#CEBUkeepsakes2019 features my first visit to Cebu’s Otakufest plus a visit to the recently-opened Moe Moe Kyun Restaurant To cap off my journey in Cebu from February 23 to 25, 2019, I’m making this post to share to you the content I produced: Podcasts We’ll start with the podcasts as these are the first ones that I processed (also probably the fastest): This may not count as Otakufest content but this marked my second trip to Cebu City. I’m with Serena of The Lily Cat in the airport when we recorded this episode. ...

Cebu’s kick-starting major event held for two days at SM Seaside City’s Maze Garden This year’s Otakufest has done firsts in its decade-long history: Being held for two days, and being among the first activities to be held at the recently-opened Maze Garden area. It’s been two weeks since and the thought of going to Cebu again just right after going to Singapore. This all started when I am convinced by my counterpart, Cebu’s Cosplay Event Buzzer Gary Montejo to be there. My initial plan was to visit ARCHcon, but as soon as I realized that I may not be able to travel by plane again on my own this year, I took the jump. ...

Team Weapon and Mask Destruction from Davao City to represent the Philippines in this year’s friendship event Among the major activities in the recently-held Otakufest 2019 at SM Seaside City Cebu is the National Finals for Pop Culture Hiroshima (PCH) Philippines held last Sunday, February 24. According to the tournament’s Facebook page, PCH is an annual Japanese pop culture convention held in Hiroshima City which features cosplay, idols, guest voice actors, independent/fan artists, and illustrators as well as an anime song (anison) singing competition. ...

The three pairs who participated in the World Cosplay Summit Philippines’ 2019 Cebu Preliminaries together with its panel of judge cosplayers Reika and 2018 Philippine representative Team Sekai. Two more pairs for WCSPH 2019 finals selected in Cebu’s Otakufest - 2018 National Finalist Team Class S to return for 2019 Nationals It was a busy Sunday for everyone who is at the Maze Garden of SM Seaside City Cebu as Otakufest 2019 holds three major events on its second day. ...

Photo: World Cosplay Summit Philippines committee “Samurai X” pair from Mindanao to represent region in the 2019 World Cosplay Summit Philippines Nationals In other news related to the World Cosplay Summit in the Philippines, the 2018 Mindanao Cosplay Summit hosted the 2019 Mindanao Preliminaries. Held at the City Hall of Tagum in Davao del Norte last December 26 to 27, 2018, the preliminary round gathered three pairs from the region for the chance to join other finalists in the National Preliminaries to be held this year. ...

keepsakes.’ guide on how to have your taste of the C3AFASG experience Hi guys! I’ve just come a long way from Otakufest 2019 in Cebu — my photo album is up on Facebook, the latest podcast will feature a series of recordings from the Queen City of the South. By this weekend I expect to use most of the footage I captured to create five videos that will be uploaded on both YouTube and Facebook. ...

Is it worth it to desperately be with your idols? A photo of this writer captured at the historical Kamuning Bakery and Cafe in Quezon City, just a few months before it got burned and rebuilt again. (Captured by Nestor Domingo Jr.) There are moments that are still fresh in my mind, such as the time when I: was like 7 or whatever years old and am alone in the house crying for mama, or that time when I executed nothing for the school paper after taking the helm despite planning for it; or not wanting to finish high school because I just don’t feel going — instead, I spend my time in the internet cafe doing stuff; but even so, I still have the memory of meeting my inspirations — my idols — in person. It’s as fresh as the fish sold in the market at 3:00 am. ...

What Binondo looks like in the start of the Lunar New Year? - Lunar New Year in Binondo Manila 2019 Kiong Hee Huat Tsai! February 05, 2019 marks the start of the Lunar New Year (most of us know that it’s being celebrated by the Chinese, but it’s also being celebrated in Korea as Seollal, so I’ll start with that). In the Philippines, this day has been declared a Special Non-Working Holiday, which means I get to have a day off from work and tag along my friend and online media colleague Christian Mack’s journey into Binondo, which is the oldest Chinatown in the world, having been established in 1594 (16th century). ...

I made sure that my second trip in Cebu will be in an otaku event — and not just any otaku event, it has to be the largest one. I’ve been to three personal trips to explore the anime/cosplay culture — in Davao, in Singapore, and in Baguio. ...

I got a lot of content being churned out on YouTube and Anchor. Here’s some of it: I’ve just had a podcast with JM Melegrito of Anime Pilipinas last week, and now we proceed to Cebu’s Gary Montejo. Next week will be Serena from The Lily Cat — and following that is a feature on the country’s first Anime Idol Convention held last January 13. A lot has been going on, and I just got used to churning on podcasts sporadically, so you’d better subscribe to the podcast: http://anchor.fm/keepsakes. ...