Press Release

CORON: A FUNDRAISING EXHIBITION

By Carlos Esguerra
NY-New York
December 6, 2014



Dear friends in photography,

I am scheduled to have a fundraising photography exhibition at the Philippine Center, 556 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY from December 15, 2014 to January 2, 2015. The theme of the exhibition is "Coron". It will feature images taken from the town of Coron, province of Palawan. The exhibition is in cooperation with the Puffin Foundation of Teaneck, New Jersey.



Please join us during the artist reception on Tuesday, December 16, 2014 at 6:00 pm at the Philippine Center. Open your hearts and give generously to the people of Coron. Artworks will be raffled off during the reception.


Fifty percent (50%) of the gross proceeds from the sale of the photographs will be donated to the people and the town of Coron which suffered greatly from typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan.

Most of the local and international relief efforts for the victims of Yolanda/Haiyan had been focused on the city of Tacloban, Leyte and its surrounding towns because the city was the entry point of the typhoon. However, the town of Coron which was on the exit path also suffered greatly but has not been on the radar screen of most relief efforts. Eighty percent (80%) of the town was devastated by the strongest typhoon on record. Many of the structures on some of the photographs are no longer there, damaged completely by the typhoon.


Here is a portion of a letter from my friend, Al B. Linsangan III, an Environmental Photographer based in Coron:

"Coron was severely damaged by Yolanda/Haiyan where most coastal communities lost their homes and livelihood.  Forest areas lost a lot of trees and tourism was affected too.


We had no power for a month after the super typhoon and we almost ran out of food supply since airport and port are not operational for a while. As far as I can remember during the meeting with the Local Government the total damages reach to almost 50Million worth of property and enterprises."



If you will be willing to extend the help to our affected boatman families who lost their homes and affected their livelihood.  We are now forming their cooperative to have alternative and additional source of income your donation will be of great help for the start up capital of the cooperative as we form it for the grassroots ecotourism project."

Photos shown  are some sample images of Coron.

Those who wish to donate to the project can contact me through my website: www.carlosesguerra.com.

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See also:
FilAm photographer Carlos L. Esguerra wins Bronze in 2014 Prix de la Photographie Paris