Welcome and Mabuhay

If you love Marinduque and want to contribute articles to this site, please do so. My contact information is in my profile. The above photo was taken from the balcony of The Chateau Du Mer Beach House, Boac, Marindque, Philippines. I love sunsets. How about you? Some of the photos and videos on this site, I do not own. However, I have no intention on infringing your copyrights. Thank you and Cheers!

Tres Reyes Island view of the Marinduque Mainland

Tres Reyes Island view of the Marinduque Mainland

Monday, November 27, 2017

Ditas Katague Art Show- Grieving Thru Glee


Ditas Katague, my youngest daughter has been Chair of National Advisory Committee On Racial, Ethnic and Other Populations at U.S. Census Bureau since August 1, 2015 and its member of National Advisory Committee since 2012. She has more than 20 years of experience at federal, state and local government agencies. She serves as Chief of staff to California Public Utilities Commissioner Catherine Sandoval. She served as California's 2010 Census director as well as the 2000 Census Chief Deputy Director, overseeing and directing the statewide outreach and coordination.

Besides her regular job at the Governor's office in the State of California as Director of Census, 2020, Ditas other activities are her art work (http://www.grievingthruglee.com/) as well as her Yoga teachings (http://www.solfirejstreet.com/teachers/).

The video below was taken during her 2014 art show at the Capitol Towers in Downtown Sacramento. I am really proud of Ditas (and Carenna also) accomplishments.

I left My Heart in Marinduque

I have always wanted to write a song about Leaving my Heart in Marinduque. This song will be sang to the tune of the famous song in honor of the city by the bay ( I left My Heart in San Francisco). Here's it is: I hope you like it:

The loveliness of Fair Oaks

Seems somehow sadly gay

the glory that was Boac

Is another day!

Ive been terribly alone

and forgotten in Sacramento

I'm going home to my town by the sea.

I left my heart in Marinduque

Near by the beach it beckons me

To be where the Moriones are

Come, visit where ever you are

The morning sun rise by the sea

I don't care!

My love waits at Chateau Du Mer

Near the blue and calmy sea

When I come home to you, Marinduque

Chateau Du Mer will welcome me!


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Sunset and Twilight at Chateau Du Mer

Sunset and Twilight at Chateau Du Mer
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Sunset from CDM Beach Resort

Sunset from CDM Beach Resort

ABOUT ME

I am a retired (Chemistry Team Leader from USFDA) Filipino-American who loves writing, gardening and photography. My wife (of 56 years) and I enjoy the snowbird lifestyle between the US and the Philippines.

We have a small but very private beach resort ( video above) in the beautiful island of Marinduque, Philippines. I have several blog sites (ten), a personal blog, blogs about Marinduque and about our beach resort and conference center-CHATEAU DU MER.

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Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort

Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort
Beach House, Boac, Marinduque,Philippines

Front Yard of Main House

Front Yard of Main House
Light Red Orchid and Bougainvillas,Chateau Du Mer

Amanah Forest Preserve

Amanah Forest Preserve
Living Room of Yong and Ivy Nieva, Cawit

Marinduque On My Mind

"Marinduque on My Mind" -has been published. The book was written through the inspiration of Yong Nieva, Macrine's first cousin on her mother side of the family.

"Marinduque is a strange illness. You come and you would go. You think you are leaving, but its the town that gets away from you. You wish you could understand, and yet you keep coming back". I realized I had a "problem" that I have to deal with; the problem of my relationships to this small island and the areas around it. I therefore decided that someday we can write a book to try to understand what was really happening, that could clarify our feelings, not by thinking descriptively,analytically or rationally.

We must follow the journey to go back in time. Follow a thread, but which one?It really doesn't matter. We just let ourselves be led by an image; a word, a memory; the trails of ink left by visitors who have been won over and those that have been lost. There's so many indeed! "

Here's a short biography of Yong: He is named after his father Guillermo(Will) Sarmiento Nieva,Sr of Boac. He has grown to be known as Yong. After a short stint with Philippine Airlines, in 1980, he got married and lived in San Francisco working for Allstate Insurance for fifteen years. In 1955 he got divorced and moved back to Manila. He is now in the restaurant business. Together with his wife Ivy Syquia Almario, an interior designer, they regularly visit Cawit, Boac starting an "ecologically-correct" family retreat or sanctuary. They named it AMANAH, Nature Reserve.

Here's a summary of Yong's email to us:

Dear Manang Macrine and Manong Dave'

Greetings! It was a lazy Sunday afternoon today and looking at the photos in my e-mail of my project in Cawit " The Amanah", I was struck by the thought of what is it that really beckons me to keep going back to our beloved island, Marinduque. When I started thinking of words to describe the feeling about Marinduque, all thoughts just came in a rush. It became a virtual "collage-series" of events in my young life. How Papa made it an annual mandate that we spent two weeks of summer with Lola Elving and our aunts, uncles and cousins in Boac. Ah, days of reckless abandon-the treks to the beach, and the jam-sessions at night. How we felt so loved by each and everyone of them, which even to this day we cherish. How even our cousins friends also became our friends. And they remember!

This is not only about us-the children of Guillermo "Will" Nieva of Boac. I then thought, "What about others"? What about those, who like me lived in the States, but still carry Marinduque in their hearts. Maybe if we all share via website, the hi-tech way, to answer the question of what really beckons us to Marinduque. Then together we can solve this strange illness.

Surely, the Marinduquenos association all over the US, do not only continue to thrive because of its leaders, but also because if we really look closely, there are many reasons why its members continue to stay in touch. It is a rare gift, if I may say so!

In that Marinduquenos heart, there's still an image- a face of his/her first love, or the first kiss; an incident in his/her young life that forever changed his life; his dreams, his goals, his pains that drove him to become what he/she is now; the emotions felt of being left behind from a good bye; the sound of the rambling jeepney on its way to Balanacan; the scent of coconut oil in early morning hours as you drive the narrow roads; the fear and scampering from the town's idiot or from the town's bully, and why not? the love story of beautiful "Peace Corp" volunteer fell in love and married the handsome local swain! So many essays and narratives to start and follow the "journey".

Manong Dave, could you please design a website for this literary project and invite our fellow Marinduquenos there in US to share their thoughts, hearts and feelings in words and so we can solved (or at least understand) this "strange illness" inside each and everyone of us!

My response to Yong: I am excited of this idea. My suggestion is to create a blog site instead of a website. The blog site is easy to manage. This is where articles could be posted and edited. The blog site is free and easy. I could titled it http://marinduqueonmymind.blogspot.com. I will manage it along with my other blogs on the internet. Once we have collected a number of postings, we can published it ourselves.

I will volunteer to write an article on " I left my Heart in Marinduque ( not in San Francisco), since I did not grow up in Marinduque but married a marinduquena.

NOTE TO ALL MARINDUQUENOS WHO WANTS TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROJECT:
You may write your article via the comment section of this blog or sent your article to my e-mail, tagajaro@comcast.net

Heart and Eco-Tourism Capital of the Philippines

Garden Wedding Venue

Garden Wedding Venue
Chateau Du Mer House and Gardens

Dave and Macrine Katague

Dave and Macrine Katague
Our Golden Wedding Anniversary-Click on Photo to link to Marinduque Awaits You

Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center

Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center
Beach House, Boac, Marinduque

Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center

Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center
Conference and Multi-Purpose Hall

Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center

Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center
Beach House Balcony at Night