Archivist Purissima “Petty” Benitez-Johannot and her team have been looking after Helena’s house, cataloguing its contents since 2018. The house on Mariposa, Qùezon City, is MiraNila, ancestral home of the Benitez family; Helena is Helena Z. Benitez—educator, former senator, and founder of the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company of the Philippine Women’s University (PWU). Helena was...
Author: Liana Garcellano (Liana Garcellano)
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‘Less is more’: learning basic hair and makeup lessons from K-beauty masters
At SM Aura’s Atrium last Friday afternoon, crew members are prepping the stage for the lecture by K-beauty masters. They set up the floor standing lights at opposite ends of the stage and plug in the extension cords. They put a large metallic case of styling tools on a high chair behind the light on...
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‘Spirit of the Glass’ keeps the fight for human rights alive
“Spirt of the Glass,” a new play written by Bonifacio P. Ilagan and directed by Joel Lamangan, had a brief run at the IBG-KAL Theater at the University of the Philippines, Diliman on March 8-10, with two performances per day. We caught the 2:30 p.m. show (the other was at 7 p.m.) on March 10,...
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Sam Oh is the ultimate Korean fan meet host and fangirl
That Sam Oh never queues for tickets to the K-drama stars’ fan meet is why she’s envied by fans. She already has a special place on stage, right next to the latest oppa in town. Her proximity and friendly repartee—helped by translator Joonhyun Kim this time—with the Korean celebs are stuff that fuel K-drama oppa...
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When food tourism in US colonial period spurred fight for Filipino cuisine
The adventurous palate of foodies and their #willtravelforfood motto are interesting phenomena. The trend mentioned in a recent lecture intrigued me and moved a university student in the audience to ask Dr. Kristine Michelle L. Santos if Filipinos of yesteryear inherited their fondness for food from the Americans during the colonial era. Santos, an assistant...
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‘Maria Clara at Ibarra’ turned Rizal into a romance writer
At the restaurant, I could hear the women’s conversation clearly. My ears perked up when I heard a network’s name and its popular TV show in one breath. “Its finale was GMA’s most watched,” said the woman whose back was to me. “The youth of today are so lucky! They can just watch Jose Rizal’s...
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What pulls you to K-drama: the actor or the storyline?
It may sound unbelievable but there are still some Filipinos uninterested in K-drama, like my mother and two of my close friends. Of the latter, I conspired with Melie Cruz, a senior adviser for an international development organization, to get our high school buddy Joy Chadwick to watch a series. We got her started on...
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Oxytocin and a smooth talker are the drivers behind romance scams
“Michelle” would have known it was one of the popular cons had she read more about it sooner, but “Perry” was one smooth operator. Waking up after half a sedative pill had sent her to la la land, she put two and two together. She’d fallen hook, line, and sinker for a romance scam, and...
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Ghosters—to sue or not to sue
Memories of my first ghosting experience surfaced when Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr., filed House Bill No. 611 in July. His proposed measure would declare ghosting an emotional offense because of the trauma that develops from “feelings of rejection and neglect by ghosters” according to a CNN Philippines report. “The emotional abuse caused by...
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Staying high on K-drama
These days it’s either you watch K-drama or you don’t. The latter is an unpopular stance but some are unfazed, like Harriet Limbo who just isn’t keen on watching. This sentiment runs counter to that of K-drama fans. Fistri Abdul Rahim is, like me, a relative newcomer to K-drama, tuning in only in August 2020...