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When the Pope and priests wear pink

“Gracia” was dismayed to see the parish priest wearing pink while celebrating Sunday Mass. She said a priest should be neutral and not openly declare himself a “kakampink” (literally, pro-pink), a supporter of then presidential candidate Leni Robredo. Pink was then the campaign color of choice of Robredo and her supporters. Was the parish priest a “kakampink”?...

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Gaita Forés’ first birthday in eternity gives us a Cibo kind of love

My good friend and fellow freelance writer Alma Cruz Miclat knew I was in Manila (down from my base in Baguio City) for just a week and insisted on a long ladies’ dinner on a Sunday at Cibo (second level of the original Shangri-La Plaza in Mandaluyong City).  The name “Cibo,” meaning “food” in Italian,...

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Setting forth alone to the familiar, or travel as disconnection

People travel for various reasons. Adventure. Fun. Business. Family affairs. I do travel for all these purposes. But I also travel to be alone. I feel this most in an airport and aboard a full-to-capacity plane. Alone. With no thought or concern except to get to my destination. It affords me an in-between. A shifting...

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Lessons on the beloved potato (or how it fits quite nicely in Filipino cuisine)

Think of a few of your typical savory Filipino dishes—adobo, menudo, kaldereta, nilaga, maybe even kare-kare or sinigang. You can easily imagine all of them incorporating that ubiquitous and beloved brown-skinned vegetable.  “I don’t think you will grow up or get to this age in the Philippines without having potatoes, because we love our potatoes,” Reji Retugal, Philippine representative of...

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Marking Ash Wednesday and recalling Pope Francis’ call to ‘return to God with all our heart’

The Holy See Press Office announced on Feb. 28 that Pope Francis would not preside over the traditional celebration of the Ash Wednesday liturgy on Aventine Hill, which is to take place on March 5. The Pope has been confined for more than two weeks in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital to receive treatment for bilateral pneumonia...

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Popularity of K-pop and K-food surging worldwide, says report

K-pop and Korean cuisine are surging significantly in popularity worldwide, indicating the strong influence of Korea’s culture exports that ride on the Korean Wave, or “hallyu,” according to the 2024 Global Korean Wave Trend Analysis Report.  Countries in Asia accounted for the most voluminous content about the Korean Wave (50.6%), followed by those in Europe...

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Lola Mameng and my kitchen prep

Not everyone cooks. But those who don’t cook and take pride in the inability should be ashamed of themselves.  Not being able to cook is surprising, given how popular culinary courses are now and even just how dime-a-dozen cooking shows are crowding television and the internet. In fact, the food and beverage industry is among...

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The Sinulog is also a festival to recall Christianity’s birth in the Philippines

The Feast of the Santo Niño or the Holy Child Jesus falls yearly on the third Sunday of January. Though originally a simple religious feast, it has become one of the grandest and most colorful festivals now called the Sinulog.  To celebrate this year’s festival, various activities were lined up by the Basilica Minore del...