Happy Father’s Day

stuck in Bali

So it comes to be that I will spend my first Father’s Day without my Cacing! It doesn’t really feel so bad as I always thought that the celebration is an imposition of Western mores on Filipino culture and on Asian culture at large. Perhaps it is the unconventional in me that I tend to look at Father’s Day as commercial trivialization of fatherhood. That said, I would certainly look forward to the day when my daughter Cacing will “surprise” and regale me with greetings and gifts when she comes of age. Cynicism goes out the door when it comes to your children and that time will arrive quite soon enough.

So where am I and what keeps me away from my family this week?

Work. It is an 8-day trip for me covering the Jakarta, Surabaya, Bali, Lombok and Makassar. I am already midway of my business trip and should be back in Cebu in 4 days.

Bali Arts Festival

Meantime, I was able to squeeze some downtime yesterday to watch the Bali Arts Festival. I’ve watched performances of this annual Festival several times in the past 15 years, but this is my first time to watch its much talked about opening ceremony.

Part pomp, part religious ceremony, the opening parade (meped) of the Bali Arts Festival gives you a glimpse of the diversity of Bali culture. It’s like watching Cebu’s Sinulog grand parade. In celebration of Father’s Day today, I am featuring male portraits from yesterday's parade. These are somebody’s fathers and somebody’s sons.

Happy Father’s Day!