Less than a week ago I was in the Philippines celebrating my grandparents 70th wedding anniversary. Alot of people dont make it to their 70th birthday so it was such a special celebration for my family and my grandparents who, at 90+, are still mentally strong and are as happy as ever.

While we were out there, we went to the land where my Grandfather grew up.. Majayjay, Laguna. His family were farmers and if it werent for him to venture to Manila to become a banker and businessman, I wouldn’t be typing this today nor would fatlace be a brand/culture. I would be a farmer running around hustling rice and coconuts.

We passed thru a bunch of towns to get to Majayjay which took us about 3 hours to get to. The town of Liliw was known for its hand made slippers and had some sort of market going on this monday afternoon.

There were alot of dudes walking around with butterfly knifes and machete’s. I picked one up. 🙂

Jumped back in the van and headed to Majayjay. (Pronounced.. “Mah-hi-hi”)

My family still has a bunch of land and rice paddy’s out here and this particular one is being watched over by a family friend. Here’s their hang out. If you dont know them, you can’t pass..

Oh, they also raise fighting roosters which is legal in the Philippines.

The path to the coconuts and rice paddy.

Fresh Coconuts

Jaida getting a drink full.

Vines from trees.

Has lived all his life taking care of the land.

Big momma pig with a ton of flies on its back.

Brooklyn didnt get 1 mosquito bite while we were in the philippines. She was pretty proud of it.

Wild flowers.

Wild cats.

A rice field with some other ones in the back.

You might wonder why the banners are up. Whenever there’s a festival in the town they put these up.

Across the street, I caught these kids playing hoops. You really do appreciate everything you have when you visit. These kids made up a basketball hoop with a noodle basket.

They also play old school video games in the front of their store.

We also visited a 500 year old church.

It was huge.

Mark Arcenal

Creative Director at Arcenal
Lived the Agency life for over a decade and then moved to client side and helped in launching the biggest brand Nike has to date, Nike Sportswear as the Global Digital Lead.

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