Chicagoans TITA MESIONA MANLAPAZ and KENNETH ILIO hosted this year’s batch get-together in Crest Hill, Chicago and Skokie, Illinois last May 25-27.
Day 1. The "batch party" in Chicago began at TITA and husband CALOY’S beautiful home in Crest Hill near Chicago. The bright red welcome banner that adorned Tita’s porch says it all. Arriving from the Midway airport (thanks to CALOY for picking us up), we were welcomed by Tita’s sweet smile and warm hospitality. In attendance were DOLLY RODULFO DALUSONG and her husband POL who flew in from California, JUN MICU from Virginia, NOEL CALINGASAN from New York, and guests ELIZABETH RUBIO LAZARO from Maryland and Jun’s former student at CLSU, RICARDO EUGENIO. At the well-manicured garden in the back of Tita’s house, we feasted on delicious food that TITA prepared for lunch. It was a lovely day with lots of great food, reconnection, and a lot of laughs. The afternoon was also spent watching TITA and DOLLY’s favorite teleserye on TFC, “Maging Sino Ka Man.” Also part of the itinerary was outlet mall shopping, followed by dinner at TITA’s house, karaoke (of course) and some dancing.
Day 2. The group met up with KENNETH in downtown Chicago at one of the most popular destinations in the city, the Millennium Park. Completed only three years ago, the 24.5 acre park boasts unique and sophisticated architecture, monumental sculpture and landscape design. Ken, also an avid photographer was our tour guide who introduced us to the interactive Crown Fountain which consists of two 50-foot glass block towers at each end of a shallow reflecting pool. The towers project video images from a broad social spectrum of Chicago citizens. The images change constantly and at some point, there are images with open mouths with water flowing out, a reference to the traditional use of gargoyles in fountains, where faces of mythological beings were sculpted with open mouths to allow water, a symbol of life, to flow out. There were many sculptures, but the most prominent and mesmerizing was Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate sculpture on the AT&T Plaza, a bean-shaped 110-ton elliptical structure forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates reflecting the city's famous skyline and the clouds above. Inspired by liquid mercury, the 66-feet long by 33-feet high sculpture has a mirror-like surface, inviting visitors to touch its surface and see their image reflected back from a variety of perspectives. Another feature of the park is the contemporary Lurie Garden designed by the team of Kathryn Gustafson. We also visited the Jay Pritzker Pavilion is a very sophisticated outdoor concert venue. It has a state-of-the-art sound system, the first of its kind in the country, was designed to mimic the acoustics of an indoor concert hall by distributing enhanced sound equally over both the fixed seats and the lawn. The concert venue has a billowing headdress of brushed stainless steel ribbons that frame the stage opening, a very prominent sight at the park. We then proceeded to the hugely popular Buckingham fountain. Ken invited us to his high-rise condo in Chicago for a delicious lunch. We also met RON DORFFMAN and his photographer friend who also joined us. We had a great view of Lake Michigan from Ken’s terrace, and after lunch we actually went to the lakeshore and took photos (with the banner of course). Rain did not dampen our enthusiasm to pose with the banner and with Lake Michigan as backdrop. We then took the Red Line train to downtown Chicago for more sightseeing. We strolled down the city streets admiring the architecture and the history of the city. At night, we went up to the Hancock Observatory where we experiences the spectacular views of the city, which during the daytime spans up to 80 miles, four states and 360 degrees. We then returned to Ken’s condo by bus. After dinner at Ken’s place, we headed back to Crest Hill.
Day 3. Tita made arrangements for a joint get-together with more senior UPCVM alumni who live in the Chicago area. The big party was held at the residence of VKV founder and Batch ’64 graduate DR. TOTO ALMAZAN in Skokie, a Chicago suburb. There we also met another VKV founder, DR. ROBERT GERONIMO (Batch ’65), Dr. CESAR AGUSTIN (Batch ’61), DR. MELITON NOVILLA (former Chairman of the UPCVM Department of Microbiology and Public Health), DR. PILAR PASCUAL CENIR (Batch ’63), DR. JOSUE CASTILLO, and DR. RACHEL (BUBUT) MORDENO who is now a nurse in Chicago. Dr. Novilla spoke to the group about the proposed Veterinary Pathology Facility to be erected at the UPCVM in Los Banos. Jun in turn talked about our batch fundraising for Project Tiles. It was wonderful to share that afternoon with other UPCVM alumni, especially with lots of Filipino food including the lechon that Tita donated. That night, Kenneth took us back to the park in Chicago for a great view of the city’s skyline. We then returned to Grant Park to view the Buckingham Fountain, which was beautifully animated with a computerized choreography of color spotlights. It was truly a visual feast to see the fountain at night, together with the fireworks display.
