San Pablo City Blog

The many old landmarks of San Pablo are quickly disappearing. One landmark that many San Pablo old timers will definitely remember is Sta. Rita's Newspaper and Magazine Store along Bonifacio. Thankfully, it's still there. Well, at least HALF of it is still there.

Sta. Rita's was once double this size, encompassing the space where the green gate on the left of the 2nd photo is located. I still remember going here when I was young. My parents would buy things like Mod Magazine, Newspapers and Liwayway, and I would ask them to buy me song hits and komiks. Today, I still buy my Liwayway weekly here, although I miss the old, much larger Sta. Rita.

Incidentally, that signboard is new, around maybe a year old, replacing the old signboard that has been there for decades. It still had the 4-digit phone numbers commonly used in the old days. More than once I entertained the notion of actually asking them for that signboard, offering to get them a new one in exchange. I never got the chance or the courage to ask, until I saw they had replaced the sign... actually, I think they just painted over it.

Labels: alanguilan, laguna, philippines, san pablo city

Tiangge season started early this holiday season. I remember them usually popping up a few days before the start of the Fiesta week in early January.





In the background (specially in the 2nd photo) is the giant mango tree ("SM" or "Sa Mangga") that was severely damaged due to Typhoon Milenyo last September. That tree has been there for as long as I can remember. It's been there for as long as anyone in San Pablo still alive today can remember. Over at the Museo ng San Pablo blog, there's even a photo of the tree back in the 1930's.

This is a series of photos I took of and around Sampalok Lake on October of 2003.
























A lot of people were surprised, and at times disbelieving that this was actually taken at Sampalok Lake. But yes it was. This is a view that you can't see from the viewing deck though, as it actually overlooks the east. To see this view, one needs to travel to the other side of the lake at sunset.

Here is a collection of my San Pablo Videos:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIKjJaiy4Sk
San Pablo City: 2006
Created March 2006


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn7YH-o_ScA
Typhoon Milenyo
Created September 2006


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWwM2yBPvqU
San Pablo City: Public Market and Grocery
Created October 2006


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXwOB6VmV2k
Komikero Artists Group Archives #1: Traveling!
Created October 2006
Scenes from Lake Pandin, Lake Yambo, Doña Leonila Park and some scenes in Majayjay, Laguna.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIVtW-Imuzg
San Pablo City: November 1, 2006

I wonder why I haven't thought of this before. I already have a blog about my work which can be found here, and a personal blog which can be found here.

But there's another subject that is of great interest to me that I can't seem to fit in those two groups, and that is my hometown of San Pablo City. No, not the one in San Francisco, USA, but right here in Laguna in the Philippines, the City of the Seven Lakes.

I was born right here in San Pablo, at Doctor's Hospital in 1968. I loved growing up here, and I hated being forced to move to Manila when Ateneo de San Pablo closed so we could continue our studies in the big city.

After graduating from San Beda College (High School) and University of Sto Tomas (Architecture), and practicing both architecture and comic book illustration for a few years, I moved back to San Pablo City for good.

What can I say? I love living here more than anywhere else. This is HOME to me. I love taking pictures and videos of it.

In this blog I will be uploading the many photographs and videos I make about San Pablo, and once in a while I'll be sharing some news, whatever news that I manage to find out that is.