Archive - Arts & Culture

The molds or shoe lasts, hulmahan in Filipino, from the Marikina shoemakers were headed for their last journey as firewood or panggatong. But largely through the initiative of civic-spirited Zena Bernardo, the shoe lasts reincarnated into lasting artworks in the fund-raising exhibit “Hope Lasts” (until April 15 at the fourth level, east wing of Estancia Capitol Commons in Pasig City).

Kidlat Tahimik unleashes the full force of his creative energy in a massive exhibition, INDIO-GENIUS: 500 Taon ng Labanang Kultural (1521-2021), at the National Museum of Anthropology until June 2023. The major installations are from his exhibition in 2022, Magellan, Marilyn, Mickey Mouse & Fr. Damaso: 500 Years of Conquistador RockStars, at the Palacio de Cristal in Madrid organized by Museo Sofia Reina.

In her latest exhibition “Chronicles on Skin” at Galerie Stephanie, sculptor Julie Lluch combines sculpture with painting, incorporating “tattoos” in acrylic on her coldcast marble creations. That is not an easy feat because the marble is so smooth the paint slides off. The artist had to keep at it for the paint to adhere.

The year 2023 is turning out as a very good year for Filipino classical guitarists.

The latest chamber music treats from the University of the Philippines Visayas in Iloilo City featured pianist Rudolf Golez, violinist Sara Maria Gonzales and cellist John Paolo Anorico.

Wawi Navarroza considers herself as an artist who uses photography to explore her art practice. Her current exhibition, As Wild As We Come (until April 5, 2023, Silverlens Galleries) was first exhibited in London last year, and at the recently-held Art Fair Philippines 2023.

German opera star Jonas Kaufmann is Dick Johnson in Puccini’s Fanciulla del West with the Minnie of Eva-Maria Westbroek in the closing season offering of the CCP-Met HD cultural partnership.

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra under guest conductor Haoran Li showed its inner, if, subtle temperament playing a repertoire devoid of instantly recognizable bravura qualities Friday night (Feb. 24) at the Manila Metropolitan Theater.

Oras de Peligro is a simple story of a Filipino family caught in the maelstrom of history as the new presidency beckons with the 13th and the first female president of the republic.

Ako si Ninoy isn’t just about the late martyr senator. It is also about the Filipino Everyman and his struggles to survive in his own country.

On February 24, a young cellist will perform with legendary Filipino pianist Carmencita Sipin Aspiras in Silliman University in Dumaguete.

Tenor Arthur Espiritu continued his winning streak by getting his third standing ovation in Science City of Muñoz in Nueva Ecija Monday afternoon (Feb. 13) at the CED Teachers Hall of the Central Luzon State University.

Violinist Diomedes Saraza, Jr. reaches a full musical cycle when he reprises the Sibelius violin concerto as soloist of the Philippine Philharmonic under the baton of Chinese conductor Haoran Li.

In recent years, a spate of books on Philippine cooking and foodways have been published in the country and overseas. In the United States, it includes Filipinx: Heritage Recipes from the Diaspora (2021) by Angela Dimayuga and Ligaya Mishan; I am a Filipino and This is How We Cook (2018) by Nicole Ponseca and MiguelTrinidad; and Amboy: Recipes from the Filipino-American Dream by Alvin Cailan (2020).

Every new year, there is a curious tradition in Minalin, Pampanga where menfolk cross-dressed and join a parade and even join beauty local contests.

Internationally-acclaimed pianist Carmencita “Chita” Sipin Aspiras is ready to once again conquer the stage and captivate her audience starting Feb. 18 at the Ayala Museum together with the Singaporean conductor Darrell Ang and the Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra.

The month of January 2023 marks Abdulmari Asia Imao’s 87th birth anniversary. He remains the first and only Muslim Filipino National Artist in Sculptor, 2006.

On a Tuesday morning, the world woke up to the news that the Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida died in a clinic in Rome, Monday, January 16.

Distractions everywhere: the ping of phone messages, and the clamor for attention from Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, Twitter, and more. In a noisy, noisy world, one seeks refuge by reading fiction: short stories, to be precise.

The 48th Metro Manila Film Festival started with a bang with the traditional parade that stalled traffic in the Quezon City thoroughfares before opening day on December 25.

Siargao resident affected by 2021 typhoon Odette: We are doing better right now because we already recovered. There are many tourists again and it’s like we are going back to normal days.

The handmade parol remains the most iconic symbol of Philippine Christmas, encapsulating the artistic ingenuity of Filipinos through the years.

Celebrating the Christmas season, tradition reigns in the lighting ceremony of University of the Philippines Diliman’s Pag-iilaw 2022 with its theme of Bagong Tahak, Bagong Galak last December 9.

Turandot (last seen in Manila in 1979 at the Manila Metropolitan Theater) received a grand and mesmerizing reception on its opening Friday night (December 9) at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Time to pucker up! For mouth-watering snacks, Filipinos bite into green mango slices with fermented shrimp paste, nibble on fresh kamias, tambis, or pineapple slices with salt, squeeze slices of calamansi on noodles, or dip fried spring rolls or chicharon into coconut vinegar spiked with bird’s eye chilies.

Music sources noted the first performance of Handel’s Messiah took place on April 13, 1742 in Dublin’s newest concert hall at the time. How come it is still the most performed choral masterpiece during Christmas time all over the world until 2022?

The 2022 Quezon City International Film Festival opened Thursday night (Nov. 17) with a timely social satire and with a Filipino actor as the celebrated protagonist.

For one who has sacrificed most of her life to music, Lourdes de Leon Gregorio, the country’s pioneering harp player and once stellar accompanying artist on the piano, is getting an overdue gratitude concert, “Hommages,” on Nov. 26 at 6 p.m. at Manila Pianos, fourth floor of Ronac Lifestyle Center, Paseo de Magallanes, Makati City.

Everardo Nery Napay was born on February 24, 1924. I met him in Bicol in 1974 and watched his Bicol zarzuela, Burac Sa Jardin Ning Pagkamoot (Flower in the Garden of Love) on the same year.

The now seasonally rapacious COVID-19 has served as an unlikely creative inspiration for painter Popo San Pascual in his latest exhibition “Popo: Contagious Series” at Gallery Ninety in Baguio City.