Seven years ago, I embarked on a different course in my career as a jazz guitarist. From “land-based” gigs at Tago Jazz Café, Manila Peninsula, and the Philippine International Jazz & Arts Festival, I began playing aboard cruise liners. My first seaborne experience was in 2017, on the ship Seabourn of Holland America Line. Among...
Category: People
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Over a hot stove: ‘Ube halaya’ and love’s labors
I was born into a transnational extended family. My father, the eldest among his siblings, married before his brother (younger by only a year), was drafted into the US Navy. As a consequence, slowly, the brother and his parents and seven other siblings eventually came to live in the United States. We, the family of...
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When I was an OFW, I got detained in Saudi
Thirty-six years ago, I left my wife Malou and our two young sons to take a job in Saudi Arabia. Back then I was called an “overseas contract worker” or OCW, a term that has since morphed into “overseas Filipino worker” or OFW. From a college teaching job in the Philippines, I became a supervisor...
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Filipino coach preps MMA women’s world champ for title defense
Filipino pride will be well represented at UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championships) 300, the landmark event in mixed martial arts (MMA), full-contact combat, on April 14, Manila time, in Paradise, Nevada. No Filipino fighter is on the card, but Benedict Alumno promises to make his countrymen proud. Alumno is the striking coach of UFC women’s strawweight...
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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...
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Running on that track
NEW YORK CITY—I played sikyo when I was growing up in the Philippines. Each time the captains of the opposing teams chose their players, I was the last to be called because apart from my small build I did not run fast enough. But I always insisted on joining the play, so that the captain...
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Jaclyn Jose could drink till daybreak and still arrive on set ready with her lines
In a huddle after the meeting called last January by the office of Sen. Robinhood Padilla to discuss the Eddie Garcia Bill, the award-winning actress Jaclyn Jose told me that we should all pull together to push the enactment of the important piece of legislation. “Hoy, pagtulung-tulungan natin na maipasa ito. Pero sana naman huwag...
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Fashion storytelling with flair and passion
Norman Peñaflorida wants to be known as a fashion storyteller. “I design and create to tell stories about our indigenous people, our folklore and mythology,” he said. He believes that blending regional fabric and weave with a contemporary touch will reach and draw “a wider audience to listen to our narratives.” It was his theater...
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Newsroom’s silent warrior, Romy Mariñas; 74
In the serene solitude of his residence, surrounded by artifacts of life deeply experienced and ardently lived, Romulo “Mang Romy” P. Mariñas passed away at 74, leaving behind a legacy that speaks volumes of an existential journey marked by resilience, intelligence, and unwavering spirit. Despite his later years being shadowed by illness, his demeanor remained...
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‘What film can do more than what film can say’
What’s on the world cinema landscape this year? The prevailing temperament, style and substance of filmmakers and markets in the Asian capitals, including Manila? Writer-producer Roger Garcia, who was born in Hong Kong but grew up in England, is one of the best resource persons to talk about movies. He is the executive director and...