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...
Category: Culture
Post
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...
Post
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...
Post
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...
Post
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...
Post
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...
Post
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...
Post
Candidates with Philippine roots are competing in Miss International 2025
TOKYO—The Filipinos’ domination of global pageantry is so undeniable that other countries have been fielding candidates with roots in the Philippines. In the ongoing 2025 Miss International pageant in Japan, Binibining Pilipinas Myrna Esguerra is joined by Bella Dela Cruz of Australia and Allyson Ee of Malaysia, who both incidentally competed in the 2025 Miss...
Post
Palestine is a contender in Miss Universe 2025
Editor’s Note: Two judges in the annual competition have pulled out of the 8-member jury, with one claiming that an “impromptu” panel had already selected 30 finalists from among the 136 participating countries, and the other citing “unforeseen personal reasons.” For the first time ever, the Miss Universe pageant has welcomed a delegate from Palestine,...
Post
A portrait of the Filipino as the eternal optimist
A lesser-known aspect of the Filipino diaspora is the phenomenon of older, relatively-successful, mid- or late-career countrymen and -women choosing to pull up roots and make a go of it in a foreign land, despite the uncertainty and hardship this might entail—all for the prospect of a better life for their families. You’ve probably heard...