It’s easy to get “Cyrano de Bergerac” wrong. If you overstate its romance and its inherently ridiculous premise, this story of a cartoonishly long-nosed soldier helping a young cadet woo the woman they both love can come off as frivolous. To an extent, this is how I felt about the 2016 production of “Mula sa...
Category: Culture
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Meditations in cathedrals of our own
They say that these are not the best of times but they’re the only times I’ve ever known. And I believe there is a time for meditations in cathedrals of our own.” – Billy Joel (“Summer Highland Falls”) Veronica Peralejo’s installation of concrete cement cubes titled “Empty Rituals” at Finale Art Gallery in Makati City...
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Live theater, digital interaction educate teens on drinking issue
Filipinos consume an average of seven liters of alcohol every year, according to the World Population Review. While that might appear manageable to many, the Philippine College of Physicians recently presented numbers sufficient to give Filipino parents a nightmare: About 70% of students had their first taste of alcohol at age 14, and many of...
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Glamour and glitz (and more) in drag
Dahhhlings, it’s time to put your wigs on. But be ready for the fabulous queens of Drag Race Philippines to snatch them right off. The local version of the hit global franchise has everything you want in drag—fashion, camp, music, talent, drama (oh, the drama!), comedy, culture, heart—and much more. The race to crown the...
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Pio Abad helps us remember
London-based artist Pio Abad’s recently concluded exhibit at the Ateneo Art Gallery was a most unusual one because while he focused on the plunder, excesses, ostentatious lifestyle, and insatiable greed of the Marcos dictatorship, he succeeded in his portrayal entirely through his art, with little need to have the actual objects presented for gawking. The...
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Dancers rebound with Alice Reyes Dance Philippines
Because the dance world operates on rather lean subsidies provided through donations by private entities or local governments, shifts in operations depend highly on socioeconomic situations. The pandemic just about crushed this art form, with theaters and other performance venues closing down, even curtailing dance companies’ additional sustenance from ticket sales, aside from denying dancers...
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The extraordinary Cherie Gil
Cherie Gil came across in varying ways—imperious and intimidating; funny, warm and open; beguiling and sexy. Writing this, thinking about her and my time with her, I realize I probably really knew only one facet of a woman I love dearly and hold in great esteem. I’m certain her family, her barkada (the women—and man—who I fondly...
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‘Pamana’: Archery enthusiasts aim at heritage target
Every Tuesday and Friday on a grassy lot behind the University of the Philippines’ (UP) Albert Hall in Diliman, Quezon City, archery enthusiasts are shooting arrows at a circular straw target from different distances. Rather than hitting the bull’s eye and running up points as in competitive archery, they are focused on perfecting the athletic...
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Celebrating multi-identities and diversity
This year, Philippine sports got a big boost by the performance of its women’s national football team. In February, the team, Filipinas, reached the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup, thus qualifying for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. In May, it copped a first-ever medal finish (bronze) at the 31st Southeast Asian Games. And...
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‘Mula sa Buwan’: In the spirit of defiance
When “Mula sa Buwan” returns on Aug. 26 at Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Circuit Makati, it will not be the same creature that played to packed houses every performance four years ago. In turning Edmond Rostand’s “Cyrano de Bergerac” and Francisco “Soc” Rodrigo’s Filipino translation of that play into a musical, director and co-creator...