Musical light tunnel signals Christmas in Pasig

By Michelle Anne P. Soliman
Reporter
IT IS the time of the year again when friends and family can take photos, go for a drive, do their holiday shopping, or go on a food trip along a rainbow-colored tunnel filled with music.
For its second year, Ortigas & Co. has opened the 2018 Stevie Award-winning Christmas Street Light Musical Tunnel at the Frontera Drive at Ortigas East (formerly Frontera Verde) in Pasig City.
“Last year, Ortigas & Co. needed a project that will creatively announce its Frontera Verde’s transition to Ortigas East, and at the same time bringing in more people into the existing establishments,” Jaime E. Ysmael, President and CEO of Ortigas and Co., told BusinessWorld in an e-mail, about how the project came about.
According to Mr. Ysmael, this year’s musical tunnel has over 4,000 pixels of light — with each pixel composed of three bulbs in red, blue, and green, and these will flash — or dance — in time with music. Last year there were less than 3,000 pixels in the tunnel.

According to a press release, the tunnel stretches 1.4 kilometers or “the length of 28 Olympic swimming pools.”
The musical tunnel will play English and Filipino Christmas medleys every 30 minutes from 6 to 10 p.m. nightly until Jan. 6, 2019.
“Christmas time is a holiday most celebrated by Filipino families and we really wanted to add to their festivities by putting up installations such as this Street Light Musical Tunnel. One of our goals is to make Pasig a staple holiday destination for Filipinos as well as tourists who would want to see a spectacle in the metro,” Mr. Ysmael wrote.
Aside from the tunnel, there are other activities in the area this holiday season. A StrEAT food market will be open until Jan. 6, 2019. Meet & Greet sessions with Santa for children will be held on all Saturdays of December at the Fashion and Furniture Village from 2 to 5 p.m. Fireworks will light up the Ortigas skyline every Saturday at 7 p.m. And the traditional Simbang Gabi will be held at the Food Village from Dec. 15 to 23 at 6 p.m.