Sunday is usually malling day for the Lollikins (Lolarga family members) of Pasig City. But on April 25 we tried something out of the ordinary by visiting Pinto Art Gallery on Sierra Madre Street in Grand Heights Subdivision, Antipolo City. To do this we spent the night at my sister Pinky Susi’s house in Francisville, also in Antipolo.

We dressed in our most comfy summer wear, and that meant cotton shorts, t-shirt and sneakers for me. The youngest member of our party, Bianca, who turns two this April, napped during the journey from the foot of Antipolo hills, the urbanized part, to the still lush side of the pilgrim city.

The gallery, an example of typical Mexican architecture, sits on the evergreen estate of brilliant neurosurgeon and art patron Dr. Joven Cuanang of St. Luke’s Hospital. He was there to greet us in a bright blue printed shirt and native hat. The occasion also marked the opening of the joint exhibitions of Jose “Bogie” Tence Ruiz and Antipas “Biboy” Delotavo, both acknowledged exponents of the social realist school of art. There must have been at least a hundred people milling about, getting reacquainted and admiring the artworks and examples of Philippine craft.

What lent fun to the gathering was the revival of the pabitin with no less than 30 artworks by the two featured artists at stake. At the gallery entrance we each wrote my names down on slips of papers for the bunutan of who would qualify for the pabitin. Although there were six of us in our group, we failed to make it to the elimination round, but that didn’t lessen our enjoyment of the afternoon.

Bianca gamely posed by the pond, on the antique batibot chairs, on the poolside, in the airy bamboo house, a modular construction of architect Ning Encarnacion Tan. Older cousins Kimi and Ida and sister Marga took turns minding her as she scooted from garden to fountain to feeling the falling water in her tiny hands. What’s more, we all had our fill of what’s known to colegialas as “dirty” ice cream with an authentic sorbetero scooping out cheese, chocolate and ube sorbetes.

For those of you planning a trip to the Philippines, we highly recommend a trip to Pinto Art Gallery for viewing pleasure or what the wise Persian called “hyacinths to feed the soul.” Our pictures are the proof of these.