Bloggers Night with Apl.de.Ap

The BACKPACKERS attended the Bloggers' Night spearheaded by no other than international hiphop artist Mr. Apl.de.Ap. Hosted by the officials of the Apl.de.Ap Foundation, the invitational event aimed to get to know Pinoy's pride Apl.de.Ap as a person, an artist and an ambassador of peace in the country. The bloggers also got the chance to talk and mingle with Apl.de.Ap's team in the reality show, The Voice of the Philippines.

Apl.de.Ap (center), Team Apl of The Voice and the twenty selected bloggers who attended the meet

A BLOGGERS MEET

Not only are we fortunate in having the chance to meet the international star Apl.de.Ap, we also got the chance to greet fellow bloggers who attended the event. The event catered to and invited different sets of bloggers: there were fashion bloggers, food bloggers, urban bloggers, photobloggers and even music site administrators. And there were also a few fellow travel bloggers spotted in the event.

BPs Ivan and Heinz (extreme sides) with Badette (of Badudets.com), Janese (of Lakwatserang Mom) and Henri Villegas

APL.DE.AP FOUNDATION

The event introduced the Apl.de.Ap Foundation, its history and its current and upcoming projects. It was

 founded in November of 2011. Although active for almost two years, the foundation is flying under the radar in terms of media exposure and publicity. As a matter of fact, this is the first bloggers' meet which was arranged by the officers of the foundation and Apl himself. For them, the motto is "we just do it because we believe in it."

Miss Ailene Ponce explaining the Macaroon for a Cause project

Over the past years, the foundation has built at least fourteen classrooms, developed several laboratories and supported fourteen scholars. On going is their joint project with Red Ribbon and Franklin Baker company: Macaroon for a Cause. They will be promoting the sale of macaroons wherein the proceeds will go to help build a school in Mindanao.

BP Marion with Apl.de.Ap

The future project of the Apl.de.Ap Foundation is analogous to the concept of the current reality show The Voice of the Philippines. A franchise of the popular international talent show, The Voice offers a fair competition to discover and mold a potential singing sensation through the coaches' mentorship and guidance. After this project, the foundation will be extending its support for the arts by discovering and mentoring gifted individuals across the country. Apl.de.Ap believes that the arts can transform a community and that poverty is not a hindrance for the talented people to grab an opportunity to shine.

BP Ivan with Apl.de.Ap

Through his foundation, Apl.de.Ap pays it forward to his birth country which is very generous and inspiring. Being raised  while his parents would work really hard to make ends meet, Apl.de.Ap or Allan Pineda, can empathize with the situation of our unfortunate fellowmen especially the youth. Now that he is back, nobody asked if it's for good, he wants to start giving back to his homeland.

THE VOICE OF THE PHILIPPINES:
DREAM DESTINATION OF TEAM APL

The conference also provided an opportunity for the bloggers to ask questions and mingle with Team Apl of The Voice. After introducing themselves, they walked us through their experiences being mentored by the Black Eyed Peas member and in the contest proper. After the formal talk, we had the chance to hang out with them, and The BACKPACKERS are curious on what is their dream destination in the Philippines that they would love to visit after the contest.

Stan serenading the crowd with When I Was Your Man
This boy can really sing!

Tristhan Perfecto aka Stan the Man would love to visit Palawan. Familiar with the Underground River as one of the natural wonders of the world, he would like to travel and explore it. His youth may have kept him from travelling the country, but his exposure through The Voice of the Philippines can just be the key for him to travel around and probably visit Philippines' Last Frontier.

Aside from personally telling us about his dream escape, he also expressed how happy he is in being on the show and being in the roster of Team Apl. He pointed out that in the team, they treat each and everyone a family.

BP Heinz meets the humble Cora dela Cruz

Corazon dela Cruz, or Cora, is not much of a traveler as well. Throughout the contest, she mentioned how grateful she was because The Voice has been an avenue to have her first travel experiences. It was her first time at the Imperial Palace, The Fort and other places. I was very much amused on how there's a perfect mixture of humility, sincerity and wackiness in her. 

Her dream destination is to get to Boracay. A very well known beach in the Visayas region, she hopes that someday she would also get to experience the white sand and the beauty of the place. And yes, we know you can, Cora!

BP Marion posing with probably the artist in the bunch
with the strongest voice, Janice Javier

Outspoken and witty, that's what I observed about Janice Javier of Team Apl. She cracks jokes at her friends and even at Apl but just at the right margin. She is thankful for this stint in the reality show because it made her more confident with herself and abilities. And when she sang us a tune, there's no doubt that there's a singing prowess there.

Her dream vacation after this contest is in the shores of Boracay.

All ears across while Penelope sings Don't You Remember

The sweet and adorable Penelope Matanguihan of Team Apl has a very soothing voice. She mentioned her gratitude of having this experience and narrated how each member especially their coach have been very supportive of each other despite its competitive format. 

Her dream escape is in Iloilo. She told me it has been a long time dream to visit the old churches and other tourist spots in the area. She is eyeing for a relaxing vacation spree in this province, hopefully after this contest. Best of luck, Penelope!

BP Heinz after interviewing Thor

Then there's the mighty Thor. Thor Dulay, known for being the back up of a comedian, is as thankful as the others for this big break. He does not see this as a competition, rather as a haven where artists can help each other be molded to bring out their full potential.

Despite having been there once, Thor's dream destination remains to be in Palawan. He fell in love with the place and would go back in a heartbeat. Curious of the activities that The BACKPACKERS is engaged in, he mentioned that it's his dream also to climb mountains as he is also a nature lover. Since he grew up in Davao, he prefers more peaceful places like the serene beaches of Palawan.

The Bloggers Meet has been a fun and interesting interaction with the hiphop sensation Apl.de.Ap and Team Apl of The Voice. It has been an awesome avenue for us to meet fellow bloggers who like us, are very much enthused to share to the world the beauty of our country - be it in fashion, photography, food or traveling.

GOOD LUCK TEAM APL!