In Bacolod, artist’s Christmas Village draws holiday crowd

CHRISTMAS DISPLAY For 23 years, artist Bamboo Tonogbanua has been welcoming visitors to his family’s ancestral home in Bacolod City so they can enjoy his “Christmas Village,” a collection that grew from a hobby.—RONNIE BALDONADO/CONTRIBUTOR

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — It’s that magical time of the year again when a Bacolod City-based artist opens his ancestral home to visitors anticipating to see his elaborate “Christmas Village.”

Bamboo Tonogbanua has put several additions to his Christmas display this year, with varying themes and thousands of miniature objects that bring the festive spirit of Christmas around the world alive.

His “Chinatown” display has been expanded while “Jerusalem” has more ancient buildings added to the collection this year.

The “Frozen” castle features more fairy-tale characters, including Aladdin and Princess Jasmine gliding across the sky on a magic carpet with the genie nearby.

Aside from miniature displays of places around the world, Tonogbanua’s  Christmas Village features figures from popular fairy tales, castles, carnival rides, trains running through tunnels beneath snow-covered mountains,  and people dancing and skating on ice while multicolored lights blink and Christmas music plays in the background.

Bamboo Tonogbanua, in striped shirt PHOTO BY RONNIE BALDONADO

Hobby

People have been flocking to Tonogbanua’s ancestral home on San Juan Street here since 1996 when the artist started the Christmas Village as a hobby.

The village, 23 years ago, was set up on a single table. It has grown over the years that it now fills the two rooms on the house’s second floor.

The room featuring the main Christmas Village measures 8 meters by 10 m, while the smaller room, which was added in recent years, is 3 m by 4 m.

The Christmas Village  is a well-landscaped work of art consisting of hills, valleys, mountains and urban centers.

It is divided into zones so each section represents a different country, with added sections of fairy lands and carnivals.

Clouds hovering the village features magical creatures, including a figure of the boy wizard, Harry Potter.

The figures and other ornaments in the Christmas Village were accumulated by Tonogbanua from his travels around the world, while others were gifts from friends.

“The Christmas Village warms the heart and fills the eyes because it has everything you dream of in  a make-believe world,” Tonogbanua said.

Lifelong pleasure

“Collecting these miniature pieces has been a lifelong pleasure and sharing them with others brings me joy beyond measure,”  he added.

Tonogbanua’s miniature Christmas Village is open to the public from Dec. 1 to Jan. 4, from  6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Fr. Mao Buenafe, who blessed the Christmas display before it was unveiled to the public on Dec. 1, described Tonogbanua as having a big heart to continue building and sharing the Christmas Village every year, without fail.

“Bamboo built his Christmas Village to share the joy of Christmas with others, especially with the children,”   Buenafe said.

The village, he said, delivers a message of unity and harmony in the world while giving hope and joy to those who witness it every Christmas.