Aljur Abrenica at SM City Gensan

Aljur Abrenica is one of GMA's most popular actors. He and Kris Bernal graced the audience at SM City on the last day of Kalilangan 2013. Popular personalities like the two are guaranteed to gather a huge crowd.  They usually sing for the audience. Of course, people don't watch their mall shows to hear them sing but just to see them. Their mere presence is enough to induce loud screams.

I'll speak no more. I'll just post some of the photos I took.

These girls ran to the stage to have their pictures taken with Aljur. They couldn't contain their glee.

I guess they were taken aback when some people in the audience shouted KISS, KISS. 

Kiss fail!

Kalilangan 2013 Closing Ceremonies

Kalilangan 2013 ended on February 27 with a bang. I usually don't go out to witness the events, but I wanted to see a bit of the street dancing competition, which was the main event of the closing ceremonies. The final competition started around 4pm, and I arrived at the Freedom Park (Oval Plaza) roughly around that time. It was blistering hot!

I was able to capture some snaps. Of course, I leave the best photos for the pros. Onlookers like me had little chance of getting decent shots, but I managed to take more than a few.

The program started with a prayer offered by one of our native T'boli brothers. Then his prayer was followed by an Islam prayer and a Christian prayer.

This band also performed for the audience. 

ABS-CBN Local News Team interviews Dr. Mary Lynn Abiera, the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs of Mindanao State University (Gensan), regarding the whole festivity.

Meanwhile, Professor Laroco reads the criteria for judging the street dancing competition. 

These photographers have the best spot. Onlookers had to struggle to get a shot outside the VIP area.

I only stayed long enough to see the first two performers. This group is the first performer. 

These performers had to endure the sweltering heat for their performance. 

The following are snapshots of the second group of street dancers. 

Mayor Darlene Antonino-Custodio delivered a message to the audience and expressed her gratitude to everyone who were part of the entire Kalilangan 2013 celebration. 

Next time, I'll bring a chair and an umbrella. 

La Diva at KCC Mall of Gensan

La Diva is a singing trio composed of Aicelle Santos, Jonalyn Viray, and Maricris Garcia, products of GMA singing talent show Pinoy Pop Superstar. I admit I'm not a super fan but I admire them as talented singers. The first time I saw them live was on October 19, 2012 at SM City Gensan. I admired them even more since then.

Just two days ago (February 25, 2013), I saw them again at KCC Mall of Gensan. Rhian Ramos, another GMA talent, performed for the audience before the trio came out. I guess she captured the audience with her charm. When she came out, the audience stood to their feet.

The audience remained standing as the singing trio entered the stage and broke into JLo's dance song On the Floor. This was followed by a thrilling rendition of Regine Velasquez's classic Pangarap Ko ang Ibigin Ka, a song they performed with such melodic perfection that anyone with good ears would be listening in awe. 

The next song was Angel's Brought Me Here, which they sang with three people from the audience. Each of them  took a partner to sing parts of the song with them. 

The last song was Beyonce's Love on Top. I would have clapped along and sang along had I not been recording the performance. Check out the video below.

Markki Stroem at SM City Gensan

When I learned that Markki Stroem was coming to Gensan, I was excited, because I'm one of those people who like to see celebrities. I don't know if that's a jologs behavior. Who cares if I'm jologs anyway? I don't.

I left my desk here at home and headed off to SM with my camera. I saw this as another photo opportunity. When I arrived at SM's Alfresco Strip, a band was playing. I don't know the name of the band. Markki came out onstage about 30 minutes later, and the people started screaming when he did. I would have screamed, too, if I were with a friend, but I went there alone.

The first photo I took was dark because there was no spotlight in front of him, just lights on the stage, which made photographing him difficult.

Meet this first lucky girl. 

That kiss on the forehead. I bet she will suffer from sleeplessness for a week after this.

He was singing a song about falling in love with two girls. I forgot the title. Hmmm... Okay, now, meet the next two lucky girls. 

Please ask permission if you want to use these images in any way. Thank you!

Kalilangan Grand Opening Fireworks

It's the 16th Kalilangan Celebration in Gensan. The soft opening happened on February 13, 2013, but no one seemed to care about it, because everyone anticipated the grand opening, which took place on the evening of February 22, 2013. Of course, the people who waited at Oval Plaza waited for the fireworks display. I had to stay at home because of my job and partly because of the weather. When we heard the first boom, we ran upstairs.