Sunday, May 06, 2007
MANILA'S GRAND FLORES DE MAYO
Labels: manila events
posted by Señor Enrique at 9:52 PM
52 Comments:
-
Belle TH said... lovely lovely ladies in their exquisite gowns. i love the details in their gowns, very very creative and colorful!
eric, your favorite must be the first one. she is beautiful!-
said... rich and vivid colors, eric, you captured them so well. looks like you are having a ball with your D80!
-
Señor Enrique said...
Actually, Belle, coming up with a favorite would be a futile effort, for I've never been -- in a very very long time -- among the company of stunningly beautiful and elegantly dressed and made-up Filipinas.
The camera doesn't do justice to their alluring and captivating presence. Incredible group of fine women they were yesterday :)-
Señor Enrique said...
Ah, DatuPanot ... I wish I had one of those large format cameras yesterday, and perhaps, with it truly capture on film these beautiful Filipinas!
I must also give credit to the designers who created their wonderful gowns. Gorgeous!-
said...
nice gowns.. great shots.. :)
-
carlotta1924 said...
the gowns are certainly gorgeous! galing magdala nung mga models. =)
-
Señor Enrique said...
I was talking with a fellow photographer how incredibly well-crafted these gowns were, Rhodyl.
A lot of work really went in to each one of these gowns.-
Señor Enrique said...
Hi Carla!
I'm not sure if all these women were professional models. I've a feeling that some of them are just truly beautiful local women.
The embroidery work, by the way, on some of these gowns are truly world-class, which reminds me of what my recent studio lighting instructor and art photographer, Allan Razo, said -- the Philippines has an abundance of incredibly talented creators/artists. Makes you really proud to be a Pinoy!-
Sidney said...
Gorgeous gowns and girls...
My heart is still beating a bit quicker...;-)-
ladybug said...
I wonder who the Reyna Elena was? You were able to capture the beautiful colors very well. Nice shots. :-)
-
said...
wow! they are all stunningly beautiful... love the colors eric... so vibrant...
btw, beside that i'm eyeing some lens, am also preparing for our trip in camiguin, so i need those overtimes... hehehehe...-
said...
Gorgeous ladies, beautiful detailed gowns, vivid colours, great shots! :)
-
JMom said...
WOW!! awesome gowns on beautiful ladies. Your photos are wonderful.
-
MJ said...
Wow! Beautiful and colorful!
-
said...
thanks for reminding me about this event. i was thinking of taking pictures of our own flores de mayo here in marikina. i'll take a rain check. i love the pictures. i like your blog, very filipino, just like mine. hehehe.
http://biyahengpinoy.blogspot.com/-
Ai Dihayco said...
Naks talaga sa ganda ang mga pinay :-) ganda din ng shots mo senor enrique!
-
Señor Enrique said...
Aren't they gorgeous, Sidney? Everywhere I turned my head was a lovely Filipina all dressed up elegantly :)
-
Señor Enrique said...
Many thanks, Ladybug.
I had to leave early last night and didn't get to know who was chosen as the Reyna Elena. Personaly, they all should have been chosen :)-
Señor Enrique said...
Give the designers credit for coming up with the gorgeous clor palette for this affair, Lino. It was intense!
Aha! Camiguin! Make sure you bring back some outstanding photographs like you always do :)-
Señor Enrique said...
This post is mainly dedicated for you Irene and the other female blogger friends of ours. I had you all in mind while I was taking these shots because I knew you will all appreciate such incredibly designed gowns :)
The embroidery and beading works were truly exceptional, Irene. You would have loved seeing them more in person.-
Señor Enrique said...
Yes, JMom, these ladies were simply beautiful and elegant. And I don't think all of them are professional models.
Many thanks!-
Señor Enrique said...
Indeed, MJ -- beautiful and colorful they all were :)
-
Señor Enrique said...
Many thanks, DjKlump!
You've got an interesting blogsite, too. I'd just bookmarked it :)-
Señor Enrique said...
Ay talaga, A!. Ang gaganda nila! Pwede nating pang laban sa mga magagandang Polish females din :)
Thanks!-
said...
Beauteous ladies and the costumes are ever solorful and so elegant. What a night it must have been.
