ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Entertainment devider Celebrities devider WTFU (WHAT THE FU) BY MR. FU: Angono's art and soul

WTFU (WHAT THE FU) BY MR. FU: Angono's art and soul

By Mr. Fu
Published Dec 2, 2020 07:33 am
Sol Francisco-Inocando and Mr. Fu

I love art. (kunwari may kultura ako!) I started collecting paintings eight years ago and this is my second year of producing my own pieces, The Art of FU. (arte-arte ko!) Last Sunday, My friend Bryan Talatala and I thought of visiting The Art Capital of the Philippines, Angono Rizal for some art appreciation. (para sa sining at kultura ito!)

Mrs. Sol Francisco – Inocando, granddaughter of National Artist for Visual Arts Botong Francisco, was so gracious to welcome us in their hometown. (yung ura-urada naming siyang ginambala ha!) She first brought us to Angkla Art Gallery of Joy Vocalan Cruz where we viewed several pieces from Angono artists and Former Apprentices of Botong. (Sana may mangahas na kunin akong apprentice!) One of the celebrities who have visited the place was Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray. They even requested me to leave a message beside Catriona’s note on the gallery’s celebrity wall. (ini-level ko talaga name ko sa name niya! Si Miss Universe at ang tagabulabog ng buong universe!)

Artwork by Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray

We also visited Art Sector Gallery and Café of Visual Artist Antonio Leano which featured works from young artists. The building is situated in an interesting location. Tony built it on a rocky terrain. There are even gigantic rocks around the structure. (parang naging sculpture yung mismong building nya!)

But the highlight of our visit, was when Sol opened the doors of their ancestral house for us, the house where Botong lived and made his world-class murals. Some of Botong’s awards, photos and personal belongings were displayed in the house. We also got to see some of his sketches and unfinished works. (actually, nilabas ko mula sa nakasarang mga cabinet! Pakialamera lang ako!)

Sketches by Botong Francisco

She introduced us to her brother, Master Artist Totong Francisco who has his own art studio in the house. (siya lang ang sumunod sa yapak ng kanyang lolo!)

Catriona also visited this place to shoot for her special video as a candidate at the Miss Universe Pageant. After winning the crown, she went back and made an on the spot artwork. She gave it to the Francisco Family as a gift. (samantalang ako, ang naibigay ko lang sa kanila ay moral support!)

From left: Mr. Fu, Totong Francisco, and Bryan Talatala

It was a quick trip to Angono but we enjoyed the experience. Thank you to Sol, Totong and the whole Francisco Family. We plan to come back and explore more art and history. (makapagpatayo nga rin ng museum sa Angono! Bukas na bukas din!)

(MR.FU hosts on 91.5 Win Radio, 8pm-12mn, Mondays to Fridays, 7pm-11pm, Saturdays. Twitter/IG: @mrfu_mayganon. FB: Mr.Fu the Star DJ. Youtube/Patreon: WTFu. Spotify: In love FU ako)

Related Tags

Mr Fu Botong Francisco Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.