farmers. Considered one the Philippines’ biggest harvest festivals, it is deeply rooted in the traditional celebration of thanksgiving for bountiful harvests. The Pahiyas Festival started as a gift-giving ritual by the natives of Lucban to the Franciscan missionaries who were responsible for bringing Catholicism to Quezon in 1583. When Fr. Juan de Placencia took over as the town’s first church administrator, he continued the practice of offering the years harvest to the Spanish friars as thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest. The ritual was carried on by the next parish priest, Fr. Diego de Oropesa, until it became a tradition for the Lucbanins.
In 1595, the town’s first parish priest, Fr. Miguel de Talavera who was instrumental in the construction of a wooden church in Barrio Kulapi had the farmers bring all their harvests to the church for blessing. The farmers believed that this rite was necessary because they were convinced that failure to observe it could mean drought, famine, and bad luck for the farmers in Lucban.
As the farmers were showered with more blessings and the harvests increased, the wooden church became a place where the annual pahiyas. was held. Later on to keep the tradition alive the townsfolk agreed to display their harvest in front of their homes where the parish priest would come to bless the harvest.
for more year long Philippine Festivals visit: Philippine Retirement
Kaamulan Festival
The Kaamulan is anything but contrived. It all began in 1974. It was the fiesta of Malaybalay, May 15, in honor of San Isidro Labrador. The town's vice mayor then, Edilberto Mamawag, thought of inviting some indigenous Bukidnon tribespeople to town. Mamawag thought a few dance steps by the natives at Plaza Rizal would enliven the fiesta-goers.
That simple idea caught fire. A former reporter for the Manila Times, Mamawag had at that time a guest Manila reporter who later wrote about it for a national magazine. That signaled the start of Kaamulan's fame. One year led to another. On Sept. 16, 1977, the Regional Development Council adopted Kaamulan as the regional festival of northern Mindanao.
By then, Mamawag was already the municipal mayor of Malaybalay (now a city). Although born of Ilocano parents who, like many others, settled on the cool mountain plateaus of Bukidnon, Mamawag married a Higaunon girl, Eden Suclatan Tan-Nery, who was a descendant of Datu Mansiagnao. But there was also a pure-blooded Higaunon in the municipal council, Pepita Caterial Ongkiatco (many of the natives had adapted to the surnames of the migrant culture since Hispanic times).
Panagbenga Festival
Baguio Flower Festival also known as Panagbenga Festival is one of the famous and world renowned festival in the Philippines. Baguio is also known as "Flower Garden City of the North" celebrates the festival in February and the highlights of the festivities includes flower, flower exhibits, lectures, garden tours, floral contest and a parade of floats.
In this festival, flowers rule! Held in February, it highlights Baguio as "The City of Flowers". Started in 1995,it reflects the history, traditions and values of Baguio and the Cordilleras. A festival hymn was composed by Prof. Macario Fronda, band master of the St. Louis University. To this music was added the rhythm and movements of the Bendian dance, an Ibaloi dance of celebration. The Bendian dance's circular movements speak of unity and harmony among the members of the tribe-themes foreshadowed the coming together of the various sectors of the community to bring the festival to life.
The festival acquired a local name, Panagbenga, meaning "a season of blossoming, a time for flowering". It is also a tribute to Baguio, which made a comeback after the devastating earthquake in 1990.
for more year long Philippine Festivals visit: Philippine Retirement
Kalilangan Festival
In a broader perspective, kalilang projects a positive and dynamic meaning for it engulfs the artistic, humane and altruistic aspects of social interaction that takes place in any occasion or celebration.
Kalilangan means festival, feastivity or jubilee. It is a social gathering marked by exchanging of amenities among traditional leaders, elders, allies and subordinates in varying tones.
It is also a pageantry of unique and colorful ethnic rites, rituals and traditions like marriage celebrations, religious ceremonies, anniversaries, funerals, enthronement of royal dignitaries, thanksgiving and other social forms of social, political and economic activities.
for more year long Philippine Festivals visit: Philippine Retirement
Sinulog Festival
The Sinulog festival is one of the grandest and most colorful festivals in the Philippines with a very rich history. The main festival is held each year on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City to honor the Santo Niño, or the child Jesus, who used to be the patron saint of the whole province of Cebu (since in the Catholic faith Jesus is not a saint, but God). It is essentially a dance ritual which remembers the Filipino people’s pagan past and their acceptance of Christianity.