-
-= dave =- said...
Simply dazzling Señor E! I 've heard of a "Santacruzan" in the Metro participated by top Philippine fashion designers and modelled by celebrities. I'm not sure if this is it since I don't recognize any of them, or maybe I haven't watched TV for the longest time now.
Anyway, I think your best shots were those during nighttime, since these are evening gowns, their full beauty would shine at that time. Thus it's no coincidence that I find candidate #14 (number is somewhat obscured) and #11 the fairest of them all. For the former, the simplicity of her green gown makes her all the more pretty, for the latter, her beauty still shines despite the attack of colors ;)-
said...
you've checked my blog site? hey, thanks. i found your blog to be very interesting because it has the same theme as my blog. but you're more masipag in posting articles. :) i've placed a link of your blog in my blog if that's okay. i will visit your blog from time to time.
-
said...
The evening gowns remind me of those Maria Clara dresses. And the Barongs are beautiful!
[:-
Amadeo said...
Eric:
The elaborate ternos shown have gone a long way from its origins as the traje de mestiza. And a world apart from its rural versions, such as the patadyong.
Now, we have these very intricate and obviously expensive versions, very apt subjects for photography.
And since the origin is the traje de mestiza, aren’t a good number of those svelte models themselves mestizas?-
Photo Cache said...
very nice to see people wearing out traditional clothing. OO nga, mayo na naman pala. time for sagala and santacruzan.
-
Señor Enrique said...
Indeed, to borrow from a song, it was some enchanted evening, Major Tom. A gathering of beautiful personalities and colorful creations that we can be truly proud of as being Pinoys!
-
Señor Enrique said...
Wonderful choices, Dave, but in person, it would be a daunting task to look for favorites, trust me, because each one was just as charming and utterly alluring. And those gowns!
Like you, I didn't recognize most of the faces but heard some were celebrities. To me they all stood as equals in terms of charm and elegance :)-
Señor Enrique said...
Hi DjKlump!
I bet if you regularly update it, it would become an even more wonderful site because of your fascinating entries! Although we have of the same theme, your creative personality still stands out. I really like what you're doing. Keep it up!!!-
Señor Enrique said...
You're right Kyels. As for the barongs, I think these were all custom made, for I've never seen such an interesting array, and colorful, too!
-
Unknown said...
Ang ganda talaga ng mga Pinay :O) I can sense that many hearts skipped a beat admiring the dolled up Pinays.
I love the sagala/santacruzan/Flores de Mayo very colorful and time to dress up and parade the streets of the town. Reminds me when I was in grade school when I used to join :O) hhhahaha.
Sayang po talaga hindi kami nakapanood last Sunday haaay wish I was there. I also wished forever that I have a good Nikon in hand.
Ang saya at ang ganda ng mga kuha ninyo Senor...es muy muy gwapa Filipinas (lagi!)-
Señor Enrique said...
I failed to mentioned, Amadeo, the surprising number of not so svelte mestiza grand dames in the audience. For a second, thought I was in San Juan, Puerto Rico instead of Manila. The Mexican Ambassador was also in the audience whom I took a picture of and talked to briefly about the current Flora Filipina exhibition (plants from Mexico to the Philippines) in the National Museum.
Once I was confident that most of the event people saw me rubbing shoulders with the ambassador, I claimed one of the vacant seats and had a perfect position to take picture of the show :)
BTW, the undersecretary of tourism spoke quite extensively about the history of Flores de Mayo and the colorful gowns, but it became too long a speech (which only bored the audience to tears) that should have been blogged instead.-
Señor Enrique said...
Do they have Santacruzan in your area, Photo Cache? You see, in New Jersey, they celebrate it every summer and always attracted large crowds.
-
Señor Enrique said...
Hi Daisy!
Did you make it to the kite festival? I didn't because it got a bit hectic so I only went to the Flores de Mayo festival.
You should have been there! Please don't miss it next year. Talagang
kahanga-hanga and event na ito. The whole production would make you feel proud of being a Pinoy talaga, Daisy.
New York City attracts the most incredible beautiful women mainly because it is actually the media center of the entire States. And having been in the fashion industry for years, I have been in the company of these strikingly photogenic women from all over, especially those captivating women from eastern Europe.
