Why Retire in the Philippines/Marinduque Vacations: Jessica Sanchez Not Qualified to be in Filipino Pride List

Planning to Retire Soon!

If you are planning to retire in the Philippines soon, I suggest you visit several excellent websites on pro's and cons of retiring in the Philippines. However if you want to retire in the provinces, where life is simple, standard of living cheaper, less traffic congestion and pollution, availability of fresh seafood and vegetables compared to the big cities, my island province is the place for you! If this is your first time in my site, welcome. Some of the photos and videos on this site, I do not own. However, I have no intention on the infringement of your copyrights. The photo above is the front yard of Chateau Du Mer- Our Retirement Home in Boac, Marinduque, Philippines

Friday, September 21, 2012

Jessica Sanchez Not Qualified to be in Filipino Pride List

Do You Really Care if Jessica Sanchez is Included in the Filipino Pride List or Not?

I was just reading an article from my fellow blogger from Iloilo, Philippines, Dave DeWall regarding Charice Pempengco new manager, Courtney Blooding, comments on Twitter. Blodding twitted that she does not feel comfortable about the warm welcome of Filipino-Mexican-American idol 2012 runner-up, Jessica Sanchez to the Philippines. In addition, Blooding twitted that Sanchez should not be included in the Filipino Pride List because she is not really a true blooded Filipino. In addition, she does not speak Tagalog and was not born in the Philippines. There were other reasons listed, but do you really care. I don't care!

I agree that Sanchez is really not a pure blooded Filipino, but she is indeed a Filipino-American. Her mother was born in the Philippines and her father has Mexican ancestry. She grew up with Filipino and Mexican family values.

I believe Blooding comments was based on jealousy. Or perhaps a ploy for advertising for Clarice. Clarice do not need any more advertising. She is a popular singer and is known through out the world.

Thus, Blooding comment is unnecessary and uncalled for. I will definitely add Sanchez name in my list of Filipino-American Pride. Currently, I am writing a series on famous Filipino-American in the fields of entertainment, sports, science, medicine, politics and philanthropy.

In case you have not heard, The American Idols top ten Live Tour of 2012 is now in Manila. What do you think? Comments appreciated.

Fruit Trees in the Gardens of Chateau Du Mer

The Mango Tree-I have three varieties in my Garden-The Indian, Guimaras and Carabao Mangoes My caretaker/gardener informed me last month that due to the El Nino drought in Marinduque, two of my Durian trees died in spite of his vigilant watering. One of the tree was attacked by insects that looks like a big fly but yellowish in color that sucks the sap of the seedling. The roots of the other tree was attacked by ants residing in the soil. However, my other fruit trees, the rambutans( 2), the lanzones(2) and the jack fruits ( 2) trees are doing well. The above eight fruit trees were given to me by Retired General Recaredo Sarmiento of Boac and Lucena., about three years ago. General Sarmiento is the “atid” of my wife. “Atid” is the colloquial term for brother. Evidently, Macrine's father, the late Bernardo Jambalos was the Godfather of General Sarmiento during his baptism and comfirmation. Gen Sarmiento's hobby is orchard planting, reforestation and farming. The other fruit trees in my garden are guayabanos, cashew, avocados, starapples, duhats, ates, guavas, mangoes( 3 varieties) and papayas as well as several varieties of bananas . Of the above fruit trees, my favorite is the guayabanos, also known as soursop tree known for its anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties . The following are photos of the fruit trees. The Durian photo is from the web. Note that it almost look like a jack fruit tree, except that the leaves are bigger and shiny. My desire is to have a passion fruit tree in the near future. You are welcome to visit my orchard and flower gardens any time, if perchance you are in the vicinity of The Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center.