Teen motorsports prodigy Bianca Bustamante is living the dream. From jet-setting around the world to making history as McLaren’s first female development driver, she seems to have it all figured out at the age of 19. But with all the success coming Bustamante’s way, it’s very easy to overlook the inner obstacles she has been...
Category: Culture
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Colliding scapes of happiness
What does hell mean in relation to heaven and the earth? Why do we visualize hell when our lives have been dominated by Christian values, believing that one’s life on earth must lead us to heaven? Does heaven continue to hold a profound meaning despite how life on earth has been mostly described as hell? ...
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Miss Iloilo breaks the old beauty standards
ILOILO CITY—In a country where “brightening” products and treatments rake in millions of pesos in revenue, the Miss Iloilo pageant has broken the old beauty standards with a dusky athlete of African American descent capturing the title. American Filipino heptathlete Alexie Mae Brooks from the town of Leon emerged a convincing winner at the 2024...
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All the past Presidents (but one) and Club Mwah
Name any past Philippine president since the 1986 Edsa Revolution. All except one went and watched the shows at Club Mwah in Mandaluyong City during their incumbency. They visited the glittery entertainment venue and enjoyed the world-class performance of its stars in colorfully designed costumes and sets. It was only Rodrigo Duterte who didn’t experience...
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A poetic documentation of the Philippine Covid-19 experience
Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Joseph Adrian Buensalido launched two new books on the Covid-19 pandemic on Dec. 7, 2023, at Makati Medical Center. “Mikrobyong Maliit, Pandemyang Pasakit 2 (Ang Tinulang Salaysay ng Pandemyang COVID-19, Monkeypox At Iba Pa)” continues the poetic documentation of the Philippines’ pandemic experience from January to December 2022, including the Omicron era, the “Poblacion...
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All-women anthology ‘First Draft’ released
The anthology “First Draft: Essays by Ten Women” is off the press, published by Tahanan Books, edited by Lorna Kalaw-Tirol, and with an introduction by Mariel N. Francisco. It features the narratives of a group of women who had been meeting for over 10 years in different homes and restaurants to share their compositions for...
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To break the isolation and reach out to indigenous peoples in Aklan town
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...
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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...