But there is something uniquely special about the Filipinas, be they a hundred percent or of mixed heritage. I can only assume that it is the inherent warmth of the Filipina that makes her ever so alluring. I guess, it is the gift of nature, for having been from the tropics, that blessed our women with this "warmth" that I speak of.
We ought to have more festivals like this on a monthly basis ... hehehe.
BTW, Daisy, don't worry because you don't have a Nikon camera, just take photographs from the heart :)-
Daisy said...
Dear Senor Enrique,
No we were not able to go to Ateneo for the kite festival. Yes, indeed it is too hot to go out at 2pm in the middle of a Manila summer heat wave!
Galeng po ng work ninyo to be able to meet people from different cultures. Yan po ba ay malapit sa napanood namin na betty la fea, devil wears prada at ugly betty?
Siguro nga po ganun ang mga Pinay very warm. I think the nearest way to describe Filipinas are their being "malambing" I do not know the exact English translation of this though.
:) ang saya ng Flores de Mayo sana nga po next year!
Salamat po for the encouragement. Indeed like what you said and other friends say just follow your intuition.-
Señor Enrique said...
Hi Daisy,
Guess, you just have to learn how to schmooze, especially at major photo opp events ... hehehe. Otherwise, you won't get an decent point of view to do your shots.
Yup, just hone your skills with whatever you have at the moment. When I started blogging, I basically used my phonecam, and gradually upgraded as I got more comfortable and confident.
I think they still have a major kite festival over at Rizal Park. I better ask around for its date.-
said...
Wow, those women looked so gorgeous in their lovely gowns. Superb shots! I also noticed that some barongs were even made to match the colors of the gowns of their partners. Ang galing ng combination. Looks like a lot of effort went into the designs of the gowns and barongs.
Thank you, thank you so much for sharing these pics! :)-
Señor Enrique said...
I was told, Kathy, that this year's event was coordinated by the country's federation of designers and this is why this year's presentation superseded that of last year's in terms of creativity, color palette and style.
Come to think of it, even the flowers they carried were pretty much like works of art.
Wish you had witnessed this Santacruzan in person. You would have loved every minute of it :)-
said...
Lovely Filipinas and lovely gowns!
A beauty expert once said that it should be the woman carrying the dress and not the other way around. And in these photos, I guess these words are justified. Lalong gumanda ang mga gown creations dahil sa kagandahan ng mga nagsuot. :)-
Señor Enrique said...
I think it was a collective effort also in this case, Rhoda. Throw in the make-up and hair stylists as well because they really did a great job on these women. I guess, this is why the whole event seemed so magical -- everyone put in their best efforts to dazzle the public! And dazzle they did :)
-
said...
I think you missed an equally gorgeous pair of sagala. But your pics were fine nonetheless.
-
Señor Enrique said...
You're right, Anonymous! This is not a complete pictorial presentation. I left early during the competition, and there were just too many shots I took prior to it. As much as I wanted to, I can only post so much photos; hence, a couple of sagalas got left out :(
Thanks! They were all lovely!-
Unknown said...
Wow nice ang mga gowns
-
Señor Enrique said...
They were pretty incredible, Ronal! Exquisitely designed and created by our local designers!
-
said...
Hello, sir! I am in awe of these pics. May I grab a couple, specifically the one with the ladies in #7 and #15, for my soon-to-be-published blog? I will give full credit to you, of course. Let me know how to address you: Senor Enrique, senorenrique.blogspot.com, or however. Thank you!
-
Señor Enrique said...
Hi marichu,
Just credit the pictures to Senor Enrique.
Thank you!
Eric-
said...
Hi sir!
It's my first time actually to read a blog. I thought it was boring to read insights of others. But I found yours to be very intersting. :) The photos you've taken was brilliant, the colors: very attractive. and so are the ladies. I joined the Flores De Mayo in our province this year but none of the gowns there could meet the designs here.
Now that I found ur site, I'll visit it more often I guess. :))-
Florerias Df said...
Lovely, She is looking awesome and her outfit is charming. The background flowers are also splendid.re