The festival features some the country’s most colorful displays of pomp and pageantry: participants garbed in bright-colored costumes dance to the rhythm of drums, trumpets, and native gongs. The streets are usually lined with vendors and pedestrians all wanting to witness the street-dancing. Smaller versions of the festival are also held in various parts of the province, also to celebrate and honor the Santo Niño. There is also a Sinulog sa Kabataan, which is performed by the youths of Cebu a week before the Grand Parade.
Aside from the colorful and festive dancing, there is also the SME trade fair where Sinulog features Cebu export quality products and people around the world flock on the treasures that are Cebu.
for more year long Philippine Festivals visit: Philippine Retirement
Santo Niño Festival
Here in the Philippines, the month of January is dedicated and devoted to Santo Niño, the Holy Child Jesus. There are lots of popular festivals in the country that is celebrating in honor of Santo Nino. Devotees to the Santo Nino all over the Philippines prepared themselves to celebrate with faith in the month of January.
Provinces, towns and cities in the Philippines who celebrate the festival for Santo Nino prepares months ahead for their upcoming festivities. There are many local and foreign tourist and visitors come to these places also to celebrate the merry making and witness the faith of the people and devotees to the Santo Nino. Visitors also want to witness, explore and experience the historical and cultural specialty in these celebrations and events.
There are lots of exciting events and merrymaking in the celebration of Santo Nino Festival. One of this is the street dancing where dancers is dancing in the streets to show their devotion and faith and also of course to compete with other contenders.
Dinagyang Festival
The Dinagyang is a religious and cultural festival in Iloilo City, Philippines held on the fourth Sunday of January, or right after the Sinulog In Cebu and the Ati-Atihan in Aklan. It is held both to honor the Santo Niño and to celebrate the arrival on Panay of Malay settlers and the subsequent selling of the island to them by the Atis.
Dinagyang began after Rev. Fr. Ambrosio Galindez of a local Roman Catholic parish introduced the devotion to Santo Niño in November 1967. In 1968, a replica of the original image of the Santo Niño de Cebu was brought to Iloilo by Fr. Sulpicio Enderez as a gift to the Parish of San Jose. The faithful, led by members of Confradia del Santo Niño de Cebu, Iloilo Chapter, worked to give the image a fitting reception starting at the Iloilo Airport and parading down the streets of Iloilo.
In the beginning, the observance of the feast was confined to the parish. The Confradia patterned the celebration on the Ati-atihan of Ibajay, Aklan, where natives dance in the streets, their bodies covered with soot and ashes, to simulate the Atis dancing to celebrate the sale of Panay. It was these tribal groups who were the prototype of the present festival.
In the beginning, the observance of the feast was confined to the parish. The Confradia patterned the celebration on the Ati-atihan of Ibajay, Aklan, where natives dance in the streets, their bodies covered with soot and ashes, to simulate the Atis dancing to celebrate the sale of Panay. It was these tribal groups who were the prototype of the present festival.
for more year long Philippine Festivals visit: Philippine Retirement
Ati-atihan Festival
The name Ati-Atihan means "make-believe Atis. " It has been known as the wildest among Philippine fiestas. The Ati-Atihan is a festival in honour of the Santo Niño. During the last three days of this week-long festival (fiesta), a parade is characteristic. A colourful happening with celebrants who paint their faces in many different ways and who are dressed in the most outstanding costumes. The Ati-Atihan festival is named after the Ati, the indigenious natives of the island before the arrival of the Malay in the 10th century and the Spanish in the 16th century. The festival is held on the third week of January every year on the second Sunday after Epiphany in Kalibo in the Aklan province on the island of Panay. The festival is to rejoice the arrival or gift of the Santo Niño by Magellan to the native Queen of Cebu in 1521 and is manifested by hyperactive merriment on the streets . The dancing on the rhythms of the drums makes this festival very similar to the Mardi Gras celebration in Rio in Brazil.
