Archive - Arts & Culture

Text and photos by ELIZABETH LOLARGA
WITH the air chilly and the fog constant, Baguio City is the perfect setting for a night that raises goose bumps. “Tales of the Al-alya (Ghost Stories)” was staged on Halloween by the Baguio Writers Group (BWG) at the Hill Station bar in the reportedly haunted, century-old Casa Vallejo. BWG members led by its president, Luchie Maranan, culled from their experiences with the beyond and those that have become part of local lore.

By PABLO A. TARIMAN
PEOPLE in the seven arts have a unique way of coping with death and near death situations. Theater buffs remember actor Jose Mari Avellana who passed away the other year and how he coped with a life-threatening scenario in the middle of a performance.

Text and photo reproductions by ELIZABETH LOLARGA
THE much-loved and esteemed Doreen Gamboa Fernandez would have been more than pleased at the culinary storm she helped generate: blogs devoted to restaurant reviews; culinary academies rising in nearly all parts of the country; regional and national cooking contests; newspaper sections and columns devoted to food and dining. In a large way, this is her doing.

By PABLO A. TARIMAN
FRENCH composer Georges Bizet is Manila’s flavor of the month judging from the simultaneous staging of “Carmen” by the Lyric Opera of the Philippines and its ballet version by Ballet Manila.

By PABLO A. TARIMAN
CATANDUANES, the country’s 12th largest island of the country’s 7,000 or so islands, is observing its 67th founding anniversary with street dancing, a beauty pageant for both sexes (a Binibini and Ginoong Catanduanes), and with obligatory speeches from both local and national politicians.

Text and photos by ELIZABETH LOLARGA,VERA Files
HOW can a city squirt resist the prospect of a southwest adventure after a companion who had left earlier for Batangas sends an SMS describing her swim for the day where she felt like she was swimming in an aquarium with multicolor fish swarming around her?

By PABLO A. TARIMAN
MANILA’S balletomanes could have watched their last Filipino Giselle when Lisa Macuja Elizalde danced what she said was her last crack at this ballet masterpiece Sunday night with David Makhateli (formerly of The Royal Ballet) and with the Manila Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Alexander Vikulov of the Marinsky Theater.

By PABLO A. TARIMAN
WHEN Lyric Opera of the Philippines presents Bizet’s “Carmen” on October 26, 27 and 28 at the St. Cecilia’s Hall, local opera lovers will have a glimpse of Camille Lopez Molina and Ana Feleo in the title roles with the Don Joses of Abdul Candao and Randy Gilongo directed by Laurice Guillen.

Text and photos by ELIZABETH LOLARGA
DE luxe buses that offer air-conditioned, non-stop trips to such tourist, educational and business hubs like Baguio City are no longer a novelty. But what the operators of these provincial bus companies seem to have overlooked is branding their product for easier consumer recall.

By PABLO A. TARIMAN
IN her short but fruitful life, filmmaker Marilou Diaz Abaya (1955-2012) lived and breathed music which was also an integral part of all her film output.

Text and photos by ELIZABETH LOLARGA IN a strange way, the logs and trees that came tumbling down when Typhoon Sendong let loose three months' worth of rainfall in one night on Iligan City were victims of neglect like the flood's human victims. Sculptor Julie Lluch, who was born and raised in the city, dislikes it when the term "killer logs" is used.

By PABLO A. TARIMAN WHEN sensational Australian soprano Claire Primrose debuts in Manila on November 10 with the Manila Symphony Orchestra at the Philamlife Theater, she will have ended an 18-year drought of Wagnerian sopranos in Manila.

Text, photos and video by VINCENT GO WHAT started out as a gathering of a few tattoo artists at a small garage in Malate district in Manila twelve years ago has grown to be the biggest tattoo exposition in the country.

By PABLO A. TARIMAN
AURAEUS Solito’s “Busong” -- which was premiered last year at the Cannes International Film Festival’s Directors Fortnight section -- continued its winning streak by running away with the grand prize in the recently concluded National Geographic All Roads Film Festival in Washington D.C.

By PABLO A. TARIMAN
STAR Cinema’s “The Mistress” is making a killing in the box office and it is an indication the subject is no longer taboo in Philippine media and in the social hierarchy.

By PABLO A. TARIMAN
AS the country recalls a dark chapter in its history by marking the 40th anniversary of martial law, it is interesting to note how that event actually changed people’s lives, most of them media icons.

By PABLO A. TARIMAN
THE filmmaker associated with several award-winning films (Burlesk Queen, 1977; Asedillo 1971; Ang Alamat ni Julian Makabayan, 1979) is now based in Siniloan, Laguna where he was born 69 years ago.

By PABLO A. TARIMAN
THERE is much to appreciate in the 26th theater season of Tanghalang Pilipino. Its production of “Walang Kukurap” written by Layeta Bucoy can pass for a contemporary version of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town.”