The singer Hajji Alejandro died of colon cancer early this week but in the snapshots posted by his daughter Rachel Alejandro on Instagram, he does not at all project the image of an ailing man before and after his diagnosis. In photos of concerts last December, in which he appeared as her special guest and...
Category: In Memoriam
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Francis’ papacy, defined by mercy and compassion, was neither rigorist nor laxist
Within weeks of his 2013 election, Pope Francis shocked many by washing the feet of two girls—one of them a Muslim—during the Maundy Thursday liturgy at a juvenile detention center in Rome. This break from liturgical tradition signaled a papacy that would emphasize reform, pastoral openness, and, to some, a controversial departure from established norms....
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Reading the mystery of Nora Aunor, Superstar
The words posted by Ricky Lee, National Artist for Film and Broadcast, honoring his friend and fellow National Artist, speak volumes: “Kung wala na ang lahat, kung kalansay na lang ako, ang matitira na lang ay ang sinasabi mong sining” (When everything is gone, when I am but bones, the only thing that will be...
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Love and a million thanks to you, Pilita
Pilita Corrales, Asia’s Queen of Song and an enduring icon in the Philippines’ Tin Pan Alley, has bid us adieu at the age of 85. The “heavy heart” with which Pilita’s granddaughter Janine Gutierrez announced her passing on April 12 is ours, too. The mourning is deep for the Filipino Spanish María del Pilar Garrido...
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In praise of Edcel Lagman, ‘Bicol’s great son’
Tributes continue to be aired for Albay (first district) Rep. Edcel Lagman, who died on Jan. 30 after a long and illustrious career in lawmaking and defending human rights beginning in the Marcos Sr. dictatorship. In a Facebook post “mourning” the loss of Lagman, Leni Robredo said that when she was vice president, she constantly...
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Gloria Romero, showbiz royalty
The Philippine movie industry is neither Mount Olympus nor a monarchy but it has gods and goddesses and kings and queens, albeit with feet of clay. One of them was Gloria Romero, who died last Jan. 25 (the Feast of St. Paul, as reminded by showbiz fixture and Nora Aunor fan Marie Cusi) at the...
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I remember Ka Dodong Nemenzo
I encountered Francisco Nemenzo—Ka Dodong to his colleagues and comrades—well before I met him in person. That is, I read one of his papers—isn’t that how we get to know great scholars and thinkers, through the works they have penned? They may be halfway around the world, or they might have passed away long ago,...
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The uncommon life and struggles of Francisco ‘Dodong’ Nemenzo
Once in an era an uncommon person comes along whose life bears the stamp of profound influence on the actions of others and on society. Such was the life of Francisco “Dodong” Alfafara Nemenzo who passed away at the age of 89 last Dec. 19. An unorthodox Marxist scholar of politics, an inspiring socialist leader-activist of...
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Birthday wishes and lasting gifts
In January of 2009, months before my 10th birthday, I came home and saw Tatay lying on a mattress on the floor. He was watching the news as Nanay and I entered our apartment. When I took his left hand for the mano po blessing, its weight sank on my palm. I drew closer to him,...
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Stardom, solitude, and Jaclyn Jose
By this time the ashes of actress Jaclyn Jose, who died at 60 early this month, would have been laid to rest at the Garden of the Divine Word Columbarium in Quezon City. Her older sister, the semi-retired actress Veronica Jones, believes that she is a pure soul. Indeed, she was a kind person, a...