(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...
Category: Culture
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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...
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Artist paints tribute to heroes in time for Independence Day
The artist Juanito Torres completed a 58-by-85-inch artwork titled “Parade of Heroes” in time for the Philippines’ celebration of its 125th Independence Day on June 12. The painting shows a gathering of heroes led by Dr. Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio in a parade, waving small Philippine flags. It was unveiled in Salcedo Auctions’ “Finer...
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‘The Reconciliation Dinner’ provides much-needed post-election catharsis
When it comes to “The Reconciliation Dinner,” Floy Quintos’ play on two families at odds with each other’s political views throughout the 2022 national elections, there is a clear target audience: middle- and upper-middle-class Filipinos who spent the past year tiptoeing through uncomfortable or openly hostile political discussions with loved ones. To those who can relate, this production feels like catharsis, with a clarity of information and...
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‘Tayo ang Liwanag’: Leni’s account of presidential campaign
Leni Robredo’s “Tayo ang Liwanag: Journeying through Our People’s Campaign” will be launched on May 9, a year to the day of the May 2022 presidential election. The launch will start at 3 p.m. at the Museo ng Pag-asa (Museum of Hope) at 84 Cordillera St., Barangay Lourdes, Quezon City. In a livestream on Facebook...
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Justin Jones: Black, Filipino, civil rights activist
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Republican-dominated House of Representatives in Tennessee in the United States has expelled two of three Democrat lawmakers who took part in a protest action calling for more gun-control measures a week after a school shooting in Nashville in which six persons, including three children, were killed. One of the two expelled is...