All-Around Pinay Mama

The All-new Grand China Acrobatic Circus is Now in Smart Araneta Coliseum

December 23, 2019

Christmas season is getting very exciting through the years due to the festivities, attractions, and performances being showcased in different parts of the country, especially in the metro. In line with this, just recently, I've learned that an award-winning acrobatic troupe from the People's Republic of China is going to perform at the Smart Araneta Coliseum just in time for Christmas and new year! Kuya enjoyed watching Drum Tao with Paps two years ago and I am sure he is going to love this show too. Like me, he loves watching concerts and shows such as this and just because maybe due to his inclination to the performing arts. Tamang-tama, I also heard that this show is affordable kahit award-winning ang performance so pwedeng-pwedeng makapanood ang people from all walks of life especially "budgetarians" like us. Hindi na kailangang magdalawang-isip na bumili ng tickets!

Here are the details of the show that I am talking about!

Araneta City's entertainment mecca, the Smart Araneta Coliseum, brings in to the country the multi-awarded performances of the China National Acrobatic Troupe in a Christmas Show titled “The All-new Grand China Acrobatic Circus.”

The Grand China Acrobatic Circus presents the daring, the splendid, the bold and the spectacular. It features mind-blowing tricks, death-defying acts, graceful choreography loaded with color and excitement deftly presented by internationally renowned and multi-awarded Chinese acrobats.

AAPM Events, Araneta City, Events and Workshops, Must-Watch, Smart Araneta Coliseum, The Grand China Acrobatic Circus, SJ Valdez, All-Around Pinay Mama blog

The Circus themed performance is set to give Filipinos personal firsts experience of heart-stopping shows, daring and thrilling performances guaranteed to be a hit among audiences young and old.

One never-to-missed act is the Rose Bud contortionist, a mythical fox in a trance of contortion and coquetry. Another jaw-dropping act is the Peking Opera’s Huadan (heroines) in Diabolo, where performers in majestic suits intrinsically play the Chinese Yo-yo.

The All-new Grand China Acrobatic Circus will run from December 25, 2019 to January 4, 2020 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Enjoy a 25% discount on every purchase of ten (10) tickets by using a Mastercard Debit, Credit, and Prepad card in any Ticketnet outlets. The promo can also be availed via www.ticketnet.com.ph and the Araneta City Mobile app by using the promo code MCARANETA25.

Interested buyers may also call 8911-5555.

To give you the glimpse of what to expect, I invite you to watch this:

The Grand China Acrobatic Circus Mastercard Promo runs under DTI Fair Trade Permit No. FTEB-21402 Series of 2019.

Beautiful Births Documentary: Speaks About Pregancy and Natural Childbirth

October 30, 2014

Beautiful Births is a touching documentary produced by Starseed Pictures that talks about the other side of pregnancy and childbirth methods and options which are not often shown in mainstream media.

In this documentary we can understand better what Midwifery Model of Care is and what happens in birth centers when women experience giving birth out of the hospital. It answers the most common questions and addresses the concerns most people have about out of hospital births.

It also discusses Cesarian Delivery (C-section), Vaginal Birth After Cesarian (VBAC), interventions, and the importance of a proper diet during pregnancy and more.

Three women share their personal birth stories including their in and out of hospital experiences.

I was so blessed to be given a privilege to watch the whole documentary. I was so touched and moved by it. It highlighted stories and beautiful photographs of women who were giving birth the natural way. I could relate although I gave birth twice in a hospital. I found women who shared their stories in the film admirable. They had the guts to go back to basics.

I believe that men should watch this to better understand what women are going through during pregnancy and delivery. Women risk their lives to bear and give birth to a child. Pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding is a journey that is so pure, beautiful, and inspiring that women should proudly share to the world.

The mini teaser on YouTube has already received over four million views and counting. The official documentary trailer is available HERE.

For more information on the Beautiful Births documentary or Jacqui Blue please visit: www.BeautifulBirthsDocumentary.com.

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About Jacqui Blue

Jacqui Blue is a documentary filmmaker, writer, photographer, artist and mother of five sons. Before putting herself through film school, she had spent the greater part of the last decade working as a stay at home mom and wife. Having had a Cesarean section with her twins, followed by two very different but successful hospital VBACs, which was then followed by a water birth in a birth center, Jacqui developed a passion for natural birth and fell into "alternative" or "attachment" parenting styles. When she became annoyed with the programming available to women about pregnancy and birth, she decided it was about time someone made a film that showed another, a different, a more humane way to bring children into the world.

