Pinoy photographers to hold Mount Pinatubo exhibit in US

A group of Filipino photojournalists, who covered and survived the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991, will hold in San Francisco in the United States a "Mount Pinatubo@20 Photo Exhibit" or 20 years after what was called the "volcanic eruption of the century." Organized by the Philippine American Press Club-USA and "Philippine News," America's oldest Filipino-American newspaper, the exhibit will be staged for two days — October 11 and 12 — at the Social Hall of the Philippine Consulate at 447 Sutter Street San Francisco, CA 94108. Organized by former Manila Bulletin photographer Nick Sagmit and former Times Journal photojournalist Ed Galvez, the exhibit will feature photographs during and after the eruption on June 15, 1991. The featured photos include the award-winning shot of Albert Garcia, whose escape from blazing hot pyroclastic explosion picture won first prize in the nature category of the World Press Photographers photo contest.

It was also chosen as one of Time Magazine’s “Greatest Images of the 20th Century" and by National Geographic Magazine as one of “Best 100 Pictures of the 20th Century. To give a better perspective on the impact of Garcia’s spectacular picture, the 20th Century included two world wars, the rise and fall of many great nations of today, discoveries, inventions and scientific explorations. Aside from Garcia, currently the photo editor of Manila Bulletin, 11 photographers will participate in the exhibit including:

GMA News Online Photo Editor and Press Photographers of the Philippines President Joe Galvez;

Philippine Daily Inquirer Chief Photographer Ernie Sarmiento;

Philippine Daily Inquirer photo consultant Heraldo “Boy" Cabrido

Charie Villa of ABS-CBN, and

chief photographers of several newspapers and foreign news bureaus based in the Philippines. The Mount Pinatubo Media Survivors will hold the exhibit upon the invitation of Carson City Mayor Jim Dear and Filipino-American Elito Santarina, a member of the Carson City council. The exhibit begins in the City of Carson as part of the "Tambayayong Festival 2011" to celebrate Filipino Heritage Month in the city. Aside from the photo exhibit, the festival includes Filipino cultural performances, art exhibits, seminar workshops, bazaars, and others. The event is sponsored by Philippine Airline, PAGCOR, Dept. of Tourism, YKL Fuji Film with media partners GMA, ABS-CBN, TFC, and Philippine daily Inquirer. Mount Pinatubo Mount Pinatubo is located in the Tri-Cabusilan Mountain range stretching from the province of Zambales to Tarlac, and Pampanga, on Luzon island. Mount Pinatubo's eruption on June 15, 1991 came after some 450 to 500 years after its last known eruptive activity. The 1991 eruption produced the second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century after the 1912 eruption of Novarupta in the Alaska Peninsula. Over 800 people were killed by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, mostly because of roofs that collapsed under the weight of accumulated wet ash, worsened by the simultaneous arrival of Typhoon Yunya. - VVP, GMA News