Time slows down and nature reigns supreme in Dalagsaan, according to visitors to this barangay nestled deep in the municipality of Libacao in Aklan. Amid sweeping landscapes, meandering rivers and terraced paddies, a closely knit community steeped in tradition thrives in Dalagsaan. It is the ancestral homeland of the indigenous Akeanon-Bukidnon and regarded as the last...
Category: Culture
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Finding LGBTQIA+ affirmation in Open Table MCC
Jun Torres was casually scrolling through Blued, a gay social network app, in May 2021 when a direct message caught his attention. He was being invited to an online worship service by the manager of the account of “a church for LGBT.” He followed the link to the Facebook page of Open Table Metropolitan Community...
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Timely remembrance of martial law off the press
Ultimately, they write to remember, and to fight: to remember the terror of martial law and its lingering impact on the lives of Filipinos, and to fight the foisted narrative that those terrible years comprised a “golden age.” This avowed mission runs relentlessly through “Serve,” a book of stories by and interviews with former members...
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Taylor Sheesh: A challenge to fan stereotypes
(Second of two parts) Taylor Sheesh: A Filipino’s homage to the American superstar Mac Coronel, a Filipino drag queen impersonating Taylor Swift as Taylor Sheesh, is challenging stereotypes about fans, an Ateneo de Manila University instructor said. Sheesh rose to popularity after clips of her performing in the appearance of the American pop superstar became...
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Taylor Sheesh: A Filipino’s homage to the American superstar
(First of two parts) Taylor Sheesh: A challenge to fan stereotypes LIPA CITY—Dressed and accessorized as Taylor Swift, a Filipino drag queen entranced thousands of the American pop superstar’s fans who kept a symphony of screams going on a football field here on Aug. 12. On stage, Mac Coronel’s alter ego Taylor Sheesh, wearing a...
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Antipas Delotavo’s juxtaposition of worlds
Social realist Antipas Delotavo came back to his birthplace Iloilo City for his 20th solo show titled “Iloilo Variants.” Curated by Jose “Bogie” Tence Ruiz, himself a well-known social realist and Delotavo’s longtime friend, “Iloilo Variants” was launched as a two-tiered art event, with a vernissage on July 27 that unveiled the oil-on-canvas pieces (the oldest dated 2014...
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Wood sculptors highlight an uncommon and vanishing resource
ILOILO CITY—Ilonggo artists made big waves in the 2023 iteration of the Philippine Art Awards. Of the five winners from the Visayas, four are Iloilo-based, including the brothers Tyrone Dave and Jun Orland Espinosa. Tyrone’s work, Family Tree (5 x 6 feet, inlay on wood), is an ode. “The importance of the family is the main...
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‘Ibalon’: powerful display of love in dance and music
The Philippine Ballet Theater (PBT), on a mission to create and perform stories reflecting Filipino culture, opens its 37th season with a brand-new, full-length ballet titled “Ibalon.” PBT artistic director and choreographer Ronilo Jaynario takes off from the Bicolano epic and reimagines the love story of Handyong (the warrior) and Oryol (the cursed creature) against...
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Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel exhibit opens in Manila
The painted scenes on the ceiling of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel have fascinated me since I received the book “Michelangelo & the Pope’s Ceiling” more than a decade ago. A gift from my then future wife, the 384-page paperback by Ross King recounts the four extraordinary years–from 1508 to 1512—that the genius Michelangelo spent producing...
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Building a castle: Our Hogwarts Philippines story
(With Giselle Goloy, Cherie del Rio-Tan, Anne Frances Sangil, Edwin Madera, Beejay Bautista and Abbey Santos) In the early 2000s, I was part of an outreach event for Pinoy Harry Potter. We were at SM Manila, in an activity center crowded with sets, people in costumes, and children. I was dressed for my role and...