Facts, Video, and Photo Credits: www.BeautifulBirthsDocumentary.com

Phil the Fil-Am: The Way to Teach Kids About Filipino Language and Culture

August 14, 2014

I have noticed that many Filipino-American children don't know how to speak Filipino or Tagalog. It's a sad reality. Why is this happening? I've heard from friends of friends that they believe that teaching their kids their mother tongue would cause confusion and non-mastery of the second language, English. They're so afraid that their kids would not be able to cope up when they socialize with their English speaking friends.

I also heard stories that parents were not able to teach their kids to speak Filipino due to their very busy schedule. They were already adapted and used to speak in English outside and inside their homes.

I have cousins who were brought up in America since they were preschoolers but they were taught how to speak and understand Filipino. When they went here in the Philippines for a visit, they tried their best to communicate with us in our mother tongue. What our aunts and uncles did was they were obliged to speak in Filipino at home and they were not allowed to speak in English at all. They were only allowed to speak in English when they were in school or at work.

I'm so proud of them! They have shown that it's possible to be bilingual.

To validate the importance of learning the mother tongue, I came across with a very informative article written by Dr. Josebelo Chong on his blog A Dugyot in the U.S.A. He wrote, "According to the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA), there are various phenomena which can masquerade as deficit arising from bilingualism; however, the recommended approach is actually REINFORCEMENT of both languages (and cultures, as the case may be) and NOT EXCLUSION of one or the other. Interestingly, it states that 'Children all over the world learn more than one language without developing speech or language problems'. Bilingual children develop language skills just as other children do. A study done on German-English bilingual toddlers and published in the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology in 2002 comes to the conclusion that 'early simultaneous acquisition of more than one language is not an inherent disadvantage for the child'."

Dr. Chong emphasized, "The truth is that teaching a second language can be BENEFICIAL. According to an article in the Linguistic Society of America's website, 'Some people worry that learning more than one language is bad for a child, but nothing could be further from the truth'. In fact, there are a lot of advantages to knowing more than one language. They then go on to say that bilingualism can ENHANCE cognitive development, IMPROVE the development of a child's cultural identity, and ENCOURAGE cross-cultural awareness and understanding.",

(See the full article here: http://thedugyot.blogspot.com/p/why-cant-filipino-americans-speak.html.)

He also mentioned a link to the article "Second Language Protects Against Alzheimer's".

Therefore, it doesn't cause confusion and it's not bad for individuals to learn more than one language.

Kids nowadays are luckier because they are exposed to multimedia. They can learn their mother tongue easily if only there's a show like "Dora the Explorer (who teaches kids to speak in Spanish and English)" in Filipino-English version.

This has been a dream of our kababayan in America, David Asis, who is currently creating a trailer for Phil the Fil-Am, an English/Tagalog children's cartoon about Filipino culture and social/analytical skills.

David's parents were from the Philippines. He was born in America. His kids are Fil-Am also, but they know more Spanish and Chinese. They learn to speak the languages more than they do Tagalog or Filipino through watching Dora the Explorer and Ni Hao Kai Lan.

According to David, he is not saying that knowing about Spanish and Chinese culture is a bad thing, but he would like his kids to learn about their own roots as well. That's why he is creating Phil the Fil-Am. It's his way of teaching his kids and all kids as well about Filipino culture in a format that they're familiar with.

The main character is named Phil and is modeled after David's son, Michael.

He is currently fleshing out the other characters, such as his nephew, Benjie, in the Philippines, who will serve as the show's primary method for relaying life and culture in the Philippines.

To turn his dream to a reality, he has launched a Kickstarter project to raise funds to create a two-three minute trailer of Phil the Fil-Am. Phase One of creating this show will be used as a launchpad for future phases of development. Phase Two will be to create a 22 minute Pilot episode, and Phase Three will be to create a 10 episode first season of the series. 80% of the goal funds will be used towards animation and music, while 10% will be used for art, script writing, story boarding, and voice talent, and the remaining 10% will be used promoting the series and miscellaneous expenses.

Here's a video to learn more about David's story and Phil the Fil-Am on Kickstarter:

I think it's great and all worth it to help David. All kids especially the ones who live abroad will benefit from it. It's also a way of us, Filipinos, to be known for our rich culture and heritage. You may go to THIS LINK to learn more about Phil the Fil-AM on Kickstarter or HERE to back this project for a minimum of $1.00 pledge. This project will only be funded if at least $2,500 is pledged by Thursday, September 4, 2014, 5:14 PM Australian Western Standard Time (AWST). Sharing this on your own social media accounts can be a big help too. Your friends might be interested to pledge to make David's dream come true! Thank you so much!

You may also like Phil the Fil-Am's Official Facebook Page for more updates: https://www.facebook.com/PhiltheFilAm