Archive - Arts & Culture

    By ELIZABETH LOLARGA “FUSION” seems to be the best word to describe the look of Filipino buildings and home interiors. Filipino Style, a 1997 de luxe book put out by the Department of Tourism in time for the country’s national centennial in ’98 and preceding the current soft-cover Philippine Style: Design and Architecture

  By CHARMAINE DEOGRACIAS USHERING the celebration of the country’s Independence day, a young ballet company will present a tribute to the everyday heroes. “Duyan ng Magiting,” by ACTS School for the Performing Arts will veer away  from the usual  tribute to the heroes in Philippine history. Rather, it will showcase  the little acts of

Text and photos by ELIZABETH LOLARGA   LIKE any other artistic genre, film is a way of “telling our stories to reflect the human experience.” Scriptwriter-director Martin Masadao, whose debut film Anac Ti Pating won Best Picture and Best Actor honors at last year’s Sineng Pambansa Festival in Davao City, emphasized this at a recent

  Text and photos by HAZEL P. VILLA HOW he ended up by his lonesome in a rice field somewhere in the heart of an island of white sand and jagged black rocks and cliffs was a mystery to then 12-year-old Daniel Villarias. There he found the barely moving baby sea hawk, which he christened

    By ELLEN TORDESILLAS THERE’S no sweeter applause than the ones coming from the hometown audience. For the audience, there are no stars who shine brighter than those from home. On Saturday, dance enthusiasts will have a rare treat of Filipino dance artists who are shining in the world stage perform together. Ballet Manila’s

  IF Manila is a city that leads to the gates of hell, then your ticket to a wild ride is Juana C. in her bikini. “Juana C. The Movie” is a fast-paced hodgepodge of sex and politics in a ludicrous yet compelling plot. Leading a talented cast is political activist Mae Paner, Juana Change

  Text and photos by ELIZABETH LOLARGA ONLY 28 and up to all sorts of tricks, as far as playing the guitar is concerned—that in a phrase is Hikaru Tanimoto. He captivated a Baguio audience in a one-night performance at Hill Station which is slowly, even unconsciously, building up a reputation as a performing arts

Video by LUCILLE SODIPE, Unlimited Productions, Inc. BLIND voter and party-list candidate Michael Barredo got a taste of the obstacles that persons with disability (PWDs) had to overcome just to be able to cast their votes last May 13. Despite a resolution by the Commission on Elections to make PWD voting centers accessible, Barredo, guided

  By NORMAN SISON IT was not your usual errand. Several days ago, the head of the security force tasked with protecting President Aquino, toured a small three-storey plant in a Manila suburb that manufactures M4 assault rifles, the standard battle rifle of the US Army. In April, United Defense Manufacturing Corporation sent a letter

By PABLO A. TARIMAN BATTERED by typhoons, ruled by two generations of politicians and largely influenced by the Church which has lured  many a young islander to take up priesthood for many decades, Catanduanes – the 12th largest island in the country — now wears a proud face with its sons and daughters making their

  By ELIZABETH LOLARGA Photos courtesy of AZE ONG SHE is not that traditional craftswoman doing crochet while on a rocking chair with the television set on. She does not follow a pattern from a catalogue. Free-spirited Aze Ong is moved by the light that falls on colors and makes them vibrate. From there she

  By PABLO A. TARIMAN CHAMBER music enthusiasts will have another special treat when Singapore-based Filipino pianist Albert Tiu teams up with Belgian clarinetist  Marcel Luxen Saturday, June 1 at the Ayala Museum courtesy of the MCO Foundation. A highlight of the recital is the performance of Brahms sonata Op. 120 for  clarinet and piano,

By MARIA FEONA IMPERIAL                                                                                          PERHAPS for breaking a world record, she has already found the answer to every jigsaw puzzle ever made. But Georgina Gil-Lacuna has one more left unresolved: the puzzle of time. And she likes it that way. Sharp enough to be the world’s fastest jigsaw puzzle maker, the 61-year-old retired businesswoman

(Photos sourced from Carlos Celdran) By MATTHEW REYSIO-CRUZ THE whole nation wondered who he was. Sporting a black overcoat and top hat, performer and tourist guide Carlos Celdran stood before a group of bishops at the Manila Cathedral in September 2010 holding up a sign with one simple, familiar word: Damaso. It was a reference

By LEAN CARLO MACOTO LIKE the vast majority of Filipino men, Raymund Nanos is a huge basketball fan. His favorite sport is basketball. His favorite pastime is watching basketball. Those who don’t know him would probably think he plays ball at the court around the corner. In his purple shirt, walking shorts and flip-flops, he

  Text and photos by ELIZABETH LOLARGA IT is apropos that a café founded by artists, writers and other individuals who operate outside society’s margins should mark its 25th year as a now respected Baguio institution with music, poetry and a satirical monologue aimed at the foibles of the city’s bigwigs. Capping a week of

  By PABLO A. TARIMAN BICOL composer Potenciano Gregorio– who penned the famous Bicol love song, “Sarung Banggi”–  turns 133 on Saturday (May 18) with a festival carrying the name of his composition. But his famous love song has two birth dates: one placed at 1897 when Gregorio was just 17. But in a research

  By LEILANIE G. ADRIANO AT the warehouse of  farmer Ricardo Tolentino in Laoag, Ilocos Norte are the  sweetest and juiciest mangoes, courtesy of a hot water treatment developed at  the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU). The technology  was the  answer to the problem of mango growers in the Northern Philippines who have been have

  BY PABLO A. TARIMAN THE First Lady of Philippine Theater, Daisy Hontiveros-Avellana, made her last true-to-life stage exit on a Mother’s Day, May 12. She was 96. Those who missed her prime as a stage actress should turn to her autobiography, “The Drama of It: A Life on Film and Theater.” The book reveals

Editorial cartoon by JB URIETA Text by LUZ RIMBAN The May 2013 Election Circus has left town but failed to bring its garbage with it. Mornings after E-day, the Metro Manila Development Authority in the capital, and policemen, soldiers and ordinary citizens elsewhere, scraped walls and billboards, cleaning up what MMDA chair Francis Tolentino called

  By PABLO A. TARIMAN CHANNEL 7 was running its landmark teleserye, “Bayan Ko” on the day of the elections. With reports of rampant vote-buying and the  proliferation of political dynasties being aired in almost all the media outlets, “Bayan Ko” is indeed —  as the news cliché goes —  as timely as today’s headlines.

By MYLENE LISONDRA CEBU City— Disability is not a hindrance. That has been Arleigh Sitoy’s mantra for the past five years. He proved that once again after winning a fresh term as member of the provincial board of Cebu’s 6th district in Monday’s elections. Sitoy is a person with disability (PWD). Because of a stroke

By ELIZABETH LOLARGA FAR from being “a chromosome accident,” a child with Down syndrome is not Nature’s mistake. And it is likewise futile for a parent to wallow in guilt and endless self-blame or ask “What did I do wrong?” Malu Tiongson-Ortiz, author of Embracing God’s Purpose for My Special Child (OMF Literature Inc.) drew

By PABLO A. TARIMAN Mall photos by ELOISA VISTAN WHEN Cecile Licad agreed to perform in a Makati shopping mall last Friday in her bid to reach out to new audiences, the first concern was how to get the best piano available. The first offered to her was a reconditioned white Steinway grand but the