Breadcrumbs lead to the set of “Bangaw,” the new musical production of FEU Theater Guild (FTG) for 2026. The reminders over the speaker sound like flight announcements, and the viewers walking to their seats are welcomed by a cosplaying flight stewardess. Furry masks heaped on a table behind her hint of danger. Inside the small...
Category: Culture
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The Ramon Magsaysay Award continues to uphold women’s empowerment across Asia
For nearly seven decades, the Ramon Magsaysay Award has honored individuals and organizations whose leadership has transformed lives across Asia. Among them are women who expanded opportunities for women—through education, political rights, economic inclusion, and protection from exploitation—long before “women’s empowerment” became a widely used phrase. As the world marks International Women’s Day and reflects...
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FEU Theater Guild’s gritty tale of survival set to open in March
“Bangaw,” an adventurous reimagining of William Golding’s classic story “Lord of the Flies,” takes the stage starting on March 5 for the 92nd season of the Far Eastern University Theater Guild (FTG). Written by Gold Villar-Lim, with music by Vince Lim, and directed by Peta senior artist-teacher and FTG artistic director Dudz Teraña, “Bangaw” explores...
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Inside the lives and identities of Filipino furries
One night in a tucked-away corner of the internet, a young artist booted up “Nekojishi,” a Taiwanese visual novel about anthropomorphic deities, and stumbled into a world he never expected to call home. He assumed the name “Daitheinsu” and, like countless others in the Philippines, he would soon discover the colorful and misunderstood universe of...
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The eternal returns of the day
As we enter another year, another period emerges where we try to recollect the life we have lived and measure its worth. Precisely, in the passing of such a life, a part of ourselves fails to move on and ends up left in the past, and in the process of how such a past deserts...
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What does it mean to be ‘bakla’?
Gay culture in the Philippines is changing fast. What used to be just entertainment is now a way to tell stories and celebrate identities. From powerful drag acts on stage to viral TikTok skits, queerness is being shared and lived openly, showing how deeply it has been woven in today’s culture. And despite what conservative...
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Finding presence in 2026: Lessons from Ben&Ben’s ‘The Traveller Across Dimensions’
The folk band Ben&Ben’s latest project offers an intentional idea for a New Year’s resolution: to be more “present with love.” It’s the central theme of their recently launched ebook, “The Traveller Across Dimensions” (TTAD), which serves as a reading companion to their album of the same title—and as a showcase of the band’s talent...
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They’re not pop stars but ‘lodis’ of a revolutionary kind
Carol Pagaduan-Araullo, Satur C. Ocampo, Bonifacio P. Ilagan and Judy Taguiwalo are familiar names. They’re not pop stars but each is definitely an idol—or lodi in colloquial Filipino. The streets are their platform, where, along with the late Marie Hilao-Enriquez, they are recognized for fighting for the people’s rights and resisting oppression and injustice. On...
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Baguio artists’ battle cry: Give us our due, treat us with respect
BAGUIO CITY—This is no tempest in a teapot, this hue and cry over the destruction of the Ibagiw mural of visual and performance artist Angelo Aurelio without notice to him and upon the instructions of a tourism official in charge of the yearly arts and culture festival. (“Ibagiw” is an Ibaloi term to mean “someone...
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Ahtisa Manalo is welcomed home while controversy hounds the Miss Universe pageant
Miss Universe Philippines Ahtisa Manalo, who placed third runner-up in the Miss Universe 2025 pageant in Thailand, meets and greets her admirers in a two-part homecoming parade today, Dec. 2, in Manila and Pasay City. The parade takes place a week after Manalo returned to the Philippines to a rousing past-midnight welcome by her admirers...