03 « May « 2012 « The Bibliotaphe Closet

Support My Cousin in His Run for the Toronto Half-Marathon for the

Halo-Halo Village!

By Zara D. Garcia-Alvarez

My baby cousin who isn’t a baby anymore happens to be an avid artist and art teacher in Toronto and runs an art project called the Halo-Halo Village.

If you’re Filipino, you’ll be familiar with our famous dessert, Halo-Halo, literally translated as “mixed-mixed.” It’s a delectable concoction of shaved ice, milk, cream, ice cream, and your choice of “mixed” ingredients such as: mongo beans, pineapple gelatin, coconut strands, jackfruit, etc. The list goes on! And mmm…it’s good!

Halo-Halo

And so is my cousin, Jeff Garcia’s art and continual work in the creative industry!

Here are some of the images of how he supports the art community:

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Not only is he a great artist (and no, I’m not just making a plug because he’s family—he really is gifted—I know, I’ve seen his drawings at the tender age of seven and they were complex), he’s also a great runner. (Now, I know how he keeps his thin physique!)

And so, on May 6, 2012 at 8:30am, he’ll be running the Toronto Half-Marathon on behalf of the Halo-Halo Village!

Yikes! Just thinking about it makes me tired (though, I, too, used to run long-distance—hey, maybe it’s genetic?).

So, if you’d like to support my cousin, affectionately known to me as “Jepoy,” here are the details in doing so:

He is running for pledges of $21.29. A dollar for every kilometre of his half-marathon (21.2923 km).

Donate $21.29 and your name will also be screen printed on the back of his race shirt.

(Now, the gift of giving is great enough, but the artist in Jeff compels him to give back!)

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You will also receive a screen-printed poster of his race Bib Tag # with the total time he ran the 21.2923KM.

The collective poster will also include the names of all the Villagers who supported his run.

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Proceeds will go towards Halo-Halo Village’s closing and renovation process

at 208 Christie St. during the month of May and to help continue his events and workshops outside of those walls.

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He’s “running forward to new beginnings!”

If you would like to support his run for the village:

1. You can either give him cash or cheque ( payable to: Mango Peeler ) in person at: 208 Christie St. on Friday May 4th from 5pm-9pm. Or you can email transfer him your $21.29 donation to this email.

Security question: LONG. LIVE. THE.
Answer: VILLAGE

2. Send him your name/ record label/ studio/ clothing line/ your band/ etc./ that you want printed on my shirt and the bib tag posters.

Jeff will need the pledges and names by Saturday morning the latest as he will be screen-printing his race day shirt on Saturday May 5th.

If you live outside of Toronto please provide your mailing address in an email. You will receive a receipt for your donation.

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He would also love the moral support! So go out and cheer him on during his run on Sunday or meet him at the Finish Line! Play some music on a boombox, bring him a mango, or make him a cool sign!

You can also follow details of Jeff’s run on Twitter (@mango_peeler) with the hashtag: #RUN4THEVILLAGE and his website.

(Drizzy Drake is a personal friend of his and he will be!)

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Toronto Half Marathon Map
Race Details

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Thanks to all who support not only my cousin, Jeff, in this marathon and his projects at the Halo-Halo Village, but the arts community on a whole.

Asian Heritage Month Blog Event:

Japanese Samurai

By Zara D. Garcia-Alvarez

Samurai (侍) refers to the military nobility of Japan prior to its industrialization and means, “those who serve in close attendance to the nobility.”

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Samurai warriors described themselves as followers of “The Way of the Warrior” or Bushidō, which is defined by the Japanese dictionary as “a unique philosophy (ronri) that spread through the warrior class from the Muromachi (chusei) period…the Samurai felt that the path of the warrior was one of honour, emphasizing duty to one’s master, and loyalty unto death.”

A warrior is known to look forward to a glorious death in the service of a military leader or the emperor:

“It is a matter of regret to let the moment when one should die pass by….First, a man whose profession is the use of arms should think and then act upon not only his own fame, but also that of his descendants. He should not scandalize his name forever by holding his one and only life too dear….One’s main purpose in throwing away his life is to do so either for the sake of the Emperor or in some great undertaking of a military general. It is that exactly that will be the great fame of one’s descendants.” – Shiba Yoshimasa (1350–1410 AD).

Over time, powerful samurai clans became warrior nobility, or “buke,” who were under the court aristocracy.

Samurai Names

A samurai was usually named by combining one kanji from his father or grandfather and one new kanji. Samurai normally used only a small part of their total name.

For example, the full name of Oda Nobunaga would be “Oda Kazusanosuke Saburo Nobunaga” (織田上総介三郎信長), in which “Oda” is a clan or family name, “Kazusanosuke” is a title of vice-governor of Kazusa province, “Saburo” is a name before genpuku, a coming of age ceremony, and “Nobunaga” is an adult name. Samurai were able to choose their own first names. (From wikipedia.org)

織田上総介三郎信長

Marriage

The marriage of samurai was done by having a marriage arranged by someone with the same or higher rank than those being married. Most samurai married women from a samurai family, but for a lower ranked samurai, marriages with commoners were permitted with a dowry brought by the woman and her family.

Traditional Japanese wedding dress.

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Women

Maintaining the household was the main duty of samurai women. This was especially crucial when warrior husbands were travelling abroad or engaged in clan battles. The wife, or okugatasama (“one who remains in the home”), was left to manage all household affairs, care for the children, and defend the home forcibly if necessary.

Many women of the samurai class were trained in wielding a polearm called a naginata or a special knife called the kaiken in an art called tantojutsu (“the skill of the knife”), which they could use to protect their household, family, and honour.

Kaiken

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Traits valued in women of the samurai class were humility, obedience, self-control, strength, and loyalty.

Weapons

The Chokutō sword is a straight blade followed by the curved tachi, the uchigatana and, the katana. Smaller swords are the wakizashi and the tanto.

Chokutō

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Wearing a long sword together with a smaller sword became the symbol of the samurai. This combination of swords is referred to as a daishō (“big and small”).

The yumi (“longbow”) reflected in the art of kyūjutsu (“the skill of the bow”). It’s made from bamboo, wood, rattan and leather and had an effective range of 50 meters. The practice of shooting from horseback became a Shinto ceremony known as yabusame (流鏑馬).

Yumi

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The yari (Japanese spear) displaced the naginata from the battlefield as personal bravery became less of a factor and battles became more organized.