I'm back with Ilocano Fairy Tales from Mabel Cook Cole. I perform The Monkey and the Turtle - The Poor Fisherman and His Wife - The Presidente Who Had Horns.

More Tagalog fairytales! I perform Mabel Cook Cole's The Adventures of Juan and Juan Gathers Guavas. You can read her work, it is in the public domain and on Project Gutenberg.

This time around I'm doing Tagalog fairy tales from Mabel Cook Cole. I perform The Creation Story and The Story of Benito.

Today, I'm reading the Visayan fairy tales, The Spider and the Fly and The Battle of the Crabs. These are all in the public domain via Mabel Cook Cole's book, Philippine Folk Tales. Unlike the other episodes which I rewrote, these are pretty close to the tellings by Cole because I didn't want to steer too far from their simple tellings. I will clarify which ones I do rewrite, as I'll be performing a handful of these. You can find all these tales on Project Gutenberg:...

Today I'm reading the Visayan fairy tales, Why Dogs Wag Their Tails and The Hawk and the Hen. Why Dog Wag Their Tails was the very episode I ever did, so I'm throwing it back!! These are all in the public domain via Mabel Cook Cole's book, Philippine Folk Tales. Unlike the other episodes which I rewrote, these are pretty close to the tellings by Cole because I didn't want to steer too far from their simple tellings. I will clarify which ones I do rewrite, as I'll be performing a handful of...

These week I'm reading the Visayan fairy tales, The Virtue of the Cocoanut and Mansumandig. These are all in the public domain via Mabel Cook Cole's book, Philippine Folk Tales. Unlike the other episodes which I rewrote, these are pretty close to the tellings by Cole because I didn't want to steer too far from their simple tellings. I will clarify which ones I do rewrite, as I'll be performing a handful of these. You can find all these tales on Project Gutenberg:...

I'm back for Filipino-Canadian Heritage Month with fairy tales! I'm reading Visayan fairy tales, the Sun and the Moon and the First Monkey. These are all in the public domain via Mabel Cook Cole's book, Philippine Folk Tales. Unlike the other episodes which I rewrote, these are pretty close to the tellings by Cole because I didn't want to steer too far from their simple tellings. I will clarify which ones I do rewrite, as I'll be performing a handful of these. You can find all these tales...

Once upon a time, there was an old woman named Magda, who lived in a barrio in Bulacan. She was very wealthy. She had no husband or children to pass on her wealth, and her time was coming. A priest brings her a mystical rose to see if God has pardoned her sins. This is my last episode until Fil-Can Heritage Month in June. I would like to take the time to work on my book, research and learn Cebuano. I started the same time last year, inspired by Philippine Folklore vol. 2, and I'm still...

There once lived a boy named Ernani. He was so small that other boys did not want to play with him. Even his family members did not want to play with Ernani because he was an odd boy. He was quiet and kept to himself. Ernani preferred being alone. He befriends a magical black ant friend.

There were two brothers, Nilo and Liko. They tended a farm, in which they grew many vegetables and beautiful flowers. Many people bought their produce. However, their farm work was hard because they had to get water from a faraway river. They had an old pump on their land, but it no longer worked. One day, Nilo helps an injured dog, who turns their old pump golden.

Dandoy helps a wounded stranger, who gifts him with a beautiful book that changes his life. Unbeknownst to Dandoy, his neighbors covet this book.

The duplo is a debate in verse. Those who planned to do the duplo did a lot of practice in the rice fields or resting under the tree. The participants usually searched for verses from nearby towns, and gave up their fighting roosters or dumalagas in exchange for verses. The duplo was held during the prayers said for the dead. It was also held during the first anniversary of the death of a person. The widow or survivors of the deceased would usually invite some young ladies and gentlemen from...

Long ago in the small village of Suyuk, a part of the place that is now the city of Baguio, there lived a tribe of Igorots whose leader was Kunto. They were a peaceful people and they respected one another. They believed in their gods which they called anito and the teachings of Bathala. Every year they celebrated the kanyao in honor of their anitos. One year they get a special gift: a golden tree.

There was a beautiful maiden who lived in San Mateo. Many men came from across the land in hopes to win her hand in marriage. Her response to the many proposals was that she was too young but she would think about it. Eventually, one of her suitors does an ambitious task for her to prove his love.

Happy Halloween! Vidal learns about the church’s corruption through the manananggal during San Flores’ party. But Vidal must find Danica before the manananggal does! The manananggal is my favourite aswang. I always imagined if I was one, I'd screw it up somehow and be the legs running free at night instead of the powerful lady flying.

Part 3 of my fantasy novel, Diyosa Mata. Vidal learns more about his past, and how the god, Sitan might have had a part in it. Vidal grows closer to Danica, who reveals that she knows more about the Kalayaans and magic, despite it being forbidden in Lirio. Vidal also faces his first aswang, the manananggal!

Today I'm back with Part 2 of Diyosa Mata! Happy FAHM! Vidal meets his friends Rain and Danica. As he grows closer to them, it becomes harder to hide his magical abilities from them. Vidal tries to be normal, but his magical side begins to reveal things from his past.

Halloween special: I'll be reading parts of Diyosa Mata, the fantasy novel I've been working on. This novel is based on Filipino folklore and mythology and is a reinterpretation of the Spanish colonial era of the Philippines. After years of brutal indoctrination and injustice, the downtrodden people across the archipelago revolt against an imperialistic theocracy called the Derramar. They’re inspired by Mayari Bathala—one of the last practitioners of magic known as the Kalayaans. Mayari...

Evangelina was the clever daughter of a wealthy family in the town of Mabulak in Bulacan. She wanted to escape society and learn the world through her books and art. She wanted to bring people happiness, and her wish created the flower, the Dama de Noche.

Don’t mess with the Nuno sa Punso! Learn about the little old dudes in mounds that protect nature from those who wreck the treasures of the forest.

Skilled markswoman, Princess Cloriana gets lost after hunting with her father’s troupe, and her ability to survive both enemy and wilderness turns her into a queen. Disguised as a shepherds boy, Prince Igmidio comes to take her back home.

A young girl gazes upon herself in a pool, and in a moment of self-consciousness, get an affirmation that names the town of Marikina.

This is the last chapter of the Hinilawod epic! Humadapnon quests for the hand of Nagmalingtong Yawa. He sails on a sea of blood, a river between two crashing islands, and visits an island of hot-hot-women who capture him. Nagmalitong Yawa rescues Humadapnon from capture, and the two have many more adventures!

While Humadapnon was adventuring in our last story, his brother Dumalapdap set out on his own quest. He set out to the Land of Dawn, where the goddess Lubay-Lubyok Hanginun si Mahuyokhuyokon lives. Her long name is roughly translated as “Graceful movement of the Arrogant Breeze”. She is the goddess of the night breeze, who resided in the east.  I re-wrote the story after reading the version in Outline of Philippine Mythology!

The Hinilawod epic continues with the Adventures of Humadapnon. He's questin' for some ladies like his brother. He's seduced by a sorceress named Pinganun, who gets him into witchcraft. But his love conquest leads him to Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan, the goddess of greed. She lives with her riches and her dwuendes, while men across the land come to try for her hand in marriage.