Archive - Arts & Culture

BY PABLO A. TARIMAN
ONE of the newsmakers in the recently concluded Cinemalaya film fest was musician Diwa de Leon who won the Best Original Music Score citation for Raymund Red’s “Kamera Obscura.”

By PABLO A. TARIMAN
A little over a month before the opening of the season concerts of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO), CCP’s resident music director Olivier Ochanine is busy studying scores for Shostakovich’s Jazz Suite No. 2, Nielsen’s Incidental music to Aladdin and Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances.

PLACED on red alert by weather and disaster officials since Monday night, Metro Manila turned into a “waterworld” on Tuesday as the southwest monsoon unleashed torrential rains nearly nonstop. A record rainfall of 10 to 30 mm per hour was recorded in the metropolis.

By PABLO A. TARIMAN
IF the proliferation of teleseryes in the three leading TV networks is of any indication, they confirm the observation that there is a big market for budding but good, sensitive actors.

By PABLO A. TARIMAN
THE most visible Filipino soprano these days is Rachelle Gerodias and so far, she is one of the few local singers with international exposure.

Text and photos by ELIZABETH LOLARGA
FOG, chill, almost non-stop rain--it's that time of the year in Baguio City when hotels and inns offer off-season prices. For some it's a good time for an R & R without the lowland crowd of holiday seekers jostling you at the usual tourist spots. For the foodie undaunted by dour weather forecasts, any time is reason for a trip north.

By PABLO A. TARIMAN
CONDUCTOR Gerard Salonga was in his usual high spirits when he announced the formation of the ABS CBN Philharmonic Orchestra.

By ELLEN TORDESILLAS
Video by MARIO IGNACIO and MARIO ESPINOSA
YOU will know it’s Zumba time at Fitness First Southmall every morning of Monday and Tuesday because women are in their stylish gym attires as if they are going to a party. And, it’s not just any party. Usually it is a themed party.

Text and photos by ELIZABETH LOLARGA
WHEN one reaches the seventh decade, there is much to look back on but visual artist Junyee would rather look forward and beyond. Born Luis E. Yee Jr. and raised in Cabadbaran, Agusan del Norte, he found himself at Grade One with several "Junior" namesakes so to make him stand out from the others, a classmate contracted his nickname to Junyee, and it stuck.

BY PABLO A. TARIMAN
VICE-PRESIDENT Jejomar Binay called for more opera diplomacy to improve and sustain friendly ties between the Philippines and Italy.

By MYLAH R. ROQUE
EVEN as the country reels from the killing of Dutch aid worker Wilhelmus JJ Lutz Geertman, a gSwiss couple who has lived and worked among Manila’s urban slum dwellers for over 10 years returns to share their story.

  Text and photos by ELIZABETH LOLARGA “GIFTED” is an understatement in describing the scope of Joy T. Dayrit’s works. She was a writer of short stories and poetry, a painter, a children’s art teacher and friend to many writers and artists. She was an admirable woman for whom a disability was no cause for

By PABLO A. TARIMAN
A full-length Barber of Seville by Rossini opens at the CCP Friday night until Saturday with opera lovers focused on the Count Almaviva of Arthur Espiritu who is the first Filipino tenor to sing at La Scala di Milan.

By YOLANDA L. PUNSALAN
THERE is nothing excessive about Guimaras, except of course the world renowned sweetness of its mangoes. Being one of the Philippines’ smallest island provinces, many things about Guimaras seem to be reduced to bonsai proportions. It has earned the reputation in the Guinness World Record of having the world’s smallest plaza---an area with an elevation of five small steps, a mini monument of Jose Rizal in his boyhood, and a mini stage.

By EIMOR SANTOS
WHILE other consumers haggle for the cheapest veggies in the nearest market, soon-to-be parents Keren and James Chu go the extra mile to bring healthy organic vegetables to their table.

By PABLO A. TARIMAN
THE Ilocos roots of Joyce Vasquez-Kasparian in her native Paoay town played a big part in her present role as wife to American pianist Raffi Kasparian and mother to another budding pianist, Roman Kasparian, 13, who are performing in Laoag City on July 14.

By PABLO A. TARIMAN
THE moribund opera climate in the country brightened up anew with the recent staging of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at the CCP with a fairly good international cast.

By ELIZABETH LOLARGA
CALLED “the heroic generation,” these are baby boomers who forsook their parents’ post-war dreams for them to finish a college education, find a stable job and settle down but instead took tremendous risks in defying the state’s force to fight for seemingly abstract rights that today’s youth take for granted, freedom of expression and being able to vote for the President of one’s choice, among others.

Text by ARTHA KIRA PAREDES
Photos and Video by VINCENT GO
RODALLIE Mosende was a homeless girl who appeared destined to be one of many poor people prowling the streets of Quiapo. That is, until documentary photographer Rick Rocamora chanced upon her and took her picture.

By NORMAN SISON
MOJITO and Piña Colada, move over. Here comes the Manila Sunshine. In mid-May, one of the top hotels in Manila unveiled an alcoholic bright yellow cocktail, precisely designed to be the Philippine capital’s signature drink. That brought plenty of cheer to Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez, who concocted the idea. However, there is more to just making it in the universe of mixology.

Text and photos by ELIZABETH LOLARGA
BACK in the years when dynamic cultural administrators produced free outdoor performances, from poetry readings to full orchestra concerts,Paco Park was a destination for the culturati and the hoi polloi.

By PATRICK KING PASCUAL
Coming to terms with one’s self is not easy for homosexuals in a society where gender is limited to either male or female. Raymond Alikpala, 46, a lawyer and formerly a seminarian, knows very well the anguish of living in the shadows having done so in the first 38 years of his life.

It’s June 12, Independence Day, and for some Filipinos, it meant a trip to the birthplace of the Philippine Republic in Kawit, Cavite, a lesson in geography, and even photo opportunities with the country’s first president, Emilio Aguinaldo.

By ELLEN TORDESILLAS
Photos and video by MARIO IGNACIO
PEOPLE go to the gym for a variety of reasons. One overweight male journalist thought it was the best place to ogle at shapely beauties. He later realized, as he was sweating and panting, that there are less strenuous ways to indulge in girl-watching.