ATI-ATIHAN is one of the greatest, most colorful and fun festivals. It's nickname, "The Filipino Mardis Gras" and takes place the 3rd weekend in January every year in Kalibo, Aklan, Panay Island, Philippines. Iloilo and many other smaller towns on Panay Island also party the festivals during the weekends from mid January to early February so if you miss the Kalibo festival you could still experience fun elsewhere. The informality of the festival is what makes it so terrific and allows everyone to participate, dance, beat on a drum or just take photos while in the middle of the tribal groups. The groups include all age groups - another wonderful aspect of the festival. Some of the most creative costumes distinct to the tribal themes are displayed by a few of the local gays. The festival includes every local group in Aklan with a unique tribal tradition, various civic or commercial organizations and individuals that create new costumes every year.
for more year long Philippine Festivals visit: Philippine Retirement
for more year long Philippine Festivals visit: Philippine Retirement
Masskara Festival
Bacolod’s most popular fiesta. It first began in 1980 during a period of crisis. The province relied on sugar cane as its primary agricultural crop, and the price of sugar was at an all-time low due to the introduction of sugar substitutes like high fructose corn syrup in the United States. It was also a time of tragedy; on April 22 of that year, the inter-island vessel Don Juan carrying many Negrenses, including those belonging to prominent families in Bacolod City, collided with the tanker Tacloban City and sank. An estimated 700 lives were lost in the tragedy.
In the midst of these tragic events, the city's artists, local government and civic groups decided to hold a festival of smiles, because the city at that time was also known as the City of Smiles. They reasoned that a festival was also a good opportunity to pull the residents out of the pervasive gloomy atmosphere. The initial festival was therefore, a declaration by the people of the city that no matter how tough and bad the times were, Bacolod City is going to pull through, survive, and in the end, triumph.
The word "MassKara" is a portmanteau, coined by the late artist Ely Santiago from the word "mass" meaning "many or a multitude of the people", and the Spanish word cara meaning "face". A prominent feature of the festival is the mask worn by participants; these are always adorned with smiling faces. MassKara thus means a multitude of smiling face'.
for more year long Philippine Festivals visit: Philippine Retirement
Cost of Living in the Philippines
The Philippines has a very low cost of living. The peso has significantly lost much of its value since the Asian Financial Crisis but over the past few years the country is getting back on its feet. The Philippine economy ranks 47th worldwide with a total GDP of over 120 billion Euros. Expatriates will find living in the country very cheap compared to the United Kingdom.
The cost of labour is low in the Philippines enabling retirees to hire home help at very low rates. The Philippines is the 12th most populous country globally with over 88 million people. Some individuals live on 2 Euros daily so if expat retirees used to earning 2,000 Euros every month, they will be able to afford a semi-luxurious quality of life.
The Philippine economy is a free market and most of its foreign earnings rely on remittances from overseas Filipino workers that comprises over 10% of the total population. The country was dubbed as a newly industrialized country and is a member of the APEC, IMF and other financial institutions. In recent years, the economy has been growing steadily at a rate of 7% each year. The government is actually looking for more foreign investors to bring in pounds, Euros and dollars. Most foreign businesses are involved in trade, agriculture and telecommunications.
for more info visit: Philippine Retirement
Healthcare in the Philippines
The country’s pool of competent medical practitioners, culture of hospitality…English-speaking people….state of the art technology… and cheaper medical and wellness treatments, PHILIPPINES make it a preferred destination for healthcare.
Expensive medical procedures can be done in the country for a fraction of the cost when you have it done in first-world nations. This is why Medical Tourism to the Philippines is currently on the rise. The Philippines is banking on a number of factors to make it a top destination for medical tourists. The most important factor of course is the availability of hospitals and healthcare facilities that can attend to patients.
for more info visit Philippine Retirement
Philippine Retirement
Retirement in the Philippines evokes thoughts of an easy life. If you have worked hard all these years, and would like to have a comfortable, quality lifestyle where you can experience all the conveniences during your retirement on an affordable budget. There is lots of extras available retiring in the Philippines, where good health care is accessible and affordable – the PHILIPPINES is one of the best countries to retire.
On the other hand, if you're not yet ready for retirement, but is considering a change or improvement in lifestyle for yourself and your family, then the Philippines remains a ideal place for you to reside.
Life in the Philippines can be much simpler compared to the flurry of hasty activities in developed countries. The best way to decide if the Philippines is the ideal place for your retirement is to vacation here and see for yourself.
for more info visit: Philippine Retirement
Philippine Investment
The Philippines has one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, with a young, educated, English speaking workforce. Unlike more mature economies, the Philippines offer investors many opportunities to invest and achieve good returns. Strategically placed, it is the gateway to Asia, and a short distance to the major Asian markets in China, Korea and Japan, as well as a growing domestic market. The current government is business friendly and encouraging more over investment.
for more info visit:www.bnac.com.ph
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