Overall, it was another wonderful experience to reconnect with former classmates and friends, and at the same time be dazzled with the marvelous sights in the city where our hosts now reside.
Day 2. The group met up with KENNETH in downtown Chicago at one of the most popular destinations in the city, the Millennium Park. Completed only three years ago, the 24.5 acre park boasts unique and sophisticated architecture, monumental sculpture and landscape design. Ken, also an avid photographer was our tour guide who introduced us to the interactive Crown Fountain which consists of two 50-foot glass block towers at each end of a shallow reflecting pool. The towers project video images from a broad social spectrum of Chicago citizens. The images change constantly and at some point, there are images with open mouths with water flowing out, a reference to the traditional use of gargoyles in fountains, where faces of mythological beings were sculpted with open mouths to allow water, a symbol of life, to flow out. There were many sculptures, but the most prominent and mesmerizing was Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate sculpture on the AT&T Plaza, a bean-shaped 110-ton elliptical structure forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates reflecting the city's famous skyline and the clouds above. Inspired by liquid mercury, the 66-feet long by 33-feet high sculpture has a mirror-like surface, inviting visitors to touch its surface and see their image reflected back from a variety of perspectives. Another feature of the park is the contemporary Lurie Garden designed by the team of Kathryn Gustafson. We also visited the Jay Pritzker Pavilion is a very sophisticated outdoor concert venue. It has a state-of-the-art sound system, the first of its kind in the country, was designed to mimic the acoustics of an indoor concert hall by distributing enhanced sound equally over both the fixed seats and the lawn. The concert venue has a billowing headdress of brushed stainless steel ribbons that frame the stage opening, a very prominent sight at the park. We then proceeded to the hugely popular Buckingham fountain. Ken invited us to his high-rise condo in Chicago for a delicious lunch. We also met RON DORFFMAN and his photographer friend who also joined us. We had a great view of Lake Michigan from Ken’s terrace, and after lunch we actually went to the lakeshore and took photos (with the banner of course). Rain did not dampen our enthusiasm to pose with the banner and with Lake Michigan as backdrop. We then took the Red Line train to downtown Chicago for more sightseeing. We strolled down the city streets admiring the architecture and the history of the city. At night, we went up to the Hancock Observatory where we experiences the spectacular views of the city, which during the daytime spans up to 80 miles, four states and 360 degrees. We then returned to Ken’s condo by bus. After dinner at Ken’s place, we headed back to Crest Hill.
Day 3. Tita made arrangements for a joint get-together with more senior UPCVM alumni who live in the Chicago area. The big party was held at the residence of VKV founder and Batch ’64 graduate DR. TOTO ALMAZAN in Skokie, a Chicago suburb. There we also met another VKV founder, DR. ROBERT GERONIMO (Batch ’65), Dr. CESAR AGUSTIN (Batch ’61), DR. MELITON NOVILLA (former Chairman of the UPCVM Department of Microbiology and Public Health), DR. PILAR PASCUAL CENIR (Batch ’63), DR. JOSUE CASTILLO, and DR. RACHEL (BUBUT) MORDENO who is now a nurse in Chicago. Dr. Novilla spoke to the group about the proposed Veterinary Pathology Facility to be erected at the UPCVM in Los Banos. Jun in turn talked about our batch fundraising for Project Tiles. It was wonderful to share that afternoon with other UPCVM alumni, especially with lots of Filipino food including the lechon that Tita donated. That night, Kenneth took us back to the park in Chicago for a great view of the city’s skyline. We then returned to Grant Park to view the Buckingham Fountain, which was beautifully animated with a computerized choreography of color spotlights. It was truly a visual feast to see the fountain at night, together with the fireworks display.
Overall, it was another wonderful experience to reconnect with former classmates and friends, and at the same time be dazzled with the marvelous sights in the city where our hosts now reside.
