The Philippines may not have clinched the Miss Universe title at the recently concluded competition held in Mexico, but the country’s delegate Chelsea Manalo still made history as the first recipient of the “Miss Universe Asia” title. Manalo, also the first black woman to represent the Philippines in the most important international beauty pageant for...
Category: Culture
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The flow from Mount Banahaw to the Venice Biennale
The inactive volcano that is Mount Banahaw functions in our Philippine social life in different ways: a natural fortress against tropical cyclones from the Pacific, the dwelling place of mystical, and a protected forest reserve. This mountain solidifies its enchanting presence in the heart of the Philippine Pavilion at the Venice Biennale with the exhibition Sa...
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Sea people and their buoyant ontology
Who are the sea people? What does it mean for people to embody the vastness of the sea? What happens when the sea’s massiveness measures up with the collectivity of the people? I view these questions as urgent with the return of Jon Cuyson to Vargas Museum of the University of the Philippines Diliman with Taong...
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There’s more than dance in ‘Juan Tamad’ by Alice Reyes Dance Philippines
Near the rear of the Metropolitan Theater as you turn left from Dr. Basa Street in Ermita, Manila, there’s a long, wide studio with open windows facing a wall of mirrors. The dancers of Alice Reyes Dance Philippines (ARDP) are trying on their animal costumes for the first time. Krislynne Buri, playing Paboreal (peacock), gets...
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‘Gatilyo: Tatlong Dula ng Pag-alala’ is ‘tokhang’ revisited
The period from June 2016 to June 2022 will always be considered among the darkest days in contemporary Philippine history. According to government figures, at least 6,252 persons were felled during the “war on drugs,” but human rights organizations put the number between 12,000 and 30,000. Small wonder that “tokhang” (or when cops knock on...
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Grayscale pessimism
If drawings lend themselves to the world as an artistic medium for one to experience discovery, an insight drawn from the radically hopeful imagination of John Berger, the drawings of the artist Lyra Garcellano in her just-concluded show at Finale Art File, titled Land, Labor, Life: Tracing ‘Progress’ in Selected Notes, expresses political despair, which,...
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Discovering Clyfford Still, bold, brave, pioneering abstract expressionist
DENVER, COLORADO—As a fine arts graduate, I must confess that it was my first time to hear Clyfford Still’s name. Yes, I know the stalwarts of the Abstract Expressionist movement from Jackson Pollock to Mark Rothko to Helen Frankenthaler. But Still escaped my radar. And yet here he was, spoken with such ardor and respect...
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Some difficulty with Patricia Evangelista’s ‘Some People Need Killing’
More than two months have passed, and I still catch myself thinking of Patricia Evangelista’s book launch at Aldaba Recital Hall at the University of the Philippines Diliman. The event was dubbed as her homecoming, Evangelista being an alumnus of UP’s Department of Speech Communication and Theater Arts. She and her book, “Some People Need...
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Pia Wurtzbach urges ‘allies’ to help fight for LGBTQIA+ rights
Pia Wurtzbach has been a staunch ally of the LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and others) community since her much-celebrated journey into pageantry. And nine years after she was crowned Miss Universe in 2015, the actress and global influencer is still advocating its cause. In welcoming Pride Month this June, Wurtzbach gallantly...
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A fresh look at Graciano Lopez Jaena’s heroic legacy
ILOILO CITY—On Independence Day on Wednesday (June 12), our thoughts dwell on the valor and dedication of heroes who fought for our freedom. For Ilonggos, among those who stand out is Graciano Lopez Jaena, not just as a revolutionary figure but a beacon of eloquence and intellect as well. As a tribute to the propagandist’s...