• CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
Bacolod artist Bamboo Tonogbanua’s Christmas Village turns 26 this year.
Tonogbanua said his Christmas Village started with his fascination with Christmas cards where he saw snow, beautiful houses, and Santa on his sleigh.
“When l found miniature objects l thought l could relive my childhood fantasy in a concrete form,” he said.
In 1996, he started with a small collection of houses made of chipboard, and from then on he did not stop building his Christmas Village. He continued adding miniature objects until it grew bigger. The most beautiful pieces were made in the US, Tonogbanua said.
He recalled that there was a year when he liked to collect Chinese houses, and later European and Mexican houses. So he had different themes at a certain time. He also has a classic Charles Dickens collection and his latest is a miniature collection made up of Hebrew architecture, he said.
He could no longer account for the number of objects in his Christmas Villages, also because he still continues to collect new ones, he added.
Aside from his Christmas Village, Tonogbanua also has a nativity scene he conceptualized himself, which when photographed, looks like a painting.
And on his Christmas Village’s 26th year, Tonogbanua is giving away a beautiful lighted Village Shoreline scenery which will be raffled off on January 4.*
