BAGUIO CITY—In the intimate venue of University of Baguio’s multipurpose hall early this month, I joined the youthful crowd in watching Cup of Joe, a local act and homegrown favorite. A technical delay tested our patience but when the five members of the band—Gian Bernardino, Rapha Ridao, CJ Fernandez, Gabriel Fernandez, and Xen Gareza—finally appeared,...
Author: Gideon Lasco
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From Michelin to Terra Madre: On (slow) food, identity, and connection
BACOLOD CITY—At the Terra Madre Asia & Pacific, surrounded and overwhelmed by dishes, beverages, and flavors, I thought a lot about food. Food, to borrow the words of anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss, is “good to think with,” and surely I’m not alone in doing so, especially in the wake of the Michelin Guide’s arrival in the...
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A million Sunshines
We watch movies to be entertained and inspired, but film can also serve as a powerful medium for illuminating inconvenient truths and bringing to cinematic light the lived experiences of people, especially the marginalized. It takes courage to tell these stories, for they may not fare well at the box office, win favor with awards...
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‘Big Bang doesn’t make sense’: Deciphering Dionela and his musical universe
I feel woozy, coming out of Dionela’s “Grace Tour” concert in the New Frontier Theater, plus a good dose of ethanol from Cubao Expo, in Quezon City. Before I head home on a vertiginous Friday night, I ask myself: How do I make sense of what I’d just witnessed—and the meteoric success of this singer-songwriter...
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Argerich, Arendt, Akiko-san: Reflections on Hiroshima and Gaza
HIROSHIMA, Japan — It was a great joy to finally witness a performance by the legendary pianist Martha Argerich. My brother and I grew up listening to her renditions of the masters — Beethoven, Mozart, and Chopin most especially — and I tried, but failed, to watch her in Berlin back in 2023, when she...
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‘Matutunaw Din Lahat ng Nyebe’: SB19 and the Filipino Dream
BANGKOK—I am inside a performance hall here in Central World, one of Bangkok’s biggest malls, together with mostly-Filipino fans who are waiting for SB19 to begin their concert. Most of the fans, who call themselves “A’TIN” (pronounced “eighteen”), seem to feel at home in the venue, singing along to every song even without the lyrics...